OUGD406 - Objects - Initial Ideas

OUGD406 - Objects - Initial Ideas

Research into Andy Warhol and how some of his modernist principles were similar to those of some art rock artists informed the decision to create an art rock object that is seemingly unrelated to the micro-genre; an everyday object or something you’d buy in a supermarket in reference to Andy Warhol’s Brillo Boxes

Object 1

This cereal box references John Lennon’s inspiration for the song Good morning, Good Morning - a cornflakes advert which sang the titular words of the song. It utilises the same orange on black colour palette as the rest of the project - appearing negative to represent art rock’s subversion of the social and cultural normality of its time. Standard design aspects of the conventional cornflakes box such as the rooster, bowl of cereal and the scriptive logotype are utilised succinctly with the art rock style and almost parody a normal cornflakes box; for example Andy Warhol’s banana design appears within the cereal. The modified art rock Compacta Black typeface is used for the main title, with the kerning significantly decreased in order to accommodate a larger pt size, making the title more attention grabbing. The body text within the two orange circles appears in the standard Compacta Black typeface to facilitate a higher level of legibility.

Object 2

While the cereal box takes core design elements of a cornflakes box and subverts them, using typography and imagery appropriate to art rock, the next few objects take on the aesthetic of the object more by utilising typography you would find on there actual object, however they still utilise the black and orange colour scheme. 

This label for a cola bottle references Andy Warhols visual exploration of coca cola bottles and imagery in various bits of art as well as The Beach Boy’s use of coke cans when recording to create unusual sounds on one of their songs. The words ‘Cola Drink’ are used to avoid copyright infringements and the whole label takes on a more vintage aesthetic, emphasised by the black drop shadow on the white title, the horizontal lines separating the type and the use of Gotham Narrow - a concise sans serif typeface. Brush Script medium is again used, here to echo the visual identity of the scriptive coca cola logotype. If this idea were to be developed, more of the label would need to be designed,  giving the opportunity experiment more with elements like the ingredients and barcode.

Object 3

These 2 banana labels reference Warhol’s cover for The Velvet Underground and Nico, this is further reinforced by the use of the phrase ‘Peel Slowly and See’ which is also the title for the Cassette tape. Both stickers use 2 typefaces - Franklin Gothic Ext Compressed and Brush Script Medium. Franklin Gothic is used to harness the smaller scale of the sticker with more effect, decreasing the kerning on the tall letterforms to maximise their size on the label increasing impact and assuming a slightly contemporary appearance, and idea inspired by some of Ben Arfur’s work. The purpose of Brush Script medium on the labels is to maintain the vintage aesthetic established by the designs for the other 2 objects and also to contrast Franklin Gothic as well. It also lends its self well to to the ‘est 1965’ - as this is commonly seen in similar typefaces in various logos such as those for football teams. The date 1965 refers to when Rubber Soul by the Beatles came out - supposedly the first Art Rock album. 

Feedback from a group critique indicated that these stickers could even be used for packaging; coming with the cassette inside its case like cassettes often would, or simply stuck on the front which is definitely an idea worth exploring.

Object 4

This idea for a soup can mimics the Campbell soup pieces by Andy Warhol and in that regard, it isn’t as good an idea as the cereal box for example, as it isn’t grounded in as much specific research. The design effectively utilises the orange and black colour scheme in the half and half design of the original Campbell soup can. Brush Script medium yet again works well to replicate the original scriptive logotype, it appears outlined to reference the outlined type on the original can but has no fill colour to give it a slightly contemporary feel, this is also done to the bottom type saying ‘Tomato Soup’. This bottom type and the word ‘Condensed’ are in Gotham Narrow similarly to the cola label as it is a stable highly legible scans serif typeface. The kerning for ‘condensed’ is increased slightly to visually embody the word and in general the use of the word condensed is quite effective as it suggest’s the micro genre has been condensed down into a can.