#GoHomo

As a creative grad, I naturally filled out countless copy tests/applications that featured pretty oddball questions. One of which asked to create a campaign to convince a straight person to be gay.

Challenge accepted.

I created #GoHomo, a campaign that focuses on the advantages of same-sex relationships over mixed, spun toward promoting respect - and a degree of desirability - for gay and lesbian people on behalf of the charity Stonewall. Taking inspiration from the popular slang term "no homo" (meaning "not in a gay way"), #GoHomo is a positive declaration of what people would "go gay for".

By cheekily uniting genders in a battle of the sexes, the campaign calls for people to Tweet their responses of what they would #GoHomo for - whether it be the drawbacks of the opposite sex or the benefits of same sex. The approach unifies gay and straight men as well as lesbian and straight women (typically the pairings which can clash) rather than further alienating sexualities by highlighting differences.

a first, an end and the future.

A lot has happened since I last updated this.

Primarily, uni has now finished. It was a sprint to the finish line, bringing prolonged stress and ended with back to back all-nighters. I didn't manage to finish everything, but my expectations within the limits probably weren't all too realistic. Before handing in coursework, we had to prepare and mount our degree show as part of assessment...which brought it's own trials and tribulations.

All the hard work paid off though as I graduated with first class honours. A relief to say the least, and an incredible feeling to achieve what I set out for from the beginning.

Degree show and D&AD's New Blood exhibition in London followed. The former was somewhat of an anti-climax, probably because of the collective exhaustion post hand-in. Didn't particularly like my space in the end either. Some brilliant work was exhibited though and I think Communication Design really pulled it out the bag. It certainly seemed to be the visitor favourite.

The latter began a matter of days after the degree show ended - no rest for the wicked - and a group of 19 of us made our way down. I have mixed feelings about my experience of New Blood. I think it's a useful event with brilliant opportunities, however you can't escape the university favouritism/snobbery. It quickly became a running joke (thinly veiling frustration) when we saw visitors look at our university label and move on without really acknowledging any of the work. It was also a harsh reminder of how much time, effort and money universities put into the stands, all with experienced guidance from tutors. We, unfortunately, had the funding cut and tutors with, er, limited investment. Underdogs we may have been, but we pulled it off and quite a few of us were approached. Didn't help that I had a bad case of the flu in the latter days of the trip which knocked me out of the game. Typical. Although, great times had with the course mates and some agency offers acted as a thick silver lining.

Graduation took place last week and it was a somewhat surreal experience. That was the definitive end to an era, but didn't feel like a goodbye. Silly hats and gowns distracted the emotions, I guess. Too concerned about falling over on stage for reality to kick in. My three remaining grandparents attended the ceremony as my parents couldn't be there (one deceased, one...holidaying) and a nice day was had.

So that's that. The line has been drawn under university and I'm sorting out my next move(s). Currently back at BMB in London for a few weeks, and beyond that - who knows. Playing it by ear.

Still updating my website with work from this year, but most of it is up:

www.johncheatleosborne.co.uk

Over and out.

the fear.

Just less than a month to go before everything has to be finished, handed in, degree show set up and uni is over. Expletive. Whilst I would definitely say the pressure has been on these past few weeks, I don't think "THE FEAR" will kick in until I walk into the first year hall, the venue of our degree show and the last hurdle. Or maybe it'll be tomorrow with a meeting that'll run through the protocol of the coming weeks.

Anyway, enough of that. One of my recent projects was a Levi's campaign. It kind of split itself into two directions; one a typographic experiment using the lasercutter and denim, the other a more commercial translation. This is one of the results:

Originally intended to be a clean, bright design etched into denim, it developed into a grungy, worn piece of typography which I actually think fits the context better. It looks 'lived out', achieved by distressing the  lasercut surface of the text.

stop motion animations.

Ok, so I thought I'd take a wee trip down memory lane and post some animation work I've done over the past few years at university that don't get to see the light of day on my website.

First up is an interpretation of Baz Luhrman's "Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen" film, adapted from Mary Schmich's essay of the same name, created by myself and classmate Amber in our 3rd year (January 2011):

We decided to be ambitious and effectively do triple the required running time and include the entire essay. We used ink and black and white images to form the content, and over 5 rolls of wallpaper to achieve the continuous illustration. Nailing the pace of the visuals to the words was a nightmare, let alone the physicality of making said visuals and trying to keep it as consistent and level as possible. I cringe looking at the mistakes and inconsistencies now, but it was an invaluable learning experience that paid off in the end. Plus, 6,300+ views isn't bad.

This was my first experience with stop-motion animation, made in 2nd year (March 2010):

The brief was to visualise our given 30 second audio clip. I got Tchaikovsky's "Chinese Dance" from The Nutcracker. To me it sounded like tiptoeing, which conjured up a narrative of sneaking back home after a night out. I wanted to contrast the delicate ballet score with dance beats of nightlife, so opted for Owl City's "Hello Seattle [Remix]". Stylistically, inspired by the song title I looked at Chinese shadow puppet theatre which led to the animation taking place on an light-box with paper and assorted other material creating the scenery, props and characters. "Chinese Dance" is also known as "Tea", so there's a playful reference in the characters tea-leaf vomit. Classy.

