Ten helpful tips for being a successful intern within Hoffi by Andrew Hong

1. Have fun at work, and work hard at everything you do, even if the task's do not require design. This shows motivation and that your willing to do any task to the best of your ability that contributes to the studio.

2. Home in on the skills you already possess, refine the process that you prefer to work in, and your work will improve also.

3. Constantly question all the design choices your trying making and find reasons to justify them, this will give your work depth and will be better understood by others.

4. Do not be afraid to ask all your colleagues the same question, normally this is how you can piece together information you are looking for rather than relying on one source.

5. Do not be afraid to make mistakes, your an intern. You do not have all the correct answers, making mistakes is often the best route to finding the right solution to a piece of design your trying to achieve.

6. Be prepared to manage your own work flow, this is not university anymore. Expect to be working on 2-3 different things at once, where often short notice tasks will be given also.

7. Immerse yourself in the studio culture, banter with others and get to know them. Interpersonal relationships are just as important as the work your trying to achieve.

8. Take breaks and have lunch when this suites you, often coming away from a piece of work for a moment lets you reflect and come back with improvements to better your ideas, which is essential in combating creative block.

9. Broaden your interests during your time at the studio, find new sources of interests such as books or magazines that you would never have though of looking at before. These are often the best sources to relate back to design for inspiration.

10. Finally avoid all invitations to play Wii tennis or bowling by Julian, you just know its just another invitation to be beaten by him again this week.



The Constructivist.

Hoffi

This is just a quick post to you you know what I have been up to lately in the world of work. I recently began my internship with one of Wales leading branding, identity and brand communication studio's called Hoffi - based in the heart of Wales's capital that is Cardiff. It really has been a joy to be apart of their team, as the advice and constructive criticism I have received has truly been honest and helpful, where I am seeing the improvements in how I work already. I will make another post again towards the end of the internship to truly reflect on what I am experiencing within Hoffi and perhaps a few ins and outs of studio culture.

The Constructivist.

ARK IN THE PARK & Cardiff Design Festival 2010

Hi this is another post I have been rather eager to post about, yet I have managed to do it a bit late but I think it is ok since its the bank holiday weekend after all (designers need a bit of slack too sometimes).

As you can see in a previous post I have mentioned ARK LAB which is a social design collective that is happening in Wales's capital that is Cardiff, Well after becoming fascinated by their aims and what they are currently getting up to this has lead me to inevitably become more and more involved within the collective, where I was asked to help design some of their promotion for their next ARK LAB event called ARK IN THE PARK which is a mini games festival running the same time and is part of Cardiff Design Festival 2010.

You can find the article here where ARK LAB and my small design contribution are mentioned on the Guardian Cardiff online:

I even have my name mentioned within the article which made my day when my boss told me in work.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/cardiff/2010/aug/26/ark-in-the-park-cardiff

My final mention for this post is Cardiff Design Festival 2010:

http://www.cardiffdesignfestival.org/2010/

please take the time to read up about the event and hopefully this is something you would be willing to come to, It only happens once a year in Cardiff. Everyone involved works incredibly hard to put on a larger and more successful event every time the festival comes around again. So do come long to reap the benefits and immerse yourself in the best design currently taking place in Wales that will be shown in Cardiff.

The Constructivist.

Graduate Academy

Hi I really do have to apologies for the infrequent posts lately, this is simply due to life has taken me down busier but more rewarding routes, therefore I will be keeping this short and sweet. At the moment I have gone back into education, but under a management course provided by Go wales - Graduate Academy. What do you think management has to do with Graphic design? Perhaps almost everything can be applied since we run businesses ourselves, on very different scales which suite's the studio's culture, and size of the organisation itself. I have three areas which are a requirement that I have to focusing in which are, understanding the management role, becoming an effective leader, and finally managing customer relations.

Here is the link where you can find out more information about the Go Wales Graduate Academy:

http://www.gowales.co.uk/en/graduate/graduateAcademy/index.html

I truly do recommend graduates seek out this kind of help and direction after their chosen degree, as they truly open doors for you that can not foresee before hand.

The Constructivist.

Ark Lab's - Empty Shop Project.

