I initially began my exploration of the graphic design pathway by looking at some of my favourite illustrators. This is an area that interests me greatly as I've come to realise throughout this exploratory stage that I have an aptitude for drawing with it being something I practise a lot in my spare time and want to continue into a future career within design and marketing. My focus for this research element will be contemporary graphics in advertising design.
Zoe More O'Ferrall first caught my eye whilst eating a packet of Propercorn from the Ravensbourne cafe with her quirky and commercial illustrations on the front of the various packets. Her style is so unique and easily recognised that it has shot her to popularity, leading to deals with Harrods, Billboard, Bobbi Brown, The Guardian and Tesco which is only but a distant dream for me.
Her line work is exquisite and reflects upon my style in the fact that it is selective in what areas to apply the detail. The detail in regards to colouring is limited as the majority of her lines are filled with block colour that is extremely effective as paint or textures has the possibility to be too much.
Another illustrator that stood out to me was Jessine Hein due to her style using watercolour that is a medium I often choose to complete my drawings. She often uses watercolour, acrylic and ink as traditional techniques before modifying them on Photoshop and Illustrator, even adding crafts into her work sometimes. These materials heavily reflect upon the one that I like to use and its a boost to my moral to see artists using these utensils and being employed by big names such as BMW, Coca-Cola, Barclays and Cosmopolitan as Hein has. Of course it isn't just illustration that i'm interested in, but it's something I enjoy and want to incorporate into my graphics if I take this pathway. After looking closely at her work i'm able to see the layers of watercolour and digitally generated strokes and shapes. The beauty of altering work on the computer afterwards is that there is the possibility of tweaking elements and modifying it, blending it with text and adding textures if desired. The combination of the two mediums holds a huge amount of pathways that I still need to explore. Hein largely chooses to focus the detail only on certain elements of the image such as the eyes and lips which displays her high level of skill without it being overpowering as she incorporates it tactfully.
Stegan Sagmeister's work immediately caught my eye with a quirkiness and individuality the piqued my interest. His cover of The Rolling Stones album 'Bridges to Babylon' in 1997 uses a unique collage effect that marries several different mediums together. His work conveys his personality perfectly and his daring and often controversial graphics matched his boisterous attitude. It's clear that in the graphics industry, allowing your graphics to show a bit of who you are is key, and that every designer has to hold their own style.
He incorporates typography into his work effortlessly and it works so well. The images he create have immense impact on the viewer with their bold colours and refined finished that show a high quality that got him to the high platform he's at today. The rich colours and dark tones he uses within helps keep a certain aesthetic that he has manages to maintain throughout his work and is even omitted through the coding of his website that sees a stark black and white, clean cut appearance. He uses high skill in computer software to present his ideas and designs as seen below on this book cover that has likely been superimposed on. He also demonstrates the importance of photography within graphics.
Christopher Wool is a contemporary typography artist who uses simplicity and harsh reality to deliver graphics with impact. His work strongly resembles street art with the stenciled finish and paint dripping down effectively. This is not the sort of work that i'm usually drawn to however with it's impossible not to stop and pause to take a look at these striking pieces. The unconventional layout of the type in a grid format makes it more difficult for the viewer to make sense of the piece as a whole which contrasts with its simplicity at first glance. The harsh, utility style has a modern edge to it and I can easily see how this makes a statement in a gallery surrounded by his other monochromatic works. The composition of his typography demonstrates that not all graphics have to be clearly decipherable, but are able to compel the viewer to think and work elements out for themselves.
Eddie Opara's work is one that stood out so much with its intricate line work and unconventional looking typography that too focuses on lines. After quickly being snapped up by Pentagram which is the creme dela creme of design studios, Opara has worked on several design projects within a team to create some of the amazing images seen below. His work features sharp lines and edges that are displayed in a 2D or 3D format, whilst some of them transcend these dimensions by appearing 3D when in fact it's a flat image.
Beautifully graphic and captivating, his work is easily distinguishable from the bold use of colour and contrast between that and the typography he applies, often as an under or overlay. The 3D work of his below was displayed in a gallery in Chicago which is a city in which Pentagram have a great presence, showing how much of an influence agencies have in a designers career. He seems to break the boundaries of graphics with his minimalist approach and uses the 3D shapes as a basis from which to base his graphics whilst also using them as final pieces.
Ruth Ansel is an iconic woman that sent ripples through the fashion and graphic industries as she became the first woman to hold top art director roles at The New York Times and Vanity Fair, though initially making her debut through Harpers Bazaar. She revolutionised the look and feel of modern fashion magazines and soon went on to open her own studio. The pop issue of a 1965 Bazaar magazine was perhaps one of her most notable works as it included the power of a massive youth movement with the appearance of pop culture, space exploration and The Beetles amongst others. The article below depicts Jean Shrimpton as the first woman in space which flowed with women's empowerment at the time and responded to what young people wanted from a fashion magazine who's readership is primarily young females.
Her features are loud, unabashed and she must be applauded for moving from a fashion design background towards a newspaper magazine editor. Ansel looks past the boundaries set by each aspect of design and is able to incorporate fashion, art, graphics and typography into her work. Such a powerful female figure is a huge inspiration to me as i'm a proud feminist and aim to reflect this within my work and by ultimately reaching a high position within the area I eventually find work. Her work is punchy and reminiscent of a woman trying to pave her way in an industry dominated by men, proving her capability by creating eye-catching and often controversial graphics that are able to be appreciated by a large audience. I'm definitely looking at design within the publishing industry and researching Ansel has served as a push towards that area.
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