Abby Glover OUIL603 Extended Practice Project Report
Contents Fever Tree………………………………………………………................................Page 4
Greetings Cards…………………………………………………………………………...Page 7
Wedding Invitations………………………………………………………………….....Page 11
Book Covers………………………………………………………………………….........Page 13
Discontinued Briefs………………………………………………………………………Page 15
Major Project – Paul and Joe ……………………………………………………….Page 16
Fever Tree My Fever Tree Project was part of the YCN competition for 2016. The brief was to design a limited edition range of bottles, using imagery that resembles countries within regions that are affected by Malaria. The outcome was a success. A great thing about this brief as it is different from the ones I am used to tackling, and brings another context to my work. I think that the bottles will be a great addition to my portfolio, as they stand out due to the use of colour and motif.
Fever Tree Although the outcome of this project was successful and has become something I am proud of, there were times where I struggled with it. For a long time I found the brief difficult to start, as I didn’t know what would be best way to tackle it. I originally imagined using animal motifs, so I eventually began to draw animals of Congo. When I came to make them into a repeat pattern for a wrap design, I found that I couldn’t make the images flow as much as I needed to. This was the point where I noticed that I really didn’t like what I was producing. There wasn’t enough time left to submit my work when it came to the YCN deadline because I was finding it hard to work on the images.
Fever Tree
Luckily, I changed the direction of my brief. I decided to focus on the plant life of South America, as research showed that flowers and plants are popular in print at the moment, and South America has many exotic plants. I chose to paint orchids because they are colourful and aesthetically pleasing. Once I made this decision, I felt that my project could be completed a lot easier and quicker. I regret that I could not have submitted thes designs, I think that this project could have been much better if I’d got working on it sooner and asked for more help/ sought more inspiration with ideas.
Packaging was a good change for me, as I’ve always focused on products, and the two are linked. I feel like this brief has taught me about layout, colour, and the idea that I don’t have to over complicate everything, which is really valuable.
Greetings Cards The greetings card brief was one of my original briefs. The direction changed a few times throughout the course of the module, and although I felt confused about this brief often, I do believe that it is one of the most important briefs I took on. It was the starting point of my inquiry into the types of job I will be looking for, as I looked at places like Hallmark. I think that as an illustrator that works with products, production methods, motif and pattern, I could be useful working within a design company. My cards will show that I can use different processes like laser cutting in order to make my work stand out. Learning how to use a laser cutter was a highlight of this project, I believe that a lot of interesting work could be made using the process, and I want to continue exploring it by producing more work of this nature.
Greetings Cards
Another good thing that came out of doing my card brief was the collaboration with Sophie Hargreaves, as we found that two heads are better than one. We decided to do the same brief at the same time, so that we could give each other feedback and share ideas. We came up with an idea to use our collaboration to sell our gift products. A large part of our practice involves making, so it made sense to start selling together. We have markets in place that we will sell at, which is a good way to get our work out into the world and promote our practices to potential clients and consumers.
Greetings Cards My first thoughts when taking on this module was that I could make lots of products that would sell, based on my success from last year. In level 5 I created images of funny cats for homeware products and prints, which sold well at the end of year show market. However, this was really short sighted. It took me a while to figure out that in order to improve my portfolio; to show a range of skills as well as a coherent body of work that makes sense, I’d have to develop my imagery and processes further. It was this realisation, as well as the ideas I was getting from PPP, that made me focus on design, process and motif across all of my briefs. I could link my work with process as well as tone of voice and use of motif/ pattern. This is why my cards went from being printed animals, to printed animals with laser cut elements, to purely laser cut imagery based on nature. The final results are a lot more simple and effective, showing image and production skills that I have developed. PPP made me realise that I’d like to work at a design company, so my cards are a good demonstration that I can use print methods to add value to what I produce.
Greetings Cards I believe that another way this brief has been successful is the quality of the final outcomes. These cards stand out in my portfolio and on my website as they aren’t made from drawings, they are cut out, which adds a more exciting element to them. The downside of this brief is that I wasted a long time in getting to my final idea, but it was an essential development process. It would have been nice to have decided to make laser cut designs earlier, as I could have produced more.
Wedding Invitations I’m quite proud of my wedding invitation brief. It was the first time I chose to use foils, as a result of experimentation over summer. I knew that I could make my work extra special if I developed the use the foiling technique. Since I started foiling, I have used it for two other briefs, linking the work together and showing a range of applications. It has took the whole year to master foiling, which meant that my projects took time to develop. However, the experience lead me to successfully using foils within my final project. The wedding invitations include a range of components, from the invitations, to menus, to place cards.
Wedding Invitations The other two ranges I produced were digitally printed and laser cut invitations, a process I chose to use following the success of my card brief. The different processes show how I can use different techniques to develop my design work and keep it exciting. The brief came from the fact that I was asked to make wedding invites for a friend, she had saw my experimentation with foils to create party invitations over the summer. The digital invites are similar to what she chose. She didn’t want/ need all of the components that I made, and since the completion of the commission, I added my own touch to the invites. For instance, I used a different stock; thick, textured paper, which gives the invites a more luxury feel and makes them special, just as the laser cut and foiled invites are more appealing due to the process used to produce them. This brief prepared me for the final project greatly, as I now look for ways to make my work better, to stand out. Knowing these processes do exactly that, and laser cutting is a handy skill to have in order to produce products by cutting them out, as well as embellishing them. To improve this brief, I would continue to experiment with stock, colour, and packaging such as envelopes, ribbons etc.
