When it comes to thinking of a purpose for the work I create I find myself a bit lost. I don't think I have ever really been driven by the purpose or function of a brief, for me it's all about the audience and the visual side of things. I know this shouldn't be the way that I work, and I always consider the purpose before I even begin working on a new project, it's just something I'm going to have to learn to do. Perhaps by identifying the five key areas as I have done below it will help me in the future. Despite what I have written below, the one things above everything else that takes priority is a light hearted approach. So when I have written 'educate', for example, I don't mean giving someone a complete lesson in a subject matter or a similar idea, but instead a subtle nod to educating or informing. This will become evident in my further descriptions below.
Example 01: Inform
This first example is a piece of branding that has been used across a range of products and promotion. I'm not going to lie the first reason this stood out to me was because of the bright colours and bold visuals, however once I read the description of what had actually been designed I began to appreciate it for a complete piece of graphic design that is not only informative, but effective. It is a also a great example of the approach that I would take in order to reach a specific audience and then get across the required information. It is obvious that the first thing this designer did was create a logo and designate a colour scheme, followed by the appropriation of information to the correct mediums. It is a great example of playful design with a professional finish, and shows how you can take quite a bland subject matter and make it more interesting and visually appealing.
Example 02: Promote
Promotion is most important to me. When I think about all the design that inspires me and gives me motivation to continue when I feel disheartened with my work it is usually promotional. This is probably because when it comes to promotion it's all about using attractive visuals, something to draw the audience in, to the catch the eye if you will. The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of work that has been created in order to promote are film and music posters. However considering I have showcased a lot of work so far that deals with film, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to mention the work of 'Methane Studios'. Below is a just small collection of posters crafted by this amazing studio. They may all promote different events but they all have one thing in common; they are visually stunning. They are perfect examples of graphic design I am interested in; irreverent and memorable.
Example 03: Educate
When I think about incorporating graphic design with educating an audience the first thing that I go to are infographics. They are a fantastic example of how you can use visually engaging imagery and a good eye for composition to communicate your message. Below are just a few examples of effective infographics taken from good.is that best incorporate information graphics and a clear visual style. If I where to follow a career path of using design to educate people I would most definitely aim to create work like below. The examples use bold colours, vectorised illustrations and a non cluttered composition to create successful pieces. I particularly like the first example as it uses visuals that relate to the subject matter and twists them into appealing aesthetics.
Example 04: Package
Creating packaging is probably tied with creating promotional work in terms of importance for me. I love to create work that is not just 2D, but 3D and interactive and something memorable. Below is an example of simple, clean and efficient packaging that follows current trends of using neutral colours to communicate benefits to the environment and harmless production methods. However they're not the reasons why I chose this particular example. The reason I chose it is because if I where to forge a career out of packaging this is most likely a brief that I would love to work on. The most popular current products with inventive packaging seem to include: confectionary, alcohol, food and drink and health and beauty. These are all things that I can get on board with and would love to design for. What I love about the example below is how he has taken the idea of packaging design and used it as a form of promotion for himself. At first glances it just seems like your run of the mill coffee package, it's only when you look further into the design that you realise the ingenuity behind it.
Example 05: Celebrate
This is another area that I am interested in; creating visuals purely to celebrate subjects/areas of interest. To any one who knows anything about graphic design its obvious that the pieces below were designed by Olly Moss, a designer who I greatly admire. What I love so much about them is the fact that they hold no real purpose. They where not created in order to boost sales of a new DVD release or pack people into a cinema in order to pour even more money into the pockets of a faceless corporation. They where created purely in celebration of a groundbreaking franchise, and would be purchased by both fans of 'Star Wars' and general appreciators of fantastic design. In other words, me. Maybe that's why I feel such passion towards artists like Olly Moss, Tyler Stout, Ken Taylor etc; I feel as though they are designing for me. And if I could reach just a fraction of the people that the above artists have then I would be elated.
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