Thursday, 14 January 2016

What blue does a lover of blue choose?





Loving blue as much as I do makes it difficult to chose a shade to represent me. I have spent hours trying to find a turquoise to accurately suit who I am because turquoise appeals to me most, but in the end I realised that IK Blue (0033CC) is the most perfect. 

Created 60 years ago by artist Yves Klein, it's a deep and pure form of blue; in some ways it is the most pure representation of blue. Despite its current trendiness in the world of design, its importance and appeal will not disappear with the trend. It is both energetic and calming. It is the ultimate harmonious shade. 

Additionally, as a paint pigment it is notoriously hard to dry (in fact some claim it never dries) and so that plays to my ideology of never standing still or never stopping until things are perfect. Things can almost always be better. 

Dark night skies. Energy. Excitement. Legacy. Future. 

Tuesday, 12 January 2016

Physical Manifestations of a Digital Futurist



My two main ideologies (futurism and environmentalism) don't play well with the idea of physical media when it's not necessary. Business cards, for example, are totally unnecessary in today's digital world, but they're often a beautiful and helpful token to give out for people to keep and so the idea remains attractive to me. 

To get around the environmental limitations of normal papers I could instead opt for a recycled paper series such as the Nomad range from G.F Smith. They're beautifully, unapologetically used and reused, with dots and specks of colour within their various colour options. They'd also comply with almost all of my current design options, and because of their nature, colour conflicts would be okay.  

Taking it further, I could even just extract paper from news articles or pages that interest me and put my own mark on them. 




Another solution is to utilise the VR resurgence; particularly the Google Cardboard initiative. I could create my own branded variations of the headset with my own app and send it out to people. The app could be a simple about/contact me sort of app, or it could be more like a game. It would start in a forest perhaps, but then you'd witness a rocket launch and the forest would clear to reveal a solar farm or a future transportation system. 

Additionally, I have a long term vision to create an app which would allow for the digital realisation of business cards. I sketched some concepts below. It would have to be an app so beautifully engaging and useful that people would actually want to use it. The cards would be tactile, tangible and manoeuvrable, potentially having the ability to be creased or spun. You could pinch to zoom in and out of them, perhaps tapping on lines of text to open up a website or launch a call. 

Saturday, 9 January 2016

Future Tree: An identity concept


http://nickyhope.myportfolio.com/Work








Inspired by pine trees and 'upwards' progression towards the future, my Future Tree personal identity concept utilises the purest of blues to represent calmness, consideration and belief. The tree iconises my love of exploration and the outdoors, as well as my obsessive belief in positive future change and human technological advancement. 

Business cards, and indeed maybe all printed material, would be unsuitable for my two main ideologies of futurism and environmentalism.