Work in progress. Coming soon.

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About

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Matt (Woody) Woodman [MISTD], L3 BA(Hons) Graphic Designer, at UWE Bristol
Matt is a passionate, adept and dedicated multi-disciplinary graphic designer with a technical prowess for typography and editorial, implemented across both print and digital media.

An awarded member of the International Society of Typographic Designers and true perfectionist he lingers on detail always looking to rationalise and contextualise communication and the applications of design.
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Principled, community minded and morally aware Matt believes that graphic design should be used with integrity as a tool to impart positive social change, influence behaviour, empower individuals and instigate dramatic and direct change in everyday life. Fuelled by a sense that visual communication carries impetus and cultural impact, these values have informed the fundamental preposition of his philosophy: to craft products, communications, behaviour, interactions and traditional design services via a creative process. This leads to the production of practical solutions with significant meaning and value to all users involved.

Savant, night owl, realist, cyclist, libertarian, culture vulture, beard enthusiast and analogue synthesiser fanatic

Design Profile

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Currently seeking
Matt is an ethically and socially conscientious graphic designer living in South Bristol. His multi-disciplinary practice offers creative solutions and design services to a range of industries and patrons including; the arts, creatives (of all practices), charities and non-profit fundraising organisations, educational initiatives, funded projects, cultural institutes and responsible small local business.

Currently available for opportunities involving;

Contract employment, short-term studio freelancing, internships and work experience, multidisciplinary collaborations (with creatives and individuals of all practices), freelance commission, service quotation, consultation, friendly advice and positive experiences

Previously assisting on projects for;

WesternEye, Santini, UK Cycling, British Sport, Swift Carbon and Millfield School

Design Services

Services include;

Design (including web, digital and print), art-working, concept generation, creative research, workshop and immersive design, copy editing and editorial, print (production, management, pre-press and finishing), web development (and social media integration), web management (updates, amendments and content management), marketing and social media, image correction and aftercare

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Matt takes a modernist, 'less is more', approach to design and visual communication, seeking to distill design interactions into their most concentrate and rational form. This he does predominantly through the applications of rationalised creativity, content curation, reasoned typographic abstraction, photography, composition and conscientious mark making. These themes, and particularly a strong implementation of typography, run in parallel to all of his creative works.

Splitting his practice into three distinct subsections (design creativity / thought / typography) Matt's work unites these disciplines to craft pleasing and meaningful interactions.

Matt's creative works are enforced by a high level of technical skill and knowledge working with the Adobe Creative Suite. This is supported by an understanding of industry standard conventions and current best practice. Immersed in contemporary creative and digital media he is versed in, but not restricted by, current trends of visual communication, design methodology and relevant industry terminology. This understanding extends to Matt's professional design practice and the process that informs his work. Motivated to continue learning Matt is driven autonomously to apply himself to new and ever more complex disciplines that better his practice.


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Print

Matt offers a small bespoke print-making, finishing and art-working service using an A2 custom hand-built silk-screen printing press and an Adana 5×3 British letterpress for the production of short and limited runs.

Digital

Proficient configuring web domains and hosting services alongside industry standard web management applications such as FTP software, Matt is able to offer a digital design, responsive web and UI for app service.

The foundations of this are supported by a sound understanding of current conventions in CSS, HTML, @font-face and basic jQuery mark-up.

Editorial

Strong research, communication and literacy skills coupled with an extensive understanding of standard practice in typographic conventions allows Matt to offer an editorial service that includes; copywriting, type-setting, publication design and book-making.

This involves implementation of a print process from concept and design through to print management, pre-press and finishing (hand-binding, paper mechanics, spot finishes and inserts).

Typography

Matt is well educated in typographic history, type selection for appropriate commmunciation, type-design, conventions, the implementation of special stylings and Adobe Indesign typesetting workflow. An honorary student membership awarded to him by the International Society of Typographic Designers is testament to his skill in this field.

This enables him to offer a typsetting service for all manner of media from full length publications to digital web. Producing finished designs that are composed utilising rigour, consistency, contrast, balance and hierarchy.

Opentype App

The featured opentype web tool allows typographers to assess the extended typsetting capabilities and applications of Opentype (.otf) and Truetype (.ttf) font formats

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This tool developed by Pablo Impallari (impallari.com) and Pablo Cosgaya (omnibus-type.com), based on Fontdrag (fontdragr.com) and Dave Crossland's FontTest, is an open source application which can now be accessed via Github.

Primarily intended for type designers and independent foundries the app is a useful resource for assessing how typefaces will behave on the web. It works simply by the user dragging and dropping the desired .ttf or .otf into the upper zone of the web page. This version of the application requires Firefox 3.6+/Chrome 13+, stores all files on 'localStorage' and has had some visual and technical adaption made to its code for use on this site.

Visit Pablo Impallari's site to learn more.

LAUNCH OPENTYPE APP

Manifesto

A manifesto for professional design practice

The Manifesto for Professional Design Practice is a compilation of rules and consistencies learnt throughout the undertaking of a professional career as a Graphic Designer. This ongoing project is a documentation of the process of learning and discovery that every creative must be subject to in the context of a career in the creative industry.

Coming from experience working with clients, as well as ongoing design research, these guides, observations and documented fallacies will serve as critical reflection on the process of self-directed and professional learning.

This project is a work in progress and will be published soon.

Work

Featured Portfolio

Below may be found a small selection of the most popular, acclaimed and critically received projects in this portfolio for ease of simple and quick navigation. The full portfolio is much more extensive and can be accessed via the site's drop-down navigation menu or simply by scrolling from one project to the next.

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Homely But Not At Home

A homage to Stanley Kubrick's 1980 cult horror masterpiece 'The Shining', Homely But Not At Home was commended with a Merit by the International Society of Typographic Designers awarding body.

The Temporal Isle

On the 24th September 2013 Zalzala Jazeera, a land mass never before witnessed by mankind, rose out of the Arabian Ocean. This publication seeks to account for the short lifetime of this new and enigmatic island.

Family Ties

Constructing illustrative letterforms through mark-making, using narrative and visual language to convey history, legacy, identity and personality in the form of two bespoke monograms.

A Matter of Time

An infographic designed to explore precisely what periods of time routine activities can amount to over a 15 day (360 hour) period interval with the goal of identifying wasted or neglected time.

Subjects of Matter

Short publication documenting a sixty minute dialogue addressing the common individual's understanding, preconceptions and assumptions on the topic of the physical sciences.

MDW Digital Identity

Crafting a distinctive, original and cutting edge personal digital identity, that adapts responsively across all media platforms, to showcase a high standard of web development and digital design acumen.

Publication & Editorial

Homely But Not At Home

The Uncanny is the only feeling which is more powerfully experienced in art than in life

Stanley Kubrick

The ISTD Brief

Homely But Not At Home was produced as a direct response to the ISTD 2014 Student Assessment brief, titled Everything About One Thing. Assessed by a judging panel of industry leading and practising graphic designers, as well as art school educators, the project was required to demonstrate a holistic design response and expert skill meeting a number of criteria. This included; lateral and conceptual thinking, depth of research, sensitivity of typographic interpretation, rigor and detail of typesetting, considered format and presentation, hierachy of information, layout and technical skill.

The brief required the production of a designed response in either digital or print format which would collate a compendium of information about a single subject, and present it for a public audience. Detail and accuracy were necessities, however content also needed to be curated to make the document concise and interesting. The resulting outcome needed to present a logical order of information whilst developing a visual strategy or language for the treatment of material. Such a language was required to be bound by rationality, forming considered relationships between, editorial, application, production and design.

Words and language were the collateral of this project and it was essential that the submission be essentially typographic.

HBNAH cover
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‘Homely But Not At Home’ is a visual exploration of Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 cult horror masterpiece The Shining, analysed in the context of Sigmund Freud’s 1919 seminal paper ‘Das Unheimliche, or directly translated ‘The Uncanny’.

Freud’s extraordinary paper describes a complex human experience stemming from repressed infantile and animalistic beliefs. Differentiated from fear it is determined by a feeling of disquiet or unease when the familiar, taken out of context, suddenly becomes strange and deeply unsettling. Literally translating as ‘unhomely’, ‘Das Unheimliche’ reads in its native tongue as ‘homely but not at home’, a phrase of eerie and disquieting ambiguity.

Freud argues that this primitive fear is returned from the repression of primordial beliefs, once surmounted, which have once again risen to ‘test reality’ in the human conscious. The arousal of this innate fear is exhibited in numerous and varying circumstances, from; objects, persons and impressions to events and situations. Yet, there are specific triggers which may induce such a reflex anxiety, characterised as; supernatural occurrences, magical practice and subjective mental processes, omnipotence, doubling of the human form and objects modeled in the likeness of man, fear of castration, dismembered limbs, doubt as to the animation of inert objects, involuntary repetition and déjà vu.

