Monday, 30 January 2012

Diamond Coffee


Diamond Coffee is an Asian based product, which is usually aimed at the working class market. The following created this particular advert:

Executive Creative Director: Connie Lo

Creative Director: Nutchanun Chiaphanumas

Art Director: Nateepat Jaturonrasmi

Copywriter: Spring Liu/Nutchanun Chiaphanumas

Illustrator: Remix Studio Bangkok

Photographer: Nok Pipattungkul

The poster is mainly constructed around a photograph, sourced via internet, made in 2011.

The theme of this poster seems to be based on the struggles of working class life. I think the artists main intentions in the piece was to inform the public the difficulties in the daily routine rush, if possible to spare some time for the coffee, it would help you with the work load.

The messages being communicated are that Diamond Coffee is the solution to all problems, in a stressful day-to-day struggle. This is conveyed through the photograph of a lot of people on the man’s shoulders, referring to the common saying “weight on my shoulders” relating back to the main theme of stress. I believe that the intended function is to promote Diamond Coffee as a stress reliever. 

The layout of the poster has a strong influence in the marketing of the product, in how both the photograph of the man with people on his shoulders and the product in the corner with the slogan above it are separately isolated in order to relate to the audience. The background is both dull and blank to focus attention on the reference back to the man function.

The formal element of text has been used effectively, in order to create a sense of imagery for the audience to relate to, improving their marketing techniques. In terms of media and processes the poster focuses highly on photography and editing with the use of the Photo shop program. This improves the adverts effect on the audience giving them a playful visual image to relate to. This advert was most definitely made at a time where the coffee industry was being neglected and people weren’t as appreciative of the effect it had on the day-to-day performance. 

Ian Wright


New York based artist Ian Wright is one of the industry’s best loved and most prolific figures. His work has spanned four decades, including numerous high-profile editorials and record sleeves for the likes of The Face, The NME, Issey Miyake, Bjork, Ian Brown and many others. Ian Wright takes pleasure in making portraits and is hugely influenced by music. Ian Wright’s creative approach to illustration has resulted in a fresh and constant updating of his work into new creative directions, including experimenting with new developments in technology and mixing up techniques and materials whilst creating unique artistic visions.
The theme of this inventive art piece focuses on mystery. The simplicity of the image gives the design its mystery effect. Not only is the theme communicated to the audience further, through how the image is presented in an informal manner but also through slogan that the work features. ‘If you could do anything tomorrow what would it be?’ I think the slogan would definitely make the audience think and look at the art piece further as it’s very engaging and it makes them feel more involved, which I also believe was the artist’s intentions. It’s evident to say that the presentation is incredibly chaotic and very disordered yet effective. This technique is quite distracting as well as fascinating; the unclearness of the art piece almost motivates the audience to want to solve the meaning behind the work. I noticed how in his art piece the word ‘Tomorrow’ appears to be rather undefined; this was to perhaps strengthen the mystery theme further which I thought was a creative and an interesting technique to include. The colours used in this piece of work are mainly red and white which both work well together. The white is conveyed through the use of typography which is quite suitable as the font is reasonably plain and straightforward yet presents a fresh clean effect to the art work. The use of red portrayed as the background colour is an appropriate choice as not only does it stand out better but red can be effect the audience to STOP almost instantly which I believe was the artists intention. The layout and design of the art piece is uncomplicated which makes it more memorable easily recognisable to the audience.

Robert Brownjohn


Robert Brownjohn (1925 – 1970) was a graphic designer. His combination of typography, illustration and objects made him an iconic designer in 1950s New York and 1960s London. He has designed titles for James Bond films, graphics for the Robert Fraser Gallery and artwork for the Rolling Stones. A lot of his inspiration came form sixties pop culture.

