Body Modification / Binding Ideas

I began to think of ideas on how to bind the publication.

Japanese Stab Stitch 

Japanese binding is a classic method with an exposed stitch and spine. From exposing the stitching, and showing where the stock has been pierced, following on from the theme of the publication. Reflecting how the individuals' modifications are visable from the outside. It also represents piercings due to the 'stab stitch' nature of the bind. 

Problems with this are the margin. It's not ideal to leave a massive margin and could interfere with some of the spreads. It will also take experimentation before stitching the real product. 

Staple / Saddle stitch

This one is simple to achieve however due to the publication being around 56 pages, the middle of the booklet could look too open and have a gap. I would have to ensure that folding is tight when producing the book. 

However it is simple and easy to produce/reproduce fast. Stable and conceptual to the theme of metal/piercings if using staples. 

Creative Networks / Mike Mignola Event

For this first event, the concept was developed suitably for Mike Mignola's colour scheme and work, utilising his artwork and a bright red rectangle to communicate his identity. 

A3 Posters, Vinyl, A6 Flyers and moving image were produced for the event in November. This gave us the opportunity to see all the deliverables together to see how they all work in harmony, creating a recognisable college scale identity for the event and overall project. 

For future events we analysed that we would need to produce deliverables at larger sizes to truly show the designs potential rather than them squeezing onto small posters. Overall we recieved positive feedback on our efforts for the collateral. 

Creative Networks / Mike Mignola

Following feedback from Josh, we were advised that we should create three separate posters which will work together yet could also stand alone. These pieces are often taken away as a memento of the event. Josh also suggested that we do something different with the artwork to avoid any copyright issues.

On discussion, we chose to run with red, as we felt this summed up Mignola's work effectively. He adopts a continuous comic book style that we wanted to capture in these pieces.

I chose to focus on Mike's characters, demonstrating the diversity of the characters he creates. Mike is renowned for his work on Hellboy, so this was a focal point for my poster. I chose to cut out a variety of his characters faces in black and white, and have Hellboy's in red to convey importance to the character and comply with the colour palette. Having the faces flow from the box creates an efficient composition and a sense of assortment in Mike's work.

Here is the poster I came up with for the event:

Rhys used an example of Mike's work and added red detailing to create a dynamic piece which showcased the detail in his work. This use of colour also matched the colour palette successfully. Rhys placed the rectangular box of information in the middle to suit the choice of image. In doing this, the tentacles now protrude from each angle of the box and creates a balanced composition.

Jack chose to work with type and chose the classic 'Hellboy' typeface. This poster has a different treatment towards mine and Rhys' work, however, it still appears powerful and encapsulates Mignola's working style. The composition is contemporary, menacing and definitely interesting as it would successfully grab attention.

Each poster has differences which do work together as a set and can also be used alone, which was our initial goal.

Three sets of these posters must now be printed in preparation for the event on the 3rd of November, along with vinyl.

Body Modification / Initial Ideas

Initial ideas began after data collection started. Beginning with a mindmap to generate relevant words and therefore a suitable concept for the publication. Through this, two routes were explored. 

Idea 01 is the name “ALT”, referring to the altered state which body modification brings to some individuals. This was communicated by a heavily modded individual representing this word on the front, utilising bright colours for a friendly overtone. 

Idea 02 represents who we are as humans, and the vessel that we change to fit our ideals. Flesh & Bone appropriately refers to the body which is changed. This idea takes a darker route, but this aesthetic felt more suitable to the name and theme of the publication, as it implements mystery and encapsulates the world of mods more appropriately. 

Body Modification / Yann Brenjak

I contacted body artist Yann Brenyak to see if he would be comfortable answering a few questions for research for this project. Unfortunately, after a few weeks, Yann's 'personal assistant' responded and said that Yann was not available for any interviews at the moment.

Body Modifications / Crit

Presenting my ideas for this brief to the class helped me gain appropriate feedback from peers within the group, which in turn will shape my project and aid its development. 

Although the amount of physical design work was not extensive, I communicated ideas I planned to achieve and also research I have already conducted. I began this as my first brief for extended practice as I was under the impression it would take a long time to complete due to the nature of collating primary research and contacting individuals from around the world. Gaining a substantial amount of my own content will take time but eventually be rewarding. This was communicated during the crit. 

Issues raised:

- Perhaps it would be better to use images of 'normal' people rather than attractive/'cool' model-esque individuals especially on the cover. Something to think about - do I want the project to appeal to this demographic or become a more relatable piece of design to the masses?

- How will the publication be distributed?

- What is the aim of the piece of design, will it be an archive or a piece of design which aims to challenge people's opinions and change them?

Action to be taken:

- Continue contacting interesting individuals.

- Go in more 'normal' tattoo/piercing establishments, for example in Blackpool,  to capture a more realistic setting for those who choose to modify themselves.

- Could capture these individuals doing 'normal' things such as eating an ice cream. 

- Attend a tattoo convention for more of my own primary research and qualitative data.