Dr. Marlen Wesctott

Designing/branding/package for a new beer my friend Jessica Rogers and I created called Dr. Marlen Westcott's.

Stop the Motioning

Here's a short stop motion I did for my expressive typography class last semester. The Background is a large format print of a photo I shot while on a mini road trip with a friend (shot with my D80 - 17-85mm lens.. nothing fancy). I used cut card stock for the type and cut a buffalo out of a national geographic (thanks ocad library!). The 'water' is the words 'mississipi river' printed on blue cardstock in various faces, cut out in strips. The eyes were illustrations/hand rendered type I scanned and brought into InDesign where I then layed out the various stages of movement. I printed them on newsprint and cut out each one. Set up my tripod over the photo and after many squats this is what I ended up with. Enjoy!

Buffalo - Mountain Man from Sarah Rafter on Vimeo.

Coffee Essentials

Did some coffee illustrations for Acquired Taste last week. Fooled around with a few variations. Enjoy.

Thesis Proposal Booklet

With the advancement of technology, designers are becoming more and more reliant on it to create their designs. With technical perfection easily attained, we are bombarded every day by perfect type, clear images, and simple minimalist designs. As part of a newer generation of designers, I feel we have no appreciation for the painstaking ways designers worked in the past; we’re accustomed to the immediacy of designing on a computer. Rapid production and limitless design solutions can blur the creative process and final creation. How is it that a profession so rich in history has in the past few decades entirely abandoned any sort of historical reference in its works? I propose a look back at the history of design and creating new designs that usurp not simply the technology that is available to us today, but also processes long left alone or forgotten. In the spirit of the Arts & Crafts movement, I would also like to advocate a ‘truth to materials’ and traditional craftsmanship. I will be designing as a reaction against the styles that have developed out of contemporary machine-production. William Morris used a press to create his books and in that same spirit I don’t plan on abandoning the use of any sort of technology, rather, I will use it to enhance the methods used in antiquity. I would like to look back at the history of the trade and revive the designer as artist. With a nod to contemporary DIY movements, I want to demonstrate true craftsmanship within my designs. I want to elevate the status of contemporary designers. In doing so I hope to also shift the perception of new media and technology by using it more as an expressive artistic medium instead of simply a tool or means to an end.

bread.

Jessica's hand writing.

Illustrations by yours truly.

Jessica and I created these lovely little bread packages for a make-belief brand "bread".