Monday 27 September 2010

What is Graphic Design...

Just a quick post. This is one of my favourite albumb covers by the artist Anoraak and is to promote the most popular single relased "Nightdrive with you." This is what i view as graphic design, I love the retro space themed colors and computer game like type. The layout has been put together really cleverly and draws your eyes into the centre of the cover.

The two different styles of type work really well together and fit in with the whole 1980's dance scene using very metallic colors against the pink backdrop.

"Graphic Design......simple and effective."

What is Graphic Design continued

These illustrations below are by the artist Keaton Henson and focus on a set of personal portraits. I love his style of drawing, how he uses lots of tiny little lines to show motion and texture. The subject matter is always really dark and shows everyday content in a grimy and atmospheric light. The eyes of the characters he draws very rarely have pupils and often incorporate triangles on there forehead or gnarly pirate like tattoos. I like this distinct flow he adds to his illustrations and how the characteristics of his style of very original.

The quote that relates to Keaton Henson's style of work is; "appropriate, creative, obsessive, frustrating, organized, structured...design lives in the detail." I think this applies to his work because of the sheer detail in his drawings. It shows that graphic design isn't necessarily to promote something or resolve a problem but it can be deeper than that. Its all about asking questions. The drawings obviously have some meaning behind them but its up to the audience to decide what that meaning is.



Sunday 26 September 2010

What is Graphic Design?

The title "What is Graphic Design?" is such a broad question that i literally couldn't answer when i first read the brief. However in my mind there are artists, designers and illustrators that i personally think define the meaning of Graphic Design and  throughout this blog i will explore what Graphic Design means to me.

Jeremy fish is on of my favorite illustrators and below is a video of an illustration he did to turn a room into a forest. I like his style of drawing and how the lines flow he draws are crisp and thick. This gives definition and character to the subject he illustrates. I would love my bedroom to look like this!


“Appropriate, creative, obsessive, frustrating, organised, structured…design lives in the detail.”