505 - Module Evaluation

I struggled with this brief from the start as I couldn't get into it and think of any ideas I wanted to go forward with, in the end I feel as though I settled with both briefs and could have produced better work but with the time frame being so close to the last submission and the next one it was difficult to really focus and put my all into it. I think one of the reasons I didn't enjoy this module as much as the previous is the areas of graphic design I ended up working in, I did enjoy the ux design involved in app making however since I have not long ago designed an app I should have explored another area such as illustration or advertising. This module has taught me that I need to explore more options before settling on idea, for both I didn't have many initial ideas including sketches and experimentation/exploration, the result of this is two briefs that could be a lot better. I also need to work on my time management and push through with work that I am not enjoying the most, just in comparison to 503. I have however learnt that research is a very essential part of the design process that must not be overlooked, becoming an expert in the area you are producing for makes design decisions a lot easier I have also learnt to keep my blog up to date when I produce work or do any research as this makes the design boards a lot easier - I know what I was thinking and why I made decisions at the time rather than having to try and think back. I didn't engage with many critiques during this module and feel as though this has damaged my work and ability to take a step back from the screen.

505 - SB1 - Evaulation

Overall i am pleased with the outcome for this project, disco is a genre that is very much back in style with a lot of djs playing the old school anthems and young people enjoying it, this said a lot of people don't know its origins and what the era itself involved, this is why the instruction manual is an ideal piece to create for exhibition. The design of the booklet is 70s inspired using colour palettes popular in the time as well as typefaces that were used a lot in artwork and other graphic design around the time. The information included is all relevant and the manual is a quick read which will give the viewer a lot of insight into the trends of the times, the popular artists and the facts about the demise. There were a few things that didn't go to plan with this project such as production, the stock could have been a smaller gsm if i were to reproduce, and i would look into coloured stock options however the fact it is just white is relevant to the instruction manual aesthetic, these are usually cheap and mass produced. This brief has further allowed me to experiment with layout design, which I am interested in. The final product is suitable for public viewing and catches the eye with a bright cover design. 

505 - SB1 - Final Design and Production

 I initially wanted the background to be yellow like in the below design, however in terms of printing it wouldn't come out as bright and full as I would like, the other option would be to print onto yellow stock however this could effect the shades and intensity of the colours used, as well as change the photographs and leave no white space.

The final design idea was to have the steps and information on one side of the a2 sheet that folds into a booklet, and have a full poster on the other side. This however wasn't achievable when it came to the production, I encountered issues and wasn't able to print double sided, I therefore printed them separately to still show how they look a2 and a5.

I went for a matt finish as this is most relevant to an instruction manual, they are usually on dull cheap stock. The stock I ended up using didn't work as well as I had hoped as you can see below the card was thicker that I expected and therefore folding wasn't as neat and precise as I would have liked. 

Besides those issues it was successful, the colours are vibrant, text is very readable and photographs are high quality. I would print onto a3 if I were to do it again as I believe a5 for the booklet is too large.

505 - SB1 - Development and Mockup

I decided to go ahead and design an instruction manual for disco, I had to consider the spacing of the different pages to ensure when it is printed and folded all the content is legible. It was also important to source high quality photographs to use so they come out well when printed. 

I created a few different colour gradients based on the colours previously mentioned in the initial ideas. I then chose the typeface Harry to create the front cover visuals, as well as to be used for the body text. Helvetica is used for the headings as it compliments the stylistic Harry and is also the kind of simple and readable font that would be used for an instruction manual. 

Thinking about the layout is essential in order to make sure that the pages would fold into the right order, also after designing the whole page the bottom half had to be turned upside down in order for the fold to work correctly. 

Below is a small mockup I printed to make sure the layout and spacing was okay, as well as seeing the colours printed and checking for spelling errors etc before printing it full size a2.

