Author: marcus

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Journal

Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Not only the new, but pretty much every product that has been around for a few years has evolved into a more simple form of itself whilst achieving even more functionality than before.

You can look at any computer, gaming console or fireplace to see that this, in the modern world that we’re living in today, is the case!

Granted, there are the odd exceptions such as that oh so familiar, modestly named game ‘Pong’. I can say that in confidence as it is still a widely played (and enjoyed) game, maybe under a different alias, but nevertheless, it’s still the same game.

Why? Simple.

It was a simple idea executed to perfection. This is something I think a lot of people take for granted nowadays.

I’ve seen hundereds of over crowded advertisements in an attempt to make them more appealing or informative, yet I’ve also seen a monkey piss in it’s own mouth. I personally prefer the latter, it’s memorable, straight to the point, and humourus to the right audience.

Leonardo Da Vinci once said “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”

Which leads me to my next thought.

Can simple be too simple? What is too simple?

Categories
Journal

Standing Out – Be Creative

This is the key phrase for the advertising youth of today.

As an ever growing and highly competitive industry you really do have to do something different to get noticed.

But how far can one actually go before it’s considered distasteful, vulgar or God forbid, get black listed from the industry in an attempt to stand out?

The majority of attainable clients for the new blood, (I’m talking about low budget businesses that are close minded to the proverbial “less is more” that just want you to put as much information as they possibly can onto a tiny bit of paper) have no creative flair, which consistently makes it increasingly hard for us newbies to “Be Different”. Maybe more so to Graphic Designers.

I’m not being ignorant to the fact that yes, we can set our own briefs and come up with some kick-ass ideas.

Sure, it’ll go into our portfolio, we can send it around hundreds of different agencies, hopefully they’ll get your ideas and we’ll get an opportunity.

Hopefully.

It’s not like the kind of publicity that you get with a live client. A true problem to be solved using your ideas, which are being mailed direct to homes and being posted up around the town for everyone to see. Maybe it’s just the ego boost from it all that makes it seem so much better.

Or maybe it’s the fact that one person can see that idea, like it and tell another person, maybe they’ll tell someone else who knows someone in the industry and boom, there is another opportunity.

Does this mean to say that it would be a good idea to run your own personal campaigns?

For newbies that want to make it into industry, it may not be a bad idea, why not? Be creative. Hold an event, attempt a viral or use guerrilla tactics.

Get your work seen

Get your work out there any way you can.

It’s one thing being different, but if no ones going to see it. Should you really be trying to get into this game?

Categories
Makings

Convince people to keep a worm as a domestic pet

That’s right, an earth worm. This is what we had to advertise, in groups of two. So with my partner Caroline Henson (thought I’d throw in a mention as this was a team effort) we came up with a few ideas for this project and decided on one. Which at the time we were very skeptical about proceeding with, but it was a risk we were definitely willing to take.
And we did.

It went down really well with our tutor (who has worked on many famous adverts and was part of Tesco’s “Every little helps” slogan), we received good feedback and it was suggested that we continue developing it, make a video, take it further.

Finalized Poster
Finalized Poster
Categories
Makings

A Lesson In Typography

We had a 2 day workshop dedicated to typography, and at the end we had a task set to design a typographic poster in InDesign, in black and white only, with 200 words on what we had learned throughout the duration of the course.

Typography Poster
Finalized Typographic Poster.
Categories
Makings

Innocent Girl to Vampire (Photoshop)

Ok, so I couldn’t help myself. Here is another quick video in which I make an innocent girl into a vampire.

Categories
Makings

Avacado + Dog’s Eye = Weird

I made another Photoshop video, pretty random, but I’ve grown quite accustomed to doing them. I think it’s something to do with being able to see the whole process of what you’ve done played back to you.

It’s still being ‘processed’ by YouTube, so I’ll just blabber for a moment.

This blog is starting out to be quite Photoshop orientated.

I’ve always wanted to make some sort of viral advert, I mean studying advertising – fair enough, but before then I’ve just wanted to make one, a successful one, I’ve just not had the means to do it though. I have the software, just never tried using it.

Maybe I’ll try my hand at After Effects and make a massively successful viral that’ll make me rich beyond my wildest dreams.

That’d be nice.

The video has finally finished processing so here it is. Ends quite abruptly though.

