Image-Making

My practice in design revolves mainly around typography and layout, which works fantastically when I have beautiful photos to work with. However I (obviously) can't rely on photographs to run alongside my work nor are they always appropriate and so I have become increasingly interested in how other designers use graphical devices as part of their design process.

Hans Gremmen


Hans Gremmen is a graphic designer, based in Amsterdam. The book below was commissioned by W139.

The cover features a yellow and blue diagonal pattern that reminds me somewhat of an optical illusion. It completely fills the page with an overlaid box in the top-left containing just the necessary information. The pattern creates a harsh line in the center due to the opposing diagonals and looks like fold in the book. The striking pattern and choice of colours make this book feel like it would cut through the comparatively bland designs of most other books it may get sat next to.

Gremmen also carries the yellow and blue theme on throughout the book, choosing to duotone the images with yellow or blue. The cover then sets a style that is continued in the rest of the book, which creates a strong visual style which highly effective and just something different than full-colour of black and white imagery.

Pentagram


Pentagram were chosen to do the identity for the 2009 D&AD student awards and came up with a theme designed to represent the crossover of print and digital worlds.

Pentagram came up with a pixelated version of D&AD's famous pencil logo/award and applied this throughout the campaign as seen above in promotional posters. Close-up it just appears to be a square pattern on the poster but when looked at from a distance, the pencil can be made out. This technique of image-making is also closely boarding on illustration which allowed it to be used so effectively in a variety of different contexts.

Above are a few ways Pentagram chose to use the theme in a more image-making/design element way. Shown on top is a single briefing card with the pixel pattern applied, and below it all of the briefing cards working together with the pixel pattern spread across them to form a bigger image. It also works as the header for the website, tying everything together.