Rodney Smith

      I have been a great admirer of Rodney Smith's photography for a while now.  I love surreal and quirky art and Smith's photography has its own unusual twist that makes it his own.  His concepts are simple yet well thought out and there is an obvious cleverness behind his images.  His simple methods generate beautiful and surreal photographs and he captures every moment perfectly.  His style has a resemblance of Magritte's paintings, especially the top hat and tailor suit figure where the subjects face is hidden.

Yves Lavallette

     Yves Lavallette is a French fashion photographer who has worked for some of the best fashion magazines in the world.  These include Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Marie-Claire and Soon.  I think he creates so much beauty within his images and they are extremely striking.  His photographs are edgy without taking the focus away from the fashion.  They are art directed to perfection.

Tom Ford

     When I first came across Tom Ford's work I used to find it quite offensive.  The nudity did'nt bother me, as I am a huge fan of Helmut Newton and Guy Bourdin, who I think Ford has taken a lot of inspiration from.  I didn't like how he portrayed the female model, but really he is using the power of the female form to sell.  There is a lot of sexual reference in his images, but at the end of the day 'sex sells.'  I have found myslef liking his photography more and more, it's sexy but still has that sophisticated style.  The two things I think Tom Ford portrays as a male fashion icon.

Giacomo Brunelli

      I came across Brunelli's work when I was looking for exhibitions to visit in London.  His animal photography is stunning and I love the earthy reality it portrays.  The settings vary from the man made to the natural landscape.  I like how the images don't feel staged, he captures life as it is happening.  The first image above of his work really caught my attention.  I like how he focuses on a certain area with the simple variation of light.  Each image is individual and striking in it's own way.

Remember Me

    I've just been to watch 'Remember Me' and it has to be one of the most moving films I have seen for a while.  It is a heartfelt drama, which takes hold of your emotions as you get wrapped up within the story.  There's everything from love, hate, violence, and death.  It's an emotional rollercoaster, especially with the main character played by Robert Pattinson.  He is a very trouble character throughout the film and you begin to really feel his pain as the story progresses.  The ending is very overwhelming and something I did not predict, so it leaves you stunned and it brings back real memories that each viewer will be able to relate to.  If you watch the film you will understand what I mean, but I won't spoil it for anyone.

'Panic' at Noise Lab

    The 'Panic' exhibition looked really professional and everyone's work was great.  There was a good variety of work and everyone had interpreted the brief in their own style.  It's amazing to have work put up in a space like this and I am proud to be part of D&AD.  I would like to thank Helen Butterworth and Alessandra Mostyn for curating the show.  They put a lot of effort into this exhibition, which is very evident in the end result.

Panic

     My degree course has been lucky enough to have an exhibition at 'Noise Lab' in Manchester city centre.  The brief for the exhibition was to interpret 'Panic.'  I did a joint project with Kirsty Gilliburn.  Our work was based around the idea that people panic at the thought of being alone, such as eating alone, shopping alone, walking alone, travelling alone, being in the house on your own, etc...We narrowed it down to three sequences and used photography as our media.  There are three sets of four photographs, but we have styled them so they link together.  The first set shows the person at the graveyard, which signifies the panic people face when they lose a partner or someone close to them.  The second sequence shows the person walking alone in an isolated area, so the panic of no one being around especially when it gets dark.  The third sequence shows the person at home alone , the panic that someone could be in your house or even watching you. 

    I recently saw the new Alice in Wonderland film, which is an extension to Lewis Carroll's novels.  The film is a combination of live action and animation and I thought the end result was amazing.  Tim Burton directed the film and I always enjoy his work because he has a very unique and distinctive style.  He seems to have a very dark imagination, which he had brought to this film whilst maintaining the 'Disney' element.  The characters are played by some very entertaining actors.  My favourite had to be 'Tweedledee and Tweedledum' played by Matt Lucas, and Helena Bonham Carter as 'Red Queen.'

    The posters above used to promote the film are very powerful and striking.  The attention to colour and detail is very prominent, so you know the film will be the same.

Lady Gaga is a crazy lady!!