Categories
Inspiration

Ugly to Pretty (Photoshop)

Carrying on from the previous Fat/Skinny Photoshop sessions I found this one. Personally I think it’s amazing and definitely worth a watch.

Maybe another one for me to have a go at?

Categories
Makings

Screen Recording – Thin to Fat (Photoshop)

Well, I said I was going to do it.

This is a quick demonstration of the effects that can be achieved using Photoshop to manipulate the human form.

Please be aware that this was just a quickie project, as you’ll notice on the video there can be much more done in terms of fine details such as the skin shading, blending and just generally ironing out all the fine details and cleaning it up a bit.

But it gets the point across.

Categories
Inspiration Makings

Fat To Thin – Thin To Fat (Photoshop)

I was on YouTube and I’ve seen this video a couple of times of someone using Photoshop to make a rather big woman, thinner. It’s quite amazing watching it work.

So I thought I’d have a go, but instead of making someone thin, why not make them fat? So I did, to my housemate. Here is the before and the after image.

Before Photoshopping
Before Photoshopping
After Photoshopping
After Photoshopping

Next time I do something like this I think I’ll use a screen recorder so the whole process can be seen. Fun, fun, fun.

Categories
Journal

Welcome.

First post of my official, all about me, blog.

The reason I say it like that is because (and this is where you learn a bit more about me) I have several websites and blogs just floating around the internet. Mainly because either I’ve been bored and got a random idea into my head or I just had a whim about something. My most successful website to date, has to be thecheesegrater.co.uk.

The Cheese Grater – This is my baby, it’s where I store all the cool stuff I find on the internet.

So I decided it was about time I made a blog, just for me, my thoughts, what’s going on, my latest endeavours, etc, etc.

This is it.

I’ll start with a bit about myself and some of the build up to where I am today. I am Marcus, a qualified Graphic Designer, and an Advertising student at Bucks New Uni, so for any potential advertisers I would definitely suggest coming here. My current status is a bit of a shock from what my plans were whilst I was in year 12, I had no clue of what I was going to do, so like everyone else, I planned to stay on to 6th form, spend 2 years there and move off to a random uni – boy was I wrong!

My plans got severed after I got a ‘C’ instead of a ‘B’ in English at (and this IS a plug for the shit ass, benchmark supporting, student patronizing, crap hole of a sphincter) The Broxbourne School. Basically, because I got a ‘C’ instead of a ‘B’ they refused to keep me on, yet they’d keep several students that are underachieving beyond replenishment. I Love Them.

If it wasn’t for their ignorance as a school I would be at some random university with still no idea of what to do with my short existence of a life.

Nevertheless, this left me in a bit of a pickle towards the end of the summer when it was either attend a random institute or take an early gap year. So I applied and got accepted to the Hertford Regional College to study Engineering, imagine that! But then something amazing happened. My brother, as a joke, mentioned joining an all girls school, Presdales. So on a whim, (there’s that word again) I applied there too. Now, in a face to face meeting I can be pretty good in terms of being what they want me to be. It was at such short notice, (about a week before the start of term) so I got a trial day. Result! –  Problem! The ‘trial’ day was the same day I should be attending my first, fully pledged, acceptance lesson in the engineering course. I chose the girls 6th Form at Presdales.

So that lasted until I was advised to leave after the 2nd year as my grades weren’t up to scratch, must have been distracted somehow. That’s when I decided to fuck it and just go with a course that I would enjoy, regardless of how competitive career opportunities were, so as I had a slight interest in design, I chose to do a Graphic Design BTEC ND. Best thing I could of ever done, it honestly opened up a whole new world to me.

After a year of the 2 year BTEC, I got some skills and started offering a design service whilst still at college, which for studying the art for only a year, I was doing quite well for myself because of it. I got a taste of the perks, I’m talking about freelancing. Take this for example, whilst my mates were working in high street stores or behind a bar, I was earning twice almost three times the hourly rate they were, and best of all, I chose my own hours. Life was good!

Needless to say I focused on that for a while and after my 2 year course was up I had to decide what to do. I definitely wanted to go to university, but what one and what course? Advertising, I could utilise my skills as a designer and learn more on ideas, campaigns, the whole industry.

And so it leads me to my current standing point, sitting in my designated dorm room, writing on my brand new blog.

I think that’s more than enough for now, but hopefully a good starting point for expansion on this new endeavour.