T-Shirt/Re-think....

So I didn't go to bed, I got a bug up my ass about a shirt/logo I did ages ago, go on look through my blog and you'll see it...

It's slightly annoying when you design something for a purpose and you don't get to see it live out it's days in that form, and this is probably a good example. I designed this logo for a friends band ages ago, and as much as they liked it, they are poor and can't afford to send a 3/4 colour t-shirt design to the printers! To be honest at the time I was just doodling for want of a better way to describe it, now with a new avenue available to me, I have re-thought it a little and posted it as artwork for sale on emptees. I doubt it will ever get sold as a shirt design, but it's nice to think it's out there in the format it was planned to be used in, I guess until it gets sold, the design is mine(?), so I might re use it for something else...

I would probably give it away, just to see it get printed on a shirt and get one for myself, not saying I will give it away, but to see it live out its days the way it was intended would make me rather happy.



I should really go to bed...
Defy

Link in time...
Shirt on emptees

Parody?

Well a friend of mine asked me for some help as he wanted to step up a site like "The Daily Mash", it's news parody site, rather funny, worth a click, don't worry link'll follow (dear god that is some terrible spelling/grammar), we had a chat and he had set up a blogspot to start getting his writing out there, and rather than suggest to him that I build him a furiously complicated website, at a great expense, I said the best thing to do at this stage is probably just jazz up the blogspot and make it look more newspapery (again with the made up words!).

Yes your read that correctly, rather than talk a client/friend into paying lots of money for something, I suggested he not spend a small fortune for now and just get something going and then my job was just to jazz up a blogspot! So i gave him what he needed, rather than what was the best for my wallet! You see, I am nice really!

But it's called the "Western Male", now if you are from (South) Wales, you will have most likely seen the "Western Mail" at some point in your life, but if you are not, then it is rather likely that the reference would fly right over your head, so in my infinite wisdom, as this is a parody site, I decide to rip off the better know "Daily Mail" (and because there is a newspaper that needs some abuse)!

So here we go and website/blog that looks kinda like a newspaper....

Logo



Site



Right bed time...
Michael

Links
The Western Male
The Daily Mash

Real Corporate Work!

Well it's true, I have recently been taken on by on by moley.tv as general mac monkey, it's only part time, but I am learning more and hopefully I will get better learning at this guys feet, as he is seriously clued up!

But yeah I spent an afternoon doing some seriously functional design work, ready...rebranding internal PDF's!! Hell yes!

But you know what it was strangely satisfying. There was plenty to think about, positioning the new logo's in the right place, with the correct spacing (I had a 24 page logo use document that I had to read!), making sure that everything that needed to be changed got changed...basically what I'm getting at is, this should have been boring as hell, but I actually enjoyed it! I am actually rather happy that one of the documents had to be completely redesigned and I did it, it looks great in amongst the rest of them, so I did it right!

Yes I am in my heart a wannabe punk rock graphic designer, but even I am honest enough to admit that my split personality took over and the challenge of making corporate stationary look the best it could was actually enjoyable. So please dear friends do not scoff at doing something because it is not as "cool", as it might be more of a challenge than you thought!



T.T.F.N.
Michael

Links
Larger Version
Moley.tv

The beauty of an idea...

First off I have to say, this is work from my first year, you hear me? No? Right...LISTEN CAREFULLY, THIS IS INCREDIBLY OLD WORK AND NOT THE STANDARD OF MY DESIGN SKILL THESE DAYS! THIS WAS DONE IN 2002, WHEN I WAS IN MY FIRST YEAR OF UNI! PLEASE FORGIVE THE SOMEWHAT CLANDESTINE DESIGN SKILL, I AM TRYING TO MAKE A POINT ABOUT A GOOD IDEA!

Rant over...

It's mad to really look back at your old work and think how bad it looks visually, it has to be that way, otherwise you are just stagnating as a designer, and who wants to do that? NOT ME!!! But I think the magic of looking back over old work is the little bit of satisfaction you can derive from a good idea. If the idea was good, then you know you were onto something.

This brief was to create an advert for Playstation (2?), that would be used in a "lads mag", and somehow, with the combination of stories of deep vein thrombosis from long haul flights, kids getting fatter because they aren't as active as they used to be and Charlton Heston's speech in "Bowling for Columbine" as he proudly held his rifle above his head and prolaimed, "FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS!" and I stitch the two together to get the following...





I can look at this idea now and see all manor of things that I would do to it now to present it better, but that's not the point I'm getting at though, it still remains a good idea, technical execution aside, I think the idea stands up still even now.


