Materials & Media

This is a research blog for a GRAD503 Materials & Media at AUT. My name is Ethan and I will be updating this space with all my ideas, content I've found and my creative process on building a timeline for kiwi designer, 'Emma Rogan'

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Week5 - Colour and Composition

Colours help us identify with certain brands and recognise products associated with certain companies. They become an accent colour, used throughout the products produced by the companies. The correct word to use for colour when speaking from a design standpoint is ‘hue’ which refers to any area on the colour wheel.

I think one of the things I have taken away from Georges lecture so far is that the importance of simplicity and harmonious colouring is paramount for projects such as this. Proximity, negative space and hierarchy are all more important than complex illustrations etc.

Rotating spread is a useful tool for viewing upside down text or pages etc.

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Emma Rogan - Toasted

Graphic design, art direction, Emma Rogan Design, nz design, nz designer, branding, identity design, logo design, website design

Toasted : A brand design by Emma Rogan for an Auckland based coffee roasters. I find it interesting how many hospitality based projects Emma has worked on, as that is the industry I have the most experience working with. Emma uses minimalism and vivid colours to create striking, eye catching designs for bars, restaurants and produce companies. She understands what clients need in terms of how they want their brand associated and she has a good eye for what consumers will respond to. I hope to highlight this fact in my publication.

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Emma Rogan - 100 Days Project

Graphic design, art direction, Emma Rogan Design, nz design, nz designer, branding, identity design, logo design, website design

Here are some interesting examples of people following the 100 Days Project, as encouraged and presented by Emma Rogan. 

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Sardine

“Identity design and decorative wall murals for this tiny bar on Auckland's waterfront.“

By Emma Rogan. Found on Behance 

I found her exploration on font and text shape to ben incredibly interesting with this project. Although minimalistic, it is eye catching with an interesting texture. The repetitive process with slight variation is reminiscent of her 100days project and showcases the breadth of her work.

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Here is my design for the Caterpillar, showing three steps of my drawing on Adobe Illustrator.

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Some inspirational artwork I found on Behance of Alice in Wonderland scenes and artwork.

https://www.behance.net/gallery/30092963/Mobile-Vulgaris-Alice-in-Wonderland-150th-anniversary/modules/193524373

https://www.behance.net/gallery/38634445/Alice-and-blue-caterpillar/modules/239409465

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When drawing this flower in Illustrator, I tried to replicate the way Emma Rogan draws eyes in her illustrations.

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Here is another flower I have created in Illustrator for my timeline in the style of Emma Rogan, drawing inspiration from the Disney version of Alice In Wonderland (1951). 

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Alice in Wonderland(1951) - The Flowers

American animated musical fantasy-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on the Alice books by Lewis Carroll. The 13th release of Disne...

A scene from Alice in Wonderland where I am drawing inspiration for flower designs for my forest scene. Animated by Walt Disney Studios in 1951.

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Some examples of busy graphic art depicting lots of objects and characters in forest scenes. All 3 were made using Adobe Illustrator. Interesting use of bold colours and shadows. I will draw on these for inspiration when creating my own scene. 

Image 1: https://www.behance.net/gallery/81301761/INSIDE-YOU/modules/471282803

Image 2: https://www.behance.net/gallery/68967949/VIVID-WORLD/modules/402848457

Image 3: https://www.behance.net/gallery/77584849/Campaign-illustrations-for-Vanke-Mall/modules/450483631

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Sandwich Timeline by Krista Amelia

https://www.behance.net/gallery/41352073/Sandwich-History-Infographic?tracking_source=search_projects%7Ctimeline

Beautiful textures and tiny little sandwich pictograms with cool colours. I love the overall texture of the work, the kind of rough carboard finish makes it feel pretty cool. 

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This timeline is easy to read, the presentation is beautiful and I loved the twisty, dotted line that follows the future of the earth.

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A more interesting timeline idea, with nicer colours and more creative presentation. 

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Timeline example 1

I found this example easy to read and understand, but a little simple and the colours come across a little dull. 

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Mushroom Attempt no.1 by Me (Ethan Geers)

Here I attempted to replicate an element of one of Emma Rogans designs, using illustrator. I drew each section as a shape, coloured them and joined them together. 

My idea is to create a scene for the timeline, using my own versions of her creations and characters.

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Timeline Dates

2006 - Emma Rogan wins bronze at New Zealand Best Awards

2008 - Emma Rogan wins gold at New Zealand Best Awards

2010 - Emma Rogan wins gold for the second time at New Zealand Best Awards

2011 - Emma Rogan makes the Webby Awards finalist category, is made an awards Honoree and creates the 100 Days Project

2012 - Emma Rogan speaks at a TedXAuckland event

2014 - Emma Rogan is a Finalist for the Next Woman of the Year Awards, Arts & Culture

2018 - Emma Rogan (and her partner Stu Rogan) open Hello Beasty, an asian-fusion fine dining experience, with interior design and branding done by Emma

2019 - Designers Speak Up - Emma Rogan joins other female designers in creating posters as part of a movement to draw attention to patriarchal culture in design

2021 - Emma Rogan begins painting an art series entitled Wrapped Heads (I wrap my ancestors in silk)

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Exploring her style...

This week I began exploring Emma Rogans style in design and experimenting within Illustrator to see if I could recreate her design process. 

For my first attempt I have drawn inspiration from her design for Maru Consulting. I attempted to replicate her colour schemes somewhat and style, whilst changing the shapes of the designs. 

The original: 

My Interpretation:

I really enjoyed exploring Illustrator and attempting to use the tools it provides to create a work. My skills may need further development, but as I have found illustrator to be quite intuitive, I believe I will be able to discover new ways to represent my ideas quite quickly.