Welcome back everyone. We hope you have all had a great Easter break. I was lucky enough to visit Cornwall and see artwork by my favourite artists. I have mentioned them all here previously, so I won't be going into that more than this. During my time in St Ives, I was able to sit and enjoy Hepworth's Sculpture Garden, completing drawings and photo joiners. I have seen ancient sights and walked in the countryside. I have returned to work inspired to create new work and with ideas to develop my own projects I am completing alongside my classes. I hope you have been able to do the same, often just getting out of your usual routines can help revive any flagging creativity. This week we have put together a range of ideas to help support your creative processes, from dodgy performances at Coachella to how to develop a world famous app. Plenty of help and support to get you through this half term, when for Year 2 A level and ALL UAL students the course has been completed.
Good luck this half term, don't let yourself down, you'll regret it, at some point down the line, if you do.
How to be a more productive designer: 7 project management tips
Dribbble as always is full of great articles and sdvice about how to be a better creative. This blog written by Height, sets out 7 tips to best keep organised and helps you see some of the issues you might face as a professional creative.
Here is a little introduction: "You settle in at your desk with your favorite beverage (perhaps a chai latte?). When you open your computer to start your work day, you already have a plan. You check for updates on progress made by your colleagues, then hop over to the inbox you have for client request forms and get a birds-eye view of what’s waiting for you. You’re excited and ready to start doing what you love — and you know exactly which deadlines are upcoming and what’s left to accomplish.
A workday as organized as the second one is actually possible. And there’s one major thing that’ll get you from chaos to smooth sailing in your design workflow: project management. Here are seven ways to stay organized and on top of your projects."
DOCUMENTARY: CHARLIE MACKESY
Mackesy's book was made into a cartton which aired on Christmas Day, it was a beautiful animation, that explored mental health and coping strategies. The best line it it for me is in the illustration below. It's so true, asking for help is difficult and you have to be brave to do it. The animation is full of ideas like this and the documentary shared here looks into how it was made and what inspired the story and it's message.
"Charlie Mackesy’s The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse has touched millions of readers around the world and is now an animated film, that won an Oscar this year. This is the story of the man behind the book.
This intimate, revealing portrait lets us into Charlie’s world, exploring how he came to write the book and following him as he embarks on turning The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse into an animated film.
With insights from friends, including film-maker Richard Curtis and explorer Bear Grylls, an unexpected story unfolds of how grief and vulnerability were turned into a message of strength and compassion that has helped thousands of readers."
COACHELLA 2023
Coachella was this weekend and next. Did you watch any of it?
The main headline appears to be be Frank Ocean's Headline set, was it art, self indulgent or a young man struggling to cope with a very turbulent period in his life? His performance is only available on clips on the internet, and not in full anywhere. He hid in the shadows, performed off staged, mimed his hits and did different arrangements of others. Many artists do that, Bob Dylan, Neil Young are well known for trying out new arrangements at shows, it keeps it interesting for them, but should you do it as a headliner at a festival. Plenty of people had a lot to say on the matter from youtubers to Rolling Stone.
What did you think?
There are loads of great performances on the Coachella Youtube channel though, follow the link here or via the video below.
Rosalia's set was recommended by one of our Year 2 Fine Arters as a good set that had some really interesting staging ideas.
FRAGRANCE: THE MET NYC X PURA
The Metropolitan Museum and Gallery have released scents inspired by the different galleries in the museum. For $89 dollars your house could smell of sandalwood and lotus to evoke a time in Egypt or a Bamboo Forest to reflect Himalayian art? Would you want to buy it? It's a different way to experience art I suppose?
They Say: “Art has the power to create connections and transport people across time and place – and this program provides a new and exciting opportunity for fans of the Met to experience art, history, and cultures of the world from the comfort of home.”
"The Louvre in France also teamed up with a perfume company to create artwork-inspired fragrances, as did Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum."
READ MORE ABOUT IT HERE AND FOLLOW THE HYPERLINKS FOR THE OTHER FRAGRANCE INFO
HAVE YOU NOTICED?: REDESIGNED UBER APP
In THIS dribble article the designers of the app explain what they did and why, the article is full of design insight and illustrated examples of each section of the app. An interesting read , to understand why we need to develop our ideas to adapt to changes all around us,
TALK: SPEAKERS FOR SCHOOLS
THEY SAY: "Wretch32 is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Tottenham, North London. His has had multiple hits, including 3 songs from his debut album Black and White that charted in the top 5. Wretch has worked with multiple notable brands in his career including @adidas, @Coca-Cola and @fifa. He has also collaborated with numerous artists including Chip @kreptandkonan, @NaughtyBoyTV and @emelisande and performed live on @1xtra. Wretch is still creating music and is the creative director at @defjam, he’s most recently worked with @adele helped launched @stormzy‘s latest album. More recently Wretch appeared on Steven Bartlett’s popular podcast @TheDiaryOfACEO, sharing even more of his story. His latest book, Rapthoology, was published by Merky Books at @PenguinBooksUK and Wretch used his book to help deliver a rap lesson to students at Winchmore school. After the workshop, he hosted an inspirational talk, sharing his story, career tips and answering the student’s burning questions!"