Rationale and the Info-graphic
For this project I decided after much thought to go with the Trad Rock band “Skerryvore”, they are a Glasgow based band that are currently on their own record label. I will give a brief history of them, as this is where my research began and shaped the project. The band consisted of two members at the beginning - Martin (bagpipes) and brother, Daniel (accordion). They soon progressed to a 4 man band and later to a 6 man band with the addition of – Fraser (drums), Craig (fiddle), Barry (bass) and Alec (singer and guitar). These additions brought extra instruments and in turn this started to shape the music they band were playing.
The first album consisted of many highland jigs and traditional Scottish music, but later they developed into a band that was making music that rock at its heart. This change made them completely unique, and I felt this was because of the instruments they were using. This is what I decided to base my info – graphic on, the change in the use of instruments throughout their three albums. I set myself a brief that the graphic must be both traditional in its Scotishness but also had a modern (probs not the right word, oh well) twist to it.
I started correlating the information and I want to display this in a meaningful way, I started with bar graphs etc. and then came up with the concept of having all the used instruments for each album incorporated into the image for them. I wanted to simply give the feeling of the instruments involve but not literally show them in a solitary form.
The background I had chosen must be within the constraints of being a traditional Scottish feeling, I went for a sort of blue tartan effect which is not to bold, it fades away against the other colours but shows its relevance. The rest of the colour scheme I have chosen because I wanted to show the development of the albums from traditional to modern through the change in colour. The font choice I had much though put into, I looked at Celtic typefaces but decided to go with a clean sans serif to help in keep with the modern twist on traditional. I have split the syllables up also to add some visual interest into the design.
One thing I made sure I did not do was over-complicate the design, I wanted the graphic to be representative of their music, i.e. not have too many words, or gimmicks. That is why there are simply the three statistics the band name and topic and a small scale showing how the music has progressed.
The shortened rationale of the piece is that it should
· convey the traditional Scottish vibe while keeping modern feel (like there music)
· be bold and simplistic in showing the information in a way that is different (like the band is different)
· include some sort of instrument based imagery
· convey a feeling of the band and how they play there music
Since we all need four comments on our blog by 5pm today and I’ve already done all mine at 1am, please comment away and be nice please…..
First of all,hey what's up
ReplyDeleteOverall I think you went straight to the point with what you wanted to portray.I love the fact that it is simple and easy to understand.
Although I am confused on the part of which album is first or maybe it is shown in the key.
I love the tartan effect. It symbolises that Scottish tradition but I cant clearly see the years on the sides of the key.This could have been brighter because I thought it was part of the tartan background.
It is visually eye catching and I can now understand why you used that type of font.
I love the shapes of the instruments!! They have been brilliantly illustrated and at the same time don't take away the focus from the numbers. It's straight to the point and easy to understand which I like and the only thing I would say is the same thing Kevin pointed out, that the dates on the key tend to blend too much into the background.
ReplyDeleteDuring my 6th year Skerryvore came to my high school to perform while we were learning traditional Scottish dances for our prom. The drummers dad was my old deputy head teacher ! I worked for them at one of their gigs too selling their merchandise so I've seen them perform twice. Their music is very energetic and contagious. I think you have done really well to capture the essence of this band Johnny because the whole point of Skerryvore is making traditional Scottish music relevant. You have achieved this by not making the stereotypical tartan too overbearing. You have really hit a nice balance by still keeping the Scottish influence but modernising it which is exactly what Skerryvore is all about. The data you have chosen to use is very simple which is great because with one glance at your info-graphic it can easily be interpreted. I really love your illustrations of the collective instruments used by the band. Im a bit unsure about your choice to split your header onto 3 lines. Being familiar with the band I read it and instantly knew what it was supposed to say. But I'm not sure if someone who wasn't familiar with band would read it and know especially since skerryvore is quite an unusual name ? Next to your key where you have the album names, the years are a bit unclear. I don't know if thats maybe just the size of the image or the colour of the font. These two critiques are just thoughts and me being picky. Overall I think you have done a great job to not use relevant data but to really communicate the essence of the band. Oh and if you get a chance to go see them perform I would recommend it !
ReplyDeleteI really like the illustrations you have kept them quite abstract and made them into a kind of border for the number. I like it. It is straight to the point and clear. Only thing is the header. I didn't quite get what there name was from that. Unless that is how they promote their name. If that makes sense haha :)
ReplyDeleteSorry i cant work how to comment yet :S
ReplyDeleteI really like how you subtly promoted their individual scotishness through the tartin this comunicates quite well.
Also the font choice is good. However i would just say in my opinion the numbers could be just slightly smaller so the illustrations frame them nicely? Also the leading in the album names could maybe be tighterned just slightly. Thats only me being picky like. Overall i really like it :)
I love the idea, the number of instruments used for each album, i think thats a really unique idea and ties in perfectly with your band. I also like how you've shown Scottishness, especially since the band are about highland jigs and traditional scottish music, i think this is a really good idea as it portrays their style. The way you've displayed the instruments is really clever, and really clear, its all illustrated really well also.
ReplyDeleteGuys! Stop qualifying your useful criticism as 'being picky'. It isn't being picky, it's being helpful. In fact, your comments were so useful, Jokerman didn't hand in THIS poster, but a new one with some of those issues resolved! See, how useful it is to be honest in your advice?!
ReplyDelete