Monday 5 December 2011

Plantable Card - Growing you own cotton

Cotton grows is the most common textile fibre grown in the world. When grown non-organically, cotton growing uses an enormous amount of water and chemicals to produce a decent crop. By growing your own cotton, you will help reduce the impact industrial cotton growing has on the environment, and set yourself a fun and exciting challenge in the process.
Cotton is not normally grown in the UK. It is used to hot, wet and humid conditions and a long, sunny season in order to produce its fluffy cotton heads. However, it is possible to grow cotton in a greenhouse or polytunnel if you live in the south of the UK. For the best results, grow it in a good, fertile soil, and a warm, humid spot in a south-facing position undercover.

http://www.goselfsufficient.co.uk/grow-your-own-cotton.html

The seeds could be used within plantable card and used as swing tags, and have a step by step guide.

Stock:
Made from recycled paper and colored with organic pigments and soy-based inks.
The product is made with flat seeds, for example poppies, daisies and herbs.  These are blended into the pulp mixture created from recycled newspapers, magazines, etc.) then are pressed, set and dried.  The paper product and seeds eventually return to Mother Earth and sprout herbs or flowers thus giving back! 

Step by Step to planting:

SUPPLY LIST

  • a pot for planting
  • some good potting soil
  • plantable paper
  • water
  • a sunny corner

STEP 1 - PREPARE YOUR POT

Fill your pot 2/3 full with good potting soil. Tamp down the soil and add more if necessary. You want the pot to be firmly full, but not packed. The paper can be planted indoors or outside, so you get to choose according to the temperature and conditions at the time of planting (we don't recommend planting outside if it's blizzarding or desert-hot!).

STEP 2 - PLANT THE PAPER

Take your plantable paper and tear it into small pieces, about 1 inch. Cover the soil in the prepared pot with the paper. It's okay if the paper overlaps. Spread a 1/2 inch layer of soil over the plantable paper pieces and tamp down gently.

STEP 3 - WATER DURING GERMINATION

After planting the paper in your pot, give it a good soak. You want the paper and the soil to be nicely damp but not swimming in water. During the first 10 days, keep the paper moist at all times. The water is necessary for germination.

STEP 4 - CARE AFTER GERMINATION

On sprouts appear, continue to keep the paper moist but be careful not to overwater. Once sturdy plants appear, water as needed. Here's what the pot looks like after planting a greeting card:
http://www.botanicalpaperworks.com/how_plantable_paper_works




Print Process

Here are a few print processes that could be used for swing tag designs to make them more unique and creative. I found a website that offers 8 different processes

http://www.ukpaccessories.com/product/latest/sep_11.html










I really like the use of flocking, distressing and combining materials and think they are relevant to the brand and could look visually interesting and work really well for the swing tickets.

In the time left I won't have time to do produce these special finishes before the deadline, but if I choose a certain process for my ideas I will make sure I make them and photograph them for my portfolio over Christmas.

Denim weaving process

http://nincek.wordpress.com/2010/07/06/how-jeans-are-made/



Here is a video that goes through the process of making jeans right from collecting the cotton to sending the jeans to stores.

The process itself is interesting and I picked up on a few key stages.

-Cotton crops - harvesting
-Bails
-Sieving - Refined Cotton
-Blended cotton
-Carding (combining and untangling fibres - combining and pulling into a 'web')
-Slither (6 slithers are stretched and combined)
-Spinning (cotton slithers are pulled and twisted) - produced fine yarn - reels
-Dyed yellow (because indigo blue dye isn't water soluble so first needs to be mixed with a reducing agent -Sodium hyrdosulphate- and when removed has contact with oxygen and turns blue)
-Corn starch used to make stiffer - dryer
-Loom - white and blue thread (1 white to 3 blue threads)
-Pattern Cutting (denim sacks of 100 sheets) - more like carpentry than tailoring (It takes approximately 15 pieces that make up a standard pattern for a pair of standard 5 pocket jeans.)
-Stitching together - each pair takes 15 minutes to make- 1.6metres of denim, several hundreds metres of thread, 6 rivets and 1 zipper or 5 buttons
-Distressing - sanding worn patches, grinding in frayed edges, spraying on stains, lazer gun creases,
-Stonewashing - washing machines with volcanic rock
-Pressed, labelled and boxed

These stages could be used to name a certain pair of jeans, I could narrow them down the main specifics.
I think this appeals well to the brand as it should refer to the process of making denim and this is a subtle hint to it, if I use just key words

Tuesday 29 November 2011

Brief 2 - Fedrigoni - Animals

I have decided to use 4 animals, to represent each book of the 'Paper Selection Tool'.
These books colours are Warm, Cool, Neutral Browns, Neutral Greys, so I wanted to use animals with recognisable patterns/features in these colour ranges.

One idea I had was to use fish in the 4 colour ranges to have an Aquarium theme, however it was hard to find appealing fish in brown colours.


I also looked at animals that are at the zoo, that have recognisable colours for each paper selection book.
I feel these work better, and the animals that I want to use to promote the Tool are:
Warm - Tiger
Cool - Peacock
Neutral Brown - Giraffe
Neutral Grey - Zebra




I also want to look into colour gradients for each of the colour books that could be re-produced use ding the process of screen printing, to represent the range of shades.

The colour gradients:
Warm - pink, red, orange, yellow
Cool - green, blue, purple
Neutral Browns - brown, beige, cream
Neutral Greys - white, light grey, dark grey, black

Monday 28 November 2011

Brand Identity

Liverpool English Pub:

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Liverpool-English-Pub/1657922






Thursday 24 November 2011

The Sedish Denim Miracle

http://www.thelocal.se/followsweden/article/The-Swedish-denim-miracle/

This ink refers to brands such as Dr. Denim and Cheap Mondays

Clothign Tag


A tag for the size of the piece of clothing. Also contains a barcode, price and information of the cut of the clothing.

