Filed under: Discoveries
I bought Mad Men on DVD and managed to devour it in two days. It follows the lives of the employees at Manhattan’s Sterling-Cooper advertising agency, from the ad men, their wives and families down to the secretaries. It’s set on the eve of the 1960s just as Kennedy is elected president. The cinematography is wonderful, the acting superb. It’s also refreshingly un-PC and there are moments that really drive home how quickly our culture changed. In the first episode, a secretary is seen showing a new girl around. She introduces a typewriter and says that despite how ‘technicaly complicated’ it looks (it really doesn’t) she shouldn’t worry as ‘they made it simple enough for a woman to use’. It’s frightening to think that this was only 50 years ago.
It’s the women that stand out to me here; their struggles to break out of the housewife trap, and then the constant fight to earn the respect they deserve from greedy, threatened males all the while dressed to perfection in all shapes and sizes. Back then clothes always flattered the female body – they were tailored to fit just right. Undergarments were worn to streamline your shape and provide a base that works with your clothing so the pieces sit beautifully. Curlers were routine and everyone wore statement lipstick. It’s a far cry from the sloppy, fast-fashion we are accustomed to today. And so I raise a salute to the wardrobe department at AMC for sourcing fashion that is a mid-century night’s dream. Look out over the following days for stills from the series.
Filed under: Degree
The ceremony was yesterday and I earned a 2:1. Rather pleased with that. I am going to enjoy my freedom for a little while – old friends back in town, a backload of books to catch up on – then I must start applying for placements/internships whilst temping so I can afford to work for free. Joy.
The show was a success – so much so that two major pieces of work were stolen, as was the very last business card I made. I got sick of topping the thing up as they were all handmade so I decided to stick the card at the back of the stack to the box and the wall, using four extra strong double sided blobs of glue so that my details were always there. I don’t know what sort of person would peel it off when it was obviously not for taking but thank you and well done. I have saved a few cards and have backup versions of the magazine but it was a huge blow to what should have been a happy end.
I made 3 versions of the business card. Each is a crop of an [avLOG] banner.
If you want to work with me or you’re in a position to offer a placement then please do get in touch! I’m particularly interested in editorial design and publishing, fashion and trend forecasting but I am keeping my options open. I’m working on a PDF portfolio and will have that up for download soon.
Filed under: Degree
Last night was the private view of the Manchester School of Art degree show. I managed to take some photos before crowds came to swarm. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see any work from other courses. I’ll come in on a weekday to have a proper look around with my camera so stay tuned.
Filed under: Fashion
The previous YSL post had a lot of wearable pieces you could go to work in. Seeing as I need to start looking for a job, I thought I’d go through my folders and pull out anything smart, practical and chic. I wasn’t very organised when I started saving images, so I have no idea who designed most of these 
Filed under: Degree
Here is a discarded mood board poster that was due to go in Éclat.
Filed under: Degree
I finished my work for the 30th May and now it’s a case of waiting, both for my results and for the degree show to come around. It opens to the public on Monday 16th June and runs for 10 days.
I wont spoil it, so here’s a picture of the magazine contents as the project was nearing completion.
School might be out, but there’s still work to be done. I’m putting a portfolio together – both tangible and PDF, updating my CV and making business cards for the show.
I need to get some more work experience. I’ve got my eye on a few placements at the BBC but I’m keeping my options open! As well as editorial design and art direction, I’m looking at media, broadcasting, research, branding and even marketing.
Updates have been slack because I’ve been working on my final project. It’s been full of ups and downs as I haven’t been enjoying designing lately. Concept and images behind the cut.
Filed under: Discoveries
A stairway to literary heaven.. how awesome is this!
Filed under: Design Work
I made a handful of these mini portfolios today:
Filed under: Degree
Muse is a fictitious modelling agency I created for a degree project to help me flex my layout muscles. I designed a brand identity and a show package for the Spring/Summer season. Show packages are promotional books sent out by modelling agencies to introduce and promote their most lucrative faces. They are sent out before the start of each runway season as agencies compete with one another to be the most memorable.
Filed under: Degree
I have been intensively working on my dissertation for the last 2 months so this is first entry in a while, for which I apologise. I have been working on a few projects this last week though nothing is anywhere near completion. However, I think it is time to share with you what I’ve been working on.
Last month I was approached by some MMU business students to design a magazine for their Young Enterprise module. It’s called ‘platform’ and it is a free publication that showcases the work of talented Manchester based artists, designers and photographers. I have been given a fair amount of creative freedom – only A4 landscape format, spiral binding and ’sophisticated’ were mentioned. Each Young Enterprise team is given a colour – in this case it is crimson and the group were keen to reference this somehow in the magazine. I experimented with red tints, stickers and gradients, trying to think of something that could be done to each cover image that puts the magazines’ stamp on the work.
The images on 1 and 5 are by Joshua Kimnell. Number 2 is of Sasha Pivovarova, shot by Miles Aldridge for Numero. Unfortunately I have no recollection of where I got the picture in 3 and 4 from.
With every change I saved a new version.. the following 5 images are the best examples of the directions I went in. They’re in chronological order which explains why information is missing from some.
Filed under: Degree
Even the most photogenic models require a little tweaking. I decided to have a go at smoothing down our española’s frown. The images needed to be edited anyway – there was lighting and colour to sort out. I’m new to both studio photography and image editing.
Yesterday saw my first foray in to art direction when I shot my own fashion photography in a proper studio. I was part of a team of three. We shared responsibilities across the board but my focus was on styling, art direction and later, image editing. The model is fellow student Solmaz; she could dance flamenco and she even bought her own music with her which was brilliant. We did not want her look to be total cliché of Spanish tradition and culture so we dressed her in contemporary clothing that is Spanish in essence. There is a line separating Spanish and Mexican fashion and I think we did cross it a little but it is not hugely important at this point.
The biggest obstacle we faced was lighting. Setting it up took longer than I wanted it to and I would have liked to have tried more combinations of both lighting and clothing before running out of time. Solmaz was confident, trusting and a good mover. When I studied the images afterwards I realised she was pulling the same expression in most of the shots – one that looks more disgusted rather than fierce or intense and I wish now that I had asked her to convey a greater variety of emotions.
There is a lot of work involved in organising a studio shoot and it certainly raised my stress levels, but when it’s not trying it is incredibly exhilarating and rewarding so I’m definitely keen to do it again in the near future. Perhaps next time it’ll be on location.
Here are the shots that I deem best. All have been edited with Photoshop. Click for full size versions.
