Thursday 27 November 2008

I'm Back Baby!

I haven't had access to blogger for a while because someone tried to steal my email address (grrr) but I'm back online now & there's lots to catch up on!

ROBERT NAKATA
A project called Irreverence Justified by Robert Nakata has caught my eye. It's a book designed for Nike which has achieved near mythical status, with numerous questions asked about and it yet very few answers known.


The brief: Nike EHQ wanted to acknowledge and thank their various cultural and business partners with the coming of the New Millenium in the form of a gift.

Why it was made: Nike EHQ were re-issuing 12 classic shoes for the New Millenium and they wanted to communicate this in some at-the-time undetermined form. Each re-issue would be released monthly during 2000 and each shoe had to somehow be featured.



Inspiration: Nike’s initial suggestion, given the one re-issued shoe per month, was a calendar. Other ideas included re-running all the Nike television spots made up to that point somewhere in the world 24/7 on New Year’s Eve. Ultimately they needed a gift to hand out and since it was all about the shoes. The photography of the shoes for the book came from a variety of sources. The 12 re-issues, the Michael Johnson Gold Olympic shoes and a few others were shot originally for IJ by Hans Pieterse. Most of the images came from old scans and, with the really old shoes, scans from old catalogues and/or print ads were made as Nike no longer had the original shoes.

These posters are some more of Robert Nakata's work. I love the shapes that he creates with image and text. For example, the fluid shape above with the words "holland festival" sat on the image. He makes the text part of the image. Below you can make out the letters that spell "Holland" anchored within the image. You have to use your imagination a bit but they are there.
I like the use of colour too. The colours are strong but there's only 4 colours: blue, red, green and orange (and black & white of course).

Friday 14 November 2008

Examples!

When I was doing research for a montage project I discovered a few interesting things......


This is the contents page of the book. I like the unusual use of direction. The main chapter titles being in bold make it work. If they werent bold then it would be too hard to read, but as it is it's easy to follow.

I can't remember who did this, but it really caught my eye. A montage within type is a great idea. It's so simple I don't know why more people don't do it (including myself).

Netted

Tuesday 4 November 2008

Forgotten

I mentioned in an earlier blog a project I've been set about typography that gets neglected in some way. I've chosen to base my work around typography we know exists, but we easily forget about or take for granted.

For example, the numbers on a gas meter. How often do you think about them? Do you forget they are there? When was the last time you read the numbers/instructions/ warnings around yours?


Here are some things I found interesting when I had a probe around my house & the streets. Some will be starting points for making my final project.

When I took the back off my mobile phone to look at the battery, I noticed this on the inside cover. I've had my phone for 2 years and never noticed this before.

I had a peep in between my cooker and kitchen cupboard, and noticed this. I thought it said "Ass" at first, then realised it was "Gas". Oops!

I love the type on this drainpipe. It's dead straight and the font is very industrial.

These marks are all over the streets but I can't say I've ever really noticed them until I started looking for them.

This is a pipe that caught my eye behind my washing machine. To me, the text is just gibberish, but to somebody it will mean something.

Most people throw their receipts away without looking at them. Also, there's a lot of different things written on them but we tend to ignore most of it and just look at the price or the items.

One of my favourites; an arrow or triangle with the number 13 spray painted onto the pavement. I like the colour and also it doesn't point to anything visible, it's just there.

More to come on the development on this project!
 
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