Predominantly, however, Freud asserts that it is in man’s inability to grasp the concept of his own mortality that the sensation becomes most forceful, fueling a belief in mysticism and the paranormal, as a denial of death. It is for this reason that the sensation is experienced to the highest degree in relation to death, the dead, spirits and ghosts.

In preparation for the writing of his 1980 horror screenplay, The Shining, adapted from Stephen King’s original novel, Stanley Kubrick and novelist Diane Johnson read Freud’s ‘The Uncanny’, seeking to create a film in which the entire aesthetic and architectural construction was guided by Freud’s text.

The result is an artifact of cult horror cinema laced with hidden tropes, such as; numbers and repeating patterns, duality, symmetry, reflected narratives, intentional continuity errors, spacial impossibilities, foreshadowing, the supernatural, involuntary repetition and symbology. All of which serve to support the semantic sub-narrative of Kubrick’s work, providing an eerie and unsettling experience to the audience.

‘Homely But Not At Home’ pays homage to Kubrick’s genius and seeks to explore, interrogate and subtly visualise all of these themes in the context of Freud’s work. The publication has been bathed in an uncanny aesthetic, implementing; colour, composition, symmetry, foreshadowing, doubling and a strictly imposed numerical system, to construct a subliminal semantic language drenched in intense and unnerving collages of cinematography.

Every minute decision, from paper stocks to typographic detailing and the frequency of imagery, has been rationalised to a specific purpose resulting in a document which reflects the unnerving and inexplicably challenging nature of The Shining. Ultimately, whilst the publication may feel familiar in form and function it has been designed with the direct intention of inciting confusion, misdirection and the ‘uncanny’ sensation in the spectrum of the subconscious. That which appears conventional and expected has been tailored to new and unfamiliar contexts to challenge and provoke irregularity.

Furthermore the publication serves to compound the ‘uncanny’ sensation by inviting the user to engage in a search for absolution. As the user begins to indulge in such an act a cyclical relationship is formed whereby the reader becomes the creator of their own doubt and uncertainty, pulling at inconsequential metaphorical threads in search of rationality, experiencing ‘uncanny’ relationships in the subjective and attempting to ascribe meaning.

‘Homely But Not At Home’ acts as an intermediary, visual guide and written account of Kubrick’s adapted screenplay, produced specifically for the film enthusiast and reader of visual culture, challenging the overt and celebrating the subconscious. Whilst the absolute meaning of The Shining has been subject to lively debate and even outlandish conspiracy theories since its release over 30 years ago, this publication aims to focus on more concrete evidence as to how Kubrick adapted Freud’s tropes of ‘The Uncanny’ to his unique masterpiece of modern cinematography. Coinciding with the, as of yet unconfirmed, future domestic re-release of The Shining’s original extended cut, by the British Film Institute, this publication aims to become part of the lively and topical debate surrounding the movie.

Whilst the theories presented in this book are based on sound and reasoned evidence, it is important to note that a definitive meaning has and most likely never will be ascribed to Kubrick’s film. This exploration reveals that the more questions we ask, the fewer answers we are able to produce. Highlighting that this is in our nature, and it is in this nature that the very real horror of The Shining can be found. In what it is to be human.
A superb and competent publication that captures a sense of horror and unease through the combined use of typography and image. Spreads are cohesive resulting in a sophisticated end product supported by a superb body of research, detailed in the typographic specification, which indicates not only a great rationale but an intellectual justification.

ISTD Education Panel
HBNAH ISTD

STRATEGY

The resulting publication is bound by rationality to the subject matter, implementing; colour, composition, symmetry, foreshadowing, doubling and a strictly imposed numerical system, to construct a subliminal semantic language drenched in intense and unnerving collages of 'uncanny' cinematography.

Accordingly the compendium was awarded Merit classification by the education panel of the International Society of Typographic Designers and will be archived indefinitely by the society.

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HBNAH spread 01
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Digital publications

View the publication

View the digital publication Homely But Not At Home to learn more about this project and the subject matter

View the specification

View the typographic specification to understand the strategy developed to treat the content and the rationale for design interpretation

Publication & Editorial

The Temporal Isle

Zalzala Jazeera erupted out of the Arabian Ocean, a land mass never before witnessed by mankind

24 / 09 / 13

The Publication

When an earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Moment Magnitude Scale struck remote Southwestern Pakistan a surprising and rare geological occurence took place. An island, dubbed 'Zalzala Jazeera' (Quake Island) rose out of the Arabian Sea several hundred meters from the coastline. Eclipsing the tragedy caused by the initial quake the island soon became a global phenomenon. Despite this it has been predicted that in less than 12 months the isle will succumb to weathering and erode back into the depths of the ocean.