Hello just a quick update for you, I recently attended Ark Lab's - Empty Shop Project which is a social design community dedicated to using design as a response to social issues. They happened to video everything and I was lucky enough to be interviewed that day, check out at around 4.05 minute mark to see me giving my input and opinion about the empty shop project. Well done Ark Lab, hats off to you for a wonderful weekend event and I am hoping to attend one of your weekly meetings held at Cardiff Arts Institute in order to hopefully get involved within your next project.

The Constructivist.

Futurising - 2010

Hi this is just a quick update to let you know what I have been up to lately, next week is London's Futurising event which I will be attending, to see what is going on this year, attend a few headline talks, and to see the exhibitors this year. BUT also to see what new contacts I can make along the way, you will never know where your next opportunity will arise unless you put yourself out there and let your face be seen, speak to new people, get advice from a trust worthy source, but most importantly to take in what the industry itself is out putting, and enjoy what other people are doing for a change, not just what you yourself are doing.

see you in London.

The Constructivist.

New Self Identity

Hi these are some new business cards that I recently designed to coincide with my new website. I felt that a new identity was required in order to better represent the new work now viewable. I decided on a more stripped back abstract approach, using parts of artwork I had created previously.

I decided on a one colour approach in order to make the design process stricter, which in-turn resulted in a more cleaner outcome. I chose Futura as the typeface of choice, as I found this very successful in the past with previous work. This gave the overall look a clean and sophisticated feel, where its only job is to deliver the information intended without a over powering feel.

I also decided to redraw one of my favourite typefaces, that is Georgia for part of the identity. I understand that Georgia is a very classical typeface choice, but by redrawing it, and reducing it to a more stripped back abstract point, I was able to produce a new typeface that seems very familiar yet completely new and refreshing, that I can only describe as classics with a twist.



The Constructivist.

Stereoscopic Anaglyph 3D Visuals By VJ Fader

Another video I wanted to share with you all this time by VJFADER, the video is simply great to watch throughout, the music perhaps is not everyone's taste but I quite like it, nostalgic of the blog house era perhaps.

The constructivist.

'Sonar' By Renaud Halle

I just had to show you this, its simply one of the best pieces of flash video I have come across for a very long time, the graphic visualization of music, like if we needed to describe music with images instead of sound. It’s amazing how complex the video gets at the end.

The constructivist.

What Else Magazine

Forgive me that I have not been able to do any recent posts of work, the world of work has simply been far to fast and too little breaks in between. The reason for little activity here is due to me rebuilding my brand new website which is almost complete, and I can not wait to share the new design and new work with you. For now I have this to share with you, yes there are many magazines for the iphone now, but the reason I have mentioned this one is because it has been created by a international fashion and art collective founded in East London by UNIT9. Another reason I am mentioning this magazine is because I feel it is very true to the type of people, visuals and urban landscape that you find within fashion that is London which is specifically local talents. As UNIT9 has described "We have created a platform to curate the progressive talents from the cutting edge of Fashion, Art, Photography and Journalism."

Enjoy taking a look at this one, it happens to be free also! for how long I do not know.


The constructivist.

Grindin by Nobody Beats The Drum

I have be wanting to share this ever since I laid my eyes on it. It is such a clever use of simple spray-painted wooden blocks and stop-motion. The video was created by Rogier van der Zwaag, and I think he was pretty clever in only shooting quarter of the video, flipping it both horizontally and then vertically in post production.

The Constructivist.

VESTITUS Vol. 1

Well this post is simply to show you a concept for a magazine I have thought about for a while. There seems to be a high end fashion magazine for everything these days, yet still there seems to be very little that caters for the transgender community. Androgyny is not a new idea or concept within fashion, and it seems that more and more designers are designing collections that are no longer gender specific but towards a more androgynous lifestyle and aesthetic, as a way of representing the equality between men and women as society opens up and allows us to be more equal.

This is how I came to the idea of VESTITUS. The word vestitus is latin for dressed, and is fitting since the magazine is a lifestyle magazine about dressing (in this case to appeal to those involved within transvestism).

The magazine celebrates tranvestism, transexuality, cross dressing and androgyny in all its manifestations within high end fashion. What you will find on the pages will hopefully give you inspiration and freedom to be that persona you have always wanted to be.

