My Degree Show 2013

Viscom Degree Show 2013 highlights of my work displayed at the University of Ulster!

Music Poster Commission

One of my first Poster Commissions now as I finish Uni! Feels good! :)

Graduation'13!!

I took a fun take on my upcoming Graduation Ceremony from my Visual Communication Degree, in Belfast. Its an end to a very long and extensive era in my life right now! Now to look to my future prospects! The world is my oyster :) 

Website

Come visit my new website at philipmeehan.com

Sony Xperia Z: TV Ad

I have been obsessed with this 'Feel-good' new Sony Xperia Z advert on TV these past couple weeks.  Bowie's vocals are reformed from a 1977 outtake of the song "Sound and Vision' for sony's new smartphone marketing (Sonjay Prabhakar remix). The visual ideas come from the agency McCann in London and is directed by Tarsem—his credits include everything from REM's "Losing My Religion" video to the recent film Mirror, Mirror.

The ad sets the scene of a bunch of people in slow motion initially watching a shuttle launch on a sony tv/ skating on the beach while listening to a sony walkman and kids playing Sony playstation. The visual interpretation marks a flashback throughout the years of Sony products and eventually looking ahead at what is next to come from the brand. 

The last scene in modern day appears a young couple in the midst of a visually stunning depiction of the Xperia Z in action. The strong use of colour has always been Sony's main attraction amongst their advertisements. From Sony Balls, to the leaping playdoh bunnies (Colour like no other) and Sony Bravia Paint.

It's refreshing, strong impact and I have an iPhone but this ad has made me want this SmartPhone! Enjoy

Colour Like no Other 

CREDITS Client: SonyProduct: Xperia ZAgency: McCann, LondonProduction Company: @radical.mediaDirector: Tarsem Singh

Finished Animation- Super Foods Comic

Right now I'm working on some sketches of an original idea I produced and I wanted to develop it more into a children's Storybook. This will be my last open brief for my final year at uni. I have finished a short Animation for it using Flash and I am in the middle of making up more of a sequence of a story by introducing more SUPERfoods to the equation. The idea of the project is to initially promote healthy eating for kids. Instead of just saying facts about the benefits of this, I wanted to show it as a fun, interactive, bold and colourful way for kids to not only be informed but to be entertained at the same time. The Macmillan brief is verily open, in that I could choose my target audience age and what type of media I wanted to use. With the progression of my research and many trial and errors working with Flash software check out my SuperFoods Animation Short as a preview of what is to come.

I am aiming my children's storybook towards younger audiences 8+. I gained huge inspiration from the famous MARVEL comic books and modern film greats such as Kill Bill to project my quirky, fast-paced story to ultimately save your health from the dreaded 'Burger Burglar'. 

Cool Window Design

I discovered this pretty cool looking window display while out wandering the shops in Belfast last week. The trendy clothes shop 'White Stuff' were just in the middle of assembling the foam props! ...just in time for the summer sunshine!!

OFFSET 2013!

This year I finally made the effort to attend offset in Dublin. If you don't already know what Offset is, it's a huge graphic design festival that happens once a year, where some of the best designers/ animators/ photographers from around the world come to give a talk to a mixed crowd of student graphic designers, industry professionals, tutors and recent graduates. Each of the 24+ speakers talk about their careers, how they are making something of themselves within the design world, their influences and what they are working on. It was a fantastic insight for me and I now wish I had went to the event when I heard about it a couple of years ago during my 2nd year at university! The event spreads over a weekend, however I went for the sunday line up! That day was primarily animation/ illustration themed. And that is the field I am most interested within graphic design.

-Craig&Karl

 Some stand out speakers for me on the day were designers Craig and Karl. This Australian duo met as young adults and started off small at the beginning. Now each of them are working from two different platforms of the world- Craig set up studio in New York, where Karl is set up in native Australia. It was really interesting to hear how they both communicate through Skype and how they contact each other from both ends of the day to discuss ideas and concepts. Their work is mainly vector illustration based with bold colour schemes with a hint of celebrity culture added into their mix. One piece of work Craig is working on recently is his blog about a fictional animated character known as Darcel. Each week/ day there would be a blog post with a simple illustration of Darcel completing common human problems/ celebrations/ heartbreak/ emotion etc. All played out on a one eyed cyclone/ alien character! I took a few Photographs of the graphic design duo during their humourously entertaining talk. 

-Oliver Jeffers

One person I was so excited to hear from was Northern Irish based Oliver Jeffers! Jeffers has become a huge success within the children's Book illustration field. He actually graduated in 2001 from the same course I study- Design for Visual Communication @the University of Ulster in Belfast. His name has always become a topic of conversation throughout my years at university and I thought it was awesome to finally get the opportunity to listen to him talk about his work in person. Oliver was not on the original line up for my day at offset so it was by pure luck that he got slotted into becoming the second speaker on Sunday, right after Craig and Karl! Jeffers has a great belief in his work and I find him to be an inspiration. He set up studio in New York and travels from one country to the next promoting his amazing work! Some examples of Jeffers work include, 'Lost and Found', 'How to catch a star" and 'The incredible book eating boy'. He presented some tips about how presentation is key when applying for jobs in order to stand out from the 'slush pile' of other applicants. 

-London based Illustrator
London based Kate Moross is a very young designer who has presented work for Cadbury, magazine covers and Jessie wares music video. In my opinion, She came across as a breath of fresh air! Very rebellious throughout her thought processing and reiterated that we can never experiment enough in our life and careers. I particularly loved when she actually admitted she has made mistakes in very important pieces of design work but that just shows a human element and can be a great thing to do. Moross was a very eccentric character who has a true belief in that anything is possible in design. I love that!

All in all, the atmosphere at offset was great, enthusiastic, Inspirational and gave me an awesome Insight into how other young designers work and get themselves where they want to be.

Andy Warhol exhibition has come to Town!

I am a fan of the pop art style and you couldn't think of a more 'pop art' character than Mr Andy Warhol! During my time at high school I wrote a huge essay about him and his infamous art work designs. I actually went to Edinburgh to attend a huge exhibition as part of his 20th anniversary of his death. So I was happy to see his work come to a main stage in my capital city of Belfast, in the Mac. Even though it was a pretty small exhibition- at least I got the can ev to take photos as much as I pleased :) The display had all the usual pieces to admire, minus a few major famous pieces such as his celebrity portraits of Presley or Jackie O! 

Here's a few photos: