Task 1 Final Piece

For my final piece, I decided to return to the idea of doing a 'set' or 'series' of pieces, I chose to do 3. I began by simply cutting out the nets (A2 size) for all 3 of the pieces.

In my development I had experimented with adding another colour of paper to the final piece, I really liked the mixture of shapes and colours that this created and intend to apply it to my final piece(s) however, if I feel it weakens the final piece then I may decide to remove the inner piece as I have not trialled this idea on such a large scale before...

(exterior net layouts)

Piece 1

Out of the three I feel this is my final piece, it uses repetition to create the shapes of the slits and although they are all slightly different shapes etc the method/technique and basic net for the shape were all repeated to get the final layout. This piece has had 3 of its corners attached together, with a similar shape placed inside. The orange piece is one third of an A2 sheet, the reason I chose this size was because I wanted it to fit neatly inside without coming to the front too much; the internal structure remains inside and needs to be approached at a close distant to be able to distinguish it properly and accurately. 

Piece 2

This is very similar to many of my original designs and that is why I chose to keep this shape in, it is much more simple and basic to the other 2 shapes due to the simple horizontal lined layout on the net. I am unsure if I prefer this piece in the position it is now or turner upside down and 90 degrees to the left. 

Piece 3

In the photograph this piece is more difficult to view, it has a 360 degree view and looks best I feel as you continuously move around the piece. This I feel is the weakest piece and it hasn't turned out 100% as I wanted it to. I was hoping it would end up looking the same as the smaller model that I experimented with a few weeks ago.

Displaying my final piece

The final set will displayed by being suspended on invisible string, the pieces are not as strong as a I hoped due to the thickness of the paper in relation to the size of them; this means they may need holding up securely by the string in order to create the accurate finished shape. This is particularly important for piece 2.

Final Composition:

Evaluation

TASK 1. In reflection upon this project I feel that I should have probably looked into more options and techniques before going down the route I have chosen. However, I feel I made a decision that kept to the brief and managed to organise my time well in order to keep on top of the work and get it completed in plenty of time. I found that the pieces I created actually look better on photographs than real life as it is easier to control the angle that the audience is looking at the piece, as well as the lighting. 

If I was to do this project again I would look at more different techniques and also try to develop my final pieces more, maybe adding more techniques, layers of inner structures etc.

TASK 2. In this area of the project I feel I could have probably spent more time looking at manipulating the paper to create newer adaptations. I found there was a lot of confusion within this project of tutors telling students different things which caused a few problems. Overall though, I feel I kept to the brief and created an outcome suitable to the style of GFSmith paper's current business designs. 

Further Poster Development/Task 2 Final Piece

After looking at other images and layouts, I decided I really like the idea of the red textured background with the left aligned text. I decided to further develop it by changing some colours and some layout aspects. One of the layouts really caught my eye and I think I have found my final piece! 

As you can see below, I began to experiment with the use of blue to create a more patriotic theme which I have noticed runs through their website and also some of their promotional work. I also experimented with a less structured layout, moving around the '100'. The '100' I feel is the most significant aspect of the poster, as this is the reason for the celebration... I feel it is important that it is bold and clear yet not too over powering.

 

       

From these pieces I feel I have found the piece which I would like to use as my final piece (bottom left.) Although I would have quite liked to incorporate a blue colour into the poster I didn't feel it worked as well as I had hoped it to and therefore decided not to include it.

I feel the use of only one colour (red) and white creates a very 'minimalistic' approach and creates a very clean cut, to the point poster, however the use of text and image creates a feel of celebration. Occasionally I am unsure if the '100' looks too large in proportion however I feel it is important that it is large, obvious and the main focal point of the poster...

Final Poster Design:

Further Poster Experimentation

I began looking at different exercises I had practiced over the past month or so, looking into which ideas show paper in a form which is very unusual. One piece which I found intriguing to create was the pleated shape which created a very 3D shape.  I was amazed that this was able to be created out of simply a folded sheet of paper, and even more amazed I managed to create it myself! I decided to apply this onto Task 2's brief to see what outcomes I could create...


