HC The Artist: 2014

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Production Banner

As part of the publicity campaign for this year's production themed “悖”, my pubs team designed and painted a huge banner! For those who wants to know more about the meaning of “悖”, here is an excerpt from the description (written by Bin Hui):

This year we will feature three different plays, which seek to explore the concept of “Bei” (悖), a term which characterizes the maverick spirit. Our three short plays explore the transgressions of customary boundaries and how characters respond to the public's pervasive disdain for their actions. We hope that through our plays, the audience can glean equal measure of entertainment and insight into the schema of the maverick.

“悖”，有混乱、冲突、违背之意。剧中人物或为了个人理想和追求，异想天开做出常人难以理解的行为；勇于挑战世俗观念，无视大众心理，是否才是解决问题，获得幸福的正确途径？三部短剧真实地展现了人性中复杂多变的情感变化，以及由此给生活带来的喜怒哀乐。

In the initial stage of conceptualization, we looked at different possibilities of presenting the banner specific to its theme and location - such as a two split banner, horizontal, vertical, and even non-cloth medium. After rounds of discussion, we all agreed that the conventional way provides most room for creativity while maintaining a standard of visual appeal.

The subject matter is our most debated topic...I will just summarise the rationale for this current design. The image of a man facing his own back in the mirror, is clearly inspired by and pays homage to the great Surrealist Rene Magritte.

In Magritte's Not To Be Reproduced, the seemingly improper reflection of the man naturally evokes one's curiosity on his face, perhaps how he looks or the message that it's masking.

I felt that this image, by showing only one side of his face, was appropriate in portraying the lack of alternative viewpoints besides those that we immediately adopt, especially against actions or individuals who go against public goodwill. This banner was intended to confront the conventional and invite viewers to join in the exploration of the maverick spirit.

Here are some photographs of the banner-making process (~2 weeks):

1.Chalking outlines and grids

2. Painting

3. Chalking the texts (haha juniors)

4. Refining and adding texts and logo

5. Finally Bridge Announcement!

Credits to Lin laoshi, seniors Xuedi and Jie Ting, 行政总监 Bin Hui, 催场 Lionel and Jiayi and (...tbu), batchmates, juniors, other 黄城人s and my parents! (for their understanding when I go home at 11pm OTL)

Thanks for reading!

Saturday, September 27, 2014

typography practice

I have always wanted to try typography after I got to know this graphic designer - Aaron Nieh 's work (^m^) I like how he arranges shapes and symbols in such a simplistic yet thought-provoking manner! In his recent works,, unnecessary details are removed and the focal point is usually bravely enlarged in juxtaposition to another subject matter of choice, leaving readers to a large room of interpretation. He is really amazing!! I hope I can be as creative as him *-*

I have never done typography before so please pardon me for tracing over my idol's work for practice x_d I took four random words that I know best of for this trial but do note that there is no direct link to it.

I worked from Adobe Heiti Std and made slight changes to the words to achieve the desired oriental, rough look. In of one Aaron Nieh's interview, he said that when he cannot find the right font that he wants, he will always craft the words from scratch. (So cool right!) But I am really new to illustrator so I guess this is the closest effect I can simulate for now :/

Raw Draft

The two straight dotted lines gave an incomplete and edgy look to the words. This is meant to bring out the characteristics of student productions - unpolished but bold. The rhombus-like shape is an attempt to add an oriental feel to it, as my CCA is under Chinese Society after all.

Edit 1

Used grey to visualise the meaning of "夜", which means night, and inverted the background colour to reduce the visibility of it -> creating a mysterious look.

Edit 2

Discarded the previous approach. Adopted the reference style with a slight change to "夜", in an attempt to make it less visible.

Draft 3

Experimented with different tones of colour, with an addition of gradient to the rhombus.

Draft 4

Reduced the visibility of "夜" further, and adjusted the gradient in the rhombus to make it more natural.

Thanks for reading \\\\\\\

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

小步舞曲 / 陳綺貞

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

繭 / 蘇打綠

Saturday, February 15, 2014

RGB or CMYK

found this helpful post on the difference between CMYK and RGB!

From http://www.printernational.org/ :

Computer monitors emit color as RGB (red, green, blue) light. Although all colors of the visible spectrum can be produced by merging red, green and blue light, monitors are capable of displaying only a limited gamut (i.e., range) of the visible spectrum.

RGB

CMYK

CMYK versus RGB color spectrum

Whereas monitors emit light, inked paper absorbs or reflects specific wavelengths. Cyan, magenta and yellow pigments serve as filters, subtracting varying degrees of red, green and blue from white light to produce a selective gamut of spectral colors. Like monitors, printing inks also produce a color gamut that is only a subset of the visible spectrum, although the range is not the same for both. Consequently, the same art displayed on a computer monitor may not match to that printed in a publication. Also, because printing processes such as offset lithography use CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) inks, digital art must be converted to CMYK color for print. Some printers prefer digital art files be supplied in the RGB color space with ICC profiles attached. Images can then be converted to the CMYK color space by the printer using color management methods that honor profiles if present; this helps preserve the best possible detail and vibrancy.

Some printers may prefer your files be delivered in RGB with ICC profiles attached, as this allows the printer to use color management methods when converting to CMYK. Other printers may prefer your files in the CMYK (Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Black) mode, as this is the mode required for the printing process. If an RGB (Red/Green/Blue) file is submitted, it must be converted to CMYK for print.

Visible color spectrum with print gamut

It can sometimes be difficult to visualize the reason for color shift in color space conversion. The best way to see the color differences between the CMYK and RGB color spaces is to look at a color gamut comparison chart. The chart to the left plots the visible color spectrum as the large "horse shoe" area, and within this is a plot of the CMYK colors, and the RGB colors. You can see that in some areas the RGB color space is "outside" that of the CMYK space. It is these colors that will be affected by a conversion from RGB to CMYK.

Desktop scanners & color space

Most desktop scanners, digital cameras, and video capture systems save files as RGB and the conversion of RGB files to CMYK can be done in many ways (see how to convert RGB to CMYK). RGB converts to only CMY directly. However, when printing, we must add black ink and in doing so must cut back on some color. The Undercolor Removal (UCR) setup will help control this ratio so that a maximum ink density for the four colors will be 300% when printing on a coated paper stock.

Spot colors

Digital art that is comprised of spot colors (e.g., special colors: any colors that are not CMYK process colors), generally require conversion to the CMYK color space to enable file use. Because color gamut's for spot color libraries, such as those associated with the Pantone Matching System (PMS), usually extend beyond the ranges of the CMYK color gamut, some spot colors may not be represented effectively using CMYK process inks.

Halftoning screen angles 133dpi 40% screen enlarged

Image halftones

In offset lithography, the density of CMYK inks can not be varied in continuous fashion across an image, so a range is produced by means of halftoning. In halftoning, translucent CMYK ink dots of variable size are printed in overlapping grids. Grids are placed at different angles for each of the ink colors. Smaller halftone dots absorb less light; thus, as a result of an increase in the amount of reflected light, apparent density is decreased and the object appears lighter.

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