LAYOUT + MOVING IMAGE RESEARCH//

I decided to research into some layouts for possible designs and development of my initial drawings. Here I found a set of three posters, each one using a plain subtle background with a bold simple shape with an image inside.

I like how they all have a relationship, and how the duotone image ties them all together. I also like the simple typography in the centre of each page and the subtle shapes in each corner. I think they all work really well together, which gave me the idea of creating a brand/logo for each discipline of riding.

 I also think that a set of three, whether it be images, posters or logos, is a perfect number. As shown below, I think three images which all relate to one another work really well position along side each other in the same scale.

CHARLES BERGQUIST//

Charles Bergquist is a designer, who also happens to create short moving images as well. I love his simple graphics work as his combination of simple type and photography have a really strong final outcome. I love the consistent use of simple shapes throughout his work, and thing it is a really successful way of capturing the audiences attention and making them focus on a particular object/section of type.

In his short videos he uses a lot of lens flares and slow motion. I also like how he uses colours and shapes within his moving image as well, as I think it makes them visually more interesting and makes them stand out from other videos of the same genre. I also like how he brings his graphic work to life and blends it together with video footage. This is ideally what I would like to do with my moving image as I believe it adds a more professional look to the video and will create a relationship between thats and my other graphic work. Here is his director reel from 2010, which has a combination of the work he created throughout that summer.

Summer 2010 Director Reel from Charles Bergquist on Vimeo.

POSTERS//

Once I had finished editing my photos, I wanted to combine my first three methods of working together, to create an advert style poster.

For this I wanted to blend images back through my original repetition designs, I decided to use a bright colour pallet as I think it works well with the white background and black and white imagery. I used the colour dodge filter to blend the image into the design. I then added a selection of the three logos to give that sense of brand identity.

I'm happy with the three posters I created, I think the colours compliment each other well and the repetition of the frame really stands out. I'm happy with how the subtle imagery gives the patterns context, as they might not be immediately recognisable to some people. Im also happy with the simple typography, I used the specs of the frame to give the piece some information and purpose.

If I was going to change anything on them, I would make the colour boxes all the same size to create more continuity and arrange the typography and logos in the same place. I think this would help make them work better as a set, but overall I am happy with the outcomes.

POST PRODUCTION//

When editing my Photos, I didn't want to make any major changes to them, I just wanted to make them sharper and more eye catching. To start with I knew I wanted black and white imagery, as I think as a collection of images if they are all black and white it helps them relate to and compliment each other. To make them slightly more interesting though, I added a Tri-tone effect. I used Black, and two shades or turquoise. These gave me a darker, more contrasting look to my image. Here is an example of the difference between black and white and tri-tone.

B+W

Tri-tone 

I then tweaked the levels to make the image more balanced and correct anything that I did wrong when shooting the photo, for example not balance my shutter speed and aperture correctly. I didn't need to alter much as I felt I set my camera up correctly at the shoot, but I wanted to balance all the photos out, so they needed altering as each photo was shot in different weather conditions.

To emphasis this contrast, I used the Burn and Dodge tool. This allowed me to really bring out the highlights on the bike and rider with the dodge tool, which made them stand out more from the back ground. I also darkened the shadows with the burn tool to emphasis this further. My favourite reason for doing this was to bring back lost detail in the midtones. This was helpful for me as I was able to bring back information which was lost due to the settings which the photo was taken with. As you can see above, there is a big difference in the detail before and after. I think after doing this all over the bike and rider it really made an effective difference. I'm really glad I learnt how to do this as I believe it will make all my future photographs look more powerful and professional.


Here are my final selection of images from the first shoot. As you can see they have a clear relationship, and believe they work well together as a collection. These photos allow me to use them for other purposes aswell, I intend to use them for some more graphic work, and to incorporate them back into my repeated patterns which I mentioned previously.

Here are my images from shoot two. As you can see from all my photos, especially the two portraits immediately stand out. So when I got home from shoot 2, I set up a tripod in my back garden to take a self portrait of myself (at the bottom) like I mentioned in my previous post. I edited this in the same way as I want to try composing these together. I think they will compliment each other really well and I have several other plans for these images for the next few weeks.

Overall I am really happy with these images, and have decided that just two shoots was enough to gather all the images I needed. I'm glad I timetabled enough time for two shoots, as it allowed me to get 3 different locations, to provide variety and also represent the three most prominent riding styles which I am trying to represent, Park, Street and Trails.

PHOTOGRAPHY SHOOT 2 //

I decided to arrange a shoot for this week with a different rider. I liked the collection which I had made from my first shoot, but I decided that I wanted to represent each style of riding. So I arranged to travel into Manchester, and ride around the Northern quarter to help find a suitable location. I wanted to shoot on the streets of Manchetser, to give it the urban look which represents a typical street riders environment. I took a similar range of photos of this rider, so they could work together and compliment the other.


Overall I was happy with the photo's. The main focus for this shoot was to gather footage for a moving image piece, but I always intended to take some stills at the end of the day. Here are a selection of the photos I took.