I've just watched the new Lady Gaga and Beyonce video ('telephone') and it is typical Gaga style!  The clothes are completely out there but they look fantastic.  There's a range of bizarre outfits, including a padlock draped swimsuit fabricated with lit cigarettes as sunglasses, and a  crime scene tape top (if you can call it that), which basically just covers her modesty.  I love the use of the diet coke cans as rollers, it just adds to her creative madness.

 The video was directed by Jonas Akerlund.  He is known for his stylish music videos that often mock forms of movie trailers and short films.  The telephone video reminds me of a similar style Quentin Tarantino uses in his films.  It's very raw and edgy.  This video seems to have a lot of pop culture allusions with the Captain America and Wonder Woman characters, reference to Andy Warhol and pop star icons Michael Jackson and Madonna.  Akerlund is known for a wide range of music videos, but one that stand out to me was the 'Smack My Bitch Up' by Prodigy in 1997.  The video was banned due to the explicit violence and sexual reference.  I'm not a big fan of the song, but I think the way the video has been created works really well with the song.  The video is edited as if we are looking through the eyes of the main actor and the overall effect is very gripping.

Alan Fletcher

I went to see the Alan Fletcher exhibition at the Manchester Cube Gallery, 'Fifty years of graphic work (and play).'  It was a very striking exhibition, which included original sketches, posters, objects and archive footage celebrating his work.  He has been described as one of Britain's best ever graphic designers.  His work is still a major influence in todays graphic design and it still looks fresh and exciting.  Until this exhibition I wasn't aware that Fletcher helped establish the Design & Art Director's Society (D&AD) and he was one of the founding partners of the Pentagram.  His use of typography was really exciting with the bold styles and the bright use of colour.

                                                      Fruit & Cream, 1968

                                                      Decorative poster

                                                      Crosby/ Fletcher/ Forbes

                                                       Cheese & Biscuits, 1968

                                                       Decorative poster

                                                       Lyon's Teashop

These are two examples from the series of posters used to liven the dreary interiors of the 'Lyon's' chain of teashops.  The Fruit and Cream poster is derived from Fletcher's handwriting.  The theme of food is used throughout and with the vibrant colour, it's aim is to stimulate appetite.  I think you either love or hate this kind of style.  I personally enjoy his daring use of type and colour.

                                                       Icograda, 1996

                                                       Seminar poster

                                                       International Council of Graphic Design Associations

The poster above really caught my eye at the exhibition.  The image is very striking and it is obviously about someone who has a lot to share with the wolrd.  There's a lot of passion shown in this image.

                                                       Pan Am

                                                       Pentagram

                                                       1972

In 1970s Pan Am reduced its transatlantic fares.  This move was accompanied by a campaign promoting the airline to ordinary passengers.  Posters and multiple information leaflets were designed.  The example above is of the leaflets that were designed.  Fletcher's designs are very clear and legible, but his bold colour and type keep it interesting.

 

Flirty Adverts

I am currently working on a brief for Bacardi, which is to advertise Bacardi falvoured rum to 18-24 year old males.  The brief specifies that the outcome should be fun and flirty but not too sexy.  I have been looking at adverts which I think will help give me some inspiration.  I really like the new Vauxhall Corsa Pop Art advert.  It's upbeat, fun and colourful.  It visualises the message perfectly, 'Put the fun back into driving.'  It has an element of that flirty vibe I need to inject into my ideas.  At points in the advert when you see a flash of the headlight it's as if the car is winking at the audience and the pop art imagery adds to this.  The link below is to this advert.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af_tN42lTcE&feature=related

Another advert that I have looked at is the Paco Robanne '1 Million.'  Advertisements for fragrances are always very sexy and engaging.  I have looked at this as an example because it is aimed at a male audience, but it focuses more on the male rather than being overtly sexy using lots of shots of a female model.  The advert portrays the man being in control of everything by the click of his fingers, even the dress of the woman drops as he clicks.  The music used works extremely well with the sequence (Chemical Brothers 'Do It Again').  Men like power and this advert is offering it in a bottle.  Men will want to buy it, but also women will want to buy it for their men.  The link below will take you to this advert.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFXV_ViibCo