Book Covers I produced work for the book cover brief fairly quickly, as I adopted the same ideas from my Fever Tree brief; simple solutions are sometimes better. All of my other briefs took more time and development to get to where they are, but if I’d taken that time with all 5 I’d never be finished! This brief was a great way of putting my work into a new context, pushing my practice forward. I’m glad I got to do briefs like this and Fever Tree; it proves that I can use existing knowledge to work out of my comfort zone and produce something I’m proud of. I was cautious to do a brief like this, because I’ve never thought I could compose images well enough, but why not continue to work the way I work? This has been something I’ve struggled to do throughout the programme. I’ve somehow felt that I need to change my way of working in order to do something new, when this is clearly not the case. I should work on perfecting my existing skills and applying them to wider contexts, rather than starting from scratch. I think this is beginning to happen, just in time for when I go out into the real world, where these doubts may arise.
Book Covers
This is another brief for which I used foils. Since all four of the illustrations are simply in the middle of the front page, it occurred to me that a way to make them extravagant would be to embellish them. Using rainbow/iridescent foil would certainly make a book stand out on the shelves, as well as appeal to a young adult / teen audience. The physical outcomes were varied, as this is when I was still learning the process. I would improve upon this brief by ensuring I foil them flawlessly, and perhaps apply them to the books physically. The way I’d have done this brief differently would be to alter my first steps. When researching the books, I jumped too quickly into doing The Mermaid’s sister, which is the only book by Carrie Anne Noble. I should have found a series of books that I could illustrate, and make a box set out of them. It doesn’t make much sense that I’ve done 4 book covers for the same book cover 4 times. (Unless I had to pitch a number of different ideas to a client.)
Discontinued Briefs
At the start of the module it was difficult to figure out what briefs would benefit me most. I originally wanted to take on the Wildlife Artist of the year brief, which I decided against, because it is more of an exhibition piece rather than illustrative, so I think it would just look out of place alongside product and design work. I also considered doing a cat breed book, and cat homeware, but just as I mentioned before in my card brief, the use of cats was getting stale and didn’t push my practice forward enough.
Another brief I did was the Aurora tour poster competition on Talent House. After producing it, I thought that it wasn’t substantial enough to be included as a proper brief. I do like it though, and shall be putting it in my portfolio as it still uses motifs, layout and type. I think it will fit in amongst my work.
Paul and Joe – Major Project These are the final artworks for my major project. They contain all of the drawings I’ve done that are to be applied to the packaging and products that I’ve made and imagined. As a whole, I’m not overly excited by these. I think this is because they aren’t really special, they are just digitally printed images, which I’ve ended up staying away from recently; I like putting my images to use. I’d edit these images by changing the colours and perhaps add more details to the drawings. However, they do serve their purpose well. They bring my packaging to life when applied to it, demonstrating each theme. I’d just love to have had more time to develop the imagery. The aim for the 4 themes used to be fantasy - princess, evil queen, fairy and mermaid. I wanted to do portraits as part of campaigns for makeup, but I soon realised that I enjoyed drawing animals/ motifs more, which is when the themes got changed to the 4 seasons. It was an easy transition, as I was only underway with sea life motifs for the mermaid theme, and had done butterflies for ‘fairy’ –these translated to summer and spring.
Paul and Joe – Major Project I feel similarly about my patterns, I think that if I had more time, I could make them more exciting. I think I need to add more contrast to the latter 3 to make them ‘pop’ more. Another idea that I’d have tried out was foiling or embossing a few of the motifs within the prints to make them stand out more. I did foil some examples of my motifs to sample what the images would look like when applied to products, and they turned out really well.
Paul and Joe – Major Project
My physical/ 3D outcomes have been the most successful part of this project. I managed to make 4 lots of packaging for the Paul & Joe lipstick and compacts, and even put my own print onto an existing compact. The foil on the packaging worked perfectly and embellishes it. The holes in the front of the boxes are supposed to be laser cut, but for these mock ups, I have cut them out by hand to save time.
Paul and Joe – Major Project I propose that my motifs and patterns will be applied to existing Paul and Joe products and packaging, such as gift boxes, eye makeup remover, lipstick cases. I find the mock ups I have produced exciting, because I think that they are believable as products. This project is a combination of all of the processes I’ve developed throughout the module, and from the course on the whole. The completion of this module has been a confidence boost, as I am proud of what I’ve made. My work has become more coherent since I established what the most important parts of my practice are; print, design/product, motif/ pattern.
Paul and Joe – Major Project
I made mock ups of how I’d take my major project further, the motifs I have made can be extended for use in point of sale, to further promote the limited edition ranges. Keeping my work within the themes of design/packaging, motif, pattern and print has meant that my final products make sense. Once I had these things figured out, it was a lot easier to get on with things and make decisions about what to do. I’ll keep this in mind in the future, because I think that I should have had this in mind from the start. Narrowing down what I want my practice to be has helped me to fulfil my original rationale; getting a coherent portfolio, experience, a plan for when I leave, and industry knowledge. The extended practice module has allowed me to research what types of jobs are out there for me, what my skills are suited for. As a result of this, I have had the chance to develop the skills required by an illustrator that wants to work for a design studio. My portfolio is inherently better and more suited to the role I’d like to pursue. This covers the rationale I originally had at the beginning of the module.