Second Annual Report

Last year, I published a 5 page issuu document which was my first annual (not so) report and it was rubbish. It made no sense and was using my old branding framework. This is year, today,  I publish my second (not so) annual report and it can be read below.

We have changed format this year and it is now a poster. We have changed the typeface to match my (not so) new branding. The colours are what you expect from a Jamesreaydesign professional document. There is a lack of sideburns for it might detract from such important stats as Four Pairs of Shoes, One broken Bookcase and Five blog followers. (Don't forget if you have a google account you can subscribe and never miss a post.)

The typeface increases one point depending on the value of the item detailed. Every effort has been made to fact check and spell check. Information is correct as of a week ago.

Submission!

 I have never been a competition fan because I never really win them. but when one comes around that seems to make sense, I have a stab at it. Graphic Design festival Scotland had a poster competition and I like posters so that sounded right for me to try it!

 You could submit three things and so I did.

1. Be a Visual Pop Star; a piece based on some advice given by a guest lecturer  at my time at uni.
2. Creation is Dead; Inspired by Isaac's famous "there is nothing new left to create" speech
3. Politricks; you've seen this before here

I tried to develop a poster based off of Rip it up and Start again (the book and the track by Orange Juice) for this competition but it just would not work.

Politricks

This is a little poster I did for an adbusters competition that didn't pass the entry stage. but you guys can have a go here and see the gallery of other submissions; if you are keen on being overly political design.

I thought I would share this poster because I am very happy it and portrays the political process to me. Not Politicians (Keep Corbyn). Politricks is a line from an LCD Soundsystem song or at least that's where I heard it first and I have adapted the definition of Politics. The Playing card because it's all a game and a King; he is all powerful like some of these politicians think they are.  *Cough* The Conservative *cough* Party.

At the Record Company Meeting, on our hands are new star.

 

Punk has always been a source of inspiration for yours truly. But for this project it was it's after effect that inspired this project. Post Punk was just incredible; I am still finding new albums that just pushed the punk's spirit so far that it became jazz. Punk and Jazz are just opposites who would of thought they'd work so well. The Contortions, The Pop Group even X Ray Spex with honking of sax on Oh Bondage, up yours! just seems still illogical but it works.

Post punk seemed to reject the punk look but keep it's spirit and that is what I have tried to do here. It's lo fi enough to have been done in the budget restraints of a punk group but keeps it's class by not been a photocopy of a photocopy with a coffeee stain see punk fanzines. A lot of post punk was about bright colours; the work of Barney Bubbles could only of existed in this limbo between scenes but this was just meant to be simple and cheap.

I have created the base set of everything you really need to start a record company; the logo, the company sleeve in which your records go & the label that goes on the record. I have done a poster with my made up bands names that are on the label. Bands Like; The

  Ex Music, Tempo//Tempo and Higgs Boson.

 

 

         

Take a final, Bowie

Get Loose! Get Loose! It's that time again to but on your dancing shoes but this time we are dancing the Blues, with a David Bowie special. Not musically but poster wise. The collage by my goodself and the text by the buddy of mine Wincent Valden. The poster was a quick turn around because we were kind of late in producing it giving it enough time to promote it. Oops!

We stuck with the idea of a Bowie special because his death effected most of this nation and worldwide. It seems really odd how one person can have such an effect on so many people. But it does happen. Of of Vincent's favourite albums is Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and one of my favourite musicians of all time is David Bowie. So many good songs.

If you are in Carlisle Tonight, make it down and dance with me/everyone else there to remember Our Starman!

Needs More T-Rexs

Graphic Design and illustration. The course I have been on for the past nearly three years and it's all coming to an end soon. To summarise this three year time, we have to, as part of the course, have to put on an exhibition. An exhibition of our work, including mine. So we need to start organising it now. We have started the funding but need to start the branding.

Below is my first attempt; it's a very Barney Bubbles style tribute (with me studying him on my dissertation). None of the letters on here are any sort of font they are just vector shapes. The colours just needed to be as maddening of an experience as possible because who doesn't love colour, right?

The reason I am showing you this at this stage as very few in the class actually liked it. Specifically 6 people. So it's not going to be used no matter what. Nice idea though. Also the name is changing from patchwork to I don't know. Avocado? Moron? Dubstep?

and of course; Needs more t-rexs.

stadium (bar) fillers

It's quite good when a company you have contacted in the past comes back to you for work. quick work. The Mighty Boof is a promotions company based out of Whitehaven &  wanted two posters doing. One for a comedic songwriter, the bloke on the left looking sad and a member of former indie band, Jonny Brown or Twisted Wheel fame.

I could of done better but I am thinking starting off functional and simple/safe with a client and then once they return, try something different. He seemed impressed with the speed of the turnaround so fingers crossed. Mighty Boof; if you are listening drop me a line if you need any posters doing for your comedians/bands/anything.

Get Loose, Get Loose

On the contrary, to the great song by FFS, Collaborations Do Work. Me and by buddy Vincent of Progression through Inspiration "fame" gone and done a poster for the Brickyard's indie night. It is only second time we have collaborated on a client based project, The first was the first Loose Poster. (I got a thanks on the second, despite not raising a finger on design apart from helping on the ideas).

The collage of indie stars from past and present, in the main is mine. The colours were nicked from my website, because wincent liked it I suppose. handwritting his thing and giant paint splodge is also his doing. A team effort me thinks.

