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FRIDAY 24TH OCTOBER 2008 - I have been experimenting with my own paper pattern designs - I have done some, which work really well I think. However, I have a problem because although the printers at uni are good quality, when I fold the paper the ink rubs off?!? Which makes them look really scruffy which I don't want. I am going to speak to Neil and see why this is. In the meantime, I am really going to focus on my Recycled Range.
FRIDAY 24TH OCTOBER 2008 - I have been researching materials and where I can source interesting paper stocks from. Here are some websites I have found, however they are based in America and most don't ship to the UK. But they give a good idea of what I am looking at:
http://www.mantofev.com/
http://www.blockheadstamps.com/clearenv.html
http://www.hoohing.com/acatalog/Products__Paper_154.html
I have found several chinese supermarket sites that stock Joss Paper - it is really cheap to buy but, the postage is really expensive for some reason - which is going to make my costs very high. So far postage seems to be between £7 and £10. TOO MUCH!
I can't seem to locate any UK paper stockists. The one in America is brilliant, they sell you pages from foreign books and newspapers - but, again shipping is a problem.
I am going to go to Charminster later today and see what I can find there. Also, I will go to Borders and buy some foreign newspapers and they stock them in there.
FRIDAY 24TH OCTOBER 2008 - We had our final crit this morning for our Greetings Card project with Sally, Neil and Claire. Here are the comments and feedback I received:
PRODUCTION COSTS:
These would be high considering how long it would take to produce the card and the amount of money I could actually charge for it. Claire said the the making of the cards would be outsourced abroad, so they would be less than if I was to do them myself for example - and also, the people that it would be outsourced too would do this kind of thing all day every day and could more than likely produce each folded design a lot quicker than I could. To be honest, the most time consuming part is cutting the paper squares out - you have to get the measurements exactly right otherwise the folding doesn't work. If these cards were to be produced in larger volumes, I could perhaps look at getting various paper stocks cut by machine - so the people making them would be supplied with pre-cut squares of my chosen paper stocks and they would just have to fold them and stick them onto card.
RECYCLED RANGE:
I need to push this concept for a range. Look at:
- Instead of using cellophane wrappers for the cards, I would need to look into using bio-degradable wrappers - which you can now buy.
- Look at all the different paper stocks I can use:
---Newspaper
---Newspapers from different countries
---fruit wrappers (source from the foreign food stores in Charminster?)
---Old receipts
---Chinese Joss Paper (beautiful paper burnt at funerals as part of their rituals)
---Pages from old books
-I would need to look at sourcing recycled card and envelopes as well
NEWSPAPER RANGE:
- There isn't enough contrast in the designs - use pieces of newspaper that contain headings and images - use the financial times etc - different colour newsprint
MY OWN PATTERNED PAPER:
I need to push these further and make up some more pattern designs
FOLDING:
Look at different folding patterns - I have already looked at origami - which is very much 3D designs - I have found a couple that could be stuck on cards but they are very complex and would add a lot more time to the production time and also therefore would increase the cost a lot.
CHRISTMAS RANGE:
- Push forward the concept of the folded design being removable to be used as a decoration
- Look at christmas patterns
INSERT OR PRINT ON REVERSE OF CARD EXPLAINING THE HISTORY OF TEA BAG FOLDING - i can use vegetable inks for this for the recycled range in particular.So, from all the above there is plenty for me to keep working on and many ways I can further the concept and my designs.
THURSDAY 23RD OCTOBER 2008
We had our interim crit today (final crit tomorrow). I think it went well, here are the notes I made:
TUESDAY 21ST OCTOBER 2008 - I have completed my designs for my greetings cards. I have 6 newspaper print designs - all different folding patterns, mounted on white cards, and I have 6 patterned paper designs - these are all the same folded pattern, but different paper.
I am really happy with how they have turned out. I still need to buy some cream square cards for the patterned designs. We have an interim crit on Thursday so any problems with them I will have to change on Thursday night! Hopefully there won't be any problems though as they take so long to make! We then have a final crit on Friday.
FRIDAY 17TH OCTOBER 2008 - I spent today working on designs for my cards. I am going to produce 2 sets of 6. One set of newspaper print designs and one set of most likely the same design pattern, but using different patterned paper for each one. I am going to produce the 12 greetings cards, and then if I have enough time before Friday, I am going to design some of my own patterned paper to use. I think it would be really great if I could produce my own paper pattern as I can choose my colour pallette and also, as I know what each piece of paper looks like when folded, I should be able to tailor the pattern to show certain ares in particular when folded. It will be very time consuming, but I think it will be worth it. At the moment I am constrained colour wise by the paper I have sourced. It is lovely paper, but there are a few things I would change if it was my design.
