Zen.

Seen as though zen is such a huge influence for my selected minimal architects, I wanted to do a bit of research into symbols which represent Zen and it's back ground. I'm not sure what I can do with the information collected so far, but I'm sure it will come in useful along the way.

Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that developed in China during the 6th century as Chán. From China, Zen spread south to Vietnam, to Korea and east to Japan.

The word Zen is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the Middle Chinese word 禪 (dʑjen) (Modern Mandarin: Chán), which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "absorption" or "meditative state".

Zen emphasizes the attainment of enlightenment and the personal expression of direct insight in the Buddhist teachings. As such, it de-emphasizes mere knowledge of sutras and doctrine and favors direct understanding through zazen and interaction with an accomplished teacher.

Architectural Review.

Architectural Review.

The Architectural Review is a monthly international architectural magazine published in London since 1896. Articles cover the built environment which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism as well as theory of these subjects.

Now, a decade into the new century, pluralism, parametricism and plagiarism reign, though the AR is still sceptical of fashions and fads, believing architecture to be, at its core, a socially responsible art.

Magazine covers.

Carefully selecting covers using mostly graphics as apposed to imagery, I have found a selection which take a considered approach to designing for architecture. They keep a fresh minimal design for each cover utilising their logo mark which interacts with the background images + colours, For my publication I will be keeping the design more minimal than these as my selected architects approach is to close the building off from it's exterior and allow the interior to hold the beauty. Creating a feeling of introspection and zen inside the buildings. As for the posters I will have a lot more freedom to advertise the event.

70s and 80s.

Starting to consider design direction for my architecture brief and after researching the minimalist movement for architecture I found this 'style' became most popular in the 70s and 80s. I would like to use this as an influence for my designs. I have found various designers from that era which create lovely minimal designs through simple forms and typography.

Burton Kramer.
 
Burton Kramer (1932- ) is a graphic designer who trained in the United States, pursued an influential career in Zurich, and then moved to Toronto, where he revitalized the design community with bold interpretations of the Swiss and International styles of typography and image.

Bridging the Gap.

An ongoing personal project, poster designs for Bridging the Gap.

Simplicity, with two core elements; consistent layout and substantial graphic.

 

Although these designs aren't from the 70s/80s you can see they have taken inspiration heavily from those era's with the use of solid geometric forms and considered typography, and the designs have turned out great with strong consistency. I don't want to create designs with so much similarity to the past era's but I will use them as influence.

 

Morten Iveland as The Infamous Press

Again not design from the era but created in the same style, some really nice pieces of design. The thing I like the most is the consistency within each piece, as I'll need to create publications for a series that have subtle differences this approach could help.

Neue.

a 'Neue' studio found today through Collate, based in Oslo, which from what I've seen so is my favorite city for Graphic Design in the world. Neue beleive curiosity is key to design, and personally I feel the same way, I love finding out new information especially information that is new to the world. This project for Tegn3 an Architect firm from Oslo is wonderfully simple and uses brilliant print finishes to execute the brief with a professional innovative feel. I had an idea to use patterns that would be embossed for the front cover of my Architecture publications and now I've seen this I want to better that idea and expand it further. The Isometric grid use shows their design process while the variety of carefully selected colour promotes the creativity used throughout projects.

The Architecture Foundation.

After having a quick chat with Andy, our tutor, about how things are going, he pointed me onto The Architecture Foundation's for help with my Architecture brief. As I'm setting up a lecture series for the publication designs I would like to propose the event through this website, using it as a base for promotion. The event will be aimed mainly at students who already know of the Architects, this will allow me to keep a consistent design through the publications as the students will already know the Architects speaking. Also the design of this site is wonderful, utilising a lovely typeface that compliments the architecture practice really well.

Peter & Paul a design studio from Sheffield designed the website. I'm really happy Andy suggested me looking at The Architecture Foundation as it has led me to fine this lovely studio. They create work for both small clients and corporate ones, I'd love to contact them, if I got the opportunity of a placement I would be able to experience both corporate work and smaller client based work.

