AOI Prize for Illustration 2017

I'm going to enter the AOI's Prize for Illustration 2017 - Sounds of the City. I'm going to treat this as a quick brief, as a challenge. To spend no more than a few days on it maximum. And also because the deadline is looming closer and closer and I have other things to do too! I have a few ideas for posters, but must investigate if you can enter more than once.

The prizes are no doubt an incentive for this project- as well as the what looks like fair treatment of winners and the merchandising of their work. There is also going to be an exhibition with the 100 runners up, and I can't deny that the more chance of *winning* something in a competition makes it more tempting.

Audience/ themes things to consider:

• family friendly- so as well as keeping it non-explicit (not sure I would anyway) it should probably also be simple to understand. This isn't a heavily conceptual piece, and I think something easy is also favourable in this circumstance. It's ok to play to judges a little.

INSPIRATION: listen to Blur's Park Life 10 times in a darkened room to understand what London is really about

EDIT: I found out that you can enter more than once! I'm going to start one idea today, and if I have more time after it do the second idea, which I think I would have to create on a larger format and right now I don't have the tools for it.

Fuzzy Logic rebrand 2016/17

A poster for each term / flyer fronts

[I talk about how I wanted to approach this year's Fuzzy Logic work here]

(flyer backs)

We all wanted something less geometric and restrictive for this year. I was given a lot of freedom for this, with guidance for something simple, based on A/W 16 Pantone colours. Largely something that would be decorative and people would want to put on their walls*. Less instruments this year, but not as wildly character based and silly as the first year.

It's definitely something smoother and simpler than I would usually consider myself making- but I'm always keen to draw moody people and faces. I think I could have played more with the figures in this and regret that. The smoking face was just a face at first and the smoking was suggested by Fuzzy- honestly it was a little unexpected but you've just got to be aware of the brand. I had no issues with drawing someone smoking, it's not an ethical thing I'm concerned about re: its audience (18-25 year olds).

*I once got a message about someone pulling a Fuzzy '14/15 dog off the street wall to take home, truly a compliment. People like figurative things.

Fuzzy Logic: Summer Fiesta / Dead Musician's Ball

My first two projects for Fuzzy this summer, though DMB is actually much later than other events.

 

I have linked these two together because they were made before the 2016/17 rebrand was made, so are a little disjointed from the series (although DMB was the first to use the new logo and text style). These were two posters I struggled with compositionally and feel were maybe fell a little flat compared to what I aspire to.

New logo: new shape new movement that compactly fits into posters/ promo better as well as looking slicker. The old logo was feeling a little fluffy/ cutesy for my taste.

[I talk about how I wanted to approach the Fuzzy Logic work this year here]

Flamenco Sketches - Design Process

[I talk about the process of getting this job and working with the designer in this post]

The Brief: poster for comedy improv event in London.

Moods / themes required: flamenco dancers, humour

 

 

 

I began sketching these in my book but transitioned to digital, finding it a little easier to think with the colours for this brief. 

Above were the initial sketches I sent to Conor. He had commented on my good use of 'movement' and had selected images I had made before so I knew which tracks to tread. 

I haven't really worked on anything *funny* before. I enjoyed the initial sketches, and so did he, but we both agreed that it needed to be more in your face about the humour for it to come across as advertising for a comedy night. So we went sillier, more expressive- music notes to express the musical aspect, banana skin for the funnies. It's all a bit obvious but really that's what you need in advertising! It's hard to advertise something without actually hinting towards it in a literal manner- hard but not impossible. One day I'd like to crack that.

 

It was refreshing to paint the base for the poster. I was struggling with hand lettering the majority text so tried a font option... I'm not sure if it's my thing but was well received. Composition wise I strive to be more complex, to paint neater- but is this so necessary?

Update! he lettered it himself, I feel like I should have tried a little harder with the words, but in the end it came together. It's pretty cool to have a piece that is collaborated on.

A-level Results Day @ Fuzzy

It's quite simple but is one of my personal favourite posters to date.  I'm feeling the process of hindsight very much- "what if I had made the rebrand more like this" "what if I had done something brighter for the DMB?" but I can only move forward. The client has been happy with all of the illustrations I have done and that is the most important bit. They all largely fit together as a series, which is also important, though I nitpick that too much and am always thinking about past work that cannot be changed.

some of the sketches I sent off 

With these faces and figures I am starting to establish a visual language of symbols to use for the year's series. I don't want to be too reliant, but also want to create something with consistency. I also do not plan  to use colours that change or clash too wildly from one image to the next, but regardless of everything must make something good for each one. Sometimes that means taking risks, and being different to the other posters. Mostly I think my visual style is quite recognisable to the brand, but wouldn't want to get too big in the boots about that.

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[ I'm working, I have four posts queued with five poster commissions but am waiting for confirmation from clients that they can be published online ] [ more casual work can be found on instagram and tumblr ]