What is illustration? - Part 2

In relation to the last PPP task, we worked in groups to identify the reasons why collecting research from Pinterest was useful. 

Reasons why collecting research is useful:

• It allows you to discover new techniques and ways of working. 
• To see what other practitioners are producing at this moment in time. 
• We are able to see where our work would fit in to the industry. 
• It gives you general inspiration for ideas. 
• You can begin to notice trends across all design to bring into your own practice. 
• Identifying subcultures and what is current. 
• It feeds our visual vocabulary and broadens our understanding of drawing, image making and illustration. 

How we can take our research further:

• Visit galleries and exhibitions.
• Respond to research, for example, trying out the new techniques you discover.
• Make a comment about images we pin on Pinterest to identify the reason why we are attracted to them. 
• Link our research to other modules to make it relevant to our current practice. 
• Find out who produced the images we find on Pinterest and take the time to research their other work. 
• Research areas of design other than illustration, for example, film and theatre. 

Not anything can be illustration - it must have a context, solve a problem and communicate something. 

Where is illustration?

Supermarkets, buildings, street art, magazines, fashion, accessories, signs, stamps, museums, art galleries, advertising, greetings cards, clothing, packaging, books, newspapers, ceramics, TV, film, gig posters, album covers, fabrics, educational material, apps, flyers, internet, menus, tattoos, theatre, stationary, in the studio...

In summary, illustration is everywhere and I have a continuous stream of examples of contemporary practice available to me in my everyday life. I just need to recognise this and pick out pieces that interest and inspire me. 

These places where we can find illustration can be categorised into product, publishing, on screen and place. 

PRODUCT: labels and instructions on food packaging, t-shirts, children's curtains and bedding, birthday cards.

PUBLISHING: Creative journals, book covers and illustrated books in bookshops or libraries, magazine covers and editorial illustration alongside articles.

ON SCREEN: individual practitioners' blogs, publication blogs, Pinterest, online games, animated TV programmes for children. 

PLACE: street art locations (Bristol or Illustration Alley, Berlin), set design at the theatre, illustration exhibitions.

Go beyond finding a response to a problem, make it a journey of problem solving, development and discovery. 

ASSIMILATION: accumulation of general and specifically relevant information

GENERAL STUDY: investigation into the problem and possible solutions

DEVELOPMENT: refinement and focus, making decisions 

COMMUNICATION: communication of one or more solutions to people inside or outside of the design team.

All of these stages connect to each other, you can jump between these stages - it is not a linear process. 

STIMULATED APPROACH: a search for information that inspires and motivated you, this information will be developed into final solutions. 

SYSTEMATIC APPROACH: systematic collection of components which you can restructure and adapt in a process aiming to reach a solution to the problem. 

INTUITIVE APPROACH: development of thought process, ideas are thought of based on the information you already know. This may occur spontaneously and often subconsciously.