I went to the book shop in Winton this afternoon as well with Milla, Lewis and Matt. I was hoping to get some lovely old books, with really nice pages that I could scan in and print off, to use as paper for the origami. I got a few really lovely old leather bound books from between 1898 and 1947. A couple of them have a note written in the front where they have been given as a gift to someone. Incredible! and they were only about £2 or £3 each! I'm so happy with them and you can smell the log fire smell on them. Its my new favourite shop :o)
I need to re-do my CV tonight as I want to apply to go on the day trip to Penguin. I am really interested in publishing and book design so this would be an amazing opportunity for me. Kit is going to look over it before it gets sent off with the application.
THURSDAY 16TH OCTOBER 2008 - We had our interim crit today for the greetings cards project. My idea to take forward was to use collage of photographs, magazine cut outs, bits of type and some of the Kaleidoscope Origami that I have done (otherwise known as Tea Bag Folding). I also wanted to include some vector flower patterns which I would have created myself in Illustrator. Claire and Neil led the crit and they think that the origami is very strong on its own and doesn't necessarily need collage etc with it. After thinking about it I can see that the origami is strong enough on its own and collage will only take away from the complexity of the designs. I am going to focus on trying out various patterns with various materials (magazine cuttings, newspaper print, patterned paper etc) to see what works best. I think that mounting them on plain card will work well and they will really stand out. I'm feeling much better about this project now and am really eager to get started on some designs!
MONDAY 13TH OCTOBER 2008 - I spent the day working on the Greetings Cards project. I am stuck. In my research I have also come across some interesting vernacular photography.
www.accidentalmysteries.com
This means photographs that are created by an amateur or unknown photographer who takes photos of every day life. For example photographs of travel, family snapshots, photos of friends, class portraits and passport photos. Its like accidental art, in that they are usually unintentionally artistic. It is sometimes now called "found photography," which is the recovery of a lost or unclaimed photo. Such as those found at flea markets, thrift stores etc. Vernacular photography has become far more common in recent years as an art technique and is now a widely accepted genre of art photography.
I spoke to Neil about it and he explained the concept to me. I think it would make a lovely set of 6 cards. Because the pictures are old, you know they have a history, and the person or subject in the photo has a history. There is something about seeing an old photo that makes me feel strange, in a good way. It makes you wonder.
It seems a shame to rush this however. I only have until next Friday and this could be such a big project. I think it would be a great final major project maybe. Or I could carry it forward as a personal project. I know my other Nan in Kent has lots more pictures that I would love to look at. I also know that it will take me ages to scan them all in, but it will be well worth it in the end. I am going to sleep on it and try and decide which route to pursue.
I have looked at Kessel Kramer Publishing.
They seem to do a lot of work that involves Vernacular Photography. I really love their work. The subject books are great. I would love to go to some flea markets and pick up some photos. Lewis has said he would come with me. We will look into this! I love photographs and to find some old ones belonging to strangers would be amazing. I am also working on getting hold of all my Nans pictures in Kent.
Neil also showed me his Flickr page and his collection of postcards that are on there. These are really interesting too - especially as he never went to these places, but looking at them you know someone has been on a journey, and so has the postcard itself. Neil Leonard - Postcards.
FRIDAY 10TH OCTOBER 2008 - Today was the start of the second part of our brief, Greetings Cards. Claire Sewell, a greetings cards designer, came in to talk to us and show us her portfolio. It was really interesting. She spent the afternoon with us and spoke to each of us about our ideas and what we thought we would like to do. I spent the afternoon researching. The first thing we were told to decide on was our audience - mine is females around my age, so my range is 21-30 or thereabouts. I have so many birthday cards at home that are so lovely and I would love to keep them up, purely for their design, but they say 'Happy Birthday' on them, or something along those lines, so I take them down. I want my cards to have no greeting on the front. I am still deciding whether to put a greeting inside or not. In a way, this might limit my market. The buyer would be purchasing the card due to the design on the front, it may be as a Thank You card, or a birthday card, and so writing a greeting inside may limit people.
I spent the afternoon researching greetings card designers, current trends and things that I like. I am going to go into town over the weekend and have a look around, see how shops and companies are communicating with people in my a range, what things they are using to appeal to them.
I am going to look at the D&AD and ISTD briefs at some point over the weekend too.