505 - SB1 - Disco Initial Ideas

• poster
• wallpaper
• perfume
• instruction manual - dance moves?

instruction manual in the form of an a2 sheet that folds up into a5, showing one how to enjoy disco music, for example how to do the dance moves

The bump was dance style in 1970s. It was introduced in 1974. Bump , Hustle and Watergate are popular dance style in 70s. The lyrics were "We love the bump; everybody bump; gotta do the bump." The dance had a goal to lightly "bump" hips on every other beat of the music. There was no need to have a partner. The dance could become more athletic bumping Hip to hip in full knee bend up to a standing position.  Intimate, bumping hip to backside, low bending, etc. The Bump" was played by The Commodores on Machine Gun album. KC & the Sunshine Band, Kenny(UK band) and many others picked up on the rhythm and "The Bump" became a worldwide dance craze in the summer of 1975.

The Hustle is a catchall name for some disco dances which were extremely popular in the 1970s. The 1977 movie Saturday Night Fever showed both the line and partner forms of hustle.

Below is the colour palette I will use for this instruction manual, along with black and these possible typefaces.

front page - disco title 'how to'

first page spread - info on the dance moves and how to do them step by step

second page spread - outfits and styles to stick to 

third page spread - top artists of the genre/era

back page - brief history of disco

505 - SB1 - Crit 1

In the crit i presented the research i had so far and spoke about why i chose the genre and how interesting i believed it to be. There was no one in my critique group who knew about the disco demolition day so this made me think about what percent of people who listen to the genre actually know what happened. Through researching i have found possible reasons for the demise of disco but there is no clear reason as disco did continue after that day in 1979.

A lot of the genres in my critique group were to do with politics at the time and therefore a lot more serious, with the aim of making people aware of what is going on, or with influence from different countries. I believe the purpose of disco is genuinely just for people to enjoy and dance to as it started in urban nightclubs, with popularity and good times became mainstream.

505 - SB1 - Disco Research

A musical style originating in the early 1970s. It began to emerge from America's urban nightlife scene, where it had been curtailed to house parties and makeshift discotheques from the middle of the decade onwards, after which, it began making regular mainstream appearances, gaining popularity and increasing airplay on radio. Its popularity was achieved sometime during the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. Its initial audiences in the U.S. were club-goers, both male and female, from the African American, Italian American, Latino, and psychedelic communities in Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, and New York City during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Disco can be seen as a reaction against both the domination of rock music and the stigmatization of dance music by the counterculture during this period. Several dances styles were also developed during this time including the Bump and the Hustle.

dance moves - 

The bump was dance style in 1970s. It was introduced in 1974. Bump , Hustle and Watergate are popular dance style in 70s. The lyrics were "We love the bump; everybody bump; gotta do the bump." The dance had a goal to lightly "bump" hips on every other beat of the music. There was no need to have a partner. The dance could become more athletic bumping Hip to hip in full knee bend up to a standing position.  Intimate, bumping hip to backside, low bending, etc. The Bump" was played by The Commodores on Machine Gun album. KC & the Sunshine Band, Kenny(UK band) and many others picked up on the rhythm and "The Bump" became a worldwide dance craze in the summer of 1975.

 

The Hustle is a catchall name for some disco dances which were extremely popular in the 1970s. The 1977 movie Saturday Night Fever showed both the line and partner forms of hustle.

key disco artists

top songs according to billboard

demise of disco

The disco era continued into the early 80s before a strong anti-disco sentiment developed among rock fans and musicians, particularly in the United States. Disco was criticized as mindless, consumeristic, overproduced and escapist. The slogans "disco sucks" and "death to disco" became common. Rock artists such as Rod Stewart and David Bowie who added disco elements to their music were accused of being sell outs.

legs McNeil, founder of the fanzine Punk, was quoted in an interview as saying, "the hippies always wanted to be black. We were going, 'f**k the blues, f**k the black experience'." He also said that disco was the result of an "unholy" union between homosexuals and blacks.

