tutorial with Lorenzo and Justin 27/01/10

Today i had a tutorial with Lorenzo and Justin to discuss where i am at in terms of starting my FMP. The main focus of this tutorial was to outline and define my Umbrella Statement and to discuss what briefs i have undertaken, what progress i have made with them and how i am going to approach them in terms of design ideas and concepts.

I went into the tutorial with having done a little bit of general design ideas sketched down for my personal brief  "Influential Artists". For this brief i want to create a limited edition run of 10 prints that portray the artists that i believe to be/have been influential within music. I then want to package this in an exclusive way to give it value ad quality as it will be limited edition. The pack will either contain a poster with quotes and a bio from the artist or information graphics on their career and personality etc.

This is the aim for the brief which i went into the tutorial with and pitched to them both. 

Aswell as just this brief i aimed to discuss the other potential briefs that i had planned and how i could approach them.

What did i get form the tutorial?

A number of issues, possible routes and ideas arose in the tutorial and i came out with a more clear head of how to go about my FMP to benefit the briefs i am undertaking but also the designs that are produced.

Below are some actions and issues that were resolved in the tutorial which  i intend to act upon immediately. They are:

• To start all my briefs now (at the beginning) to give me a clear outline of time management and ideas. I will spend atleast 3-4 hours starting on each brief that i have proposed, and sketch down and ideas, concepts and problems tha i initially have with the brief in hand. this will either spark motivation and influence or allow me to know i have considered it but to approach it at a later date. by doing this the time scale and weighting will be roughly worked out.

• A couple of questions and routes of interest and investigation came up also that contribute to my design process that i hadn't previously thought of, these are:

1. For my 'Influential Artists' brief, instead of keeping it completely limited edition, consider creating the limited edition pack with all the quality of finish, but then also investigate how i could develop this on a mass market sale for commercial production. This will have to consider, print process, production time and costs, packaging, stocks and finishing. these would have to be considered for both resolutions as they will differ between the two, as one is a small print run, but costs more, and the commercial run will be a large run, but cost little to produce.

2. The possibility to re-write or write my own to fill the specifics that i want to focus on but not necessarily finding briefs to fulfill this.

3. Investigate why some particular packaging is designed, where it originated from and how it has evolve

4. How has packaging adapted over time?

5. How do people interact with packaging?

6. How do i approach the design of the packaging to communicate what the packaging is for?

7. Investigate a broader range of briefs. Such as looking at packaging markets: limited edition, Commercial, and re brand these products.

8. could i possibly look at rebranding the value Packs/ Smart pice packs of today. The design has to be new and exciting but still portray the product as cheap.

Above is what i need to consider and achieve both in the long term and short term. for next weeks tutorial i will have approached each brief and constructed ideas for each of them and investigated further into packaging design and techniques.

Further research that was suggested to inform my practice is:

• Thompson design - Leeds based design company
• The Beatles - White album

my umbrella statement

"Investigate and create innovative packaging for ideas and concepts, focusing on print, folds, stocks, nets and finishing"

FMP Proposal group tutorial - 20/01/10

Going into this tutorial i had proposed that i wanted to investigate innovate packaging and then incorporate this into my own ideas and when taking on commercial briefs.

The proposed rationale was this:

"For the basis of my FMP I am going to focus largely on innovative packaging design and print of my subjects, themes, concepts and ideas. By having the final concept revolving around a finished packaged resolution, it will build a strong consistent portfolio, which I can then produce when targeting specific designers for employment. It will also ensure that my briefs have a consistent flow and relevance to one another. Coming from this I will hopefully see a strong progression in my understanding, craft skills and knowledge of the specific subject, which I will benefit from when seeking future internships or jobs.

I also intend to investigate paper stocks and their usage and relevance when designing packaging. By understanding paper stocks this will then further my investigation and contribute to learning about folds, and how the paper handles and also printing methods such as foiling, embossing and die cutting. Understanding elements such as these will broaden my design process and ideas in terms of how I can develop a final resolution to a professional quality and finish.

Aswell as just standard printing methods as laser or ink jet, I intend to develop my skills and understanding of screen-printing. By doing so I believe it will broaden the size of my work instead of sticking to what I can fit through a standard printer, and also then colours in which I can use and how I can use them to produce my resolutions. It will also allow me to print on a range of objects that may contribute to the brief at hand, i.e. plastics, t-shirts, glass, and metals."

After discussion with Justin and Lorenzo we felt that my Umbrella statement had to be refined to a sentence which i could then follow when tackling my briefs and ideas. this will keep my work relevant and allow it to be more focused.

Some other pointers and advice was given and noted down by me which i hope to research into and consider for my project. These are:

• That not everything i design has to be completely sellable. This was said to assure me that my own ideas and projects don't have to be completely sellable in the commercial market and can just be a one off. This will allow me to be experiment more with my ideas and final resolutions.
• Investigate in Japanese packaging
• Research and contact Farrow design
• Loan out or buy the "Spiritualized" album packaging and design to evaluate the design and construction.

At the end of the tutorial an Umbrella statement was settled upon that i think sums up exactly what i want to investigate and create throughout my FMP. This is:

"Investigate and create innovative packaging for ideas and concepts, focusing on print, folds, stocks, nets and finishing"

initial rationale (14/01/10)

For the basis of my FMP I am going to focus largely on innovative packaging design and print of my subjects, themes, concepts and ideas. By having the final concept revolving around a finished packaged resolution, it will build a strong consistent portfolio, which I can then produce when targeting specific designers for employment. It will also ensure that my briefs have a consistent flow and relevance to one another. Coming from this I will hopefully see a strong progression in my understanding, craft skills and knowledge of the specific subject, which I will benefit from when seeking future internships or jobs.

I also intend to investigate paper stocks and their usage and relevance when designing packaging. By understanding paper stocks this will then further my investigation and contribute to learning about folds, and how the paper handles and also printing methods such as foiling, embossing and die cutting. Understanding elements such as these will broaden my design process and ideas in terms of how I can develop a final resolution to a professional quality and finish.

Aswell as just standard printing methods as laser or ink jet, I intend to develop my skills and understanding of screen-printing. By doing so I believe it will broaden the size of my work instead of sticking to what I can fit through a standard printer, and also then colours in which I can use and how I can use them to produce my resolutions. It will also allow me to print on a range of objects that may contribute to the brief at hand, i.e. plastics, t-shirts, glass, and metals.