Walker Morris Artwork Live Brief

Brief:

Key Words I pulled from the brief:
consistency
high quality
excellence
team-based
distinctive
Manufacturing (Make)
Real Estate and Infrastructure (Build)
Finance (Fund)
International Trade
Technology


What they want:
theme of 'distinctive'
nothing too corporate
packing a visual punch
be a focal point
fill the wall/whole wall covered

Research:

Distinctive (definition):
 characteristic of one person or thing, and so serving to distinguish it from others.

The Walker Morris logo is simple but interesting, the sharp edges and geometric quality is something that could be incorporated/inspire my designs. 

The plan for the new Walker Morris building. This could inspire shapes/colours within my designs. This also gives the feel that Walker Morris are quite modern and professional.

The current/old Walker Morris building, this gives me the sense that Walker Morris is quite modern yet accommodating. The building has a warm and professional feel.

Images of the Walker Morris employees suggest that they are approachable and friendly, yet they are still professional and serious. This is something that could inspire my designs. 

The Walker Morris website confirms the idea that they are professional, and the easy website navigation shows they are client oriented. The colours from their website could inspire my designs. 

Initial Ideas:

From what I pulled from the brief, what was most important was that the artwork had a theme of 'distinctive'. Because of this, I though that the way the artwork was designed, it's process or visuals should also be distinctive, or not typical/ordinary. For this reason, I first decided to look for different objects/materials/photographs//prints that I could use to create interesting and unique patterns with. To be able to use digitally  some of things I found, I scanned them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The next step was to take these found patterns/materials/photos and to apply them into a composition that would be appropriate for 'Walker Morris' to display as artwork. I wanted the artwork to be quite abstract, that's why I decided to use the Illustrator tool 'Image Trace' on some of the visuals I have collected, and started playing around with the tool to see what different patterns I could create. Some objects/materials/photos turned out more interesting/effective than others, however, during the development stage I experimented with most of them anyway.

Of course for the artwork I did not only want to have a random abstract composition of patterns, I also wanted the artwork to somehow showcase that it was especially designed for 'Walker Morris' and their offices. For this reason, I decided to take inspiration from their logo and create an icon/decorative element that could also be used within the artwork, to show it's distinctiveness.

Finally, after collecting some visuals to work with, I was able to start experimenting with composition. I wanted the artwork to be really vibrant and energetic. This would meet a brief requirement of it 'packing a visual punch'. For this reason I also began with the initial thoughts of the artwork being quite chaotic, and also putting a focal point on the 'W' and 'M' pattern derived from the 'Walker Morris' logo.

Design Development:

I realised that the artwork being quite chaotic would not really fit in with the 'corporate' atmosphere of the Walker Morris company. The artwork should still be visually engaging and vibrant, but with a possibly more controlled chaotic feel to it. For this I realised that the patterns I have been working with so far are not very effective, as they themselves are a little too chaotic. That's why I went back to all the different visual material I had collected, and used the 'Image Trace' tool to create some more, slightly more pulled back patterns to work with.

From these patterns, I once again tried to create a composition that incorporated the 'WM' pattern I derived from the Walker Morris logo. However, I soon realised that maybe it was not the background, colours or composition that was the issue, but this 'WM' pattern itself. The feedback I received at this point was the artwork was 'too chaotic', had 'too many colours' and didn't 'look like it is meant for a corporate business wall'. I agreed with all these comments, and also thought that these designs looked too boring. They were possibly too abstract, and didn't tell any sort of visually engaging story. For this reason, I knew that I had to give the artwork a little more substance and actually make it communicate something and be meaningful.

"I had to give the artwork a little more substance and actually make it communicate something and be meaningful."

To do that, I looked back at what the aims for the brief were.

What they want:

theme of 'distinctive'

nothing too corporate

packing a visual punch

be a focal point

fill the wall/whole wall covered

Then I had an idea, Walker Morris are based in Leeds, they built their new building in Leeds, and they are also proud to be in Leeds, so that is something that makes them 'distinctive', something that is more personal and not 'too corporate' and also something that could easily become a 'visual punch' and 'focal point' for a room. I decided to give the artwork substance and meaning by paying homage to the city of Leeds in some way. I still wanted to keep on using the interesting and unique patterns I had generated, but simply wanted to pull the chaotic nature of the artwork back and really make the choices of colour and pattern more meaningful and considered.

To pay homage to 'Leeds', I decided to do it in a more subtle and again more 'distinctive' way. Throughout the whole brief, I am trying to find ways to do things different, to really capture the spirit of being 'distinctive'. To symbolise Leeds, instead of opting for the typical owl imagery or silhouettes of the most well known buildings, I decided to take the silhouettes of the whole of Leeds's skyline. In this way, I am able to represent Leeds in a more subtle and unique way, and also represent Walker Morris as a company who is proud of its city and more approachable to its residents. 

