FMP (BA): Politics - Inspiration

I'm aiming to do one or two quotes from famous politicians and during my research I decided to go with either: "It always seems impossible until it's done" by Nelson Mandela or "Whatever you are, be a good one" by Abraham Lincoln. The first thing I did after deciding was write a list of connotations and things associated with politics.

Mood Board - Existing Designs

I found it quite hard to come up with some ideas so instead I went straight to my research stage by gathering some inspirational pieces on Pinterest. Out of curiosity I had a look at existing products that used these two quotes and found that they had been done quite a lot.

This wasn't going to dampen my spirit, because I thought that even though these quotes had been done more than once, I could always make mine look different. From this I drew up a mood board on all of the pieces that showed these two quotes that I found eye-catching:

(all images from my Pinterest board which has the original illustrators/designers credits)

There's one consistent factor with all of these designs; they are all hand-rendered (well, all except for two) and these are mostly done in calligraphy or a chalk-lettering. I found this strange because I associated politics with strong, structured serifs, yet these are all done in quite a dainty way. This shows that instead of making the quotes look political because they were told by a politician, they focused more on the message itself.
This makes the message a bit more personal because someone had taken it upon themselves to design a quote with their own hand, so small "mistakes" would show through which they might not correct on the computer because the mistakes we make makes us human. These subtle mistakes or the human hand could thus relate to the politicians themselves in that they weren't perfect and had to go through a lot to get where they were. 

I want to do something different and the image on the bottom left really caught my eye. I hadn't thought about using different materials for typography! Maybe I could try out using paper or even using watercolours or something unusual, like feathers or twigs? Even doing something different with paper would be acceptable because it's not the simple case of using a pen or ink. It provides a texture of some sort. 

I want to keep my options open, however, so went back to my mood board on Pinterest to pick out the most inspirational images. I would like to incorporate more illustration to my designs and something different to what I had already done so far. 

Inspirational Pieces - Analysis

It's quite difficult to just look for a certain type of typographic style due to the diversity in the piece above. However I am keen on trying paper-cute typography so I shall look at that first (unless I change my mind and use another material).

Whispering Paper - http://www.etsy.com/shop/WhisperingPaper

I don't really know anything about this paper technique but I can tell by looking at this that it's very time-consuming. They would've had to cut around each individual space and make sure that the silhouettes are recognisable in order to see the words properly.

This design is one of the most decorative ones I've ever seen, even more so than the ones I've analysed so far in this project even though it is basically just a silhouette. This is purely because of the way they've not allowed much white space in between each element, and each leaf is clearly shaped. They've even cut out spaces within the flowers to show the little 'strokes' that the petals have, and judging by the thin lines they would've had to swap knives every now and then (or whatever they used to cut the shapes out).

When I regarded the way that the flowers overpower the whole design I began to think of the reason behind it. One of the reasons they could've used them in this quote is because they could reflect the person (or people) it's directed too. The flower blooms as do people do when they grow to learn from their experiences, and the fact that these flowers are beautiful and will always remain fully-bloomed could show the goodness in people.
There is probably a deeper meaning to the use of flowers as well, and not just for aesthetic means. It was a bit confusing at first of why they used flowers in such an overpowering way and it wasn't until I carried out some further research into the art movement of the time of Abraham Lincoln that I found out that this was where the obsession with nature began. I initially thought that the illustrator was trying to create a design in a Art Nouveau/William Morris style (which took place much after Abraham Lincoln's death) and that's when I found out about the Romatic Era.
During this era there was an emphasis on free expression and feelings, as "the artist's feeling is his law" [wikipedia, source below]. There was a strong belief in nature and the importance it had upon the artist, so here the illustrator drew such overpowering petals to show the influence it had on artists in this era. It is nearly consuming him, and such a close connection with it was regarded as morally and mentally healthy.

These flowers provide a certain fairytale aspect to the design, something else that is produced by the fact that they've cut out silhouettes. This is because when I saw this design I immediately thought of Jan Pienkowski and the silhouette illustrations he had done for Brothers Grimm fairytales, and this fairytale appearance doesn't really match the message. Abraham Lincoln was not a magician or Prince Charming, but a man, a politician, so why did the illustrator use silhouettes and this papercut design?

