Rebecca Townley Personal Project LB550
Introduction I am planning on doing a campaign that tackles Period Poverty by using the Tampon Tax. This project will work like the C-Card, where the card holders will be able to get free menstrual products at pharmacies, schools or the doctors. The card will be available for people who earn below the living wage. Overall, this means that once you sign up you will have a card that means you can pick up or get delivered menstrual products and it will be paid for through the tampon tax. I will be designing the card, posters, a leaflet, campaign t-shirts and an app. These will work to promote my idea and bring awareness to people about the problem of Period Poverty, and would be a way of solving it. I will be mainly using digital art and then experiment with how I want to make the t-shirts. For this I will be using the adobe suit and other materials such as lino, paints and bleach pens. I will also look into Charities that have also helped fight against Period Poverty such as ‘The Red Box Project’ and ‘Free Periods’. I will also do research surrounding the tampon tax and period poverty, as its also going to work like the C-card I will do research into that too.
Charity Research While doing my research I found charities that help Period Poverty. One is ‘The Red Box Project’ that is a non profit charity that started in Bristol. By having these red boxes that are filled with menstrual products in schools the women can use the products if and when they need. The other is ‘Free Periods’ this raises awareness of Period Poverty and started the protest in December 2017 in London. These organisations are great and are helpful start points for how they design and broadcast their charities. After starting this project an article was released saying that menstrual products are going to be free for school girls from September 2019, thanks to Free Periods and The Red Box Project. I was a bit concerned because I wasn’t sure if this made my project pointless, however, although this is a great step forward in the UK it doesn’t help women in Poverty or homeless women. Due to this I am going to carry on my project as it will help a wider range of people. I tried to see how much the government gets through tampon tax and there was no definite answer, however, with petitions you can ask for donations, such as a Charity that helps fight against domestic abuse receives 2 million a year. Which is how, if this project was to go ahead I would want it to be funded.
Initial Ideas These were my initial tests for the first page that would pop up on the app. I used the tampons I had already from the protest Project and just wanted to play around with them. I hadn’t decided on a title or a logo but was keen to put the initial colours and ideas down. I think what when well with these are the layered white and red with the text. I prefer the one with less tampons as it draws your eye to the name, where as the title in the other one gets a little bit lost. I will also look at other charities that help fight Period Poverty
Typeface While trying some initial ideas I looked at many fonts for my campaign and I couldn’t find one that I liked for my project, due to this I thought I might try making my own. Here are the typefaces I wanted to base into my style.
I initially drew each letter into my sketchbook, I then scanned them in and took the background off and filled them in to be a block colour. I then imported them into illustrator so I could vectorise them, then put into the grid and downloaded the font by using calligraphr
After doing all of this once I actually typed with it, it still didn’t have the flow I wanted. It is a groovy style font (and I am using it for the titles of these pages) it’s just not want I want for my logo style. However I am going to do experiments with it for my poster/app/ leaflet style, but will see how it goes. Below is me trying to do the logo with my type face but wasn’t happy with any of these.
Research Research To know how an average of how many products people use I did a surveys to 16 women with the question “How many boxes (20 pack) of tampons do you use per month?� and the average is 1 to 1 1/2 boxes. From this I can see that if this campaign would deliver tampons it would be wise to do a boxes of 40, so there was enough to last the whole month and not have to ration. Here are some newer period product logos and the top two are very floral and interesting design and the bottom two are more about the period and menstrual products which I think I proper rather than using metaphors. I think this is the sort of direction I will go towards
1960 1970 I wanted to look at different a well known tampon product throughout time and see how the style had changed and if the box showed anything about periods at any point. As you can see it didn’t which is an opportunity for me to do with my design. On the other hand, I feel that not showing periods, products and blood gives girls another reason to be ashamed, not speak openly about it and that its something to hide; as they have in these logos and designs of these boxes for years.
1980
1990 2000 2010
2019
Observational Observational Research Research These are just a few things that I found while out and about on the streets, I thought it was a good way of promoting the issue. Seeing these helped me design my logo and the colour scheme I used.
Namesand andLogo Logo Names To think of names I made a mind map and wanted it to represent periods but not be too long and it to be excepting of everyone who has periods (including trans men). It was quite difficult to think of a name, especially as I had watched Sylvia Lucas (Premier of the Northern Cape Province) say we should change the language we use around menstrual products by stop using ‘sanitary’ or ‘hygiene’ as it makes periods sound dirty and unhygienic but they are just a part of being a women. I came up with FLOW, I was happy with this outcome as it is inclusive of everyone and its short and simple, not to crude but yet still fitting. I considered it without the ‘W’ unfortunately there was already a period app under that name but was different to what my app will be about.
I added a slight bend and separated the lettering a bit which fit nicely
The logo I did some thumbnail sketches in my sketchbook and wrote positives and negatives of each thing but found that this was the most fitting as it has a variety of menstrual products. As you can see in the screenshots that I digitally drew these images in Photoshop by first drawing the outlines on different layers and then drawing the blood on lower layers. This allowed me to move them around and figure out good placement. I then experimented with text buy using a typeface I already liked then drawing over it in different colours. I still wasn’t happy with it so made the ‘O’ a tear shape, which I think made the text and illustration fit together well.