The Temporal Isle seeks to document and play upon the notion of temporality, using a sequential narrative of colour and information hierarchy to represent the isle's short but thought provoking existence.

TTI island
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A geographical enigma.

On the 24th of September 2013 an earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Moment Magnitude Scale (M) struck the remote Southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan. A surprising consequence of the seismic activity was the appearance of an island 380km from the quakes epi-centre, dubbed ‘Zalzala Jazeera’ (Quake Island) by national media, which rose out of the Arabian Sea, approximately 30 minutes after the quake impact, several hundred metres off the Southern port city of Gwadar, along the Jhanda coastline.

The birth of this islet was a rare and captivating event galvanising the scientific community and prompting an instant global reaction. The world’s media were quick to give widespread coverage to the story, eclipsing the tragedy caused by the initial quake. Zalzala Jazeera became an object of wonder, captivating imaginations and raising extensive public interest. Unfortunately, despite its most puzzling appearance, the scientific community now commonly agree that the island will not exist one year from its initial conception. It’s fine-grained sedimentary muddy matter will quickly start to erode due to the repeated motion of the Arabian Sea and weathering from the oncoming monsoon season.

The publication ‘The Temporal Isle’ utilises a number of metaphorical and visual devices to portray the sudden appearance and eventual demise of the islet. Throughout the document the colour black is used to represent the island’s temporality, page by page black moves from top to bottom waning in intensity, with subtle gradients applied across all images, until it eventually vanishes from the page replaced by the figurative ocean. Images of the island are always depicted wholly in black until the final two pages of the book.

In addition to this the featured typeface, Gestalten Sensaway, was used purely on the nature of its fading disjointed aesthetic. A wave motif, rising slowly up the pages headers, has been applied sparingly to intensify the concept of the island vanishes beneath the water’s surface and also as a metaphorical time-line on the centrespread. Overall the colour blue makes a general transition up the page, with pull quote underlines gently rising up their owning copy, as the reader moves from the front to back of the publication.

Finishing touches have been applied such as the staining of blue book binding thread and the use of multiple paper stocks. Overall the visual narrative of the publication is designed specifically to reference the time-line of the island’s existence.
Publication & Editorial

T E N Series

T E N is an ongoing series of research publications which aim to explore topical subjects of interest in global mass media and the sciences

T E N Series
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T E N is an ongoing series of research publications experimenting with the curation, design and production of content relevant to global mass media and the sciences. Whilst the overarching theme of the ten catalogued ideas may vary from issue to issue the key premise remains the same. Ideas are extrapolated and visually interrogated to strengthen understanding and lateral thinking based around the subject matter.

The making of such a document represents an engagement with the subject matter and a depth of research that leads to definitive designed results at regular intervals. T E N also allows for rationalised experimentation of processes/techniques and an unrestricted creative output.
TEN globe
The Everyday Narrative

T E N 0 1

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The first issue in the series looks to explore and playfully reinterpret ten notworthy or interesting news stories from early September 2013. Each article is distilled to its simplest core message and then abstracted using typography, form and layout in an attempt to satirise or parody the original meaning.

As is appropriate the publication has been re-envisaged in newspaper format and printed to newsprint with careful consideration to typography, colour and composition.
Digital publication
Publication & Editorial

Subjects of Matter

Is it possible to visually explore the topic of theoretical physics in a manner accessible to a general audience?

Conversations on physical science

The Publication

Can the universe in its infinite complexity be summarised in an equation, or are we arrogant to suggest that we could describe a unified theory in such a way?

Can theoretical physics be considered a very unique form of creative thinking?

Subjects of Matter seeks to explore the answers to these questions and many more by challenging common assumptions and knowledges based around the physical sciences. The publication exists as an account of an hour long conversation, with two non-creatives, providing insight into the common individual's understanding of such ideas.

SOM motif
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Subjects of Matter is a short publication conceived as a response to a sixty minute dialogue, in contact with two non-creatives. It addresses matters of; physical science, astrology, the ethical responsibilities of theoretical physicists, technology and the future, questions of reality and philosophy, divine creation, perception, unified theory, conscious and apocalypse theory.

The document was produced as an exploration of the above subject matter in preparation for a period of extended self-directed study. The content looks to interrogate these issues in great depth, through discussion with participants, giving the material a sociological context and opening the ideas up to fresh insight from the perception and understanding of others.

