Frames - Studio Brief 01 - OUGD405

I chose to do my primary research in Wilkinson's as I thought that it was my first port of call when I thought of a photo frame.

I decided to take a few pictures of the photo frame isles to gather various information on layout and design of the photo frame inserts.

At the end of an isle as pictured her, I found that every single design used was generic, the only difference between frames were the sizes that were stated on the front of them.

"Brighten up your space." The use of incorrect grammar and an awful 'curly' type made me realise these frames were possibly the worst example of an insert.

The same as every other frame but with the addition of "For golden memories.".

To conclude my quite disappointing findings, I quickly realised how not to execute this task, I think the use of a lot of white space makes it look cheap and 'basic'. As my target audience is that authentic 'Made locally' aesthetic, I knew I had to virtually do the opposite to this.

This is why I chose to create something that supports local shops and would appeal to the audience it is made for.

Final Designs - Design Process - OUGD405

My previous blog post shown how I manipulated images I had captured of local buildings to create a kaleidoscope effect.

This post will describe how I have created my final designs presented in the correct manor, for example size and text added via Illustrator.

All of the designs have been made to support local shops within Leeds as they are all symbolistic buildings from the heart of the city.

6x4 - The Holborn Tower (Actual Size)

By adding the text in Illustrator I was able to keep a consistency in the text and make it larger for the other 2 posers without any pixel distortion.

7x5 - The Broadcasting Tower (Actual Size)

My font of choice was Baskerville. This is because I think it doesn't take your attention too much away from the main image and it's a timeless classic, kind of how a building should look.

8x6 - Opal 3 (Actual Size)

Overall I am pleased with the outcomes I have produced, I think they represent my research in a good light. The concept of supporting local shops was also a bonus as it is a strong USP for the consumer in this day and age.

Image Manipulation - Design Process - OUGD405

This post will explain the process in which I used to give my images the kaleidoscope effect within Photoshop.

Beginning with my 6x4 image, the Holborn Towers.

To begin, I dragged thew image in, flipped and rotated 3 other duplicates of the picture to get the desired effect.

Then by using the marque tool, I selected a triangular portion of the whole image and flipped it vertically.

Then with he remaining sides, repeated the step and the image below shows the end result once I'd moved it into position.

Here is the finished piece without any changes.

To give the image a bit more backbone. I used the magic wand to select all the white and deleted it. Then by using the square tool, I created a black background behind the layer of the building (Which I had now merged as I was happy to flatten it.

Whilst I like the effect adding a black background gave the image, I think the image looked too pure keeping the colour. So I converted it to black and white and then repeated the buildings to make it look as if there was a circle within the outer rectangles.

To give the image more of an impact, I upped the saturation by +50.

Finally repeating the image once more made it look like an optical illusion, something of which I wanted to reflect within the final outcomes.

7x5 image, Broadcasting Tower.

This was made using a very similar technique to the one above so I won't go into great depth on how it was made.

Step 1 shows the repetition of the original image being rotated/flipped.

Step 2 adding the black background.

Step 3 applying a black and white filter.

Step 4 cutting the corner in which I think shows the most diversity in shape via the polygonal lasso.

Step 5 shows the repetition stages to resemble the kaleidoscope effect correctly.

Step 6 shows how the final pieces go together, Kind of like a jigsaw puzzle.

Step 7 is showing how I selected the inner square portion using the polygonal lasso, then creating a new layer via copy.

Finally, Step 8 is where I made the previous selection smaller and repeated it to create a circle in the centre of the image.

8x6, Opal 3 Accommodation.

Same applies to the other 2 images, along with different shapes to give a bit of diversity within the series.

This is probably my favourite out of the three as it shows a good range of dark and light colours yet not as sharply as the broadcasting tower image. Hence the reason I have chosen to this to represent the largest photo frame of the three, 8x6 inches.

Image - Design Process - OUGD405

As this module tells you to focus primarily on shape to create your designs, I have chosen a few images I have taken throughout my time in Leeds of interesting buildings. As these are all rectangular, I can manipulate these images and still maintain that relationship between shape and using the images to create texture within the shapes.

6x4 = Holborn Tower.

7x5 = Broadcasting Tower.

8x6 = Opal 3.

As you can see, I have chosen to create a series of images that all represent Leeds in different lights.

