Task 1 - GIRL BOSS Sophia Amoruso - founder of NASTY GAL biography

'I'm bad, and thats good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.'    - Wreck-it-Ralph

- Power manifesto for strong, ambitious young women
- A philosophy for making your work life as fun, fresh and raunchy as your personal adventures.
- NASTY GAL came from a 1975 Betty Davis album and the singers outspoken and unapologetic sexy style.It encourages us to own the qualities we've previous been ashamed of. 

-New York Times best seller

- Turned herself around with 10 years from being a house school drop out to founder/ executive chairman of NASTYGAL.

- Personality traits - inspiring, motivating, empowering

- Fastest growing retailer in the world

- Girl boss written for other girls to seek inspiration via a unique path for success. 

- States success is about trusting your instincts and following your gut, knowing which rules to break/follow. 

- Nasty gal evolved from Sophie's knack for photography, fashion, styling and buying.

- Book revolved around women in the world of design, fashion, music, and the arts. The book is a power manifesto for strong, ambitious young women. 

- 'THE ONLY THING I SMOKE IS MY COMPETITION' 

About Nasty Gal...

- Founded by Sophia Amoruso 10 years ago in a tiny San Francisco apartment filled with vintage clothing, a laptop and an eBay account
- Today... new clothing, accessories and shoes are sold under the label designed to help girls have confidence. 
-  Located in Los Angeles but available worldwide online.

Task 1 - IT - ALEXA CHUNG - Biography

Alexa Chung is a unique fashion icon. her first book 'IT' gives an isight to her world including personal writings, drawings and photographs. The following covers everything from her thoughts on life, love and music to her favourite looks and how we decide what to wear in the morning.

Early style inspirations ...

- Her first love was horses therefore she got her first pony at age 6. Alexa then lived in jodpurs, riding boots and jumpers. She also loved to draw her first pony.

- Interested in ponies and all the relevant paraphernalia because of the fashion as much as the animals.

- 'That silhouette of skinny trousers, ankle boots and oversized sweatshirts is one I never managed to get away from.'

- Spice Girls appeared... Smashed anything/everything in their way. 5 young women in bright colours, each with their own identity, screaming 'GIRL POWER'.

- 'newfound passion for glittery eyeshadow, crop tops I filled with tissue, an impossible to walk in platform trainers. At a time when I was morphing from awkward childhood to awkward teenager, the spice girls supported me like the training bra of womanhood.

- 'Spice girls must be held accountable for all the poor sartorial decisions I made between the year 1996-8. Their version of sixties fashion in the nineties was affordable and alluring but somehow got mangled through my reputation.

Union Jack dress, buffalo boots, pigtails, leopard print everything was Alex Chung's teenage style.

- 'Sometimes it saddens me that I was introduced to the concept of feminism by a manufactured pop group masterminded by opportunistic men, but hey ho you gotta start somewhere.'

- The spice girls brand of girl power made Alexa Chung appreciate her mother ('Mama I love you!'), girlfriends ('If you wanna be my lover you gotta get with my friends'.) Also save sex at the time was being promoted by '2 Become 1'

- 'When I was 13 I spent a lot go time pretending to like dance music because everyone at school seemed to love it.'

- Her grandad then introduced her to The Smiths, The Cure, Buzzcocks, Talking Heads and almost every band she adores to this day.

- Met her best friend 'Misty fox' for a casting at a music video

- First film character Alexa Chung fell in love with was Annie Hall in the first woody Allen Film she had ever seen. She loved her style/ personality.

- LOLITA is her favourite book and her favourite character to reference when getting dressed in summer months. Alexa loves her heart shaped glasses, hot pants, cropped blouse combo, the matchy matchy bikini with the high waisted shorts, pigtails.

- Claims Kate moss is the coolest person ever

- Stands for being spontaneous and impulsive and is really unorganised/ messy

1. She dresses with a sense of Wit.
2. She never met a polar she didn't like.
3. She's unfussy with her beauty routine
4. She helped make wearing flats stylish
5. Her bangs are kind of perfect
6. She likes cat themed accessories
7.She knows how to style a pair of overalls
8. She supports British brands
9. She's got great festival style
10. She's not afraid to repeat items

QUOTES ...

' I think its every girls dream, a little bit, to be a model because it seems from the outside to be a glamorous industry and I was really into fashion, and I remember being just being excited and wanting to be part of that.'