The printed narrative is led wholly by the full transcription, flowing organically from start to end in a single seamless and unbroken discussion. Quoting the prose in verbatim allows for an authentic linear discourse and line of enquiry, free from the restraint of editorial influence, which may potentially dilute the content. Each of the ten sections is denoted only by the inclusion of a small printed question which helped to further inform or feed the discourse.

The varying voices of contributors can be identified by a distinct typographic style allowing a continuous flow of copy which is integral to the publication’s concept. The use of colour is minimal and deliberate, relying on the impact of grayscale photography in full single and double page spreads to convey a sense of grandeur and scale. This notion of contrasting proportion, associated with the two primary schools of theoretical physics [quantum and astrological], is further communicated through the implementation of small and large typographic detail juxtaposed.

As the publication has been produced primarily as a research document: commonly recurring words were then identified by processing the copy through a frequency algorithm, providing sources for further research and exploration. These ‘keywords’ are highlighted throughout the content and also featured in an alphabeticised glossary on the final page. These words provide a summary of material discussed but also present the reader with an interesting pattern of words redacted from the text.
Digital publication
Print & Poster

A Matter of Time

How can time be managed more efficiently?

15 Days / 360 Hours
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Each measurable degree of the circular diagram corresponds to a unit hour visualising a wealth of data with a clean and unfettered complex simplicity. Fields of data are placed in situational context, running parallel to signify simultaneous activities creating relevant overlaps of data, maintaining high accuracy and a consistent flow of ordered information. Each of the fifteen lower diagrams gives a daily break down of data and is rotated to correspond to its position in the 15 day cycle.

A smart-phone software application called Daytum was used over the data collection period to record the frequency of certain routine activities. In addition to this a second application called Timer++, which allows for multiple stopwatches running simultaneously and event logs recording at what point clocks are started or stopped, was used daily to record data for as many as 34 different activities. At times 8 or 9 digital stop-clocks would be running in parallel to record multiple tasks performed and measurements needed to be manually notated on a daily basis.

Where does the time go?

A question that many of us are left pondering on a daily basis. This infographic endeavours to illustrate precisely what periods of routine daily activities can amount to over a 15 day (360 hour) interval with the goal of identifying wasted or neglected time that can be managed more efficiently.

AMOT poster
Print & Poster

Poster Art 150

Poster Art 150 commemorates the 150th anniversary of the London Underground System, the advertisements for which have traced the development of visual communication into the modern world

Creative Review

The Poster

This two colour silk-screen printed poster was designed to coincide with Poster Art 150: London Underground's Greatest Designs, Transport for London's commemorative exhibition celebrating the 150th anniversary of the London Underground System, held at the London Transport Museum.

With a plethora of visual interpretations realised over the 150 years since the underground was founded the challenge of this project was to produce something original that captured the essence of the underground experience without becoming contrived or cliché.

Taking care to incorporate subtle references to TFL's established visual identity (colour, typographic detail and the roundel motif) whilst still keeping the design fresh and individual was an integral aspect of the design process.

PA150 hold
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This white and metallic gold silk-screen print, on GFSmith Colorplan Sapphire, was created in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the London Transport System, as celebrated by the London Transport Museum in early 2013.

Inspired by the Swiss typographic movement the print takes recognised cues from established London Transport iconography and reinterprets them in a contemporary and original manner. The colour palette, in conjunction with typesetting in P22 Johnston Underground, alludes to London Transport signage subtly whilst the inclusion of the roundel is understated and avoids being contrived or overt. The piece manages to avoid the dangers of finding dry creative solutions fraught with cliché when the subject matter already has a strong established visual language.

In preparation for the design of this print primary research was undertaken in situ on the London Underground platforms. The slash motif was conceived as a response to a number of visual and aural stimuli, as well as conceptual ideas, observed during this time, including; direction of movement [tubes and commuters], the individual as part of a network, energy, flow, population, dynamism, air movement, the sounds of luggage wheels on the platform and the tube on the tracks.

In particular the slash motif became fundamental as a visual metaphor to describe the constant stuttering audio of tube carriages moving across their tracks.
PA150 poster
Print & Poster

Design Fiction

The Prints

A collection of silk-screen/risograph poster and print designs looking to visually interpret established fundamentals of the physical sciences in order to actively engage users. The basic premise of each complex theory has been redacted into simple visual cues for clarity and ease of understanding, taking inspiration from scientific diagrams, text books and other relevant devices. The ultimate goal being to simplify the experience for a subjective audience.

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TIME IS RELATIVE

Inspired by Einstein's theory of 'Special Relativity' this duotone silk-screen print is available in two alternate colour ways: fluorescent pink & black or pearlescent white on black stock.

4D SPACE-TIME

Two-colour risograph print, in cyan and orange. A visual description of four dimensional space-time, incorporating; time, the General Relativity Theory, three dimensions of space and past/future light cones. Inspired by Stephen Hawking's 'A Brief History of Time'.
Identity & Marks

Family Ties

Conveying history, legacy, identity and personality in the design of custom monograms

Brand Narrative
FT mono1
FT mono2

The Project

The goal of this project was to use intensive analysis and depth of research skills to visualise the personality of an individual in the design of a monogram.

Gender, era of life, place of birth, nationality, profession, hobbies, achievements, schooling and personality traits were all definitive factors taken into account when producing a design which would portray the individual character of the subject.

The design process was one of personal discovery, reliving the heritage and experiences of closely related family members. Constructing illustrative letterforms through mark-making, using narrative and visual language to convey history, legacy, identity and personality in the form of bespoke logotypes.

FT grace
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HERBERT WILLIAM WOODMAN
19/01/1916 — 23/12/1988

Herbert WIlliam Woodman of 27 Catherine Street, Barton Hill, son of Herbert Charles and Maud and brother to George, Donald and Maud, lived throughout his life in Bristol. Schooled in St. George, Bristol, he showed promise from a young age as a practical and skilled labourer who would always 'learn by doing'.

As a young man Herbert, or 'Bert' to his friends, trained as a butcher at Dewhurst on Gloucester Road, Bishopston, before being enlisted into the Devonshire Regiment as a Private in the Second World War. He served as a driver and trained maintenance & electrics specialist in the Ardennes, France, before returning to Dewhurst to continue his trade. His enthusiasm and friendly, relaxed attitude drew people to him and he made many new friends quickly during his time away in the war.

Herbert met Grace Evelyn Farler, a factory machinist in the war effort, and they married on her birthday in 1947. Fathering William John on 21.10.1950, shortly after the family moved to Filton Avenue. Here Bert and Grace managed TD & MI Kelly, a local family butchers store, for 23 years.

Trading as a butcher for close to 30 years, Herbert retired and passed away soon after in 1988, 6 days before his wedding anniversary, having suffered almost a decade with late onset Alzheimer’s. He never lived to see his son marry or the birth of his grandchildren.

Throughout his life Herbert was a carefree, gregarious and affable small business manager. Light hearted and humorous he made a terrible disciplinarian to his son William and failed to take anything seriously. Always the joker he loved a drink and thrived on being at the heart of the community.

Herbert's monogram design bears resemblance to meat stamps and swine tattoos used by butchers trading in the early 20th century, the roundel is rustic and irregular making reference to the craft in his lifelong trade. The letterforms take visual cues from Tuscan serif brands of pre and post-ward British butchers, the hooks and sharp points of the letter stems acting as visual metaphor for the butchers tools. Styled in the era of Herbert's lifetime, the motif is decidedly masculine, the symmetry and equality bearing measure to his buoyant and gregarious personality.

GRACE EVELYN FARLER
29/12/1922 — 14/12/2007

Grace Evelyn Farler of 34 Meyrick Street, Barton Hill, lone daughter to Frederick William & Florence Beatrice and sister to two brothers, lived throughout her life in Bristol. A vivacious and energetic child Grace would often visit the British coast with her close family and friends the Warrens.

As a conscientious scholar she had a particular skill for the crafts, including needlework and penmanship. Grace worked from the age of seventeen at Fry’s Somerdale factory and was subsequently drafted as a machinist, by the General Electric Company, a major British industrial conglomerate, manufacturing consumer and defence electronics for efforts during the Second World War.

Eager to settle down and begin her own family Grace met Herbert William Woodman, a butcher by trade, and they married on her birthday in 1947. She gave birth to William John on 21.10.1950 and they moved as a family to Filton Avenue. Here as a couple Bert and Grace managed TD & MI Kelly, a local family butchers store, for 23 years.

In her latter years Grace was always an affable, spirited and buoyant woman, heartbroken though she was by Herbert’s passing after almost a decade of suffering with late onset Alzheimer’s. She had a love for intricate floral and filigree jewellery and always had a sweet tooth.

Grace's monogram design takes inspiration from the calligraphic style of her penmanship, described in early school reports and the swash-like shape of her adult signature, the G.E.C logo, Fry's Chocolate makers advertisements and her love of intrictae fiigree and floral jewellery, specifically a pair of cufflinks that she owned.

The Models

Each monogram design was applied to a contextual model to further demonstrate the identity, attributes and traits of the individual for whom they were designed. These models also served to depict the key factors which contributed to and informed the design process.

A redacted and simplified version of Grace's monogram design, without the filigree decoration, was machine embroidered to a cotton hankerchief. In addition to this a poster was produced identifying many of the miscellaneous artefacts and posessions which had served as influence for the mark's decorative aesthetic.

Herbert's monogram design has been applied via silk-screen printing to a custom made wooden shop crate, fashioned in the style of early 20th century trading. Built by hand the shop crate is accompanied by a monotone silk-screen printed and metal clasp riveted label, threaded with twine and rubber stamped with the mark (modelled in the style of a butcher's swine brand).

FT crate4
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Digital

MDW Digital Identity

Crafting a distinctive, original and cutting edge personal digital identity that adapts responsively across all media platforms for maximum user engagement

M D W

The Project

The goal of this project was to produce an original and distinctive digital identity which would showcase a high standard of web development and digital design acumen. Inspiration came from a bold and progressive RGB colour palette that popped on the screen and gave the design a distinguished yet playful character.

It was essential that the framework of the site be responsive across all platforms and media devices allowing maximum user engagement with the portfolio content presented.

Furthermore this required content to be independently curated for varying media devices, from large desktops, through laptops and tablets to smartphones, to accomodate restrictions in mobile data speeds, differing screen resolution aspect ratios and provide the best user experience at each level.

MDW iPhone
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SITE FEATURES

The responsive site framework is built upon the foundation of a bespoke flexible grid system using 16 even columns that can be combined, or folded, into 8 columns for tablet-sized screens, and into 4 columns for mobile sized ones. This covers all common screen resolutions ranging from 240 up to 2560 pixel widths, allowing maximum user engagement across all platforms and media devices.

Tested for cross browser functionality it delivers full functionality and design visuals tested across the latest versions of Google Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox degrading seamlessly into older and outdated substandard browser applications.

All media and content is scaleable adapting across varying media devices and platforms from large desktops, through laptops and tablets to smartphones, to accomodate restrictions in mobile data speeds, differing screen resolution aspect ratios and provide the best user experience at each level. This includes the degradation of some larger images and media unsuitable for mobile devices maximising the efficiency of the site and audience engagement. Furthermore the site navigation menu is able to adapt from a hover menu, on desktop browsers, to an expandable mobile menu, for touch screen devices and smartphones.

In order to maintain consistency across both the print and digital aspects of the visual identity, and stregthen brand recognition, @font-face digital integration has been used to typeset the site in custom non-standard fonts, rather than the recognised system alternatives. Headers are displayed in Singularity Pt. (by Matt D Woodman), a custom typeface which adds originality to the design. Typographic detail has been further implemented utilising new conventions in digital Opentype typesetting to apply ligatures and discretionary ligatures to all content. The featured opentype web application, a useful tool for assessing the extended typsetting capabilities of Opentype (.otf) and Truetype (.ttf) font formats, also allows a level of interactivity with the site.

Integration of a live Twitter feed, using PHP and Twitter's API 1.1, and supported by full social media presence, across a number of platforms, invites user participation with the site. Whilst social media sharing tools, powered by AddThis, and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), including; meta data (keywords, descriptions, shortcut icons, social media thumbnails and properties), hidden Twitter hashtag handles and searchable content (rather than image based copy), affect its visibility on the web. Finally a PHP powered mailing application and downloadable content (CV & portfolio) invite lasting user interactions.

Despite its back-end complexity the website has a intuitive user interface and layout making all front-end interactions simple and instinctive. In order to attain this all aspects of the website have been carefully crafted with the user experience in mind. Functionality of this single page site is playful and fresh, from automated slide to slide and parallax scrolling to fixed navigation controls, keyframe colour transitions and basic slider/gif animations. Whilst all aspects of the design aesthetic have been carefully considered, including a custom scrollbar, which degrades seamlessly in unsupported browsers, and CSS hotspot related mouse icons (to slide next and previous on image sliders).

Additional content can be accessed only when required through hidden modal windows, image sliders and the expandable site footer keeping the layout clean, effecient and uncluttered. Furthermore the website includes hidden 'easter eggs' for optional function and interactivity, such as colour inversion (shortcut 'i') and editable content (shortcut 'e'), bound to key strokes by jQuery Hotkeys.