The illustration to the right is an example of a piece of work from Brownjohn, Chermayeff & Geismar (BCG). These three artists collaborated to create many commissioned pieces of art for various clients. Much of their work was extremely simple, but just as effective. It was perhaps their simplicity that made them all the more intriguing. The illustration to the right is part of a booklet called ‘Watching Words Move (1959)’ and is extremely fascinating. By using only the top half of the word ‘top’, BCG have given meaning to the word they are portraying and have shown wit in they’re interpretation. More examples of this type of his work are shown to the left.
However, Brownjohn not only explored uncomplicated illustrations. One of his more famous pieces of work would be the title he created for the James Bond film, as shown below. The way in which the words ‘From Russia with Love’ are distortedly written is effective in portraying a mysterious or sinister atmosphere. This was most probably Brownjohn’s aim as James Bond films are thrilling in essence. This more complicated illustration gives us more insight to the typographical talents of Robert Brownjohn. He became sought after for both his simple and intricate means of portraying a message using wit, and is now imprinted into the history of prominent graphic artists.

Tim Mars


Tim Marrs is a BA graduate and Master of Arts. He is widely known for his use of photography, screen printing and photoshop techniques. The inspiration and influence for his work originates from American pop culture, pulp fiction novels, pop art and even polish film posters. His adaptable technique has attracted many clients from advertising, publishing and Graphic design. These include, but are not limited to Nike, Brand Jordan, Asics NYC marathon, Reebok, kswiss, Ogilvy and Mather, Saatchi and Saatchi, Geffen records, Publicis & Hal Riney and orion publishing.

The image on the right is an example of Marrs’ work. It was part of the ad campaign for a Virgin Megastore store opening in Manchester. His mix of drawing, photography, print and digital technique in this advertisement is a prime example of his talent and shows Marrs’ style clearly.

The use of text is key for this piece of his work as it is informative to potential customers. However, instead of just placing the text in a clear and acceptable manner, Marrs has portrayed the information in an imaginative and unique way. The effect of placing the words in such a way that they seem to have been stamped onto the poster, give it an air of authenticity. This idea of realism is supported by the different shades of yellow which provide a worn out look. On the other hand, the image of various digital and musical appliances portrayed in a shape which largely resembles a creature of some sort, hugely contrasts the perhaps normal and real representation that the font and colour of the advertisement may have given.

This is exactly the style of Tim Marrs; he plays on what people view as authentic and combines this, digitally, with his own ideas and illustrations. Much of his work uses a slight faded or smudged effect, trying to emulate legitimacy, but is vastly contrasted by a unique and imaginative edge.

The Adiddas Original advert


The Adiddas Original advert,The Street Where Originality Lives’ was created by the Adidas brand. This advert has been televised, created with use of filming techniques. I chose this advert because it was relevant to the current work I am studying in my graphics course.

I think the main theme being translated through the clip is that Adidas is more then just a trainer it is a solution to hatred. I believe the artist’s intention was to convey the brand as fun and diverse to all races and styles, appealing to more of a youthful targeted market. The key messages being communicated in the advert is that Adiddas as a brand is in touch with the modern expression of originality, creating an alteration in the perception of the brand to the audience. The intended function of the advert is to promote Adiddas as a newly reformed social brand.

The layout and structure of the advert is mainly based in the street and rooftops of buildings. The advert includes a lot of colours in it, insinuating a diversification of characters and styles. The inclusion of young people, confirms the main targeted market in the advert. The formal element, being the opening title, sets the scene for the rest of the advert making it more inspirational.

The media & processes included in this advert simply involve, precise filming techniques, capturing the fun in every scene, encapsulating the theme of the advert. The artist has managed to use a variation both close up and bird’s eye views to communicate the enthusiastic expressive theme. This advert was made at time where Adiddas were trying to diversify their customers by promoting new styles and expressive understanding brand. 

Pioneer


Pioneer has introduced the KURO television with an unusual campaign which promotes the body’s ability for multi-sensory skill. The advert was produced by lee clow and was released at 2008. Lee clow is currently the chairman and global Director of TBWA/worldwide and was formally its chief creative officer. The Advertising Age referred him as the "advertising's art director guru". In this campaign Nadav was the photographer and Becca Morton as the Art director.
The advert features an image of what seems to appear as a hand with five ears on the finger tips alongside an eye placed at the center of the palm the advert completes its final look with a slogan which is seen at the top of the image; ‘seeing and hearing like never before’. The unique slogan was created by Gage Clegg. This advert has various interpretation portrayed to it. The almost obvious would be the illuminati (free mason) due to the eye suggestion. The image of the hand can also be referred to the story of ‘Hamsa’ as it was believed that his right hand stopped all the Seeing Eye. This may have been one of his influences to when creating his pioneer advert. The use of the ‘hand image’ could very much be seen as a STOP hand gesture. This technique is reasonably useful as it may have helped appeal to the audience better as well as resulted them to stop. on the other hand the positioning of the eye and ears is quite bizarre however it complements the slogan well which I believe was a good and successful technique to incorporate. This particular advert is known as ‘shock advertising’ which was reasonably popular at the time. It is clear that Lee Clow did his research well as well as considered all the significant aspects to include in his campaign.

