Craig Laing Context Publication

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THESE ARE THE CONTENTS PAGES. I THOUGHT I’D PUT THEM AT THE START TO MAKE IT EASIER TO NAVIGATE.

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My Context Publication, aka: Dr. Stresslove (Or How I Learned To Hate My Life And Start Worrying)

Transcript of Craig Laing Context Publication

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THESE ARE THE CONTENTS PAGES.I THOUGHT I’D PUT THEM AT THE START TO MAKE IT EASIER TO NAVIGATE.

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THEN I THOUGHT I’D ONLY GIVE YOU SOME OF THE DETAILS, BECAUSE I’M A BIT OF A PRICK LIKE THAT.

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Year One.So-MePeter Saville6-17

Year Two.GlossyH5Tenfold CollectiveSix

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Year Three.Pawal KarwowskiAttackMash CreativeWar

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THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK IS TO SHOWCASE THE DESIGNERS AND AGENCIES THAT HAVE INSPIRED ME OVER MY THREE YEARS AT LEEDS

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COLLEGE OF ART IN AN ORDER THAT SHOULD SHOW HOW MY INTERESTS HAVE MATURED AND DEFINED THEMSELVES.

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IN WHICH I DON’T KNOW WHAT GRAPHIC DESIGN IS AND TRY TO DISCOVER PLEASURE IN DROWNING.

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SO-ME

Bertrand Lagros de Langeron, aka ‘So-Me’ is the creative director of both Ed Banger records (a Parisian French House label) and CoolCats (A Parisian clothing label).

He first came to my attention in 2007, when I became a fan of the record label, and ever since I’ve been inspired by his (at the time) unusual take on hand drawn typography.

What is striking about his work is how he can take a relatively large amount of written information and create something that not only houses it in a coherant and legible way but also makes it aesthetically engaging.

What follows are excerpts from a 2010 interview with GBH Magazine.

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10Top left: Justice 12” EP cover, 2006

Top right: Uffie 7’’ single cover, 2010

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The awkwardness of non-designers who happen to design at some point, for some reason. Like a restaurant sign made by the cook. It’s like a child’s drawing. Someone who doesn’t “know” the rules usually creates something beautiful, almost perfect.

What would you say you’re influenced by, and why?

People usually think they’re all the same! I try to differentiate every work for Ed Banger. But indeed, they are probably united by the fact that it’s me doing them. I mean, it’s my hand! So it’s always a bit similar. But to put that into words, that’s too hard for me. It’s, “so-me.”

You’ve designed basically every Ed Banger album cover, and even though the images tend to be quite different, they do seem to be united by a particular aesthetic. If you had to put it into words, what’s that look all about?

You must be creating stuff all the time. Doodling on sketchpads, screwing around on Photoshop, whatever. How many hours a day do you work on everything, from music and design to whatever else?

The question is how many hours a day do I sleep? I’d say eight. The rest is that. But I’m lazing around as much as I can. You have to be professional but you also have to stay sane. Unfortunately, deadlines rule my world.

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12Promotional poster for Ed Banger Records, 2007

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PETER SAVILLE

Peter Saville and his work have been instrumental in my development as a graphic designer. For as long as I’ve held a serious interest in graphic design, I have attempted to emulate his work.

What always strikes me about Saville’s work is the background and story to what it is he’s created - he is a great example of a concept-led designer. At times.

Be it borrowing from the Futurist movement for his New Order work or scanning in a piece of infographics and passing it off as his own for Joy Division, Saville has been an invaluable source of inspiration for me. And although my tastes have moved on, I still believe he is one of the greatest graphic designers ever to have lived.

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“MUSIC COVERS ARE NOT GRAPHIC DESIGN, THEY DO NOT COMMUNICATE ANYTHING.”

Quote by Saville from the Adrian Shaughnessyinterview at D&AD, 2009

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IN WHICH I DISCOVER THAT I MIGHT WANT TO DO THE THINGS THAT I DON’T WANT TO DO.

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GLOSSY

Glossy are a graphic design agency operating out of Ghent in Belgium. They first came to my attention when I researched into who did the artwork for a Soulwax album, and since then I’ve been following what they do.

Though I wouldn’t be able to pigeonhole them aesthetically, the work they produce is distinctive in it’s general use of bold, solid colours and use of image-based typography.

What follows are excerpts from the email exchange I had with their creative director, Ben Urbain.

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22Top left: Southern Friend 12’’ cover , 2011

Top right: Crookers ‘Remedy’ 12’’ cover, 2010

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I don’t think we really have a philosophy. To us, what we do, it’s not something you can do with a phrase over the top of your head. You take each job as it comes and learn from it.

What would you say is Glossy’s general philosophy?

Haha! We’ve always been involved in music here in Ghent. I was DJing at Culture Club for years before we established Glossy, which by the way, was in 2001. I’d say, as a designer you should generally avoid music related work unless you’re already involved. You’ll end up disappointed.

How did you become involved in the Belgian music scene? Is it a difficult industry to work in?

If you weren’t involved in music related design, what sector would you choose to work in? What else, other than music, drives you?

Well we’re not exclusively design - for - music. We take jobs on a case by case basis, if it sounds interesting we’ll do it. But I guess if I were to steer things in another direction I’d probably look at going into fashion design. Magazine layout is something I’m interested in but not really been involved with.

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24Left: Branding for the Ghent club night ‘Supernova’, 2008

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No, not really. We produce what the client wants. Last year we worked on a print campaign for Soulwaxmas - posters, a promotional mailer, etc. But of course it needed a TV ad, so we were happy to do that too.

The vast majority of your work seems to be print based, and given your music-related client base, is that a conscious decision?

Are you kidding? When I graduated the last thing I wanted was advice, haha. If I had to I’d say take risks, because it’s very easy to find yourself one day unable to take them.

