Design Practice

After the crit, I decided to produce my packaging inspired by the "Beat The Whites With The Red Wedge" poster by El Lissitzky. I thought that this was a really suitable and effective way of packaging the design, as the poster was created during the Russian Revolution, causing a big change in designs and art of the era.

Trial 1



The first attempt at producing the packaging didn't really work very well, measurements were guessed just so that I could see how it would work as a piece of packaging. I also noticed that it needed some sort of bottom to the box, so that the book could sit in there, rather than acting like a belly band..

Trial 2



With the second attempt, I added the extra flaps to create more of a box to the packaging. The measurements still need to be calculated correctly so that it works effectively, but this definitely worked a lot better!

Trial 3





I produced a net on the computer, so that everything was exact and added the triangle and circle, to see how it looks aesthetically. I noticed that measurements were slightly wrong, as the book didn't sit inside the box and the box was too small! I also wanted the circle to be a bit more obvious.

Final










The final packaging works a lot better, as the measurements are a lot more precise and the book fits inside nicely. I'm not really sure how I could make it sturdier, as it still seems a bit flimsy, but I couldn't really use cardboard in the printer, so it will have to do! I think that the circle messed up a bit, but this is something that was hard to control, as the circle cutter kept slipping across the page.

I quite like this form of packaging, as it's simple yet elegant. I didn't really want to create something overly complicated, as it will take away from the structure and design of the book itself. I think that using the "Beat The Whites With The Red Wedge" idea is really significant, and almost suggests that once you've beaten the white palace, and you open the box, it reveals all of the secrets of the designs from the era and the 'beauty' of them.

Final Publication

For the crit, we presented what we had produced, and then went around the table leaving written formative feedback for one another.

Strengths
- Strong layout structure throughout, consistent and easy to read / follow
- Design really reflects the topic
- Each full title page has impact and is relative to each artists
- Strong layout, although I do really like how the left hand side was slightly larger. I think the stock choices work well - you could experiment with other stock to show development.
- I like how the quote is displayed on pg 12, 10 and 6.
- Stock selection is fine, ties in with colours already used.
- I like the stock and the effect it has on the colour
- Keep these colours - they compliment each other effectively, more colours would only distract from the content.
- The content and layout is strong and appropriate to your chosen topic - it is evident that you have put a lot of research into the specific artists.

Areas For Improvement
- Improve the back page - develop what is already there into something further influenced by Russian Avant-Garde
- I would add sub-headings on pages, or a little title next to pagination to indicate what section it is, as it's not always clear what content is about at a glance

Considerations
- Perforation could mimic artwork / vinyl, in the way that you open the packaging
- Boxes within boxes like a matryoshka
- Red and black stitch binding
- This could work effectively with a red and black thread to bind it. The thread could also be used as a part of your packaging?
- Your packaging could mimic artwork inside using black or red stock to allow your cover to be revealed slightly. Your back cover could be used / linked to your packaging in some way.
- For packaging, use a contrasting shape to complement topic?
- Slot packaging mimicking the red triangle going into the white circle art thing - would be really good, appropriate packaging.


- Progressive Avant-Garde stitching (see figure 1)


- Would have red or black staples / thread - both binding options would work well.

After the crit, I made final changes to the book from the feedback:





I decided to print my publication in the classroom, as I quite like the fact that the printer isn't high quality - this will make my publication seem older and more authentic. I'm also going to hand bind the book with wax thread.

I made a few changes after my crit, but most of the feedback that I received was positive or towards the packaging side of the book, so I didn't really have to change much!

I tried out justification with the text, but I felt as though this looked really strange and a bit like a magazine, rather than a contextual book..

I didn't really like the feel that this had, especially when it made certain lines of text read longer than they should read as they gained lots of spaces within the text, so I kept the book left aligned.

The other changes that I made were to do with alignment of text with images, title pages within grid structures, and adding a bit of text on the last page of the book.

The final publication in PDF format can be viewed here:
(The pages are scattered, as this means that they print in the correct order)




I'm still unsure about how I'm going to bind the book, as I don't want to take away from the aesthetics.. There aren't really any Russian styles of binding either!!

Our word: Dredging

The concept: To take away the "bad name" that surrounds the idea of dreading in the seas and river beds, and enthuse an eco-friendly and sustainable notion.

The Logo:

We all had a go at producing logos. We chose to use Gill Sans in Regular and Light, and an aqua colour. This is what I produced..

A lot of my logo ideas seemed a bit too corporal and not friendly enough, although the other group members really enjoyed the tones of colour that I used.

Sam came up with the final logo idea, which we helped her tweak to make it look right..


We produced the tear drop in a way that made it look like a jewel, which made the idea of dredging seem a lot more glamorous and wanted, rather than something that destroys the natural habitats.

After Sam had finished the logo, I went on to create the Home Page and About Page for our website...


I also produced some mock-ups to see how these two web pages would look on an iMac...



I also produced the powerpoint for the presentation tomorrow...