This is my Weekly Design Inspiration, this is a space where I share some design work that has either inspired me or caught my attention for its execution or concept. The things I feature on here can include (but not limited to) branding, web design, app design, illustration, typography, video games or anything that shows creativity in a unique way.
During my time at collage studying graphic design we had a handful or speakers from the industry come in and either give us a presentation or set us a live brief. One of the most impressionable speakers who came to present to us was Gavin Strange of Aardman Animations. Gavin (who also goes under the title of Jam Factory) was truly inspiring for his approach to design and his mentality surrounding passion projects. He seemed to generally be excited about ideas, creativity, media and anything creative, regardless of the platform. He talked about learning new skills and not being afraid to seek advise from experts and the benefits of collaboration. All of this really resonated with me as at the time I was still finding myself as a designer and investing my time in learning a multitude of design platforms including 3D, Animation, illustration and anything I could put my hand too. Since that talk I have kept up with Gavin's work and witnessed him putting what he lectured into practice and to this day he continues to inspire me.
It's hard to even start when talking about the things that Gavin has created or been a part of over the years, he's designed in 2D and 3D, animated, directed, acted, branded, illustrated, sculpted, written and just about done everything there is to do in the creative industry (although he would probably argue otherwise!).
I'll start by talking about one of his most stand out (and admirable) contributions to design; his involvement with The Grand Appeal and the Gromit Unleashed Trails. Gavin has been involved in every trail that has been set up in aid of The Grand Appeal since its conception in 2013, including Gromit Unleashed, Shaun In The City and Gromit Unleashed 2. He has lent his creative talents to designing multiple Gromit, Shaun or Feathers McGraw statues that have been part of the city wide trails, which at the end of the trail are auctioned and sold to raise money for Bristol's Children Hospital. Already you can see that this is one hell of a noble cause to be a part of. Not only was it a morally sound thing to do, the designs Gavin created are unique, fun, engaging and also tell a story about himself creativity and how he learned new skills to be able to produce the vision he had for the statues. This includes learning sign writing for the Bahhbersheep Shaun he hand painted, learning about vinyl types for the Dias de los Perros Gromit and teaming up with a buddy (Jimmy2 Eggs) to add electronics to the Feathertron 3000 Feathers Mc Graw. These aren't the only ones Gavin designed but, to me, these stand out for their unique style and different approaches to execution.
Another interesting thing Gavin started a couple of years ago was STRANGE, a collaboration with other creators to curate and sell beautifully crafted objects including jewellery, art and accessories. The artists involved included Beeteeth, Beth Lamont, Ruth Pullan and many more. Seeing all these different creators works coming together under one roof was something truly special, you could tell that each piece was carefully selected and that passion was put into the creation of every piece. This was a real passion project of Gavin (and his wife Jane) to bring together all the things they love and do something they do best; collaborate. Included in the STRANGE collection was some original pieces dedicated to the Strange's Grey Hound Arnie. These pieces included mugs, cushions and jewellery and looked stylish, contemporary and trendy and as an added bonus, profits from the selling of these items went towards a Grey Hound charity for retired racing dogs. Doesn't that just warm your heart. Unfortunately, STRANGE has had to stop running due to Gavin and Jane's other commitments (including having a baby boy), but during the short run it had they managed to capture the passion and expertise of all parties involved, which is a wonderful thing.
As well as being a well established designer, director, illustrator and many other professions, Gavin has also found the time to become an author and write a book. Do Fly is a guide to following your passions and tackling the inspiration inside you to begin and see through side projects. Gavin has always been an advocate for side projects (evidently, by the amount of content in this blog post) and this book lays out how he gets motivated, makes time, collaborates and continues to develop his creative skill set. Do Fly is published by the The Do BookCompany who have published many books by industry professionals on a variety of subjects, mainly motivational and self improvement books, but also a handful of specialist books such as Do Sourdough and Do Beekeeping. As well as being an engaging read Do Fly is also illustrated by Gavin himself and has some cool page layouts for anyone that's interested in editorial or book design. This book is a must read for anyone looking to motivate theirselves into doing more side projects, not just for designers but any profession that requires creative input.
Looking through Gavin's design portfolio is like jumping into a bottomless pit, it just keeps going and the variety on offer is astounding. Gavin has done a handful of branding projects in the past but what is clear from his body of work is that illustration is almost always at the heart of the design work he produces. He has managed to produce designs in a variety of styles including 3D, pixel art, photo-manipulation and vector design. That's a hefty amount of skills for one person to bring to the table. Below are just a few examples of Gavin's work that I personally love, but do go away and have a scroll through his body of work, it's truly breath taking seeing the diverse selection of work on offer.
If there's anything I've taken away from having heard Gavin Strange talk and following his work over the years it's that, as a designer you should always be looking for ways to improve your skill set, not to a professional end, but to satisfy the itch to create that vision in your head. Don't have an idea for something and think 'oh, I haven't done any "x" before so I can't do it', instead think to yourself 'here's a chance to finally learn "x", and apply it to something I'll be proud of'. This mentality flows through everything Gavin has done and is an ethos I'm trying to live my life by, for instance, I'm currently learning animation, calligraphy and 3D, not because my job demands it, but because I want to create more things which require these new skills to do so.
Honorable Mentions
As part of my Weekly Design Inspiration I also like to share some bits and pieces that I have seen which have inspired me in the last week. I have captioned each image with some info and relevant links so you can find out more.
Frank Howarth is an amazing wood worker who produces outstanding furniture, tools, accessories and just about anything you could imagine. What separates Frank from the many woodworking channels on Youtube is his passion for film making, and more specifically stop motion animation. Frank manages to fit in animation with most of his builds, even if it's only for a few seconds, it spices up the video and makes it stand out.