Photography – Blog

I have been working on a photography project looking into the differences between analogue and digital photography and how their relationship is developing. My research is particularly focused around the social aspects of photography, especially with the development of their online use. The documentation of my work and research can be found at the blog address below.

http://analogueordigital.blogspot.co.uk/

Back in Time – pencil drawings

I was looking back over past work and rediscovered these pencil drawings I did when I was 17 for an A level project. These are graphic drawings looking at facial details of different age groups. Thought they were worth a post since I haven't put pencil to paper like this in a couple of years!

Shadwell – nighttime photography

A cold winter's night and a clear sky gave me the opportunity to get out my camera and take some photos. Here are a few I shot around Shadwell, using a Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 L IS USM, EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM and EF 14mm f/2.8 L II USM.


More photographs can be seen here http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.234429843300843.55567.161581647252330&type=1

Dissertation – What does the future hold for books?

Before Christmas I completed my dissertation, I looked into the future of books, questioning whether print will be able to rival the popularity and accessibility of ebooks. I though I would be very biased towards print and do still prefer it when reading but there is great potential with digital books and the levels of interaction, making them another platform that offers a different reading experience rather simply a digital replication. Books are having to become more beautiful and innovative in their design to become the choice purchase, but still hold that element of luxury and ownership through their physical form which ebooks struggle to match. 


I decided to present my dissertation both as a book and an ebook/app showing what I concluded; both offer great alternatives to reading but can't truly be compared as they're different reading experiences in their own right. The app works as an extended reference for the figures and footnotes in the dissertation, utilising the iPad's interactive features, linking to images, videos and websites. The video below demonstrates the full use of the app and all the links.





The book was made to the traditional A format as I referenced Penguin frequently through their turning point in paperback design, improving the means of graphics for book covers and providing cheap availability. The book has lighter weight (80gsm), narrower pages matching up the figure references to the body text. The cover uses 300gsm paper compared to 120gsm used for the main pages, the book was printed and bound by hand. Everything was presented in a hand made black box, with insert slots made to the size of the book and iPad, which demonstrates how a sense of luxury can be enhanced through the facility and interacting with the physical form. Pictures can be seen below. 

The Poster King - Exhibition

I recently went to the exhibition at the Estorick Collection of Edward McKnight Kauffer's poster designs. He was best known for his creations for Shell and the Underground. Given he worked as an artist and the term graphic designer wasn't even coined yet, I was really impressed with his attention to detail and strong use of typography. Particularly as his work progressed he worked on integrating type within the imagery. His attention to composition, layout and grid led to him producing some magnificently styled posters and set him apart from other artists of the time.


His posters worked as a great means of advertising and it was appealing to see them with such an artistic focus. It's nice to see beautifully and creative thought out pieces, whereas foreseeably a lot of advertisements focus on the 'bad is good' concept. With the examples of cheesy songs, "choo, choo, choose the train line.com", "we buy any car" or "go compare." The use of annoyingly cheap and tacky themes works as they are memorable but only because of their dire and woefully crass. Or to put it in the words of Trevor Beattie in a recent Evening Standard article, "some of it is bloody awful... People aren't rocking the boat enough." If anything the mentioned adverts should spur creatives on to produce something that deserves to be remembered. Believe it or not it's been 4 years since the infamous Cadburys' Gorilla. The days of beautifully designed and innovative need to be grasped and not fall into the easy route of a quick laugh ad.


Here are a few examples of Kauffer's work.

Website - new design

I've been planning to update my old website and after a surge of ideas I've finally got round to it. This new design uses a selection of pages rather than a one page site (like my previous one). The style of the site suits itself to my practice in graphics, being clear with a coherent theme running throughout and shows exactly what it needs to - my work. 


My actual site can be seen via this link www.matt-thom.co.uk

Pop-Up Shop - set up

Some photos of our second year pop-up shop set up. The show was a create success and thanks to Kate for organising it, as well as  everyone else who contributed. It featured a great array of reproduced work, ranging from zines, book, prints, bracelets, badges...

We had a fantastic private view night, making over £1200 to go towards our degree. Thanks to everyone who came along, supported us and of course bought our products. 

Tower Bridge - video and photography

I have recently bought a Canon 60D and took the opportunity to take some photos of Tower Bridge and footage. Video is completely new to me and was one of the main reasons I opted for the 60D and was something I wanted to explore and still do. 



These were all recored with a 100mm F2.8 IS USM and a 14mm F2.8 II USM.

Book - design interventions

I've been meaning to put my photographs and records of my litter design interventions into an appropriate format to view. I spent the last couple of days designing and making this book to reference them all and display them in a hard copy. 

Cigarette litter 5 - design interventions

My final couple of design interventions focus on the cigarette packet itself, as a means of easily getting smokers attention and giving them no reason not to be aware of the issues of littering. This first design works simply as a sleeve, informing smokers of the problems that their used butts can cause. I have tried to give the message a harder impact by relating it to people, and how deadly used cigarette ends can be to us. Displaying the fact that the chemicals left in the butts from a 20 pack are capable of killing 16 adults. 

The final intervention takes this idea a step further by designing the sleeve to feature a waste section for used butts, thereby providing a solution for to smokers throw them away. One issue is the lack of bins for butts, there are some products for smokers to buy such as portable ash trays. However, most people can't be bothered to buy them or simply aren't aware. 


This sleeve centres around a storable compartment to store their fag ends, which can been thrown away when the packet is finished. The compartment is foil lined to stop the butt burning the package. It uses a push mechanism for easy access and is designed with a maximum opening distance to avoid spilling its contents.