IF - Friday 19th Dec 08

This week's word for IF is 'voices' and I thought I'd do a little piece about the damn voices that whisper when it comes to being confronted with oh so divine cake! 

Eccentric Collector

Really enjoyed working on this uni project where I had to design promo materials for an eccentric collection at the Design Museum. I wanted to do a collection on braces and the top people at High Street Retro in the Old Town, Hastings very kindly loaned me their wonderful range. High Street Retro liked my artwork so much, they've asked for a poster instore!

Illustration Friday

Here's my response to this week's Illustration Friday of which the topic was 'balloon'!

Weekend Plans

It's important to have fun and play around in graphics. I've been quite immersed in work and projects recently so when I had a bit of breathing space, I did a few doodles of what I'm looking forward to this weekend!

Green-up Your IT

Without jumping on my soapbox, it's important to be aware of our impact on the planet and we should always try and look at ways we can tread more carefully.

I had the great opportunity of working with The Green IT Company, a company who provide environmentally focussed IT solutions from IT support to Green IT education. Green IT needed a little giveaway to sow the seed into the minds of both business and home IT users that you can 'green-up' your IT, so I produced a 100% recycled postcard with a very impactful illustration that instantly communicated what Green IT are all about.

This was a lovely brief to work on and there were too many ideas which didn't surface but perhaps can be used for another time! I just had to show you one of the other ideas which came a close second to the one Green IT went with.

Hastings College Course Leaflet

And here's the lovely leaflet that went out in tandem with the double page spread in the local papers. 

Listings Guide Quickety Quick!

Hastings College needed a listings guide for their part-time adult courses, and with 

my help, we produced a crossfold leaflet which is currently with the printers, and a 

DPS in the local paper (above). With a deadline of 'yesterday', my solution was to use 

simple, bright door illustrations to communicate how Hastings College's adult courses 

open doors to many opportunities. Crossfold leaflet to follow!

English Gentleman

Had a brief to design a magazine cover for over 50's which at first, went down like a lead 

balloon in class, but I really enjoyed this.

I wanted to design a coffee table magazine for your 50+ gentlemen who are enjoying their 

success, like the good things in life, appreciate good design, have the income to dress in 

tailored threads and the likes of Paul Smith and take care of themselves. The type of men 

who would describe themselves as the new 'English Gentleman'; a traditional well-mannered 

man who is savvy, stylish with sex appeal.

Here's the finished product.

The machines that will be able to prick up their ears

I love a challenge. Today, I was tasked to produce an illustration for a Guardian article about some big brother style technology on the horizon. Sadly, I was commissioned by my tutor as a quick project, not the Guardian, but who knows?!

Good things come to those who hoard

My name's Jen and I'm a hoarder. I hoard loads; quotes, pictures, mags, rags, crafty bits, packaging, it gets messy. But hoarding brings great things. Par example; my notebooks. Albeit chaotic, they carry a wealth of little gems, many of which sew their way into my life and my thinking processes. 

A year or so ago, I jotted down a quote by the Director of Media at the Tate which captured me as it was very true of me and how I view things. Said Will Gompertz, "Do something that is new and challenging. It helps you see things differently and makes the World seem a more interesting place". My latest new challenge which I've been wanting to do for some time now is life drawing. I love the natural form. Not in the nudist sense but I appreciate the shapes and tones found in the naked body, and in particular have always wanted to draw the female form as I love the curves we women so frequently moan about and perhaps don't appreciate.

2 weeks in, and I'm loving it. I'm already seeing an improvement in how I view perspectives and proportions. The challenge of 1 minute sketches and using unfamiliar mediums gives me a buzz, and I know what I learn in each class will only make me a greater, more versatile graphic designer. Anyway, enough waffling from me. Here's a little sketch from today's class.

 

The Pulse Youth line

Pulse Youth, the PCT funded youth project I'm involved with are growing from strength to strength, engaging the young people of Hastings to take better care of themselves. I'm excited to see the identity I designed get rolled out and here we have an example of Pulse Youth's hoodie and tshirt which are worn out and about when doing street work in Hastings. Watch this space for more exciting stuff from Pulse Youth.

Front Row 2008

September 2008 saw Hastings 2nd ethical fashion show and I had the pleasure of producing their guide, packed with designer info, ethical tips and my very own spread on how to recycle an old vest!

Collage by Stephanie Hartman.

Let's Doodle

There's nothing like letting loose with felt tip pens. At Pulse Youth, we're organising a doodling event to get the young people of Hastings in touch with their creative side. Here's a little something I put together to help promote the event!

Get the best, from a plain old vest

It's the summer holidays and I've made a pledge to myself to explore as many personal projects as possible. And here's my first piece for the summer!

Like many clothing items, vests can look a little tired after a while, but don't be swept away by the throw away fashion fad. Give your old threads a new lease of life with a little tinkering here and there:

Express Yourself

Got a great project on at the mo where the young people of Hastings have the opportunity to make the Pulse bus (the local health bus for young people) officially 'theirs'.

Take a look at the recent promo I've designed.

Looking after our generation

Whilst studying for my degree in graphic design, I've been fortunate enough to land a brilliantly rewarding job working on an nhs funded project here in sunny Hastings.

Heading up a team of young, creative, inspiring individuals, our focus is to help young people in Hastings live healthy and fulfilled lives. We've launched as Pulse Youth and will be actively mixing it up with both the young people of Hastings, and the services offered to them, to identify issues and provide solutions. Our strapline pretty much sums up what we're about; 'Looking after our generation' and in the next year we'll see some very exciting projects take place to help engage with our generation and get them feeling good about themselves. And at the same time we'll be looking at the services on offer to young people and seeing how we can help.

Anyway, we're amidst developing our corporate identity and here's a sneak peek at the designs I've been working on! xxx

A Lovely Day indeed!

Well for the first time ever, I am selling some of my work!!! A gorgeous little cards/ gifts/ interiors shop has taken on some of my framed works. One of which is 'Lovely Day' - see below. Lovely Day is a collage that describes some of the lovely things that make a lovely day. Framed copies for sale at McCarron's of Mercatoria, 64 Norman Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, TN38 0EJ.

Graphic design is so ambiguous that it's hard to know where our skills should lie. As it's all about communicating visually, I guess we have carte blanche to do what we want as long as it's on brief?
I've been doing a lot of illustration of late and I'm worried that I may have been swept by the current trend of intended imperfect illustrations. I guess I could argue that what I'm doing is zeitgeist. Or perhaps I should just chill out and carry on doing what I enjoy? Anyway, here's a few doodles of recent. x

Hiawatha - childhood memories

My dad tried to get me into poetry as a kid and I used to learn poems off by heart - can't remember any now! One particular favourite of mine was Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. These pieces are based on my personal experiences of the poem Hiawatha.

Nearly a year into my graphic design degree and I don't know where the time has gone! In order to help me with my growth as a graphic designer, I've decided to set up a blog to keep track of my progress and invite comment.

I'm at that stage where I don't feel like I have an 'approach' as yet - I haven't yet established a 'Jennifer Pringle' style and each piece of work seems so different from the next. So with your help, this blog will enable me to get a feel for what works and what doesn't.

Anyway, enough rambling from me for now. Please do keep an eye out for my blogs and let me know what you think of my work, be it good or bad.

xxx