A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Making of the medals concept

My initial concept idea is quite abstract
and in brief my plan is to show the making of the gold,silver and bronze medals
for the Commonwealth Games. The way
I wish to portray this concept is to show
some form of the process of the making
such as the melting down of the ores in
a furnace and the moulten ores moving
around a forge.
To achieve this I think I will use metallic paint as the melting of the ores but a
slightly liquidated version of the paint.
From this I will need to think of the positioning of the paint and try to make it in
order of the winnings so, gold then silver
and then bronze. This is where I will be
taking some primary images in the development for this concept and try multiple
angles and layout of the paint.
Im not completely happy with just the
paint on its own so I will need to bring in
the idea of a forge or furnace. There is a
few ways I can go about this, for example,
I could make a holding cell for the paint
to sit in and then use programmes such as
Photoshop to add in overlays of fire and
coals e.t.c
I therefore will be taking primary images
of fires and flames that I might use in the
hopes to give off the effect of a forge. Ill
also be getting images of coals and possibly
of furnaces themselves.
The main colour theme for this concept
will be taken up by the gold,silver and
bronze as I want the melting ores to stand-

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

-out and be the main splash of colour. So if

i did use typography it will be quite simple
in both the font and the colour.
I think that this idea will be quite eye catching as the melting ores will be the focal
point and I hope to make people think
about it instead of just making a literal
idea. My aim is to get across the idea of the
anticipation of the games as the anticipation of the ores are being formed into the
medals. I also want to inspire people to
support their nation and their athletes to
win the medals and achieve their best. I
also might use a splatter effect of the paints
as well, where by I throw the actual paint
perhaps on a canvas.
The designs of the medals themselves will
also be a part of the concept and that will
come later if I do pursue this idea. For the
medals I would plan on keeping the design
quite plain and simple as it is a prestigious
and professional achievement.

Phoenix rising concept

For my second concept it is again taking an
abstract approach. My aim is to show this
idea of a phoenix rising out of the flames
to symbolise the nation or even the athletes rising up and achieving their best.
As it is a mythical idea obtaining primary
images wont be possible of the actual
phoenix but I could still get pictures of a
range of other birds so that I get an idea of
the structure and shape of varying birds.
From this I will produce some sketches to
get a rough idea of the phoenix itself and
perhaps use oil pastels and paint for colour.
The bird will be coming out of a set of
flames so again like with my previous idea
of the medals I will gather some primary
images of fires and flames which will be
useful to overlap and mix to show where
the phoenix has risen from.
I might not specifically just do a phoenix
however, as there are other things like fire
work trials which rise and the paths are almost racing to the sky. This can link to the
games as the fire work trials can be linked
to the athletes running and actually competing. I can even develop other ideas such
as smoke,the sun or the moon as they also
have similar connotations.
I think this will be quite an eye catching
piece for a promotional graphic as its not
immediately identifiable with the Commonwealth Games and so people will have
to think about it. My aim is to get the idea
across that theres a sense of rising as one
at the games.
A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Equipment concept
This concept tends more to a literal approach as the main idea is to create a
piece focused on a range of equipment
used during the Commonwealth Games
varying from boxing gloves to squash
rackets. As a result I will need to start by
gathering primary images of all sorts of
equipment and sports related accessories. I might also focus on possibly getting
some pictures of a running track or long
jump sand pit.
From this, I will need to focus on still
making this piece interesting as Im not
happy with just a simple arrangement
of the equipment so Im thinking about
a layout that will make it interesting to
look at.
As it is a literal concept I might try and
develop the idea further will a slightly abstract take as to provide a more enticing
poster to look at.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Australia concept
This concept has a literal basis as Im
focusing on famous Australian traditions.
This can involve things ranging from kangaroos to the Aboriginals. As it is quite
literal Im thinking about linking it with
another one of my concepts so it stands
out a bit more.
Ive thought of things such as the Great
Barrier reef, koalas and the Gold Coast
itself which is where the games are being
held. Im still not sure entirely on which
one I want to take forward but I need
to in a way link it with sports so that it
doesnt just turn into an advertisement of
the Gold Coast.
Although the initial idea behind the concept is quite literal I think I could come
up with an abstract way of presenting it
in a promotional piece.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Emily Kngwarreye- Artist research

