Warriors Posters

The Warriors is one of my favourite films, definately in the top ten. I feel the original poster is a great piece of art on its own, but when I came across these variations I was even more impressed.

Original Tyler StoutTom Whalen

Ville Savimaa

I don't know what it is about this guys designs but I just really like them. I think its the fact that they may be bright and colourful but yet somehow remain quite flat. The designs are almost psychadelic and reminiscent of sixties artists such as Wes Wilson.

Fufu Frauenwahl

Berlin based illustrator Frauenwahl's style remids me of old school comic books. How he uses just black and white, but creates these creepy pieces is quite a talent. His work is almost a throwback to black and white horror movies of the fifties, like 'It Came From Beneath the Sea' or 'Them!'. For example when I look at the piece below I can't help but think of 'The Blob'. I can remember another example of this type of illustration from a few years back when I read a comic called 'The Man with the Screaming Brain'. The whole story read like B-Movie plot, but the pencil and ink work was fantastic.
Rick Remender

Simon Wild

Simon Wild is a Suffolk born illustrator. His work has been described as 'psychedelic scribbles’, ‘elaborate telephone doodles’ and ‘childlike expressions’. I think its incredibly colourful and interesting. The example below is a piece of his typographical work and it shows how he brings his unique style to something as boring as promoting a talent website. Its something that has many layers, and a viewer could probably discover new things every time they look at it. At first I found it hard to tell what the actual text said but once I looked closer it was easy, and I think thats what Simon wants people to do; get really up close and observe the piece thoroughly.

Sjors Vervoort

Dutch animator Sjors Vervoort specialises in cardboard street art. I think the idea is ingenius, as most street artists draw their designs on walls or skips, basically things that can't be moved, therefore adding no dimension to their works. However with Sjoors work the cardboard pieces can be placed in juxtaposed scenarios and add extra intrigue. This short animation was filmed on the streets, therefore incorporating all the different cultures you would find in cities. You see how these different people interact with the surreal animal illustrations and the way in which the bright colours he uses stand out against the grim city colour scheme.

Aimee Van Drimmelen

Aimee Van Drimmelen collects used drumskins from the artists in her area of Montreal and uses watercolours to paint over them to create interesting, vibrant designs. The difference in designs is incredibly vast, but yet somehow all seem to encapsulate the Canadian way of life. Icy blues are used in most and nature is also featured heavily, ranging from birds to fish and even polar bears in a couple. I think the idea itself is incredibly clever and unique, but the way it is convicted only adds to the success.

Santalopes

Andrew Erdos is a photographer who specialises in the weird and wonderful. This latest project features a lot of very well travelled Santas. They are placed in all sorts of situations that are surreal and not associated with santa and christmas in any way. The fact that this project was carried out all year round and the santa's are often in heat, adds to the surreal effect and successfully communicates the typical American trash culture that is often associated with the festive holiday. The santa's themselves are often found in absurd, almost debauched situations and the theme of sexuality is rife. I didn't want to put any of these those pictures up though.

Horst Friedrichs

Horst Friedrichs has worked as a freelance photo-journalist for numerous publications, including The New York Times and The Independent. This particular project focuses on the modern day 'Mod' movement, rather than the actual movement which took place in the 60's and 70's. He does shoot in both black and white and colour but I chose these two photographs because I feel they encapsulate that era in the best way. The way in which he captures the drivers face in the rear view mirror at the exact right moment and position is fantastic. How his face is clear and concentrated yet everything else surrounding him is blurred and speeding by clearly captures the feeling of the decade, and how youth felt time was moving too fast. I just really like the composition of the image below and the inclusion of retro furnishings really makes it feel like the image is vintage.

Massimo Vitali

Italian born photographer, Massimo Vitali, is amazing at capturing the hectic situations, atypical of the Italian lifestyle. He is incredibly adept at capturing his fellow Italians in their most vulnerable state. The difference in landscape is vast yet the density of people doesn't differ. People often associate the Italian way of life as laid back and casual, but these photos obviously contradict that and show the true meaning of Italian life.