'Whoever it is who's filtering stuff makes it seem like women want to be more than men. My understanding ... is that we're asking to be treated the same'

'I feel like some women do get away with these sexy shoots and looking like they're being really empowered. For me, I'd feel really uncomfortable in that situation and a bit like I was being taken advantage of.'

'I don't like people to be dictated to. I think you should dress however you want.'

'If it's comfy it probably doesn't look good.'

'I'm inde through and through. I've aways gone out with boys in bands.'

'I admire American women because they are really good at putting a look together that is sophisticated. As British girls, we lean toward being a bit more messy, a bit more undone, and maybe a little more eccentric.

'I feel uncomfortable in anything tight or body-con.'

'If I know something's expected of me, I won't wear it or do it. It just seems boring.'

'I have never lived where people haven't told me what I look like.'

Final Grid Systems publication - Evaluation

GRID SYSTEMS 

The following publication explores all of the following grid systems Mulit Column, design with a hang line, Single Column, Modular Grid System, The golden Section, Van Dee Graaf Canon, Muller Brockmann Grid Systems, Tschichold Octavo and Baseline Grid. It has also be printed in black and white to work in contrast with the cartridge paper stock. This enables the aesthetic of the publication to be carried out and look whole as a publication. The publication has been divided into sections to give it a clear structure and flow. Examples have also been digitally created using the following grid systems to allow them to be shown clearly and precisely. In order to improve the following publication an outline could have been added to the publication so no information is cut off if the publication was to be binded using a needle and thread. 

Chip Kidd- OFFSET 2009

Typography can take your eye on a journey.

'I love the range of books that I work on it allows me to put various feelings into designs'

'I'm not an illustrator because I can not draw' Therefore he gives his work to others that can draw.

'I want the covers to surprise you but not mislead you'

'You should extract the idea from the author'

Directed the American tabloid and re used it to represent it

Many covers he creates are typographic with an idea behind them

Many of his titles are based on his own experiences

His use of objects are effective but random and adapted

Photographs objects so they create their own narrative

Visual puns can be effective

Silent crit - Grid System publication feedback

' Good research.Thorough'

'Be nice to see more photocopies and overlaying'

'Like the use of acetate' 

'Aesthetic is not quite right for magazine' 

'Good explanation across a variety of grid systems' 

'Order book into grid systems so you can refer to each example you found interesting in the future' 

'Large body of work looking at all type of grids' 

'A lot of research looking at books and layouts' 

'Good layout examples, brood amount'

'Your collages are more so much more exciting than research'

'Could produce a front cover for your publication' 

'Clear layout' 

'Collages are very successful and have been taken further. Love the use of acetate' 

In order to improve the following publication on grid systems an order could be put in place. This would separate research and formed designs created by myself. A clear division between the different grid systems also could be formed within the publication so it has a clear structure and flow for the reader. In order to expand the publication digitally, more precise designs could be created following the researched grid systems giving them a detailed, clear description. A different paper stock could also be used such as cartridge paper in order for the publication to look more presentable. Finally, in order for it to be clear what the publication is about straight away a front cover needs to be created for the publication.  

Grid System descriptions

GRID SYSTEMS

Multi column grids

While single-column grids work well for simple documents, multicolumn grids provide flexible formats for publications that have a complex hierarchy or that integrate text and illustrations. The more columns you create, the more flexible your grid becomes. You can use the grid to articulate the hierarchy of the publication by creating zones for different kinds of content. A text or image can occupy a single column or it can span several. Not all the space has to be filled.

Design with a hang line

You can divide a page horizontally by using images and captions across the top of the page in reverse. You can the hang text from a common line such as a hang line underneath the images and captions. Hanglines are not actually a grid system, however, they are used within grid systems to split sections up in reference to layouts. Hanglines are used within multi and single column grids and are used to divide columns. When a hang line is in use they often create clarity within layout and uniform information on a page.This is due to all content being dictated by the hangline due to following it. Often hanglines are stacked within layouts and are frequently used within web design.

Modular Grid

A modular grid consists of horizontal divisions from top to bottom along with vertical divisions from left to right. The modules also work for the cropping of the pictures as well as the text. Modular grids are created by positioning horizontal guidelines in relation to a baseline grid that governs the whole document.

