Graphic Journey Blog

All You Need is Love, da, da, da da, da

To all the people I ever loved. And to those who loved me back.

Speak up!

Many spend an inordinate amount of time working-out in gyms hoping for that perfect waist, six pack, thighs and pecks. But I bet few ever bother to think about excising one of our greatest assets. The voice.

When you think about it, a large part of what we graphic designers do involves verbally communicating our thoughts and ideas to clients. Our voice is directly connected to our emotions. I’m sure you can detect the mood of a friend within seconds, when chatting over the phone

 I became interested in the voice around the age of ten. I was an avid radio listener (still am). Plays and comedy shows painted pictures of the characters through the different voices. The sound; tamber, intonation and accent all fascinated me. I became quite good at imitating a whole range of accents, including the teachers at my school. This interest has stayed with me. 

Around the age of thirteen or fourteen, and living as I did in a working class area, I became acutely aware of how people were judge by their accents – at that time, and we are talking the late 50s, it was a rarity to hear anything other than a RP (received pronunciation) accents on the BBC. Anyone speaking with regional or cockney accents were considered thick or country bumpkins.

         An awareness of the voice as a useful instrument in our armory of persuasion, should not be under estimated. Clarity, articulation, tone and flow are important ingredients in achieving an effective use of this fantastic instrument that we all possess. But like anything else, it needs understanding, practice and exercise to use it effectively. The number of times that I have listened and watched designers presenting their work - and often very good work too - only to be totally underwhelming because of their inarticulate mumblings. Don’t let it happen. We all have the most wonderful gift in the potential of our voice. Nurture it. Exercise it. Use it. Record your voice and play it back? It is very revealing. 

I find it so uninspiring listening to people with dull monotonous voices. Just as I loath the over blown way that many broadcaster use their voices. American reporters and newscasters being the worst culprits. Take this example. The bizzar and random emphasis on individual words making the speaker sound completely loopy. A British example of this potty broadcast style of speaking is the BBC’s business correspondent, Robert Peston. His intonation is quite extraordinary. If SOMEone were TO speak to y0000u LIIIIKKKKE this with THEIR voice going up annnnd DOWN, emphasising WORDS in ALL the wrongggg PLACES you would think THEY had A screw loose. Tune into the BBC Radio 4 Today programme and judge for yourself.

        One on the best exponents of delivering a beautiful conversational style of speech was the late Alistair Cook. Beautiful and simple.  John Hurt making an appeal does it without any verbal histrionics. Like all simple things, they are the  most difficult to achieve. 

So think about your (possibly)  hidden asset. Are you using it to its full potential?

 

 

 

 

R&R

A slow and relaxing day yesterday. I was doing this...

Yes, they are my feet, Not a pretty sight I know. But here is one - pretty that is.

Eat your heart out Andy Goldsworthy. And talking of all things pretty, I was strolling through Covert Garden on Friday and spied these shop windows...

These ribbons, for no apparent reason, in the Free Mason's Regalia shop...

And these two at Paul Smith, announcing a sale.

Even the credit crunch has hit him. (well, almost).

I'd like to introduce Sam Serif. (he's the grey one).

He has been appearing in my sketch book for some time and now wants to 'come out', so here he is. You'll be seeing a lot more of him, and his typographical world, over the coming months.

Natural beauty.

I live part of the time the country, just a short walk from the sea. My local beach is, more often than not, deserted (I’m not telling you where it is).

Sometimes I stroll down and sit on the beach, look out to sea and think – the sound of the ocean has a very therapeutic effect. Often I fiddle with the flotsam and jetsam thrown up by the tide or rearrange the stones that I find around me. It’s very calming and the outcomes can be surprisingly beautiful. Here is one I made earlier.

And the inspiration from these meanderings work their way into my paintings – like this one.

You only have to take the trouble to look. It’s all free and waiting to inspire.