Within my previous secondary design there was a stage which some of the illustrations lined up which i felt i could develop into a blender design. However, as this is a blender design i wanted to make the repeat as simple as possible, whilst it still retaining some personality.
Once constructing the repeat i decided to present it in a micro scale so it better reflects a blender design. As well as this, i then went about using a colour overlay to refine the hues and details down. Although i do not want all my blender designs to feature aliens in this way i thought it would be nice to have at least one to create variety within my collection.
Following our interim presentations i realised i needed to start to develop my designs into a collection. To try and make this manageable i selected a design and then tried to make my new design coordinate with this rather than with everything i have done so far. I feel this made the process a lot easier as it allowed me to select key elements to work with, rather than looking at the whole extensive range of them.
Initially i was looking at how to create lines and pathways across a design using mirroring and rotating techniques. However i found this created a real contrast between positive and negative space. To try and break up the negative space i then added some more imagery at a larger scale. Despite experimenting with this for a while i did not feel i was getting anywhere so decided to scrap this pattern.
Despite not feeling the repeating structure was working there was an element within it which i felt i could develop further. I really liked the mirrored central pattern as it reminded me of a design within my research. To see how this motif would look in a repeat i extracted the motif and put it intp a block repeat.
Overall i really liked the repeating structure; however, wondered if there was a way i could integrate more imagery and a greater variety of scale to make the final design more alluring.
As well as wanting to add more imagery and a greater variety of scale the tutors also mentioned a l0t of my designs wee very tightly packed so when re arranging the motif i also wanted to spread out the imagery. Despite liking the new added imagery and the greater variety of scale i feel there is now too much negative space surrounding each of the aliens.
To rectify this i kept the scale and imagery the same; however, reduced the amount of negative space within the motif by moving all the illustrations closer together. Overall i do prefer tis outcome as it now looks more like an interact pattern rather than stripes; however, i wanted to experiment with a different repeating format.
Out of various repeating structures i found a pillar repeat to look the most pleasing. One element i really like about this repeating structure is how each motif interacts and creates a four leaf clover impression via the legs of different sizes coming together. Overall i am pleased with this design and how it coordinates with others within my collection so far. Because of its structure, size of motifs and level of detail i think it will be a great secondary design for my collection.
For my interim presentation i have decided to create a powerpoint presentation. Although this is not necessarily required it will mean i am able to stay consistent throughout the in house interim and the one with the external examiner. As well as this it should allow me to stay on track with what i’m saying and for everything to flow in a natural order.
So my power point is consistent with my theme i have used hues from my colour pallet as well as my selected font for my press pack. As well as this, i have included my logo in the bottom right hand corner of every slide.
Overall the interim presentation went surprisingly well. When i arrived at uni before my slot people who had already had their presentations were saying how badly it had gone and some even crying. After initially being confident about my presentation i suddenly became anxious and had a real rush of adrenaline as i really had no idea what to expect.
Despite other people in complete disarray over their presentations mine actually went really smoothly. I think it would have been really interesting to sit in on the peoples presentations that didn’t go so well to work out what went wrong for them. All the points the tutors mentioned in response to my collection so far are things i have already been considering or am planning to do. This was really useful as it showed i am thinking about the right things and heading in the right direction with developing my collection. The key points that the tutors raised were:
Collection board
This i will come around to; however, at this stage i need to come up with some more designs over the next couple of days until i have a range i am happy with. As well as this i really need to focus on creating some blender design as these are exceptionally lacking within my designs so far. Hopefully by sunday following the thursday presentation i will have enough designs to present in a collection board to show the tutors within a tutorial on monday.
Coloured Backgrounds
Coloured backgrounds were something i was initially experimented with quite a lot; however, in a tutorial with another tutor she suggested using white backgrounds as the coloured backgrounds overwhelmed my motifs. I think t0 balance these two points of view i should include more coloured backgrounds within my collection; however, not on all my designs.
Boarder idea
When looking at one of my designs it was suggested that i could make a boarder design out of one of my circular rotation designs. This i had not previously considered; however, i think it is a brilliant idea. This is something i will definitely experiment with over the next couple of days.