The cover is in lipstick red, to reference the first moment a man dresses to become that other persona and puts on lipstick for the first time (possibly our mother's or sister's own red lipstick) I feel the colour choice is very appropriate for the first issue. The cover is a collage of male and female facial features to emphasize the bluring of lines between the male and female form, the lips in the centre represent that VESTITUS is perhaps one of the first of such magazines to speak openly of what is considered a sub-cultured lifestyle. Hopefully I will be able to create some possible content for what may go into the magazine, where the layout will also will represent the lifestyle of its readers.

Note. The reason why the collage consists of squares is a personal reference to a a piece of art I wrote about within my dissertation during my degree - Vincenzo scamozzi's analytic diagram of proportions and the human body. Previously I have mentioned the circle as a way of symbolizing heavenly perfection and therefore harmony, Vincenzo incorporated this with the human form where the square symbolizes the four elements which are earth, wind, fire and water. Therefore Vincenzo was implying that the human form is heavenly perfection with the reality we know as the world and earth, this was why I jumped at the chance to create a collage of the human form that referenced the square, to demonstrate a very constructivist way of thinking.

The Constructivist.

Geometric Freedom

Well above is the piece I have created after learning a few 3D treatments to simple shapes from the tutorial by Aaron Miller for Computer Arts Issue172. I have tried to make this a continuation and a development from a previous piece called New Geometry.

I suppose this is self-initiated piece which I feel is a freedom of expression. Where guidelines are there to be followed, but breaking them can lead to new paths. You could apply this to life and also geometric forms, keeping that in mind I have tried to create a piece that appeals to an audience using 3D shapes and gradients, in order to create depth to a space. The above piece I am going to name Geometric Freedom.

The Constructivist.

Isometric Vectors

Well the above is the result of a vector tutorial by Aaron Miller for Computer Arts Issue172. Even though the techniques are simple, they delve deeper in-depth into the features of illustrator, and definitely bring a new dimension to flat imagery. I definitely recommend trying this one out for better understanding of the different uses of the pathfinder palette and different masking techniques.

I am hoping to try another experiment soon, where I can apply my own working style as seen previously in my New Geometry piece with more of the 3D skills as shown in this tutorial to create something thats far more dynamic, particularly with different type. The possibilities seem endless.

The Constructivist.

Eleo's Brasserie & Bar

Well this post is to show you the development on another logo/identity I am working on, for a french restaurant in the heart of Swansea. Eleo's Brasserie has been established for quite sometime, and offer a relaxed yet upscale dinning experience. The original logo was a simple typeface of the hand written type, that simply said Eleo's Brasserie. As they have just changed owners and wish to relaunch, they have asked me to create a new logo/identity that was reflective of the restaurants history, therefore I felt it was appropriate to add the word bar as they also have a wine bar which was not be mentioned in their previous identity.

I did not want the logo to fall into the modern day look of many other restaurants since the restaurant itself has a rustic old charm kind of feel, therefore to create an updated modern feel I kept to simple clean cuts for any imagery. And using easy to read typefaces, such as Futura for a clean modern feel, but I also tried ITC Caslon no224 for a sleek feel that reflects the classic style of dinning Eleo's Brasserie offers. I also tried Caslon Openface as a real nod to the old style of font-faces that are so famously seen and used in actual parisian shop-fronts. If your wondering why one of the logo treatments has the cutlery arranged like a crown, this is a nod to the actual location of the restaurant, as it is situated on a street known as the Kingsway. I have found that many famous restaurants, as a way of keeping their identity consistent but developed, they will keep all layout of text the same but the imagery/identity is tweaked or changed slightly to reflect the branches location, so I am hoping if Eleo's Brasserie does open another restaurant that the imagery of the logo/identity of that opening also reflects its location, in order to differentiate but also co-ordernate their brand.

This is still work in progress, I still can not decide on the logo with or without the black fill in the imagery, Both work just as well. I think I will be able to decide once I start applying colours that connotate the French such as red on white, gold, or blue and white in creating the rest and complete identity. I hope you like what you see so far, I will keep you posted once some good progress has been made.

Update: 19/02/2010

Hi this is another update you show you some more development of the Eleo's Brasserie & Bar logo. All other designs such as menus, letterheads, compliment slips and business cards have also been designed. After looking at the completed designs and the colour palettes used, I finally arrived at this colour way and treatment for the final logo.