If you were going to give any single piece of advice to a graduate, what would it be?

What designers/agencies are inspiring you guys right now?

I’m really into the stuff Paul Snowdon is doing at the moment, he’s got a very strong type style. It doesn’t vary too much but I like that, it’s almost his brand I suppose. Ferry Gouw is doing some good stuff at the moment too.

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H5

Founded in 1996 by Ludovic Houplain and Antoine Bardou-Jacquet, H5 are a multidisceplinary French graphic design studio. Their earlier work includes music videos for Air and Royksopp, which is how they came to my attention and in recent years they earned an Oscar for their logo satirisation ‘Logorama’.

What appeals to me about the work of H5 is their attention to detail and the intricate nature of what they do. Often using infographics in new and unusual ways, as seen in their work for energy company Areva.

Though probably best known for their motion graphics, H5 also excel in other areas such as packaging and brand conception, and that’s one of the reasons I admire them.

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Screenshot from the film ‘Logorama’, 2010

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30Screenshots from H5’s

‘Remind Me’ video for Royksopp, 2002

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TENFOLD COLLECTIVE

The Tenfold Collective is a small graphic design agency based in Colorado. They’ve not got a huge, destinguished client base but their work sets them apart, partly because of that.

The work they produce is distinctive in it’s Americana influences. You can get a feel of 1940s/50s America in their work, and they’re quite aware of that.

Given that the team is only three people it really gives the agency an overall ‘feel’ rather than having a huge creative gene pool to dip into, and though this may be seen as a disadvantage The Tenfold Collective make it work.

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34Above: Self initiated logo design, 2010

Opposite: Self initiated brand elements, 2010

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SIX

Six are a Leicester based design agency that first caught my attention when they were featured on September Industry for their work for German social networking site Dropyx (seen opposite).

Their work is usually quite understated, almost minimal in it’s content and always seems hyper-structured, nothing left to chance.

Though mostly working for print, they also produce some fantastic web design which was an inspiration to me in my second year of the course.

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38Left: Identity work for ‘Blast’d’, 2008Right: Website design for Box3, 2009

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IN WHICH WHAT I WANT TO DO DOESN’T WORK SO I DO SOMETHING ELSE.

THAT DOESN’T WORK.

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PAWEL KARWOWSKI

Pawel Karwowski is the lead designer for Turbo Recordings, a techno record label. Originally from Poland, he now lives in Montreal working full time for Turbo.

I’ve been a fan of his work for about five years, his designs are the kind of clean, uncluttered and under embellished work I’ve been aspiring to create myself over the last three years.

Of late he his work has seen a lot of use of gradients, particularly rainbow gradients which I always associated with poor graphic design. Somehow, he manages to make them work.

What follows are excerpts from the email exchange I managed to organise with him.

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44Above left: ZZT Zafrika remix sleeve, 12’’, 2011

Above right: ZZT Zafrika original sleeve, 12”, 2010

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I studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. When I left in 1998, I found it difficult to get a job, so I ended up freelancing for a couple of years.I got involved with Turbo by chance I guess, I sent them some of my work back in ‘02 and they said ‘want to work for us?’. I couldn’t say no.

So how did you get into graphic design initially, and end up working for Turbo?

I like to think my ‘ethos’ wouldn’t be defined by any job or role. I think ‘enjoy what you do or don’t do it’ would probably be what I live by.

What would you say is your ethos as a designer?

How do you start with a brief? How does your creative process work?

Of course you start with the brief. You look at the requirements of the client and ask yourself how best to manage your time to meet them. It’s great being a creative but say I designed a sleeve two days after a record was released, it’d be useless. The first thing to do is always plan your course.

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I LIKE TO THINK MY ‘ETHOS’ WOULDN’T BE DEFINED BY ANY JOB OR ROLE.

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ATTACK

Attack is a brand-focused multidisceplinary graphic design agency based in New York. The agency is relatively small, but their output is often featured on design blogs around the world.

They first came to my attention in 2011 when I saw their work for the Ghetto Film School (opposite). From this initial glimpse at what they do I have been keeping track of their work, and they seem to be a very typographically adept agency, producing innovative brand solutions that accurately fit the client’s needs.

They were a great inspiration in my third year for seeing quite what the term ‘brand’ actually means.

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50Above: Branding & stationary for the Ghetto Film School, 2010

Opposite: Branding & Stationary for Silver Lining Opticians, 2010

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52‘Attack’ office wall, 2010

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MASH CREATIVE

Mash Creative are a small independent design agency based in London whose focus is primarily on branding, but as with most modern design agencies, they also expand out into other areas of graphic design.

I first noticed Mash Creative through their ‘State Of The Obvious’ self directed production brief (as shown on the left). The use of Helvetica was nothing new but the application of it across such a range was inspiring.

Mash creative are flexible in their ability to work to build or bolster a brand and their work is clear and effective, something I aspire to.

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56Above & right: Black Watch Global

brand guideline manual, 2010

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WAR

War are an Australian graphic design agency who specialise in industrial packaging solutions. They have been known to produce packaging for anything from cement to wine to children’s toys.

They first caught my attention early in 2011 when I found myself researching packaging design. To the left is their packaging concept for Construction Technologies Australia, I found it to be a quintessential piece of Industrial packaging. Their use of type and limited colour palette suited the brief well and made a potentially mundane brief become interesting.

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60Above: Wicked Drinks brand concept, 2010

Right: Prohesive cement packaging concept, 2010

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THANK YOU FOR READING THIS CONTEXT PUBLICATION - DR. STRANGELOVE (OR HOW I LEARNED TO HATE MY LIFE AND

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START WORRYING).

CAN I HAVE MY LIFE BACK NOW PLEASE?