Brief 5 - ISTD Evaluation

Brief 5 – ISTD

This brief was an opportunity for me to explore the relationship between alternative print process and generating info graphics. Previously I had never created info graphics, so it was a chance to gain some skills, generating research working through it, analysing it and ultimately picking the most relevant information that I needed. It was also an opportunity to bring together the skills I had developed with the laser cutter and working with alternative print substrates to develop and push this brief. I really wanted to try and create something that was unique in its manufacture and content. Using the original ISTD brief as a springboard to create a brief that allowed me to explore the areas I was interested in. As mentioned, I spent a lot of time researching this brief and analyzing the key facts I needed to portray in order to bring this brief together, I had to make decisions fairly fast due to the nature of the process I was going to use. This was because I knew that the processes I wanted to use would be extremely time consuming, and creating the posters took 3/4hours at a time. So I had to improve my time management and organization in order to get what I wanted done. This was probably the most efficient brief I have produced within this module, because I had a clear direction and I knew what I wanted to achieve. This brief turned out to be the sort of brief that I could keep expanding on, creating more poster boards, publication work and packaging. I think the main problems I encountered with this brief was the formatting, i.e getting the substrates to laser cut into, getting the fabric for the packaging and getting the publication printed. Due to the publication size I planned to outsource it in order to get it done digitally at Pressision, however this brought around problems in itself and unless I was willing to have 100 produced I wouldn’t be able to, so instead I came up with formatting it myself. All of these problems forced me to think outside the box, and this brief really allowed me to be as creative as possible whilst having a strong concept to play around with. I learnt more about the logistics of publications and again I got to work collaboratively across courses in order to create the packaging element. This brief allowed me to be inspired, which at times really helped me with my other briefs because it meant that the decisions I used in this brief could help inform decisions I made in other briefs, such as Brief 4 and Brief 2.

Although this brief is extremely concept driven and not something I will be necessarily producing once I graduate, it has really pushed me to think of alternatives when printing and really pushed my creative abilities. 

Ougd303 Brief 5

ISTD Development Boards

I have gone through this brief and documented the transition of this concept from the initial range of ideas, to the development stage and the wood processing. I have documented the range of development and packaging, covering the exploration within this brief.

ISTD Boards

Final wrap packaging

This is now the final packaging for my ISTD boards, the wrap has been completed. It is made out of dyed pig suede, and as previously mentioned i didn't want to add branding to the front due to the nature of the complicated info graphics inside, i wanted them to speak for themselves.

// FINAL PACKAGING

Full sized calico wrapping

After combining both the ideas i had from the small mock up, this is now how the pieces will look together, and the wrap is now scaled to full size. I am really happy with the effect and i think it gives it an interesting level of interaction. I really like the simple shape and style and it wont work to detract from the boards inside.

I was considering putting text on the front, but i realised because there is so much going on inside the packaging i wanted to leave it plain and let the packaging stay neutral and just focus on the material its made out of.

ISTD - Calico

RANGE OF SAMPLES FOR THE CASE FOR THE WOODEN BOARDS:
- different styles - 3D and Flat
- different styles of zipping

[seem]
Both my fashion student and i agreed that the 'invisible' seem worked better so this is the style of seem i will have running alongside the fabric.

[images]

[Fav]
This is the style of wrap i want. it allows the boards to be unzipped, but then the fabric folds back to reveal the boards, whilst at the same time allowing them to be easily taken out.

ISTD - wrapping

When you would get the ISTD boards, not only would you get them wrapped in the suede but they would be wrapped in tissue paper as well. I experimented with wrapping them individually but worked out that it was better to encompass a bulk lot of them and then leave one free (the main one) so that when you pull it out, you could then see what the rest were, and then un-wrap them.

ISTD Publication

I have spent the rest of the day getting all my deliverables together and organised, i started by creating the ISTD publication which i have had printed for a while, it was just a case of putting it together. IM actually really happy with this because the net i put together to make it one out of two pieces actually worked. The 'seem' is hidden quite nicely.

Mocks ups of wrap

Today i got the samples of the style of wrap around packaging for my ISTD, they were only small sampels showcasing examples of the different seems, zips and folds. I decided on picking combination between both the zip and fold over design. That way when it's closed it can be zipped shut. It also gives the packaging a 'slow' reveal effect, so you have to peel back the case to see inside.

Leather for ISTD

I had to pick and order the leather i wanted to use for the casing for my ISTD boards today, i had to order so it would arrive in time for it to be used and made. I chose a simple dark suede that complimented the nature of the wood, tan suede would not give a good enough contrast. 

I wanted it to be made out of a natural material, so as to compliment the nature of the wood and the entire brief itself. It also had to be made out of a thin suede so that it could be sewn shut easily,a s the thicker stuff would be too difficult and look quite cumbersome. 

ISTD National Geographic

// FINAL EXAMPLES OF PUBLICATION MOCK UP
I am happy with the style, and i worked hard to try and get it to match the original magazine as much as possible. I think this will help contextualise the brief.

