Billboard carvings

Brilliant use of old billboard posters! The article and work raises the point that over time, old posters aren't ever removed, just papered over... What a waste! Here, a carving makes use of this fact, and uses the layering to create a further work of art.

http://1800recycling.com/2011/01/urban-bas-relief-recycle-billboard-posters/

RSVP: a negative response

Initial thoughts on this took me to the way in which the public react negatively when confronted with an invitation to respond.

We are often asked - through flyers, posters, or people we pass by - to attend things, sign up to things etc. Often we're not at all interested. Here are a couple of ways in which we react negatively to an invitation.

In the case of flyers, most end up here:

In the case of posters, a visible reaction is less common, but could result in this:

My idea proposes that there are a number of ways in which we can "RSVP" negatively which are more than just ignoring the invitation. Sometimes the invitation to one thing encourages us to feel invited to another, out of a reaction to something we may not agree with.

Ways in which this could be resolved in a visual situation:

1. Through looking at invites/flyers which are designed to be binned. People are going to bin them anyway, why not help them out?
2. The de-facing of posters. This could lead to a number of visual responses: using humour, violence, shock tactics etc., to actively respond negatively to a particular campaign.
3. Using bins, or anti-RSVP methods to bring about a positive outcome. How about people voting for an issue by placing the promotional flyer in a particular bin?

PAWPRINTS

All work/development can be found on www.phil-pawprints.blogspot.com

Research/ideas can be found on this blog, or on Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/philwynne/

Guardian advert

Thought this was brilliant - cheers to Benjy for showing me this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDGrfhJH1P4

Website design

I posted some images of the new BBC Sport website recently, and I just found this blog on how the we site was designed, road-tested etc. I thought it was a useful insight into a process which often isn't made apparent in light of a finished product.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2012/02/bbc_sport_design_live.html

Promoting handwriting as an alternative to typing/texting

My campaign/brand/initiative will primarily focus on the way in which handwriting allows a much more personalised approach to words than the clinical world of type and text. Everyone has a different handwriting style, and this is to be embraced.

When writing something by hand, a personality comes through on the page – a personality that can't be achieved by using Baskerville, say. The brand will reinforce this idea, and go on to say that it is only by us embracing our own handwriting styles that we can truly capture the meaning of our words. That is, by penning our thoughts in our own unique hand, we have a much more personal connection with the letters, and can begin to take more ownership of the words which flow out of our minds, mouths, and fingers.

The target audience would most likely be those most influenced by the digital typography revolution, the young. It is in this demographic where handwriting is seen the least. The brand would therefore appeal to an audience more at ease with a Twitter feed than a hand-written shopping list, for example.

The overall aim of the brand is to encourage the audience to take up a nearby writing instrument, and see what they can create with it language-wise. It will spur viewers on to write more personally and to win back the meanings of the words they speak. These aims will be achieved by an engaging visual identity palette, which would showcase ways in which handwritten sentences can be more exciting and liberating than other methods.

Some practical ways in which this would be achieved would be by locating the initiative in an environment that the target audience is familiar with. Typed words would be reproduced by hand, and put out onto the internet via mediums such as Twitter (pictures of handwritten tweets could be posted), and references to popular culture could be made visible – all in a particular handwriting style.

Web Research

When considering how a visual identity palette could influence a set of webpages/microsites, the new-look BBC range of sites is a brilliant source of inspiration:

In particular, the new sport section has impressed me - a simple yet stylish design which both mirrors the style achieved on other areas of the BBC's webpages, and is totally individual (perhaps due to it's very yellow nature!).

As you can see, the home and weather pages feature many of the same design ideals - single colour blocks, with images partially cut into by text boxes.

Viral video research

Stumbleupon is a great resource for finding things like this - it sends you from site to site all linked by the topic you've chosen to "stumble". The sites tend to be of pretty good quality too.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1DDivI/www.techipedia.com/2010/viral-video-traits/

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2Z7BCv/www.ugo.com/the-goods/the-50-awesomest-viral-videos-under-30-seconds-long-1?page=9/

This one specifically shows videos used for marketing campaigns:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/24bODL/www.blogstorm.co.uk/the-top-10-viral-marketing-campaigns-of-all-time/

Plenty of these videos are so well known that I haven't posted the videos themselves, these sites reference several more too, but I haven't time to watch all of them!

