A book plate is usually referred to a small print or a decorative lable denoting ownership. Historically, English book plates have developed from heraldic arrangements and became recognised as a minor branch of high art during the 20th century, and later became collectable items. A characteristics feature of early English book plates is the display of tinctures through a system of dots and lines /hatching system. Used during Renaissance painting and later by cooper plate engravers and heralds, the system represents a coherent method for designating color spaces. Even though variations exist, the present day hatching system was developed during 1630s by Silvester Petra Sancta and it is extensively used today in architecture and engineering.

book plates spread sheet

Since I wanted the design to bear some of the historical richness of book plates and at the same time be clean and functional, I have decided on a free floating/unrestricted composition of essential elements,corresponding with the brad colours of each UAL college. The vertical arrangement of college names ensures an immediate recognition and contrast with book title page arrangements / predominantly with horizontal text arrangement/, the use of block color and hatching pattern corresponding to the same colour provides visual reference and variation to aid colour blind users. And the suggested embossing or debossing of hatching patterns was aiming at adding a 3D/textured effect which will ‘lift off’ the book plate from the page.

This week, I read Georges Perec’s ‘Species of Spaces‘ for my book club. I found it simply amusing, ranging from ambiguity, absurdity and bluntness, wildly extravagant at times, obvious and clever, and not pompous or at all pretentious. The writing style is very unconventional and appears to be intimate and full of disconnected anecdotes and side track stories, yet it remains somehow introvert. To me it seemed that Parec was not merely trying to describe the world starting from the page he was writing on in his bed,
in his apartment,
in the apartment building he was living in,
in the street,
in the neighbourhood,
in the town of Paris,
in the countryside around it,
in the country,
in Europe,
in the world,
and somewhere in the endless unattainable space (of possibly his blank piece of paper)

‘This is how space begins, with words only, signs traces on a blank page’(13))

Instead he made use of language in such a way that describes how one would go on about writing such a description. With this he provides direction and every detail for the reader to mentally do so.

‘…of the world , no longer as a journey having constantly to be remade, not as a race without an end, a challenge having constantly to be met, not as the one pretext for a despairing acquisitiveness, nor as the illusion of a conquest, but as the rediscovery of meaning, the perceiving that the earth is a form of writing, a geography of which we had forgotten that we ourselves are the authors.’(79)

What stood out for me was the direct way in which he communicates with the reader, giving directions in order to engage them in his descriptive feats:

‘Make an effort to exhaust the subject, even if that seems grotesque, or pointless or stupid. You still haven’t looked at anything, you have merely picked out what you have long ago picked out. Force yourself to see more flatly.’(50-51)

‘Carry on until the scene becomes improbable…’(53)

‘Don’t be too hasty in trying to find a definition…it is far too big and there is every chance of getting it wrong.First make an inventory of what you can see. List what you are sure of. Draw up elementary distinctions..’(60)

Those pedagogic and amusing interruptions fill in the whole piece of writing. They are specific for the context in which he uses them but ambiguous enough to be picked out individually. I found this technique to be very engaging and satisfying for creating a multiplicity of imaginary versions of every subject approached through this process. I am wondering if there is a children’s author using something similar?

Also, what is really interesting is that he uses different layout in order to simply illustrate the physicality of his writing. The way he uses it is similar to concrete poetry but without the flamboyancy of visuals. He simple uses dynamic layouts to emphasise the physical functions of words.

Georges Perec is a real virtuoso when it come to exploring the materiality of language with all of its elements, words. In ‘Notes on What I am Looking for’ he makes clear his interest in literature by putting them in four categories:’ social or how to look at the everyday’ , ‘autobiographical’, ‘lucid and relates to the liking of constraints and playing scales’ and ‘ fictional and the liking of stories and adventures’. This exciting pallet of interests makes him very close to my likings and personality. I particularly like his ideas relating to the ability of everyone too imagine.

‘There is nothing to stop us from imagining things that are nether towns nor countryside (nor suburbs), or Métro corridors that are at the same time public parks.’

It really is fascinating for me because I work in exactly the same way when it comes to illustration: listing objects and speculating over their relationships by posing the most absurd questions.

Georges Perec is a prominent member of OuLiPo (The Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle or Workshop for Potential Literature), a literary association formed in 1960s interested in the mathematical restrictions which could be posed on poetry. This association is at the heart of most playful and inventive use of language phenomenons such as palindromes, lipograms, pangrams, anagrams, isograms, acrostics, crosswords and many more.