Based upon my Australian theme concept I
have started my artist research by looking
at artists that mainly produce aboriginal
pieces and have an original and colourful
vibe. From my research I have found an
artist which caught my eye especially called
Emily Kngwarreye.
Born in 1910, Kngwarreye did not take up
painting seriously until she was nearly
80. She lived in the Anmatyerre language
group at Alhalkere in the Utopia community. In the 1990s Kngwarreye emerged as
one of Australias most famous artists. Her
artwork represents and reflects aspects of
her life ranging from where she was born,
seeds and agricultural aspects and astonishing vistas in the heart of Australias
wilderness.
The work that Im focusing on is a style
referred to as dot art which, as it sounds,
is either a pattern or image made up of an
accumulation of small dots and marks. I
particularly like this artwork as it has connotations of a historical aspect to Australia
which is what Im aiming for as it is the
host nation. I also like this technique as the
images are always colourful and vibrant,
providing an eye catching piece reflecting
Australian traditions.
Emily Kngwarreye has therefore inspired
me as I really like her artwork and think
that as a promotional piece will be useful as
a technique. I will try myself at producing
my own pieces based on this maybe just
based on Australian traditions but I will
need to get across the idea that the artwork
is for the Games.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Alberto Seveso- Artist research

Alberto Seveso is an artist who was born in Milan,Italy.
He started his early work and displayed it to the world
at the beginning of 1990s.
His passion for graphic arts started in these years because he was really fascinated from the graphic of skate
decks and the cover of music CD of metal bands. From
this he started to think about how he would reproduce
this kind of artwork.
I am inspired by Alberto Seveso as I really like his diffusion ink art. The basis of ink diffusion is that you drop
an amount of ink into a clear liquid and the particles
go from high concentration to a low concentration
creating this random movement of ink within the water. Also, a glass of water may look absolutely still but
in fact, all the particles are moving around inside and
thats what makes the random spread of the ink once it
enters.
Alberto Seveso mainly creates the diffusion look in
Photoshop however, I will create the diffusion effect by
actually dropping the ink into water and taking photographs and later develop these images in Photoshop.
Ill experiment with different colours of ink and different angles for the photography.
I will try and implement this into my work for the
phoenix rising idea and also to express the idea of liquidity and fluid movement of athletes competing in
the games.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

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Early development- Phoenix Rising

My early development for the Phoenix Rising concept
involved a range of manipulation of my primary images
using Photoshop. I wanted to get across the idea of the
rising up and verticality in my choice of photos so I picked
images of smoke floating up. I started by fading out the
background of the smoke in the pictures and layered
two cut outs so they blended into one pillar of smoke. To
achieve the blending effect I changed the layer channel to
Overlay.
As it stood I wasnt happy with just the way the colours
were so by applying a gradient map, achieved a reverse
black and white which made an interesting look as the
smoke contained lots of different shades of black,white
and grey.
Due to the fact that the smoke is created by fire I wanted
to overlay some images of the flames I took. I arranged
them so that they rise from the piece of paper that was
burning so that it maintained a vertical flow.
To maintain a realistic image I used the brush tool to add
small bits of detail. For example, I made small white dots
rising with the flames to represent pieces of ash floating in
the air. I also lowered the opacity of a brush and painted
in small layers of smoke to overlap the fire so that it looks
like an authentic final image.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Early development- Phoenix Rising

These three images were my initial designs for the Phoenix
Rising concept. I tried to create an interesting visual with
the overlays of smoke and fire and still keep the basis on
rising up. Upon development I studied the artist Alberto
Seveso, who makes diffusion art where by he drops ink into
water and develops his work from there. The idea of a fluid
movement and overlapping layers with the ink is something I tried to create in these images.
From these experimental designs I have decided to try and
take some primary images of diffusion my self. From this
I want to try and get the idea of the fluidity of the athletes
across, represented by the floating ink. I think this will create some interesting photographs and also fit in with the
phoenix rising concept as I want to still get the rising connotation.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Early development- Phoenix Rising

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Early development- Aboriginal patterns

For the Australian concept I decided to start my development by trying to make some Aboriginal patterns within
Photoshop. I used my primary images of smoke, which
I have used for my other concept, and cut out a small
selection of a single line of smoke. I placed in a black
background later and then added the effect of a gradient
map. By reversing he effect and adjusting the dark tones
I achieved a dark line of smoke that I ended up using.
By duplicating the layers and rearranging them I ended
up with a pattern inspired by my artist research of Emily
Kngwarreye.

