Tessellation

Tessellation or tiling is a pattern of plane figures that fills a space with no overlaps and no gaps. Tessellations are also known as parts of the space or of other surfaces. Tessellations frequently appeared in the art of M. C. Escher, who was inspired by studying the Moorish use of symmetry in the Alhambra tiles during a visit in 1922. Tessellations are seen throughout art history, from ancient architecture to modern art.

Maurits Cornelis Estcher (1898-1972) is one of the worlds most famous graphic artists. His art is known to millions of people worldwide. As a dutch graphic artist, he is best known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs and mezzo tints. These feature impossible constructions, explorations or infinity, architecture and tessellation. .

Negative Space

Negative space is the area that the design leaves around the image that conveys the meaning of the logo. Because our eyes only seem to focus on the positive space, the negative space is often ignored or not seen. It could also be an optical illusion when you think about it.

Negative Space is also called white space. These are spaces without content although they are called white space, “Negative Space” doesn’t have to be white. It can be any color, it just doesn’t have any content. Negative space is also a design factor although it is not easily recognizable, the use of negative space is to add symmetry to a layout.

Negative space is often seen in logo designs. Here are some logos that use negative space effectively.

The FedEx logo is one of the most recognizeable logo's worldwide. It was designed 1994, by Lindon kindly who was at the time, Senior Design Director at Landor Associates, San Francisco. The logo is a good example of using negative space as there is a hidden arrow between the E and X. Below I have selected information that was gained from the designer after he was asked a series of questions about the logo design.

"If you put a lower-case x to the right of a capital E (Ex) you can begin to see a hint of an arrow, though it is clumsy and extremely abstract. I thought that, if I could develop this concept of an arrow it could be promoted as a symbol for speed and precision, both FedEx communicative attributes. And, by the way, different kinds of arrows were utilized with some of the other semi-final candidates, though none of those were hidden.

Once I decided to refine the concept of the embedded arrow, I found that, to make the arrow more legitimate and identifiable, one needed to actually reconstruct the letterforms in order to make the arrow happen. The power of the hidden arrow is simply that it is a hidden bonus. It is a positive-reverse optical kind of thing: either you see it or you dont. Importantly, not getting the punch line by not seeing the arrow, does not reduce the impact of the logo's essential communication. The power of the logo and the FedEx marketing supporting the logo is strong enough to convey clearly FedEx brand positioning. On the other hand, if you do see the arrow, or someone points it out to you, you wont forget it."

Studio journal 11

Over time I have been building up the 'Accidental Alphabet' made up of images I have taken around Bristol. After a few difficult letters to find, I have finally completed the Accidental Alphabet.

Studio Journal 9- Sence of place & collage

Following on from my research into Bristol attractions I have decided to create my own image that is made up of the images of Bristol attractions. I have started by taking this image of a ship and then redrawing it so that it is only the silhouette. I have done this with a select few images and then put them all together to create one image that illustrates 'A sense of place' Bristol.

The idea for this design was inspired by the Heads of State travel posters and the idea of taking the main attraction of each state and using it as a flat image to illustrate each state. I have taken a similar approach but instead used several aspects of Bristol to create one poster.

This has lead me on to another idea that can be used for a collage or sense of place. I Have focused on the main attractions of Bristol and used various images to create a photo montage/collage that could be used to illustrate Bristol.

Studio Journal 8- sence of place

There are several aspects of Bristol that it is well known for such as the suspension bridge and the the World's first ocean going passenger ship, SS Great Britain. For 'A sence of place' I am have decided to focus on the things that people associate with Bristol. I have started by looking at the main attractions such as the architecture, events and scenery.

 SS Great Britain was an advanced passenger steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Steamship Company's transatlantic service between Bristol and New York. While other ships had previously been built of iron or equipped with a screw propeller, Great Britain was the first to combine these features in a large ocean-going ship. She was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic, which she did in 1845, in the time of 14 days. 

The Clifton Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Avon Gorge, and linking Clifton in Bristol to Leigh Woods in North Somerset, England. Also designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, it is a landmark that is used as a symbol of Bristol. It is a grade I listed building. The idea of building a bridge across the Avon Gorge originated in 1753 originally for a stone bridge with later plans for a cast iron structure. An attempt to build Brunel's design in 1831 was stopped by the Bristol Riots, and the revised version of his designs was built after his death, being completed in 1864.

This artistic footbridge opened in 1999 to link the waterfront leisure facilities on either side of St Augustine’s Reach. Irish artist Eilís O’Connell worked on the design with many engineers. The sculpted horns are counterweights which lift the central span clear for river craft. Pero was a black slave brought to Bristol from the Caribbean island of Nevis in 1783 as a servant of wealthy Bristol merchant John Pinney. 

The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is held annually during August in Bristol. Teams from the UK and other parts of the world bring their hot air balloons to the site and participate in mass ascents where as many as 100 balloons may launch at a time.The event was first held in 1979 and is now one of the largest in Europe. It is common to have crowds of over 100,000 on each of the four days of the festival.

The Cathedral Church of the Holy and undivided Trinity is the Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England, and is commonly known as Bristol Cathedral. Founded in 1140, it became the seat of the bishop and cathedral of the new Diocese of Bristolin 1542. The Cathedral is located on College Green, where its architecture can be seen to an advantage, the cathedral presents a view of tall gothic windows and pinnacled skyline that belies the fact that it was constructed over a period of more than 700 years. The cathedral has much of interest including unique architectural features, unusual memorials and an historic organ.

St. Mary Redcliffe is an Anglican parish church located in the Redcliffe district of the English port city of Bristol, close to the city centre. Constructed from the 12th to the 15th centuries, the church is a Grade 1 listed building, St. Mary Redcliffe is renowned for the beauty of its Gothic architecture, having been described by Queen Elizabeth I as "the fairest, goodliest, and most famous parish church in England." The 292 ft (89 m) spire is the third tallest of England's parish churches after the Roman Catholic Church of St. Walburge, Preston and the Anglican Church of St. James, Louth. It is the tallest building in Bristol.

Studio Journal 7- collage

Here I have created two collages. The collage above is based on Bristol zoo and made up from leaflets I have collected whilst in Bristol. I have created this one as an experiment before I has created my final collage which is the image below. I have been collecting up bits from newspapers, leaflets and information sheets that contain images and places that make up Bristol.

Studio Journal 6 - visual journey

I have developed my visual journey some more using Photoshop. I have taken an existing map of Bristol that is easy to understand and only locates the main areas and roads of central Bristol. I have decided to use this map to recreate my own abstract piece based on this map of Bristol. Using Photoshop I used the clone tool to edit out any lettering on the map such as the road names, area names and the information on the corner of the map. This then left only the imagery and looked like the image below. I created several outcomes by creating four of the original then rotating and flipping the images and then placing them together like a puzzle as shown in the image below on the right. 

Experiment 1

Experiment 2

Experiment 3

Experiment 4

Experiment 5