References:
Sketchbooks; The Hidden Art of Designers, Illustrators and Creatives:
I have purchased this book and have found really inspiring; I am always intimidated by a blank page. To see how artists have literally just used pages as scrapbooks and not always made them look “picture perfect” is very motivating in my approach to work.
I have scanned in Ed Fella’s snapshots of working sketchbooks as I love the typography and colours. There’s a quote in his bio saying a friend once gave him a sketchbook and said “even though you are a designer, you think like an artist and should keep a sketchbook” – Ed explains he keeps three categories: “pure collage, lettering (in four colour ballpoint with prismacolour pencil), and mixed media form studies and fragments of illustration with some lettering and collage”. I love this idea of having different sketchbooks for different specialisms as I have often felt confused if I have one sketchbook for everything.
Ex-formation:
This text explores the relationship with yourself and the knowledge you posess. Admit what you don’t know and you leave room to learn and acquire that knowledge. People often say ‘I know’ as an automatic response to conversations, but how much of it do they actually know?
A series of experiments shows students on a path of discovery to find answers they would not normally find out unless trying for themselves. One of my favourites is the Daikon Radish experiment:
From this text I have learnt one thing; to not be afraid to say ‘I don’t know’ and to explore routes that I would not normally be brave enough to pursue. Learning is vital within the creative industry; after all we are presenting what we do know through visual elements in the design world. We are therefore educating consumers ourselves.
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