this week, we looked at different ways illustration exists within design. We talked aboit the various mediums, and looked at some famous illustrators as well as some who actually studied our course.
Illustration is a form of visual communication used to clarify interpret or enhance an idea. Unlike fine art, which is often created for self expression, illustration is usually created with a purpose, like to support a message, explain information, tell a story or strengthen a brand identity.
We started by discussing its various forms, starting with what designers of the past used including hand drawn imagery done with pens, pencils, fax, collaging and photocopiers. Illustrations can bridge the gap between text and meaning by adding personality and emotional depth that words alone cannot fully communicate. Basically every UI uses some form of illustration, as it helps people navigate interfaces more quickly and with increased efficiency.
Marion Deuchars is a Scttish illustrator, who creates all of her work by hand. sHer work is very popular in the illustrative world, being featured in Penguin books, to Jamie Oliver cookbooks. i really admire the simplicity of her work,like her use of fine lines and limited colour palettes. I think before this lesson i associated the world ‘illustration’ with highly detailed stylised creations, but her work shows that illustration does not need to be complex to be impactful, and sometimes restraint and clarity are what make a piece memorable and effective. Her style is incredibly recognisable, which has likely contributed to her success in the illustration and design industry.
Paul Elliman is someone I found really interesting because of how unconventional his process is. Instead of drawing or using other digital tools, he started using a fax machine as a way of creating imagery. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a lot of designers were starting to use digital software, but he was kind of pushing back against that by using outdated technology to create distorted, degraded illustrations.
The fax machine would scan images in a way that created glitches and he embraced those imperfections instead of correcting them. I’ve never seen anything like his work before, it reminds me of the brutalist aesthetic as you can tell its highly experimental. He was not trying to create something polished and extremely considered, he just had the idea and let the fax finish it.
i read an article by eye magazine, where he discussed his piece Alphabet and Bits, which was assembled from chunks of discarded objects and rubbish. The article makes it clear that Elliman isn’t interested in doing design for design’s sake, he sees visual language as something that can be explored, questioned and used to reveal hidden properties of communication, rather than just to make things look neat.
Reading about his process made me see how much value there is in letting constraints participate in the final result, rather than always trying to correct or control them. Elliman certainly has a creative mind, i really admire his work as he has created something out of nothing. one mans trash realy is another mans treasure.
