Colour and Composition
Colour Theory:
Colour theory is the body of knowledge that describes the behaviour of colours, colour mixing, colour contrast effects, colour harmony, colour schemes, and colour symbolism. It can sometimes be referred to as colour science.
The colour wheel is based on red, blue, and yellow which is traditional in the field of art. It is split into three sections; primary, secondary, and tertiary.
Primary is your basic red, yellow and blue. They are the three pigment colours that cannot be mixed or formed by any combination of other colours.
Secondary is the colours formed by mixing your primary's, which are green, orange and purple. The yellow and blue make green, the red and blue make purple and the red and yellow make orange.
Tertiary is the colours formed by mixing primary and secondary to make hues. You have; Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green, and yellow-green.
The colour wheel is based on red, blue, and yellow which is traditional in the field of art. It is split into three sections; primary, secondary, and tertiary.
Primary is your basic red, yellow and blue. They are the three pigment colours that cannot be mixed or formed by any combination of other colours.
Secondary is the colours formed by mixing your primary's, which are green, orange and purple. The yellow and blue make green, the red and blue make purple and the red and yellow make orange.
Tertiary is the colours formed by mixing primary and secondary to make hues. You have; Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green, and yellow-green.
We were also challenged with the task to create 'Bauhaus squares' These squares related to a specific theme.
From the top left down to the bottom, then right top down to the bottom:
1.Misty Morning
2.Rainforest
3.Autumn
4.Blackpool
5.Hospital Ward
6.Mumbai
From the top left down to the bottom, then right top down to the bottom:
1.Misty Morning
2.Rainforest
3.Autumn
4.Blackpool
5.Hospital Ward
6.Mumbai
We then moved onto collage work with colour theory. Below are the collages I have made relating to the themes listed below in order of left to right.
1.Autumn
2.On the ice shelf
3.Storm at sea
4.Threatening
5.Mumbai
6. Sensual
1.Autumn
2.On the ice shelf
3.Storm at sea
4.Threatening
5.Mumbai
6. Sensual
Digital work:
The task was to experiment with different typefaces in various ways. These designs needed to be creative and be able to send a message.
1. Scale:
For Scale I used a range of sizes and shapes, as well as contrasting colours to make the typography stand out.
2. Playful
For Playful, I used a variety of bright colours as well as experimenting with scale and overall style.
3. Power
With Power, I wanted to create a very bold design, experimenting with distinctive colour and scale.
4. Feminine
For Feminine, I used very soft colours and fonts. I wanted a smooth design that would show the theme well.
5. Pattern
For Pattern, I experimented with a range of colours and scales with typography. Mixing and matching with shapes.
6. Masculine
With Masculine I wanted to used bold colours and play with different scales and positions of my type.
Book covers:
This next project was about designing an A5 book cover in the style of 3 different artists.
These artists were: El Lissitzky, Peter Grundy, and Vaughn Oliver.
The book covers had to each present a different novel, those were: 1984, Oliver Twist, and Little Women.
These artists were: El Lissitzky, Peter Grundy, and Vaughn Oliver.
The book covers had to each present a different novel, those were: 1984, Oliver Twist, and Little Women.
Research:
Vaughan Oliver: Artist Research
Vaughan Oliver was a British graphic designer from Surrey who was best known for his work with graphic design studios, 23 Envelope and V23. He studied at Newcastle Polytechnic / University of Northumbria before moving to London in the late 1970s. This is where he met Ivo Watts Russell, who was the founder of 4AD records. Vaughan and Ivo partnered up with a photographer called Nigel Greison, and they went on to work on the vast majority of packaging and visuals for 4AD through their studio, 23 Envelope. In 1988, Greison departed, and Vaughan ended up forming V23, where he teamed up with Chris Bigg and other collaborators and together, they continued designs for several music labels.
From the 1980s to the 90s, Oliver designed for bands such as Cocteau Twins, Lush, and most famously The Pixies. During this time, he provided a significant contrast to mainstream music imagery, and his very distinct approach to graphic design influenced an entire generation of designers. However, in 2008 V23 closed while Oliver still worked on projects for The Pixies, TV on the Radio, The Breeders, and David Lynch.
Vaughan became a graphic designer because he was inspired by music. He was a working class and grew up with no real sense of culture around him. But by the time he was in college he was really into pop-art.
Vaughn Oliver always tried to work texture into his work as he thought that texture and lighting were good ways to convey a mood, and when working within the context of music it's very useful. It was always his goal to suggest the mood of the music through his work.
Oliver said that ever since he was a child, he wanted to design sleeves for records. He wanted to make ‘a mark’ in the graphic design industry, and it was his objective to be ‘fresh’ and not be like anyone else. Money was never a motivator for Oliver, he even started teaching graphic design to students, and loved the idea of passing on what he had learned over the years to a new generation of graphic designers.
