Red, Green, Blue

So the first brief that I'm starting work on is called Red, Green, Blue from ISTD 2005.

Colours are very emotive and offer a wealth of opportunities for research. Red can conjure up images of Father Christmas, postboxes and Manchester United; green of envy, The Incredible Hulk and grass; and blue conjures up images of sky, denim and ink—or do they? Where you live, your interests, beliefs, politics and your cultural background will offer a wide variation of associations with each colour or their
combinations.

Using red, green, blue as a starting point for in-depth research and brainstorming, develop a theme and format for a journal. While using the term ‘journal’ we would urge you to consider it in the broadest terms. The journal will be published as a limited edition in three parts. Each part will combine a series of texts and images based upon one of the colours. Each edition will be printed in two colours – black and red, black and green or black and blue. While this may initially seem to limit your design opportunities, a generous production budget allows you to exercise the imaginative use of materials, print production and finishing methods that should help make the journal a highly sought after, collectors’ item.

Underpinning the aesthetic and tactile opportunities of the journal is the typographic interpretation of the colour. This will require incorporation of at least 1,000 words of text matter and associated imagery. The text matter should visualise your expression of a hierarchy of information and typographic functions. This will additionally be detailed in the typographic specifications.

I have decided to work on the red and black issue using a magazine format. The content will be based on colour and not any other theme. I plan to use a mixture of typography, photography and illustration to complete this brief as the colour red can be interpreted in any of these formats. I think the work will still be word driven considering this is an ISTD brief but it will be very visual - using poems, lyrics and sayings - as opposed to lengthy blocks of copy. The target audience is other designers so it needs to have lots of visual impact. I think this project relates well to the print project that we did at the beginning of year two. Mono, duo and halftones of red and black as well as layout are what will bring the pieces together as one body of work. The brief says to do a front & back cover and a minimum of four double page spreads. Lets see how I go!

I've already brainstormed and collected some research so I think its just a matter of getting on with individual pieces and then bringing them together in a magazine format. Currently thinking of doing some illustrations of famous red heads hehe.