After a multitude of investigation into Massive Attack I feel comfortable to start designing. With the ideal of rejecting most initial ideas, I began designing freely on the computer, and then moved onto design sketches. This way I could get my initial ideas out of my thought process and develop and strengthen other directions.
I concluded that I should pursue a mixed media route that had an unwritten dialogue rather than a design solely completed digitally. Therefore Route 1 is un-usable, however, it was good to see where the design could of been taken...
Route 1: Musical. Warping, Rhythm, Bold, Musical, themes of: Control/ Out of control… this was a strong theme suggested both through the lyrics and the accompanying video which has been analysed in an earlier blogpost, but I feel the communication isn't strong enough
The following designs were created for the purpose of experimentation and could be progressed further by incorporating various colours or even morphing the shapes to create an overall image, however I've decided to abandon this route because I think there would be a lot more depth and understanding to my design if I were to incorporate methods of mixed media. This has been a strong focus of Massive Attacks artwork and creates an unwritten dialogue with the viewer through abstract means.
Through simple experimentation and pursuing both routes, I was able to refine my design skills and gain a better understanding of the pathfinder tool. Expanding the appearance and outlining the design created a shape that could then easily be manipulated etc.
Further experimentation and pushing of musical inspired route...
Route 2: Mixed Media. Unwritten dialogue, playful, creative, depth, understanding. themes of: Control/ Multiple personalities… This route pays more attention to the inspirations of massive attack and will create a dialogue with the viewer that exemplifies the ideology of the 'Karmacoma' song.
'Through Massive Attacks consistent use of mixed media and unwritten dialogue, it becomes interesting and creates the challenge of working out what each part means. This is a point I need to expand on when it comes to choosing my design route' - With this statement in mind… I've chosen to pursue route 2…
Inspirations...
Type
After reviewing my research it was apparent that all of Massive Attacks artwork displays 'Sans Serif' fonts, in my opinion this is because they represented a contemporary music genre 'trip hop', which has influenced both their imagery and type choices.
As a starting point I collected various sans serif fonts which varied in weights and size, giving me a scope of choice which could be referred to nearing the completion of my final outcome, this way I would be able to match the type to the overall aesthetic of the design. However...
I also took it upon myself to find out what is the most used font by Massive Attack, and what I found was quite interesting. It was a typeface that is recognised on a daily basis by people who read 'The Sun' newspaper. 'Franklin Gothic Heavy Italic' The fact that they've continually used this typeface signifies that there doing so, for the reference to politics and news, this has been an inspiration to '3D' throughout his time with Massive Attack (as noted in my research). With this in mind, I think it would only be right to continue the bands outlook and use this typeface.
Type choice: Franklin Gothic Heavy Italic
Kerning - from 600pt - 200pt. Chosen kerning = 300pt.
This is because it is easier to read fluently than the larger kerned type without being too compact. The 300pt kerning ultimately makes the type look more visually pleasing. With the visual aid below, you should be able to see my reasoning (300pt / second to last).
Keeping all the letters in lowercase gives the type a less formal and more contemporary appearance.
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