Sofia Lloyd Fmp 2011 Flamingo
the brief Pa r t 0 1 : We will ask you to spend two weeks as the
consumer
recording your life through text and image. All the consumer material you gather will be collected and then shared by the group. Pa r t 0 2 : This stage will focus on
research methodologies and a n a ly s i s s k i l l s you will see how we find themes, ideas, and inspiration from research material. Pa r t 0 3 : This is where you become
the designer
and we become the client. talking you through the material. client restrictions as well as creative flair and organisation to deliver the output that you have to work with ,the story we want to tell and the inspiration for this work. Consider client restrictions as well as creative flair and organisation to
Fmp Brief from Flamingo
p r i m a ry Research s ta g e 1
The site for gathering all this research as the consumer was a blogging site called D a i ly B o o t h which allowed us to upload pictures each day and comment on our own, and others images. We documented our lives for that period of time, showing what we ate, how we exercised and how we stayed beautiful; what products we used etc.
p r i m a ry Research s ta g e 1
The words collected after the consumer stage were gathered into a document for us to analyse and use. T h e y w e r e s p l i t i n t o g r o u p s that Flamingo thought were the most dominant ideas coming through: what beauty means to me, beauty idols and adverts and beauty myths/ home remedies. The images were split into beauty maintenance, communications, products and routine, food, myths and remedies, me at my best and idols.
p r i m a ry Research s ta g e 2
What I did with the research. To see what Flamingo had e d i t e d f o r u s t o u s e I collected images and text from each group so I could analyse it all together. I highlighted specific words that stood out to me and that summed up the title of the group.
a n a ly s i s . become the designer s ta g e 3
who is my audience? My interpretation of the brief. -Create something to send out to clients to promote Flamingo and make people aware of what they do -Make it engaging and attractive for the consumer -The consumer is a business person (wears a suit) -Use the restrictions of only using the images and text that Flamingo have chosen.
?
w h at a m i g o i n g t o d o n e x t ? - explore different types of promotional media - begin making mock ups - o n ly u s e t h e i m a g e s a n d t e x t given
a n a ly s i s . become the designer s ta g e 3
w h at w o u l d t h e y l i k e t o s e e ?
-humour? -practical? -useful? -keepsake?
s e c o n d a ry research
I did e x t e n s i v e r e s e a r c h into types of promotionl materials that other companies have used to send to clients to gain an idea of what works.
s e c o n d a ry research
The main ideas that s t u c k o u t t o m e initially were these. Content aside I tried to focus on an interesting media first. The first image is assitate on a screen, a practical joke to look like someone has scribbled on it. Next was the idea of an envelope and an image inside and when you write on it, carbon paper inside transfers the word onto the image. ‘Spend a penny’ calender in which you place a penny every time you go to the toilet, to hang on the wall. Lastly the idea of a magnifying glass to be able to read the words.
experimentat i o n
My i n i t i a l e x p e r i m e n tat i o n s began with sketches and rough mock ups. The ideas I carried through were the carbon paper and envelope and the idea of using a magnifying glass to be able to read text. Also the idea of small circles, like the ‘spend a penny’ idea. i thought all of these could be made practical and interactive with a consumer.
experimentat i o n
"we get trapped in a routine" " w e f e e l f r e e a n d f r e c h fa c e d " "looking beautiful is being n at u r a l " "being beautiful is being a kind, caring loving person" "g r easy" "i would define being beautiful a s a r a d i at i n g g l o w a n d v i b r a n cy fro m t h e i n s i d e o u t" " a c e r ta i n c h a r m t h at i s c o n ta geous" "power, tender, spring, touch and love" "shallow meanings of the word" " r aw a n d n at u r a l " " i wa n t t o b e s e c u r e , p e a c e f u l , h a p py a n d j oy fu l" " at t r a c t i v e a n d c o n f i d e n t "
C o n t e n t -wise, I was going to focus on the idea of ‘what beauty is to you’ and use mainly peoples text and perhaps image surrounding this.
idea 1 envelope book of postcards
experimentat i o n & d e v e lopment
For Flamingo we had to come up with minimum 3 i d e a s f o r a p i t c h to them to gain feeedback. This would be an interactive piece. It relates to the envelope idea where the writing is transfered onto the image. The set of envelopes would be bound as a book and inside would be a postcard that they can’t see until they have opened the envelope. On the front would be a question for them to answer that relates to the image. They can then use these postcards to stick on the wall on send to people. Also I would like to use a beautiful stitch to bind them.
Idea 2 Number calender
experimentat i o n & d e v e lopment
This would be based on the ‘spend a penny’ c a l e n d e r i d e a . Each day you would take out a circle and turn it over to reveal a quote instead of the number when the day has passed. I looked at folds and materials for this. It would be a long thin piece containing 365 days of the year on.
idea 3 calender & poster of quotes
experimentat i o n & d e v e lopment
This piece would have the same fold as the calender previously. It would be that size, longways and I mocked up what it would look like using a piece of A4 instead. From a distance it is a p i e c e o f a r t but up close it becomes so much more when you read the quotes. It is a piece to hang on the wall. It come from the magnifying glass idea.