It is probably because Abraham Lincoln was a hero to the Black people of America during the time. He fought strongly for their beliefs and their right to vote and, in the end, gave them their freedom. However these connotations aren't really obvious - they weren't to me until I did some deeper research - which means that the illustrator might not be intentionally creating these connotations.

The words are surprisingly smooth even though they've been cut out, which brings me the thought that they didn't actually do it by hand but by a laser cutter or something similar. This is further strengthened by the variations of thick and thin strokes throughout the illustration. This means that if I ever decide to try this out I would either have to find a laser cutter or I would have to do something not so elaborate.
Back to the type; the smooth curves reflect the smooth outlines of the petals and leaves, producing an overall 'soft' appearance despite the fact that the edges of the paper might be quite sharp. It's cursive so very elegant and feminine which only connects with the flowers even further. It is also quite delicate because of the way that it's still quite thin which reflects the texture of petals and leaves.
The flowers and the leaves support the writing because had not each letter been connected to them, then it wouldn't be a part of the illustration and would fall away if moved. It was this that I found most interesting about this design; in other paper designs I've seen they normally connect the words to a thick line, but here they've included it in the overall design.

What I am surprised to see is that they didn't include Abraham Lincoln's name in the design, although now that I think about it it would've made it too cluttered if his name was also cut out, and too strange if it had been simply written on. Another reason could be that because he is so famous that his name isn't included because those interested in politics and American history might already know of it.

Conclusion:
I would say that this technique is far more difficult than 'normal' illustrations because they would have had to think about it in reverse; instead on focusing on the shapes, they would've had to focus on the negative space instead to create those shapes. I have a feeling that this is something that would be extremely difficult to master, but I'd love to try it out anyway!

In terms of connotations it appears that there is a lot more than what's on the surface. For example the use of flowers was interesting as it could be linked in with Romanticism which was the art movement of the time, and their belief of worshipping nature (an aspect similar to Art Nouveau).


Ant Design Gifts - http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/antdesign

This design is somewhat muted in comparison in terms of decorative features. Instead of having the type surrounded and entwined with nature, it actually stands on its own and is supported by the surrounding words. This is also unusual to what I've seen before because, like the previous design, it isn't supported by thick horizontal lines.

I actually like the fact that it isn't elaborate, because the designer clearly put more attention in the typography. Here they've used a thick serif type, although used hairline serifs so that it isn't too obvious and keeps the words looking friendly by having smooth curves. The serifs and the tails all join up together – another way of support – although the viewer could still clearly see each letter. There is a suitable amount of negative space in each word which makes me think that, together typeface, that this was done by computer and then cut through the laser cutter. This makes the design seem less personal and organic in my opinion as it could easily be mass-produced, and mistakes can be erased through the computer. However this shows me another way of producing a paper cut design and that the designer doesn't follow the traditional methods of doing it.

This break from tradition is quite refreshing because it shows just how other designers take this craft and make it their own signature. When I looked at another piece I knew straight away that it was by this guy, even though I hadn't yet looked at his website. He uses a similar typeface and technique in all of his designs, and so he has a 'voice'.

The words flow quite smoothly due to the fact that most of the words are on separate lines, so it's easy to see what the next word would be and I wouldn't have to figure it out by reading it over and over again. This was something I found quite difficult in my Dr. Seuss design, so at least I now know how to do it.

Conclusion:
I know that I haven't analysed this piece in as much detail as the others but I feel that this is one of the most inspirational ones before just by the way the designer had done it. It shows that just because it's a papercut design it doesn't mean that it has to be filled with flowers and be incredibly detailed.

Folk Art Papercuts - http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/FolkArtPapercuts

This design is slightly different to other papercuts because although it follows the papercut aesthetic, it isn't actually cut out. This gives me the idea to try out this technique as well if I am unable to actually do the papercut myself.

