Kirstyn Byrne
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The Full Irish Breakfast Costume »
(commissioned by the Bad Ass Cafe, Dublin)
Browsing Tumblr today, I came across a woman’s bag and hat fashioned to resemble a fried breakfast. It reminded me of my own experience fashioning a full Irish breakfast.
Around this time last year, the Bad Ass Cafe asked myself and fashion student Naoise Farrell to design and make a costume, based on the full Irish breakfast.Some months previously we had made their logo into a larger-than-life mascot costume: the Bad Ass Donkey! They were delighted with the donkey costume and all the attention it received from the public. The donkey can often be seen galloping around Dublin City’s famous Temple Bar area interacting with tourists and locals.
Faced with the challenge, we launched ourselves into the design process. We researched the Irish breakfast that the Bad Ass Cafe serves. We made colour palettes of the foods we would need to make. We trawled the fabric shops of Dublin searching for the perfect bacon fabric! We spent a lot of time on the composition. Three mushrooms or four? All big decisions! How to make a grilled tomato from fabric, and make it look tasty?! This we resolved by grilling a tomato, photographing it, printing it the size we wanted and finally sewing it to the tomato skin fabric!
Because the costume was so enormous, we had to take apart the sewing machine when we needed to insert it. After that, most of the sewing was unachievable with the machine so we sat for hours, sewing by hand. It was tough but enjoyable. I have no idea how many hours were spent but we are proud of the result. So much so, that we had to taste it for ourselves.
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Fanzine 2 (Part I) — Objets [de] Femme »
fan-zine n. An amateur-produced magazine written for a subculture of enthusiasts devoted to a particular interest: a science fiction fanzine.
This is the definition of a fanzine. As a brief we were asked to select two news stories that interested us and use these to inspire a fanzine. We chose the above poster as one element to inspire us.The poster translates as:1: she isn’t looking for rape;
2: she isn’t asking for rape;
3: she isn’t suggesting rape;
4: she doesn’t cause…
5: she doesn’t incite….
6: she doesn’t facilitate…
Rape is never the victim’s fault. It is the fault of the aggressor and the male-dominated culture.We used this as our other influence:‘Femme de la Rue.’ (Woman of the Street) It’s Belgian film student Sofie Peeters’ documentary and it shows how she is openly sexually harassed by men on the streets of Brussels.For our Fanzine, we decided to look at the objects associated with women and analyse them. We made a list of such objects and put them in 3 categories; ‘positive,’ ‘negative’ and ‘neutral.’ Then we decided to photograph them, but to leave it up to the reader to decide whether they were positive or negative for women.
We adopted an amateur style of photography, associated with evidence collected on crime scenes. The concept is that we are presenting these items in a way that suggests that they need to be analysed. We’re not giving our opinion, we’re just asking the reader to analyse this everyday objects.
The front cover is a simple map of a crime scene, to suggest the idea and the title of the fanzine is ‘Objets [de] Femmes’ which could refer either to the objects as belonging to women or the women as objects themselves. -
New Cover Photo »
I was feeling inspired by this charming city so I made some little illustrations of things that mean Geneva to me. Smart car, croissant, carac etc. It’s now my cover photo on Facebook. The typeface is Frutiger, also Swiss.
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WWII Memorobilia from my Grandfather »
My dad sent me an e-mail today with these documents attached. One is a soldier’s payment book that belonged to my grandfather Jack Byrne. The other is a letter written by my grandfather to his father explaining that he had left Ireland to join the army in England. My own father opened this letter exactly 70 years after it was written. I find it fascinating to read this. Although the letter was written in simple English, it seems so much more elegant in its phrasing compared to the English we use today. It also opened my eyes to realise that my grandfather left the country without informing his parents. He told his son (my father), many years later that at the time he thought he had Tuberculosis and that he was convinced he would fail the medical for joining the army.
He didn’t fail the medical and while serving in the British army, he met a young German woman, Heidi Kugler, with whom he returned to Ireland and started a family. I never met my grandfather; he died before I was born but my father speaks very highly of him and his family think that I am the grandchild who most resembles him. From what my father tells me, he seemed to be a man of moral fibre and he was full of wise sayings and curiosity for the natural world.
