Brand Identity Designer Mark McCorkell » Design Inspiration

Off the wall creativity at Furry Puppet Studio

Mark McCorkell — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 14:25:43 +0000

If you have been following my blog for some time, you may remember my previous article about Furry Puppet Studio. I stumbled upon their website and was amazed by what these guys were creating. Recently, I had an email conversation with Zack Buchman, the Creative Director of Furry Puppet Studio (New York) and he showed me some of their recent work and I was blown away by what these guys were doing, and this all happened inside the time frame of 3 weeks!

The Brooklyn based Furry Puppet Studio has recently been working on a slightly unusual project. Their spunky design team has collaborated with Peco electric company to create a series of electricity eating monsters, helping convince people to rid themselves of their energy guzzlers and trade in for some more efficient wares.

Furry Puppet Studio, headed by Creative Director Zack Buchman and known for their original approach to traditional puppetry, has taken lifeless appliances like a dishwasher, refrigerator and a boring glass window and actually found a way to bring them to life. The end result is a superb combination of creative design and well-executed craftsmanship.

I love this stuff! There are always things you can learn from other creative arts and crafts. So, out of sheer curiosity and intrigue I asked Zack a few questions that I could post here – have a read below at what he said.

Q: How do you find inspiration and develop your ideas for the puppets and everything you guys create?

Answer: “I think I find a lot of my inspiration from the view of a window overlooking the street, or even just a seat in a subway car – New York is brimming with beautiful, memorable characters, and in all manners of shapes, sizes, and colors imaginable. You could probably fill a sketchbook just riding the subway in the morning – and maybe even two sketchbooks if it’s on the weekend when it makes local stops. There definitely isn’t a shortage of source material here.

But as far as style goes, I’ve always been inspired by the pixelated adventure games of the nineties, and, in particular, the brilliant work of artists such as Steve Purcell and Pierre Gilhodes. The designs and characters they have created for those games are just brilliant, full of imagination, innocence and magic – and that is despite the fact that the medium was very primitive and limited in those days.”

Q: What is the creative design process for creating your puppets? Does it start out with sketches and develop on from there?

Answer: “I prefer to use actual, physical materials whenever possible, so yes, most of our characters are born as pencil-drawn, marker-colored sketches. It’s only later on during the creative process that I scan them and finalize the colors and finish on Photoshop.

When I first start on a new character, I’ll do a sort of “free-write” and sketch out any neat ideas that pop into my head. It isn’t until I have a variety of sketches to choose from that I finally distance myself and ask: “What most captures what we are looking for?”
at this stage, I am trying, together with the rest of the creative team, to identify the essence of the character, that core quality we want to preserve as we develop the character further.

It’s this essence that we’ll turn to time and again as we start to construct the physical puppet, which is crucial as there are a number of other considerations to keep in mind at this point as well. For one, the 2-D sketch is now becoming a 3-D foam sculpture, so we have to make sure it makes sense in real space and looks appealing from every angle. We also have to make sure the puppet works practically, and that it allows the puppeteer to show a wide variety of emotions while also maintaining a strong, defined expression.

Another consideration is that we want to make sure the new character fits in with the rest of the cast – the ensemble is really a singular artistic vision, and our new character has to fit in with this vision while still maintaining its own unique dynamic. That’s why it’s so important to understand the essence of the character early on in the development.”

I think all good designers should absorb inspiration from everywhere, and by looking over the fence every once in a while at your neighbours in another side of the creative industry you might just learn something, and find new inspiration that you can translate into your own work.

A few more shots of some of Furry Puppets work:

Where do you find your inspiration from? Or do you have a process for helping you find inspiration?

Turning negatives into positives

Mark McCorkell — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 14:36:54 +0000

If you have ever studied design at College or University, then you will have experienced a design critique. Back when I was studying, we had a few formal critiques per semester, and informal critiques every week between our peers and our design lecturers. These critiques played an important role in the ongoing development of our design projects.

Typically, a critique would involve us walking over to the wall and sticking up a printout (or sketch) of a logo or poster. Then we would step back, and the class would take turns to comment on the work and our lecturer would contribute to the discussion too. It was quite a difficult thing for me to get comfortable with at first because people are basically standing around passing comment on your work, which you may have poured your soul into for a few weeks. Once you get it though, the experience is ultimately a really positive one.

When you are in such a thriving close knit design group it is easy to get immediate feedback on your work. But when you are out of that environment and floating about in the real world for a while you can very easily fall into the trap of working in isolation. I’m not necessarily talking about working on your own – you coud be working in a busy team and still technically be working in design isolation (in my opinion).

What I mean by design isolation is you may not be actively seeking feedback on your work from your design peers. Seeking feedback from a Sales Manager is not the same as seeking feedback from another designer.

Regardless of how skilled and experienced you may be, you can always benefit from getting constructive feedback from other skilled designers.

You may see where I’m going with this now – dribbble. I have been using dribbble lately to get some feedback on logos, and it has always helped me better my work. However, you don’t necessarily need to be using something like dribbble to get feedback, even just asking a few people on twitter or other designers you know to take a peak at something for you can be helpful.

Even if you can’t disclose your work to anyone else due to privacy issues, then you could still work on little fun projects to keep your skills fresh and seek feedback on that work to continue to better yourself.

Recently I was getting feedback on a logo from Graham Smith, and Catherine Azzarello. And when you have the privilege of getting a critique from designers with 25+ years of experience… be smart, and listen. This feedback is the most valuable you can receive. Graham enjoys sharing his wealth of knowledge and experience, and he has just launched The Logo Clinic for designers to submit their logos to him for feedback and advice.

A few of the other designers I regularly receive feedback from are Chris Johnson, Guido Schetters, and Pete Lacey. And my network of designers is continually growing.

Do you value constructive criticism and actively seek feedback on your work?

Evernote: Design Inspiration Scrapbook… accessible anywhere

Mark McCorkell — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:11:42 +0000

At long last, I have finally started making good use of my Evernote account. For those of you unaware of it, Evernote is a service that helps you remember everything. Users can upload audio clips, text notes, photos and other graphic files for storage and easy safe keeping. Initially, I started to engage with Evernote using it as a tool to help me remember stuff, but once I started to use Things app, there was no longer a need for Evernote because Things is the best for that.

However, lately I have started to really engage with Evernote as a Design Inspiration scrapbook. Many other designers also use Evernote this way, because it is actually the best way to use it. If I were a design student again, I would most definitely use Evernote as a project scrapbook to catalog my research. Some designers currently use Evernote to show clients ideas they are brainstorming, and collective research for an ongoing project.

One of the things I really like about Evernote is that you can download any of the images from your scrapbook in the original quality you uploaded them, so it’s like having a virtual folder of beautiful graphics you like. And if you set your scrapbook to be public then you can share it with anyone on the web, which is exactly what I do because I like people being able to see where some of my inspirations come from.

I remember when I was at University I would buy black Daler Rowney scrapbooks and have to sit and cut out my research clippings and glue them into the big black scrapbook, and it really became such a chore after a while (I didn’t revel in it anyway, but some did). Evernote is the easy new digital solution for keeping a scrapbook of things you like, and I use it for things that inspire my designs.

It couldn’t be easier to add to Evernote

Adding new visual goodies to Evernote is easy. There is a web clipper plugin available for both Firefox and Safari, which enables easy clipping of graphics straight into evernote. All you have to do is right click, or CTRL + click (mac) and Add to Evernote, and that’s it. Name it, Tag it, and send it over.

Evernote’s handy desktop app for mac

Once you get the hang of using Evernote you will start to add, tag, and upload more and more graphics, so the desktop app is the best way to manage your media. You can create multiple scrapbooks, and easily move graphics about from one scrapbook to the next by just dragging and dropping.

And in the palm of your hand, Evernote for iPhone

Evernote for iPhone is a very handy little app for viewing your scrapbooks in the palm of your hand. The app does enable users to record audio messages, and take photos to upload straight to Evernote, but I don’t use it for that. I only really use the iPhone app for easy access to all those beautiful pieces of artwork I have stored online. If I want to show something to someone I’m with, then I just open my Evernote app, view my notes, tap on the note, and there you go… full access to a design scrapbook on the go, anywhere.

Designer Vs Client Typographic Poster Designs

Mark McCorkell — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:48:02 +0000

Following on from my previous article, these typographic posters were inspired by the Designer-Client relationship. These posters are motivational based (well, except the first one), as opposed to my previous designs that had undertones of sarcasm.

I think that every Designer has some responsibility to educate clients. If you have spent years learning a profession, then be assertive, and if you are asked to do something that you know is wrong… then take the time to teach the client about the right way. If they don’t go for it (which often happens)… then at least you still done your job right.

Enjoy the posters, and as always… feedback welcome!

