The Learning Agreement is done and handed in. After a few days of frustration and long hours in front of InDesign, it is all ready and gone in. There are obviously a lot of things that could be improved for such a document, especially in terms of presentation, paper choice and layout but it got to a stage that could be paused and presented, so I hope it is fine.
Now all focus goes to the setting up of the exhibition which starts in less than two weeks..
Some photos of the Table taken today at the photography studio at Leeds Met.
An extremely intimate moment with me and the table :)
I am thinking of using the template that I have started designing, for the learning agreement presentation. Since the book is going to be presented as work in progress, then maybe this smaller document is a good chance to try it out. Here are some basic page layouts.
I moved today in the kitchen. Just to change room or whatever I see in front of me everyday. It is a bit frustrating being at the same place all the time, seeing the same things around you and hearing the same sounds again and again.
A small change I thought, which might result on either some ispiration (from the pans?) or some extra weight (due to the strategic distance between workspace and the fridge)..
The Learning Agreement is driving me insane!
This is a second idea for the exhibition poster. I am trying to represent both schools (Graphic Arts and Design + Contemporary Fine Art Practice) on the same poster by placing the title on two different typefaces.
The solid, clean and really defined type on the back is set in Politca, a clear sans font which has a lot similar properties with graphic design. On top of this I am placing type on a quite more abstract way that is identifying properties that are related with fine art and the freedoms that such a field has. This type is created by taking the original Helvetica letters and braking their snap points to more random positions, altering the type in a more abstract shapes with random outcomes (not particularly nice or eye pleasing).
The combination of these two types of type are showing somehow the unity and uniqueness of the school of Art at Leeds Met.
One idea could be screenprinting the two layers with two different colors. Maybe the bottom type (graphic design) could be in one of the basic CMYK colors whereas the top layer could be on a different tint of the same color establishing as well the expendable research and freedoms that fine art has opposed to the restrictions of graphics.
This surely does not try to place graphic design into a more trapped possition of lack of freedom or constraints but is more of an attempt to represent the similarities of these two disciplines (and the thin line that one becomes the other and so on..)
This is just another idea thought and maybe tomorrow is going to be something else!
Today I spent the whole day at the Leeds Met Printmaking studios printing for the last time on the Table. This time it was the final part of the project (well almost) and we printed the data of the whole project (people involved, cost, dates, table data etc) on the four sides. It was a challenging process as we could not place the table on the printers so it had to be done on the floor. Dick and Sarah were there and once more they were of great help with all the printing. Unfortunately almost at the end of the day, while we were trying to print on the fourth side, we had a small accident and one of the legs came off! Nothing major though as the table is already in the woodworking studios and the nice people there will fix it for next week.
That’s all for now; back to the poster and the learning agreement..
I am currently focusing on the writing of the Learning Agreement. I find it a bid difficult to identify the most important parts of this MA. Most of the experiences were (and still are) a vital part of the research and experimentations that I was doing all year.
I also started putting some ideas together for the exhibition poster for the MA Graphic Arts and Design course as well as the Contemporary Fine Art Practice in Leeds Metropolitan University.
The exhibition is going to run after the assessments for both courses which is the 20th and 21st September on H Block's 6th and 8th floor.
I will soon come back with some more ideas for the poster. Until then, just a first idea of basic typography. I particularly liked the character of this font (Politica) on its different weights. I believe it manages to promote the contemporary character of the course but at the same time, its clarity and legibility can also represent some of the core values of the course.
I keep on coming back at these photos. Today playing with vinyl cut and stuck on top of a print. The feeling of the mat vinyl on top of the glossy paper has some really nice qualities. I don't really know what I want to do with these photos but it is an interesting process.
you can see previous posts about them here and here
I recently had a projector at home. It is great fun to see photographs and work in such a big size. All I did was to pick the camera and started shooting pictures in between the transitions of the slideshow. Some new grids? I love the results without any particular reason.
Here you can see the original post on the photos.
Another layout plan of the A4 format for the book. This time with worked out distances, grids and text sizes. Still developing..
An almost complete list of illustrations for the book. There are a couple subjects still missing and the format of them is obviously going to change in terms of printing methods, sizes and shapes.
Possible variations of layouts on an A4 page. The grid is a simple grid that is formed of a 5mm edge around the page and a central grid line vertically on each page. The two horizontal lines are calculated from the golden section which manages to create a sense of calmness and legibility.
Some book spreads from the three books mentioned below. Studies of grids pictures relating to text, different font sizes, hand-drawn sketches, architectural plans, photographs.
Trying to find intresting books for inspiration, what better choice can someone have but looking at these three great publications. Truth is I have never been able to read them all but I think this is part of them too. They are great sources of inspiration, books that you can easily open randomly and read jumping around sections and chapters. The information can be read in various ways, linearly or randomly, refering from page to page and to different subjects / section. There are hidden stories to be discovered, clues to understand and look for more. Parallel stories or short narratives that develop in secret ways (and grids).
I am particularly enthousiastic about the ways that they manage to hold all this information (they are 1330+, 440+, 530+ pages each). Obviously I won't even try to get up to these sizes (I don't even have so much work!) but I would be interested on designing the book in such a way that can be read in different ways.