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So far in HEAD »
(Haute École d’Art et de Design, Genève)Here’s a snapshot of my work in progress. We’ve been working on seven different projects since the beginning of the semester and will continue to work on them until June. It’s a new way of working for me because in NCAD, Dublin I’m used to working on one, or maybe two, projects at one time.
The projects I’m working on here cover design for way-finding, branding, fanzines, programming (java), poster design for Geneva’s International Car Show, typographic forms and editorial design. It’s a lot of work and there is a very high standard expected. There is a very positive working environment here. I’m impressed with how dedicated the other students are to their design, not just dedicated but passionate! It’s inspiring, although the work is tough, it’s enjoyable and rewarding. Hopefully my portfolio will benefit at the end of the semester!
Erasmus is not quite what I expected it to be because of the heavy workload but I am finding the balance between work and play and have employed a policy of saying ‘yes’ when people ask if I want to go somewhere or do something! I must admit that I did expect to have to work harder when I chose to study design in Switzerland. I may have been naïve to expect parties comparable NCAD’s! This is an Erasmus with a difference in that it’s not all play and no work! However, the work is so much easier when you feel constantly inspired by living in such a fantastic city and being immersed in beautiful design.
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Fashion Shoot »
I did some fashion photography for Naoise Farrell of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) Dublin. She used the photographs to apply for internships in London. She succeeded in securing an interview and was accepted for a summer internship. The bottom two photos are from Clío’s blog (http://meldonc.blogspot.ch)
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Vinz ‘La Haine’ »
While working on a fanzine with the theme ‘Derrière le Mirroir’ I was reminded of the scene in ‘La Haine’ in which Vinz is psyching himself up in a grimy mirror dans les banlieues de Paris.
«C’est à moi qu’tu parles ? MAIS C’EST A MOI QU’TU PARLES COMME CA MEC ?»This is a quick illustration I did of Vinz’s expression during that mirror scene
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Design pour le Musée National d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain (MNAMAC) Rabat, Maroc »
The first project we were introduced to this semester was the design of a complete signage system for a new museum in Rabat, Morocco. We are also undertaking the branding for the museum. It will be the first and only contemporary art museum in Morocco. It’s a really exciting project to work on because one of the systems and one of the identities designed by us will be in use in the future museum. Our tutors have been conducting Skype calls to discuss the project with the client. It’s a challenge for us to design signage and branding for a building that is so different from the architecture with which we are familiar. Morocco is an Islam country and we need to consider this in our treatment of the design. Naturally, we have been doing a lot of research on the culture of Morocco because we want to avoid clichés. For example, if someone from Morocco was designing an identity for an Irish museum, I would hope that they would avoid symbols like shamrocks and leprechauns that Ireland is associated with! We need to be conscious that we are foreign to their society and therefore we are not aware of what elements of Moroccan culture are clichéd. Yet. Hence the research!
While researching a different project (on typographic forms) I came across this article in a journal in the library. It just happens to be very relevant to the MNAMAC project because we are designing in Arabic. The journal illustrates how the traditionally calligraphic Arabic script is adapted to look similar to its Latin equivalents. -
Maybe I should turn this into a food blog… »
So far I have failed to photograph the beautiful city that is Geneva. I have been too busy living in the city. It is a terrible shame, I’ve been a bad photographer. The thing is I don’t have a smartphone and I didn’t bring my compact so I can’t just casually snap something as soon as I see it and I haven’t been carrying my DLSR around with me and I have no film yet for my Fujica. The only thing I have photographs of so far, is food! Friends and food. So above we have Ethiopian, Swiss, Italian, Spanish and finally Japanese Takoyaki!
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Mica’s Mix-Tape Cover »
On the morning of my flight to Geneva, I logged on to Facebook in Dublin airport and was greeted with this on my homepage. It’s an illustration of me and Mica by Mica, check out more of his work here:
http://cargocollective.com/micawarren -
Spotted in Geneva »
The top photo is a decorative wall I spotted in a cafe in Geneva, it reminded me so much of the sponge lettering I used in my recent advertising design for Irish charity Trócaire! Just an observation.
