Monday, 24 April 2017

Image Analysis Essay

Image Analysis

The first image I have chosen to analyse is the Print Project’s ‘No Fly Poster’(Figure 1). This was created for Jon Bland’s ongoing project ‘No Fly Poster’ which began when Bland noticed some signs plastered to a disused pub in Manchester stating ‘No Fly Posters’ and it amused him. He decided he was going to replace these by new ones, which had to include the phrase ‘No Fly Posters’, he began by asking six of his friends to contribute to make a new set of seven posters including himself. He claims that he loves looking through his inbox for the designs which people send in and he is ‘still regularly surprised by new ideas’ (Bland, 2013). The Print Project’s take on this particular series includes four continuous colours within the print and uses various shapes and symbols too. The colours used are very uplifting and bold, which would instantly draw the viewer’s attention in. The layout of the piece is unique and it has clearly been carefully executed and the overall appearance of the design looks almost technological and modernistic. They had to consider that the piece had to be appropriate for everyone of all ages and genders as it was going to be plastered in a public place. The most impressive part about this design is that it has been done by letterpress, “we got the nod to do this and so began a mammoth week long session of proofing, setting and printing.” (The Print Project, 2014). The Print Project have photographed the final format of the design before it was printed (Figure 2), you can see within this picture that each letterpress piece which has been used within the design has been carefully placed and is an extremely fiddly task. Numerous artists and designers were asked to participate in this project, such as Pascal Anson, James Joyce and Anthony Burrill.

Anthony Burrill’s ‘No Fly Poster’ definitely corresponds with the rest of his work. He has a very distinctive style, working with bright colours and bold text. His ‘I LIKE IT WHAT IS IT’ Book contains 30 detached posters, and the use of large text and his carefully selected colours for this series (yellow, black and white and teal) creates extremely captivating pieces (Figure 3). “Letterpress typefaces and devastatingly simple slogans create work that is exquisitely crafted, profound and playful at the same time”(KK Outlet, 2017). His work could be mistaken for digitally executed work which makes his designs even more impressive, another characteristic within his work is making us ‘notice and appreciate truths that would otherwise remain dead and inert’ (Alain de Botton); it is his combination of all of these elements which makes him such a great designer. ‘WORK HARD AND BE NICE TO PEOPLE’ is one of his most popular designs as the phrase is so simple, yet it is advice that everyone should take. The layout of the poster is basic with the text distributed throughout the middle of the page working its way down, using an enlarged text for the ‘WORK HARD’, then a smaller type size for the ‘AND BE NICE TO PEOPLE’; Burrill generally uses uppercase within his work, this works well for him as it matches his slogans and phrases in which he uses. Burrill’s work is not necessarily targeted at any age or gender, his contemporary flair fits well with most if not all audiences.

Alan Kitching’s ‘Entertaining Types’ (Figure 4) was designed by using the names of famous entertainers, the combination of the bright, exciting colours and repetitive patterns works remarkably; and whilst he has used a collage type composition, each name is still legible when you properly examine the print. The poster is very busy and full, however the placement of each image within the design has been placed carefully so the print does not look fussy or over the top. Every colour compliments one another and the different typefaces do not clash, it is clear that Kitching has selected these carefully to achieve an extremely impressive piece. Kitching is renowned for his skills in Letterpress and he has produced some incredible designs. The print is very Festival-like and looks as though it could be found advertising a Festival line-up, the target audience for this particular piece would generally be younger adults, as the colour scheme and the text choices would appeal to people of those ages. Kitching definitely has a certain style to his work, each of his prints usually contains bold text mixed amongst overlapping colours, and he often plays around with composition a lot within his work. Rather than laying out his text in order, he will regularly rotate each letterform and place them around the page, this means it can sometimes be harder to work out what the word is within the print, unlike the work of Anthony Burrill. His skills within letterpress cannot be argued as he has produced some beautiful prints however he once said “I was never interested in printing, the first thing I’d say when I came into the studio in the morning was ‘I’m not interested in letterpress printing, I’m interested in what you can do with this stuff’ All this obsolete technology, what can we do new with it now”. (Kitching, 2016)
It is clear from my research that current designers who use the older techniques and methods within their practice do not produce work any lesser than the designers who use digital based programmes. The older techniques seem to add an additional characteristic to the work produced as it has more of a personal element to it, knowing that the designer has spent a lot of time producing that particular piece. 

‘No Fly Posters’ – The Print Project

(1)  

(2) 

‘I LIKE IT WHAT IS IT’ – Anthony Burrill

(3)  

‘Entertaining Types’ – Alan Kitching

(4) 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

2015, T.P.P. (2015) No fly posters — the print project — west Yorkshire Letterpress printing. Available at: http://www.theprintproject.co.uk/no-fly-posters-2/ (Accessed: 20 January 2017).

Review, C. (2013) I like it: What is it? By Anthony Burrill. Available at: https://www.creativereview.co.uk/i-like-it-what-is-it-by-anthony-burrill/ (Accessed: 20 January 2017).

Steven, R. (2013) No fly posters. Available at: https://www.creativereview.co.uk/no-fly-posters/ (Accessed: 27 January 2017).

KK outlet (2008) Available at: http://www.kkoutlet.com/exhibitions/2013/anthony-burrill (Accessed: 20 January 2017).

Lectures (no date) Available at: http://anthonyburrill.com/info (Accessed: 22 January 2017).

Liberation®, P. (2016) ‘I always try to have some logic to the job, to the work’: We interview letterpress legend Alan Kitching. Available at: http://www.itsnicethat.com/features/alan-kitching-life-in-letterpress-typography-300316 (Accessed: 22 January 2017).


BBC (2017) BBC arts - typecast: Alan Kitching on the art of letterpress - BBC arts. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/LKH84ry7v5zJWJHk3QDNyZ/typecast-alan-kitching-on-the-art-of-letterpress (Accessed: 24 January 2017).

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