ColourScheme Scheme Colour I initially wanted to do red, white and pink and as I like the clash and they are typically feminine colours, however, I thought I should experiment with other Colours as these are used so regularly amongst female based charities.
I happened to see that the hummus and blanket next to each other matched really well so took a picture to sample the colours to see it this fit well with my logo. However, I don’t think this matches or looks right for the campaign.
I also tried with a dark pink but it hides the red and you loose the image.
I would try changing the blood to another colour, however, there are a lot of feminists that are trying to stop that, because periods are red not blue like the adverts show us. ‘Pink_Bits’ on instagram is an illustrator who draws openly about the female form and what our bodies do. Her light blue with the red does look very eye Catching which made me experiment with blues. After looking at them all I really do think the pink and red look best but thought I’d experiment with the grey outline, however, like the dark pink and the red the white gets lost in the pink.
AppDesign Design App I thought that an app would be appropriate to show where you can get products, to get products and have your card on your phone as well as having a physical copy..
For the app I have done the icon, the opening login page and then the map, personal profile and products. In the personal profile I decided to have it partnered up with Clue. Clue is an app that lets you track your period and then from the data it collects it will estimate when your next period will be. I thought this would be a nice touch to the app as it will allow women to know when to get their products.
The map is so you can find places that give out menstrual products, on this map I have used a tampon to show the nearby doctors, pharmacies and places of education that you would be able to pick up Flow products. I used a tampon because its like the drop-pin but more custom to my product. On the products page I wanted to show the products available then the dropdown has a description about them and the buttons to deliver or pick up. I am very happy with the way the app turned out and it is very simple so its easy to get around but yet has everything you would need to pick up the products.
App App
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menstraul moon cup sign in create account
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menstraul pad moon cup period-proof pants
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typically used upwards. Most ct. Have to change s, if left in too risks of toxic shock.
Leaflet Leaflet The leaflet was a pretty simple layout with the products in the middle and then either side discussing what and how the campaign worked. I had all the text ready in my notebook so I just had to type it up and organise the text and layout of the logo.
inside
outside
Printing my text was difficult as it turned out upside-down on one side so I had to edit that and did a test run with my work on my own printer (which definitely was not high enough quality) Once I got it perfect I got them printed professionally on thick glossy card, which really finished them off nicely.
Posters
I’m wasn’t sure how to go about the poster as didn’t know if I wanted a lot of text or it to be quite simple. By looking at these already existing Period poverty designs I definitely think I’m going to go with a more simple minimal text approach. I thought about doing an illustration of someone holding a Flow card and picking up free products or them being delivered to their door, however, as I want it to be inclusive of everyone it would bring up the issue of what the person I was going to draw looked like; black, white, Asian, cis, trans, non-binary, homeless, etc.. the list goes on. If I had time I would make a series of posters of these. Considering this I’ve decided to just have the logo and if I do do illustrations I will execute it like the “Free Periods” poster has.
After speaking to Vanessa she said use hierarchy to make the poster really clear and so everyone that sees it knows what it is about straight away. This really helped so I made my poster based of off the advice. At first I had all the text white but then thought that the first heading should match the logo to draw peoples eye too it, I did the same for the promotion of the app too.
RECIEVING A FLOW CARD MEANS YOU CAN GET FREE MENSTRAUL PRODUCTS if you earn below the living age you could recieve free menstraul products at any doctors, pharmacy and school
Card and Stickers Looking at cards I had in my purse I used these as a basic template for the Flow card. This is a very simple design but effective. On the back its just the logo, making it easy to find in a purse and keeping consistency throughout the campaign.
I printed and cut these out. Once showing them to Vanessa suggested to add a quote for what the campaign is about, so I wrote “helping end Period Poverty with Flow�
T-Shirts I decided to design t-shirts as it is a good way of promotion and I wanted to experiment a little bit more. I made two types of t-shirts. The first I used lino as its easy to keep redoing for multiple tops and I like the style it gives. The only problem with lino is that it is one size so on each top it’ll be that size and that its not bigger to have on the back unless I made another larger. The other t-shirt was with a bleach pen, I liked this because you can draw straight on the fabric, however, each one isn’t going to be the same and you have to have a coloured top.
Choosing where the logo looked best.
Tracing then cutting the lino.
Doing the first prints on paper to test it and then went straight onto the t-shirt. I am very happy with the way this turned out, however maybe next time instead of using black I might try pink. First I took the pen apart and then drenched and soaked it in bleach, then I just drew onto the t-shirt, it worked straight away and then got lighter with time, I then did the same thing on the back but central and larger. I am also happy with this one and would definitely like to do more experimentation with this in the future.
Animation After making the app I felt that it would be a fun way to show how it works and how the card itself works by doing a short animation. I wanted to use frame by frame as thought it would be more interesting to look because of the hole wobbly look. I also only wanted to use the background colour and white outline so that your attention was mainly on the poster and app.