The papercut 'aesthetics' that I mentioned is that everything is done in silhouettes, and the words are connected to a thick line as if they would do if they were cut out. There is quite a lot of detail and they seem to be following the reoccurring theme of incorporating nature in their designs. I've not noticed it until now that all of the previous designs I looked at also used flowers, leaves, and natural elements, which brings me the thought that they were probably inspired by Illuminated Manuscripts. The reason being is that they also used a lot of natural elements, and were incredibly detailed.

In terms of type they've used a very tall, thin sans serif, all in uppercase which is also similar to the works I've seen before. This is why I thought the first piece I analysed by Whispering Paper was so unusual because it broke out of this tradition. Usually illustrators and designers use 'plain' type in order to grant more of a focus to surrounding elements, but here it works in the opposite way for me. The simple form of the type is what makes me look directly at it before moving on to the actual illustration.
The reason for this could be because it is just so simple compared to the delicacy of the illustrations. The whole illustration is elaborate, and the type gives it room to breathe. There is quite a lot of negative space around the type to highlight it as well. I've never really seen such a technique before so I find this really interesting.
The type is most definitely hand-drawn because there is quite an inconsistent amount of thick and thin strokes, as the thin strokes are only on some of the letters and not the whole set. Each letter looks like it was done individually, and I can see this in the T's as each one looks slightly different.

The colour palette that they have used reminds me of the silhouettes displayed in the Brothers Grimm book I read last year when I was doing some work on wedding stationery. The black highlights the detail in the piece, making it look deeper than the other papercuts that use white, and this breaks from the tradition of using white paper and a coloured background. I find the black too strong in my opinion and much prefer white paper as it gives it a softer appearance. Due to this discovery I had a look at Folk Art Papercuts other works and found that all of them use a similar colour combination, so perhaps this is their 'signature'?

Conclusion:
I quite like the mixture of making and breaking traditional papercut designs, although I find that I actually prefer 'real' papercut designs as they are more organic. Nevertheless this design is still very inspirational because it shows that papercut designs don't necessarily have to be done with paper, but as vectors on a computer, and could still achieve the same appearance.


Other Designs

Here are some other papercut designs that I had a look at and gathered on my Pinterest board:

http://madebyjulene.com/

http://sascreative.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PapaverDesigns

http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/allcutupbydg

http://www.celinevoisin.fr/2012/01/parce-quil-nest-jamais-trop-tard.html

Reflective Thinking - Summary

Here I've managed to have a look at papercut designs and have analysed a few of them to uncover their deeper meanings. The more I look into papercut design, the more that I want to try it out. With these inspirational pieces all on one page I think I am now able to try and produce a design for my quote. As I mentioned right at the top of this post, these two quotes have been done before but I'm hoping that mine would look different than the others.

I feel that my analysis for the first piece was in a lot more detail than the others, and I would like to continuously add to them throughout this project. I am a bit stuck when it comes to figuring out the exact reasons why they had been designed in such a way so I could only draw up assumptions.
On the other hand, the way that I have brought up such connotations might be handy for when I produce my quote because I could try and see it in the same light. What I could do is create a mindmap on whatever quote I'm working on - and this could apply to my other quotes as well - of everything that I could think of that combines all of my research so that I could too have hidden meanings within my piece.

If I do come to do another analysis then I should carry on creating different connotations and backing them up with some evidence - something I haven't really done for the last two pieces - as well as thinking 'beneath the surface'.

I also think that while I sketch I should look into some papercut tutorials to figure out how exactly I'm going to do it. If I can't cut it out by hand then I should at least figure out how to achieve a similar look on the computer.

References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_movement;

Learning Outcomes:

[4] Developed research skills in the area of contemporary professional practice.

[6] Developed skills of critical thinking, analysis and evaluation.

[8] Developed their ability to scan and organise data, abstract meaning from information and communicate knowledge in a variety of formats.

[2] Developed a high level of intellectual and conceptual involvement with their chosen subject area, including skills of project proposal, documentation of project development and the presentation of outcomes.