Li Wei

This is what Li Wei says of this particular series: ’Lying on the border of China, Inner Mongolia is the largest grazing region in China. On this land live Han and Mongolian people. My affection for my hometown made me reflect on the land. Since January 2008, I have been traveling and photographing Inner Mongolia. After many travels I present you these pictures, which represent the real life of people living on the border’. We were told to find work that reflects different cultures, and I couldn't find a more different culture if I tried. I didn't know anything about these people and their way of life, but the bluntness and directness of these pictures definately gives me a big insight.

Abandoned Swimming Pools

A website I visit regularly specialises in photograpy and every friday a theme is set. This week the theme was Abandoned Swimming Pools. I really like all the images that were posted as they all have a certain eerie feel about them. Personally I think this is created because pools are something that you associate with holidays and generally having a good time, but all of a sudden, when the water is removed and no people are present the situation has an all together different feel. A feeling of misplacement.

Kristopher Ho

“The Art of Nurture”
Asked to provide up to two pieces of visual art that would support and illustrate one of the following themes:

1)Leading the way
2)Working together
3)Specialist
4)Innovation/ Originality
5)Flexibility
6)Growth/ Cultivation
7)Getting the best results
8)Integrated solutions
9)International expertise
10)Sustainable relationship

Ho decided to concentrate of two of them, which were “Innovation/ Originality” and “Flexibility”. He illustrated a person with a power station rising up from his head representing generation of ideas as my piece for “Innovation/ Originality”.

I really like this illustration but don't actually know why. I think the fact that the artist originates from Hong Kong really explains the feeling I get when looking at his work. The brown stock he has used adds texture to the piece, whilst the warm colours he has used, including oranges and browns, adds a non formal feeling to the piece. Which I think is important for this particular brief, because advertisments for banks can often seem clinical and impersonal.

Lisa Hanawalt

Knowing that illustrator Lisa Hanawalt is based in Los Angeles definately gives her work depth. This piece features half human, half animal creations in a distinctly human scenario. The mix mash of colours and patterns helps add to the absurd atmosphere and reflects the hectic lifestyle of many people in the modern day world. Apparently the use of animals with humans is meant to reflect the large contrast between the nobility of the former and the ugliness of the latter.

James Blagden

The above is a short animation about an event that occured in the baseball world in June of 1970. At first I thought it didnt relate to this blog but then I watched the whole thing and realised it did identify with images of the past and a different culture. The fact that the whole scenario happened in the seventies already represents the past, but this is then emphasised by the technique of illustration which Blagden uses. Simple black and white lines are used, with splashes of colour thrown in to represent the psychadelic effects of LSD. The whole thing has a jumpy effect by not letting illustrations blend into one another smoothly, and the voiceover is something that really adds to the effect. The voice is smooth and often stumbles on words, whilst at the same time using expressions and phrases that recall back to the decade in question.

Mario Hugo

Mario Hugo is a New York based Illustrator and designer. The work above was designed for an exhibition which had a big figure eight skate ramp featured heavily. Therefore the design he chose to go with obviously runs with that theme. The shape of the imprint on the front of the invitation mimics the smooth curves of skate ramp, whilst also reminding me of the shape of skate wheels. This is also aided by the fact that there are two circular shapes and the wavering lines. I also think the colour and stock he chose to use heavily represent the mechanical and urban side of skateboarding.

All of the above were designed for Beck album covers. After looking at all of them its clear that the outline Mario was set was to create anything, aslong as it suggested bold and outgoing. The first example is probably the most representative of this, with wood blocks being used, one of the strongest natural materials in the modern world, nothings suggests strength more than this. The second is in the same vain, however this time the boldness is portrayed by using a simple black and white colour scheme and choosing a typeface that has heavy strokes. The other two again somehow represent boldness, although I'm not so sure how.

