Tuesday, June 19, 2012

#csmgraphics2012 Industry Private View

Positive press reviews all the way, great feedbacks from industries and friends, happy tweets continues to come in, and most of all we are all satisfied with the outcome and I think we can call the show as a success.
The private view was a great opportunity to thank tutors that I owed a lot from. It was a rare opportunity that people I love gathered together. Thank you all for the special evening.

プレスからの記事でネガティブなものは一切なく、業界関係者、及び友人知人からの評判も良く、ツイッターのコメントの嬉しいものばかりで、そして何より自分たちが満足する卒展となりました。
業界用のオープニングパーティーの際は、一部の子たちが、プレスや業界関係者に必死に自分を売り込むのを横目に、そういうのが苦手な私と私の周りの友達は陰でずっとビールを飲んでいました。自分が思っていたよりも、自分はナイーブで、いきなりビジネスに頭を切り替えることが出来ず、業界の人と話すよりも大好きな友達といたかった。
イギリスで仕事を見つけようとしていたら、もうちょっと違うメンタリティだったのかもしれないけれど、イギリスで就職をしないという選択が逆に功を期した気がします。最初から、自分を売り込むことなんてまったく考えておらず、今までお世話になった方々が集まる貴重な機会として、本当に特別なオープニングパーティーとなりました。

作業中は忙しすぎて、パーティーの際は感傷的になりすぎて、まったく写真を撮らなかったので、この写真はすべて友達のクロエの写真。あまりにもそのときの雰囲気がそのまま撮れていて、みんな大好きで、逆に切ない。


Due to overload of work and sentiment, I took no photos for past few days.  But thanks to Chole True, who has been a diligent photographer, documenting behinds the scenes and making of the show.
Her photographs here capture the spirit of the show as truly as I remember. Here are my loving people making the show we love:




(All photographs by Chole True.)

Monday, June 11, 2012

Degree Show Signage WIP


Signage for the degree show is slowly but surely taking shapes.
Above is sexy Boo promoting Illustration pathway.
Bellow are the initial tests:


While Duarte is mainly responsible for the digital side and Esa for print, I have been in charge of signage for the degree show.
It is a rather slow process. We have already used 1.2km (!) of yarn so far and still counting. This signage idea could not have been executed by myself and is really a collaborative effort of people involved in this show. Thank you everyone who worked on it, I am especially grateful because I know everyone's all so very busy preparing for your own space for the show.
The signage is created by: JT, Alessia, Lillian, Boo, Clare, Kate, Kristina, Matt, PietroDuarte, Nathalie, Sara and Renata, Together, we are Cool Calm Collective.

It turned out, this is such a nice collaborative outcome to finish the course with. It involves a lot of people that I've never worked with before.
Still in a process of finishing up, but getting positive feedbacks around, we are pretty excited about it.


実際の空間(メタルのグリッド)とアイデンティティー(プリントとウェブに使われている黒い線)を繋ぐ、標識や看板のシステム。アイディアとしてはとてもエキサイティングなのだけれど、やり始めて自分ひとりでは絶対に終わらせることが出来ないということを悟り、Facebookで助けを求めたら、あまり親しくない友達までも助けてくれて、かなり感動。既に1.2キロメートル(!)もの毛糸を使い切り、ゆっくりではあるものの、卒展までには間に合いそうなので、一安心。



When you work in a pair, one needs to play a chicken in a cage role.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Five Days until the Degree Show

Central Saint Martins graphic design has 180 students this year. With such a large number of students, there are so many different relationships within the course. That variety of relationships is what makes us and the characteristic of our year.
So, we have developed this identity system that looks into the relationships between students. 

セントマ、グラフィックデザイン科は一学年180人。それだけの人数がいれば、少人数制の学部ではあり得ない様々な人間関係がある。そういった関係性こそが、うちのグラフィック科の特徴で強み!
と、いうことで、生徒同士の関係性に目をつけた、アイデンティティーでグラフィックデザイン科の卒展のブランディングを展開しています。


Website is in a good state. Lines look supa sexy.



Twitter background looking cool. (It is the official CSM Graphic Design twitter background, as well as some students' twitter accounts including mine)
Which by the way has impressive 6,000+ followers. I bet CSM BAGD is the most followed graphic design course twitter account in the world.

Facebook event page has a nice graphics too.

Cards sent the industry looked amazing. So was the press releases that were sent. Maps have been sent to the printer. Signage taking shape. It's progressing alright! I really am happy the way things are turning out that they have the same visual language, but are adopted in different situations and medium.



In the part of the website where the public cannot see, this is what happening among students. We calculate 'closeness' between students by gathering data on their pathways, choices of briefs, as well as students make their own groups and a little bit of social networking is going on. Using this data, leads the graphic. Genius programming and data visualization by Duarte. He is a genius.

卒展のサイトは、生徒しかアクセス出来ないページがあって、そこで今までにやったプロジェクトや、クラスに関する情報を集めました。生徒同士もみんな勝手にグループを作ったり出来て、ソーシャルネットワーク的なことが背後では行われています。内輪ネタや変なグループを色々作ったり出来て、楽しい。ちょっとした「卒業アルバム(yearbook)」的な役割を果たしていると生徒からの評判も上々。
「線と点」がただの「人と人の繋がりの象徴」ではなくて、ちゃんとどの生徒とどの生徒が近いというデータに基づいた自分たちを描き出しているのは、すごくエキサイティング。こんなことが可能なのは、いつも通りDuarteのおかげで、彼の頭の良さに、未だに日々驚く。


As mentioned before, this BAGD identity project is a collaboration project with Duarte and Esa.
This is a very rare degree show that is completely student led and all this couldn't been possible to be realised by amazing organisation by Kate.