Vaughn loved collaborating with other designers, he liked the idea of experiencing a journey with them to create something unique. He worked with people from all different backgrounds and finally got a sense of the culture he lacked in his childhood.
Unfortunately, Vaughn Oliver died at the end of 2019 at the age of 62. Many people paid tribute to his work from over the years on social media mourning the loss of a great graphic designer.
From the 1980s to the 90s, Oliver designed for bands such as Cocteau Twins, Lush, and most famously The Pixies. During this time, he provided a significant contrast to mainstream music imagery, and his very distinct approach to graphic design influenced an entire generation of designers. However, in 2008 V23 closed while Oliver still worked on projects for The Pixies, TV on the Radio, The Breeders, and David Lynch.
Vaughan became a graphic designer because he was inspired by music. He was a working class and grew up with no real sense of culture around him. But by the time he was in college he was really into pop-art.
Vaughn Oliver always tried to work texture into his work as he thought that texture and lighting were good ways to convey a mood, and when working within the context of music it's very useful. It was always his goal to suggest the mood of the music through his work.
Oliver said that ever since he was a child, he wanted to design sleeves for records. He wanted to make ‘a mark’ in the graphic design industry, and it was his objective to be ‘fresh’ and not be like anyone else. Money was never a motivator for Oliver, he even started teaching graphic design to students, and loved the idea of passing on what he had learned over the years to a new generation of graphic designers.
Vaughn loved collaborating with other designers, he liked the idea of experiencing a journey with them to create something unique. He worked with people from all different backgrounds and finally got a sense of the culture he lacked in his childhood.
Unfortunately, Vaughn Oliver died at the end of 2019 at the age of 62. Many people paid tribute to his work from over the years on social media mourning the loss of a great graphic designer.
Peter Grundy: Artist Research
Peter Grundy is one of the world's leading information designers. An information designer is someone who presents information in a way that is an efficient and very effective way of understanding information. They create things like infographics, charts, maps etc.
He went to The Royal College of Art in the late 1970s, this is where he met Tilly Northedge, they both became interested in visual communication that explained rather than sold things. Together, they decided to partner up and in 1980 they started a studio studying and doing information design, which they called Grundy and Northedge. Then over the next 26 years they created a unique visual language using wit and humor.
At the end of those 26 years, in 2006, Tilly retired which led Grundy to start ‘Grundini’. He stopped creating large projects and moved onto creating smaller ones instead. He ventured beyond information design and into brand and advertising.
Grundy was most influenced by a German designer that taught him that the use of colour is a language as powerful as typography.
One of his earlier projects included a cover for Uk Design council's magazine ‘Design’. Grundy and Northedge were asked to create a diagram for the cover that would depict the efficiency of steam locomotives.
Together, they created an illustration of a toy train and presented it to the editor, who thought that they were joking, however, Grundy and Northedge said that they intended the design to be fun. This design project ended up making them enormously successful.
The biggest game changer in the industry of information design was the internet. The ability to send digital files led to a boom in their international business. After all of this, it became Grundy’s trademark to create simple designs that inform as well as entertain the viewer.
He went to The Royal College of Art in the late 1970s, this is where he met Tilly Northedge, they both became interested in visual communication that explained rather than sold things. Together, they decided to partner up and in 1980 they started a studio studying and doing information design, which they called Grundy and Northedge. Then over the next 26 years they created a unique visual language using wit and humor.
At the end of those 26 years, in 2006, Tilly retired which led Grundy to start ‘Grundini’. He stopped creating large projects and moved onto creating smaller ones instead. He ventured beyond information design and into brand and advertising.
Grundy was most influenced by a German designer that taught him that the use of colour is a language as powerful as typography.
One of his earlier projects included a cover for Uk Design council's magazine ‘Design’. Grundy and Northedge were asked to create a diagram for the cover that would depict the efficiency of steam locomotives.
Together, they created an illustration of a toy train and presented it to the editor, who thought that they were joking, however, Grundy and Northedge said that they intended the design to be fun. This design project ended up making them enormously successful.
The biggest game changer in the industry of information design was the internet. The ability to send digital files led to a boom in their international business. After all of this, it became Grundy’s trademark to create simple designs that inform as well as entertain the viewer.
El Lissitzky: Artist Research
El Lissitzky was a Russian artist designer, photographer, typographer and architect. He designed many exhibitions and propaganda for the Soviet Union in the early 20th century. His stylistic characteristics and experimentation with production techniques developed in the 1920s to 1930s have influenced graphic design to this day.
In 1919 he was invited by the revolutionary Peoples Art School in Vitebsk to teach architecture and graphics. A painter named Kazimir Malevich also began teaching there, after the director Mark Chagall left, Malevich became the new director of the school. Lissitzky remained the Vitebsk and became one of Malevich’s principal students and followers.
After this, Lissitsky’s Art only progressed further. He began working under ‘El Lissitsky’ and created Suprematist designs for a two-year anniversary celebration of the Vitebsk committee to combat unemployment.