Web Inspired Typographic Poster Designs

Mark McCorkell — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:45:49 +0000

When an artist has something to say… they paint, and similarly, when a writer has something to say… they write. So I figured I’d design some funky typographic posters based around current inspirations and hot topics on the web that are relevant to me and what I’m doing at the moment. These designs were inspired Sam Brown’s blog articles.

Illustration by Kotryna Zukauskaite

Mark McCorkell — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:15:23 +0000

Last week I was fortunate enough to stumble upon Kotryna Zukauskaite, a Lithuanian born student of Illustration and Animation at Kingston University, London. Kotryna emailed me directly expressing a sincere appreciation of my blog, and asked if I would be interested in sharing some of her work on my blog.

After taking a look at Kotryna’s portfolio, I was both flattered, and delighted to inform her that I would have no hesitation whatsoever in sharing some of her wonderful work on my site. I think there is a real creative originality with Kotryna’s work and pretty different to a lot of work I have seen from other current Illustrators, which I think has a lot to do with Kotryna being from a more Eastern European influenced background.

“I would describe my style or at least direction to the side of non-character based illustration based on basic shapes, bright colours, abstraction, a little bit of 3d stuff in some cases.” Kotryna Zukauskaite

Kotryna’s influences include, Johnny Kelly, Sean Pecknold and Russian Futurists. I have previously posted about Johnny Kelly’s work, and there are clear parallels between Kotryna’s work and Johnny Kelly’s work, but I can safely say I prefer Kotryna’s – her work has a much more off the wall vibe to it.

“I am particularly interested in fashion illustration, statistics/data illustration and any genre that could be designed using basic-shapes based collage/montage style. But having said that, I am trying to go forward and not to stick to that kind of direction only.” Kotryna Zukauskaite

With so many pieces of beautiful artwork to choose from in Kotryna’s online portfolio, I just picked out some of my favourites to share with you all – check them out below, and if you would like to see more of Kotryna’s work, visit her website here.

And a few more

Beautiful Art & Illustration by Shadow Chen

Mark McCorkell — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:08:18 +0000

Being a following of artist Chuck Anderson on Twitter @nopattern has a few benefits, one of which is the chance to discover new artists and illustrators that Chuck often tweets about. Recently Chuck tweeted about Shadow Chen, a very talented Chinese-born artist and illustrator that he may be collaborating with soon.

Upon arrival on Shadow Chen’s website you’ll find yourself engaging with a beautiful animated website, and when you experiment and explore further you’ll discover the residing stunning artwork by Shadow Chen. Impressed and inspired I then took a digital dander over to check out more of Shadow Chen’s work on Flickr, which didn’t disappoint. Below are some of my favourites – and if you like any of this work then check out Shadow Chen’s website, and additional artwork on Flickr.

Vasava Artwork for 55DSL / Adidas Originals

Mark McCorkell — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:19:41 +0000

In a nutshell… this is where fashion meets art. I would regularly blog about Vasava’s work simply because it is that good. Vasava are a high-end design studio based in Barcelona and they handle a variety of illustrious clients, one of which is 55DSL.

55DSL collaborated with Adidas on a new pair of funk’d up sneakers (as they call them), and this was the artwork for the campaign to promote the launch of the sneakers. 55DSL are currently celebrating their 15th year, so all the artwork for the campaign was 90′s inspired – I love it!

They produced some awesome artwork, and a really cool video which you can check out on the 55DSL website here.

NoPattern’s Artwork for Chicago Marathon 2009

Mark McCorkell — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:22:27 +0000

Following on from my previous post about Chuck Anderson, and his awesome new work just released, this is Chuck’s artwork for the Chicago Marathon 2009. Chuck created these illustrations from a hand made shoe print – he truly is one of those creative talents that can create art from anything. These are beautiful illustrations, and easily my favourite work of Chuck’s so far.

Microsoft Windows 7 Artwork by Chuck Anderson

Mark McCorkell — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:11:58 +0000

I received my NoPattern Email Newsletter on Wednesday and read of some awesome new work by none other than Chuck Anderson. It appears Chuck has indeed been a busy boy. His recent projects include the artwork for Microsoft Windows 7… and clients don’t get much bigger than Microsoft. Other works includes Chicago Marathon 2009 and Solace Magazine.

I am certainly not the biggest Windows fan, but I always love seeing beautiful designs like these, and this is a really fresh new look for Windows. Check out more of Chuck’s work at NoPattern.com and follow him on Twitter @nopattern.