‘…verbal play, verbal ploy, play on letters or what is commonly known as an’idea”(12)

Other quotes I found interesting are:

‘I write, I inhabit my sheet of paper, I invest it, I travel across it.’(11)

‘I write: to try meticulously to retain something, to cause something to survive, to wrest a few precise scraps from the void as it grows, to leave somewhere a furrow, a trace, a mark or a few signs.’(92)

‘Virtual space, a simple pretext for a nomenclature’(13)

‘I put a picture up on a wall. Then I forget there is a wall. I no longer know what there is behind this wall, I no longer know there is a wall, I no longer know this wall is a wall, I no longer know what a wall is. I no longer know that in my apartment there are walls, and that if there weren’t any walls, there would be no apartment. The wall is no longer what delimits and defines the place where I live, that which seperates it from the other places where other people live, it is nothing more than a support for the picture. But i also forget the picture, I no longer look at it, I no longer know how to look at it. I have put the picture on the wall so as to forget there was a wall, but in forgetting the wall, I forget the picture, too. There are pictures because there are walls. We have to be able to forget there are walls, and have found no better way to do that than pictures. Pictures efface walls. But walls kill pictures. So we need continually to be changing, either the wall or the picture, to be forever putting other pictures up on the walls, or else constantly moving the picture from one wall to another.’(39)

Sturrock, J. (1999) George Perec: Spieces of Spaces and Other Pieces. London: Penguin.

For more see my flickr set.

Trying to set my ideas somewhere in between I decided to use the worn out principle of form follows function and see how that could be adapted to moving image work. The phrase was originally coined by the architect Louise Sullivan in 1896, and although extensively used in Modernist architecture and industrial design, it also managed to infiltrated into the field of graphic design. Leading the way of the International style, this principles has turned into a mantra which is chanted even in the 21st century. Being aware that such major movements usually spread across all creative fields, I searched for some relevance in the sphere of film. The only close attempt to tackle the issue of form was done by avant-garde film makers and especially evident in Structural Materialism. Looking formally into the structure and the making of films, this theory, as exciting as it is, could not directly be linked with present digital film making practices because it is limited by the materiality of film. Not finding any satisfactory visual reference of form follows function in the moving image field, I started questioning how the idea could be interpreted as form follows motion, and if such an interpretation could be visually and theoretically justified. Borrowing the formalist principles of modernism, I jumped at the opportunity to employ them in the abstract representation of form.

Using architecture as a starting point, I also did some further reading on different subjects which deal with form, motion through space and the representation of it.
– Jean-Baptiste Lamarck’s theory of evolution, as opposed to Darwin’s, looks into adaptivity of the form in correspondence of its use and movements.
– The Neu Typografie, visual elements such as shape, colour and position are strictly dependant of the function they employ.
– Interactive design manipulates form depending on given imput, as opposed to reactive design which is based on conditions.
– “and he built a crooked house” a science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein whose character decides to built a house which can react to the human movement inside it.
– Film/Architecture/Narrative exhibition at The architecture centre looks at how film, a powerful cultural medium, can be engaged in the design and communication of architecture. Also, vice versa, employing architectural principles in the building of moving image imagery/landscapes.
– Mosley, Jonathan and Stickells, Lee (2008) Imaginary Construction: Filmic processes within the architectural design studio.

All those seemingly unrelated fields treat form in their different ways and at the same time liberate it from stillness, which undoubtedly provides a wide field of visual investigation through the medium of the moving image. Given the time frame I had I decided to simplify my process, focus on architecture and execute the notion ‘form follows motion’ in a very direct way. I have selected 3 groups of architectural materials/texture close-ups/, offset them on a candy coloured backgrounds in order to be completely isolated from their usual environment and started experimenting with shape masks and motion paths.

…more to follow soon

key ideas, society publication A5
*design by Miglena Minkova & Maria Martin Carrasco

The 3rd and last event of the key ideas series for academic year 2010/2011 is based around the topic of society. With just over a week from start to finish Meri and I had to get all our strengths together, design the visuals, demand the delivery of the text copy on time, battle through the bureaucracy of paper supplier and internal purchase order forms to finally find ourselves at the finishing line. Meri did the initial design concepts for this event and the poster design, whereas I was in charge of implementing the visual language in the design of the handouts and other organisational matters/ such as making sure the paper was ordered, the printers were paid, the text copy delivered, the handouts circulated, the social media websites updated, the equipment booked, the photographer present and other tasks of the same kind/.

Despite my initial doubts about the relevance of the topic to the early emerging practice of 3D designers, illustrators and graphic designers, the actual event turned out to be eye-opening and very exciting. The speakers were representatives of socially engaged causes which employed creativity and arts in a variety of fields, from architectural, regeneration planning and recycle/reuse projects to refugee and community building enterprises. The event was initiated by Fabiane Lee-Perrella who teaches on the 3D Design course at Camberwell College of Arts and at the same time runs her own multidisciplinary practice. She started the day by stressing on the importance of engaging in a socially engaged practice and the benefits of being a part of a community.

