Riusuke Fukahori

Coming back to the theme of existence Riusuke Fukahori produces shoals of goldfish using painted layers sealed within resin creating a static scene. see the process here.

Scottie Wilson

Scottie Wilson highly ornate and systematic work maybe of help to those of you tacking darwin, the layers within the drawing and within the images themselves give some impression of ages or epochs passing. His images were later used for Royal Worcester pottery. 

Michael Landy

Landy's project Welcome to My World is the documentation of late fathers final years of life. Images range from body parts to objects; for those of you interested in the existential issues raised by the work of Descartes this work may help you deal with this issue what constitutes human life. 

Doig and Katz

Peter Doig and Alex Katz both have worked with the representation of night. For those of you who have chosen the Dickens Night Walks their paintings are a good source of information about colour and how it is altered by artificial and low light levels. 

Luc Tuymans

As a Belgian Tuymans investigated his countries colonial past in Zaire. For those of you working with An Image of Africa, this may help you tackle looking in hindsight at the attitudes of nations and individuals in the past. 

Persephone Books.

Persephone books specialise in the reprinting of forgotten mid century non-fiction and fiction work from mostly women writers. They source period fabrics to become the endpapers, all of their publications covers are flat grey giving the end papers more weight. 

Darwin Originals

Darwin originals was a series of films produced on the anniversary of his birth and the production of On The Origin of Species in connection with Channel 4. More are viewable here. The one about relates to the path Darwin used to walk while thinking. 

Marianne North

Many of you have read and are considering working with the Darwin book from the series. If you are near a visit to the Marianne North Gallery at Kew is well worth it, she was a self taught botanical artist with close links to Darwin. She travelled the world alone recording botanical subject at the end of the 19th century.  

Folio picks.

Some of my favourite folio issues lately, I think that although these covers are embossed they give you a great idea of how a cover can operate differently from the spreads. From the top down they run Geoff Grandfield, the Balbusso twins, A. Richard Allen and Bill Bragg. 

Jan Vercruyyse

Look what I just found on the Xavier Hufkens site here - Shaker Pegs = art.

Sol Lewitt

Sol Lewitt at City Hall Park, curious structures, some appear to nod at function others are more monumental and vaguely architectural, perhaps though suggesting a way of constructing that is more engaging and makes accessing your work, challenging/exciting?

Build bad

Kind of rudimentary, kind of clumsy but not building that is resolved through a monochrome treatment, perhaps this is another consideration when thinking about how to bring together objects that perhaps do not have an obvious visual connection. Courtesy of here thank you.

Michael Johannson

Courtesy of here thank you.

Wexler

Ex architect Alan Wexler designs/builds oddly [un]utilitarian spaces and pieces of furniture - again something that has a resonance or 'feature' to it that could help to identify you [collectively].

Shaker joy

Some more examples of Shaker innovation [again thanks to Zeel] - this may/may not be relevant to the thinking about the show design but could be interesting to have a folding or removable set of furniture/show space that becomes a feature of one of the rooms? Somehting to create a bit of a buzz around your book works perhaps - or the space that you want to show objects?

Direktorenhause Vs Shaker

Hmmm, peg based modular storage facility that could accommodate a true 'pop up' shop, something that could be made on the day and stored in the evening, variously moved from one location to another - imagine that - innovation. Thanks to Zeel.

Simple, elegant book display

Again seen in New York [this time a Boo Hooray gallery], a simple elegant unit produced to display books/flat sequential work. Quite conventional but is definitely fit for purpose.

Asymmetric blob shelf sculpture

Some sculpture seen in New York. There is something to consider here regarding the design of the graduation show - perhaps there is some scope to move away from the overly geometric and regular?, this 'shelving' could be bespoked to accommodate different sized objects and could be a quiet feature in its own right.

Another consideration for the curation of the show should be the grouping [or not] of works by type, for instance a room for 3D, one for mediated or reproduced imagery and one for flat 2D stuff?

Materials

Images from the If you could collaboration between Chrissie MacDonald and Marie O'Connor. Materials and the execution of your ideas should be no barrier - DK have produced books with illustrations that include installation, wool depictions of the alimentary canal as well as pure photography, 3D renderings etc etc. There should be no restriction to how you approach this project.

