Week 4.

Draw. Work by hand.

As a photographer, I should always have a camera by my side, and as a creative, I should have my RVJ. The 'Reflective Visual Journal', or RVJ for short, is exactly what it says on the tin, somewhere to think, in a visually communicative way, and record it over a period of time. You might ask why I would not make just a simple journal, and write down my ideas for future reference? Because I am a creative! What good are words, if the final piece is to be an image? It would be like a story writer drawing stick men to plan their next novel. By freely sketching and making notes, my ideas can develop, I can engage with my ideas, I can refine and improve them, because every thought process is laid out in front of me where I have recorded it, so I have a structured way of thinking, deciding what is better and worse, rather than just speculation in my head.

The very best, and most famous man for using this technique of 'thinking on the page', is Leonardo Da Vinci. 

 

He would fill book after book with his inventions, sketches, ideas, and subsequent notes, rather than writing an idea down, and then follow with a drawing to its specifications. This is visual thinking, and although Leonardo was also an artist, doing many portraits, he knew that these sketchbooks did not need to be pretty, aesthetically pleasing pictures, these were drawings for the sake of ideas and development, not for display. Even as a photographer, I intend to fill my RVJ with my visual thoughts, which will aid my work greatly.

Utilise your creative brain

The human brain is made of two halves, the left brain and the right brain. And after many years of science types testing brainwaves, they have deduced that the two halves work very differently. The right brain functions like that of a playful child, it is curious, spontaneous, likes adventure and the unknown, and will lose track of time playing and experimenting. The left brain on the other hand is like that of an accountant. It likes and needs to organise, classify, clarify, count and evaluate. Our brains work between the two without us even having to realise it, but by being aware of it, we can use it to our advantage.

Take an example of RVJ working such as this one, shown to me by a tutor. Both brains are at play here, the student seems to have created this illustration in a completely experimental way, playing with different medias and techniques, and resulted in some form of creature. They have used their right brain, exploring until they found something they thought worthy of working with. Then, they must consciously decide to move over to their left brain, and sit and think about what they have done. They ask, what the creature could be, where, and why? Using annotation and making notes they are analysing and justifying, which is just as important as the initial creation of a piece! Neither brain is better, or more important than than the other, its is only through alternating between the two, that our RVJ can be truly complete.

Week 3.

Tone of Voice.

That's a nice greeting, isn't it? A classy, sophisticated phrase perhaps.

But now, doesn't this greeting seem a bit childish? Rushed, careless? The words haven't changed, just the font, so why do the shape of the letters change how we read something so drastically? It's because how we perceive something is affected by our previous knowledge of experiences similar to it. From this, certain styles possess a 'tone of voice'.

For example,

This advertisement has a mature, elegant tone, not only through use of font, but its composition and colour scheme. I would assume its audience would be women aged between 20 and 60, and the simple, elegant style suggests quality, while the rich tones of the background evoke thoughts of a rich chocolate. It is tempting and encourages the viewer to 'enjoy the taste', a friendly and inviting phrase, made more so by its simple, soft font.

Another very different example is this anti-smoking advertisement.

The tone is immediately apparent, the colours are stark and cold, with a harsh and plain font, it aims to inform about the dangers of smoking, without glamorising it, the tone is a brutal one. It's target audience is anyone that does smoke, however it would be more poignant to men in the same age bracket as the one in the advert, as they would relate to him more. The use of shock tactics, and being presented with a harsh reality could make this effective on its own, but it's the way the advert has been constructed and presented that gives the 'tone of voice' to really hit home.

Researching the content.

To achieve not only the tone of voice, but every element that is needed for a piece of work, one must put in the research to know exactly what it is that must be communicated. When given a brief, one may have either extensive or limited knowledge of the subject, but in either case, the specifics must be known. For example, in an advertisement for a product, one must find out about the product itself and its positive attributes of which to highlight, perhaps look into any previous campaigns to draw inspiration or even make sure your ideas are totally new, the products target audience and what would appeal to that demographic, to name just some.

In this print ad for the off-road car the Jeep, the Jeep itself is stored in a garage in a similar fashion to the sports equipment alongside it. This is an odd and humorous situation, giving the advert its initial appeal, however it is this association with extreme sports that is the link the advertiser wants you to make. The reason the designer who created this would make that link would have resulted from his research. Only through investigating into the common use of the vehicle, would the designer deduce that the biggest market to pitch this car to is those who partake in extreme and off-road sports, as a car like a jeep is designed for the kind of environment these people would have to travel to, such as mountains, beaches and snowy areas. So by including the equipment used, the advert will catch the attention of enthusiasts

Without the backing research, who knows what this advert would have looked like!