The main colours used in the advert are black and white, which assist into giving the advert a more classic, dark and serious look as well as it also adds a professional appeal to it making it seem more reliable to its audience. The black and white can also give the advert a more gothic outlook therefore promotes an aggressive theme which outlines a mystery effect.
There are various processes and techniques that took part into making this advert. One of them being photo montage, where in this case black and white photographs were taken and layered over each other using Photoshop to create the eye in the palm. Effective use of lighting on the hand may had been applied in Photoshop.

Jenny Tran



Jenny Tran is a female cultural artist, who focuses on the deeper meanings of societies, creating work that influences social movements. An example of her inspirational work is the ‘Fabric of America’ piece.

In this piece, it’s initially an image of the American flag but with further analysis it becomes more apparent that patriotism is not the main idea. The image is made distorted with a scratch like effect on the flag base, disfiguring the original patriotic flag creating the idea rebellion, chaos and manic in the American society.  

This artwork translates various messages through certain aspects and features it holds. The scratch effect is not just a design element, but in fact quotes, found on random anonymous terrorist sites. The use of this aggressive design conveys Jennifer’s passion to let the public know about the major faults the American society holds, threatening the existing society.

The text imprinted in the artwork, “INTOLERANCE DESTROYS THE FABRIC OF AMERICA”, reveals another of Jennifer’s messages, linking with the terrorist quotes. She uses references between her design and text. An example of this is shown through the scratch effect on the fabric of the American flag, similarly related to the statement “destroys the fabric of America”. Jenny also tries to communicate a general message to her audience saying, if you try to go against each other it will “destroy the fabric” of reality as a nation.

Various techniques in media are used in this piece, one of them being photography in terms of the American flag. Another is the illustrative research where text is distorted and placed in different directions and positions (layered over images) using the Illustrator/Photoshop program.

This piece seems like it was made at a time of social chaos and manic in the American society. It could have been made near the times of 9/11, where terrorism was a major issue within the society, affecting the nation as a whole. I chose this artwork because it seemed to have an in depth design to it, communicating that there was more to it then met the eye. Moreover I had to include it in my blog for my Graphic design studies.

Jamie Reid


Jamie Reid was born in 1952. He is a modern British artist whose work, features letters cut from newspaper headlines in the style of ransom notes. He is best known for his works with the Sex Pistols album  "God Save The Queen" based on a photograph of Queen Elizabeth II.

The theme of this piece focuses on rebellion conveyed, in how the picture is of the queen, which has been vandalized, with expressive, vulgar filled graphic design.  The theme is communicated to the audience further, through how the image is presented in an informal manner, parallel to what the queen stands for. It is almost disrespectful, creating an aggressive advertisement of the product, oblivious of social standings and hierarchies.

The use of the text “GOD SAVE THE QUEEN” in ransom note form creates playfulness to the idea of the traditional Queen.  Despite the rebellious theme, the artist manages to put a cross a sense patriotism in his work, through the use of the flag, sending a message to the audience that it purely British artists in the album.

The layout and design of the art piece influences the effect it has on the audience. The use of bright colors draws attention to the cover design making more people interested. The rips in the queen’s face, cleverly mixed with a black and white colour base, portray the album to be aimed more at the rebellious youthful market.

 After my analysis it seems as though there was not that much techniques and methods used to create it. Scanning and photography was used to obtain the picture of both the Queen and Union jack Flag. Basic rip, cut and paste method were used to give the design that rebellious, fun and informal look. This cover was made around the 70’s and 80’s, where rebellion was the craze people were making discoveries, fighting the law and music was making surge in interest, especially amongst the young people. 

