Studio Brief 2 - Covered

Possible Book Choices 

Designers Don't Read

"Austin Howe is a creative director, writer, advocate, and cheerleader for design-but not a designer. He believes “in the wonder and exuberance of someone who gets paid-by clients to do what he loves.” Howe places immense value on curiosity and passion to help designers develop a point of view, a strong voice. He explores the creative process and conceptualization, and delves into what to do when inspiration is lacking. If there’s a villain in these elegant, incisive, amusing, and inspiring essays, it’s ad agencies and marketing directors, but even villains serve a purpose and illustrate the strength of graphic design “as a system, as a way of thinking, as almost a life style.” Howe believes that advertising and design must merge, but merge with design in the leadership role. He says that designers should create for clients and not in the hope of winning awards. He believes designers should swear “a 10-year commitment to make everything we do for every client a gift.” If this sounds like the designer is the client’s factotum, not so. Howe also argues in favor of offering clients a single solution and being willing to defend a great design. Organized not only by topic, but also by how long it will take the average reader to complete each chapter, Designers Don’t Read is intended to function like a “daily devotional” for designers and busy professionals involved in branded communications at all levels. Begun as a series of weekly essays sent every Monday morning to top graphic designers, Designers Don’t Read quickly developed a passionate and widespread following. With the approximate time each chapter might take to read, Designers Don’t Read’s delight and provocation can be fit into the niches in the life of a time-challenged designer. Or it may be hard to resist reading the entire book in one sitting!"

After looking at this book and the way it explores the creative progress and conceptualization. The book has a humorous aspect to the book but also a good motivational aspect. It is also intended to function as a daily devotional for designers...

The Doors Of Perception 

The Doors of Perception is a short book by Aldous Huxley, first published in 1954, detailing his experiences when taking mescaline.The book stated that the drug could be used to research the unconscious mind. Huxley had written that drugs were "toxic short cuts to self-transcendence”.

Requirements 

- Two Colour print plus stock for completed designs.
- Final printed A4 poster and digital print of final completed book jacket design
- Two design boards which provide a condensed overview of your research, process and design decisions.

Initial Ideas 

Looking into artist research for inspiration, Aldous Huxley described his vision that represented the artwork
of Juan Gris and Braque.

This inspired me to create a render of the scenery that Huxley is describing, he goes into depth when

describing what he could see when under the influence, with this vivid description I could replicate 

what he was seeing.

After doing some reading of the book and trying to find aspects that would inspire me. After reading
Huxley's description of his study and the depth he went into the books and his thoughts after the
mescaline, I found my main focus reflecting this aspect of his description As the link between the bookshelf
and creating a book for the brief really interested me.

I looked into abstract shapes within art one day in the library and took inspiration from different books that
reflected a bookshelf like structure or resemblance to the shapes found in book shelves.