TANK COMMANDER

A more systems based approach to describe a space - this may be a key factor in your proposal for the interactive experience - what you need to think about are layers of information and the timing and sequencing of how that information is discovered and seen. So when thinking about the proposal for this part of the brief consider a timeline, and a mapping process. It would also be good to think about the spacial aspect to this.

MINE CRAFT

The possibilities that exist for online platforms can be a little daunting however it is certain that your work will find its way on to a digital platform and is likely to be part of a visual experience which is not only static. It is therefore really important that you engage with the idea that your work is likely to be animated/moving in the future and may even be part of an environment which is interactive/randomised.
Above, a still from a world building [RPG I think?] game called minecraft. When thinking about the thesaurus it may be interesting to consider how you can reflect the process of accumulating knowledge and a broader vocabulary through the mechanics of the interactive experience. Minecraft is all about building environments - it is generative - get it?

Liber Floridus

Images Liber Floridus from here.



Think about how you can devise a visual system that is sympathetic to your way of working, the discipline of conveying information is an interesting one and will help with more lyrical image making in the future. You will need to consider hierarchies of information, the trajectory that you want you reader to take in the case of the print outcome and the navigational possibilities for the interactive proposal.

You could be as involved and complex as you feel is necessary like Heironymous Bosch.



Or be more systematic in your approach like Bruno Munari, producing visual lists. You do not have to conform to a house style with this project, the point is to explore the possibilities both in terms of the visual language that you use and the options for navigation and access of multiple layers of information.

One way to consider how to develop this project is thematically. Normally with a thesaurus you would select a word and then list the synonyms and possibly the antonyms. However it is also possible to explore a theme or scenario, see above produced by godhead Richard Scarry. This gives you scope to construct an image and be lyrical with your interpretation of the brief - however you will need to consider how you are going to expand on the theme. It may be interesting to think about George Perec and his practical exercises listed in the 'Species of Spaces' perhaps?
If you are going to select a word and then visually list its synonyms and antonyms then we would suggest that you select one to two words to work with.

The project asks you to think about how to take people on a journey of discovery and learning. Traditionally, Dorling Kindersley make books that accommodate vast amounts of information, they are image and text rich with a remit to make the process of gathering material and making connections across subject matter as engaging and interesting as possible. This project is a speculative one in that you are being asked to consider both the potential for a thesaurus within the convention of print AND the possibilities that interactive and alternative platforms now offer for that process.

Hello all, please see below the external project set by Diane Peyton Jones and Jim Green of Dorling Kindersley.

DK BLURB
Established in 1974, DK publishes bestselling, award-winning and visually stunning reference books for adults and children. From travel guides and activity books, through to food, history, film and much more, DK makes ideas come to life! Owned by media group Pearson PLC, DK is part of the Penguin Group, and also acts as a parent company for video game publisher, Brady Games, and travel/non-fiction publisher, Rough Guides.

DK has established a worldwide reputation for its innovative non-fiction books in which the unrivalled clarity of the words and pictures come together to spectacular effect.

As well as creating beautiful books, DK is increasingly making content available in a range of digital formats. However, DK content in all its forms is still characterised by quality, expertise and accessibility. DK is a brand that inspires trust and we pride ourselves on creating books with international appeal, working with companies worldwide who share our values and ethos.


VISUAL THESAURUS:
This project asks you to visually and / or typographically re-invent the format of the thesaurus [not the whole thing!]. The project is aimed at the 7+ age bracket and its purpose is to get children engaged with learning new words and expanding their vocabulary. It is also about considering how print content could be applied across interactive formats which are now being implemented within the world of publishing

TO DO:
Select three words OR themes and:

1. Produce 3X full colour spreads to the spread size of 276x432mm in either portrait or landscape format. If you choose portrait then we would like at least 1 or 2 of the spreads of the three to be landscape as well if possible.

2. Produce a proposal for an illustrated print approach that can then be expanded into an interactive version such as an app or a web-based experience.

At the interim meet you should have 3X roughs for each of the spreads and visually coherent ideas for the interactive proposal.

TO CONSIDER:
This is a speculative project and gives you the opportunity to think ambitiously and creatively about how imagery / illustration and content could be experienced by the reader / user. With that in mind you should be ambitious with your ideas. Putting your work in to an interactive environment offers the opportunity to think about short animated sequences, sound, navigation, space, texture, ambience. Bear in mind that you are NOT being asked to produce an app/website etc but develop ideas for how your content could be expanded / augmented through that sort of environment, so its a plan.