See the post here:
http://kirstynbyrne.tumblr.com/post/41698745003/design-for-advertising-non-profit-irish -
Genève Je T’aime »
I’m here in Geneva studying Communication Visuel at the Haute Ecole d’Art et de Design. My first day was last Monday, so I’m three days in now and I love it! Unlike NCAD in Dublin, the Visual Communication department is BIG, it spans over five floors with every facility you could imagine! We were introduced to the Vis Com building on Rue de l’Encyclopédie last Friday and I was so impressed! The tutors are exceptionally friendly and approachable and my fellow students are great. Not just the other exchange students but the Swiss students too. I had been told that the Swiss people can be very serious but I don’t agree with that at all! Most of the locals I’ve met have a great sense of humour. They are a lovely people.
The pace of life is different here. College starts at 8.30am for us which means a 6.30 start for me and the college day ends at 5.30pm. It’s quite long but we get a long lunch in the middle of the day, for two hours, so that breaks it up a bit. The Swiss people never seem to be in a rush and I can only put it down to the incredibly punctual and precise public transport system they have. To use a cliché; it works like a Swiss watch! If the bus says it’s going to be at your stop at 7.51, it will be at your stop during those sixty seconds! Coming from Ireland (where the buses might turn up or then again, might not) that is very impressive! No one here seems to cross the road without the green man, even if there are no cars coming. So different from Dublin where (despite boasting the safest roads of any EU capital) there are always people running out in front of cars and buses!
Something else I’ve noticed about Geneva is how multicultural it is. There seem to be very few people here who are 100% Swiss. Many people studying or working here are from another country and lots of Swiss people I’ve met have one or two parents from France or another neighbouring country. There is a lot of multilingualism as a result. I learn through French but most of the other students can speak English. There is a girl in my class who speaks four languages fluently and she’s only about twenty!
Switzerland is really living up to its stereotypes for me; the watches, the chocolate and the banks. Everywhere you look there are banks, watch shops and chocolatiers!
The first image I’ve used to accompany this post is an illustration of one of my souvenirs from InterRailing: a Swiss army knife which are in the window displays of every Swiss gift shop I pass. The second image is an oil pastel drawing I did of the underside of a watch, I can’t remember now if it was a Swiss watch, but it’s relevant to this post!
I am really delighted that I chose to spend a semester in Geneva, it has so much charm and I can’t see myself getting fed up of this place. Each morning I get the bus from Cologny to college and I look out the window and see photographs! It is so beautiful. I haven’t taken many photos since I arrived here because I have been so busy but there will be plenty. I just know it! -
Roller Blading in the Phoenix Park »
A week or so before I left for Geneva, Mica and I went roller blading in Dublin City’s beautiful urban park. I had a roll of film to be used up on my Fujica so we took some shots there. It was a really cloudy day so the light kept changing and I found it very challenging to photograph Mica as he was moving. Usually I take my time making sure my subjects are in focus. Actually I was very happy with how the shots turned out. The way I overcame my difficulty was to ask Mica to jump over the bicycle sign on the ground and I focused on that before he started moving. I like the way there is no shadow so you don’t know how high he’s actually jumping, I think it looks even more impressive! -
Going Away Party »
Two friends of mine Guy and Cathal are heading to Krakow on Erasmus next week (they leave Monday and I leave Wednesday) so we had a collaborative going-away party. I shot photos on my Dad’s Fujica STX-1N and got them developed and had them uploaded to Facebook the very next day! It was every bit as instant as digital photography.
It was a great night with my best friends and I love these photographs. For the event picture on Facebook, I got very clever and made a hybrid flag from the Polish and Swiss flags! Well not very clever, but I was very happy with myself. I am so excited about Geneva, it’s getting so close… -
Leaving for Geneva »
My friend Clío featured me on her blog and wrote about our friendship in the run up to my departure on Wednesday. It did make me shed a tear to be honest. It’s always such an honour to be mentioned on her blog
http://meldonc.blogspot.ie
