In my shoes......(P)

Have had another idea for Photography brief!

My shoes.....Put yourself in my shoes.... what path does my life take.....where have they been?

Doing this course I have researched a lot....finding and losing myself, but also finding others views and inspiration.... I have during this course been battling with a condition called GAD... which is basically over thinking or worrying about everything and anything. It does effect my everyday living but because I've always had it, I'm only now acknowledging that it is part of me! After years of suffering in silence I'm accepting that it can either continue to have a negative effect on me (panic attacks, anxiety, fear) or I can use my somewhat different view to bring new positives to my world (precise thinking, knowledge, growth)  Spring is in the air and the seed of positive thinking has been planted... Lets turn and mix this around!




Research and Influencing Ideas I've seen this last year


SANE the black dog...                   


At Borders College theThe Black Dog statue, named Watt-Woof and only the second of its kind in Scotland, is a permanent demonstration of Heriot-Watt’s support of the aims of the SANE Black Dog Campaign. http://www.sane.org.uk/what_we_do/black_dog/

The W.H.O.(World Health Organisation) predicts that by 2030, depression will be the world’s most disabling condition. Yet despite being so common, there is still a great deal of stigma attached to depression which discourages people from speaking openly about it and seeking treatment.

I think that all this awareness of mental health is important nowadays. However, its also very sad that so many people are effected by it.
Changes in society, over working and over population all are factors that could be looked at...the very pressure we all give ourselves to succeed or achieve one a day to day basis.



Another thing I found on campus was posters about sexual identity.... Modern Day living seems to me very complicated for the people going through it... Sexual identity is how one thinks of oneself in terms of to whom one is romantically or sexually attracted.  Another example of how acceptance of ones self could bring mental health issues for many...Some living in silence.......While I cant relate to this I can understand the same importance of accepting or the anxiety of speaking out to family or friends. This could be hard, overlooked or silenced...

Light and Shade

notice my shadow behind 

Coming out into the light or hiding in the shadows.... I would like to capture my life and include light and shade.....Like the sun coming into a room...as simple as possible but a journey all the same...

To start this off I'm just going to take a pair of my old converse shoes everywhere..... Then snap them at random points in my day......

I've had these shoes for at least 12 yrs...old used but still in style a bit like me haha

I feel because the brief is so open to anything, I have to design some kind of plan.....So I think my shoes will be the main feature! Anything else with be either something simple and opportunist or something important with a hidden personal reason.  I've already had ideas on my own self and I feel that could be a good way of expressing myself or issues that others may relate to.

past blogs......

Photography Brief (P) I was asking questions of myself

in another I looked at a pair of working mans boots..... I guess a photo I'd happen to take as I thought they looked like life.....a hard life...or real life.....

first photo without edits

a lighter more fashion type look

maybe a more dark brutal feel....

I later did some edits to see if it changed the view or feel of them....

an earthy tone softer

I guess I do like the original and for me it gave me a feeling of natural working life..If I'd taken more time to view and look at it, I could of got a better image again. While it doesn't need edits I do like the different feel an edit can create.

mine and my childrens shoes

I've realised that while the meaning behind a photo is maybe important as a selling purpose or something of a personal meaning, a good photo doesn't have to have a real story or meaning at all. 

All I have to do is see what happens and enjoy the learning! 

Maybe I'll find something 

Maybe I won't!

The Final Juice Bar

The Final

So today I started the 10 hour exam....I felt positive from the beginning of this exam because of all the research and effort I'd already but in. 

Out of all the assessments this one so far as been the most fun. The theme Tutti Frutti gave me a good starting point for colours (pinks, oranges, yellows and white). Next looking at different fruits and textures gave me ideas and set my senses wild with smell and taste. I felt I wanted to bring all of this out in my design...Note my workings in my book!

so after doing the counter idea I began to use colour and the pictures I'd taken to add a sense of fun. I wanted to keep in fresh and light while being visually distinctive like the brief had stated...

here you can see I used yellow and pink horizontally to catch your eye but to keep the fresh white. I then stuck photos on silver frames..The silver reflects the light and colours. 

 For one wall I made a menu frame....I wanted it to be able to be changed easily. This I thought would be a good idea because of the seasonal fruits that may change in price or quantity! Special Offers etc....... I used free hand writing as I feel that its a popular modern way of doing menu's. It brings a somewhat organic feel to things!

The outside of the shop for me was important.... I always wanted an open door plan...So customers can call in quickly without having to try and open doors when hands are full of shopping. I really did try and think of the shoppers and customers needs as well as the clients brief. 

The 3D style smoothie cup looks fun and funky. Maybe I'm old but dare I say it looks rather COOL....Or cool is maybe old fashioned, so as the kids say nowadays AWESOME! 

An that's what we what....Kids...Kids to bring the parents in...Parents then feel good cos kids getting part of they 5 a day fruit..... everyone wins.  Then also using the colours to bring in the health and well-being types, the in need of a pick me ups. or the I need to feel good I've put on weight types...Husbands wanting to escape the shops etc... Using typography to bring a fresh and healthy feel into the bar....I used colours to make it appealing to everyone....as close to tacky as possible with a sense of class and fun... 

Maybe a free wifi spot would be a good idea to bring numbers in also!

