Time to Edit

I felt the photo shoot was really successful and after presenting my images to the students in my class and getting positive feedback I went on to edit my photos in the style that I had previous practiced. Below are a few of my edits;

I felt I woudl experiment with ways of editing as I felt if I had a selection of similar themed but slightly different edits it would ensure my work style had a house stlye but didn't get to recurring or boring. My favourite effect is the high black and white contrast combined with the vertical grain texture effect that gives the image an old style film reel appearance. 

Photo Shoot

After deciding on my desired layout and getting positive feedback from the students around me, I felt it was time to go out and capture my own photos. After a few hours 'facebook' stalking so to speak of my friends I found someone who I felt would be most interesting and also have the style to make the photos most intriguing. To keep with the theme of a 'media exhibition' I decided to hire out a querky film camera to use as a prop. Shown below are a selection of the shots that I took.

Could this be the one?

I began searching the interent for grunge/urban style borders/ textures etc as I felt this would add something more interesting to my work and also create a visual identity as the border would combine with the theme of the pictures and the text.

After finding a few good tutuorials I settled on the background and border you can see above. I felt this border had just enough rugged/ urban detail that it didnt become too overpowering. I became to make a few mock ups of possible layouts, and the bottom one of the three became the one I desired the most to use in my project.

Pin pointing an idea

After flicking through numerous black and white, graphic, urban ( you name it) magazines I began tp pin point an area of interest. I realised after experiments on photoshop that straight up digital graphic design wasn't my strongest element for design. I realised that my best style of design was digital photo manipulation, so I felt that if I could find a media related subject for my shoot I would be away.

After internet browsing I managed to find the photos beneath.






 I took a liking to the second image, the (greyscale one) and went about seeing how I could continue to digitally enhance the image to suit the urbany. graphic/ grunge style design I was hoping for.

Below is how my first edit came out. Through numerous changes in 'contrast, brightness, overlays and blending effects I have found a style of photo manipulation that suited my theme.

Developing my idea

After a long few hours searching blogs, flicks and google images for inspiration, I began to find a pattern in what designs I was attracted to. I already had a vague idea of using black and white, as the potent contrast that is created can be used in various effective ways. However, I had no style/trend as of yet that I could incorporate black and white contrast into. After re-viewing some of my previous designs it struck me that the urban style graphics seemed to be the style that I had the strongest attraction for, therefore I felt if I began to aim my search along these lines I would hopefully find some inspiration.
Below is a selection of images that I found that sparked inspirational thoughts into my mind;

Pictographs

Pictographs have played an effective role in representation, dating back to prehistoric drawings and paintings found on rock walls and caves. A pictograph has become one of the most simplistic but also most established forms of representation. Pictography is a form of writing which uses representational, pictorial drawings to convey meaning, instruction etc.

Although I have previously stated I am extremely fond of the idea of simplistic design, pictogram's are too simple and child like for my liking. Although they have become such a natural part of everyday life I feel pictogram's are only effective for animation, cartoon, or humorous design; like the pictographic story I have created below.

As you can see in the above image that I created, pictogram's have no interest and idea of space and proportion and often are used in design in an humorous way. Below are a few more examples of humorous pictogram's, that are used so often on geeky, graphic t-shirts.

Designs

As a homework task we were ask to combine designs that we found inspirational into an InDesign page. I categorised my ideas into themes such as; black and white urban, watercolour, high speed photography and a focus on the street designer, Banksy.

Above is the page themed ' Urban, black and white'. I am fascinated by the idea of the black and white contrast that is contained within silhouette and stencil work. I will consider the use of embedding small specks of colour within the black and white to add an attractiveness to the work, as seen above, with the small specks of gold.

Above are a few examples found online of high speed photography. I find high speed photography an amazing technique as it captures every minute piece of detail that can only be captured in that split second during the point of contact. If i incorporated high speed photography within my design I would develop my experimental segmentation of the images above, and create an effect of the image shattering, as well as the subject within the image.

 Above is a collection of images using the techniques of 'watercolour' and 'overlay'. These techniques are one my favourites within art and design, as I feel they often combine Banksy's use of silhouette with layers of colour that add an visual aesthetic to an image. If i was to incorporate these techniques into my work, I would steer clear of the use of figures and concentrate on the splats, drips and flicks of paint that I feel are so simple but add such an attractiveness and eye catching feel to the above images.

Last, but by no means least is my focus on Banksy. The above image contains a selection of Banksy's work, all of which incorporate the use of silhouette. As Banksy has proved within his work, silhouettes are so simple but yet so effective. My favourite out of this selection is the 'scissors' image and the 'cctv' image. In my opinion this is the epitome of design; simple, clever and witty design that often suggests and leaves the underlying message up to the audiences imagination, rather than putting it on a plate for them.