Sculptors

Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei is a conceptual artist focusing on free expression and social criticism, who is based in his home country of China. He was born in Beijing, China in 1957. Weiwei joined the Beijing Film academy in 1978 where he studied animation. In his earlier years, between 1981 and 1993 he spent some of his time in the U.S, primarily in New York where he studied briefly at the Parsons School of Design, as well as at the Art Students League of New York. During this time, he found himself exposed to the works of Andy Warhol, Marcel Duchamp and American printmaker, Jasper Johns who had quite an impact on him, so he started to create conceptual art pieced by re-using old objects and turning them into something new
 

Tara Donovan

Tara Donovan is an American contemporary artist focused in sculptural and organic subject matter. She was born in Flushings, Queens, in 1969. She grew up in Nyack, New York and began her studies at the School of Visual Arts, where she went on to study at the Corcoran College of Art and Design. Her work features everyday manufactured items such as Scotch Tape, styrofoam cups, paper plates, toothpicks etc to create large scale sculptures. Donovan has revealed that she first picks the material before deciding what can be done with it.

Antony Gormley

Anthony Gormley is best known for his work names the Angel of the North, which was commissioned in 1994. He grew up as part of a wealthy Roman Catholic family in Dewsbury Moor, West Yorkshire. He studied at Ampleforth College, a boarding school in Yorkshire before he studied at Trinity College in Cambridge, from 1968 - 1971. 

The Chase

"We describe ourselves as creative consultants. Not designers, or writers, or advertisers, or brand strategists but all of these and more. In the last year we have been both playwriters and drinks mixers. Yes, there is the usual list opposite but who knows what may be the best solution for you"

The chase are a creative company who focus on a range of media, from advertising to stationary and information graphics which all have a modern, crisp, upbeat feel to them. 

They use creativity to get the message across and look hard o discover what you (the client) wants to say. Their client base ranges from Apple to B&Q, even Disney and The Royal Mail. Each of these clients are completely different, showing the range of skills within this company as each would require different creative outcomes. 

Check out some of their work here

I'd quite like to work for this company as they produce a range of creative outcomes, rather than sticking to just one media. This gives the company more of a chance of getting clients and gives them change to show off all their creative skills, rather than just one of them. The company only has 18 creatives spread between 3 offices, meaning that they're quite a close-nit company, which I believe is better than having about 100 people working for you and not really being able to connect with them all or not being able to get to know them well. Working with fewer people is also great for sharing your ideas and designs for getting constructive criticism and feedback, alongside it being easier to work as a collective.

Dream job? I think so.

Oliver Munday

Munday is a contemporary graphic designer, who currently lives and works in New York. His work has been recognised by many major design publications such as Communication Arts and TDC. He was also named as PRINT magazines "20 under 30" in a new visual arts review. He graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2007, when not long after he send his portfolio to the art director of The New York Times Book Review. This change everything for him, as he received an assignment just a few hours later - a great start to his career. Munday also works for Piece, a socially based design collaborative, which he co-founded with Bernard Canniffe and Mike Weikert. 

In a online interview, he states that he believes you can get visual inspiration from anywhere. Something which o definitely need to open my mind to!

Here is some of his work:

You can find out more about Oliver Munday here & more of his new work here

Pros and Cons of My Chosen Career Path

I haven't quite decided on my career path yet, but I would like it to be within the graphic design industry, whether it be a freelance designer or working for a small agency. 

Pros
Sharing my ideas/designs - Showing off my style to others, using my techniques and skills to get a point to message across to the public
Doing what I feel passionately about - Theres no better feeling than waking up in the morning to do a job you love


Cons
Creative ruts - The problem of struggling to come up with creative and original designs, possibly due to lack of inspiration 
Not enough jobs - The worry of not being able to find the clients/work if I were to go freelance

Professional Organisation - Design Council

The Design Council is an independent charity, established by Winston Churchill in 1944. They work with a variety of people. By woking with professional designers they aim to tackle major issues such as community cohesion and health issues. They give people practical tools, professional advice and knowledge that can help improve their business.

They have a collection of helpful resources on their website for many kinds of designers, from landscape designers to product designers.

At first, their website is a little hard to figure out who they are and what they do, but after a while of browsing you soon get the idea. One part that really interested me is their projects tab. The style they are in is somewhat like the style I wish to work in; clean, simple and minimalistic yet still effective.

You can take a look yourself here if you wish.

A Nose for Type - Eye Magazine Autumn 2010

This article from eye magazine features a fresh, new company that have revamped an old book cover (originally printed in nine pocket size volumes between 1759-67), giving it a new lease of life. The article begins by describing how they've refreshed the old book, by adding 'garnish fluorescent ink' on what is described as 'white stock'. 
The article then goes on to talk about how the new designers got to know the book to begin with, and how different they feel about it now that it has been redesigned. They state that they try to make the visual aspects part of the text itself, rather than illustrations. Some of the new and improved features include folded pages, perforated pages to show the missing paragraph, and spot varnish. 

To me, this article shows that a little bit of a redesign can't hurt, and sometimes it improves things drastically, almost making it seem like a completely new book with all the old aspects. I'm quite interested in redesigning book covers, as well as creating them, as its all about the saying 'you shouldn't judge a book by its cover' even though we all do and we can't help it. If I'm walking in a book store and I see a really interesting cover, I go to that first, rather than the book I was originally looking for. I feel as though it's the key to not only getting the reader to notice the book, but also to giving first impressions and maybe kick-starting their imagination when reading the book. 

Eye Magazine

Eye Magazine describes itself as 'the world's most beautiful and collectable graphic design journal'. This is published 4 times a year for students, professional designers, and anyone who has a general interest in design and culture. The magazine is available from many arts bookshops, but is also available online at the Eye Shop where subscriptions can be purchases, as well as older issues.

Eye magazine also have a blog online hat you can follow, where they publish reviews and articles about books, designers, and photographers. This is a great blog to refer to when you're needing a bit of influence, or just want to expire further into the creative world. 
On their website, they also have a section called 'Education', which has a list of links to useful university websites and you could say it even suggests the best arts universities and institutes to study at.

This magazine has always been an influence during my studies, on my previous course there was a box of these at the side of the room that we could always refer to if we needed some inspiration or even some research. Now if I'd like to seed them, I'd have to subscribe for a year at £34.00 (student price) or buy older copies from auction sites where they'll be cheaper for students, or visit the library where I study as they have recent issues. The problem with this is that you do have limited access, and they aren't your own for you to use.

The site also offers a 'try before you buy' feature, which links you to a video featuring the latest copy of the magazine, allowing you to look through briefly online so you can decide whether to purchase the magazine. I find this really handy, as sometimes when purchasing something expensive, you can feel as though you've wasted your money as you don't find the magazine useful or interesting.