Reflective Post 1

At this stage I am unsure of the specific projects that I am going to carry out for 603, although I am aware of my aims and hopes for this module. I want to create work that is honest, serious and valuable, focussing on reportage/editorial work, mainly drawing on location from life. I want projects that can challenge my story telling abilities, and give me the opportunity to really focus on how I make work, what that work looks like and where it fits into contemporary illustration industry. This main focus of this module for me, to really develop my image making to a point where I have a successful approach to answering briefs or completing projects, and where the work is recognisable and distinctive of my own. With this, however, I don't want to put myself in a box, but instead create an imagine making method that I can apply to a variety of briefs, problems and projects, whether that is reportage work, editorial or book covers. This will come with defining a manifesto of sorts, a tone of voice and visual literacy that is my own and that works best for me.

The themes I would like to cover are politics, activism, community and place, allowing me to learn about and document current affairs, preserve untold histories and tell untold stories, giving a voice to unknown communities. I see my work coinciding with documentary photography and journalism. A lot of the projects I undertake I suspect will be self-directed. 

Going into the group crit I had a few ideas of the projects or topics I would like to do projects about, these being:

• WY Fire Service, documenting their struggles with public sector cuts, disrespect from the public and telling their often untold stories.
• Fracking, visiting protest sites in Lancashire, telling the activists stories and highlighting the negative aspects of the industry.
• Housing Crisis, visit communities struggling with housing issues due to governmental cuts
• Human Interaction, practice drawing people, telling stories and capturing emotions, similar to the practice of street photography, documenting human interactions and relationships

Alongside these, there are a couple of live briefs I would be interested in submitting to:

• BiCeBe poster competition
• Penguin design awards 

Feedback from Crit:

• Look into Leeds List website, see if they want illustrations to accompany articles they post
• Consider construction as a subject matter, ongoing building works within city centres
• Pick projects that allow development of work, challenge yourself