The gold was introduced in the menu designs for a decorative purpose, and I felt the same gold colour could be applied to the logo itself, to emphasize the crown aspect of the design which is a nod to the restaurant's location. The gold works very well and makes the crown appear to have jewels on the top, while in keeping with the modern sleek feel, which was the aim of the new identity.

The final typeface choice was ITC Caslon no224 since it had the best of both looks, It had abit of the old but with a mix of the new too due to the typeface having slimmer cuts.

The Constructivist.

The One Cup Stop

Well this post is simply to show you a logo/identity that I am working on (this logo may still change as it is work in progress). The identity is for a local coffee store, but it is no normal coffee store. The One Cup Stop is the only coffee store in south Wales that even though sources their coffee beans from Africa, they do all their blending, roasting and grounding in south wales. They even sort their coffee beans once they arrive into wales, as they explained to me beans of certain size and shape are required to create the coffee they love to sell locally.

Their original logo was quite dated, but I wanted their new logo to reflect their time as a local coffee store, therefore I choose old typefaces such as Garamond and Verdana, but I laid the text out in a way so that the identity has a more crisp and modern feel.

As for the coffee stain ring as part of the logo I decided the simpler the better, and chose a colour way of three colours. Simply because almost every coffee store only offers three types of cup size small, medium or large. I then blended the colours to represent the simply yet complex process coffee beans undergo, to create the perfect blend of coffee that so many of us take for granted.

Update: 08/03/2010

Well I have had some time to go away and play abit more with the layout of the logo, to simply try and improve on what I began with, to give the overall logo a feel that is more dynamic perhaps. This is what I have ended up with after several attempts, and these two above are the most suitable. Both I feel work just as well but I think the logo furthest below wins, as it just seems to have abit more of a edge that the one before it seems to be missing.

The Constructivist.

Polygyne By Efterklang

If there was one thing I could learn how to do it would be creating motion visuals and animations, since it seems to a world beyond my currents skills, however I love to watch and be inspired. The above is the video for Efterklang's song Polygyne which is a great example. I am amazed by the bombarding of shapes and colours, which evolve through the song, quite literally a visual orgasm, and yet it is still so modern even if it is a few years ago.

The Constructivist.

Clarity Through Abstraction

In an evolving world where boundaries between design and illustration seems to draw even closer, it is important to remember some of the fundamentals. Particularly in design where getting your message across with clarity is vital while still being really creative, therefore any image created for a brand needs to stand out, due to competition and over saturation of competitors. Which is why I have created this abstract piece out of very ordinary objects and images, to demonstrate you do not need a lot to in order to stand out from the crowd, all you need is just your own creativity and you are good to go.

On a final note I love the outcome that I have come to, and it would probably work really well as a music festival poster after applying some carefully placed text, in an appropriately chosen typeface that reflects the music of the event, I have decided to call this piece clarity through abstraction.

The Constructivist.

Lego-ify

Is it just me or does there seem to be a boom in Lego revival lately? I think it began when JCDC did it for fashion, and then it filtered into every other application of design, obviously architecture and furniture and many electronics that wanted the same iconic retro spin, but I think the most desirable of all has been the rise of Lego jewelry, which begs me to question is it love or just us being brand whores... I think its abit of both since Lego speaks to the inner child in all of us. There was even that Lego spin of TV show called James May Toy Stories where James May built a house completely out of Lego.

Anyway Lego is all about fun and fun is want they do well which is why I want to mention the Lego Iphone App (its how I made the above image) its very fun and a joy to see the application animating your images into Lego blocks, and well this has reminded me to keep in mind to have as much fun when I am designing, even if your bound by restrictions by a brief that your given. There's always a way inject some fun into the most boring of things and this is what Lego has done to so many things, below is the original image just so there is no confusion that I may look like Lego normally.

The Constructivist.

The World And It's Street Watchers

Well as I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, I wanted to share things other than design which have managed to find a way of influencing the ways on how I design. I think the phenomenon of photo blogs have made a huge impact on fashion, as the internet really allows for society to process culture therefore style and image at a pace faster than ever seen before, which before was only done by magazines. The reason I am mentioning this is because looking at the books that have been popping up at a very fast rate in the last twelve months have provided quite literally delicious visual candy for the designer all neat in one book.