Extract alien features for blender designs
I am more than aware that i am drawn to busy patterns and this is something that is always consistent throughout my projects. I had previously considered extracting elements and creating patterns with these; however, i feel knowing i am often drawn to such busy patters has restricted me from doing this as i do not want to over complicate my collection. After the tutors mentioning this i feel i have been holding myself back too much and need to produce a whole array of designs in my busy preferred style and then if it needs to be reigned back the tutors can advise me on this. I am really glad this point came up as it has been something in the back of my mind i know i can really expand on and develop lots more ideas from.
Scale
I have to admit at this point my range of scale is exceptionally poor; however, this is something i am aware of. With the selection of designs i have showed the tutors these are only my first outcomes so i was more focused on creating an identity and style for my collection, rather than presenting each design at a different scale. From here i really need to start to be more careful and considerate of the scale i am presenting my designs in to show that i know this is an issue; however, i am starting to develop this.
Circular floor cushion
For one of my designs the tutors mentioned creating a cushion using the shape of the motif. I think this is a great idea and will go really well with my show space. This is something i would really love to develop once i have finalised my collection
Buddy
Previously i have not met my buddy has this has changed since coming into third year. After my tutorial i got the chance to meet my buddy for the first time and have a chat about her work. I am glad i got to touch base with her as previous to the tutors pointing her out in the presentation i had no idea who she was.
From this presentation i am feeling really confident about my ideas and progression as what the tutors feel my project needs matches up with what i am thinking. From here over the next three days i am going to be working from home coming up with a whole variety of designs focusing on the points raised within todays presentation.
After my tutorial with Sian on thursdayi decided to take a trip to b&q, mainly to take advantage of their paint swatches. Other people have these and i feel it makes a really nice addition to their desk space, but as well as this, now with a dolls house on the way which i want to paint i need to have a look at what colours are available for this.
It was awlfully satisfying looking at all the paint swatches; however, i hadnt anticipaed how hard it would be to find paint swatches similar to my hues from my colour pallet. As these are only supplied by one brand of paint it is understandable that every hue is not available. Instead i selected three of each hue which i felt best related to my colour or the tone of it.
As well as finding it hard to find the exact hues on my colour pallet i totally underestimated the amount of whites on the market. As white is also on my colour pallet i wanted to get one which was a close match; however, although from a distance they all looked the same, when placed directly next to each other they all looked to be completely separate hues. This was a real eye opener as i was planning to paint the dolls house white to match the degree show pace; however, i will now have to find out the exact shade the show space is painted to ensure my dolls house matches this. As the dolls house will need a lot of work done in relation to painting and decorating i want to ensure i apply a white base cote as soon as possible as this will need to dry before being able to add extra elements. To ensure i can get the same hue i will query within my next tutorial regarding the paint the university uses.
As well as looking at the variety of shades of paint i also had a look at their lighting, wallpaper and decorating sections. I have been thinking of including a lamp within my show space so wanted to see if there was anything here which could spark some inspiration. Despite having a wide variety of lights, there was nothing that stood out to me as being particularly different, exciting or appropriate for children.
Having drawn a mock up of my show space i feel i am a lot more aware of elements which i will need to get, which i would not have considered other wise. One of these elements is a hook to place my fairy lights and pj’s on. I want to find some hooks which reflect my theme and target demographic as well as possible and these ones (photographed bellow) really stood out to me. Although i have no intention as of yet to include hearts within my designs it is the wood and hue which i think will really suit my show space and target demographic. I will keep an eye out for more hooks like these as the project goes on in the hope to find something similar and really appropriate for my theme.
Overall i really enjoyed this trip to b&q and think it came at a good time as i will soon want to start painting my dolls house. From here however, i really need to crack on with my designs so i can create my postcards.
Today i am working in the stitch workshop and practicing on the overlocker. As i have already ordered the bulk of my samples i am able to overlock these throughout the day while practicing my skills. Throughout the session i made a few notes of key information i will need to consider when returning to the overlocker at a later date. As well as simply hemming my samples, Maggie has also provided me with a company i could go to if i want to present these in a book. At this stage i am not sure if i want them bound or in a book; however, it will be useful to research into different companies that provide these services and the costs involved.
6234XL
Blog about stitch and wrong stitches STD- correct. R.H.- wrong (rolled hem)
Abby book binding
Tension 3/4. Stitch length 2.5. Differential feed (edited for stretchy fabrics anything over 1- experiment)
As setting up the machine is quite complex i have photographed it when threaded up. Today i have spent a vast amount of time threading and unthreading the machine so i can remember the process and am feeling a lot more confident after this than i was at 11 this morning.