Lauren Fleishman

Lauren Fleishman is a Brooklyn born photographer.

Brad Moore

Of his work he says, ‘These photographs were shot in modest, well-worn, suburban cities in central and inland Southern California. Built in the 1950s and 60s, these cities provided a new home and future to a post-war population. This is where I grew up and, after 25 years, I returned. The areas I remembered were fading away, and I was struck by the simultaneous growth and decline. Initially, it was the buildings that interested me; I shot them in formal, almost symmetrical compositions. Then I began shooting the surrounding shrubbery with the same architectural approach. I liked the way the buildings and plants worked together, so that is how the project evolved. I have opted to avoid traditional, documentary-style photography; instead I have photographed in primarily static compositions, reflecting change, irony and evolution’. I don't think there's much more I can add to this.

Matthew Langille

Matthew Langille is an illustrator/graphic designer who has branched out into pattern design. His work is quite humorous and often features animals and nature. The two surface patterns I have picked portray a few of the things modern society relies on and enjoys, and put crosses behind them, signifying that they are actually bad for us. The first features a burger, most probably representing all fast foods that are largely popular and the second features a range of items, from mobile phones and televisions to the sun and what appears to be apples.

Seb Lester

Seb Lester is one of the UK's most successful typographers.

What do you like most and least about it?
The best part is the creative process at the beginning. The excitement of developing ideas and fleshing out letterforms. It’s great fun developing the basic digital character set and developing weights. Watching the design take shape and evolve.

Dennis Boyle

I stumbled across this poster and was instantly struck by its simplicity. Its very similar to what we where asked to create for our 'No News is Good News' poster project. By deciding to keep the poster completely devoid of type, it becomes instantly more intriguing. The viewer is drawn in an asked to come up with their own individual interpretation. Personally I don't know what the message is, probably becauase I don't know what the symbol on the right represents, but I definitely want to find out.

Josh Cochran

Josh Cochran is an American Illustrator. His work is always very colourful and often communicates quite complex ideas in single frames, even thought these frames may not be simplistic. The piece below is obviously trying to get across the hectic lifestyles of people living in large cities, and the problems they face everyday, including traffic jams and congestion. I feel this 'hectic' feeling is communicated more successfully by the random injections of colour and the differentiation in the scale of objects when compared to others. For example the man in the rickshaw is so much larger than the people walking around it.
This is another piece of his that I liked. Most probably because of the interesting way in which he compares surgery to the mechanics of engineering.

Shigeo Fukada

A thoroughly accomplished Japanese artist, who created thousands of optical illusion posters that most commonly portray deception. The New York Times described how Fukuda's posters "distilled complex concepts into compelling images of logo-simplicity".

This is probably his most well known piece, featuring a projectile heading towards, instead of away from, a cannon. The colour scheme is kept very minimal and the message clear. This is a very good example of how a message can be communicated without the need for a great deal of information. From this incredibly simple poster I get the idea that he thought war was pointless and 'Victory' is always bittersweet.

Maria Holmer Dahlgren

This is a dish cloth designed by Swedish artist Maria Holmer Dahlgren. It is one of a series that were 'London Inspired'. I like it because the message is incredible clear from the very first moment you look at it, and the phrase' Its raining cats and dogs' is also very appropriate to the weather in the UK, particularly London. The colour scheme is kept minimalist and the design concise, and even though the animals are solid black, the positions which they are in help to communicate the right idea.
This is another from the series. Instead of interpreting a well known phrase this time the designer has interpreted well known buildings and situations from the capital. I feel it works just as well.

What is Graphic Design: Part Two

Chad Hagen is a Graphic Designer who is constantly creating new pieces in a retro, yet contemporary way. This project was entitled 'I am not a number', but clearly communicates a series of numbers from 0 to 9. He takes close up black and white photos of all sorts of inanimate objects and situations, so close in fact that the object becomes obscured and instead just a surface pattern is communicated. He then takes these images and creates shapes from them, which are then arranged into the shape of numbers.