reasons for the death of disco

• In the late 70s, bars, pizza parlours clubs and pubs across the country were being transformed into discos. It was every where at the time; there was disco christmas, disco star wars, disco duck and all other sorts of ridiculousness. 
• All the big stars of the 60s and 70s were doing disco tracks too: Rod Stewart, Dolly Parton and Paul McCartney just to name a few. It was invasive. People were just sick of it, and it had reached a point beyond gimmicky. 
• Disco Demolition Night, which was held at Comiskey Park — the former home of the Chicago White Sox — on July 12, 1979, is commonly sited as the event that ended the rise and started the fall of disco music. Now referred to as the day disco died, it was planned by Steve Dahl, a local disc jockey who was laid off by WDAI when the station made the format change from rock to disco. He was quickly hired by rival rock station WLUP and began promoting the event.
• In 1979, the music industry in the United States underwent its worst slump in decades, and disco, despite its mass popularity, was blamed. The producer-oriented sound was having difficulty mixing well with the industry's artist-oriented marketing system. Harold Childs, senior vice president at A&M Records, told the Los Angeles Times that "radio is really desperate for rock product" and "they're all looking for some white rock-n-roll". Gloria Gaynor argued that the music industry supported the destruction of disco because rock music producers were losing money and rock musicians were losing the spotlight.

"So, disco never really went away – it’s just that it’s always meant different things to different people in different places at different times, and has slipped in and out of favour depending on which aspect is highlighted. Having lost its cool following the post ‘Saturday Night Fever’ feeding frenzy of the late 70’s, a bandwagon which, unfortunately, has provided the mainstream symbolism ever since, it was always on the back foot. For many years its cheesier connotations were emphasised whilst its sheer creativity and versatility was circumvented. The ‘Disco’ the media portrayed and, to a large extent, still portray, isn’t the Disco that survived.

Disco was soon declared dead by the triumphant rock establishment, but it simply went back underground and, throughout the early 80’s, flourished away from the mainstream glare having re–invented itself as ‘dance music’. This was a real hybrid age from which all the subsequent club–based music fermented. Rather than abate, Disco mutated, and when Frankie Knuckles made his famous quote about House music being ‘Disco’s Revenge’ the term reclaimed some of its former credibility, at least in more underground circles, with its rehabilitation completed during more recent times through sampling, record digging, re-editing and modern spin-off genres like french house, garage house, nu-disco, future beat, boogie funk etc." - reddit

In the 1990s, disco and its legacy became more accepted by music artists and listeners alike, as more songs and films were released that referenced disco. Examples of songs during this time that were influenced by disco included Deee-Lite's "Groove Is in the Heart" (1990).

70s style and fashion

Fashion in the 1970s was about individuality. In the early 1970s, Vogue proclaimed “There are no rules in the fashion game now” due to overproduction flooding the market with cheap synthetic clothing. Common items included mini skirts, bell-bottoms popularized by hippies, vintage clothing from the 1950s and earlier, and the androgynous glam rock and disco styles that introduced platform shoes, bright colors, glitter, and satin.

more pics

1970-72

hippie look - decade begin with continuation of the hippie look from 1960's, popular fashion included tie dye shirts, mexican peasant blouses, ponchos, capes, military surplus clothing, frayed jeans, midi skirts, ankle length maxi dresses. There was a lot of indian, native american and floral patterns. 

Accessories included chokers, and those made from natural elements such as wood, shells, stones and feathers.

glamour look - the hippie look was widespread, however it was not adopted by everyone. Many women still continued to dress up with more glamorous clothes, inspired by 1940s movie star glamour. Other women just adopted simple casual fashions, or combined new garments with carefully chosen secondhand or vintage clothing from the 1930s, 1950s and 1960s. More simple early 1970s trends for women included fitted blazers (coming in a multitude of fabrics along with wide lapels), long and short dresses, mini skirts, maxi evening gowns, hot pants (extremely brief, tight-fitting shorts) paired with skin-tight T-shirts, his & hers outfits, and flared pants. Pastel colors were most commonly used for this style of clothing. Rust, tangerine, copper, forest green, and pistachio became more popularized from 1973 onwards. Sweaters were a huge often outfits being judged entirely by the sweater. This fragmented into more styles, such as sweater coats, sweater dresses, floor-length sweaters, and even sweater suits. 

