National Reading Week

National Reading Week will be happening soon and we are to design a 30-60 film to help promote the event. What we are to do with this is to make a video using typography that will help encourage people to at the very least read the one book during the whole week.

The author I am basing the video on is Terry Pratchett, not just because he is one of my favourite authors, but also because I believe I can do a lot in my video, based on the ideas of his books. So far I am really enjoying this project, and find that using After Effects is easier to use than I thought it would be. I am looking forward to seeing what my final outcome will look like and will be quite pleased with myself for producing something quite technical.

I will post Images of my video later on and will post a link to the video as well.

New Improved Design.

The design I originally intended to do. This features the new logo as well as a basic layout of how it could be applied to a fancy potions, juice bottle.

To be Re-designed

The design I produced to Keith Forbes.

Good Creative Feedback

As a change to the usual projects we get at uni, we have been tasked by an actual design company to design a logo and packaging for a children's natural soft drink, Kate's Fruit Potions. The company that has provided us with this task is Good Creative. Due to the Director (Keith Forbes) of the company being ill, he was unavailable to assign us the brief in person, so it was up to Phil and Gordon to do their best to inform us on what was required.

We were to produce our research and work in the form of advanced mood-boards to show Keith Forbes on Tuesday 8th February and explain where we wanted to take our designs in further development. I have to say that the Friday before this was slightly unfair as our class were all getting moaned a good talking too about not having completed such boards yet. The bizarre thing about this though was that no one had told us to produce any boards for this date as people were still working on initial ideas to produce for the meeting. And will say that a lot of people were getting stressed out due to this situation and I know it put my confidence in the project down a bit.

So over the weekend everyone did their boards and on the Tuesday we all spoke to Keith and his associate about our ideas. I actually enjoyed talking to them, even though they said my idea was good, they said that it didn't go with what they expected of the product, but did this in a way that didn't put me down or make me doubt my abilities in my work. It was also here that they said I should continue with one of my original ideas, which they thought was more natural and fun, a design I was told to avoid by my tutors, but one I would of preferred to do. So now I am currently working on the logo design I originally intended to do. This does resemble a logo design I did in college, by this I mean that it is making an image out of cool, funky type from the 1960's. I wanted to do this design as I enjoy doing stuff like this, and believe it is playground cool for boys and girls to drink.

I am looking forward to showing Keith my final design and took what feedback he gave me and applied it to my design.

Our Posters

Just our posters for design studies.

Planet Earth, Calm Down

Seriously, the world needs to just take a chill pill, there is just so much going on just now. Australia has been hit with floods of a biblical proportion, and is now being hit with its most powerful cyclone ever, that's just unlucky, and I really do feel for all the people who have been effected by this. America is also being hit with the extreme weather, with layers upon layers of snow stretching for thousands and thousands of miles. Egypt is not facial any severe weather conditions but protest have been taking place now for over a week, the people demanding that the president step down immediately, I was watching the news on Friday, and the reporter had said that the Egyptian presidential office had said despite the protest the President still had a 90% popularity vote of the people. Where the hell did they get those figures from, even the reporter couldn't help but laugh and state just how corrupt the government must be. Even in our very own Great Britain, where students are at their own protests over tuition fees.

This is all just overwhelming, over recent years weather is getting worse, I just remembered about the floods Brazil had recently. It is all just non stop, we just can't all seem to catch a break from it all, who knows what will happen next and when will it happen? Will things get any worse and how could it affect us in the long-run? Could 2012 really be happening? will just have to wait and see.

Boardwalk Empire Completes Me

For the past few weeks I have noticed advertising on T.V and billboards for the new digital channel Sky Atlantic. This channel shows all the biggest shows coming out of America at the moment. The channel opened it's launch with the premier of the hit T.V series Boardwalk Empire starring Steve Buscemi, and was rather excited about seeing this as I have heard all the hype about it in magazines and T.V reviews.

The plot of the show follows that of a notorious gangster Nucky Thompson, also the treasurer of Atlantic City, and how he manipulates and does business with people. I don't know what it is about gangster films and shows, but as a guy I can only say I love them, there is something that is just suave and sophisticated about the. Need I remind anyone of The Godfather films and Goodfellas? I do not know a single person who doesn't like these films. Can you think of anyone?

Anyway, after watching the pilot episode I have to say it is one of the best things on television I have seen in a while, I was already hooked after the first episode. The story-line and acting were fantastic, and what made matters better was that the godfather of gangster films, Martin Scorsese, directs and produces this. This is a very stylish set piece set in 1920's Prohibition. The clothes, sets and music all add to the atmosphere of the time.

I wouldn't say this is a program for only guys,but think women would enjoy it too. My mum liked this, though did complain about the swearing as well as a few of the scenes in the show, but I think that's just a mum thing, they all do it.

Last night I watched the second episode, and can't wait to see the rest. This is a series I can tell I am going to really enjoy. I am also looking forward to seeing the show Mad Men, as I have heard pretty good things about this too.