OUGD402 - Be a Sponge - 15/10/2015

We were asked to consider a range of blogs, websites, books, current affairs and what ever else which has been an inspiration to us. In groups we were to each write down a couple of these inspirations and then present our combined list to the other groups, once we had heard all of these we were then asked to pick a mixture of ten different sources which had been said by the other groups, specifically ones we had not been aware of or ones which sounded most interesting. With this newly formed list of ten inspirations we had to research each one to get a feel for them and take inspiration ourselves.

New Grids - 

A design blog Created in 2011, by Thomas Bouillot, is a blog which is formed of a range of creative work, original new thinking and digital experiences. One of the blogs latest posts focusses on type, which is very interesting and also relevant to what i'm currently working on through my studio practice, this post is mainly imagery looking at different styles and picking out similarities while also looking at layout and colour which will help influence my current project. The creator of new grids Thomas Bouillot also has his own personal blog which looks at his personal works as a planner for designers, 'A planner blending culture, psychology, business and technology to define meaningful problems. I develop strategy and support creatives all along the process' is what he writes on his homepage. His blog looks at the work he has produced or has helped to produce, explaining the project and his role in it. The work he posts, which ranges from exhibition set up to logo branding is very interesting and will be a good reference point for me to use.

Sight Unseen - 

An online magazine which looks at many different forms of design and visual art yet focusses on product design, installation and fashion. Founded in 2009 by editors Monica Khemsurov and Jill Singer, both very established writers and design consultants. The site focusses on giving new talent a space to showcase work and push up and coming designers into view of big companies and clients. For me the current topics of the magazine do not really stand out to me to influence my work, yet I shall come back for future reference and also browse through previous posts.

Design Milk -

A design blog which focusses on Architecture, interior design, modern furniture, art, style and technology. The blog was created by Jaime Derringer, an expert on design trends, lecturer, blogger and also consults designers. Design Milk look at a number of different current designers, especially giving young designers spot light to give them links to big design firms and big jobs.

Instagram -
Instagram is a form of social media blog which is formed of images. Many designers and design studios use Instagram as a way of showcasing there work, it is free and easy to use. Some of the blogs I find interesting are manly illustrators blogs such as Paul Hornschemiers account Forlorn Funnies, who posts his current projects as well as personal drawings which he does on a daily basis, I have been a fan of his work having used it in my projects at college. Another account I like to look at is The Family Rains, a rock band from bath who design there own music posters with a very retro and swiss style design, using simple colour and shape, their work influences me a lot as I am a huge fan of there style and there music.

Behance -
Behance is another form of social media blog which is formed of images. Behance runs through Adobe, so is a blog which attracts a lot of attention from creatives and graphic design. One post I recently liked was a look at Esquire Magazines 1000 magazine cover, the colours used complimented the type and imagery used. Its classic design style gave the feel of heritage and class, even though it is just in its 24th year. Behance is a great reference point and will help to influence me.

Twitter -
Twitter is a social media site which is used as a personal posting site. Designers now use twitter quite a lot using it to advertise their work and broadcast there current projects and shows. It is a clever form of free publicity with a huge audience to tweet to. One particular account is One Minute briefs where, there are quick brief competitions set for followers who then send in there outcomes, with interesting responses and a good way to get started in quick fire projects.

This is Colossal -
Colossal is a blog which focusses on art, design and visual culture. The blog is easily set out in sections, so you can find your personal preference easily without having to sift through different things. Currently much of the design work on the blog is product design and 3D work, though ive never been much interested in this side of work, I have been able to get more into it through the work i've seen. It is a very good informal blog, with mostly imagery over type which means it is easily understood.

Trendland -
An online design magazine which looks at a range of different things such as art, travel, culture, photography, trends and music. It is a very formal blog which has a very nice aesthetic, and structure. Currently the main article is a range of covers designed for magazine the Parisianer, a group of designers were asked to design the cover which they felt represented Paris to them. This project is really interesting to see the range of interpretations of paris, all the different styles of art work and colours, a really influential project.

Designinspiration -
An online social media blog focussed on design work, it tries to create a level of great design work to inspire people around the world. It has many great images and pieces of work, it looks at a range of different design aspects such as type, symbol and layout in different context such as branding, magazine covers and also installation pieces. It also looks at a huge range of styles and techniques such as hand rendered and digital. This is a great source of reference which I will be able to use for influence.

Grafik -
A blog which is focussed on Graphic design, the home page is very basic and typographical until a title is scrolled over which then reveals imagery of the topic the article is about. One post which I really like is by designer Alex Broadhurst, where he talks about inspiration he had as a young child, which was the Wolverhampton Wolves logo, he would draw the logo all over his school text books, this post lead me to look deeper at Broadhurst and his own personal work, which is type based and very simplistic. I can take a lot of influence from this and shall be using it as a reference point