He also designed a series of propaganda posters, the most famous being ‘Beat the whites with the Red Wedge’. During this period is when he started the development of a style of painting in which he used abstract geometric shapes. They were developed in a 3-dimensional space which was a direct contrast to the ideas of suprematist theories which stressed the simplification of shapes and the use of 2-dimensional space only.
Between 1921 and 1925, he was particularly creative. He participated in the production of a series of Art magazines including ‘Suprematicheskii Skaz pro dva kvadrata v6 ti postroykakh’. This roughly translates into ‘A Suprematische Tale about two squares I built for you’. He also met the artist Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, who helped transmit Lissitzky’s ideas on art to western Europe and the US through his teaching at the Bauhaus.
However, Lissitzky died of tuberculosis six months after Hitlers invasion of Russia.
In 1919 he was invited by the revolutionary Peoples Art School in Vitebsk to teach architecture and graphics. A painter named Kazimir Malevich also began teaching there, after the director Mark Chagall left, Malevich became the new director of the school. Lissitzky remained the Vitebsk and became one of Malevich’s principal students and followers.
After this, Lissitsky’s Art only progressed further. He began working under ‘El Lissitsky’ and created Suprematist designs for a two-year anniversary celebration of the Vitebsk committee to combat unemployment.
He also designed a series of propaganda posters, the most famous being ‘Beat the whites with the Red Wedge’. During this period is when he started the development of a style of painting in which he used abstract geometric shapes. They were developed in a 3-dimensional space which was a direct contrast to the ideas of suprematist theories which stressed the simplification of shapes and the use of 2-dimensional space only.
Between 1921 and 1925, he was particularly creative. He participated in the production of a series of Art magazines including ‘Suprematicheskii Skaz pro dva kvadrata v6 ti postroykakh’. This roughly translates into ‘A Suprematische Tale about two squares I built for you’. He also met the artist Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, who helped transmit Lissitzky’s ideas on art to western Europe and the US through his teaching at the Bauhaus.
However, Lissitzky died of tuberculosis six months after Hitlers invasion of Russia.
Above is process work for my book covers I was asked to create. I had to create 3 different covers in different artists styles.
Below is the three finished designs.
Oliver twist was done in the style of Vaughan Oliver, Little women was done in the style of Peter Grundy, and 1984 was done in the style of El Lissizky.
Below is the three finished designs.
Oliver twist was done in the style of Vaughan Oliver, Little women was done in the style of Peter Grundy, and 1984 was done in the style of El Lissizky.
Finished images:
Vaughan Oliver:
For my Oliver Twist rendition I wanted to follow with Vaughan's designs. I love the way he uses photography and editing to create these amazing designs, and I really wanted to recreate that here. So I did a lot of research on Oliver twist images and storyline and used photoshop to edit them in a way I think Vaughan would have.
For my Oliver Twist rendition I wanted to follow with Vaughan's designs. I love the way he uses photography and editing to create these amazing designs, and I really wanted to recreate that here. So I did a lot of research on Oliver twist images and storyline and used photoshop to edit them in a way I think Vaughan would have.
Peter Grundy:
For my Little Women rendition I wanted to recreate the simplicity of Peter's design. I love how his work is so simple yet it is so complex. I did research on his design as well as research on Little Women as I had never read it before. I looked at character designs in both aspects of the novel and Peter's design work.
For my Little Women rendition I wanted to recreate the simplicity of Peter's design. I love how his work is so simple yet it is so complex. I did research on his design as well as research on Little Women as I had never read it before. I looked at character designs in both aspects of the novel and Peter's design work.
El Lissitzky:
For my 1984 rendition, I aspired to follow El's passion for bold designs. I love his use of distinctive colours and patterns to create very unique designs. I researched Lissitzky's design work as well as the 1984 book my George Orwell so I could see where I could overlap with design.
For my 1984 rendition, I aspired to follow El's passion for bold designs. I love his use of distinctive colours and patterns to create very unique designs. I researched Lissitzky's design work as well as the 1984 book my George Orwell so I could see where I could overlap with design.
Lyrics Booklet:
This project was to make an 8 page book based on a selected song. I chose the song 'Les Fleurs' by Minnie Riperton. There had to be lyrics on every page (excusing front and back covers) and it had to show a story of the song. Below is a the video of the song i chose.
Research:
Research:
Planning and rough sketches:
I wanted the book to be in a children's book style, and I listened to the lyrics many times before deciding on what narrative i wanted to go for. I ended it by choosing the main story being about a flower and a little girl as seen below.
The story follows a flower making its way through a field and meeting a young girl venturing through the same field. The flower wants to grow and to be loved by someone. The flower is a symbol for power and beauty and whoever wears the flower claims said beauty and power.
The story follows a flower making its way through a field and meeting a young girl venturing through the same field. The flower wants to grow and to be loved by someone. The flower is a symbol for power and beauty and whoever wears the flower claims said beauty and power.