I began to experiment incorporating these skylines into my artwork compositions:

I tried a 'mosaic' approach, but soon realised that I loose clarity and create more chaos in the artwork, something I was wanting to avoid.

An all black silhouette was more visually resting and appealing. It allowed the busy and visually interesting background to pack a punch, but did not make the artwork seem too chaotic.

I tried to bring back the 'WM' pattern I had derived from the 'Walker Morris' logo. I quite liked this, and though it worked well and giving the artwork the 'Walker Morris' signature but in a more subtle and non-obnoxious way, unlike previously where the 'WM' pattern was big and repetitive across the whole artwork.

I soon found that the black silhouette of Leeds was the most appropriate and visually interesting, however, only some backgrounds seemed to work well with the silhouette. For this reason, I looked back and my collection of visual materials from my initial ideas stage, and tried to find more patterns that could accompany the city silhouette in the most effective and visually appealing way.

I then continued to experiment with the black silhouette Leeds skyline and the application of different colours and patterns:

I experimented with adding different 'Photoshop' effects to the backgrounds, such as 'mosaic' and 'crystalize' distortions.

I continued to use the 'WM' pattern I derived from the 'Walker Morris' pattern, however, later on after some feedback I decided to not include it in the final outcomes, because in the end it did not visually make sense in the scene/story I was trying to tell. The zig-zag line pattern just felt too alien to the rest of the artwork, and would have only confused viewers instead of making them realise the subtle attempts of representing the company.

The off-set white outline of the Leeds skyline I thought visually looked appealing and interesting, as well as adding a sense of depth into the artwork. The use of black and white also represents evening/night time, which then allows for the slightly more chaotic background patterns and colours to be used, as it makes sense that during sunsets the sky can become a variety of different shapes/colours. 

To further the communication of evening/night time I decided to try adding windows within the buildings, to communicate the idea of people living within this city and having their lights on in their homes during the darker hours. I believe this gives the artwork a little bit more life and personality, as it showcases that this is not just about the Leeds city and its skyline, but also about the people within the city and its buildings, who make the city what it is. I also briefly tried out adding small features such as a moon and stars, but soon realised that was not necessary to communicate what I wanted, and simply looked too child-like/unprofessional. 

I decided to drop the 'WM' zig-zag pattern, because as mentioned before, it did not help tell the story of the artwork but rather distracted from it, and did not fulfil a meaningful or as intended purpose when I first thought of the idea.

Final Outcomes:

For the final outcomes, I choose three artworks that follow the same theme/story, but show slightly different perspectives of the story, and therefore have slightly different visuals/colours. The skyline/silhouette for each outcome is different, representing the different perspectives of looking at Leeds city, therefore also representing different people and the different areas they live in. The background for each outcome is also different, I choose distinctive and interesting patterns that are not quite realistic, but also have some form of familiarity to what you would see during evening/sunset, so that the outcomes are not too chaotic or ridiculous. For the colours I also tried to follow the same mind set, and chose quite probably colours that could occur in the sky during evenings/sunsets. The black silhouette skyline further reinforces the idea of evening/ night time. The lit rooms/windows within the buildings demonstrates a city full of life, and brings attention to the idea that in this city the people are important and a focal point. Overall, the atmosphere of the final outcomes is quite calming, something you definitely want for a corporate meeting room, but at the same time it has a vibrant and 'full of life' atmosphere also, which would bring a positive energy to a meeting room. To evaluate, the brief asked for artwork that was 'distinctive', not 'too corporate', 'packing a visual punch', a 'focal point' and that could 'fill the wall'. I believe these outcomes hit all of these brief objectives. The use of interesting patterns and subtle imagery make the artwork 'distinctive', the positive energy and use of colours make it not 'too corporate', the colours and patterns also create a 'visual punch' and a 'focal point' for any room. And finally, the design of the artwork is simple enough to be adaptable, it could be extended and made longer or taller or wider if needed, and therefore would be able to fill any wall in any room.
To improve these outcomes I believe I could have spent more time perfecting the 'storyline' within these artworks, and represent the idea of Leeds being a city 'full of life' possibly more obviously. If I had dedicated more time to this project, the execution of ideas could also have been better, because although the outcome meet all the brief requirements and goals, I believe the smaller details within the artworks could have been executed better. Nonetheless, overall the final outcomes for this brief have been successful and I believe that they would be appropriate and work really effectively at bringing some energy and visual punch into a corporate and professional environment.