For the sign I would have Neon Lighting but this was the best way I could create the effect

From the outside you can see how bright and reflective it looks..fresh

I have sprayed the bananas and lemon for the seating designs.




The lighting I decided on was spot lighting and strip lighting........ I felt this would give good light and help make the room bright. Also could use different colours in places to change the mood.

spot lighting example notice how the lighting can be aimed at certain areas to highlight or add colour

I took some foam board and measured out the places the light would go. I then basically stuck a 6" nail through it and sprayed some hole strenghting spots onto every space to add effect. I put organza strip of white/silver to show strip lights. so you'd get the idea.

lighting example

 I had put the acetate on the light box when trying examples for a logo design...I then used editing to create different effects.

 these tests did help me get the end results...by trying mixing colours together and overlapping.....

End result being the straw and splashes of the Tutti Frutti sign.

I feel this is working out well and my ideas have finally came together..... From start to finish I really did try not to make the mistakes from previous assessments, like over thinking and over working an idea.  I kept looking at what was expected of the designer and referencing the brief..
The research I looked at like Jeff Koons, Christine Boland, Zaha Hadid, Formkind, Banksy and Olafur Elisson have brought me some fantanstic ideas and I know I will use these artists again over time. (see book)

I did find the fact that they was no constraints and the Juice Bar could be as wacky or as plain as I wanted it was difficult....as long as I kept it fun fresh with a taste of a healthy lifestyle incorporated. I had to quickly decide what I did want and for me this wasn't easy. I like to know....No I need to  know as I like it to be precise and know exact details.... I like detail and its a strong backbone...I feel I work better with fact and I would of like scale and measurements etc.... The very fact it was up to me was in a way difficult. Which for many it would of been the other way around! 
I have learnt that I cant control everything doing this plan and it has helped me realise I'm maybe a little uptight and should relax more and have fun with details.... Some of the best pieces of this brief have come about without really trying.

The photos I took of the fruit I was also pleased with...I'm glad I could use them in my final design.  Something I never set out to do at the beginning..... (at the beginning I wanted effect and lighting but Ive achieved this without all the pyrotechnics) Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best..

I also found the editing fun, using the negative edit and changing the hue and enhancing, high lighting etc

I do need however to dare to go into the world of computers and use things like photoshop etc. I feel this would help me achieve better results overall...But I also enjoy being old school and taking the time to play around with ideas.

For the form and function part I did think about the staff and the space needed for storage... working next to one another and how easily cleaning the areas would be.  The back room was something I felt was important thing to note and show.  I'm not sure how important a customer toilet is as they are toilets set out all over a shopping mall and feel that this isn't for me to worry about..Again didn't state!I did think of the customers coming and gong easily but also without being able to sit and relax to long...Shopping Mall get alot of youths in groups and wouldn't want them to sit for hours without buying... so feel sitting area would suit this idea.

The flooring I looked at B&Q....at a cost £24.08 covering 1.72 sq.m...... I picked white distressed oak effect... it did state it was suitable for all things being splash proof, underfloor heating, and all areas of a house....Not sure how good for a busy retail retail outlet... Im happy as an overall idea thought....

Here are some images from my book. I loved all the colour and how packed it is. The variety and fun of it all.

Going to try and work on my mood board now and write my overall thoughts in my book. But you can see my results this far..

mood board so far

Photography Brief (P)

Decided to stop and look at what was being asked of me again. I can sometimes think of ideas and they don't have any relevance to the project I'm doing! Trying to review my work every so often!


This morning I was in library thinking of who or which Photographer or field of Photography I could look at and analyse.




The book YOUR WORLD I found interesting. This is because the book was a entry publication of photographs of peoples world. It contained only 214 images out of the 32,000 entries over 144 countries. (can u imagine viewing and choosing each one).  The images are all different and cover different subject matters. Most environmental and individual view of the world for them.

These are some of the images from the book and you can see the different range of subjects.......I did like environmental issues and did think of the waste I see everyday in my world. However I didn't have a connection with that and I'd like it more personal for my own self......


So I thought about the texture and pattern of some of the interesting things I see..... Like construction and working life..........


Or my own path of learning this far.....




 I played around with some wire while going over ideas in my mind....


 Notice the others like who and me are together as one piece of wire but the self is broken  BROKEN self! Boo Hoo I hear you saying haha poor me... But this is somewhat nice to acknowledge about the last year of my life. The changes I've make in doing this course are unreal....A journey of learning and knowledge, My self.....I do feel that I'm truly finding part of my self that knows I've always been more.....My new view of my surroundings and world. Then the other part of my life as a mother and daughter sister and cousin etc! Keeping it together and managing it all.....
 I sometimes look at a distorted view or my life and the person I am and how the world see me.......


I don't like looking at my own self in the mirror. What I'm I avoiding?









We live in stressful times and everyone is in they own little bubbles.... plodding along and I wonder how many of us actually do know ones own self. Is it just the camera that can lie? Are we capable of editing ourselves as easy as we do a photo! What do I really care about? My Views?





Should probably write that with these photos I when to my Google photos and edited the negative and hue..... I could use this self with wire as an example of neon lighting for my Tutti Frutti Juice Bar......

photography brief