DF3.

This project by Build executes every design aspect of this project wonderfully, considering how the packaging and publication design come together in the final product. The project is for 3 design films, all on typography, Build used minimal design for the covers focusing strongly on typography as this is the subject matter. The different stock choice for the individual publication works great and is something I will consider whilst designing briefs 1 & 2. Build often take a lot of pride in their designs and pay attention to detail, something I wish to continue to focus on throughout my practice as a designer.

Essential Minimalism.

After doing some research on Minimal Architecture I have found a lot of useful information which is helping develop concepts for the publication design. Firstly I read a book called Minimal Architecture by Ilka & Andreas Ruby, Angeli Sachs and Philip Ursprung, which outlined where this movement came from and how it developed, throughout the book it contains three different approaches to Minimal Architecture, these being; Essential minimalism, Meta-Minimalism and Trans-Minimalism. I have chosen to focus on Essential Minimalism, 'Essential minimalism is frequently distinguished by qualities of introspective and introversion; it transforms the building into an object with perfected external form and surfaces' a definition given in the book I found sparked a lot of inspiration and ideas for my project.
My chosen Architects for this brief will be; Tadao Ando, Peter Zumthor, Herzog & Demeuron, Morg & Degelo and Claus en Kaan. All of which are Minimalist architects with a similar approach to design. A quote which the design will be based around is 'Light, materials and atmosphere', I will carefully select stock and typeface to create an aesthetic which complies with the approach of these designers.

Tadao Ando.

Peter Zumthor.

Herzog & Demeuron.

Morg & Degelo.

Claus en Kaan.

1.1 Architects.

Looking through C ØOP's website. A favorite studio of mine from Australia, they use really nice geometric compositions within all their designs, none of which are more appropriate than this particular brief. It has given me a lot of inspiration for my Architect publication, I want to create a pattern by overlaying vector imagery of each sections of each architects buildings. I think this could be create a really nice aesthetic especially if applied with a nice print finish.

Also this project has been put into context in a very impactful way, as I will be setting up a lecture series to compliment the publication this is something I want to consider. Using simple things like installation pieces outdoors to reflect how architecture resides in a public spaces is a great idea.

Glitch.

Glitch is a publication design by Joe Gilmoore, founder of Qubik studio. The work Joe produces is always high concept considered design, appropriate to the content, I was lucky enough to go an visit his studio and have a quick chat with him about his practice. Then again he visited our college and gave me some feedback on a few projects which in turn lead me to appreciate how much there is to consider whilst producing publication design. I love the cover design for this publication as it is created from placing the publication document as a raw file into photoshop, the outcome is a beautifully structured pattern that informs the kind of design throughout the publication.

http://www.qubik.com/portfolio.php?id=5

Future Laboratory.

A beautiful publication series by MadeThought. Easily one of my top 3 studios in England, they consistently produce high impact, considered design appropriate to the clients needs. I love the simplicity of the design and how easily it communicates the information, this relates to my Architecture brief as I need to take a simple approach to stock, colour and typography choice as the brief focuses on minimalist architecture. I'm not too keen on the images placed over the headers as you can't read half of them. Unfortunately again there is no description for this project.

Studio Small.

As I will be focusing on publication design a fair bit throughout my FMP I've been trying to find a wide range of publications experimenting with various different approaches. Unfortunately their isn't a description of the project to comment on, but the aesthetic gives an idea that the denim are for working males due to the time card cover. I want to focus on creating reason and concepts for every detail of my publication. Why the stock, Why the layout, Why the typography used etc. To ensure I create informed design appropriate to my clients.

Although there isn't much of a description online, I managed to find book with an in depth analysis of their approach. "We feel it is our role to really listen to the client and communicate their philosophy and personality", this quote has really made me consider my approach to design, I will be putting this into practice this year as I will be working closely with clients.