Absolut Vodka

I really like the Absolut Vodka website. Everything about it is excellent. From the music to the graphics. I was playing around on this website for absolutely ages. There is so much to see and to interact with, it never gets boring. The colours used are eye catching and seem rather classy and pure. 
Here is a page which you can read about the reasoning behind the design of the bottles. 
And here is a page which has a menu of other categories to explore on the website.
Here is a interesting page about the history of Absolut vodka. Its also fun as you can see here as you can quickly sketch your own bottle in the board room.

This website is a lot of fun, its clear, easy to navigate and has lots of useful information to explore. There are even recipes to how to make various drinks. Well done Absolut Vodka for producing such a innovative, fun but classy website for all ages (that is everyone aged over 18).

It must also be said how interesting the designs of the Vodka bottles are. There has been so many unique designs that the bottles have become a fashionable collectors items. These bottles look great as a colourful collection displayed within the home.

To view this website: CLICK HERE

Barbara Kruger

Barbara Kruger has had a huge impact on me and my work. Barbara Kruger is known for her black and white photographic imagery which has layered declarative typographic captions set over the top of the image. The type face normally used is Futura Bold Oblique.

I first discovered Barbara Kruger when i was doing my GCSE's and since then her unique style and approach to her work has influenced me greatly. Her work shows how powerful the mixture of imagery and type can be, and how tone can transform a piece dramatically.

I also love the choice of using black, red and white for the majority of her work. These colours are bold and aggressive and really project out the message of the pieces.

Barbara Kruger has also done some exhibition work. As you can see above she doesn't always use imagery, and sometimes only uses copy for her work. This is an example where copy and great typography on its own can be just as effective and impactive as to when image and copy are both used together.

The first image shown here is another example where Barbara Kruger uses copywriting effectively on its own. This design is Barbara Krugers latest work of collaborating her work with British department store Selfridges, where she has began exploring her artwork into the advertising world. Through simple but clever copywriting and excellent use of colour, this piece is a example of effective advertising.

Innocent Smoothie Recipe book

A book which i really enjoy looking through is the Innocent Smoothie Recipe book. You might be thinking why does a recipe seem inspiring to me, but its not only the recipes inside which i love, but its the whole concept of the book which keeps in with Innocents fun and simple values. 

The book uses beautiful photographs, a simple layout which is consistent the whole way through, and the recognizable Innocent tone of voice, which gives the book a fun factor throughout transforming it from a usual boring uninspiring recipe book to a book full of joy and entertainment.

What is also amazing about this book is that the design is the same as the design of the product itself, which makes the book easy to identify on the book shelves. Innocent have produced a wonderful informative and fun little book which never gets boring and that can be read over and over again.

Who framed Roger Rabbit

Who framed Roger Rabbit is a film which had inspired me because I love the animation which was produced by British animation director Richard Williams. Richard Williams Pulls off a technically amazing interaction of ink-and- paint cartoon characters with real- life actors. Who framed Roger Rabbit is a turning point for films, where other films were made shortly after using this same effect. It just shows that real-life and animated cartoons/drawings do and can work well together, to create a convincing and fun effect to design. 

Schindler's List

A film which is a powerful and inspiring film to me is Schindler's List directed by Stephen Speilberg. It is a true story of Oskar Schindler who saves thousands of Jewish lives during the Holocaust. 

One thing which i love about the film, is the way that it was filmed. The way that it is filmed in black and white gives the viewer the sense of the time . And to add to this there is a tiny bit of colour used within the filming to create emphasis, this is used to symbolize the little girl in the red coat. With the little girl standing out due to the red being added, it creates focus on her and the viewer can then track her actions and life throughout the film. In the film the little girl is sadly seen dead on a pile of corpses, with the red coat still visible and standing out amongst the rest of the dead bodies. The red works well with the film, because it resembles the bloodstain that the Holocaust brought.

Another moving part of the film is the beautifully orchestrated music composed by one of my favorites, John Williams. The music really makes the film, and without such an outstanding soundtrack the film would not have been so impacting. A dramatic and emotionally moving film that is worth seeing.

Saatchi gallery

A museum that i have been to is the Saatchi gallery. The Saatchi gallery in London is for contemporary art pieces. When i visited the Gallery i honestly did not know what to make of it. Some of the pieces were extremely disturbing in particular a piece by Berlinde de Bruyckere, who used taxidermy. He created the body of a horse posed on a table. I remember walking into the room, and was able to smell the horse hair. The piece made an impact on me however not in a good way, i felt uncomfortable looking at the piece, due to the visible heavy stitching used to sow up the horse and the way that the horse had been positioned. Another piece which i did see, and which has had varied different opinions over, is 'My Bed' by Tracy Emin. It was an ok piece but it didn't blow my mind. 

It must be said that the Saatchi gallery is worth a visit because it can inspire you because there is such a broad range of contemporary art going through the doors, and their is guaranteed to be something their for everyone. It is definitely worth a visit.

Tate Modern

I love visiting London Art museums. One Museum which i have visited recently is the Tate Modern museum. The Tate modern is Britain's national museum of modern art. An exhibition which i wanted to see was the 'Street Art' exhibition. I wanted to see it because i am intrigued by street art and the whole debate whether it is art or vandalism. I personally think it is a form of art that is created by talented artists. 

The street art exhibition made a huge impact on me, immediately while i was even crossing the bridge over to the museum. There were 6 huge 15 metre tall pieces of street art on display on the outer walls of the gallery. This was extraordinary to see as graffiti is not normally shown in this manner. The six pieces of work were work created by six internationally acclaimed artists, Blu, Faile, Sixeart, JR, Nunca and Os Gemeos.

What i really admired about the exhibition is that this is the start of the transformation of trying to change attitudes of the people, to encourage people to realize that a lot of Graffiti artists are only trying to express their identities and voice over a building (art canvas to them), which the building has itself failed to do so.