My Work – Shooting Star

In order to establish a ground for moving forward, I find it beneficial to reflect on my recent work. Below are a series of spread from a children’s book that I have written and designed, as part of my current MA. The book remains unfinished at this stage, but it is my aim to continue with this project for my major study next year.

The book is made entirely out of paper and prints, with additional text set in InDesign. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of making this book. The physical process of using paper or making prints to create my designs allowed me to engage with the work and offered me the liberty to explore new ideas. As a result, my work has evolved. The finished artwork evokes a lively and tactile appearance, and in my opinion, appears less stagnant than my
previous work.

In particular, I enjoyed making the type in the book. Hand-crafting elements of the type in my updated project, allowed me to enhance the typography, assisting me to add semiotic meaning to the typography. By utilising the typography in my book, it gave me the potential to conjure emotions and feelings that represent a connotative meaning (Hassett & Curwood, 2009, p. 271).

The development of the typography in my FAT2 project has enticed me to explore
type as vessel for both linguist and visual communication. Austrian-born designer,
Stefan Sagmeister, well known for his use of metaphoric lettering, creates designs
that are “imbued with symbolism and served as vessel and as idea” (Heller & Vienne,
2012. p.38). The use of metaphoric lettering adds deeper understanding of message
portrayed by the designer.

It is my aim to explore metaphoric lettering for my Practice 2 module. I hope that this
study will lay the groundwork for my major study.

McMahon, E. (2016) Shooting Star (page 2+3)

McMahon, E. (2016) Shooting Star (page 6+7)

McMahon, E. (2016) Shooting Star (page 8+9)

McMahon, E. (2016) Shooting Star (page 10+11)

McMahon, E. (2016) Shooting Star (page 14+15)

McMahon, E. (2016) Shooting Star (page 16+17

McMahon, E. (2016) Shooting Star (page 18+19)

Resources:
Hassett, D.D. & Curwood, J.S. (2009) “Theories and Practices of Multimodal
Education: The Instructional Dynamics of Picture Books and Primary Classrooms”,
The Reading Teacher, vol. 63, no. 4, pp. 270-282.

Heller, S. & Vienne, V. (2012) 100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design. London:
Laurence King. p.38

The Fox and the Star by Coralie Bickford-Smith

Google Alert once again directed me to another new artist; Coralie Bickford-Smith’s.  I was instantly drawn to Coralie Bickford-Smith’s illustrations in The Fox and the Star. Coralie Bickford-Smith is an established book designer at Penguin Random House. The Fox and the Star is her debut book as author/illustrator.

The Fox and the Star is a tale of love, loss and self-discovery beautifully illustrated over  64 pages. Throughout the book, Bickford-Smith uses pattern, colour and shape elegantly to inform her reader. Even with a restricted palette of only five Pantone Colours, Bickford-Smith creates a world of colour and at times, to fit the story, a world of darkness.

 

Coralie Bickford-Smith (2015) ‘The Fox and the Star’ (Size: Hard back – 253mm x 185mm, 64 highly illustrated pages) (Image source: http://cb-smith.com/the-fox-and-the-star/)

The Fox and the Star (Image Source: http://cb-smith.com/the-fox-and-the-star/)

I was intrigued by the typographic spread of the book; a playful and inspiring approach.

Coralie Bickford-Smith, The Fox and the Star (Image Source: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-fox-and-the-star/coralie-bickford-smith/9781846148507)

I admire the way in which Bickford-Smith has broken up the typography throughout the book. The spread below is a successful example of this.

Coralie Bickford-Smith, ‘The Fox and the Star’ (Image source: http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/gallery/2015/dec/01/the-fox-and-the-star-waterstones-book-of-the-year-2015)

 

Bickford-Smith creates a sense of playfulness by allowing her illustrations to break the margins of the page.

Bickford-Smith cites the British book designer,  William Morris, as a source of inspiration for her illustrations. Morris was a key figure in the Arts & Crafts Movement (1880 – 1910). He is well known for his decorative patterns and floral artworks.

William Morris, (1883) ‘Strawberry Thief’ Victoria and Albert Museum:London (Image source: http://d.fastcompany.net/multisite_files/fastcompany/imagecache/inline-large/inline/2014/10/3037870-inline-i-3-an-ipad-app-inspired-by-victorian-pattern-designer-william-morris.jpg)

 

William Morris (1834-1896). Design for a printed textile: ‘Wey’, 1882-3. Pencil and watercolour heightened with white bodycolour on paper (Image source: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01816/William-Morris-_18_1816738i.jpg)

 

Layout roughs for The Fox and the Star (Image Source: https://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2015/september/the-fox-and-the-star-by-coralie-bickford-smith/)

I am always intrigued by another artists design process and rough drawings and sketches.

Layout roughs for The Fox and the Star (Image Source: https://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2015/september/the-fox-and-the-star-by-coralie-bickford-smith/)

 

Sketches for the fox (Image Source: https://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2015/september/the-fox-and-the-star-by-coralie-bickford-smith/)

 

Resources:
Lehman, T. (2016) Coralie Bickford-Smith discusses the secret to successful books covers
http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/books/coralie-bickford-smith-penguin-random-house-946985.html [Accessed: 17 May 16]

Coralie Bickford-Smith (2015) The Fox and the Star
Available at: http://cb-smith.com/the-fox-and-the-star/ [Accessed: 17 May 16]

Sinclair, M. (2015) The Fox and the Star by Coralie Bickford-Smith. Available at: https://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2015/september/the-fox-and-the-star-by-coralie-bickford-smith/ [Accessed: 17 May 16]

(2015) The Fox and the Star – in pictures. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/gallery/2015/dec/01/the-fox-and-the-star-waterstones-book-of-the-year-2015 [Accessed: 17 May 16]