I later decided to try and use a range of my other primary

images and used the Lasso Tool in Photoshop to take a
triangle of one of my pictures. I used a selection of a set of
leaves as Emily Kngwarreyes work is based on the natural
side to Australia, concerning mountain,trees,water e.t.c. I
then selected the outer image and deleted the part of the
image I wasnt using. To start the pattern I transferred the
triangle cut out onto a plain background and created a
pattern based off the Aboriginal research I have conducted. I wasnt completely set on the pattern I had created so
I also obtained a cut out of a circle and aligned them in
symmetrical lines.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Aboriginal patterns
Further on in my development I decided to try a circular
based pattern and so like before, obtained small cut outs
of a piece of bark and of some leaves, to keep in the natural theme, and created a simple shape out of them. I then
decided to use a light brown background to give an earthy
feel to the base of the pattern. For the alignment I kept it
quite simple in a chequered style and then duplicated the
shapes and repeated the pattern.
The reason I have used pictures of leaves and bark for this
pattern is because it links to my artist research of Emily
Kngwarreye, who focused on neutral colours and her
imagery was connected to the environment of Australia.
However, I have made quite symmetrical patterns here
instead of the random style of my artist. I have done this as
it appears to be a more modern look.
The circular pattern also takes the shape of a flower in a
way, again linking to the nature aspect. Later on in my
development I think I will use some of these patterns or
further develop them, in order as backgrounds or small
pieces for possibly the development of the smart phone
app. The advantage of this type of pattern is that they can
be repeated on a larger scale canvas and continue.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Aboriginal patterns
In this design I used less of my primary imagery and more
focused on the tools in Photoshop. I started by obtaining
a circular cut out a set of leaves using the Lasso Tool and
brought it into a plain black background. I chose the black
for the background for the contrast against the green of
the circle. Again keeping with my theme earlier, I repeated
the circle into a set of rows and columns and duplicated
the layers into a pattern.
I then looked back at my artist research and noted a piece
by Emily Kngwarreye where she has a set of wavy lines that
represent the sun rays advancing into the sky. I wanted to
try a similar thing in my development so drew some simple shapes on top of the pattern and ended up with a set of
lines that all vaguely appeared from the bottom centre of
the image.
To experiment further I decided to change the blending
setting concerning the shapes. I ended up preferring this
pattern as it looked more subtle but still interesting. The
Overlay option was the one I was most happy with as it
took a simple pattern and provided a small amount of detail with the brighter green waves.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Development- Phoenix Rising

Using my images of the diffusion effect based on my
research of Alberto Seveso, I decided to develop some
imagery with a symmetrical theme in mind to start
with. For this I obtained a triangle shaped cut out and
flipped it vertically to get the direct opposite. I then
duplicated the triangles into a formation and obtained
a centre line to brake up the symmetrical flip.
This provided an interesting reflection of the diffusion
imagery. I think that with this pattern in mind I will
later try a more fluid blending of the images to represent the fluidity of the athletes.
In reference to my concept I think that the diffusion
effect can fit with the Phoenix Rising idea because it
still has the thought of a rising flow to it. This also can
be linked to my other concept as I have previously experimented with aboriginal patterns but with different
imagery. Although it doesnt really work for an aboriginal pattern I like the geometric shapes and layout and
so will pursue in designing some more.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

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Alberto Seveso responses

In response to my artist research of Alberto Seveso, I
decided to obtain some pictures of the diffusion effect.
For this I poured small volumes of food colouring into
varying glasses and took primary images of the results. I
experimented with different colours and different glasses to ensure I got a range of interesting photos which
will help in my development.
The idea behind the images is to represent the fluidity of the competing athletes as, gymnastics and events
involving elegance are considered quite graceful. This
can be seen in the diving events where competitors are
marked on their finishing and finesse.
I have started by making Aboriginal patterns with the
photos I took with the use of Photoshop to try out many
different shapes and sizes in response to the brief. Later
in my development I hope to try and link my imagery to
the athletes more clearly by possibly making the diffusion effect appear to be a trail behind an athlete.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Diffusion imagery development

