Task 3 | Creative Identity

How peers describe my work

"Fun tone of voice, recognised immediately. Humour with a dark side"

"Utterly lovely nonsense"

"Doesn't take itself too seriously but always has a message. Fun and free, uninhibited. Loose inky times."

"Silly but intellectual. Playful but strategic and logical. Fun but thoughtful. Informed nonsense. Contained mess. A good egg"

"Pleasing to the eye, unsettling to the mind. Serious but playful"

How I describe my work

Slide from Who Am I? pitch
describing my work

Communicational Icon

Part of this task was to create a communicational icon that conveys our creative identity. I've stayed clear of creating a logo to represent myself and my practice, as I feel this is more business-oriented than I'd prefer for my practice.

So the closest thing to this is the icon I use as my profile image across social media. It's a small character I've developed myself, made using ink and photocopied paper.

Zines and Independent Publications

This is very much an area of illustration/design that I'm interested in. I enjoy making zines and small publications, and find that they can sometimes say or do more than a single print can. Often, I've used them as a way of accompanying a single image or acting as an accumulation of drawings, prints, or other types of physical work.

Here are some examples and research into people that facilitate and represent this kind of work, and the artists that create it.

NIEVES BOOKS, ZURICH

An independent publishing house in Zurich that focuses on promoting and distributing zines and artists books from a number of international collaborators. Zines are a popular format for independent publishers, as a large quantity can often be produced quickly and cheaply.

Nieves acts as a platform to promote new and existing artists. Mainly creating content that surrounds drawing and illustration, but branches out into other disciplines too.

 I Wait Here For You Forever as Long as it Takes - Stefan Marx

OTTO PRESS, LONDON

An independent publisher of art books and comics, based in London. 

Falling Down the Stairs - Jack Sachs / Walls - EKTA

GOOD PRESS, GLASGOW

Formed 2011 in Glasgow, Good Press is a volunteer run organisation that produces publications, puts on exhibitions, artist residencies, talks, and events. It acts as a space to support the creation and promotion of independent publications.

The world available from their website spans from books, to zines, to journals, and is multidisciplinary in its approach - including examples from photographers, illustrators, writers, etc.

I like that they treat the zine as a legitimate artefact, placing it alongside more established forms of products / publications.

 Selected Drawings - Tomtyve / Diogenes - SHOBOSHOBO / Fist - Craig Atkinson

KIOSK, LONDON

Based in London, Kiosk are an independent publisher who act as a platform for young creatives to promote and collaborate on self-published zines and artist books.

 Dog House - Ken Kagami / No Ball Games - Maria Midttun /

The Wind that Remembers - Jack Sachs

Phantasm Exhibition

I got the chance to get involved with Phantasm, an exhibition held at Colours May Vary that is themed around magic.

The subject matter of the show is interesting and could be interpreted in so many ways, and was fitting to the tone of voice within my work too.

This is a great opportunity, which presented a set of new challenges for me to get to grips with. For example: pricing work, packaging, promotional aspects, as well as creating work for a public-facing exhibition.

WHAT I CREATED
• A series of screenprints, from two designs

• A series of hand-stitched zines

• Business cards

PRICING

This was part was especially challenging. I've never priced work before, and there's no simple formula to get the right price. It was very easy for me to undercharge due to the lack of exposure I've had, and the lack of commercial work I've undertaken (and the big question of "would people actually buy it if it cost £_____?")

In the end, I took the following into consideration:
• Cost of materials (paper stock, printing charges, thread, print medium, packaging materials e.g. greyboard, cellophane...)
• Time taken to produce the outcomes (hand-pulled two colour screen prints, hand-stitched zines all cropped by myself, prep time, etc..)

• Longevity of the prints. Ben mentioned that screenprints should cost significantly more than, for example, riso or digital prints, because of their archival properties. Due to the quality of the inks and paper they can last forever.

PROMOTIONAL

I finally set up a professional email address, and created business cards which point people in the direction of this as well as my instagram.

The image I chose for the front of the cards ties in with all of the other products I've created for the exhibition so it's clear who created the work.

What's my name?

Thinking about online presence and identity leads me to think about what name I want to go by in association with my work. I think it's important that I figure this out before I start making a website.

I'm not sure how I feel about using my full name, or any combination of my name along with 'illustration' or 'draws'. I don't think it fits the tone of voice that I have, and that I want to convey. I may ask people what they think is most suitable / appropriate for a name choice.

I also want to look into options of website platforms. Something simple, with the option of being able to customise it in some ways.

Possible options:

Cargo
Format
Wix
Wordpress

Task 2 | Website Research

HENRIK DRESCHER [link]

Website layout is rather simple, not too flashy or over-complicated. The work is what takes centre stage. I really enjoy the mix of developmental work, sketches, notebook jottings, alongside professional projects and commissioned work.

I do think that all of this 'messy' / 'behind the scenes' work is just as intrinsic to someone's creative output as much as the shiny, finished outcomes are. You get a real sense of how they work and the type of work they make, which isn't overshadowed by showy website widgets and design muscle-flexing, which doesn't always add something more.

NICK WHITE [link]

Another example of a practitioner whose website really showcases the breadth of what they do in an interesting way. It's more of an archive or a catalog of their work, thinking, and projects they've undertook.

A real range of artefacts and finished pieces that are valuable in their own way; zines, published books, collage experiments, drawings on scrap paper. It all feeds into each other. The commissioned 'official' work doesn't undermine the thoughtful, self-initiated projects, they balance each other.

PAUL WAAK [link]

Simple, straightforward website design that is easy to navigate. Chronicles projects, exhibitions, and commissioned examples of work which he has created or had a part in. Bio and contact page outline their creative background and provide a contact form and a concise list of other links.

Specific project pages give a small description of the work and its context in the lower left corner.

JOOST STOKHOF / THETHINGSWEARE [link]

Although this example is still minimal in appearance, it contains a few other features that bring a little bit more to the table. Such as an animated page opener, and colour transitions when the cursor hovers over images.

However what I appreciate is that these little additions don't eclipse the work completely, they just give a bit more pizazz. I think if a person wants to achieve that then that's fine, but it's not totally necessary. The work is laid out in a sort of scrapbook fashion, but it doesn't feel overwhelming to look at.

PALEFROI [link]

What I like about this example is that it encompasses everything they do, in one place. The front page is a sort of blog/journal, providing updates on recent events and what's going on.

There is also sections which catalog all of their print and publication projects respectively, as well as click-throughs of some of their pages. Their shop can also be accessed from the main site too. I think the way the site functions fits their multidisciplinary practice very well.

Task 1 | Creative Manifesto

One of the aims within my practice is to communicate to an audience (however big or small), hoping to engage with them through atmosphere, tone of voice, and the visual impact of what I create. I would describe the things I make as 'insular but inviting' - they often don't make sense at a first glance, but I would hope that this provokes viewers to read, decode, and interpret the images for themselves. Whether this ends in complete understanding or total confusion, it doesn't really matter.

My work features humour, surreal imagery, ambiguity, words and phrases, and references ranging from historical to personal. I think that this eclectic mix of stuff creates a characteristic that is hard to identify, but is in no way limited.

It is important for me to continue finding pieces of information that expand on this vault of influences and reference points, as well as processes and approaches so that my work doesn't become too formulaic.

Final Presentation