Dave McKean


David McKean is an English illustrator, Comic book artist, Graphic designer as well as a musician. David McKean is a very creative graphic artist who has made a lot of artworks for Front Line Assembly. He has also done artworks for artists such as Download, Project Pitchfork, Slayer, Tori Amos, Fear Factory and a whole lot of others. He attended Berkshire College of Art and Design from 1982-1986 and, before leaving; he started working as an illustrator.

I am analyzing one of David McKean’s successful adverts ‘Social Work Adverts’.  The image gives the impression of a map as it includes various symbols as well as signposts which appear to be indications.  I am really intrigued of this particular art piece, as the image of what seems to be a map is not typical. The map doesn’t provide signals to a certain place but however it portrays indications to get in touch with Sonya; ‘Sonya is hard to reach’. This however gives an idea of the journey or even lost love theme. The use of colours applied to this particular art piece appear to be quite old and reasonably dull, this however gives the image a sense of isolation and very much puts emphasis to the theme.
The art work is put together as a planned journey of the main character who appears to be Sonya, one day Sonya will help show someone else the way’. Interestingly to see how the colours gradually get brighter as you go down the map, this is a good use of technique revealing a sense of hope in Sonya’s journey. I also noticed that the writing changes each time from the font including the size, this is to perhaps portray the changes in Sonya’s pace.  I think he did this well and it was a successful use of technique. The message ‘People are isolated’ this is possibly the main message that Dave wants to leave his audience. On the other hand I detected that David used various comical images as well as real photographs of people. I felt that the use of real images gave the advert a more serious appeal.  However incorporating cartoon images offered the advert a humorous look to it, which was quite appealing. McKean also uses post notes expressing hidden memories and feelings; it’s very informal yet creative.

In this particular art piece there are various technical media processes used.
There is photography of people which were possibly scanned onto illustrator.
The use of path tool in illustrator on the text saying “you know she’s really getting somewhere”, which is also a representation of a road.

When David McKean creatively produced this particular art piece social care had a bad reputation as the press constantly published negative factors of the social care industry.  So therefore I believe that this campaign is incredibly useful as it will very much help raise awareness in the defects of faults within social care.

Billie Jean


Billie jean also known as Sam Piyasema is an inventive graphic designer who is based in the UK. In 2004 Billie Jean amazingly worked for the Nike campaign for the celebration of 30 years of Nike basketball shoes. For the campaign he designed traditional yet retro looking trainers, which were a great success and an enormous achievement for him. Billie Jean’s bold drawings were not only inspiring but incredibly creative, his work connected with the younger generation better, which was his targeted audience.

The poster he created ’30 years of Nike Basketball Shoes’ portrayed his ideas and feelings in the last 30 years. To show this he ingeniously to decided to present the poster using sketches of what appears to be his childhood images in relation to Nike. The poster has a very informal appeal to it which not only does it give emphasis to the attraction of the ‘youth’ better but also portrays his personal views and feelings. I noticed how he uses swirls in the poster, to perhaps express his fantasy visually. The use of sharp images can be seen as an aggressive advertisement, however this strong use of aggressive emotion can closely relate to a teenage lifestyle in terms of varied emotions and experience in life. A lot of the images that he drew on his poster appear to be very random, but he intentionally did this to express the mind of a teenager better, which I think he did well. The doodle designs give an impression of a bored teenager sitting in a classroom, which most of us can very much relate to at some point in our life. Interestingly to see that the only colour used in his poster is blue, which expresses a sense of coolness as well as assist in appealing to the youths better. He varies the tone to a darker shade to possibly reveal a more powerful emotion which is a good use of technique.
The main themes being revealed in the creation of the poster was old school basketball as well as the urban lifestyle, this suited the needs of their chosen audience. The presentation overall is exceptionally messy, which expresses the Nike as a tolerant as well as a cool brand. This very much takes us back to the 80’s lifestyle of being free.
When evaluating the poster, it becomes clear that the intended function of it is to celebrate the Nike brand’s development over the past 30 years. This is shown in the context of the centralized trainer.

Billie Jean uses reasonably basic but effective techniques to convey the main theme of the poster, to the public.  He creatively uses a basic biro pen to create his sketches. This technique creates a sense of a child like memory, as well as communicates the retro look appealing to the youth. The images also relates to graffiti and the street lifestyle of the youths. The poster promotes basketball and fashion in an effective manner.