Studio brief 2: Initial ideas

Research had lead to the decision of designing a poster that either represents or advertises the Leeds Print Festival exhibition at Colours May Vary. The research was then focused on the list of artists that were having work in the exhibition, to see if there were any particular styles, common approaches or visual elements that would work well as a print. 

All of the visual developments are based on aspects from the existing prints by the artists in the exhibition. Figure 1 is a print representing the exhibition, rather than advertising. The large bold shapes and colours were chosen as they are associated with the outcomes of screen printing, one of the main requirements in the brief. The decision to keep a large amount f white space was to keep a fresh and modern look, showing how the traditional method of screen printing is now a method commonly used and often preferred. 

Ideas 2 and 3 use the same visuals, but in different ways and with different layouts. Idea 2 has the visuals as a small section, with the type as the most important part of the print because it would make up a series of prints that display the feedback and satisfaction of people who have been to Leeds Print Festival in the past. As the brief is about creating a poster which represents the events that have shaped Leeds, the coming together of creatives is something that should be celebrated as an event that has shaped the city and its creative scene. Idea 3 takes the same visuals, but uses it as a way to advertise the exhibition. The location is made evident through the use of the Colours May Vary logo, something that the people interested in this kind of event would recognise, targeting a specific audience suitable for the event. The white space around the outside works to frame the print and also draw enough emphasis on the logo in the bottom right hand corner, which may have got lost if it was overlapped on a full page print.  

Idea 4 takes visual elements from a variety of the artists that are having work exhibited at Colours May Vary, chosen by DR.Me. The print is to advertise the event, taking the well known logo like in idea 3, but with a much bigger emphasis on the visual outcome and less so on this logo. 

Idea 5 is based on the marks commonly made by artist 'Jordy van den Nieuwendijk' and then the layout represents the work by Nejc Prah. This idea more discreetly represent the artists that are in the exhibition, so if developed I would need to work on a way to ensure that each artist is accounted for in some sort of way. The ways in which I could do this is by the use of colour, marks, layout, typefaces, shapes or images. 

Feedback on the ideas suggested that idea 4 is the most interesting concept to be developed. The poster design could work as promotion, but also as a visual representation of the festival once it is over. It was thought that the design could be improved by using marks from every artist and not just a few of them. This would allow for a strong concept to be established and every artist in the exhibition would be accounted for, which was thought to be important. 

Idea 1

Idea 2

Idea 3

Idea 4

Idea 5