ACTION RESEARCH PLANKAT SULLIVAN

Before writing my Action Research Plan I wanted to evaluate my independent practice both past and present.

I identified my areas of interest:

- Illustration- Printing methods- Book/zine design- Type as image/typography

In the past I have focused upon these areas and they drive much of my practice. I have found that methods such as print making and book binding interlink with the meaning of their chosen content instead of simply being used for the sake of it.

Although I am drawn to aesthetically pleasing design I am more interested in the content’s meaning and in particular the relation to the design and it’s chosen form.

I created 4 zines of my work in order to see how my previous work fits into different categories and to see the strengths and weaknesses in each. This process of shifting through past work and evaluating it was beneficial to understand how I want to move forward.

Areas of design:- Illustration- Print making- Type as image- Layouts- Publications/zines- Writing/poetry/reflection

I have found there to be recurring themes in my work:- Story telling- Self reflection- Repetition- Symbolism- Documentation- Journeys- Poetry- Looking into different practices I’m interested in- Exploring, reacting and making sense of structures within society

Things I would like to explore more:

- How a book is made reflects the context/or becomes the context itself

- Designing the content/layout/design for a hand made book

- Keep documenting my practice and create a book to show this as well as a short film

- Experimenting with book binding and how I can externalise my work further (websites/blogs/fairs/exhibitions…)

Alan Kitching is one of my favourite and most inspirational designers. He has a passion for letter pressing (an understatement), an eye for typographical layout and storytelling.

I am interested in storytelling and the messages type can convey through it’s form and layout. I am particularly drawn to his work because of his ability to see the potential in typefaces and the process of letterpressing he uses. He often uses type as image and breaks grids that are usually used in layout design.

Dieter Roth

Adele Outteridge

Kevin Tong

Rob Dobi

Due to my interest in zines and book designs I visited these fairs

- Critical Tensions conference at St Brides- Tate Britain book collection visit- The London Art Book Fair- Handmade and Bound- Small Publishers Fair- Renegade Craft Fair

The four fairs I’ve visited this term have shown a vast array of book designs and have since inspired me to create more books and research further into self-made publications, as well as the history and different methods of book design.

I also had the opportunity to visit Tate Britain’s artist book collection, in which they showed us examples of books they had bought from artists/designers.

Critical Tensions was a conference I attended for two days at St Brides (the full review is on my blog). The conference offered me a greater insight into how different design companies and individual designers approach their work. Seeing such high profile designers be critical of their own work made me think more about my own and question the relevance of my decisions.

Print Runner

I created this zine with the intention of selling it at fairs such as Handmade & Bound (as well as online). I am submitting prints to sell at H&B and I wanted to create a zine that explores my passion for the process of print making and also displays examples of my work.

The zine was inspired by a half marathon I did last year. I wanted to develop a more personal way of raising sponsorship money so I set up an online account in which whenever somebody sponsored me £5 or over I would send them (via post) an individual lino print I had made. I managed to raise £140 for the Peace Hospice in Watford.

‘In Print We Trust’ started out as an idea for a zine, which would show examples of current Epsom Graphic Design student’s work that are created by different hands-on methods of printing (lino, screen print, letterpress, etc…) as well as including interviews and articles.

It then developed into organising a day event at university in which students can display/sell/trade their work. I was inspired by the increased submission by fellow students for Handmade & Bound this year as well as the productivity/success of the LAB in the second year.

This year’s Handmade & Bound was a great opportunity to sell some of my work in an external environment however the opportunuty to get involved/help set up was not a democratic one.

The driving point behind ‘In Print We Trust’ is that it would be a collaborative project that would be open to other students who wouldbe able to have input and get involved with planning the print sale.

Due to a similar print sale at the university being organised by the same group of students who set up Handmade & Bound, I have decided to bring the idea of ‘In Print We Trust’ back into it’s original intention: a publication.

Although a work in progress I hope ‘In Print We Trust’ continues into the next term as I receive more contributions from fellow print makers.

In the past I have designed and printed several poetry books, usually with just text or with accompanying illustrations. For my new poetry zine I wanted to explore the notion of a journey and felt the best way to do this was to set the poems which describe a mental journey juxtaposed next to a photograph of a physical journey.

Although I have a passion for poetry I now feel I want to move my Independent Practice onwards to further look at book design and layouts for other publications (such as ‘In Print We Trust’) as well as exploring documentation and observation.

Whilst printing my poetry zine ‘Set Circles/Lost Motion’ some images that were not my own appeared on a couple of my print outs,

whether this is because the images were already on the paper in the loading tray or a malfunction of the printer I don’t know.

This did raise some questions and thoughts about printing. Often we see digital printing as a more controlled method, where as

methods such as screen printing have varying degrees of success which is acquired through trial and error.

I personally appreciate the slight unpredictable nature of hands on methods of printing, for example when letter pressing you can never

imagine the exact texture and mark left by the ever changing wear of the letters. Rather than a disadvantage, this level of unpredictability and the

surprise each time your letterpress I find can open up your mind to seeing more opportunities within the letter forms.

My action research plan was based upon my reflection of previous work and identifying the areas of design I am interested in and want to further focus on. As well as these methods I identified themes within my work, the strongest being documentation and journeys. I have found these themes to at first be broad in their meaning but through my action research plan I have attempted to focus on smaller areas within these themes.

I have found the process of evaluating my work rewarding as it has helped me create a clearer action research plan with meaning and direction. At the start of this term I did not want to choose a random topic that wasn’t related to my passions or previous work so ultimately this process of evaluation/identification has helped me.

I have found it hard at times narrowing down to a single idea for my FMP and although I have identified the areas of design I am interested in and the main themes that run through my work I still find difficulty in pin-pointing a particular project for my FMP.

I have been able to identify the types of graphic design I am interested in and would consider myself as a multi- practitioner with a leaning towards illustration, printing, layouts and book design. I would like to continue all of these practices into my FMP, as I feel isolating one would not be beneficial and may hinder my attempts to develop and communicate my FMP.

FMP proposal (work in progress)

Themes: Journeys/Documentation

Processes:

- Illustrations- Print making- Digital editing

(I still want to keep an open mind when it comes to including photography and film however these areas will not be my focus)

Possible outcomes:

- A series of books exploring the different types of journeys- A set of posters that document a different type of journey- A combination of the above- Exploring the notion of a journey in an historic way (repetition)

Kat Sullivan 2011