I like how the contrasting style of rider and set up of the bike still have a relationship with the shots of the previous rider. This means I will be able to use them in the same collection. Finally, when I got home, I set the tri-pod up in my garden and took a portraight of myself. I did this as the green foliage behind me would represent that of dirt jumps, as the are naturally found in the woods. Again my set up of bike and style of clothing contrast to the other two riders, and I think this helps finish off the set of images which could be used together.

PHOTOGRAPHY//

I arranged my 1st photo shoot for earlier on this week. Although I haven't time tabled photography for another few weeks, the weather was dry and the rider was free, so I decided to head out as this would give me other chances to do more shoots if need be. We headed to Platt Fields Park in Manchester, this was a perfect location as it was be empty because it was mid week. This gave us the opportunity to take shots all over the park, without any distractions in the back ground.

I shot a range of angles, from close ups, long shots and portraits. This gave me a range of options when it came to editing them. Here are a few of my favourite shots from the shoot.

I'm happy with the outcome of these images, but have decided to organise another shoot for next Tuesday with a different rider, as I want to continue the portraiture theme. I want to gather all my images up before I start the post production stage. 

BRAND IDENTITY//

I then got the idea of using my logos as a set of three, as this would represent each style of riding together. I was inspired for this colour palette by the CMYK colour test circles on a newspaper. I experimented with these colours to see if a bright, contrasting colour could work well and grab the audiences attention more.

When I went to print these off, the colour printer didnt work prooperly and it printed them out in monochrome. Once the printer was fixed and I printed out in colour, I realised how much more I liked the monochrome ones. They were alot more subtle and the different shades of grey really worked well together. I decided to go with those ones as I wanted them to be subtle and blend into the corner of the image, and not take the attention away from the main piece. I saved these possible compositions for use with future design work.

BRAND IDENTITY// 

After working on my repeated patterns, I liked the silhouette look of the bike frame and parts which I had drawn. I decided to start doing some digital drawings on illustrator using the pen tool. I drew the outline to stair sets, ledges, rails, and ramps. 

All of which would be immediately obvious to somebody apart of BMX. I also became interested in the use of negative space and how it can be use to create abstract looking designs, or either represent two different things at the same time. For example in this image, each face is represented through the negative space of another. This is the effect I was trying to create by placing a white shape on a coloured background. I think it works well as the eye is immediately drawn to the darker colour.

I continued to mock up different compositions as seen above. By overlaying different shapes or arranging them into a landscape. I didn't like the outcomes as I felt they didn't clearly represent what I was looking for so I decided to use them individually again, so that they could be used with my images or other designs, to indicate which discipline of riding the piece relates too.

I looked back at my research of brand identity and how different brands represent themselves through logos etc. I wanted to create a stamp like logo which could be easily recognisable and relate my work together. Here are a couple of images I found whilst researching into logos. 

I really like the simple shapes and subtle typography. I don't think that the logos need anything to complex on as the simple ones are visually more effective. I also like the textural feel to these two, which gives the idea of them being stamped/branded onto different products.

 

Above is a book on symbols which I found online. All these symbols are created within a circle, I really like the black and white approach and use of negative. I want to create a logo in a similar style, as this will relate to the logos which are in use in the BMX industry and by having such a simple logo allows me to use it on a variety of work as it will tie in with most ways of working.

I then started to use my simple silhouettes within circles. These circles would give a continuity throughout them and if they were used on separate pieces, it would create a relationship between them all. I created a number of different logos for each style of riding, so then I could narrow down to a selection of three or, if I needed multiples of each style, I would have more than one to choose from.

I kept them black and white, as this would make them more subtle and sophisticated when blended together with my designs/images. I also experimented adding in a texture look to them. I really like these, and as you can see on the designs below, it makes them appear as if they are stamped onto the design, and less digital, which I think makes them more appealing as it contrasts well with the digital background.

I am going to leave these logos as they are for now, but I want to bring them back into my work in the next couple of weeks as I think they will help me link my work together well.

TECHNICAL DRAWING//

I started off by drawing imagery of different bike parts. I tired to draw these as accurately as I could because  I wanted to use some technical drawings to represent how much effort and maths goes in to the designing of a frame. 

Although this was my intention, the images still ended up looking quite illustrative, so I adapted my plan. I decided to lay them out, as if you were building up a new bike. I wanted all the key parts (frame, forks and bars) with a few other important parts. I kept my colour palette fairly neutral, with the plan to change this once I had decided on a composition.

Once I had arranged a few compositions, I decided to add some type to give them a finished look. I decided to keep them neutral, with a bold colour surrounding the typography. This would make it stand out against the neutral back ground.

I like these  images, but knew that I didn't want to take these compositions any further, I decided to use certain drawings to create abstract repeated designs. The repeated patterns worked well and decided to compose them into a more graphic layout. This would allow me to add subtle typography and to give them a finished feel. I was happy with the outcome of these designs, but I want to save them till I have shot my photos, as I want to incorporate my images into these designs.