Glamorous women's accessories of the early 1970s included cloche hats or turbans, pearl earrings, necklaces, and bracelets, feather boas, black-veiled hats, clogs, wedgies, cork-soled platforms, and chunky high heels. Golden chains, gold-button earrings and rhinestone clips started to become popular again in 1973 after several years of homemade jewelry. In the early 1970s boots were at the height of their popularity, continuing onward from the mid 1960s. Women had boots for every occasion, with a wide variety of styles being sold in stores for affordable prices.

1973-76

casual looks - by 1974, the T-shirt was no longer considered underwear, and was by then made in elaborate designs such as slogans, sports teams, and other styles. Around the same time the looser, more flowy shirts of the early 1970s had given way to fitted tops. By the mid 1970s, the hippie look had completely disappeared, although casual looks continued. In the mid 1970s women wore sweaters, T-shirts, cardigans, kimonos, graphic T-shirts and sweaters, jeans, khakis, gauchos, workmen's clothes, and vintage clothing. Around 1976, casual fashion adopted a Parisan peasant look. This included capes, turbans, puffy skirts and shirts with billowing sleeves.

In the mid-1970s, accessories were generally not worn, adopting a minimalistic approach to fashion akin to that of the 1950s. Small leather shoulder bags were worn by women everywhere, and popular shoes included Mary Janes, knee-high boots with rounded toes, platform shoes and sandals, Birkenstocks, and loafers. Despite the lack of accessories, the mood ring was a big fad in the mid 1970s.

active wear - clean-cut, all-American active wear for women became increasingly popular from 1975 onwards. The biggest phenomenon of this trend was the jumpsuit, popular from 1975 onwards. Jumpsuits were almost always flared in the legs, and sleeves varied from being completely sleeveless to having extremely long bell-sleeves. Other sportswear trends included tracksuits, tunic shirts, crop tops, tube tops, sweatshirts, hip-huggers, low rise pants, and leisure suits. This continued into the 1980s. Accessories were less of an importance during this time, but two very desirable accessories included sneakers and tennis headbands.

tailored styles - as the divorce rate rose and the marriage rate declined in the mid-70s, women were forced to work in order to support the nuclear family. The progressive addition of women to the work force altered shopping styles and fashion. Working women shopped on weekends and in the evenings. Feminized men’s business suits such as tailored jackets, midi-skirts, and fitted blouses were their go-to choice as to “dress for success.” Starting in 1975, women's semi-formal wear became more tailored and sharp. This included a lot of layering, with women wearing two blouses at once, multiple sweaters, pants underneath tunic dresses, and jumpers worn over long, fitted dresses. The 1970s also featured some of the most scandalous dresses worn publicly in American history up to that point.

cher, 1974

Other clothes worn in this style include suede coats, peacoats, blazers, cowl-neck sweaters, pencil skirts, backless dresses, extremely low-cut dresses, palazzo pants, tube dresses, evening gowns, jacket dresses, and pinstriped pantsuits. Women's dresses in the mid 1970s were dominated by pastel colours, but Asian patterns were also common.

1977-79

relaxed look - in 1977, fashion became more baggy. This caused much controversy, as women with trim figures bemoaned not being able to flaunt them while heavier women complained the looser clothes made them look even larger. To make up for this, it became fashionable to show more skin. This resulted in shirts being unbuttoned, sleeves being rolled up, and tops being strapless, see-through, and lacy. Shiny satin and gold colors were also used to make up for the lack of tighter clothing. Styles became curvier in 1978, with shoulder pads, tighter skirts, and narrower waistlines. The silhouette that resulted was an inverted triangle, it was positively received by the general public. By 1977, pants were only flared slightly and sometimes not flared at all.

