OUGD405 - Research, Collect, Communicate : Product

Here are the images of my final product and some Belly Band variations. I enjoyed designing this pack of cards very much and I think they have worked really well as a set. Given more time I would possibly look into producing more cards and on thicker stock. Other than these few aesthetic changes I am very pleased with the end result. 

Belly Band variations..

Final product...

OUGD405 - Research, Collect, Communicate : Product - Belly Band

Belly Band Development

One of the pieces of feedback I received from my crit was to try making a belly band to go around my cards instead of binding it into a book. I did think of this during my designing as the simplicity of my pages maybe did not warrant a book. 

The idea I decided to look further into was the use of  a coffee bean as the focal point of my cards. I wanted to use something which linked perfectly to my topic which I was originally given but thought that a cup of coffee was too specific for the content. Although this icon may be recognised more by people. Because of the simplicity of my illustrations some people might not identify what I am trying to show. 

I began by drawing out a simple coffee bean, making sure that I kept the the colours down to 2 variations. My illustrations are very 2 dimensional which was not my initial intention though after consideration I feel this is the best form of illustration I could use. 

I experimented first with a simple rectangular band with my coffee bean attached to the front. When printing this out it worked very well and fit in with the simplicity of my designs so far. I did want to experiment more with other variations and also more complicated designs.

Adding a secondary band would ensure that my cards be securely fixed together and would protect them from being lost. This was one of my reasons for wanting to hole punch the corner of each card and fixing them together with some form of ring or piece of string. I felt this idea worked well with my concept but would not be as successful as a bell band might be. As I am creating a deck of cards people usually like to separate each card and look them individually which would be quite hard if the cards were fixed together. 

OUGD405 - Research, Collect, Communicate - Product : Possible Box Ideas

One piece of feedback I received from my crit was that my book could necessarily become a set of cards. This means that I would not have to bind my book and enables it to look more authentic as a deck of cards.

I used a book which I found the library called Packaging Templates which I found very helpful. Whilst flicking through the book I took notice of some of the possible boxes I could produce for my cards.

After some consideration and some trial and error investigation I have decided that creating a box would not help my cards as much as a belly band would. With the topic I am focusing on I want my work to be very organic and simple, producing a box would hinder this theme by over complicating the  overall design. 

OUGD404 - Design Principles : Colour Theory 2

During this session we were asked to write down 10 burning questions we had about colour theory. I found this very hard and could not come up with the full 10. The questions I did have were:

1. Why do colours force out their complimentary colours?
2. Why does our brain/eyes create a colour when it is absent?
3. How do you balance a colour?
4. Why does black allow us to see flat colours but when it is taken away we see gradients?
5. If everyone sees colour differently does that mean people perceive contrast differently?
6. How many colours should you use in design?

After coming up with these questions we were put into groups and ask to compile a list of 5 questions which were the most common.

1. Why do colours force out complimentary colours?
2. What is the simplest way to balance colour?
3. Is it always a case of contrast of tone and hue working together?
4. How many colours can one use?
5. If everyone perceives colour in different ways does this mean that we perceive contrast differently?

As part of the session we had to swap our questions with another group and answer their questions. We were given :

1. How can colour assist hierarchy in text?
2. What are the maximum or Minimum amounts of colour one can use in design?
3. How can I apply rules such as temperature towards my design?
4. What colours appeal to different audiences and what are the connotations?
5. What is the best colour combination for body copy?

We divided the questions up in order for each of us to carry out an in-depth investigation into each question.

I answered :

4. What colours appeal to different audiences and what are the connotations?

To start this I did a simple google search into which colours appealed to men and women. My findings were;

Blue is a favourite colour of both men and women of all ages. While men have a stronger preference for blue than women, it's still a top choice. It may be the calming effect of the colour blue that makes it a popular colour for both men and women.

Mother nature is Green and she's a female. A favoured colour of both men and women the colour green is cool, restful and signifies growth, renewal, health and environment.

Purple stands out as a feminine colour because it is chosen almost exclusively by women as a favourite colour and strongly disliked by men. Traditionally associated with royalty the colour purple is also spiritual, romantic and mysterious.

The colour Pink and women is more likely a cultural association than a strong preference. When it comes time to attract the opposite sex the colour pink is a safe bet for women. It is flattering and also makes them appear vulnerable to men and this brings out the males protective nature. Women who do not want to seem attractive to men could choose to wear Red.

Lavender evokes feelings of nostalgia or romance for women. Women prefer soft colours which include soft shades of pink, lavender and other pastels.

I think that the connotations of colour is a very interesting topic to look into. The fact that the colour green is associated with the earth and therefore has a calming effect and appeals to both males and females is very surprising.

OUGD405 - Research, Collect, Communicate : Product

'Through a process of collect and categorisation of content specific to your own research theme, you are required to focus on information graphics. How can you translate facts, figures and statistics into clear and understandable visuals?

Using your research theme explore information graphics through one of the following outcomes :

• PRODUCT AND PUBLICATION
• PRODUCT AND PACKAGING
• PRODUCT AND DISTRIBUTION

Your resolution should reflect your own practical and conceptual interests (derived form your given research theme) within the field of contemporary graphic design.'

