Anna's Doodles

Moving

Hello to anyone who is following me. I decided to sort out my blog and the things will change a little bit. All the inspirational posts will be moved to this blog http://inspiring-anna.tumblr.com/ and this blog will be revolving more about my uni work. Hopefully it’s not too confusing for anyone including me.

Evaluation

For my report I decided to research and explore the work of illustrator Michael Gillette. I have chosen this particular illustrator because since I saw his cover designs for the Penguin Publishing James Bond series I fell in love with his 1960s colourful style.

To start off my report I have done some initial research into the projects that Michael Gillette did. I found out that his diverse style gained him clients such as the Beastie Boys, Oxfam and MTV. It is very inspirational to see that experimentation and doing work that he liked most could bring such results.

During my research blogs and interviews were the most useful because they allowed my to find out the opinion of Gillette himself. While looking at the various interviews and looking at the work of other designers, I found out that Gillette is big on experimentation and trying out new things while working on a project. I think that the advantage of this approach would be that the designer can try and make his work more communicative as the idea behind the project will also speak through the medium that was chosen.

I think that looking into the way Gillette works and the some of the process behind it, allowed me to think about how important is the message behind a piece of work we designers produce, and that we should try to experiment to see what we enjoy the most. While researching for this report I found out that exploration of new ways of working is important and I would like to make it work in my future practice.

Throughout the research for this report I think that I found magazines and blogs the most useful tools because I was able to find some interesting quotes from Gillette himself that helped me in my referencing task. I also found his blog and website very useful because it allowed to me look through the amazing gallery of his work as well as look at some of the things that Gillette is himself interested in.

In conclusion during all the tasks that are a part of my report, I have learned that it is important to experiment and try out new things as we might find that some mediums will communicate some ideas better than the style we usually stick to. I also learned that inspiration can come from anywhere whether it will be the music we listen to or the place where we work, that influence bleeds through to our work.

Image Analysis

Here is an illustration by Michael Gillette for the cover of the ‘Little White Lies’ publication, which is a UK independent film magazine The illustration features a portrait of actress Carrey Mulligan- star of “An Education”. This illustration was not the first choice of Gillette, his other choice was a portrait done in chalk witch was more experimental however the final piece went for a more tested route. The above illustration is done in a style that Gillette is rather well know, the use of vibrant contrasting colours combined with the use of watercolour reminds me of the 1960s Pop Art style. I think that the bright pink works well for this cover because of the bold contrast between the warm pink and the white in the background brings attention to the centre of the composition. This then allows reader to focus on the name of the publication as well as what the issue is about. Although Gillette only provided the illustration for this particular cover, I think that the typeface at the bottom works very well with the image as it has a handwritten and youthful feel to it which the reader would associate with the actress and the movie to which the title relates.

Bibliography for my report

Bibliography:

Websites:

- Bryony Quinn. (2011). ‘It’s Nice That’. [online] Available from http://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/bookshelf-michael-gillette [Accessed: 13^th November 2011]

- Michael Gillette. (2010). ‘Michael Gillette’ [online] Available from http://www.michaelgillette.com/ [Accessed: 14^th November 2011]

- Ron Hogan. (2008). ‘Galley Cat: The First Word on the Book Publishing Industry’. [online] Available from http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/the-man-behind-the-new-bond-girl-gallery_b7163 [Accessed: 13^th November 2011]

- Devin Zydel. (2008). ‘CommanderBond.net’.[online] Available from http://commanderbond.net/5195/michael-gillette-discusses-the-bond-girl-book-covers.html [Accessed: 13^th November 2011]

- Alexa Fornoff . (2011). ‘ReadyMade Magazine’. [online] Available from http://www.readymade.com/magazine/slideshow/this_that_with_michael_gillette [Accessed: 15^th November 2011]

- Computer Arts. (2009). ‘Computer Arts’. [online] Available from http://www.computerarts.co.uk/interviews/michael-gillette [Accessed: 14^th November 2011]

