Neville Brody€¦ · •Neville Brody is an English designer who studied at Hornsley College of Art and London college of Printing where he learned Fine Art print making techniques.

Neville Brody

S4

Background

• Neville Brody is an English designer who studied at Hornsley College of Art and London college of Printing where he learned Fine Art print making techniques.

• Brody's tutors found his work to be highly controversial and he was almost thrown out of his college for making a stamp with the Queen's head turned on its side. Finding influence from the rebellious grunge movement and Dadaism, he was more experimental with his graphic designs.

• Brody initially began designing Record Covers in the 1980s.

• Brody initially followed a grunge style similar to David Carson by adding elements of graffiti to his work or editing his images to look more urban.

Initial Work

• Brody mainly made his name by working as art director for "The Face" magazine. This British magazine featured articles about popular celebrities, music and trends of the time. Brody worked at the magazine from 1981 – 1986.

• Brody's influences from Pop Art start to show through in these designs with heavy use of primary colours and clean cut shapes.

Comparing other magazines from the time, Brody's use of bright coloursand clean layouts was very much on trend. Where his designs stand out is in his use of original typography.

• Brody became known for creating his own typography, mainly using the "New Wave" Style. This type of text defies strict grid based arrangements, making it more expressive. The spacing and layout of the letters would be highly irregular, showing influence from the punk era. This transformation of text appealed to a rebellious younger generation, the target market of the Face magazine.

• Brody went on to create his own company specialising in lettering design called "Fontworks". He has created many of his own fonts with "Insignia" being one of the most famous.

• Brody also designed the typeface for England’s kit for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

• Brody was also very heavily inspired by political posters and propaganda posters from World War 2. He used similar colours to these posters and was inspired by the use of large, bold lettering.

"Just Bounce It" Poster Design for Nike (1988)

• This poster was produced in 1988 to promote Nike trainers and would have featured on billboards and magazines in the UK.

• Brody has mainly chosen to play on Nike's slogan 'Just Do It' by using different variations throughout the poster design.

• A photograph of a young boy has been included to appeal to a younger audience, Nike's target market.

• Brody has also arranged the text in a way that it represents the shape of the British Isles.

Target Market: Who is the target market for this poster?

- Young people as the teenager on the front shows the product is geared towards them.

- Sporty People because the varying directions/ size of the text convey energetic movement.

- People who like Nike products as their logo/ product is included on the poster.

- The British public as the lettering is designed to represent the British Isles.

Layout: What images have been included in the poster? Why has Brody included them?

- The image of the young boy fills the whole of the left side. The scale of this image makes it more obvious who the product is aimed towards.

How has Brody arranged the text on the poster? What effect does this have?- The fonts go horizontal on the left hand side and vertical on the right. This contrast in directions makes you look around the whole poster.

Media Handling and TechniquesBrody has used Photoshop to create this poster. What effect does this have on the overall piece?

- Photoshop has allowed Brody to achieve a clean, crisp look for his poster.

-Using Photoshop has allowed Brody to manipulate the lettering in his poster so it will face different directions/ make an image. This has allowed him to make his lettering the main feature of the poster.

- The photograph of the young boy has been edited to enhance the shadows on his face. This change in contrast has made the photograph have more visual impact.

ColourWhat colours has Brody used? Where are they on the poster and what impact do they have?

- Brody has used mainly black and white. These colours have been used to make the text striking. He has layered white text over the dark image of the teenager but contrasted this on the right hand side by doing the opposite on the right hand side. This contrast helps to make the poster more interesting and edgy.

- Brody has used the colour red in the poster to highlight key features. It draws attention to the brands logo despite it being small in size, the pictures of the trainers have a small amount of red to highlight them as the main product and the use of red on the slogan on the left helps to draw your eye around the whole poster.

Inspirations What is the poster inspired by?

- Brody was heavily inspired by political posters from the 1980s and propaganda posters from World War Two. This can be seen is his use of black, white and red and also his use of large scale, dominant lettering.

- His interest in punk music/ rebellious attitude shows through in his lettering as it doesn't read normally and goes in different directions.

Neville Brody used the early version of Apple Mac to produce some of his designs. He has championed the use of digital media and has embraced the potential of the computer. You can see Brody's interest in digital media as he has used Photoshop to produce the fonts and change their orientation throughout the poster.

Function What is the function of this poster? How do you know this?

- To promote Nike's brand and their trainers as the logo and photos of the trainers have been used on the poster.

- To appeal to young people as a photograph of a teenager has been used.

- To appeal to sporty people as the lettering appears to 'bounce'.

- To appeal to the British public as the lettering is in the shape of the British isles.

• Is the poster fit for purpose?

Now do Task One(Evaluating a Graphic Design Image)

in your booklet

Write 3 paragraphs on Neville Brody's life, influences and workIn paragraph 1 write about who Neville Brody was:

• Where did he grow up?

• What did he study? How did he make use of this knowledge in his designs?

• What did Brody design initially? What was he influenced by in these designs?

• What magazine did Brody work for? How did his style change?

In paragraph 2 discuss his style, influences and working methods:

• Describe some of the key features of Brody's work.

• Describe the influence of Pop Art and Punk music on his work.

• Describe a minimum of two elements of Brody's work that were new/ innovative.

In paragraph 3 describe the "Just Do It: Nike advert" by Neville Brody

• What MOOD/ATMOSPHERE or VISUAL IMPACT has Brody created with "Just Do It"? Describe at least 3 techniques.

• How has Brody made use of Photoshop? What effect does this have on the design?

• What impact does Brody's use of lettering have on the overall design?

• Who is the Target Market for this poster? Why would it appeal to them?