When I received this brief, first I thought that it would be difficult to do as I find it hard to talk about myself, although I then realised I could do anything that I want to do as this brief is about me, and nothing I do can be wrong, as it is how I interpreted myself.
I started by reviewing the questions and writing down the first things that came to mind, or answer the questions, this would give me a starting point.
Who are you now?
- Student
- Graphic Design
- Happy
- Energetic
- Enthusiastic
- Optimistic
- Annoying
- Tired
What have you learned?
- Typography
- Colour Theory
- Illustrator (shortcuts)
- InDesign
- Photoshop
- Stock types
- Time Management (a little bit)
What skills do you have?
- Screen Printing
- Illustrator
- Packaging
- Physical Design
What do you know?
- I have progressed a lot throughout first year
- I need to learn even better time management for deadlines
- Screen printing is something I should have done more of
- I need to organise my priorities better
- Having a part time job on this course is difficult
Tone of Voice?
- Informal
- Funny
- Light hearted
Information I want to include?
- Past projects and briefs which I have done
- What I have learnt from my previous mistakes
- The blogs I use
- Business cards
- Simple packaging
- The designers I am interested in
- Things about why I have done what I have done
What are your creative concerns?
- Am I good enough on the Adobe Suit
- Combining theoretical and physical design
- Have I limited myself to packaging
- Where am I going to end up?
Fonts I use often;
- Bebas
- Futura
- Modern. 20
- Helvetica
- Gill Sans
Format/Production;
- Screen printing
- Digital printing
- Hand rendered
- Publication
- Packaging
- Posters
Colours;
- Pastel colours
- Black and gold foils
- Black and silver foils
- Black and white
- Pastel colours and stock
- One colour with different opacities
From this information I thought that I would make a pack about me, as I enjoy creating packaging I want to do something which includes packaging as I found that during all of my briefs so far I have tried to incorporate packaging into it. I then started to look at creative packaging, after finding a lot of different things I thought that I want to keep it simple but effective, and the most simple packaging was effective because there was a series of them, therefore I want to make two or three packs.
After deciding what kind of packaging I want to make I thought that if I had three different packs, I would have one for each part of PPP. One Personal, one Professional, and one Practice pack, this will allow me to separate my information, and give it some sort of structure, as I didn't know how I would start to talk about all three together.
Logo;
I started to design a logo using my initials, choosing many different fonts such as Hobo, Futura, Helvetica, Bebas, Modern. 20, this was so that I could see which looked best, and which typeface I could use.
Moving around the letters means that I can see what they look like in different positions, I started with Modern. 20. I really like this logo, I think it looks really classy and professional, although it doesn't say a lot about me, as I am neither of those things. I also believe that you shouldn't just go with your first idea, this is also something that I have learnt this year as before I came to LCA I would just get an idea and run with it, rather that pursuing to find that your first idea isn't always your best idea.
Rearranging the letters in a different way still looked really good, although it was still sending out the wrong message as it doesn't say a lot about me personally, instead it shows what I would love to be, really professional and structured, but this would be a lie.
In a previous brief, my partner Adam Garbut made me aware that my hand writing was very similar to the font Futura, he noticed this when he made a typeface that reflected me as a person. Ever since then I have used Futura as one of my main fonts to use, this is because I think that it says a lot about me, and shows my personality, simple and not too serious. I thought about trying the same ideas using the font Futura, and I found that I liked it.
Kerning the font meant that I could see what my initials looked together. I started to draw up some thumbnails so get more ideas flowing but I find that I can develop my ideas digitally quicker and easier, it also allows me to produce more and explore further as I can do it quicker.
Starting to play with the logo in different ways I remembered the OGC logo that we got to see in a Design Principles session, and how it was seen as rude if it was flipped on its side, therefore when looking at mine on its side I saw my initials and a dancing person. This is perfect for me, it says a lot about my character and personality, it also says a lot about the way I like to design.
To make the person clearer I decided to give it eyes, this is just so that people can see what idea and concept I am going for.