Blogs:

- Michael Gillette (2009). ‘Pencil Squeezing’. [internet blog]. Available from: http://pencilsqueezing.blogspot.com/ [Accessed: 12^th November 2011]

- Colin Brush. (2008). The Penguin Blog: Covering Bond. [internet blog]. Available from: http://thepenguinblog.typepad.com/the_penguin_blog/2008/05/covering-bond.html [Accessed: 12^th November 2011]

Films:

- Helvetica (2007) Directed by Gary Hustwit. Swiss Dots [DVD]

Books:

- Computer Arts. (2010). ‘The Computer Arts Book of Inspiration (2nd Edition)’. Bath:Future Publishing

- Fletcher, A. (2001). ‘The art of looking sideways’. London: Phaidon

 - Klanten, R., Hellige, H. and Middendorp, J. (2010). ‘Playful type 2 : ephemeral lettering & illustrative fonts’. Berlin: Gestalten.

- Mcalhone, B. and Stuart, D. (1996). ‘Smile in the mind : witty thinking in graphic design’. London: Phaidon.

- Warren, F. (2006). ‘PostSecret:extraordinary confessions from ordinary lives’. London: Orion.

Lectures:

- Angold, S (2011). NUCA Lecture 1 November 2011

- Brown, H. (2011). NUCA Lecture 25 October 2011

Annotated text/Summary

For the annotated text task of the report I have choose to read an interview with Michael Gillette in The Computer Arts Book of Inspiration Volume II.

The interview focuses mainly on the diverse style of the projects that Michael Gillette undertook. The interview mentions Gillette’s early inspiration, the pop culture and music, he says how it was the music of The Beatles introduced him into the art and design world, as well as the pop art artists that influenced his work.

He says, ‘I think my work is at a nexus between design and illustration. Gillette explains his approach towards his illustrations and how instead of having one set style he chooses the media that is appropriate for a given brief. I think that his approach is one of the best because it allows the designer to explore all the possibilities and experimentation rather than trying to make the brief work around the style of the designer.

Gillette also talks about how the move from London to San Francisco affected his work, how it made it more nature orientated. I agree with Gillette on how the space that surrounds us will influence the work of a designer. I think that the energy that comes from the place we work at shows in our designs.

Referencing task

Here are the quotes that I have chosen for the referencing task for my report:

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‘Evolution wise, my style has changed visually, but at its core is the feeling that I’m always trying to evoke, which has been constant: to make images with the energy of rock and roll.’

I think that here Michael Gillette is referring to the vibrant and alive feeling his illustrations have. In my opinion the way his style varies from project to project, whether it is the use of medium or the colour palette, it allows his illustrations remain fresh and interesting. It also emphasizes how much music and the energy that is associated with music from the 60s shines through Gillette’s work.

Michael Gillette. (2010). ‘The Computer Arts Book of Inspiration (2nd Edition)’. Bath: Future Publishing

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‘His work is a celebration of the fragmentary and jumbled nature of populist culture from the last half century, synthesized into something that is always cheekily seductive and often heart-wrenchingly beautiful.’

Here Frischmann refers to how heavily Gillette work was influenced by the Pop culture especially the music and how the aesthetic of that period now makes his work interesting and eye-catching. In many of the interview Gillette always refers to music as a guide into the world of art and design.

Justine Frischmann. (2010). ‘Michael Gillette’ [online] Available from http://www.michaelgillette.com/#/profile [Accessed: 14^th November 2011]

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‘One gets asked to repeat popular work and this can lead to a creative rut so I try to keep casting the net ever wider, to keep seeking, and try to share what I find. ‘

I think that the way that Gillette experiments with different mediums and techniques is very inspiring because it teaches beginner designers like me that it is important to think outside the box to get the results that we are happy with.

Michael Gillette. (2011). ‘ReadyMade Magazine’ [online] Available from http://www.readymade.com/magazine/slideshow/this_that_with_michael_gillette [Accessed: 15^th November 2011]