Adrian Holme started his presentation by citing Douglas Heuber /” The world is full of objects, more or less interesting. I do not wish to add any more”/ and continued by questioning the power of the individual over mass production. He gave a very personal object as an example and challenged our collective agency and it’s relevance in the consumerist culture. Borrowing ideas from Guy Debord and his society of spectacle, Adrian urged for a more conscious and rational thinking / ‘What is left out is that thought is participatory, that thought has produced everything that we see here in our society. Wherever you look is the product of thought: buildings, farms, airplanes, everything, including pollution. But not only that – thought also produces and shapes our perception of reality. We see reality according to our thought. Therefore thought is constantly participating both in giving shape and form and figuration to ourselves and to the whole of reality. Now, thought doesn’t know this. Thought is thinking that it isn’t doing anything. I think this is really where the difficulty is. We have got to see that thought is part of this reality and that we are not merely thinking about it, but that we are thinking it. Do you see the difference?’ Bohm D (1996). On Creativity (Ed. Lee Nichol), Routledge, London, 1996, Pp. 125-45/

Mark Davy talked in length about his place making practice in Futurecity and the idea of “master planning”. He gave a couple of successful examples of regeneration projects in areas where through artistic practices new communities have developed. Mark stressed on the growing realisation of the commercial sector that financial profitability do not exclude the thriving of the arts, on the contrary, multidisciplinary design provides long-lasting connections and reliability.

Hannah Lewis shared her notions of the further development of the design industry by expanding the design process to the areas or reorganisation, re-evaluation and post-object problem solving. She presented the design process as a loop and introduced her creative/strategic practice as one catering for the back of this loop. Focusing on the problematic issues of today, her entrepreneurial thinking is employed in creating new outlets of creative and sustainable design.

Almir Koldzic discussed his involvement in the creation of refugee week in the UK and his attempts change the commonly perceived imagery of refugees as victims. His work includes the organisation of events promoting acceptance and understanding of different cultures and the importance of refugees for the development of the UK. A very hard and ambitious task especially in the current economic climate.

Photos are coming up soon…

Here are some links to the event:
Key ideas Facebook Group
Key Ideas Twitter
Camberwell Snapshot Blog

After a relatively quite Easter break I managed to catch up with my reading and booked a ticket for the one day conference on the topic of Graphic Design: History in the making at St. Bride Printing Library.Some quite influential speakers attended and despite that I was probably one of the youngest people in the room, I really enjoyed the discussion. The event was opened by the organisers, Sara De Bondt and Catherine de Smet, with the broad scope of examining different ways of recording design history and how they feed back into the practical side of design.

Steven Heller‘s video presentation raised issues around the difficulties of compiling a comprehensive history of design in a time where new styles and approaches sprout up every day. By sharing his personal fascination with history, he underlined the relevance of design documentation and commentary and their essential use for the future of design history.

Catherine de Smet discussed the problematic adoption of several art history models in the building up of graphic design history and examined the benefits of an open and inclusive approach to recording the history of all visual arts. Following the development of art history as a discipline, she noted the importance of establishing academic grounds on which graphic design could be examined, not merely as an object of communication but in a wider social framework.

David Rainfurt was looking into a mathematical approach to typography and shared his experience of working with Stuart Bailey at Dexter Sinister. Their practice is less historically loaded with reference but relies extensively on scientific logic and the employment of technology. Basing their practice on developing flexible systems that challenge the conventional paths of producing graphic design content, David and Stuart have developed a morphing typeface called meta-the-difference-between-the-two-font which provides a skeleton structure which can be manipulated by several intermittent values. David also talked briefly about his interest in the process of recursion and feed back loops and how this could be implemented in graphic communication.

Christopher Burke gave an overview of some traditional approached to graphic design history, which have been borrowed by art history, and stressed on the fact that little has been done so far to articulate the importance of ideas and communication strategies employed in the field. Citing Robin Kinross and his book Modern Typography, he pointed out the importance of expressing those ideas through writing and their relation to the material objects of design.

Teal Triggs led a moderated discussion between the speakers and focused the on the current practitioners and their involvement in the process of history making and communicating between each other.

Rick Poynor‘s lecture was on the emergence of curation as a new form of editing in the field of graphic design. He gave a brief overview of several types of curatorial practices and their relevance to the products of graphic communication. Discussing the white cube effect and the highly popular immersive displays of work, he questioned the audience experiences. Turning graphic design work into an occasion, curation has made it possible to add extra significance and quality to the work itself. Accepting that ‘…the museum effect is undesired but unavoidable if an object is to be available for public viewing’, Rick Poynor questioned patronising curatorial practices that diminish the intellectual level and understanding of the audience by orchestrating spectacles /Guy Debord/ instead of opting for more subtle intellectual viewing experience.