I want to make it as clear as possible without distorting the letters that this is a person dancing, so I thought that I would put an outline onto letter 'S' so it stands out more. I then took both logos and asked my peers and my family which one they thought was more appropriate for me, also which one looked more effective. A couple of people said that I should have the outline, but most people said the plain one, this is because it is more simple and to the point, and that is the way I like to design, it is also the way I like to behave, therefore I will be using the normal dancing person.
Business Card;
I also decided to design my business cards digitally rather than doing different thumbnails as this is the I work best. Designing many different layouts for the business card means that I have lots to choose from, I decided that I would use the top left card design on the back of my business card, and screen printing it would give it an amazing finish. I narrowed it down to the designs that aren't center aligned as they don't appear very professional, they seem a bit childish. Asking my peers and my family about which design they thought worked best is something hat I think is very effective as they are my target audience, and it is what they think that matters. I asked them to chose from 4 different designs and found that this is the best design for my business card.
I really enjoy screen printing so I want to incorporate it into this brief, so I want to screen print my business cards, although I need to decide on the colours for my stock as I am wanting to print a white or pearl white onto the packaging and the business cards, but I will need to stock to be reltively dark so that the print will be seen on the cards. As I didn't know if the type would be readable on the business card when screen printed, I decided to make some so that they are just black ink, and some all screen printed, also some with just the logo printed.
Stock colour;
I started to look into using three different pastel colours, one for each pack.
Although I really like pastel colours, I think that these colours are too faint to see a white screen print on, I don't think that contrast will be high enough to have the effect I want.
As pastel colours say a lot about me, I have found that I haven't used them a lot in my designs this year, mainly because they weren't appropriate for the brief. I think that although I like the colours, I don't think that they are right for my pack, as I think it will communicate the wrong message, it may make me look quite childish, and this is something that I don't want to say about myself.
Choosing more serious colours, and deep colours which will work really well with a white screen print and will communicate the right message about me. As although I am not a very serious person, I am serious about my design, but it is just quite light hearted. These colours are better than the pastel ones, but they don't really say a lot about what I am trying to show, as they are all completely seperate colours.
I have decided to use these colours for my design, as I think that although Personal, Professional and Practice are all different things, they all link together in one way or another, and think that they shouldn't be seen as separate things. This is why I think having one colour and using different shades of that colour is a good way to show that they are all linked, are all influence each other.
Screen Printing;
Experimenting with the business cards is the only way for me to see what looks best and most effective.
A few of my prints went wrong, for example they weren't lined up correctly, or after I printed I put them in the wrong place and got paint on them, this meant that I limited myself to which business cards I could choose, as I only took 24 different business cards with me to print on.
I decided that I would print on them all and decide later after asking some of my peers which they preferred. The feedback I got from this was very mixed, they all agreed with me that the darker blue had a higher contrast of colours which made the screen print more effective. But it was half and half on whether I should have round edges of straight. I decided to make the executive decision as I think that I am quite a fun person, I am not very straight edged, therefore I am going to go with rounded edges. As the type came out well on the screen prints I am going to use the full printed business cards, I think they are the most aesthetically pleasing prints and I should use them. I also decided to use a metallic pearl silver to print with, this gave my prints something different to what I have seen before, also as I wanted to experiment with foiling my business cards, this allowed me to skip a process and get straight to the end result.
I printed my logo larger on the back of some of my business cards to see if this added or took away from the design, but found that this is my favorite park of my business card and I should definitely use this design.
I also decided that I would screen print the boxes and the cover for my publication, keeping my brand consistent and it will make my packs more effective.
Packaging;
I am wanting to make a pack to show the different aspects of my life throughout my first year, and I stared to look at different ways to make to packaging creative yet simple. Having a window in the packaging is a good way to make the pack more interesting whilst not making it too complicated. To look for some inspiration i always go to hobby craft, I love stationary shops, that is something about me that will never change, it is somewhere that gives me lots of ideas simply by looking at the different stocks and items I could use. I found some paper mache letters, so decided to get my initials as it is my logo. Putting them in my window would mean that it would make my design more interesting, also if you stack them on top of each other, it will create my logo.