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Wine Packaging - 7 Deadly Sins

http://www.sidecaronline.com/wine-packaging-diseno-de-etiquetas-de-vino-wine-labels-desing.htm

''The Spanish design agency Sidecar Publicidad has released a series of wine label designs for each of the seven deadly sins.  Envy, Lust, Gluttony and the rest are all here, represented in visually striking forms.  That bright, shiny gold bottle inspires envy, and the red, lingerie-laced bottle is as lusty as it gets. These label designs by Sidecar are some of the best we’ve seen, a collection where each label tells a story and the bottles come together to communicate a message.''


Anger:

Greed:

Lust:

Envy:

Pride:

Gluttony:

Sloth:

Tuesday 22 November 2011

GF Smith

Here is a mail out postcard from paper manufacturer GF Smith, and they play on their ''Britishness''




''For over 100 years, GFSmith have been trading from their warehousing and manufacturing head quarters in Hull, East Yorkshire as specialty paper merchants. They source and manufacture some of the most interesting, beautiful and also unusual papers for the Graphics and Printing Industries.
GFSmith cards and papers get used in a multitude of creative ways from simple business cards, to elegant stationery and exquisite invitations. Folders, brochures and annual reports to greetings cards and packaging. 
This tradition and innovation from 100 years of experience make GFSmith some of the most unique and respected paper people in the world. As their beautiful union jack emblazoned, red, white and blue triplexed, metallic screenprinted, 350gsm colourplan mailer says…
GFSmith are British
GFSmith are privately owned
GFSmith are independent
GFSmith are 110 years old
GFSmith are unique''
http://www.carryonbritain.co.uk/archives/2009/07/products/great-british-paper-made-by-gf-smith

Similarly to Fedrigoni they have their own swatch book tool for selecting papers, design by SEA.








Tuesday 15 November 2011

Retail Design Blog

Here's a great blog I found with some inspiring retail design:

http://retaildesignblog.net/category/branding/

Dr Denim

Dr Denim Book about the Brand


Brief 4 - WAVEN - Brand Concepts

I looked into some brands to find out about their concepts and how they have adapted it to their clothing ranges.


Whittard

Chocolate Sins from Whittard:

A similar concept to my ice-cream parlour, with use of the 7 Deadly Sins

Which means my idea needs to be better than this!

Point of Sale

http://retaildesignblog.net/2011/10/12/draw-in-light-branding-by-we-are-useful/

Monday 14 November 2011

Design for Print Workshop 03

Notes:




8 Pages Reader Spread PDF:




8 Page Printer Spread PDF from a Postscript file:


Journal de Nîmes

Journal de Nîmes - No 5

-The British Issue





Journal de Nîmes No 6

-The Dutch Issue

Brief 4 - Different Weave Designs










Thursday 10 November 2011

7 Deadly Sins

Gluttony is an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires.



Pride is excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is also known as Vanity.

Envy is the desire for others' traits, status, abilities, or situation.


Lust is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body.


Anger is manifested in the individual who spurns love and opts instead for fury. It is also known as Wrath.


Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. It is also called Avarice or Covetousness.


Sloth is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work.

Blue Blood

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Honey & Mackie's

Some modern, fun designs for an ice cream parlour by Wink:




http://wink-mpls.com/

Monday 7 November 2011

Thursday 3 November 2011

Fedrigoni - Imaginative Colours Tool


Starting from the brand-new Imaginative Colours system, a chromatic guide to the colours available in Fedrigoni special papers. Four packs, classified by nuances of warm, cool and neutral colours, for a total of 262 samples of paper that really enable graphic designers to appraise the best shade, the most suitable surface and the potential matches for their publication projects, prestigious packaging designs, classy brochures and unforgettable labels.


 Body Copy Text for the mail shot:


Fedrigoni is pleased to present the Imaginative Colours paper selector, an encyclopedia of colour available from the entire Fedrigoni special papers range. 
The tool consists of four fan style paper booklets, divided into sections of: warm, cool and neutral colours, containing a total of 262 samples of paper. The Fedrigoni paper selector is an essential tool for graphic designers to appraise the best shade and suitable surface for their latest projects. 
The ultimate toolkit for design and print professionals, who'll soon be wondering how they ever managed without it on their desks, a real source of inspiration for loads of creative, innovative ideas!


A new chromatic guide for Fedrigoni special papers, the handy tool for innovative ideas. 4 theme-based packs for 262 astonishing colour shades. It’s the right partner for designers and art directors to choose packaging and communication project papers: IMAGINATIVE COLOURS.



Wednesday 2 November 2011

Brief 3 - Fedrigoni - Brief Changes

The new Fedrigoni brief for YCN came out this week, and I feel that I would be able to adapt my ideas for from the original brief to this one, so I can enter my designs into the competition. The brief focuses on the 'Imaginitive colours' range, which will allow me to carry on with my animal theme. The only thing is that the most convenient thing for this brief is producing a mail shot, I will also come up with a few more deliverables wether I submit them in the competition or not. I will re-write this brief to suit.

Monday 31 October 2011

The Icecreamists

'The Ice Creamists' concept of boutique ice-cream is targeted towards adults, and has a very classy, upmarket feel to it.
The logo itself is quite gothic with a skull and wings, with 'Agents of Cool' as their slogan.

Her are some of their campaign imagery, which are clearly aimed at their target audience: