During the 3rd year of this course, we have been introduced to design practitioners arranged by the course who come to discuss their work and their place in the industry. In this report, I am going to compare the practices of two of these practitioners and how there influences will have an effect on my own practice.
I have decided my report will be about Grant Gillbert and Tracy Kendall. The reason I chose to do my report on these two was because the first major comparison between the two are their design specialties, which are very different which means there similarities are what are important to any designer in the industry, no matter what they specialise in. Grant is a computer based designer working with motion graphics and animation whilst Tracy Kendall uses hand techniques to produce textural wallpaper designs. It could be said that Grant's design style is more relevant to the Multimedia and moving image pathway which I work in, but that doesn't mean the practices of Tracy wont have any relevance to me.
When it comes to working in the industry, Grants projects tend to be team based. Even though the only person at his studio Double G studios is himself, he tends to be employed to work along side a team to create his designs. For example, the project he did for BBC new branding was team based. They approached him to become part of the team, but its a team effort to develop a design especially of that level. Tracy is very different in this area, she is independent. She works in a small studio with one apprentice, but the apprentice is there to work on Tracy's ideas and help mass produce, not to co-operate with the ideas design. When I finish my degree and look at getting a job, it will be important for me to work in a job which requires a team effort as it keeps my interest alive. Over the last few years I have worked in a hotel, surrounded by other employees, working together to get the job done. I find working with others helps keep the passion to do a job fresh as you get to know knew people and create new experiences. This would need to be the same for me in the design industry. To work alone, not explore any other options would end up boring me.
Another similarity between them both is that they both are aiming to grab the attention of the public with shock tactics. Tracy's shock tactics are in the wallpaper designs themselves. They are so original and innovative and engaging. Its not often you see designs that have such a rich texture or unique style, or a design that features objects you would normal overlook in day to day life. Grants shock tactics are done with the use of strong images such as his pornography style campaign to promote E4. As Tracy designs are more organic, using images of grass stems or feathers, leads me to believe that Grants shock tactics work better, as he's creating designs that are so unnatural, like hippo's swimming underwater for example.
A big difference between the two is the constrictions they face in the industry. Grant projects are client based and tends to work to full fill brief. This means his ideas can often become constricted such as the work he did for the BBC. The BBC are very careful to public reaction, so Grant needed to be on tip toes with his ideas to avoid a bad public reaction. Tracy's independence in the industry allows her to have more freedom with her designs and let her inspirations and ideas run wild as she has no brief to answer to but her own. The biggest restriction she potentially faces though is not being able to sell her ideas. She stated that a male audience is the best target audience as they tend to have the money and are more likely to buy a piece of her design. Therefore, one constriction she could have in her design work is not being able to appeal to a female audience as much as she would like. When I work in the industry, I would love to have that freedom that Tracy has, to explore all my own ideas and projects. For my, it's the equivalent of drawing in my sketchbook in my own time and free will, then having it bought. The good qualities in working to briefs though like Grant is that you get a wider range of different briefs, and stops you getting stuck in rut by forcing you to look in new areas for inspirations.
The way these designers approach text is considerably different. Tracy will use text that has been overlooked for a design such as a scrap piece of newspaper text, or piece of handwriting. Her focus is less about text and more about the design. Grant will spend lots more time just on the shape and form of a letter as well as it's context in the overall design. He will even approach the possibilities of creating new typeface. Both ways of dealing with text is relevant to me as its both about text being visually used as well as the ideas behind how it can be used.
The overall ideas between Tracy and Grant is one of the biggest differences. Tracy will find small pieces of every day life and let that become her focus. Grant Gillbert on the other hand will explore novel ideas that are bit different, that haven't been seen before. Again, these are both techniques that I will consider in my research for projects. It is relevant to my final piece for my final major project. In my final piece I am creating an animation that shows a star being created by cookery methods as opposed to natural methods. But by doing this, I am taking everyday items such as an egg and bowl and putting them into a new, original concept.
Both practitioners have had an effect on me and made me think about how I need to approach design. Grant has made me understand the importance of working to a target audience and keeping ideas fresh and new where as Tracy's made me understand the value of looking, and that the best inspiration can come from everyday life.
I have decided my report will be about Grant Gillbert and Tracy Kendall. The reason I chose to do my report on these two was because the first major comparison between the two are their design specialties, which are very different which means there similarities are what are important to any designer in the industry, no matter what they specialise in. Grant is a computer based designer working with motion graphics and animation whilst Tracy Kendall uses hand techniques to produce textural wallpaper designs. It could be said that Grant's design style is more relevant to the Multimedia and moving image pathway which I work in, but that doesn't mean the practices of Tracy wont have any relevance to me.
When it comes to working in the industry, Grants projects tend to be team based. Even though the only person at his studio Double G studios is himself, he tends to be employed to work along side a team to create his designs. For example, the project he did for BBC new branding was team based. They approached him to become part of the team, but its a team effort to develop a design especially of that level. Tracy is very different in this area, she is independent. She works in a small studio with one apprentice, but the apprentice is there to work on Tracy's ideas and help mass produce, not to co-operate with the ideas design. When I finish my degree and look at getting a job, it will be important for me to work in a job which requires a team effort as it keeps my interest alive. Over the last few years I have worked in a hotel, surrounded by other employees, working together to get the job done. I find working with others helps keep the passion to do a job fresh as you get to know knew people and create new experiences. This would need to be the same for me in the design industry. To work alone, not explore any other options would end up boring me.
Another similarity between them both is that they both are aiming to grab the attention of the public with shock tactics. Tracy's shock tactics are in the wallpaper designs themselves. They are so original and innovative and engaging. Its not often you see designs that have such a rich texture or unique style, or a design that features objects you would normal overlook in day to day life. Grants shock tactics are done with the use of strong images such as his pornography style campaign to promote E4. As Tracy designs are more organic, using images of grass stems or feathers, leads me to believe that Grants shock tactics work better, as he's creating designs that are so unnatural, like hippo's swimming underwater for example.
A big difference between the two is the constrictions they face in the industry. Grant projects are client based and tends to work to full fill brief. This means his ideas can often become constricted such as the work he did for the BBC. The BBC are very careful to public reaction, so Grant needed to be on tip toes with his ideas to avoid a bad public reaction. Tracy's independence in the industry allows her to have more freedom with her designs and let her inspirations and ideas run wild as she has no brief to answer to but her own. The biggest restriction she potentially faces though is not being able to sell her ideas. She stated that a male audience is the best target audience as they tend to have the money and are more likely to buy a piece of her design. Therefore, one constriction she could have in her design work is not being able to appeal to a female audience as much as she would like. When I work in the industry, I would love to have that freedom that Tracy has, to explore all my own ideas and projects. For my, it's the equivalent of drawing in my sketchbook in my own time and free will, then having it bought. The good qualities in working to briefs though like Grant is that you get a wider range of different briefs, and stops you getting stuck in rut by forcing you to look in new areas for inspirations.
The way these designers approach text is considerably different. Tracy will use text that has been overlooked for a design such as a scrap piece of newspaper text, or piece of handwriting. Her focus is less about text and more about the design. Grant will spend lots more time just on the shape and form of a letter as well as it's context in the overall design. He will even approach the possibilities of creating new typeface. Both ways of dealing with text is relevant to me as its both about text being visually used as well as the ideas behind how it can be used.
The overall ideas between Tracy and Grant is one of the biggest differences. Tracy will find small pieces of every day life and let that become her focus. Grant Gillbert on the other hand will explore novel ideas that are bit different, that haven't been seen before. Again, these are both techniques that I will consider in my research for projects. It is relevant to my final piece for my final major project. In my final piece I am creating an animation that shows a star being created by cookery methods as opposed to natural methods. But by doing this, I am taking everyday items such as an egg and bowl and putting them into a new, original concept.
Both practitioners have had an effect on me and made me think about how I need to approach design. Grant has made me understand the importance of working to a target audience and keeping ideas fresh and new where as Tracy's made me understand the value of looking, and that the best inspiration can come from everyday life.
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