Accessories included scarves, gold jewelry, flowers, ankle boots, 1940s style hats (often tilted), skinny and wide belts, spike-heeled sandals, mules, ankle-strapped shoes, waist cinchers, and obi wraps. Colour had almost completely faded from fashion in the late 1970s, with earthy tones like browns, light blues, tans, grays, whites, and blacks making a comeback. The frenzy for boots had cooled down by the late 1970s, but they remained popular, especially in the winter. They became less flamboyant by that point in time, and they mostly came in black, brown, or burgundy.

one-piece swimsuit - in 1977, American actress Farrah Fawcett popularized the one-piece swimsuit which in turn launched the trend for the maillot. This was, when it resurged in the 1970s, a sexy, tight swimsuit, with deep neckline and high-cut legs, worn by young women and girls in lieu of the bikini, although it did not entirely replace the latter. This continued into the 1980s.

disco look - disco fashion was generally inspired by clothing from the early 1960s. Disco clothes worn by women included tube tops, sequined halterneck shirts, blazers, spandex short shorts, loose pants, form-fitting spandex pants, maxi skirts and dresses with long thigh slits, jersey wrap dresses, ball gowns, and evening gowns. Shoes ranged from knee-high boots to kitten heels, but the most commonly worn shoes were ones that had thick heels and were often made with see-through plastic.

top 70s models - 

lauren hutton

Cheryl Tiegs

Margaux Hemingway

505 - SB1 - Lo-fi House Research

Lo-fi house is an 'underground' genre of house that is fairly recent, only goes back to around 2016. It is a movement as most of the artists in the genre have comical names and use artwork that isn't the best designed, almost as a joke.

"A gritty sound; it's heavy on bass, yet built from simple synths and samples. With the tight range of tape's natural EQ and a thick cassette-hiss crackle"

"It’s certainly a welcome return to dance music’s more rebellious side, after year’s of overly produced house music, the genre’s telltale lo-fi aesthetic certainly makes for more interesting music. Whether it’s going to become the new sheep house remains to be seen. At the moment lo-fi is still the preserve of bedroom producers and DIY labels, but can almost guarantee that some unscrupulous major label executive is rubbing his hands at the idea of releasing something called ‘Lo-fi Anthems 12’."

Mall Grab

Mall Grab is a 23 year-old producer from Newcastle, Australia. Now based in London, England. 

Heavily influenced by the working-class steelworks of his hometown, his music explores the roots of house and techno - keeping things stripped back and minimal, yet atmospheric.

1 Minute with Mall Grab

Ross From Friends

“I suppose subconsciously it could be seen as a reaction to this hi-fi soundscape which we’re living in, where every producer is striving toward perfection,” Ross From Friends, one of lo-fi house’s key names, said in an interview last year. “It’s kind of like [people are saying], ‘We’re going to stick with the old school and keep it analogue and not have anything over 10,000 Hz audible in our music.’ I do it because I’ve gained a real love for the old school sound, where it really just sounds worn-out and knackered, and it’s got a lot of character. Everything’s very crushed and compressed.”

I read that you spent six months writing ‘(Talk To Me) You’ll Understand’, with the aim of making something you really love. It’s been something of an underground hit, amassing over a million views on YouTube. How does it feel to see so many people connect with something you’ve poured yourself into emotionally? - mixmag

It is actually, genuinely, so very rewarding. I put so much love and compassion into that track, and crafted something that was really emotionally relevant to me, while also trying to define what my sound is as well in one fell swoop. To know that a massive amount of people really understand that as well as me is so refreshing. For a lot of the time I was making that track it was a fairly insular process; I wouldn't really speak to anyone about it or show anyone it, aside from little clips, and they'd just be like "cool, whatever". Having the online community to share it with, and hearing people open up and say it's touched them in some kind of deep way, almost spiritually, or just enjoying the track, is amazing.

