A Question of Research

After all of the exploration within my practice-based research looking at different print mediums, I have finally made a series of posters. I decided that posters would be my preferred choice of outcome, as this supports my own practice and visually shows materiality as a tactile response to the work within the realms of communication on a larger scale within print. My main objective was to fully explore typography using the Hebrew letter Alef as a lens towards experimenting with type and how materials can enhance the overall aesthetics through printed medium.   Video that shows the final making stages of the posters (Jones, 2023) I have now come to the final stage of producing the screen-printed posters. I wanted to make sure that I would explore different ways to visualise the Alef letter. I decided again to print on different paper stock and cards that would enhance the print...

Now that I have finalised my poster designs and have done lots of visual exploration within print design, I decided to use this time to respond to the advice from Dan who mentioned in a tutorial about considering writing up a manifesto to support my working practice. I decided what better way to find out more than to actually google it and see what's out there.  Funny enough, I ended up discovering lots of information and examples on this.  My take on this is that a designer's manifesto is a clear declaration or given statement that outlines their beliefs, values, principles and intentions. It is their way to respond to their methodology approach, they can be personal and represent the designer's ethos.  Ms, L. V. F. (2021, December 30). A Designer’s Manifesto Written by a Writer - A Designer’s Diary - Medium.  Medium .  https://medium.com/diving-into-design/a-designers-manifesto-written-by-a-...

To understand materiality, there should be elements of experimentation. Such experiments have allowed me to adapt a better understanding of my practice, my thought process and one of my design outputs being screen printing.  So, have I answered my question yet? How can materiality enhance the user/audience experience within your practice?  I feel that the main idea behind materiality for me is the use of materials that can enhance my design process. For me, I wanted to show how print design still holds great value within design communication that reflects modernity from the perspective of materiality.  In essence, to this and within my own practice I have continued to explore the art of print design within different designs through rigorous practice-based research, whilst trying to somewhat understand materiality in a visual way that is personal to me.  Through the lens of typography, I decided to continue to explore how we can see typography through different print ...

After establishing a plan of action, it was now time to use the ready-made screens that I had prepared previously. The reason for this supports my own methods of working, as I spend most of one day printing the artwork out via the large format printer as they can print A1, these are then waiting to be exposed via the screens that had already been coated with  emulsion and fully dried out from being in the ovens. I feel that I have mastered this process very well now as I spent most of my BA getting my timings right and allowing the screens to dry fully before exposure happens next. Now that I had the designs exposed to the relevant screens, it was time to use these screens to print with.  The images below are the initial stages of when I set my screens for print. This was a new discovery for me working on this large scale. I had to check on the overall size of the screens to see if t...

This plan is to show my aims and objectives within completing my final set task in producing my final printed posters. These posters will be physical artefacts to articulate and further document my ongoing development at answering my question on materiality.  Objectives: To do test prints of the final poster designs on newsprint as this is vital to get the consistency right between the paint and the screening process, this is also important to identify any defects within the design on the screen.  To visually develop my initial ideas on a larger scale by printing on A1 surfaces Explore on different paper stock as this supports another form of materiality within my practice. Document my process of screen printing these posters, the setting up to the actual print process.  To gain a better understanding on screen printing on larger scale, this will Improve upon my knowledge of layout and co...

  After setting my final screens ready to be exposed for screen printing, I decided to research colour theory and adapt my understanding and knowledge on this even further. I decided to research and find any books online that could help better my understanding. I feel that this is important for me to look further into, as the work I have and will be doing primarily involves different colours of some sort.  DeLong, M., & Martinson, B. (Eds.). (2013). Colour and design. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Colour theory to me, plays a key role in my own practice. It allows for further adaptations to take place, and it creates a strong sense of dynamism that gives further visual form to the work produced. This is rather apparent within the context of print design, as it can work solely on the visual aspects to create a dynamic response within a given audience. In terms of my own practice and where I have been exploring so far, I feel that colour helps me visualise my ideas and concepts...

  Another form of materiality is the work of Darren Page, who was also my lecturer and supervisor for my BA major. Before even starting this module Dan my lecturer suggested that my group attend Darren's exhibition showcasing the work of Foursandeight studio in Portsmouth, Southsea which he co-runs with his wife Marie. I already was well-established there and so I wanted to attend and see the work up close.  Below are photos taken from the exhibition.  Photos taken from the exhibition Twelve by foursandeight, (2023) I found myself deeply engaged within the designs present, looking back now actually pointed out how relevant attending this exhibition was for my research and understanding of materiality from a visual and sensory perspective.  Photos taken from the exhibition Twelve by foursandeight, (2023) Photos taken from the exhibition Twelve by foursandeight, (2023) I can identify that Darren's work clearly outlines such ...

It was advised as part of our recommended reading within our group to explore the work of Ellen Lupton and read Sensory Design (Lupton, 2018). This is because sensory design is one of many important aspects of materiality and can enhance a piece of work for a given audience. I decided to explore this and see if I could glean from her understanding of this so that I could then apply it to my own working practice. Screenshot showing the cover of The Senses: Design Beyond Vision.  Lupton, E., & Lipps, A. (Eds.). (2018). It was interesting to find out that the work presented within Lupton's book explores "design is primarily a visual pursuit and that the senses accompany a major exhibition at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum that explores how space, materials, sound, and light affect the mind and body" (Lupton & Hewitt, 2020). Joy Monice Malnar and Frank Vodvarka, Ranges of the Senses, from Sensory Design, University of Minnesota Press; © 2004 by Joy Monice Ma...

Now that I have figured out what I want to explore by making my resolution to support my question of research, I decided it would be beneficial for me to continue researching visual examples of poster designs that connote materiality within print primarily. What better way than to explore this area by looking into books for inspiration.  So I have a mild obsession with regards to European posters, this became apparent to me since starting to Geneve Switzerland where it became apparent how much I love Swiss design and the posters that were situated around the city. Below are just some great visual examples of this and the typographic style that is presented within these designs.  Photo taken by Jordan Jones (2023) Photo taken by Jordan Jones (2023) You might be wondering what relevance this has regarding my research now and looking into books, well I was fortunate enough to discover a great book called From Switzerland: Graphic Design from Switzerland, compiled and published by...

I decided to explore by seeing what my recent prints would look like scanned and then made digital. I wanted to expand upon the meaning of materiality from print to screen and experiment further to see how they would look on screen as another form of medium towards the tactile nature of materiality. I decided to use some of my original prints from my letter press workshop to then incorporate into screen printing by scanning the designs back to digitise them and then printing them out to be exposed via the silk screens. Setting up my screen for print (Jones,2023) Continuing to explore the Alef letter, I decided to try different things and see how it would look visually. I decided to add type to some of the print designs from the early stages of preparing my screens for print. I feel overall that the outcomes seen below have proven that you can adapt your print designs to fit inside digital outputs, it also visually adds further texture to the origi...