Further on in my development I decided to improve my
Adobe Illustrator skills by making some flags from the
commonwealth games countries. I made a Union Jack,
an Australian and a Canadian flag. I decided to do this
to link to my brief in a more literal sense as I think that
my previous development was too far fetched on its
own.
I found this quite challenging as the proportions were
important to get right so I referred to images on the
internet for comparison. The reason I have only chosen
to make 3 flags out of the many others is due to time
reasons. I wanted to try and mix these flags with my diffusion imagery.
I think that I have developed my Illustrator skills whilst
making these flags as I have used the Direct Selection
Tool to manipulate simple shapes and also looked at using guides and grids to aid me in proportions.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Diffusion imagery development

After making the flags in Illustrator I wanted to use
them further in my experimentation so I exported the
vectors as a .PNG file and brought them into Photoshop. I wanted to try and make the flags the centre
piece in this development so I brought in my diffusion
imagery and used Hue/Saturation to make the colours match the focus colour of the flag. For example
the main focus colour of the Union Jack is a dark, rich
blue, so I manipulated the diffusion effect and overlapped them into a random burst effect.
I placed the flags in the centre of the burst and blended it in to the diffusion by using the brush tool. By this
I mean that I changed the brush option to Clear, and
using a blurred brush, painted around the hard edges
of the flag. This eliminated the straight rectangle edges
and helped match the two layers together.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Diffusion imagery development

I next wanted to bring the images together in a way
that didnt involve them clashing. Previously I had
been getting rid of the glass in my diffusion imagery
and just using the liquid dye for my development. Due
to this I decided that I wanted to try out using the
glasses and see if it worked or not.
By doing this it enabled me to arrange the flags the
same way I had been doing in my previous work but
have all three of them in the same image. My aim was
to try and not make them clash as the burst effect I
had already used wouldnt have worked. I think that
the flags look good in the glasses, almost as if it were
them standing on a podium.
Although this experimentation has led to some interesting imagery I still dont think that I will be using it
in my final set of development as I believe that a more
literal approach will be more suitable for the main
poster or advertisement piece.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Logo Development
To start my logo development I drew out some quick
ideas and briefly annotated accordingly. One of my
first ideas was a pictorial symbol mark which represents the Commonwealth Games quite clearly. This
type of logo is easily identifiable and relates directly
to the event. I drew the outline of a person with their
arms stretched out to give a victorious connotation. I
based this off my primary imagery of my sister in this
stance to get the basic shape and size roughly correct.

One problem I think there is with this design is that

it is too basic and doesnt stand out as an interesting
logo. Due to this I later decided to try some more abstract outlines and the addition of some colour. Although the flag offers a different design for each country it also therefore splits the countries up in a way so I
have decided to try some more postures.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

I then decided to include the flag in the persons hands

to link to a patriotic feeling. This means that for each
nation there could be a different flag but the same
person. By doing this it would mean that each country
would have a personalised logo due to the flag differentiation but at the same time they would all link with
the same outline of the person. I think this is a good
idea for a logo as the similarity links to the charity
work that the Commonwealth Federation do in reference to the equality of all athletes and people.

Logo Development
As the event is based in Australia, I decided to base a
few designs on my concept of Australian traditions or
famous links. One thing that is commonly associated
with Australia is the heat and so the sun. From this I
created a range of logos that link to the sun or some
form of sun waves. These type of logos are symbol
marks but they are an abstract or non-representational
visual as they dont have a direct link.

For this design I focused on my earlier artist research

of Emily Kngwarreye and dot art. This type of painting
focuses on lots of small dots of vibrant paint forming
a larger image. When designing this I tried to focus on
colours which are quite natural so earthy browns and
blue to represent the waters. One thing that I dont like
about this design is that its very busy and is almost too
much just for a logo as it could distract from the main
piece. However, this links to my Australian concept
and represents the location well.

This design is probably my most literal one and so is

immediately identifiable with the sun and Australia.
Again, this is quite a simple logo but depending on my
imagery, this could be a good thing as two complicated
items could end up clashing.

I originally drew this idea out and scanned it onto the

computer. This logo design doesnt link to the Australian concept of Aboriginals but the idea of the sun is
still there as he waves all rise up. From this it can link
to my phoenix rising concept. I like this logo as it is
quite simple and so I decided to use a vibrant colour to
ensure it still stands out.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

These next two logos were designed almost at the

same time and are also linked to the sun. In Illustrator I decided to experiment with negative space and
introduced some cut outs. I like these type of designs
as they are relatively simple and clean. I felt like they
were too plain on their own so I added a gradient of a
warm orange. This is due to the fact that the sun isnt
just one yellow so I played around with some other
colours.