ISTD National geographic idea

After establishing the grid and the font, i have played around with various layouts and styles for the publciation.
When you see large articles in NatGeo, they tend to be fairly simple in their layout especially when you want the images to speak for themselves. So following this idea i have created fairly simple layout, that is focused on the images as opposed to the text, and therefore only using the text to help clarify information.
The images defiantly need tweaking and lightening, as they are too dark. But at the moment i am happy with the structure, and i think it clearly showcases the work and the style.

Cover:
With regards to the cover, i wanted again to create something simple that spoke for itself. By encompassing both the trees and the vectored pattern it can showcase the crossover and then by applying the appropriate type it gives it a realistic feel to it. I did have to spend some time editing the national geo title because i don't own their font. I got it as close to their's as i possibly could. [font used and edited]
Also, for the banner of yellow around the outside i used the pantones to match it as closely as i could. [pantone number]

National geographic

In order to help my idea, i have a few annuals of national geographic at home. I needed to work out the structure of the book, and how i can get my idea to work within it, and it work in an appropriate manner. Although national geographic is about animals and nature it does look at the more obscure elements of nature and what scientists/doctors have done to discover things, which is why i think it will work perfectly for this brief. 

Going through the book allowed me to work out the grid, as well as decipher the fonts used. Which was quite tricky because they use an orray of different fonts as well as having their own 'natgeo' font which was designed for the covers.

Either way, this research will hopefully help me put together a believable mock up.

[font] 

National Geo Notes

After looking at my boards for ISTD, i realised that there was one fundamental thing missing from my brief and that was the main context with which people could interact with the boards and what they were for/about.
I had a discussion about this, and realised that due to the 'nature' of the brief that i should encompassing it into something that is completely related to the natural world, and the most glaringly obvious solution was Natural Geographic. The magazine itself is based around the happenings in nature and the relation to humanity, so it was the next logical step.
So in order to contextualise my brief i have decided to mock up an article that would encompass the brief, telling the story of General Sherman and how he has been used to map out every main natural disaster that has ever happened.

Mocked up boards

After the photo shoot i was able to then create some basic boards for the crit. I really wanted to try and see how the briefs would work on the boards and the main thing being whether the narrative was actually clear or not.
I do have a lot more boards than i will in the final presentation of the briefs, but at the moment i just want to work out the different styles and layout thats i had created so i can try and get some appropriate feedback.

[sketches of baords]

Open publication - Free publishing

Open publication - Free publishing

Open publication - Free publishing

Photoshoot

Today, both Polly and myself organised a photoshoot. I wanted to do this so that the briefs that i felt were finished were actually completed. And if they wern't then i had enough time to tweak and change things. This was extremely helpful, as i got to see my products properly and what i had created, and generally im very happy. The photoshoot did take a lot longer than i thought it was going to, but that couldnt be helped. But it does mean that when i do another, i now know on average how long it will take.
There were elements already missing from the photoshoot, such as the stationary for Lulu and the packaging for ISTD, but both will be ready for my next one.

Here are some examples of the style of images i was taking. I had already drawn out the style of photos i wanted, so that i wasn't messing around trying to create random shots.

ISTD - Promotion

After the tutorial i realised that it's important to try and get this brief completely finished, because as it stands at the moment i think i have a lot of stuff but nothing that makes it a clear product. 

When i was talking to Fred about it, it became more apparent that this brief was about exploring alternative print methods coupled with a strong concept. So i think thats what i need to make it about and celebrate it.

So the main concept change for it is the fact that its changed slightly into a 'limited edition info graphic pack, highlighting the worlds natural disaster using the general Sherman mapping structure, to be given to tree hobbyists and designers and culture sector'

So i was trying to think of a unique way of packaging the boards and publication as one pack. I started to think about the material, i want it to be a natural material so its in-keeping with the theme. I started thinking about using wood, plastic etc. But after speaking to Lorenzo, the idea of using a fiber instead of a sold material such as wood could be more interesting. So i then began to think about ideas for leather, including a zip and making the way they interact more interesting. So it would be better than just using wood, and it gives me a different format to work with.

I spoke to my friend in fashion Rose, and she said she could help in putting it together, and there are certain restrictions that i would have to factor in such as it would have to have sides as opposed to a pillow looking fold. She said she'd do some mock ups for me and we could go from there.

ISTD - Publication print

After the initial problem with the printing of the publication, i have re-printed it. I am happy with the print, the design has still come out clean and crisp. The layout works and the alignment is spot on which will guarantees quality when it is laser cut. The next stage is to get the individual lines laser cut into the publication, join the front and then its completed. 

ISTD - Publication print

I made my first attempt at printing the ISTD publication, its extremely important that the design lines up when double sided due to the etched finish i want to apply to the particular lines. This is important so that both sides balance out. Anyway, when i printed the first it didn't line up because i hadn't centered the both sides properly. So i have had to re-send it which isn't a problem. This did provide me with an opportunity to check the quality as well as the folds. 

I am  very happy with how the folds work, they are clean and it gives a really nice concertina fold which is what i wanted. the paper doesn't rip either which is good. 

Publication mock up

I have been simplifying the design and making it more accurate, by measuring out the widths and heights of the pages it has meant that i can put together a more accurate mock up allowing me to the the different between the seam and the page. 

This way i get to keep the publication format that i want, whilst at the same time slightly altering the publication format so that it makes a working design.

// NEW MOCKED UP DESIGN