After many attempt at trying to work out the dimensions of each box and what they should be so that they work I found that this works best. It is a pack which has two compartments, one with the letter in it, which I will paint the same colour as my screen prints so that it is coordinated, and the other will have my publication in it.
I also want to cover of my publication to be screen printed and use the same stock so that they all match, therefore I have just used the same design for both the top of the box and the front of the book for each pack, but I have rearranged where the logo and the type is so that it is appropriate for the function.
Having the designs ready and measured out so that they are the correct size means that I can screen print them and have all my prints done so that all I have to do is the content for the publications.
I printed a few of each as I thought that if I go wrong I need to have some back ups as I didn't buy any extra card with me to print on, therefore I did three of each just in case, then I can choose the best print.
I am glad that I printed a few of each of the publication cover as the first print didn't look very good as I think I had left the paint on the screen for too long and it may have gone dry and blocked the screen so I had to flood it to get the ink flowing through it again.
I found the lids to be difficult to assemble as after I had made them all to fit I decided to check and assemble them to see if they fit on my packaging, and they didn't. I thought that I measured it accurately although I didn't consider the fact that it would have to fir over the packaging, as I made it to the exact size. If I were to do this again, I would have done that properly as it would have saved me a couple of hours.
I also screen printed two each of my top, this is because I want them to right and I will be able to choose the one which is best. I would have printed more but it took me a long time to measure each one out and then when I went wrong and had to start again I decided to only do two of each.
For one of them I double printed onto it, so that it went off by a lot and printed over the top of it, I had a moment of stupidity, this is exactly the reason why I have to create more than one of each, just in case things like this happen.
I assembled the packaging and painted the letters and stacked them up to form my logo, I think that this is a good way to promote my logo further and make it stick in someones mind. I am really pleased with my pack so far, I have just got to make the content for them. I have done this backwards to how someone would usually do this, but as I am mostly driven by packaging, I decided to prioritse this, and I know what I am going to put in each book, I just need to design them.
Publications;
With my publication I also decided to experiment with it digitally, this is because it is easier to move things around to see where everything can go. I wrote all of my body copy so that I knew how much information I wanted to put in, then it was simply about placing it in InDesign with my images.
With my Photoshop brief I decided to add my feet in the side of all of my postcards I think that using it in the publication itself is a good way to apply the theory to my practical work, and relate that brief to this one.
Experimenting with layouts;
Experimenting digitally allowed me to find what works best quicker than drawing out lots of thumbnails.
I thought about my last single page and I thought that I should include what I want to do more in my practice publication about what I want to change and achieve next year, as I firmly believe that you should make yourself goals, otherwise how can you measure how much you have progressed?
As I have more to write about the designers I follow, I want to have more room, therefore dedication double page spreads for each designer or studio, this is so that I can say everything I want to say about them, and how they influence my design.
Final Packs;
Evaluation;
If I were to do this task again I would have started it a lot sooner than I did, as my time management skills aren't as good as they should be, although they have improved since I have been on this course, for the second year I aim to improve them more, so that I don't panic at every deadline. I also found that I have minimal binding skills therefore the books are bound very well, I have just printed out double page spreads and stuck them together, next year I will also attempt to use different binding techniques.
Another thing I would do differently if I would have done it again is found more designers and studios in my professional publication, as there are many more designers who influence my work, I could have also put the different blogs which I visit. This is something I would have definitely have included if I were to do it again.
I have really enjoyed screen printing in this brief, I found that it is something that I really enjoy and have a passion for, I wish I would have done more screen printing for this brief. I would have been able to do more screen printing if I would have organised myself better and got my design done faster.
I have enjoyed doing this brief as I thought at first that it would be difficult to write about myself, I found that it is easier as I would usually have to do a lot of research into my subject, but I already know everything about myself, and all of the information I have been collecting about my preferences in design have helped me to form my packs and publications.
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