Part 2: Writing a Brief
The purpose of this exercise is to take a piece of work by an illustrator whos work I'm drawn to, and then reverse-engineer a brief for the chosen illustration.
I've asked myself a series of questions to help me analyse and study the image in a little more detail:
What is happening in the illustration?
Wild overgrown late spring/summer foliage in the background. In the foreground, what looks to be chive just starting to sprout out.
What is the image is trying to say?
The image is trying to say that life is overflowing and abundant. That plants blossom, grow and come into flower in spring and into summer. That the natural world is vital and abundant,
Who is it speaking to?
It is speaking directly to the target audience of the book, The book is all about the natural cycles of the year and eco/permaculture principles of enjoying and respecting nature. Anyone looking at this cover - who is interested in nature and plants - may feel drawn to it.
What is the purpose of the image?
The foliage and plant look robust and rather "wild". This seems to tie up with the title of the book.
What is the visual style of the image?
A curious mix of pure drawn image, and a digital gradient colour fill over a drawn image. I like the way that the colour digital enhancement has added a lot of interest to the drawn image, and made the chive drawing a focal point.
I will now try to formulate the brief based on the cover and my reflections above.
To illustrate the front cover of Letting in the Wild Edges written by Glennie Kindred.
Publisher:
Permanent Publications, Hampshire, England.
Purpose of the illustration:
The illustration should enhance and reflect the reader's appreciate of the natural world. The book is a celebration of the earth's energy and potency, and the artwork produced must visually represent this.
The title of the book is reflective of the content, in that the reader will be encouraged to promote wild gardening and to appreciate biodiversity. The artist should visually explore these themes, and there must be an association to the book title in the final artwork.
Target Audience:
The book is aimed at eco-aware readers and gardeners who want to explore biodiversity. The target reader will have an affinity with the natural world and the cycles of the seasons.
Mandatory content:
The illustration artwork must include plants, trees or foliage. It must be obvious that this book has a significant amount of content about plants, and the use of plants and wildflowers.
Restrictions:
1. It it important for the artist must be aware that the typesetter will need to place two large text items on top of the illustration, "Glennie Kindred" and "Letting in the Wild Edges". The positioning of these text items is variable (depending on the exact artwork produced).
2. The artwork must have colour. Final artwork cannot be a greyscale, tonal pencil or monochrome.
Reproduction details:
The illustration will be reproduced for the paperback front cover measuring exactly 17.2 cm x 24cm.
Artwork must conform to exactly this aspect ratio without need for cropping or resizing.
The front cover will be printed in full colour.
I found this task to be surprisingly challenging. Analysing the illustration and reflecting on it was engaging and straightforward. However, producing the brief itself is where I felt out of my comfort zone. I was especially unsure of the style of language and specific in a professional illustration/artistic brief. A quick review of creative briefs online show a wide variety of styles and content. I strongly suspect that this is the norm. However, in producing the detail in the brief above I hope I've used my common sense, and the headings are fairly reflective of current commercial briefs and their typical content.
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The choice I have made is the front cover of Glennie Kindred's Letting in the Wild Edges. The illustration on the front cover, and throughout the book, is created by Glennie herself.
I'm drawn to her illustrations because of their beautiful portrayal of the natural world. She seems to capture the mystery and splender of nature and our place within it. The cover is below:
I'm drawn to her illustrations because of their beautiful portrayal of the natural world. She seems to capture the mystery and splender of nature and our place within it. The cover is below:
I've asked myself a series of questions to help me analyse and study the image in a little more detail:
Wild overgrown late spring/summer foliage in the background. In the foreground, what looks to be chive just starting to sprout out.
What is the image is trying to say?
The image is trying to say that life is overflowing and abundant. That plants blossom, grow and come into flower in spring and into summer. That the natural world is vital and abundant,
Who is it speaking to?
It is speaking directly to the target audience of the book, The book is all about the natural cycles of the year and eco/permaculture principles of enjoying and respecting nature. Anyone looking at this cover - who is interested in nature and plants - may feel drawn to it.
What is the purpose of the image?
The foliage and plant look robust and rather "wild". This seems to tie up with the title of the book.
What is the visual style of the image?
A curious mix of pure drawn image, and a digital gradient colour fill over a drawn image. I like the way that the colour digital enhancement has added a lot of interest to the drawn image, and made the chive drawing a focal point.
I will now try to formulate the brief based on the cover and my reflections above.
- - -
Brief:
Purpose of the creative brief:To illustrate the front cover of Letting in the Wild Edges written by Glennie Kindred.
Permanent Publications, Hampshire, England.
Purpose of the illustration:
The illustration should enhance and reflect the reader's appreciate of the natural world. The book is a celebration of the earth's energy and potency, and the artwork produced must visually represent this.
The title of the book is reflective of the content, in that the reader will be encouraged to promote wild gardening and to appreciate biodiversity. The artist should visually explore these themes, and there must be an association to the book title in the final artwork.
Target Audience:
The book is aimed at eco-aware readers and gardeners who want to explore biodiversity. The target reader will have an affinity with the natural world and the cycles of the seasons.
Mandatory content:
The illustration artwork must include plants, trees or foliage. It must be obvious that this book has a significant amount of content about plants, and the use of plants and wildflowers.
Restrictions:
1. It it important for the artist must be aware that the typesetter will need to place two large text items on top of the illustration, "Glennie Kindred" and "Letting in the Wild Edges". The positioning of these text items is variable (depending on the exact artwork produced).
2. The artwork must have colour. Final artwork cannot be a greyscale, tonal pencil or monochrome.
Reproduction details:
The illustration will be reproduced for the paperback front cover measuring exactly 17.2 cm x 24cm.
Artwork must conform to exactly this aspect ratio without need for cropping or resizing.
The front cover will be printed in full colour.
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