Perhaps this is a question of guilting the lily? Or in the case of my first year work, uncovering the lily...I've done it, now you try it!

Peas oot...
Michael

Links
Larger Versions

Uni project that I love!

Well I do love it!!  I think it is a really great idea, the brief was to create some form of promotional material that discourages people from dropping gum. It costs so much money to clean up!! It costs approximately, if memory serves, 17p to remove each piece from the ground!! And when you think a pack costs 30 something pence (don't know don't buy it) it is an insane amount of money being thrown at a problem.

I am really proud of this result as it was shear research that got me there, research into disposal methods, solutions that have been trailed, comparative solutions....and most of the solutions that were in effect were stupidly expensive, plastic pouches, some really disgusting posts/walls covered in gum...

I've always been aware that negative slogans/advertising don't have any effect whatsoever, look at the average smoker, you could put pictures of brutal deformed lungs fill with tar (wait they do that now) and it does nothing to stop them smoking, I found a completely random study done in Holland's public toilets where they printed a fly on a urinal. I won't repeat the statistic as I can't believe that they measured it, but it's safe to say it stopped people pissing on the floor as much because they were aiming for the fly! So here research said something funny...

Roll on the alternate uses for chewing gum, I knew full well that these would probably have to come with an idiot warning on them, but I love the idea. There was an abandoned idea involving superheroes. So I tried my best to come up with as many ideas as possible, I think I got to 20 something, but to be honest I was clutching at straws past 10.

So I focus on the few that would make the best visuals, and did my homework into instructional images, that usually come on planes and warning cards...

And this is what I came up with....













Somewhere in the final stages, this went from just being a postcard, to the idea that you could stick the gum on the postacrd, doubling its usefulness! This came up when I looked back at the research, realising that it would costs roughly 5p per card, thus saving 12p on cleaning costs.

Please don't judge the quality of some of the drawing to harshly, I wanted to learn how to use illustrator at the time and this was my baptism by fire, I can see things I'd change now, but I still think it is a great idea and that's what counts! I still think the back is a lovely combination of colours and style, it's formal enough to be a government thing, but funky enough (colours and logo) to be cool!

Other things to do...
Michael

Link
Larger Versions

I've joined Emptees!

Heard of it? Yes? Good! No? Bad you! Well maybe not bad, you are still here aren't you! So maybe you should click on the inevitable links that will appear in due time...

Right back to the point, Emptees, t-shirt website where you can post and sell your t-shirt designs! Now I joined and the first thing I did was have a look through my external hard drive (only work that is on right now is on my computer) for old/long forgotten good ideas that probably deserved some airing/re-thinking/somewhere to be seen!

Well this is my first submission!



It is something I did in my second year in the development stages that just ended up being forgotten about, which is sad, because I think it's fun! Well anyways if you like it, you can contact me and BUY IT! Check that shit out! But seriously, you can! I can add some logo/branding and away we go!

Roll on a whole new set of challenges, I'm am so used to working in square frames, this is going to be rather interesting....

Love
A smiling Michael!

Links
BUY IT!!!
Emptees

Bad day?

I've just done this, they liked the Kris Roe poster I did, and wanted me to make a myspace layout for them that looked similar. Not a particularly complicated brief, but still a brief none the less. In truth a rather complicated brief, how do you do something similar, but different at the same time? Well my answer was to use the same colour palette and just the idea a bit...
They gave me a logo that they wanted to use, and their name is bad day, so I started thinking about bad days, bad situations etc. I've just finished reading Dave Gorman's "America Unchained" (read the book, forget the documentary), and without going into too much detail he drives across America, trying to not pay any money to Big business chain stores, and one of his worst moments was running out of petrol, seeing an independent "gas" station and then arriving closer to see it was closed down. So a bad day? Chasing a dream and the lack of something making it impossible, thank you Dave Gorman!
Anyway, this is what it looks like...



This is the image as I made it, it was interesting as I layered the top banner on and made the background image alot bigger and then set it to repeat, you can't really see it there, but click on the link down (keep going...) and it'll make perfect sense. It was a good idea that meant the back ground wasn't completely static.

After a rough of the myspace layout they asked me to do banner, and this is it.



I was tempted to bring the TV image back in, but its only a small space, so would have been a nightmare or more to the point, a messy nightmare.

A good day!
Michael

Links make a chain...
Bad Day?
Dave Gorman - Look at it, the guy is a legend!