Again, filled with cringe at the execution now, but I think it was a successful first attempt all things considered.

YCN heinz salad cream brief.

For this (YCN) brief, the challenge was to advertise Heinz Salad Cream to young adults (whilst still appealing to those older and younger), a demographic who may have loved it in childhood but have since distanced themselves in favour of mayonnaise, BBQ sauce and tomato ketchup.

My response was to highlight the versatility of Salad Cream, whilst increasing awareness of the product itself. The outcome is a series of print ads, visualising Heinz Salad Cream as a constant within an equation whilst the foods shown are interchangeable. Whether used as a healthier substitute for mayonnaise, a dipping sauce, sandwich spread or dressing: Heinz Salad Cream is the condiment that can compliment it. The tagline is a spin on Mary Poppin's iconic "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down", which intends to be a light hearted play on the Salad Cream as the "sugar" that can make anything taste better - even, perhaps, the "medicine" of vegetables.

The imagery is slick, fresh, contemporary and vibrant, yet also presents a natural, rustic and homely visual that retains focus on the food itself. It not only connotes summer picnics, barbecues and time spent in the kitchen, but also appeals to those who are more conscious of - and value - a healthier and more natural option.

d&ad little white lies - black swan.

So, one of my 83746783 odd projects this semester was D&AD's illustration brief which challenged us to pick one of Little White Lies' favourite films of 2011 and (re)design a cover for their magazine. This was the result:

It went in several directions, but this was the route I was most happy with. I think I may use one of the other concepts for my minimal movie poster series (well, two posters).

This idea is pretty self explanatory, it's a visualisation of the conflict between light and dark, white and black, reality and fantasy, and innocence and corruption, that are explored throughout the film.

interim show + current/future projects.

This week saw Stage 4 Communication Design exhibit our Interim Show, an opportunity for the external examiner to get a glimpse of our work and to speak with us ahead of our final submission and degree show in June (!).

Didn't get much of an opportunity to properly look at everyone's display (it was only up for a few days) but there was some great stuff. I felt it was pulled out of the bag, and Vis/Com shone in particular. Well, naturally.

I chose to display a selection of concept development from my self-initiated brief to create a print media campaign that promotes and strengthens the relationship Orange has with film (through 'Orange Wednesdays' which offers 2-for-1 cinema tickets, 'Film To Go' that provides a free film rental on iTunes every Thursday, and sponsoring the BAFTA's). My solution was an all-encompassing and to-the-point idea: "See Film Through Us". The copy led to exploring various methods of visualising the concept, ranging from literal to more abstract, including experimentation of opacity both digitally and through tactile material.

At the moment the project is evolving into a different and - I think - more effective direction, but is somewhat being put on the back burner for now as D&AD and YCN deadlines loom closer (March!). I've undertaken two briefs from the former; to illustrate a Little White Lies cover for the film Black Swan, and create a 21st century whisky brand for Design Bridge that defies tradition and appeals to the typically elusive international female market. As for YCN, the briefs I've begun working on include; creating a campaign to encourage the young to like Heinz Salad Cream again, another campaign to promote The Independent's 'i' supplement to students, re-design the Graze packaging, and if I have time I'd like to work on a campaign for Feel Good Drinks too.

I have ideas in place for all of the above, it's now simply a case of implementing them. Shall certainly be a challenge, but I like to push myself and I want to get used to more intense, quick turnarounds that'll be standard in industry. March to June isn't going to be any more relaxed either, with the further projects planned (including Levi's and Pretty Polly) in addition to finishing off anything else if required.

Oh, there's also the Creative Star Student Awards which I need to get on with.

All systems go.

auf wiedersehen, dissertation.

So, that's that done then. 8318 words and 25% of my degree has now been submitted.

Hasn't quite sunk in that something that elicited so much fear and stress over the years, is not only done, but was relatively painless.

After faffing around for a while, I settled on; "Branding culture: How we claim our identity through commercial media", an exploration of what it means to be a product of our environment in todays culture. I delved into how we individually identify and aspire to obtain/allude ideals through surrounding ourselves with specific brands. I investigated the visual messages presented through; celebrity endorsement (Run-DMC's relationship with Adidas), product placement (Apple and Starbucks omnipresence within media), conventional advertising ("I'm a Mac/I'm a PC") and further brand personification (Betty Crocker and Aunt Jemima), and also explored how commercial media can dictate cultural identity as a whole using Coca-Cola's rebranding of Santa Claus and Christmas as a definitive example (Coke popularised and standardised the image of Santa as a fat, jolly man with a white beard and red coat through their advertising. Beforehand Santa Claus/Father Christmas/St. Nick/Kris Kringle etc. differed between cultures).

What I enjoyed in particular with this topic was the scope of research on the "why?". There's a frustrated sociological psychologist of some sort inside me begging to be free, apparently. Who knew? Whether it be our ongoing "quest for cool", the primitive desire for inclusion/recognition from our "tribes", or social conditioning in the vein of Pavlov's Dog where brands have trained us to salivate on command for their products; it's all interesting.

Now we can draw a line under all that. Got my semester one work back too, so all systems go on the next chapter, I suppose. This one is going to be brutal. The last hurdle.