The site has been built using the best possible practice in web development conventions, utilising PHP, CSS, HTML and jQuery. Whilst most javascript interactions are powered by open source third party plugins, many others have been customised or coded as bespoke specifically for this project. The site's image slider varies in aspect ratio for different media devices (always allowing a full height and width view), meaning that in order to optimise loading times it was necessary to deploy a javascript code that would replace images and prevent pre-loading of any image, apart from the set required for the current screen dimensions. As a result, if re-sized, the webpage must be refreshed in order to preload slider gallery images at the correct screen resolution and aspect ratio.

Overall this digital project conveys an original and distinctive visual identity. A bold, progressive RGB colour palette and typographic styling creates a characteristic aesthetic language which, when coupled with the adaptable user experience, reinforces a strong design image. The build is of a high standard and professional finish, designed first and foremostly to showcase and promote the quality of the portfolio, but secondly to demonstrate and challenge the digital experience.

Bespoke website designed, developed and built by Matt D Woodman.

The Site

The final delivered outcome is designed, developed and built as a bespoke web project. Tested for cross browser functionality it delivers full functionality and design visuals across the latest versions of Google Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox degrading seamlessly into older and outdated substandard browser applications.

The site framework is built upon the foundation of a bespoke flexible and adaptive grid system using 16 even columns that can be combined, or folded, into 8 columns for tablet-sized screens, and into 4 columns for mobile sized ones. This covers all common screen resolutions ranging from 240 up to 2560 pixel widths.

The responsive framework can be tested in any desktop browser by resizing the application window accordingly.

Note: the webpage must be refreshed in order to preload slider gallery images at the correct screen resolution and aspect ratio.

MDW browser1

Contact

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Making contact
Take the first step now. All potential commissions, prospective opportunities and other enquiries will be warmly welcomed and addressed promptly.
Silk-screen printing

Getting in touch

For; contract employment, short-term studio freelancing, internships and work experience please make contact using the supplied mailing form and find downloadable content below (including a CV and sample PDF portfolio).

For; quotation and consultation on any services, freelance commission and multi-disciplinary creative collaborations please make direct contact using either the subscription mailing form or email address provided.

Additional enquiries regarding commission on silk-screen and letterpress print-making services are also welcomed via these channels.

All other enquiries or for friendly advice and more information please do not hesitate to make contact using the contact details provided on this site.

Bristol

Mail form

Please use the mailing form below to make direct contact. Subscribe to the low-volume mailing list to stay informed of recent commissions and news.

No information or personal details will be shared with external third parties and mailers will be distributed at a minimum, operating on a simple opt-out policy.

Fields marked with * are required

Fields marked with * are required.

Bristol

Contact details

Matt D Woodman [MISTD]
Creative // Thinker // Typographer
Bristol

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(+44) 7730 176 226

info@mdwoodman.co.uk

@MattDWoodman

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Social media

Creative Journal

The Creative Journal is a printed publication acting as documentation of all visual experimentation, process, rationale, methodology, observations, techniques and design research related to current personal projects in a specific time period.

It is archived as an educational resource for learning and progression as well as reflection on the development of design practice. This attached version is of low resolution for ease of access and quick download.

Cirriculum Vitae

The attached download contains two versions of an up-dated Cirriculum Vitae, for opposing media platforms. One is optimised for colour printing whilst the other is prepared to be viewed specifically on digital screens. Please use each of the correct versions for their intended mediums.

Downloadable portfolio

Attached is a low resolution promotional portfolio, featuring a small selection of case studies of the most popular, accalimed and critically receieved projects in this portfolio. Some other promotional materials may be added to this over time.

This resource is intended as an accessible reference point, provided specifically for the use of potential clients or employers.

COLOPHON

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Copyright

All images, intellectual property & design © Matt D Woodman MMXIV — All rights reserved.

Bespoke website designed, developed and built by Matt D Woodman.

Made in Bristol.

Typeset in; Calluna by Jos Buivenga, at Exljbris, and Singularity Pt. by Matt D Woodman.

Colophon

The framework for this custom responsive website has been built with the time and technical support of a few generous individuals, in addition to utilising a number of customised open source third party plugins.

Amongst others; Alex Hardy (Simple Contact Lite), Dmitry Semenov (RoyalSlider), 2nd Floor (MeanMenu), Tom Elliot (Twitter Feed API 1.1), The Golden Grid System and Cool Kitten parallax framework.

Special thanks for the support and assistance from the communities at Stackoverflow and jQuery Forum.

Contact

Matt D Woodman [MISTD]
Creative // Thinker // Typographer
Bristol

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(+44) 7730 176 226

info@mdwoodman.co.uk

@MattDWoodman

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