Week 7: Experiments with Print Techniques

Brief 2: A hardcore punk band requires a flyer for a forthcoming gig. The flyer must reflect their punk ethos, and will be handed out at a range of other events.

Flyer Size: A6 ( This is the most used size for a flyer. Editors prefer to choose this size because of the cost, as you can print 4 flyers on an A4 sheet and because they are not too small, and not too big. )
Paper Stock: 150-200 gsm
Finishing:
 1. Foiling - The flyers will be handed out at different events and if they are foiled, they are not that fast deteriorated.
 2. Embossing - The name of the band and the place of the gig will be embossed so as to be noticed faster by the people who receive the flyers.

Colours that should be used: dark background colours and bright colours in some areas so as to emphasises on certain things from the flyer.

Brief 4: A company that makes "green" products requires a set of business card for their sales team. The card must reflect their company ethos.

As stated in the brief, the business card should be green, so as to reflect adequately the company.

Business Card Size: 85 mm X 55 mm (+ 3 mm bleed) - standard size

Paper Stock: 350 gsm

Finishing:

1. Foiling - for better protection

2. Embossing - to emphasise the logo

Because it is a company that makes "green" products, the business cards should be recycled. Even though using recycling paper is of benefit for the nature, its price is really high. The choice of using or not recycling paper should be made by the company, because it depends on it how much money they want to spend on their business cards.

Week 7: Paper & Format Case Studies

1. The first unusual size for a Photo Book that I found is 297 X 297 mm, as the usual sizes are either 300 mm or 12" square. The man who chose this paper size had problems with finding the right paper to print on, and he was looking for a large format printer A3. Even though non-standard sizes are sometimes more interesting and give a touch of modernity to the book, in our case, standard sizes will still remain the best to use, both for practicality and cost.

2. The second problem that a man was facing with, in what concerns the paper size, was that its printer didn't work when he tried to print a 8 X 6 note card. The note card contained a picture and an inside message, and the finishing method he wanted to use was folding. The solution came from another man who advised him to set the printer first, because if not, it is using just the standard-sizes, and that is why the error occurred.

Free Practice

These are the articles I have designed for the Spaghetti Junction magazine, as I thought they can be considered as free practice experiments.

Week 7: Designs with Comment on Paper Formats and Finishing

Brief 5: A manufacturer of exclusive, designer lingerie requires a business card design for their sales team. The card must reflect their brand values: exclusive, seductive and secretive.

 There are a lot of things to think of for the final print of even a small business card. As we already know, the standard size of a business card is 85 mm X 55 mm. I chose to use the standard size because of its practicality, as it can easily fit in the card holder, for example. To its standard size (85 mm X 55 mm) I will add 3 mm bleed on each edge. The 3 mm area will be trimmed off at the cutting stage. In what concerns the paper stock, it will be 400 gsm (gramme per square metre). The final stage is the finishing and there are a lot of ways to do it. I decided to use for my business card foiling, as it gives a touch of elegance and it is mostly used to enhance typography and logos. Also, I want to emboss the woman and the title of the company, as it gives a really strong texture and makes no use of ink.

The picture I chose for the business card reflects the brand values of the manufacturer of the lingerie: exclusive, seductive and secretive and the woman has a mysterious look in her eyes, which helps shaping their values.  I used the Vivaldi font for the title because it also gives a touch of elegance to the business card, as well as the Vladimir Script font used for the quote: “be yourself, feel amazing”.  The colours used are red, black and white, because they are the simplest ones, they match very well together, and usually the simplicity is the more elegant.  Red also expresses passion.

Brief 7: An innovative estate agent wants to produce an eye catching flyer that they can leave at houses that have been on the market for sometime, inviting the home owner to switch agent.

The flyer for the estate agent has the standard size of 148 mm X 210 mm, which represents an A5 sheet. I preferred A5 format instead of A6 because it is held in respect and I think that a bigger flyer makes a better impression. To this size, I added the 3 mm bleed. I chose the standard size again for the same reason as in the case of the business card, for its practicality. Also, another aspect is reducing the cost and the usage of paper, as you can print whether 32 A5 sheets, or 16 A4 sheet, 2-up or 8 A3 sheets, 4-up or 4 A2 sheets, 8-up or 2 A1 sheets, 16-up. The paper stock for this type of flyer is 250 gsm. For the finishing process, I will use gloss lamination because it adds high gloss sheen. Gloss lamination is suitable for the flyers because it forms a protection coat over the print, and the chances of its wasting are decreasing.

The main font I used is Arial, because I considered it suitable for this type of flyer: it has to express seriousness, and Arial expresses it. I first used a rhetorical question, so as to let people think about what they could change, and then they can see the idea: “change your agent”.  The images also contribute to the message the flyer is transmitting: seriousness and a good collaboration. The image with the shaking hand anticipates in a slightly manner the message, because they represent either friendship or making/finishing a deal between two persons.

Week 5: Grid Case Studies

1.       This is an interesting grid layout that caught my eye from the first sight. I consider it a good example of breaking the grid. The way the editor played with the grid makes the article more interesting and catchy. Like in any other article, the images contribute to the message he wants to transmit, but they are also used so as the article not to be boring. The grid does provide consistency, structure and rhythm, because the breaking of it makes the article easy to read. One more aspect that makes it interesting is the text: “I wouldn’t recommend having a baby until science allows them to be delivered by Parcelforce. It doesn’t half smart”, that creates a gap in reading the article. The third column is also loomed by the shape of the woman’s body.

2.       The second grid case study I chose to analyse is, on the one hand, not a good example of successfully breaking the grid, in my opinion, but on the other hand, is a good example of playing with the grids. The overall impression that the article gives me is that there are too many fonts used and it makes you confuse when starting reading it. Also, because of the place of the paragraphs you don’t really know their order or where the paragraph continues when moving to another column. I think there is tension in the article because of the way the editor broke the grids, but it is not productive, as the articles loses its interest. The grid does not provide consistency, as the article looks as if there were paragraphs from different articles put together and make no sense.

Week 5: Completed Grid Layouts and Experiments in Breaking the Grid

Even if my grids are not maybe the most interesting ones, there is still time to improve my skills. A quote that always comes to my mind is: "Practice makes perfect". The reason why I broke the grids in a simple way is because I don't like the grids which give the impression that your eyes are hurting when reading an article. And here I am referring to those types of articles in which the grids interfere with each other so much that, at one point, you can't distinguish between paragraphs. 

The first grids I posted are the first ones I made. That is why there can be seen a difference between the first seven and the last one, which looks much better in terms of design. I like the most the grids from the last articles because of the way I broke them: it seems that there is a diagonal line between the two columns. The article is easy to read. If, for example, the space between the columns had been smaller, the article would have become more difficult to read.

Week 4: CD Cover Design Project

From the very beginning I wanted to use an expressive photo for my CD cover. This is the reason why I chose this picture with the girl who is dancing, because I consider that through dance you express all your good feelings, leaving behind the sadness. The genre of music the artist sings is house music.  In what concerns the fonts, I used two different ones: Eccentric Std for the name of the artist: Emilia, and Felix Titling for the title of the album: “Feel the music”. Both fonts are simple, as I considered that the passion with which the singer is dancing is more important to be remarked than some fancy fonts. Also, the flashes of lightning I used have the role to emphasise on the energy that the girl radiates around her and when watching the disco globe, it seems as if it is inviting us to dance together. I chose yellow for the fonts and for the shapes so as to create visual impact. If I had chosen another colour, maybe it would not have stood out.