Holborn Tower, Leeds.

Broadcasting Tower, Leeds.

Opal 3 Student Accommodation, Leeds.

As you can tell, I have chosen buildings that show a good range of shape within the image, they have all been cropped and a white background added to show how they represent their unique shapes through an outline.

I will later show how I am going to manipulate these images in photoshop to render a kaleidoscope effect.

Mattia Mognetti - Design Process - OUGD405

Mattia Mognetti is a photographer and digital artist who continuously uses the kaleidoscope effect within his architectural photography.

I think using his work to influence my own will be highly beneficial to me as this is the style I wish to pursue in my three images/designs.

I have chosen to study a selection of images from his 'Istigkeit' series. These images all show consistency through using the repetitive and manipulative effect of kaleidoscope making these images unique and unusual. I want to use this ethos throughout my own workings to ensure I keep the design interesting and eye catching.

This effect is created by repeating the image 4 times and rotating/mirroring the image whilst maintaining the centre point where all 4 images meet.

Here is another great piece and probably my favourite of his images as it really emphasises the use of shape within his work, I could reflect this in my own work as it really emphasises his use of shape in his photographs.

This image incorporates all kinds of shape within it. I like how the circle in the centre and the rectangles sprouting out of it shows a contrast between them.

The image above is more of an optical illusion generated in the same style as kaleidoscope, this particular illusion is called the Penrose triangle, or more widely referred to as the 'Impossible triangle'. I like the idea of incorporating illusions into my images as this would make the consumer want to look at the frame and therefore increase its buying appeal.

I think this image exudes high class. It looks very extravagant and would appeal to people with an expensive taste as it looks very metallic and 'shiny'. Bearing in mind this is all generated by shapes occurring in architectural photography.

Here is an example of quiet a grainy image that has been repeated 4 times, similar to the images above, but this image has more of a rustic feel to it. This wouldn't work as well as a frame backing paper as I think the image has to compliment the frame it goes into. I think this is a bit too rough around the edges to suite this type of product.

Kaleidoscope Research - Design Process - OUGD405

Whilst idea generating for this brief I stumbled across a good use of imagery that could be incorporated in the frames I am designing.

Kaleidoscope

Traditionally, a Kaleidoscope is an instrument which uses the reflection of mirrors within a tube to create an illusion type effect to the viewers eye through a single tube.

Here are a few examples of where the kaleidoscope effect has been used in photography. I think using this effect could really make the frame stand out of the rest and draw the attention away from the frame housing and more to the content of frame. This giving the consumer more of an idea of how the frame will look with an image in it. I also like this idea as it doesn't use any cheesy cliche family photographs or landscapes.

Negative Space - Design Principles - OUGD404

During this session of design principles, we had to learn about the advantages of using negative space within design, and how it can convey more than just a word or an object, but a message within these subjects.

The famous FedEx logo in greyscale with an arrow within the 'Ex' to represent their company, delivering goods.

To begin the task I had to choose a word I thought would be effective to represent in such a way. I found that choosing a word was not the difficult part. It was thinking of what I could incorporate into the word that was harder for me. I knew it had to be quick and witty, so once I'd narrowed it down to one word I brain stormed the best options I could take.

Initial idea: I chose coffee as I enjoy it and think it would be easier for me to think of idea's for something I'm interested in.

Expanding on the previous idea, I chose to discard the idea of the letters 'e' being a mug as I thought it was a bit repetitive.

Furthering my idea development I chose to draw it in a different style. This design flows better than the other two but still lacks an effective use of negative space.

 The previous designs led me to create this. I will obviously have to refine the 'e' to resemble a cup when vectorised but I think it has worked out as I set out for it to.

Scanning the image into Adobe Illustrator helped me establish where I needed to put anchor point and add the correct curves. As you can tell I chose to use a single 'e' instead of both as I think it still gets the message across that it is a cup of coffee yet keeps it simple and readable.

I wasn't happy with he live trace, so I decided to expand and use the pen tool to create anchor points on all of the edges of the lettering. This then enabled me to be able to use the convert anchor point tool to curve the lines perfectly and precisely. I did not want it to look too digital as I wanted it to maintain that hand drawn feel to make it more relevant to the stereotypical 'enjoy a coffee at home' vibe.