I am very happy with the outcome of this animation and that it does show how the app works and it brings emphasis to the design of to the app and poster and showing that you can also get it delivered.
https://vimeo. com/335641659
Evaluation Evaluation Ultimately, I am very proud of this project as I feel that it would help many people, as solving period poverty would be a massive step towards equality as every women would be able to get the same education as there male peers at school. Although it is great that they have announced free menstrual products for schools in September 2019 and this is huge, I feel this campaign will be more helpful as it will be for all ages and help homeless women, instead of them having to choose between free bleeding and hunger. I think the simple design and colours helps link each part of the project together and make it more eye-catching to young girls and women, it also gives a friendly feel so its inclusive of all and that it is not intimidating. I feel that I have experimented and explored what I liked and did not within the project. I like that making this project as inclusive as possible was important by using certain words like “menstrual products” rather than “sanitary products” trying to step away from people thinking periods are dirty. I also tried used non gender specific words like “people” instead of women to make sure its inclusive of trans people as well.
The card itself is very plane and maybe should’ve experimented with it a bit more, however, it is only a small amount of space and has everything it would need for it. The poster works well as the hierarchy catches peoples eye and if they want too can follow through with reading what the campaign is about. I was going to do an illustration of someone with the card but this brought up the issue of what would I draw? White/Black/Asian/cis/ trans.. the list goes on. If I was going to take this project further I would do a series of posters with each being different so it was open for all. I was very nervous for the leaflet as was not sure on the wording or exactly what I wanted to explain on it, especially including the products. Fortunately I think it turned out so well, it is informative and if you picked it up you would know exactly what the card had to offer and how it worked as a whole. I think the animation really helps show how the app works and how important the poster is, and by only using minimal colours for it helped guide where people should be focusing on. If I had more time I would also make another animation showing how you would use the card itself by picking up the products in stores available. I really am happy with the way the t-shirts worked out and that I experimented with different techniques. If I was printing for a larger demand I would also venture into screenprinting as you can do multiple at once, however, I liked that I did try something new that gave it a different style and it meant I experimented with coloured t-shirts too. As you can see I am very happy with this campaign and how it turned out as a whole.
App Design Workshop The brief for this project was to make an app and also allowed you to upload and share. We first started with 9 boxes and all put what we liked and liked to do in our spare time, this was to help us think of ideas of what the app might be about. Initially I had two ideas, one was to make an app that helped you show what toiletries and makeup where animal friendly with a rabbit as the logo. The other was an egg app that you could share your recipes or find recipes and have a timer for what type of egg you were having, I went with the egg app, called EGGO.
my initial ideas for the egg project.
We had to draw our first thoughts of what we thought our app was going to look like using only 5 screens, however, because of my timer I wanted to show what that would look like so went over. Once designing it digitally I then cut it down and made it more refined.
Once I narrowed down my ideas I then did the initial sketches for my Egg app “Eggo”. It is such a niche idea that I thought it would be really fun to experiment with but keeping the key colours yellow and white.
I left the login really simple Once you open it it’ll take you to These are all rec but showed the logo so when this page and you click on one and shared throu you opened it you would see it of them and it’ll take you to the more ‘good egg straight away. recipes. it’ll go up the
This is the timer page, which is centre of the bottom panel, you cipes from online This is your own page, you’ll click on what type of egg you have all the stuff you have ‘good ugh the app, the gs’ a recipe gets are cooking and it’ll give you the egged’ and then a part where perfect cooking time. page higher. you share your own recipes.
Ultimately, I am very pleased with the outcome of this app and think it would actually work as an app, I liked messing around with the bottom bar and making everything egg related and that you can ‘good egg’ a recipe and it’ll be on your profile to find again.
de la warr I thought the de la warr visit was really nice,. The Still I Rise exhaustion was really insightful and helpful for my essay on feminist activism.
I really liked these photographs of people knowing they are going to get ambitious so they put table clothes down so that the horses would trip. I like that its a small form of protest without using violence
Seeing all the zines made me want to create feminist zine when I have free time, especially after reading ‘Feminists Don’t Wear Pink’ I would like it to be like that, people put in there idea or what they think feminism is to them and then draw illustrations in response.
Brunei Gallery These film posters created in Ghana are really interesting as they are all painted and are really freely painted. The large collection was incredible that they made this many and the complete contrast from our Western film posters.
House of illustration After seeing some of the Silk Screens Nun’s work at the De la Warr and loving it, it was so lovely to see a room full of her brightly coloured beliefs across a whole room
Comic book workshop In this workshop we had a description then drew from it and then afterwards we learnt to colour it in photoshop. I found this really interesting and useful and loved the techniques Con taught us.
Unfortunately, I do not have the final coloured photoshop drawing and did not have time to colour it all in.
Overcoming the monster
We had a group project to plan the narrative of a story with the words “Overcoming the Monster” as I wasn’t there for the first day of the project and neither was anyone in my group, we all did it over message went in early and used images to show what sort of story it would be.