Although there are different processes for shear and heavy fabrics today i have decided to dedicate to learning the process for heavier weight fabrics. As the two processes are so complex in themselves i feel breaking it down like this will make it much easier to learn and remember. Next Monday i i will return to the stitch room to practice what i have learnt today and relearn how to hem shearer fabrics.
Although not picking up the technique for shear fabrics i did practice with Maggie earlier today. The outer fabric in the image bellow shows a hem on a heavier weight fabric (what i have been practicing) and the inner on a lighter fabric which i will practice next week.
Today i managed to hem all my thicker samples. Overall this did not take too much time as once you know what to do the process is actually quite quick. Within one of my two tutorials today with Helen i asked her about how i should present my samples. In previous moguls i have just stuck them into my sketchbook; however, with the amount i have i thought they would be better presented in a different way. From our discussions i feel presenting them in a separate sketchbook would be the most appropriate as this would be a neat and professional way to do it.
Despite my business cards taking an exceptionally long time to develop they have also helped me to create my logo. For my logo i am going to use the front of my business card as i feel this is simple enough, directly relates to my designs and also brings all my professional practice elements and my collection together.
I feel keeping this simple was the key as i am aware i do like to over complicate things for my self. I feel using a large scale also makes the cropped area a lot more clear, precise and recognisable.
Now having added this to the back of my group postcard i can really start to see my business card and group post cards coming together where as initially they were slightly disjointed. For our interim presentation i have decided to prepare a presentation and on one slide features both my business and postcard, front and back. I feel my logo really brings these two together and my press pack is starting to look more united.
For our group postcards we have a set structure which takes some of the hassle out of creating one. Although not definitely deciding on my logo as of yet i have still gone forward and created my group postcard minus this element so all i need to do at a later date is add this. As well as this means i am prepared this outcome could also help me decide on a logo which is appropriate for my collection.
For my postcard i selected my favourite design so far and ensured the scale was appropriate for the size of the postcard. I have decided to use the same scale and design on the front and back so the two sides look uniform.
The main decision with this however is as the background of my design is white, do i add a box around the edges of my pattern to create a solid edge. Overall i feel this is definitely not needed on the front of my postcard; however, could be used on the back as there is more text. Despite this i do want the two sides to look uniform so i feel i would be better off without one as i feel it is not needed.
As well as producing this for the group press pack i also want to produce some of my own layout designs for my show space and personal press pack. From looking at my postcards i have gathered whilst at university i feel having the front of the post card covered with pattern looks very professional and alluring so would like to experiment with this.
To see how my post card will look printed and to scale i have also printed my designs out to scale; however, just on normal printing paper. Although these do not resemble the quality that will be within our professionally printed samples it does give me a good indication of how my final post cards will look.
With our student lead postcard deadline coming up i thought i better start cracking on with some ideas for this. However, the first thing i wanted to tackle was a logo which lead me on to create the front of my business cards. To inspire my ideas i looked at the logos on my collection of business and post cards i have been collecting over the past two years.
From here i decided i definitely want my name within my logo so started to look at different fonts i have previously downloaded. I have selected just to use my first name as including my double barrelled last name will make this quite long and using my initials HMS is more resemblant of a ship. As this will be for my business cards which are quite small i needed a font which would be really clear and i found the first font in the images bellow too detailed. Although preferring the second font, i felt it was a little too sophisticate for my collection; however, still started to think about different ideas for how i could make this more appropriate for my collection.
Inspired by some of my designs i started to tessellate my imagery into a circular shape. Despite liking this idea, a logo is designed to be clear, simple and precise so i felt i was over complicating it by using too much imagery.
From here, inspired by a logo design i have created previously i started to experiment with integrating my imagery and text together. Despite this working previously i still felt it was a little too complex and hard to understand so i decided to go back to finding fonts.
When looking through fonts to download from 1001fonts.com i initially started looking through the themes such as fantasy and floral. Despite liking some of these i still felt they were too sophisticated and complicated. However, then i found a section called school hand writing from which i downloaded 5 fonts.
