10/03/2020 – Feedback
When talking about my ideas I was given the advice to be careful with the way I approach my topic, this is because it could easily end up going down a childish route.
This is something which I do agree with therefore I will be avoiding creating artwork which is seen as childish and will regularly be seeking advice on how my project is looking. It is important to me to get a range of honest opinions to avoid a cliche approach to my theme.
19/03/2020
Being off college, I sent a series of my pattern designs to a student in my class and asked for some honest feedback.
Here are the three images which I sent…
This is the feedback which I received,
“My favourite is the middle one as I love the use of complimentary colours and the simple design. I would take this simple design and work back into it using different media like Indian ink? Or even typography. You could also look into Owen Jones repeat patterns as he does geometric style designs”
First of all when reading my feedback I was pleased to see that someone had appreciated my complimentary colour scheme as this is something I was passionate about including in my designs, this makes me happy to continue testing out different designs using this type of colour scheme as I feel it is definitely fit for purpose. My peer mentioned including typography which has inspired me to involve text and quotes onto my designs to start to link my work with my purpose to raise awareness. I have not yet looked at Owen Jones therefore I will conduct some research and see how I can link my designs with his artwork.
Peer Feedback
26/03/2020
Today I displayed two of my imagery which I have been working on during the past week.
I asked for feedback from my peers on a social network platform called “google teams.”
Here is the feedback which I received:
Feedback 1: “The second image (black and white) is more visually clearer, the ‘fishy’ colours work well which I like a lot. Your work reminds me of graffiti work, you could look at artists who focus on environmental issues. I prefer the image without the colour as I feel the texture is visually interesting enough on it’s own.”
Feedback 2: “I think you have started very well and I can see a big potential for further development. Add some colours of nature and you could even try to place a fish inside a bottle.”
Feedback 3: “These look fab! Have you thought about trying to combine the two techniques together? I think I prefer the colours used in the second picture (black and white) but I love the soft edges on the shapes in the first one, try mixing it up?.”
I was really pleased with my feedback as it was reassuring to see that individuals were enjoying this style of working – with it being new to me. My peers have shown excitement and ideas for further development especially the fact that I could start linking the two techniques together. Starting to include natural colours was something that was mentioned which I have mixed feelings about. The use of grays and blacks represent the mucky polluted waters therefore bringing in colour may become risky. However I will be trying samples of this in my sketchbook to see the results as adding touches of natural colour might enhance my work.
28/03/2020
Today I sent some of my works to a peer just to see what reaction they had, alongside any ideas they had for potential further development.
This was a response which I received:
“You could make loads of them designs & add them on loads of other random bits of plastic that you would throw out like milk cartons, bread bags and cereal packets etc and make like a small installation piece and photograph them and put them on your blog.”
I like the fact they mentioned using my designs on a wide range of plastics, this makes me think about finding more plastic materials which link to certain marine animals. Fish link with plastic bottles, turtles link with plastic bags. I could research further and see which other plastics have a big impact on the ocean environment.
2/04/2020
This week I sent a few images to my peers to receive some feedback. These are the images which I sent –
Feedback received –
“I really love these! The colours for the straws are brilliant with the really simple shape of the seagull in front. I think this works well. Have you thought about using inks/ watery paint and blowing with straws to get interesting patterned shapes – that way you would be connecting imagery with materials too.”
“You could try some 3D stuff where you try to create birds and turtles out of plastic, that would be really interesting.”
“I really like how colorful and contrast Katie’s art is. Maybe you could try doing some illusions art of something. Like when you look at art from a different perspective and it looks like a bird or something.”
I was very pleased with the feedback I received as I was quite worried about people thinking my designs were too simple however it seems that they are simple but effective. One of my peers mentioned using the plastics to create art such as blowing through a straw which I have touched on slightly however I think I could create some really interesting patterns if I do this more carefully. I could start to combine colours. It was mentioned that I could try some 3D stuff such as using plastic to create marine animals however this was something I was really looking to avoid. I feel when you look at plastic pollution there is endless models of marine animals made from plastic and I would prefer to avoid this cliche route. A worry for my project was that it could turn quite childish and 3D stuff in this style would take it down this route in my opinion. If I were to create 3D designs I would prefer to use molds to create them to take a more professional route – this is something I will need to look into to ensure I have the right mediums. I love the final idea such as trying some illusions art this is something that really interested me. I’v been trying to think how to push myself and illusions art could be something quite fun to explore.
25/04/2020
During the past weeks I have been getting on with a lot of designs however I have felt them to have something missing. Being interested in graphic design I decided to start to involve text over my images to start to engage with my audience and follow a campaign style. Today I posted in the forum for some feedback on my work.
Above are the two images which I posted into the forum.
Peer feedback 1 – Oh, really cool! I especially like the first poster – the colour combo works nicely. Barbara Kruger comes to mind as someone who worked in poster format. Could also do more research into climate activism as a point of inspiration.
When looking into Barbara Kruger, I noticed she followed a black and white along a striking red colour scheme. I am going to conduct further research into Barbara Kruger as her designs have interested me.
Peer feedback 2 – I like the slogan and I like the fish inside the bottle. ”But” If you really try to hit people with the message, I believe it should be more dramatic. Maybe a huge bottle with the slogan and dying fish inside or maybe fish internal organs mixed with plastic + slogan. That’s my suggestions. However, I recommend getting inspiration from other climate activists, I am sure you will find something.
This feedback was useful and constructive especially because they gave me a more honest view. With Photoshop being new to me I have been exploring the basics, my peer has given me some useful ideas as to how to catch the audiences attention even more by using more dramatic images. This has given me ideas to maybe focus on bold darker colours to create a more sinister approach in contract to the whites and blues used in one of my designs.
Peer feedback 3 – Well done on what you’ve been doing. I think taking your work into information posters is a great idea and you’ve really begun to consider striking slogans. I think you should have a look at Barbara Kruger for her political statement work. I think she’s also good to look at in order to consider colour – hers is very simple use of colour to great effect. yours feels a little busy at the moment as the imagery is really good, the text is good but together it means there is a lot going on. Can you think about simplifying it- ie focus on one element at a time, so do one thinking about colour, the next with limited text but letting the imagery do the talking, another that is less imagery and more text? You should have a look at Stefan sagmeister, he does interesting portraits that contain LOADS of text.
This feed back was very helpful due to the fact they pointed out some imperfections on my work. When trying new things (Photoshop) it is easy to become carried away with the endless opportunities which the software offers. Therefore it is important to take a step back and allow some criticism into my work. As my posters appear to be a little busy, I am going to work on simplifying them to see if the results are much more powerful. Two peers mentioned Barbara Kruger therefore I am going to look at her style of work and create some responses.
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