Idea 4 P u b l i c at i o n
experimentat i o n & d e v e lopment
This idea is a simple p u b l i c at i o n . I wanted it to be pure white with just one other colour as it relates to the restrctions we have with the content and can look really strong. I am using the idea of holes, to entice the reader in. Inside would be collages of the images given and just one word from the content to describe that collage. Here I looked at Irma Boom as she uses the hole technique in her work. The main bit of the piece will be the decorative spine sewn and in a bright colour to contrast to the white.
w h at i g a i n e d from the pitch
-No calenders, people don't use them anymore, they use phones, computers etc. -People don't tend to h a n g t h i n g s o n t h e wa l l anymore/ they won't h av e s p a c e i n a n o f f i c e -The idea of revealing h o l e s wa s i n t e r e s t i n g -Beautiful binding technique: use this - E x c i t i n g p l ay e l e m e n t t o t h at b o o k .
a n a ly s i s
continued research
So I then went ahead with the publication idea. I wanted the main elements to be the holes and the spine. Using two colours would make an interesting contrast too. Here I researched all kinds of work including c i r c l e s a n d h o l e s ; amoung them, Irma Boom the book artist.
a p l i c at i o n of ideas
Key elements -White + 1 other colour -using the hole technique to entice the reader in -using image and text combined -play with the use of holes -use stiching to bind. -play with images large scale (they are bad quality) Here are my initial aplications of the ideas.
a p l i c at i o n of ideas
By doing these experiments, the title "ta k e a c l o s e r l o o k � seemed more and more appropriate. The idea came initially from the magnifying glass piece but also the fact that you have to take a closer look into the book to see what is behind the circle. The images and text are obstructed form you seeing them in whole.
Further development
I experiemented with 2 s i z e s ; A5 and A6 to see which worked best. I wanted my book to gradually extend so it had that ‘play element’ that Flamingo wanted me to include and to make this work A6 size seemed more agile and appropriate. I tried the extended edges in blue and in white.
Further development
I began editing the i m a g e s on the photocopier by blowing them up and using effects. I then scanned them in and edited them so they could work large scale and also focussed on one colour, blue. I chose this blue because it feels extremely modern and clean and the perfect contrast to the white. It will make the content really alive. I also tried the book in grey in my mock ups
Further development
Judgement. I wa n t t h i s t o b e a book about opinion and judgement. I wa n t t h e r e a d e r t o form their own decisions on the content.
I drew my l ay o u t s first; where the holes and images will be etc. I tried 2 types of book layout. As the paper is getting smaller at one end and longer at the other (that is what creates the extending effect) I could either use that as part of the book or cut them down to small flaps. After experimenting with this I found that by cutting down the pages it made the book an awkward shape so I used the smaller pages as part of the design.
Further development
By having the content l a i d o u t I was able to make proper mock ups of the book. I used flimsy paper to do the mock ups and this made me realise I would need a substantial thick stock for this book to work.
a n a ly s i s of mock ups
W h at d i d n ' t w o r k -the extending edges in blue -the thickness of the book, it needs to be thicker -cutting the smaller pages out to make small flaps W h at w o r k e d -the white against the blue -the circle element -the stitch -using the smaller page as part of the design inside the book
Aim for final piece -add a few pages to make the book thicker -make the exending edge white -add more detail into the spreads, more quirkey surprises -use a red element to tie in with Flamingo Above is an example of the book with ‘flaps’ and the book with using the flaps as part of the design
making the final piece
Making the f i n a l p i e c e included; buying thick paper stock, cutting out 2 spreads per A4 page, double sided, folding each sheet, acurately marking 4 holes to sew through on each sheet. And using book binding thread sewing the piece together.
The final piece
The final piece
Each page has a unique design and each is linked by circles, revealing elements of the next page. I have played with type and scale throughout the book.
The final piece
Reflection on project I am very pleased with the outcome for this project. The aim of it is to be a playful thing to send to a consumer that they can keep on their desk and refer back to. The idea is that every page is different so every time you open it you’ll see something new. Because the content of the book is all blue it makes it less complicated and even though there is lots going on, it isn’t too much because it is only in one colour. By continually making mock ups for this project I learnt something/ noticed something each time on how to adapt it and make it better so that really helped me. I believe I made a good decision to keep the colour minimal and to keep the smaller pages in the book because it now adds to the design. Also I love the idea of the circles revealing a small section of what is to come. Production-wise for Flamingo it would be quite cheap; only 2 colours, thick white paper (200g/m), the circles however would have to be considered and the bind. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed working with Flamingo; getting to see their offices and staff and how they work, I am very interested in what they do.