Personal Manifesto
Brief
We were tasked to demonstrate an awareness of what our practice is about as well as express our passion and commitment for the particular direction that we are aiming for.
Ideation
To start, I thought of what was the particular direction that I want to take after I finish this course. Personally, I felt the greatest urge for graphic design and illustration. These are the two things that I feel most passionate about.
Figure 1. Initial ideas for my manifesto
I've always had a motto when it comes to creating is that we are all blessed to create, and therefore we should use our gifts to create and bless others. This is an overarching theme throughout my manifesto as I feel very strongly towards this. I was personally inspired by bible verse, "Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you." (New International Version, 2008). This verse spoke directly to the main message of my manifesto which is not to neglect that gifts that we were so blessed with, but to meditate and use it not to harm others but to bless others.
As a creative myself, I think the most important stage in any creative journey is the process. It is only through the process that we learn from our mistakes and discovers new skills. Therefore, for my manifesto, I wanted to impart the fact that we should embrace the process and not rush into trying to create a final product.
First mockup iteration
As shown in Figure 1, I initially wanted to create a cinemagraph by merging both my illustration and moving text to showcase my manifesto. However, I felt that it did not really fit the concept of my manifesto which is that our gifts to create is a gift to others. Therefore, I further developed my idea and decided to design a gift bag with my manifesto written on it.
Sketching out the die-cut of the gift bag and creating the mockup
I successfully created the mockup of the gift bag and was about to proceed with the actual creation of the final product of my manifesto. However, it felt kind of empty considering there is nothing in the gift bag. I wanted to more substance for my manifesto and include my own personal touch to it.
Second iteration
Rethinking the execution of my manifesto
I then decided to move onto another idea for my manifesto. By creating an illustration and have it packaged in a poster tube. It kind of symbolises a gift for someone.
Inspiration for my illustration poster
Illustration sketch by me Cover of Uzumaki by Junji Ito (1998)
I was particularly inspired by Junji Ito's art style and decided to create an illustration based on his 1998 manga, "Uzumaki".
In "Uzumaki" also known as a spiral in Japanese, follows citizens living in a small town and how it gets cursed by supernatural events involving spirals. In this particular piece of work, Ito uses a lot of elements from Lovecraftian Horror. (Winsby, 2006)
Lovecraftian Horror referred to as "cosmic horror", is a concept developed by H.P. Lovecraft. This genre of horror emphasizes the mystery of the unknown and the philosophy that mankind is irrelevant. In short, we are basically mere creatures in the vast cosmos of the intergalactic universe. (Ghodrati, 2013)
An excerpt from Ito's "Uzumaki" (1998), spirals starting to form on the character's face creating this sense of eerieness, not sure where these "spirals" are coming from.
From an interview with Junji Ito in 2006, he mentioned, “Usually spiral patterns mark character’s cheeks in Japanese comedy cartoon, representing an effect of warmth.” However, he also thinks that spirals might be symbolic of infinity. In his work, he used it as a symbol of horror and I thought it does relate back to the concept of cosmic horror, in which it resides deeply in the abstract. We never really see the actual monster in “Uzumaki”, but we do see the effects of it which is what makes it so compelling.
The way that Junji Ito uses these elements of cosmic horror truly shows how it elicits emotion, rather than actual jumpscares like you would see in a lot of horror movies these days. This is what I want to achieve in my practice, to help my audience evoke a sense of bliss and joy. Though it is the opposite approach of cosmic horror, the effects of the concept are similar to Ito’s work. Instead of looking at the dark side of it, I think the beauty lies in how the scariest or in my context the most beautiful things, are things that we see in our everyday lives. This explains the use of the spiral in my illustration. It pays homage to the concept of Lovecraftian Horror.
Therefore in my practice and through this manifesto, my main principle would be to observe and conjure up beautiful works to give a sense of hope in people’s lives.
Digitised my illustration in Procreate and Photoshop
Printed out my illustration on laser film
Screen printing in school
I chose to print light blue ink on a dark blue paper is because I wanted the person who is looking at my poster to carefully observe and see the details which are the whole main point of my manifesto. With this in hand, I then proceeded to design the label wrapped around the poster tube and stickers. On these, I will write my manifesto on it. I think this brings my message across in a clearer manner. Through this mediums, it feels like we are 'gifting' our gifts to others which in turn we are blessing them.
Research + inspiration for the poster tube
Since the main message of my personal manifesto was inspired by bible verse, I wanted to implement design elements from old bibles. After much research, I found the Gutenberg Bible.
Gutenberg (1450)
Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of movable mechanized type, played an important role in the development of the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution. I was particularly intrigued by the typography style as it was very distinct.
Execution
Creating the label and stickers in Illustrator
After creating the manifesto label and stickers, I printed them out using my home printer. At this stage of the project, I was already back in my home country.
Mockups to test out colours
I did not like the colours at all. The colours turned out so wrong and so I made further edits.
Making further edits in Photoshop
I have yet to print out the final products as my printer at home is not working right now and all non-essential stores are closed, therefore resources are limited. Therefore, I have decided to create mockups digitally to showcase my manifesto.
Final Outcome
Poster illustration inspired by Junji Ito
Poster label design inspired by the Gutenberg Bible. The manifesto label will be wrapped around the poster tube.
Stickers that will be pasted on each end of the poster tube
“Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.” 1 Timothy 4:14
This verse speaks directly to the main message and the overarching theme of my manifesto; we are to not neglect the gifts that we were so blessed with but to meditate on it and bless others.
As a creative myself, I think the most important stage in any creative journey is the process. It is only through the process that we learn from our mistakes and discovers new skills. Therefore, for my manifesto, I want to impart the fact that we should embrace the process and not rush into trying to create a final product.
Bibliography
Ghodrati, N. (2013) The Creation, Evolution and Aftermath of Lovecraftian Horror.
Master of Arts degree thesis. The University of Oslo.
Available at: https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/37090/NeginxGhodratix-xMasterxsxThesisxxMayx2013x.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (Accessed: 29 April 2020).
Gutenberg, J. (1450) Gutenberg Bible. Available at: http://designishistory.com/1450/gutenberg/
(Accessed: 15 April 2020).
The Holy Bible, New International Version (2008) ReaLife Deviontoal Bible, Michigan, U.S.A.: Zonderkidz.
Uzumaki (1998) Written by Junji Ito. [Manga]. Japan: Shogakukan.
Winsby, M. B. (2013) Into the Spiral: A Conversation with Japanese Horror Maestro Junji Ito. Available at: http://www.78magazine.com/issues/03-01/arts/junji.shtml (Accessed: 29 April 2020).
We were tasked to demonstrate an awareness of what our practice is about as well as express our passion and commitment for the particular direction that we are aiming for.
Ideation
To start, I thought of what was the particular direction that I want to take after I finish this course. Personally, I felt the greatest urge for graphic design and illustration. These are the two things that I feel most passionate about.
Figure 1. Initial ideas for my manifesto
I've always had a motto when it comes to creating is that we are all blessed to create, and therefore we should use our gifts to create and bless others. This is an overarching theme throughout my manifesto as I feel very strongly towards this. I was personally inspired by bible verse, "Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you." (New International Version, 2008). This verse spoke directly to the main message of my manifesto which is not to neglect that gifts that we were so blessed with, but to meditate and use it not to harm others but to bless others.
As a creative myself, I think the most important stage in any creative journey is the process. It is only through the process that we learn from our mistakes and discovers new skills. Therefore, for my manifesto, I wanted to impart the fact that we should embrace the process and not rush into trying to create a final product.
First mockup iteration
As shown in Figure 1, I initially wanted to create a cinemagraph by merging both my illustration and moving text to showcase my manifesto. However, I felt that it did not really fit the concept of my manifesto which is that our gifts to create is a gift to others. Therefore, I further developed my idea and decided to design a gift bag with my manifesto written on it.
Sketching out the die-cut of the gift bag and creating the mockup
I successfully created the mockup of the gift bag and was about to proceed with the actual creation of the final product of my manifesto. However, it felt kind of empty considering there is nothing in the gift bag. I wanted to more substance for my manifesto and include my own personal touch to it.
Second iteration
Rethinking the execution of my manifesto
I then decided to move onto another idea for my manifesto. By creating an illustration and have it packaged in a poster tube. It kind of symbolises a gift for someone.
Inspiration for my illustration poster
Illustration sketch by me Cover of Uzumaki by Junji Ito (1998)
I was particularly inspired by Junji Ito's art style and decided to create an illustration based on his 1998 manga, "Uzumaki".
