Techniques, materials, processes & planning.

......all these are what i think make up the details of a successful design. These are all what i find important when i design something and they are what i focus my designs and ideas on when working through a brief. I have to plan my timing for all my briefs and will need to factor in the processes i wish to use and how to plan and prepare for them. This will be a big job in itself...now to get on with it!

Postcard design - Collected postcards

Below are postcards i have collected over the years as i have always found it interesting, how something so simple and small can be designed to have something with a huge impact on the front and sometimes the back. I particularly like the postcard from the top image, third from the top, second row down. It is an image of two children in a fantasy forest setting with floral designs, which made me think of Hansel & Gretel This gave me the idea to create a set of postcards from a fairy tale. I will look into Dark and edgy fairy tales to fit with the theme from "the Edge" set by 'DontPanicOnline'

Penguin Book Design

For this brief i will read reviews of the chosen book, read little excerpts that explain the main themes of the story and then research, brainstorm and then settle on an idea pretty quickly. I was told that when designing a book cover, it is done quickly as its not paid well so you need to design as many as possible. I will plan to do this brief in about a week (5 days)

ICA Christmas Design - Eboy Style

To make my Christmas designs more contemporary and appeal to a creative audience i will create imagery that is traditional in concept but modern in style (well old school modern/pixelated) I want to create Christmas imagery in a pixelated/digital style to mix the traditional imagery with a contemporary style as i think this is what will make my imagery stand out to other designs for the christmas market. I will screen print my designs using creative printing finishes that are appropriate, such as foiling and use appropriate colour schemes that are traditional as to make the contemporary designs more recognisable. Below are images by Eboy that i find inspiring for my designs.

Postcard Inspiration - Sanna Annuka

For my postcard brief i have started to look at Sanna Annuka's work that focuses on folklore and fairy tale type imagery. Sanna Annuka is an illustrator and printmaker with a love for nature and folklore from Finland. Below is some examples of her work that i find inspiring, and there is also a little explanation of each design that is taken from her website here

karhut -
Nine bear kings unite to become the protective spirit of all forests...



the owl keeper -
Meet 'The Owl Keeper' she roams the forests of the North, the glow of her lantern illuminating the way.




maidens of the midnight sun -
They live in the lands beyond the Arctic Circle dancing and singing charms under the midnight sun...



north angel -
The Angel of the North, the guardian of the Arctic and her golden birds spread good will and happiness throughout the northern lands.

first concept presentations....

An eye opening day!
had my first concept presentation, to explain the direction that i see myself heading in next year in relation to the briefs i have chosen. (i have decided that i want to focus on a mixture of type and image)
while explaining my chosen briefs which i described on my last post it was mentioned that my timings of each brief were unrealistic as i had allocated too much time to some briefs and not enough to others. I was told that 3 weeks for a book cover design wasn't very realistic as a designer would have to churn out a few book cover designs on a weekly basis, as designing book covers doesn't pay so well. I think this is bad news for me! this was something that i wanted to look into as a career but after finding this out im not too excited by the pay situation! I was told that there is another book cover design brief by the D&AD, to design a series of book covers for Faber&Faber, and i will take this brief on alongside my chosen three. The timings for each of my briefs has changed now and i will start with the postcard brief to last two weeks, then move on to the penguin cover design and the D&AD cover design at the same time, to last a week and a half together, while i will be starting the research for the ICA Christmas card brief(which i will be expanding in to several items, such as cards, wrapping paper, gift tags and bows) alongside all the other briefs in the background as i have to plan screen printing times, generate illustrations and this brief will be the longest brief to work on due to the processes i will need to use.

Chosen Briefs

The first brief i have chosen is to create illustrations for the Institute of Contemporary Arts christmas cards and is to be completed within two days.

The second brief i have chosen is to design a postcard from 'The Edge' to be completed within two weeks.

The third brief i have chosen is to design a cover for the book 'The Secret History' by Donna Tartt and is to be completed within three weeks.