Print and Pattern Research and Lisa Stannard Talk

Initial Research

Using the boards provided by Digetex, I have chosen to focus on CAMOUFLAGE as my main theme, and intend to delve into other such as SILHOUETTE, PAINT EXPLOSION, and GEOMETRIC. I may end up using others, especially techniques such as watercolour and linear drawing.

For camouflage I first thought of animals who blend into their environment, but researched online and watched some DAVID ATTENBOROUGH documentaries and found species that impersonate other animals, such as a butterfly that mimics an owl and a caterpillar that cons ants into looking after it by emitting certain pheromones. I also looked back through my photo archive and found pictures of chameleons, famous for camouflage but actually change colour according to mood, and objects such as phone box fish tanks and trees that have been yarn bombed that are not all they seem on the outside. 

There also are scorpions that glow under UV light and appear completely different. The idea of being hidden and masks is quite interesting, the contrast between perceived look or function and actual purpose. This could come into my work in some way later on. In terms of colour I plan to go through my photos and come up with a relevant colour palette, that incorporates the bright colours that some animals use to blend in with flowers or coral for example. I also plan to visit Manchester Museum to take some more photographs, and generally look out for objects masquerading as other things or that aren't quite what they seem. I also realised that this concept was a part of my previous project 'Sinister Vintage' where motifs taken from war memorabilia were made to form pretty patterns on initial inspection.

For our first tutorial we had to put together 2 development boards, one focussed on theme and one on context/relevant artists. I haven't really put together boards before, so I tried experimenting with layout on photoshop. The grouping worked quite well, but looking back on them I feel like I need more space in between them and generally fewer images. I could also show which images are more important by increasing their scale. Also I could have less text, and rely on my blog to explain my approach and intention. For the context/artists board (top) only one wallpaper company actually provided a context image on their website, so the rest of the images are block patterns. 

Another artist I contacted for work experience in the last project, Deborah Bowness, produces wallpaper that resembles real everyday objects, and is an effective example of the kind of work I could produce for this brief. 

Lisa Stannard Talk

An ex MMU student, Lisa Stannard came to speak with us about her work as a freelance designer/illustrator. She emphasised that just because you want to follow TRENDS, it doesn't mean that they have to come from fashion, or that you actually have to follow them; they are only a starting point to develop work from. Sources can range from music to food to books, and generally have a good CULTURAL LIFE will enrich your research and work. This is reassuring to me as I like to work from a range of sources and am not worried about strictly adhering to trends.

I asked Lisa to have a look at my development boards (above) as I know they are a weak point of mine. She advised that they would benefit from being less crowded, and to consider overlapping images, and only taking key features from a few of them, eg. cutting out a flower from its background.  More important images could be made much larger and once a colour swatch has been chosen that could be added on as well. Also she suggested playing with text, perhaps using it vertically, and trying out different fonts. To make it look more sleek, I could use the View rulers section in Photoshop to ensure all the borders are the same width. 

I had altered the colour of text used and the way it was used (upper and lower case, blended colour for the word 'camouflage' so it began to blend in with the page) but hadn't considered fonts. Also I now feel there is generally too much text on the page. My layout is better than my single prior attempt with producing boards, but still has a long way to go! Lisa is definitely right in that practice is the way forward. For my next project I will take these suggestions on board and be a lot more selective with my images and themes.