Logo Development

This next logo design took the form of a wordmark.

I started by hand drawing the name of the event out
and then scanned it onto the computer. I then traced
over them with the brush tool in Illustrator and experimented with the thickness of the letters. As it was
produced by hand it wasnt totally accurate so I refined
it by adjusting the letters individually so that they all
fall on the baseline. I dont particularly like this type
of logo for my event so I wont be using it on its own.
However, I might still use the wordmark but with the
addition of a symbol or image.

This symbol mark logo was my last one directed at

linking with my Australian concept and is probably
my favourite out of the rest as it is simple yet still
looks like it has enough detail in the edges of the
sun spokes. I wouldnt use the symbol on its own as
I think that it wont be identifiable enough so, some
form of typography paired with it could possibly make
it a better outcome.

For these next set of logos I decided to take a different

approach by starting off with a lettermark by just using
the initials of the event. I experimented around with
the way I can position the two letters and decided to
overlap them. To show the place where the two letters meet I set the pathfinder to Exclude. This made
the small gap separating the two initials which I quite
liked. To add some more typography to the lettermark
logo I added the XXI which is the number of the
Commonwealth Games.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

I like the way that the two initials overlapped in my

previous development so I reduced the opacity of the
letter on top to show where to two connected. I prefer
the way you can see through the top initial and think
that it looks more interesting than just the exclusion of
the overlap. I started experimenting with some colours
and decided to have just two colours alternating for
each character, this keeps the design looking clean. To
bring the design together I put them onto a circle to
set a border in-between the canvas and the text.

Logo Development
Carrying on with the geometric shapes, inspired by
Charis Tsevis, I decided to experiment with a more
detailed approach by drawing out some vector shapes
and building up a shape. I started by just making a
small accumulation of triangles and decide to duplicate it and start the formation of an overall shape. As
I gradually changed the shapes and aligned them differently, I decided to make the border by making some
vectors that had a flat edge and also cut off the earlier
shape that I had been duplicating. I ended up with
quite an odd formation, but one that I like as it again
has an element of accuracy to it that I believe reflects
in the performance of the athletes in the games.
The next two logos are further developments of my
previous experiments but with the inclusion of some
geometric shapes, varying in size and colour. I chose
harmonious colours in reference to the lettermark
logos from before, to achieve a matching outcome. I
feel that in both of these designs the shapes look quite
good and I have been inspired by my artist research
of Charis Tsevis, who focuses on these geometric patterns. The shapes have connotations of accuracy to me,
and so that links to the games in respect of the accuracy of the athletes in their performances. Especially, for
example, gymnastics or synchronised swimming.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

The use of the Outline view within Adobe Illustrator

helped me a lot with this development as it was important that I got all the shapes to align perfectly and at
the correct angles in order to look appropriate for the
games.

The next part of the design was the colouring. I decided to keep to one colour and just try different shades
and tones for filling in the individual shapes. I kept the
designs like this because I thought that if I used lots
of different colours it would clash as there was a lot of
shapes to fill. So, I kept the colours quite similar but
one thing I kept in common throughout all the designs
was to gradually make the colours lighter as they went
to the centre and eventually become white. I chose this
as it shows progression in the colours and is not just a
random pattern. I occasionally decided to use the gradient tool as some of the colours looked flat.

Logo Development

I decided to try and bring in some other aspects of the

logo development prior to this. The overlapping lettermark is something that I thought would fit well as
I could match the colours. I brought in the lettermark
and the addition of the year,event number and the
event name. The positioning of the text and the logo
itself was quite hard to decide as it is a horizontally
focused design. In the end I decided to place the type
at the each corner of the logo to keep it symmetrical
and to keep in with the theme of accuracy and professionalism.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

I like the way the typography looks in this composition

but I think that it is too wide in reference to the height.
A way I could overcome this problem is to not include
the year and number of the games in the logo but to
include it as a small piece of type towards the bottom
of the final piece. This way I still include the information but it doesnt feature in the logo.
This bottom design is one that I considered, to just include the lettermark at the top of the geometric shape.