Paint Sculptures

I loved this - really imaginative and really cool. They attach a membrane over a speaker, and then drip some ink on the membrane. At the point the sound is played, a series of cameras take the photos.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/4z7uRk/www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/11774/dentsu-paint-sound-sculptures.html/

Handwriting: Visual Research

These first few are from the first site I posted - I love the different characters that come through with the different handwriting styles - lots of individuality.

These are some examples of how artists have used handwritten calligraphy to create a variety of visuals - all of which couldn't have been created with as much character if produced digitally.

A cracking video here, shows two people creating letters of the alphabet - one a child:

I've also researched from a wide variety of book, as you can see here! Scans of images are located in a flip file.

Handwriting

Some useful/fun/engaging sites that have got me started on the "handwriting vs technology" briefs:

I'll start with my favourite: http://www.themaninblue.com/articles/handwritten_typographers/ 
I love the "I'm name and this is my handwriting" - it suggests a really personal link between the character of the person and the aesthetics of their script. Another arty one here: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/04/07/beautiful-handwriting-lettering-and-calligraphy/ - examples of handwriting being incorporated into art pieces.

This got me thinking, and I found this: http://handwriting.feedbucket.com/start.php, which analyses your handwriting style through a series of questions, and tell you what kind of person you are... It didn't really work for me, but there are other more in-depth tests to identify character from handwriting - this is called graphology.

Finally, some blog posts which caught my eye about this very debate - one wittily called "The Handwriting on the Wall", and another website titled "Write or Wrong" which is entirely dedicated to the subject.

There are images from these sites, and image I've sourced in a number of books, but I'll post those some other time.

Micro-sites/Interactive toys

I love these - dead interactive and fun:

http://www.drawastickman.com/
http://www.incredibox.fr/

Comedy Carpet

Here are some pictures I took at the Comedy Carpet in Blackpool. Really nice, interactive way of dealing with type - apparently it can all be read from the top of the tower!

Type and video

Thought this was interesting in terms of a city and typography... Good, eh?

Branding Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton doesn't get a particularly good press, so a new “brand” for the city would have to focus on positive areas of Wolves which people may not be aware of.

Visually, the city is a busy clash of different architectural styles, with some classic architecture being present in building such as the public library and St. Peter's Church etc.. These types of buildings are flanked by more modern developments such as the new bus station. Contrary to belief, the city is quite green, with a variety of trees and greenery – not only in park such as West Park, but lining even the busiest shopping streets in the city centre.

In terms of industry, there is great tradition in steel, wool and the like, with many old factories scattered around the outskirts of the Wolverhampton area. The area is famed for the breweries of Banks's and Marston's, and the industry links aren't stopping there. The proposed Jaguar factory near Wolverhampton shows that this is a place in which businesses are happy to be based. This has a knock-on effect in terms of jobs, an area in which growth would be welcome.

Culturally, the area is rich – in terms of history there is plenty to be explore, and much can be discovered about music and art, spanning most of the last century to today. People are personable and friendly, but in a way which makes them unique to other areas of the country. Helped by a strong dialect/slang which all people are a party of, the inhabitants of the area offer something different to those from other cities – there's a sense of unity which stretches across the West Midlands in this way.

Wolves is a diverse place, where many different ethnicities, backgrounds, social statuses meet. There is a vast array of religious buildings (churches, Gurdwaras, Mosques) in the city – a reference to the spiritual growth of the area. This diversity does not cause divide, but tolerance in unity.

Overall, the picture of Wolverhampton could be seen to be growth. Still a relatively new classified city, Wolves is placing itself on the map with exciting new ventures, investment in the cities, new companies coming to the area, and a growing population. Any brand could also focus on the diversity here, coupling that with the unity and togetherness the area exudes. The city's motto of “Out of darkness comes light” illuminates the idea that Wolves is a city on the up, and this needs to be reflected in the branding.