Synthesis boards

SYNTHESIS BOARDS How could stationery design improve work ethic and help consumers achieve their goals?

SYNTHESIS In this project I have experimented with four design themes in relation to work ethic. Colour, Texture, Editorial and Layout.

RESEARCH

Primary research from the supporting survey was taken seriously, as the demographic that answered are exactly the target audience my stationery design would be aimed at.

Research into existing stationery design was informative, and critiquing it gave my experimentation additional direction. For example, the bullet journal coming blank took away from its benefits as the time invested to fill it out was so large. This gave an argument for layout design of weekly/daily spreads.

Core takeaways from Chapter 2 found that stationery design must: - Be aesthetically positive - calming or exciting (Halo effect) - Offer time budgeting - Encourage habit formation - Be rewarding

Polly Vadasz

259578

CONTEXT OF PRACTICE

LAU601

SYNTHESIS DEVELOPMENT

Colour swatches were taken from emotive imagery with the intention of application to stationery with the benefit of the Halo Effect. ‘If it looks unintimidating, it is unintimidating’.

Texture was swatched to compliment the colour swatches in accordance to ‘exciting’ and ‘calming’ palettes.

Layout was designed with the behavioural research of chapter 2 in mind, specifically to encourage positive habits, time budgeting and rewards for good work, while being spacious enough to not restrict the user.

Editorial was written to encourage scheduling in the morning, while motivating the reader in an ‘exciting’ or ‘calming’ way.

The Christmas planner pages were used as a pilot study for all four themes, and show how they could be resolved into one, for a less complicated product.

Polly Vadasz

259578

CONTEXT OF PRACTICE

LAU601

SYNTHESIS Within the industry I see myself as a product designer, yet uncomfortable with empty consumerism.

Through this project I intended to create scientifically backed concepts for stationery design that would improve work ethic and help consumers achieve their goals, rather than products that appear inviting yet offer no real use to the user.

A problem I anticipated early on was the vast amount of investigation that would be needed to develop a full stationery range, and indeed as the project went on I had to distil the research themes down into four areas: colour, texture, layout and editorial. A further theme would have been form/ product. This also lead me to create concept boards for stationery design, rather than full ranges.

This made sense for a research project, as the boards create informed foundations for stationery designers to work from, however was new to me as I instinctively aim for a resolved final product. It allowed me to work with concepts that weren’t immediately practical, such as printing on iridescent stock.

The Christmas planner case study was a resolved exploration of editorial, layout design and problem solving. Although it wasn’t the main body of study, it benefited my understanding of the concepts I was working with and it was enjoyable to have a resolved product to show.

With this project I have not only explored passions of mine, human behaviour, self improvement and product design, but experimented with new ways of designing. I used photography to experiment with the interaction of colour and texture, swatching palettes, understanding proportioning and how it affects the overall mood. I had previously found it very difficult to find colour schemes for artwork, so this is a method I will be continuing.

I have learned that concept building is hugely beneficial for product design, especially ranges, and this project will have improved my approach to the field.

Polly Vadasz

259578

CONTEXT OF PRACTICE

LAU601