This is another way round the problem of the text

making the whole logo too wide. Instead of just not
including the extra type in the logo I decided to just
scale it down and group it all. The problem I have with
this design is that the type looks too out of place and
not properly part of the logo.
This is another layout of the logo which definitely
looks better as the type looks to be part of the design
instead of just being put at a corner and out of the way.

Logo Development

This next logo was a quick design that Im not entirely

sure on because it is very basic in a way as it is just a
checkered pattern but at the same time as it looks very
busy and not entirely connected to the themes I have
been pursuing.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

I next decided to experiment with the use of the brush

tool within Illustrator. I started by laying out a set of
black and white rectangles, all of equal sizes and all
spread out equally. I then saved the shape as an Art
Brush to later apply it to other shapes.
I then brought in a circle and applied the brush effect to it to achieve perfect set of circles all set at equal
lengths apart. This is when I started to make copies
of each shape and making the new parts to this logo.
By using the direct selection tool I deleted individual
anchor points which formed the three-quarter circle
and then the semicircle. From this I wanted to try and
make an interesting shape and as I was experimenting I stumbled across a design that ended up looking
vaguely like a running track which would fit perfectly
with my concept.

This is what the design ended up looking like with

the overlapping shapes which I achieved by sending
the rectangle shapes to the back which sorted out the
order of the vectors. I decided to experiment with the
colours by using the gradient tool and I achieved this
by using the opacity mask. I started by making a rectangle cover the whole of the design. I then copied the
design and pasted it within the opacity mask in order
to apply the gradient tool.

Logo Development

The colours I chose were quite similar for the gradient

tool so that the gradual change in colour wasnt too obvious and was more of a subtle approach. I felt that the
centre of the track was something that needed to be
filled by something so I decided to bring in the lettermark I had previously created and centred the two so
they aligned correctly. This design is one of the more
successful logos I have created as I think it looks appropriate and has a link to the games that isnt totally
obvious so it could make people think.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

This next logo was initially a wordmark however I later

developed it into a combination mark. I wanted to
again develop this geometric style so I started by using the line tool to draw some initial markers over the
words Gold Coast. I then converted the text to outlines and made a compound path of both the text and
the lines. Then, using the pathfinder palette, I selected
the lines and chose the Divide option which created
cut outs where the lines overlapped the text. I then ungrouped the parts of the lines that were outside of the
text and deleted them as they were no longer needed.
After this I moved onto the colouring of the shapes.
I wanted to keep it in touch with Australia so chose
red, white and blue as they are the only colours on the
flag. I used the gradient tool on some of the colours to
avoid the logo looking flat. This is when I decided that
I would need to bring in some form of symbol to make
the logo work as on its own it looked too much like the
Union Jack in my opinion. To get round this problem
I brought in some of the stars that feature in the Australian flag, from which I had made earlier, and dotted
them about the text.

To avoid the confusion with the Australian flag not being identifiable I brought in my vector made Australian flag and laid the text over the top and sent the flag
to the back. After this I made a clipping mask which
put the flag inside the text. This outcome is far more
identifiable with Australia itself but I also think that
my previous development looks more interesting. I
like both designs but the first one is definitely the one
I prefer the most mainly as it a more abstract approach
to fitting the flag within the text rather than the literal
approach of using a clipping mask and having a normal flag inside the text.