In "Uzumaki" also known as a spiral in Japanese, follows citizens living in a small town and how it gets cursed by supernatural events involving spirals. In this particular piece of work, Ito uses a lot of elements from Lovecraftian Horror. (Winsby, 2006)
Lovecraftian Horror referred to as "cosmic horror", is a concept developed by H.P. Lovecraft. This genre of horror emphasizes the mystery of the unknown and the philosophy that mankind is irrelevant. In short, we are basically mere creatures in the vast cosmos of the intergalactic universe. (Ghodrati, 2013)
An excerpt from Ito's "Uzumaki" (1998), spirals starting to form on the character's face creating this sense of eerieness, not sure where these "spirals" are coming from.
From an interview with Junji Ito in 2006, he mentioned, “Usually spiral patterns mark character’s cheeks in Japanese comedy cartoon, representing an effect of warmth.” However, he also thinks that spirals might be symbolic of infinity. In his work, he used it as a symbol of horror and I thought it does relate back to the concept of cosmic horror, in which it resides deeply in the abstract. We never really see the actual monster in “Uzumaki”, but we do see the effects of it which is what makes it so compelling.
The way that Junji Ito uses these elements of cosmic horror truly shows how it elicits emotion, rather than actual jumpscares like you would see in a lot of horror movies these days. This is what I want to achieve in my practice, to help my audience evoke a sense of bliss and joy. Though it is the opposite approach of cosmic horror, the effects of the concept are similar to Ito’s work. Instead of looking at the dark side of it, I think the beauty lies in how the scariest or in my context the most beautiful things, are things that we see in our everyday lives. This explains the use of the spiral in my illustration. It pays homage to the concept of Lovecraftian Horror.
Therefore in my practice and through this manifesto, my main principle would be to observe and conjure up beautiful works to give a sense of hope in people’s lives.
Digitised my illustration in Procreate and Photoshop
Printed out my illustration on laser film
Screen printing in school
I chose to print light blue ink on a dark blue paper is because I wanted the person who is looking at my poster to carefully observe and see the details which are the whole main point of my manifesto. With this in hand, I then proceeded to design the label wrapped around the poster tube and stickers. On these, I will write my manifesto on it. I think this brings my message across in a clearer manner. Through this mediums, it feels like we are 'gifting' our gifts to others which in turn we are blessing them.
Research + inspiration for the poster tube
Since the main message of my personal manifesto was inspired by bible verse, I wanted to implement design elements from old bibles. After much research, I found the Gutenberg Bible.
Gutenberg (1450)
Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of movable mechanized type, played an important role in the development of the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution. I was particularly intrigued by the typography style as it was very distinct.
Execution
Creating the label and stickers in Illustrator
After creating the manifesto label and stickers, I printed them out using my home printer. At this stage of the project, I was already back in my home country.
Mockups to test out colours
I did not like the colours at all. The colours turned out so wrong and so I made further edits.
Making further edits in Photoshop
I have yet to print out the final products as my printer at home is not working right now and all non-essential stores are closed, therefore resources are limited. Therefore, I have decided to create mockups digitally to showcase my manifesto.
Final Outcome
Poster illustration inspired by Junji Ito
Poster label design inspired by the Gutenberg Bible. The manifesto label will be wrapped around the poster tube.
Stickers that will be pasted on each end of the poster tube
“Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.” 1 Timothy 4:14
This verse speaks directly to the main message and the overarching theme of my manifesto; we are to not neglect the gifts that we were so blessed with but to meditate on it and bless others.
As a creative myself, I think the most important stage in any creative journey is the process. It is only through the process that we learn from our mistakes and discovers new skills. Therefore, for my manifesto, I want to impart the fact that we should embrace the process and not rush into trying to create a final product.
Ghodrati, N. (2013) The Creation, Evolution and Aftermath of Lovecraftian Horror.
Master of Arts degree thesis. The University of Oslo.
Available at: https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/37090/NeginxGhodratix-xMasterxsxThesisxxMayx2013x.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (Accessed: 29 April 2020).
Gutenberg, J. (1450) Gutenberg Bible. Available at: http://designishistory.com/1450/gutenberg/
(Accessed: 15 April 2020).
The Holy Bible, New International Version (2008) ReaLife Deviontoal Bible, Michigan, U.S.A.: Zonderkidz.
Uzumaki (1998) Written by Junji Ito. [Manga]. Japan: Shogakukan.
Winsby, M. B. (2013) Into the Spiral: A Conversation with Japanese Horror Maestro Junji Ito. Available at: http://www.78magazine.com/issues/03-01/arts/junji.shtml (Accessed: 29 April 2020).
Comments
Post a Comment