To assess which font would be most successful i wrote my name out multiple times in the fonts i had selected to see which would be the most successful. As my collection is for little girls i thought the more ruff and imperfect fonts better matched my ideas so refined my selection down to two.
I selected these two fonts bellow as they are very simple and clear, but also really relate to my target demographic and imagery. Once selecting these two fonts i started to decide which imagery would work best with them and initially decided on these two characters.
From here i started to play around to see if i could make these two characters work together by making them look as if they are interacting in some way. Overall i found their forms and hues to be too different to have them standing side by side so i decided to only use one.
Despite deciding to only use one i still experimented with them both in different ways trying to find a clear but interesting way to present them. Although feeling like i was getting somewhere and definitely refining my ideas i felt the illustrations were too complex and had too much detail for a small logo or business card so decided to get really experimental with scale.
Instead of having the full illustration displayed on my business card/ logo i then tried zooming right in and layering my text on top of the image. Despite taking a step in the right direction i felt my font got lost within this imagery so decided to try something else.
I really liked the cropped version of the second monster so started to visualise how this could look on a business card by adding a background box in the right dimensions for my business card (8.5 x 5.5 cm). Despite previously being happy with my font i wanted to have another go at my second favourite font to see how this would look. Overall i decided i had originally selected the correct font as i felt this was clearer and easier to read.
From here i felt i was really getting somewhere so changed the background hue to one within my colour pallet and started trying to get my font the right size and shape. I tried all the hues from my colour pallet; however, felt the pink and green were the nicest as the orange and purple hue created a sickly contrast against the green and pink imagery. Initially the pink background and white font was my favourite; however, after giving my eyes a break and returning i started to prefer the pink font and green background.
As well as playing around with the background hue i also stretched the font a little so it would better fill the negative space. Luckily as this font is very simple it allowed me to do this without it becoming distorted.
Despite being happy with my progress i felt the negative space looked a bit flat and it needed some textural details. I wanted this texture to reflect the spots within the alien illustration so sat for a minute and racked my brains about how i could recreate this. Instead of having to paint spots, let them dry and scan them in i thought there must be a way of image tracing this alien in illustrator so i could remove them. This is something i had never one before so i wasn’t quite sure how i would go about it; however, i managed to get it to work. Once extracting the spots from the illustration i then repeated them across the background layer to create a textured effect.
Despite this producing the desired effect i am not sure if i prefer the design with or without spots so will seek advice from others on this. This thursday we have our interim presentations so the tutors will be busy all day; however, on a thursday i do also see my support worker and mentor who are always happy to critique on my work. As well as these two sources i will ask my house mates what they think to gather a range of feedback from different sources.
Once happy with the front of my business card i then moved onto the back. From the business cards i have collected i felt a double sided looked a lot more professional so wanted to use this within my own designs.
So both the front and back would co-ordinate i used the same hue and texture or no texture on the back as well as the same font. As well as this, i thought this would be a good chance to display the entire form of this alien which would also help to unite the two sides together and also allow my business cards to be experimental with scale.
On the back of my business cards i have chosen to include my name, email, a website on which is my portfolio and my textiles instagram account. This gives people a wide range of which they can contact me whilst still being very simple and professional.
Although the textural background works for my green business cards it does not work so well for the back of my pink ones as the text is unclear and gets lost within the textures. I have tried experimenting with a green font and green dots instead; however, the green is too similar to the white so still causes confusion. Although i have included an image of this design within this blog post to demonstrate my experiments, i will only present the two green designs and first pink one for peoples feedback.
Until gaining a range of feedback these are the outcomes i have produced in different colour ways. Although being very similar except in hue and texture, if i receive positive feedback for more than one there is the possibility i could choose more than one for my press packs and show space.
After having digitally developed my business cards i thought it may be a good idea to print them out on my home printer to see what the scale is like. Overall i am really glad i did as despite the front of the cards being clear and readable the back is not clear. As the hues are very soft and the font thin and not bold the two are blending together.
To try and rectify this issue i first made the font bold; however, this made the letters jumble together which made the font unclear and not easily readable. To try and rectify this i have searched online for a new font which is bolder and still reflects my theme. Despite liking this new font on my business cards i feel it may be slightly too messy for my cv. I want to have one continuous font across my press pack as i feel this will make everything more refined and professional.
