The Egg Box - Working with Thumbnails

After creating brainstorms and taking out some time for some research, it's time to start creating thumbnail sketches for the egg box. Just like the letter-form brief, it was time to break out the trusty layout paper and markers, and start creating some idea's visually. I started off simple, drawing different angles of the egg box, opened and closed, then I gradually moved onto linking in some elements to can relate to the egg box such as egg cups, broken egg shells, and feathers. I was planning on creating a sort of Russian Doll effect with egg boxes, but it isn't the most original idea, and there are plenty of other ideas that are much more creative and can be explored with in-depth.

"Celebration Of Everyday Objects" - A New Brief

And so, the letterform brief has come to an end and now that all of our finished pieces are on display in the college's foyer, it's time to get going on a new brief, titled "Celebration Of Everyday Objects".

The project says it all in the title, really. We are given an everyday object, and we have to celebrate that object, and show it off as an amazing and iconic object. To kickstart this project, we had to pick our words from a box, (the word I picked out was "Egg Box"), and start researching the designer and it's history, it's purpose, it's inherent design, different variations of that object, and so on. Here's a little sample of my research carried out on the egg box (click on the text for a better view):

The egg box comes in many sizes to accommodate different number of eggs; 6, 12, 18, and so on, but I have choosen to focus on the 6 dimpled egg box, as it is the most iconic egg box. In terms of material used, the recycled paper pulp box is much more iconic than the plastic egg box.

I'm looking forward to the experimentation that is possible with egg boxs, especially in terms of three-dimensional forms!

The Final B

After designing the final sketch of my credit card B, it was time to bring it to life three-dimensionally! I made some changes along the way, such as the inclusion of the top part of the credit card rather than leaving it out completely. This means that the cut out B was surrounded with the rest of the credit card, and I left a gap around the edges of the Bodoni 'B' typeface.

Materials wise, I was lucky to find the perfect A1 sized mount board from Silkes to use as a base for the credit card, and the silver and gold parts of the credit card was made using metallic paper. For the coding part of the credit card, I replicated the exact layout of the bank number, account holder's name and so on, using 'B' typefaces that were cut out of MDF wood and spray painted silver. The colours from the Anglo Irish Bank logo were created using coloured paper and acyrlic paint.

It was a very long process to try and get every detail of the credit card correctly, but I am very pleased with the result! I'm glad that I decided to include more of the credit card around the middle 'B', since it definitely helps communicate the idea better.

Work-In-Process:

The Finished Piece:

VisCom Mathematics

On Monday, we had a group crit, where we gathered together and analysed each other's prototypes and designs. When I showed my own prototype, I got some suggestions which were very helpful. When we analysed my piece, it was said that it looked very festive and had a St Patrick's Day parade-y feel to it due to it's colour and texture. But no worries, thanks to a very helpful chat with my tutors, I found out how to overcome that challenge!

Remember the idea with the credit card B? Now it's time to combine that idea with the prototype idea with the disintegrating money! By creating a credit card instead of green money in the shape of the 'B', it's easier to communicate my idea of Bank across to the viewer. I'm going to use the disintegrating and breaking down element from the money prototype for the credit card also, to communicate the idea of national banks falling apart.

In terms of colour, I'm using the colour scheme of the Anglo Irish Bank logo, which further link in with the state of the Irish banking system. The strong blue colours in my design above will be replaced with the navy-ish colour of Anglo Irish Bank, and the light blue colours will be replaced with the dark red and orange colours of the logo.

The metallic coding you see on credit cards will be replaced to show a line of B letter-forms, with the same typeface of course. I'll have to experiment with different processes and materials to create that "indented" effect of the coding on my letter form, but I'm looking forward to it!

The Final Idea & 3-D Prototype

After finishing the final design of my prototype, it was time to start creating it three dimensionally! 

To create this piece, I traced the typeface for my piece (which is called Bondoni), and I transferred the letter-form onto cardboard and cut it out using a blade. I used one cut-out piece of the letter-form for the front face, and I used another cut-out piece for the back. The sides, which connect the front face to the back piece, are made out of card paper, which still gives support and structure to the letter-form, but it allows more flexibility, which was needed to create the curves for the curved bows of the "B".

Once the structure was created, I cut out rectangle pieces of light green paper and stuck them on, layering them like Post-Its. As the pieces reach further down the typeface, I began to start using light green crepe paper, and as it began reaching the bottom of the typeface, I cut out parts of the bottom of the "B", and suspended the crepe paper pieces with thread. I did all of this to show as if the "B" (or should I say, "Bank"!) is falling apart and becoming more fragile as it goes from cardboard, to suspended crepe paper. 

Here's hoping it all goes well tomorrow!

Design for the Protoype

The Prototype

Sketchbook Sneak Peek

Along with the letter-form project, we were given a sketchbook brief. This sketchbook brief can contain our own ideas, and it can become something personal. To be honest, I found it quite hard to get into the sketchbook, even though I was actually looking forward to make a start on it, but right now, I feel quite comfortable with my sketchbook. I'm drawing my own ideas, rather than drawing from video game logos and so on, and I really do feel as if the sketchbook is helping me explore new ideas that I wouldn't have really done before, and it is helping my artistic skills as I experiment with different techniques such as cross-hatching, and with different media, such as watercolours, collage and melting wax crayons. Most of the double-page spreads I've done over the holidays have mixed media, which is a great way for me to improve my creative thinking!

Tumbling

I think that Tumblr is a great way to do some quick research during some spare time, so I thought I would link my Tumblr blog to here! Right now, I'm reblogging a lot of Typography pieces for some quick research, and Tumblr is a great place to see some fresh ideas and inspiration, and to see some new upcoming artists.

Here's the link: http://horanpatrick.tumblr.com/