I always enjoy secret 7 briefs, and despite failing to get into the final exhibition every time it's still a brief I find incredibly satisfying. It gives me the chance to be out there and very creative, whilst still having a few jump off points and restrictions so it's not just flailing in the dark. I've discovered that briefs like these are the ones I do best at. Briefs such as penguin's design award and secret 7 are all artistically open and very freeing for me as a designer. I can produce something that is purely pretty or something with incredible concept and amazing depth, the choice is up to me. And although the free flowing creative side is very appealing the thing that makes these kinds of briefs really wonderful to work with is the restrictions. They have to be a particular format, certain information has to be displayed within it and they must be a strong representation of the book or song they are created for. I think the balance of restrictions with artistic wiggle room make the briefs I work best within.
For this brief I didn't apply much initial/prior research outside of listening to the music and generating ideas, I spent a lot of my time picturing ideas, writing down initial thoughts and feelings, doodling designs and feeling oh so very 'natural'. This process works best for my and secret 7 and is one I've applied each time, and it seems to generate vastly different designs and ideas so it works for me.
Digitally adapting the 'Dream 3' design gave me such a wonderful buzz. I was able to develop a detailed and flowing style of illustration that I haven't been able to previously capture. I have spent a fair few years attempting to create a digitally drawn image that looks sketched by hand, so this was a big win for me. I think being inspired by the painting Large Bathers and attempting to create an image similar in style really helped push the aesthetic I wanted for the final design. I used my graphics tablet in a rather different way than I usually do, treating the pen like a brush rather than an ink pen and this all aided in creating a style of digitally drawing that I really enjoyed, something I really want to attempt again.
While Dream 3 ended up pretty much as I had imagined it Clearest Blue had a few differences from the initial concept thanks to mess ups and happy accidents. As I mentioned in previous blog posts, pixellation, image size and a sincere desperation to not have to redraw the entire digital version meant that I had to change the size and layout of my final image. I had initially wanted a full size, covering every inch of the cover design, I'm very glad that this didn't happen. When producing more arty work I tend to want to place every element from and centre to show off my skills as an illustrator and I forget the importance of empty space and strong composition. So it's thanks to screwing up that I was reminded how important empty spaces are and how they can make an image better. It's something I need to take on board and remember for whatever design comes next.
I am rather disappointed that I didn't get in, it would've been a great addition to my CV but I still really do like what I've produced and I will continue to do this brief, even just for fun, each year. I don't think I would do this brief differently if I were to do it again, instead I think if I keep coming up with crazy, varied designs, eventually one of them is bound to be chosen. Though it's probably going to be my least favourite, but still.
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