My research theme was Coffee. I looked into many different products that I could design from Packaging, Mail shots and Books. The idea I have settled on is a book. I plan to design a book of coffee facts. It will contain facts and figures about the history of coffee, coffee vs. tea, most popular coffee choices, 

Developmental drawings...

For the first page of my booklet I want to include a little piece of history about how coffee was discovered. When researching this I found that it was discovered by goats in Ethiopia. When I originally started sketching out ideas for my first page I wanted to make it as simple as possible with black line illustrations produced on illustrator. I drew a goat on Illustrator many times but as I am still learning how to use it effectively and professionally it has taken me longer than usual.

I mapped out different paper folding options but I think I would like to have each card individual with the option to create a set off cards rather than a booklet. My favourite idea from above is the concertina option which I have used before in other projects. 

I planned to create a series of 6 cards with each displaying a different fact about coffee including the history and some random facts which people might be interested in. I would like to include the facts I gathered when I first looked into the topic of coffee.

One of the facts which I found interesting when I looked into coffee was that America was the highest buyer of coffee but not the highest consumer. I drew an outline of the USA on illustrator, I planned on filling the shape with block colour but tried this out when printing and decided it looked too 

Another strange thing I came across during my research was that coffee had now become more popular than tea. This was very surprising as tea has always been commonly associated with the United Kingdom. I drew 2 very simple illustrations of a coffee cup and a tea cup. 

I had the idea to print my booklet onto brown paper in order for it to look more organic and original. As we are learning about colour theory in design principles I am very uncertain about using colours in my work as I want it to look professional. I have used 2 simple shades of brown in my coffee and tea illustrations but after some print testing and a few observations from my peers I have decicded to keep the colour but make a few changes to the shade I have used. With my biscuit illustration the colour looks fine on the brown paper, I think this is because it is a lighter shade of brown which does not contrast as much as the darker shades.

One bit of feedback I was most intrested in was that people did not mind that I had not added colour to my illustration of the world. I think because it is such a recognisable image that people can identify it without colour.

When it came down to typeface I chose the simple and clear font, Helvetica. I wanted a light typeface but not one which was so light that it was not readable or legible. I think it works well as it is a global typeface which people use in all professions. The language I used when creating each page is quite informal as I wanted to make it a enjoyable read for people who were interested in the subject. I intend to have my booklet in coffee shops as well as for people to buy from shops like Urban Outfitters.

Further development illustrations

As I am creating a booklet based solely on facts and figures I chose to look up how popular coffee was as a beverage. The results were eye opening. I found that water was the most popular beverage with coffee coming up in close second. I am not a coffee drinker and therefore did not know how incredibly popular it is. I chose to produce a really simple illustration taking inspiration from a sports medal ceremony. I drew 2 very simple rectangles and made one higher than the other. I felt that in doing this I did not have to put numbers on the podium as people would understand what I am aiming to achieve. When it came time to choose an image which was suitable for water I chose to produce a simple bottle of water without a brand name on it. I am unsure as to this aspect of my design as it may not be as obvious what I am trying to represent. I do, however, think that the text at the bottom of the page would clear up any doubts people have towards the image. To represent coffee I re-used an illustration which I had made for a previous page, I think this adds to the continuity of the booklet as there is a common theme running through it. 

Another fact which I discovered was that New Yorkers drank 7 times more coffee than any other city in the USA. There were a variety of ways which I could have represented NYC but I chose to go for the simple map outline. The reason I did not choose something generic like the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building is because I feel is over used in many different aspects of graphic design that it would not be as original as the map outline. Another reason why I chose this design was to keep the continuity as with the rest of my booklet. 

'Coffee will only grow between the tropic of Cancer and the tropic of Capricorn.' I did not know whether there were any specific symbols which could be used to represent these tropics and after some research found that the astrological symbols would suffice. I chose to produce the symbol versions of the signs instead of the animal equivalents in order for my designs to look more professional. I am still learning how to use Illustrator to its full potential and found my drawings looked more professional at a smaller scale and in symbol form. Overall I am very happy with my symbol illustrations and think the use of the symbols is in keeping with the rest of my designs.

I did a similar thing with this design for the highest traded commodity 

Maps is a similar theme which runs through my booklet, I have used them in the place of other generic images to represent a place. One of my facts is about the coffee consumption of the UK. I chose to use the map of the country as I think it looks very simple in the black outline and works well on my brown paper. 

My pages are very simple which I like but I do think that because I have made them simple that I maybe need to make several more as they do not take me a long time. When my designs are on a white background I don't think it looks very good. When printed on brown paper my designs look more economical and organic like coffee. I was going to print on coffee stained paper but decided that if I was going to mass produce this is would not be suitable. 

During my research I found an example of a pie chart in a coffee cup, one of my facts would warrant a chart of some kind so I tried it out. I produced a simple cup image from birds eye view and marked out 1/3 with the pen tool. I am not fully happy with it but I will take it along to the crit and ask for peoples opinion.