New purchase

As a home's aesthetic is highly influenced by the design in which you feel expresses your personality, I was thrilled when I discovered the above statue. It exhibits culture, colour and beauty. The statue itself is handcrafted and was bought in support of the individual who had developed the piece. The prominence of the Thai lady is strong as she stands a metre in height, thus a piece of artwork in which cannot be ignored. The piece is currently at my home due to it's size not being practical within student accommodation, although one day I hope to display it within my family home alongside other artworks in which I aim to gather over the following years. Expressing art with my own personal experiences.

Small touches

When recently returning home for the weekend I found myself visiting a nearby pub in which had been re-developed into a leisurely dining country public house. The overall aesthetic combined modern 'shabby sheek' with the original features of the building, including heavy wooden beams. One feature in which incredibly appealed to me was the soap dispenser, in which compiled of an upcycled bombay sapphire bottle. As the entirety of the restroom was highly minimal this small touch really created a strong impact, highlighting the importance of small touches on the consumer. This idea also highly appealed to me as a designer and upcycling enthusiast, as I began to think about ways in which I could develop similar projects.  

Liverpool cathedral

As I was brought up with a religious family and maintain my own religious beliefs, cathedrals are my first point of call when visiting a city. Not only for the over powering religious aspect do I visit but also due to incredible architecture present, with Liverpool Cathedral exhibiting some of the best Gothic revival architecture I have personally come across. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott was the main architect responsible for the Cathedrals overwhelming presence upon the city, with his unique style and structural presence he blended traditional Gothic architecture with modernism, developing a style unique to himself. Thus pushing himself as one of the strongest architectural composers of the time, with him also designing the structure of Waterloo Bridge, Battersea Power Station, and the iconic red phone box. It is undoubtable that his work is still highly relevant today, 56 years after his death. Thus providing the sentiment that good design work will never be neglected or appear outdated.

Recycling

As an individual I find it incredibly hard to throw away items in which can be reused, especially products involving some form of packaging (as packaging design is one of my favourite counterparts of graphic communication). Due to this I have a variation of materials collected under my desk in which I find difficult to part with, the collection ranging from glass bottles to postmodern posters. 

As I recently began to notice that my art essentials had grown considerably since starting university, I decided that it would be about time to part with some of these recycle goods, and therefore barked upon creating some minimal storage containers. To begin this process I firstly re-washed the glass jars and mental tins. The next stage was then to sand down the edges, avoiding future cuts. As I wanted the tins to contain a more classic approach I then decided to spray paint then, using a silver, thus eliminating any imperfections such as rust. After completing this I also felt that the jars appeared very dull, and thus began to decorate them with patterned tape. As I had compiled multiple jars I felt this worked effectively as each jars colour enhanced my rooms appearance. And effectively stored essentials such as paintbrushes, pens and scissors. 

Gathering ideas

As I was unsure about how I wanted to resemble myself within the self branding project I decided to write some adjectives in which I felt succesfully described me as an individual but also as a designer. These words were then torn apart and placed within a jar, in which I then selected individual words and began to correlate some ideas. By doing this it really allowed me to focus upon one direct area instead of trying to apply multiple connotations to one design. 

A print fair called skint

Last saturday I visited 'A print fair-called skint fair'. Held at the Brunswick, it was the prime location for University Of Leeds students to raise funds for their end of year exhibition. Presented was a variation in artwork for sale, mediums ranging from pins to monoprints. The diverse nature of the show was ever present due to monoprints being displayed alongside comical illustrations and photoshopped imagery.  Some of my favourite pieces being that off 'Egg Murphy' and 'Brad Pip', I began to discuss the work with the owners of the stall and they began to give me a greater insight of the collectives who produced the work-The Hairy Ladies.

When I returned home the lasting brand name remained highly present within my mind. As I had liked their work and even bought some of their pieces I decided to search for them using social media, to discover more surrounding their brand identity. Although a regulated facebook page was made I felt it lacked the messy and humorous atmosphere in which their art presented. Thus due to this I explored instagram with their hashtag. Although not having a collective instagram, I discovered their personal accounts in which contained not only their work but gallery visits and trips. I felt that this was a much more personal approach rather than it being corporate and containing only photoshopped style imagery. 

Inspiration

As my cousin Jade is getting married in May, I have often found myself exploring the internet and magazines to gather ideas for her. When specifically searching for favours I found some concepts in which I feel could be effective for my personal branding project.

I like the idea of involving an element of the business card to include a gift in which designers may use, or take home to their families. It would also allow my design to appear unique and memorable. With components such as glow sticks having to be used in the dark, the consumer would not be able to use them straight after distribution. This would create anticipation and would also allow me to stay in the consumers minds for longer. A factor in which I feel important. 

 As I am highly passionate about the environment, I really like this idea. A catch phrase similar to the above could be used in an art manner to entice the audience towards my design. By filling a packet with seeds it also not only contributes to environmental benefits but also every time the consumer looks at the flowers they would conscientiously connect it with my design work. Thus allowing myself as a designer to become memorable.

Small details are important, and personal touches really create an impact when in a world full of mass print design. I feel that these origami prisms capture this, and id like to create a similar effect within my own design work,