Sonia de Puineuf gave a fresher look at graphic design history by explaining her research into the Chech multidisciplinary designer Zdeněk Rossmann. Her systematic approach and findings unveiled the extensively westernised history of design and brought to the surface the problem of the anonymous designer, largely evident in the 1920s and even in present days. She stressed that the main contribution of the history of graphic design should not be critical and exclusive but educational and aiming at changing social views towards a petter society. I found her talk to be highly professional and dense with facts. Of special interest for me was the Slovak School of Applied Arts in Bratislava and the important role the school had played in the development of visual arts, along with the Bauhaus, in the late 1920s – early 1940s. Such facts are usually deeply burred by the numerous regimes and political changes of central and east Europe, which probably s one of the main reasons for their relatively later discovery and recognition in the general biographical records of the graphic design history.

Alston Purvis finished the day’s session by going through some of the refined layout and new inclusions in the 5th edition of Megg’s History of Graphic Design.

In conclusion, the speakers provided an overview of current and past approaches but little did specify any plan for future action. Also the difference between design writing, criticism and design history was not clearly outlined which occasionally resulted in the loose use of the terms in order to refer to any piece of writing that concerns design. The principle aims and purposes of those writings were not discussed at the beginning, which set marginalised borders for the rest of the discussion and did not allow for significantly deep analysis on the future endeavours in the field. Only Steven Heller attempted this by saying that he doesn’t see himself as a graphic design historian despite the fact that he has written a lot of books on specific sections of the design history. As contradictory as this may seem at first, it makes a lot of sense since history as a discipline is a subject of constant change. That is not to say that past facts and events change, but to point out that at specific cultural, economic and political times certain parts of history are populised and circulated and others are safely tucked away or never even looked at with the due respect. Growing up in eastern Europe, and witnessing how even the information contained in primary school history books is subject to political changes, has made me very cautious of the selective memory that history may exhibit. Certainly all-embraciveness is not possible nor is desired. However, clarity and objectivity are, which means that critical writings on design are first and foremost relevant to the time of their writing. Providing an instant commentary on the responses and the success of graphic communication, criticism serve as a valuable record which informs but shouldn’t shape history

Eye Magazine’s response to the event.

I am not a hundred percent sold on the typographic solution. The hand written type fits well, I think, but the rest seems a bit too generic. Next time I need to consider typography more than one hour before the submission deadline.

More pictures of the lino prints will be published soon.

For more pictures, see my flickr set.

As a very nice post birthday surprise I was kindly invited to the Mokita illustration symposium at Pick Me Up at Somerset House. The event was quite useful for me not only because I am interested in illustration and do a bit of drawing but also because it revolved around some of the topics that I have been researching for my essay. I found out that the same concerns about authorship, commercial application and lack of systematic theory that I was looking into graphic design also existed in illustration. Some very influential illustrators and educators of the likes of Roderick Mills, Darryl Clifton, Geoff Grandfield, Luke Best and James Jarvis shared their thoughts on following topics:

Is commerce the only real context for illustration?
Illustrator as author, new paradigm or the death of the discipline?
Do we need theory of illustration?

From the presentations I have noticed that unlike in graphic design, where the discipline is constantly striving for clarity and effective communication, some the illustration practitioners are quite happy with the ephemeral and mystical nature of the medium and were unwilling to firmly side with any of the comments made. The moment I felt that the discussion was about to take a deep critical direction, the uncertainty of the speakers pulled back the subject in a starting position. Even the fact that Adrian Shaughnessy was chair of the meeting did not result in any committed statements. I guess it is only natural to be uncertain about the future of the profession, especially when notions such as intuition and imagination play central roles in illustration. However, I felt that some of the practitioners, especially James Jarvis and Luke Best, had a very clear, critical and reflective understanding of their own practice. They revealed some of their own personal concerns connected with the illustration practice which could have been examined further in order for the discussion to reach a comprehensive conclusion. Fortunately, at the end, the lack of communication and the solitary nature of the practice were seen as main obstacles on the course of illustration. Symposiums like Mokita are aspiring to overcome them by involving more and more people in creative discussions.

My general experience of the event was very pleasant and I got the chance to exchange some thoughts with both the attendants and the speakers. Later on that week I met Peter Nencini, who is an illustrator with a background in graphic design, for an informal chat on the parallels between the two disciplines and the common issues they face. Some bits and pieces from that to follow…