I decided to begin the 5X5publication for PPP through initially looking at the artists that I visually admire, and inspire my work. I want my zine to encapsulate my individual style, and clearly communicate my inspirations.
Seapunch
Seapunch is a visual communication student at Leeds Arts Uni; I have followed him on instagram for a while, and really like his graphic style of working. His designs take inspiration from cartoons and commercial America, as well as hijacking these characters and objects. I like how his work has a subtle sense of humour, and is often printed onto unorthodox objects, such as tissues and fabrics. I think that its really impressive that being in his third year, he has gained a reputation and has developed a very unique style; some of his zines are sold in Village Books. I very much take inspiration from his methods of using cartoon characters in his work, as I think it is a very effective way in bringing familiarity to your work, and also creating a witty atmosphere. I think that for my own publication, I could communicate these multimedia approaches such as tissue paper to develop a more dynamic design; it could be a fun way to add textures and possibly play with formats - for example, I could have the zine in the dimensions of a tissue?
Obvious Plant
ObviousPlant is an instagram account that I have also followed for a while, that hijacks objects and creates ironic and funny toy packaging; he often even leaves his designs in actual stores too to develop a realistic setting. I really like his sense of humour, as he creates products with a dark yet funny side; it introduces the extremities of packaging and childrens toys, and challenges the idea of commercial products. Although he is not a definitive graphic designer, his work still obtains a strong style and thought process, that uses methods of hijacking products and toys, to provide an adult targeted atmosphere. To bridge a link to my publication and Obviousplants' work, I could ironically use fonts like word art possibly? This would provide a sense of humour to the zine itself, and build ironic undertones. His work also links to Seapunchs' designs, as he often includes cartoons and 'rip offs' of these; due to this, I could also try drawing some intentionally bad cartoons.
Elliot Ulm
Elliot Ulm is a recently graduated graphic designer that creates witty, yet visually stylistic business card formats. I like how his work all has a collective style, and is playful in how it combines simple shapes and cartoons with bold text. His work focuses on graphic design memes (kind of), and has a certain humour that I can relate to. I think its nice when designers use their social media platform to not take themselves seriously; he has a style that deserves it, but chooses to create little witty designs. I like how he sticks to mainly san serifs, as it provides a modern and very contemporary atmosphere; I want to build this confident design in my own style, as in the future it is definitely a key element in gaining a reputation in the design world.
Sauce Design
I really like the nostalgic atmosphere that Sauce Design creates in their work, as they play with cartoons and hijack chidrens books and famous characters; this creates a nice juxtaposition between a certain playfulness alongside a strong contemporary identity. I really visually like the grain added to the designs as it adds to the extra element of vintage/ retro aesthetic. There is definitely a trend within contemporary design at the minute with playing with popular cartoons such as the Simpsons; I like how it allows opportunity to mock elements of design and provide a subtle reference to pop culture imagery. I also really like the versatility of the work created by Sauce Design, as they use alternative visual approaches to design; in particular, I like vivid textures created in the 'Earth Coincidence' poster above, as it has a somewhat cinematic atmosphere, with aesthetics inspired by retro sci-fi.
Appear Offline
Appear offline uses bold, playful type styles inspired by street art and graffiti fonts; I really like the typefaces fluidity and their rebellion against strict type rules. I think I am more interested in this graphic design approach as it allows the designer to have more freedom and not take themselves seriously; as a contemporary designer, I am much more intrigued in work that is detached from the heavily serious approach of some designers, as it portrays a sense of self awareness. This playful and fun attitude is also mirrored in the designs juxtaposition of loosely drawn shapes and clean, sans serif font. I especially really like how they use contrasts between clean white colour blocks and grain textures, as it introduces an interesting use of negative space to frame the text; I like this approach and feel like it can be referenced in my own work, through how I interact images with negative spaces of the visuals.