To see if this font was any better when printed i went ahead and made a business card prototype at home. Overall because this font is bolder it is a lot more clear; however, i still do prefer my original font.
Although my original font is most likely not legible i decided to go to my local printing shop and asked them to print my business cards to see if it is my printer or the font. From my own mock ups and the print shop samples i will have to change my font to something a lot bolder as i want my business cards to be as clear as possible and this font isn’t anywhere near as clear as i would like. From here i will search for more fonts similar to my first that are a lot bolder. Creating my own mockups and getting the local printing shop to print my cards for me have proved exceptionally helpful as if i had not done this i could have ended up with unreadable business cards.
After deciding i had not selected an appropiate font i then went back to the drawing board. Previously i had been looking at very fancy and individual fonts but then thought if i really want my buisness cards to be readable i should proably go with something clearer and a lot more classic. Initially i experimented with a range of different fonts which come with the Adobe softwear. Despite thinking they were clearer they did detract from some of the charm that i felt my previous donts gave.
After searching for a while i came across a font which i felt would work a lot better as it was bold; however, still had the childish charm my previous fonts had. Overall i feel this font is an awful lot clearer than the ones i have previously been experimenting with and will also be suitable for my CV.
However, previously my font looked very clear on screen but when it came to printing it out it became blurred, so i decided to make another set of business card mock ups at home. Overall these are an awful lot clearer than my original font so i am very happy with this new font. The only edit i did decide to make was making the smallest line of the text on the back larger just to ensure this was as clear as it could be.
Despite being a lot happier with this new font i started to wonder what the front of my business cards would look like with just an image. Overall i actually really like this idea; however, will show these outcomes to my support worker and mentor tomorrow to gain their feedback on which they feel looks the most proffessional.
When ordering my samples from fashion formular there was on titled Textile Sublimation Transfer Paper. This i have never encountered before and it did sound quite exciting so despite having no knowledge what it was nor what to do with it i ordered a sample anyway.
Upon receiving my sample and still having no clue what i am meant to do with it i have taken to google to see if there is anything which would give me a clue. From this research i have realised i have ordered my design on transfer paper which when put under a heat press at 375- 400 F for 2 to 3 minutes will transfer onto my chosen substrate. As i am spending most of this coming Monday in the stitch room i doubt i will have time to try it before the interim; however, i can still pick up the fabric i need to be prepared for going down into the print room for the following monday. Although at this stage i am still not sure if this will be right for my collection as i have never done this process before, since ordering this sample it has really been a shot in the dark so i am excited to progress and see what the end results are.
Today i managed to get round to doing my sublimation print using the heat press in the print room. The material i selected was a light weight cotton polyester blend as i felt this substrate could have a place within my collection. Initially i only ordered this transfer paper sample as it was fairly cheep and i wasn’t 100% sure what is was so decided it might be nice to experiment with; however, now i am so glad i did. Having never done a sublimation print before i was hesitant as i had no clue what i would come out with but the end result is really nice.
Although really liking this sample i will not include this technique within my final collection as the heat press is not large enough to produce large samples in one run and i do not want to risk having to print my samples in two or three goes as the design may not line up. As well as this some synthetic fibres melt under a high heat which is required to produce this print.
Today i returned to have another session on the overlocker so i could practice my skills that i learnt last week and also learn the technique for shear and stretchy fabrics. I am glad i did return to practice my skills as when threading up the machine there was one step that i was missing which meant the machine was unable to overlock. Once threading up the machine i showed Maggie what i was doing and she pointed out where i went wrong which was very useful.
Although wanting to practice my skills the main reason i wanted to return was to learn the settings for the shear and stretchy fabrics. This is something Maggie showed me last week; however, the first setting was so complex to learn i felt it best to digest this and then move onto the other settings this week. Overall i am very glad i decided to develop my skills this way as by breaking it down i feel i understand the process a lot better and hopefully it will be easier to remember.
I have now overlocked all of my first set of fabric samples and taken notes and photographs of how the machine is set up so i can refer back to these later. Despite having this set of samples overlocked, i have now ordered more samples so will overlock these when they arrive and then make my final decision of substrates for my collection.
I am now feeling vastly more confident on the overlocker than i was previously; however, i will return once again next monday to practice my skills to ensure i am following the right process and confident for my final samples.
BA Hons Textiles Final Major Project Blog 