full article

DJ Seinfeld

Armand began making music in Edinburgh at the suggestion of a respected friend. Time spent experimenting with music and exploring the possibilities contained within his laptop was cathartic relief from the grind of finishing his studies. Later returning to his hometown of Malmo, his interest in making music would intensify thanks to encouragement from his old school friends and a the looming spectre of a 9-5 lifestyle. A move to Barcelona and the end of a relationship resulted in extended sessions watching the classic American sitcom and the music made to reflect that appeared under the name DJ Seinfeld.

DJ Boring

Australian born, London-based musician Tristan Hallis sent ripples through the underground house music community with the release of his single ‘Winona‘. A vinyl aficionado and notoriously friendly dude, DJ Boring’s signature stripped-down sound has become somewhat of a blueprint for an emerging sub-genre of house- a raw distorted music that stands as a stark contrast to musical elements of the commercial club scene.

Artwork

 

505 - Studio Brief 01 - Micro-Genres of Music

Your task is to thoroughly research a micro-genre of music from this website. This research should be extensive, with the intention that you become an expert in the genre. This micro-genre will become the focus for the design and production of a new piece of work to be publicly exhibited.

Design an object that celebrate (or critiques) an aspect of genre's specific characteristics: political, aesthetic, production methods, audience demographic, key intentions or its connection to place.

In what sense do these micro-genres help us understand some wider issues about the society that created them?

Your design objects will be exhibited in the Level 4/5 exhibition at the end of May.

I have decided that it would be most interesting for me and I could produce the best outcomes by looking at music genres that I listen to myself. The main genres I listen to are:

• dance/ electronic
• hip hop/ rap
• techno
• disco
• alternative r&b
• neo soul
• lofi house

Out of these genres I believe the most interesting would either be:

disco it has tonnes of history and stories, and it has recently made a come back with the younger generations

lofi house it is an upcoming genre with a lot of exciting new djs

I also believe both of these genres are correctly defined and any artist described as either would be accurate and you would know what to expect. Whereas with genres such as hip hop, or dance/ electronic the genre is so broad and artists so many they could be falsely defined and what you hear doesn't sound anything similar to the next artist. Disco is defined by the movement and the time in which the music came out - like a trend, and lofi is defined by the actual production and sound of the music.

how we understand music genres

505 - SB1 - Graphic Design in the 70/80s

Some graphic design produced in the 70s:

I LOVE NY

1976, milton glaser

Milton Glaser interview with designboom

Designer Milton Glaser began with the American Typewriter font, but rounded off the edges because the “actual typeface is clunky,” he later explained. The designer’s use of a symbol in place of a verb was decades ahead of its time. Today, emojis and emoticons have become the norm. First used on July 15, 1977, the logo has since been trademarked by the New York State Department of Economic Development.

Glaser’s original crayon sketch done in the back of a taxi is now in the Museum of Modern Art’s collection. New York state’s economic development office moved in to copyright the famous logo about a decade after its introduction, by which time it was everywhere from T-shirts to shot glasses (above.) Today, the state prosecutes unauthorised uses of the logo, even as it draws a healthy revenue stream from licensing it. Meanwhile, creator Milton Glaser has yet to see a cent from any of it. Told the campaign would only run for a few months, Glaser did his work pro bono and refused to copyright it. The thinking was that if the logo was free to everyone, it would become part of the city’s iconography.

Montreal 1976 Olympics

“Amik,” a black beaver with a red strip featuring the 1976 Games logo, was the symbol of the Montreal Olympics. A national competition was held to name the mascot. Amik means beaver in the Algonquin language. The red stripe represents the ribbon used for winners’ medals. Official Olympic mascots were introduced in 1972 for the Munich Games, where a colourful dachshund was chosen.