Golden Section

The Golden ratio is a special number found by dividing a line into two parts. This means that the longer part divided by the smaller part is also equal to the whole length divided by the longer part. For example the ratio of 1 to 1/2 (√5 + 1) is supposedly pleasing to the eye.

Muller- Brockmann: Grid systems

Brockmann claims ‘The grid system is an aid, not a guarantee. It permits a number of possible uses and each designer can look for a solution appropriate to his personal style.’ Brockmann’s way of working was to translate and give shapes to ideas using a no-nonsense grid system approach before being ‘artistic’ within his work.

Van De Graaf Canon

The van de Graaf canon grid system is geometric and has divided book pages into pleasing proportions throughout history.  Research shows that the Van De Graaf Canon works for any page width:height ratio, this enables the book designer to position the text body in a specific area of the page. Using the canon, the proportions are maintained while creating pleasing and functional margins. Van De Graaf Canon is the result of looking and understanding information it was also inspired by the page layout of medieval texts. Research claims that the Van de Graaf Canon aims to construct a pleasing page layout by creating an area for content to be placed. Although the grid works on pages of any scale it particularly works best at the page proportion 2:3. In theory contents of page is restricted to a certain area, therefore, this method is commonly used in books along with publications. Due to Van De Graff Canon working a lot with the contrast of negative space it provides a point of focus for the reader.  

Tschichold: Octavo

Tschichold developed Van de Graaf Canon system further and added to these ideas making him able to explain them clearer to the audience in a simplistic way. Within his work he highlighted the importance of clarity and when presenting information.The text area and margin proportions are determined by the starting page proportions.

Tschichold: Golden Canon

The Golden Canon is based upon geometric proportional rules. Several properties are held within the Golden Canon such as the text area always has the same proportion as the page. Also the text area is distributed within the page therefore the outer margin is twice the width of the inner margin, and the bottom margin is twice the width of the top margin.Lastly, the ratios of the inner margin to top margin, and outer margin to bottom margin are the same ratio of the width of the page along with its height.  

Baseline Grid

According to research the Baseline Grid provides a guide in order for elements to be positioned whilst using accuracy which is proven to be difficult when done by the eye alone. Horizontal lines are set across the page whilst being equal distances apart from each other. Supposedly on each row either one line of body text, three lines of caption text or two lines of body text can be used and is positioned on the bottom line.

Research - 'All about Grid Systems'

What is a grid system? 

a structure comprising a series of horizontal and vertical lines, used to arrange content.

Advantages of using grid systems ....

Disadvantages of using grid systems...

https://webdesign.tutsplus.com/articles/all-about-grid-systems--webdesign-14471

Grid Systems in Graphic Design [1968] – Josef Müller-Brockmann

https://designopendata.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/gridsystemsingraphicdesign_josefmullerbrockmann.pdf

1st group Crit on colour publication

Given feedback... 

'visually looks well put together and the composition is strong' 

- I agree with this, however, I feel the final outcome all needs to be refined further by cutting all edges to the same size in order to create a polished finished for the publication. A figuration in order to bind the publication needs to also be founded due to using acetate. 

'Could you photograph banana next to complementary colours to see what affect this has on the hues'.

- I agree this could affect the hues and be effective, however, I wanted to keep my project on complementary colours flower related to make the sections of the publication clear.

'Complementary contrast- good explanation- justifies colour choices by referring to colour wheel'.

- I feel I need to expand my justification by saying what was successful and what was unsuccessful. 

'Contrast of saturation - theory is there but need to write in relevance to your images.'

- I agree to this statement, I should also expand my research linked to my work.

'Could justify reason for use of black in relation to yellow'.

- This is a valid point and I feel I need to explain my choice of a strong contrast done in order to create a professional, slick, flowing publication which is photographically pleasing. 

'Like the use of different paper'. 

- I feel this suited the aesthetic of the design well, making the overall research publication have a style and fit together in a professional, slick manner. 

'Impressive content and photography- used fun, unusual objects to display theories'

- Overall, I believe the publication is slick and interesting with it's simplistic, effective imagery. However, I feel this could be developed further by experimenting further with different objects and colours. I also believe photography styles could be looked at such as typology to fit all of the images together. 

'Your descriptions for each idea are clear and relate to what you've made. However, you need to add more writing to explain yourself further.'

- I believe research has to be expanded further and descriptions need to be longer to ensure a detailed, clear publication.