Image Development
Further on in my development I decided to try some
more experimenting with the shapes idea I have been
pursuing, inspired by my artist research of Charis
Tsevis. I started by lowering the opacity of the image I
was going to use in order to help me see clearly where
I was drawing the shapes within Illustrator. I wanted to
have some form of order in this design do I drew some
lines that cut through the image to represent where
the shapes would stop and start.
I then began putting in the shapes with the pen tool
and using the Outline view to help with precision
and accuracy so that all the shapes joined together. I
also lowered the opacity of the shapes as they were too
strong on their own and too flat.
After removing the lines I originally drew in I added
some motion lines, almost like you would find in a
comic book. The reason I chose to do this is because it
added some more interest to the image by there being
something small to focus on outside of the main image, that being the subject in the starting position.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Image Development
This next image development involved me using the
same technique with the overlapping shapes. This time
with the inclusion of the motion lines, I think it works
really well as it gives the connotation of rising up and
so links with my previous concept of the Phoenix Rising. For me, the lines can represent the movement of
the athletes but also the morale and motivation of being part of the games. This idea of verticality is something that I have previously looked at with my original
imagery.
My original development of this concept involved the
fire rising up and billowing smoke. I think that the
combination of the two would not work as the fire
would not look right with the sporting images. I believe this is due to the fact that fire can sometimes look
quite aggressive and that is not the message I want to
give.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Image Development
I next wanted to try and use the outlines of the sporting images I had taken. With the diffusion images I
already had, I wanted to try and mix the two to get
portray the idea of the fluidity of the athletes. I started
by taking crops of the diffusion imagery and adjusting
the vibrance of certain ones as some of the original images were too dull.
After I was happy with the diffusion imagery I started
with creating the outlines. I originally brought my
images into Photoshop and created the outlines there
however, the outlines werent crisp especially as I needed to fill them later with the diffusion images. Due to
this I brought them into Illustrator instead and created
a vector outline using the pen tool which proved to be
a much easier process and ultimately ensured I had
an accurate outline. This also meant that at any time I
could edit individual anchor points enabled me to get
the outline I desired.
On one of the images I was creating an outline for I
came across the problem of the need to create a separate outline for in between the legs of the subject. This
negative space meant that I had to make the outline a
compound path in order to then delete the image and
achieve the outline.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Image Development
After creating the outline, I then deleted the background picture as it was only used as a reference. I
brought in the texture crops I had previously obtained
and overlaid them on top of the outlines until I was
happy with their positioning. I tried to include parts
of the images where there was no ink in the picture.
I chose to do this as otherwise it would have looked
like a simple colour effect that I had applied and there
would be no reference to the fluidity I was trying to get
across. I also think that it made the outline look more
interesting as there was a random element to it that
created more depth.
When I was satisfied with the position of the diffusion
overlay I sent the image to the back in the stacking
order and then selected both the image and the outline
and created a clipping mask.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Image Development
These three images were the final outcomes and overall I am relatively happy with them. I think that it appeals to a literal approach to the brief and also has an
element of an abstract theme. The fluidity of the athletes is one of the main things I wanted to portray and
I think that theses images are a good representation. I
also think that the overall design is clean and yet still
effective as the diffusion imagery offers a random burst
of colour onto the canvas and is eye catching.
I think that on their own the images are too simplistic
so I will next experiment with how I can make them fit
in the canvas with some other element. I was thinking,
like with my previous image development, that some
motion lines will be a good addition to the image.
However, the approach I had taken before fit with the
theme of the shapes so for this I will perhaps use some
more diffusion imagery and the clipping mask effect
again in order to not complicate the message I am trying to portray. This also will help with the fluidity and
movement theme.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

Composition Development
For my initial composition development I have decided to look at a range of movie posters and other
promotional pieces to draw inspiration from. This
first piece is by a French artist I have found on Adobe
Behance. I like the way the artist has kept the colour
scheme very clean by only really using ranges of white
and grey. By doing this it doesnt complicate the whole
composition which is well fit for an piece that has an
already complicated image or logo. The artist has also
positioned the typography and logo into one section
on the layout and the image opposite it. This means
that all the focus is on the middle section of the composition and so the outer corners and background can
be simple.
This again, is an artist I have found on Behance who had created this promo piece.
The colour scheme again is very simple,
only using shades of black and white. As
these are opposites, it creates impact and
dramatises the whole piece. The main image is set in the middle of the poster and
the typography is in small print around it.
The other addition of the text overlaps the
image and fits well as the colours match. I
have drawn inspiration from this as it is a
clean and simple outcome. I think, for my
design, it would fit well as the final image
I am thinking of using takes the form of
a simple shape but a complicated texture.
Due to this I believe that the text and logo
will have to match colour wise and be relatively simple or low key in the composition.

A2 Graphic Design- Nathan Donnelly- Unit 3

This promotional piece is something I found on Behance again. It is for a nail bar situated in Italy and has
caught my eye as the paint effect that it used is quite
like the diffusion imagery I am using. This is a very
bold and confident outcome and at the same time is
simple like the previous research. As the pain is the
main piece of the composition the background is simple and is something that has influenced me in my
development. This is because I believe that the image
I will be using will be complicated enough on its own.
The logo is centralised in this piece along with all the
other information and typography. This works well
as the logo itself is simple and doesnt clash with the
background image.