If you look closer they are not just picture books, they force you to understand who these people are within visual culture, and quite frankly are modern day documentations of individuals and how they express themselves through colour use. I think the silhouettes they create from their clothing is very important also, as it can give you clues to how these individuals are and their lifestyles and rather than just fashion sense, and perhaps this is an important thing to keep in mind when designing, its all great to be creative and make something as cutting edge as possible but keep in mind that the product is not designed for you the designer but for a specific audience, I think design works at its best when it truly speak to individuals on a personal level and fits effortlessly into their own lifestyle.

The above book is called The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman, he documents style that is very effortless and chic, the colour combination's are always rich and classy and well I love looking at his book as inspiration for colour palettes that reflected this particular feel.

The book below I have just found out about and is not due out until March/April 2010 called The Face Hunter by Yvan Rodic, he documents style that is young, strong and very confident, while at the same time being quite modest about it, it definitely has an edge about it which is expressed through the colour palettes found worn by the individuals, which I absolutely love, and is a great source for colour inspiration.

I really am excited about getting my hand on The Face Hunter since, you can not rely on Pantone to provide inspiration every time, better to have several sources than just the one.

The Constructivist.

Cute Characters And Objects

Well above is an illustration I created as an opportunity to draw some cute and friendly characters and objects. I feel a lot of experiments produce a lot of waste until something deemed respectable happens to arise, therefore I decided to go with a waste theme, where all my characters and objects have been thrown into landfill, appropriately I have called this A Designer's Waste Ground.

The Constructivist.

Playful Typographic Treatments

Above is the result of another tutorial by Jessica Walsh which I have tried out from the same issue of Computer Arts issue170. This time experimenting and applying typographic treatments to simple shapes, in order to create interesting type. I must say this one was very fun to do as I really enjoy working within illustrator, before I used to be quite the rookie with illustrator, but through simply exploring the program more and understanding its fundamentals I really enjoy using it in all of my work.

The Constructivist.

High Impact Light Effects, and New Geometry

Well the image above is my first experiment I have done in this new year, its a computer arts tutorial called high impact light effects issue170, I must admit the tutorial does allow you to create lighting that appears to have some movement.

Below is another experiment I did a month or so ago, I think this is more my own style as I did not follow any tutorial, more rather choosing to simply experiment with a combination of Illustrator and photoshop. I think perhaps the composition of the work is better, as you start out not exactly knowing how it may end up, therefore your more likely to have fun doing it, The below image I have called New Geometry.

The Constructivist.

Welcome

Hi and welcome to The Constructivist, a blog by newly graduated designer Andrew Hong. If your wondering why such a name, I chose this as I really connected with what the constructivist movement stood for towards the end of university, seeking modernity, understanding and expression through art, and I feel I am at the same place seeking the same through design.

I am hoping to use this as a place to show bits of work (away from my website) that I am experimenting with, talk about art and design, and perhaps bits and bobs I am seeing everyday which I really want share with others. I don't want to make this purely design, that would be boring, so I am going to share everything that perhaps influences me in some way when I try to design. Do you like my minimal clock as something to picture just before the countdown? Its in Pantone 15-5519 TCX or Turquoise. Note. Symbolism developed by Malevich, The circle may be taken to signify heavenly perfection therefore harmony, a perfect example of constructivist thinking.

Turquoise is predicted as the colour of 2010, I bought a book last week called How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul by Adrian Shaughnessy... the cover is pretty much the same colour, spot on colour choice since the content kind of follows the context as Pantones description of the colour.

"the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green," say Pantone. "Turquoise evokes thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a languorous, effective escape from the everyday troubles of the world," they claim, "while at the same time restoring our sense of well-being."

Pantone's Helmut Eifert asserts that turquoise "is believed to be a protective talisman, a colour of deep compassion and healing, and a colour of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky. Through years of colour word-association studies, we also find that turquoise represents an escape to many – taking them to a tropical paradise that is pleasant and inviting, even if only a fantasy."

Must... book... Mediterranean... cruise.... (description via creative review)

Always trust Pantone remember Mimosa or, PANTONE® 14-0848 for 2009, change and optimism... loved it!

Happy New Year everyone, 2010 looks dazzling already... I can feel it in my bones (or that Mediterranean cruise)


The Constructivist.