 I have never attended one of these nights despite looking for one to attend ever since my teenage years and I still won't be able to make this one. This is my aim to get to the next one we design Vincent, That is a promise Vincent if you are out there reading this.

If you are in Carlisle and haven't been lease go and tell me what it's like. Plus if you go, it means more business for a place I love to go to.

Soul Bass

 Do you like Soul music? of course you do. Do you like Saul Bass? Well I think that you should. if not hand your head in shame. If you have never studied either, read this and then fly my pretties and spread your wings and discover.

I have fused the two in the pieces below. The top one is my favourite posters I have ever made. Motown has played a big part in my life since I bought "Dancing in the street" a two CD compilation of the hits from "Hitsville USA" at the age of 13/14. I could not stop listening to it and it is now one of my Favourite genres. mainly just soul in general having since discovered Stax and the work of Otis Redding as well as Aretha Franklin.

I made these on saturday morning while watching a documentary on Joy Division. as you do. I only really learnt about Saul Bass at college and Uni and found the true meaning of simplistic beauty. Which is something I tried to encapsulate below.

If We Tolerate This, Then Your Children Will Be Next

 

Homage's are dangerous, homages happen because you love something so much you are willing to open up and rip it off. I love stonewall's campaign from what it actually quite a long time a go, "Some people are gay, Get over it" was short snappy straight to the point. The colours were striking, I have tried to match the typeface here but it hasn't really worked. 

I made these to target the people who assume that Muslim's are terrorists. It's not the Muslim's that are terrorists, no where in their religous texts I am sure it does not condone violence, killing and murder. Terrorists are the terrorists. People can say they are terrorists in the name of a religion but no religion kills in the name of God.

Rock the Kasabian

Rock the casbah, rock the casbah. Hang on...wrong band. I love Kasabian, new album not so much. but yeah their first album and third and fourth albums are all masterpieces of modern indie guitar music. Not quite that band are Kazabian, a tribute to them. They are playing at my local gig venue and I was given the poster. They are an excellent tribute to a band that are in such high demand in festivals. I am definitely going to this.

I chose to use the silhouette photo of the fake Tom Meighan because it is mysterious and also alludes that it could be the real man himself as it even had the promoter at the venue got confused. I am trying my best to avoid helvetica on these posters mainly because it is used by everyone ever. It is a beautiful typeface but over used so I am using Univers as a good replacement.

Where's Your Head at?

Me and my Buddy have been given the job by the brickyard to redesign their regular indie night poster because it has not changed in over two years. So since the brief was given we have both tried different layouts and approaches. None of which have been confirmed so far. but we will get there eventually.

so  I have been Trying out new designs and layouts for this indie poster because no one is sure what they want for the end product. I have applied my current favourite type positioning to the idea of people losing there head over the music that they love. Collage has to be some where according to the brief that we have been given

My OLD obsession

 These are the last two posters of this variety that I will be doing. I actually quite like these ones and as an activity they can be quite soothing when you are just watching telly or drinking tea. mmmmm Tea and gingersnaps. mmmmm Ginger Snaps. One Moment, I will just pop the kettle on...thanks for reading, hope you like them and will be back after the tea break. Blogging is hard.

My NEW Obsession

  "Obsessions come and go weeks ago it was courtney barnett and now it is these posters. its helping my sharpen up my layout ability, as well as font choices and weights and colour. and important part of any design me thinks.
     It is an exercise that I created which is to simply use the date and the time as your header text and use lorem ipsum as your body copy and to create and interesting composition. now I have included an additional element: shapes and the may one day influence a final piece or just simply be there. I will be most pleased to see this having an effect on the way I work in the future. I am constantly striving to improve as a designer and/or as a person."

My NEWER obsession

 " Obsessions come and go weeks ago it was courtney barnett and now it is these posters. its helping my sharpen up my layout ability, as well as font choices and weights and colour. and important part of any design me thinks.
     It is an exercise that I created which is to simply use the date and the time as your header text and use lorem ipsum as your body copy and to create and interesting composition. the may one day influence a final piece or just simply be there. I will be most pleased to see this having an effect on the way I work in the future. I am constantly striving to improve as a designer and/or as a person. "

My NEWEST obsession

     Obsessions come and go weeks ago it was courtney barnett and now it is these posters. its helping my sharpen up my layout ability, as well as font choices and weights and colour. and important part of any design me thinks.
     It is an exercise that I created which is to simply use the date and the time as your header text and use lorem ipsum as your body copy and to create and interesting composition. the may one day influence a final piece or just simply be there. I will be most pleased to see this having an effect on the way I work in the future. I am constantly striving to improve as a designer and/or as a person. 

ever get the feeling you've been cheated?

 I have been cheated but I am trying not to get down hearted because I made some great work for someone but they just couldn't see it. I have been messaging various companies for work and this gymnastics club got back to me and were very interested in my work, but they liked NOTHING i did for them, not one logo had one redeeming feature. Above and below are my favourite examples of work which I am more than welcome to change the name and words to meet a request if any gymnastics club owners are reading this.

Teeange Art Riot

A beautiful photo taken of one of the most inspiration bands of all time. The band that changed the way that we saw instruments and tuning. I have been a fan for ashamedly not very long but still love them. This is a remade gig poster I made for a gig they did in 2001. The treatment on this image and text harks back to one of their underrated albums.If you are a fan dig out any LP and get rockin if not learn to rock out to the youth.