I used a Nixon D60 which I borrowed and created a mini studio to take some photographs of a new piece I created based on the old pleating technique we had been taught, I tried to use crisper edges and make it much neater than the previous attempt. Here are a few of my favourite/most relevant photographs I took.

 

I felt that the top right and bottom left were the most intriguing as they show an upwards direction which suggests the business is thriving and will continue to do so. However the other photos could make a more simple, direct background image which I feel would suit GF Smith Paper's image more accurately as they take a more minimalistic simple approach to their existing graphic elements (posters, samples packs etc.)

After experimenting with a couple of the other photographs, which I didn't have an outcome that I was happy with I moved onto the simple background idea I previously had. I found immediately it created a much more minimalistic, clean cut approach due to the horizontal/vertical flow and the absence of unusual angles etc. I much preferred this idea and chose to develop it further...

I began by cropping the photographs into a more suitable image and simply looking at applying all the pieces of vital information, I found a layout which I felt was strong and then began to apply colour and other treatments such as changing the opacity of the fonts on Adobe Photoshop. Here are a few of my favourite results:

I think that the one on the right hand side is my favourite, I really like the strength of the red and the white together, I could incorporate blue to create a more British feel if this was a design which I decided to take further? I am worried if the writing in the bottom right is difficult to read however?

GF Smith Package/Type

I emailed GFSmith Paper asking for a sample of some of their paper types to assist me in my project, to my surprise I received a package containing just that!

 

However, although the paper gave me an insight into the company and the types/uses of the paper they sold the sizes meant that I wouldn't be able to incorporate them into my work, and buying several sheets would take too long!

After looking at the material I had been sent I decided to look at appropriate fonts to use. I felt that a simple sans serif would be most appropriate to keep in with the minimalistic, modern/contemporary style of GFSmith's website etc.

After researching many different Sans Serif, medium weight type faces, I settled on the well known, extremely common Arial typeface. The reason I have chosen this font is because it is similar to that already used by the company across all of their business promotions e.g website etc. I also feel it fits in well with the feel of the business, they use a minimalistic approach to their website and packaging which I feel it is important to reflect in the celebratory poster.

Task 2, GF Smith Paper

When I began looking at GFSmith Paper I began by taking a look at their website to get a better idea of what they are about. 

I felt that their corporate image/web layout suggested quite a minimalistic feel with a lot of empty space but then big impact images in the rest of the space. Perhaps taking on Abram Games's mantra of 'Maximum Meaning, Minimum Means.' I have decided that this idea is something that I would like to take forward, I feel it is important not to over complicate the poster design, keeping it simple and to the point, emphasising the idea of an organic, home grown, interesting company.

I also really liked the use of negative space, and using negative space for text, I felt it created a very clean cut, bold feel to the page.


I looked at some existing posters relevant to GFSmith, below is their actual 111 years celebration poster, similar to their website, I feel they have used a minimalistic approach using 2 colours and white. The use of overlapping text creates interesting shapes, although I feel it causes it to lose some impact as the text is more difficult to read (maybe this is what they wanted so that the audience have to concentrate more on the poster? may create more interest etc.)

Logo:

The main points I wanted to get across in my poster, after I had read about the company and its growth etc were:

- Organic, growing company

- Very bright future, continually growing

- Professional, sleek

- Minimalistic but effective

I began by sketching out some simple thumbnail layouts until I found some that I liked the idea of. I began by using existing images I had take to get a feel for the poster and to get some ideas flowing about what sort of shapes/colours etc I wanted to use.

I began with some very simple and plain layouts based, simply experimenting with the space available, as well as text colours and image colours. Progressing this slightly by changing positions, layouts, grid structures and font/image sizes...

 

  

I plan on continuing to experiment with different photographs, I have also taken some new images of smaller models I have created which I want to incorporate. 

Using the photographs I have taken and using models I need to construct something which represents 'many years' and shows a range of uses for paper. I feel the piece above does show these things and creates a very natural, sleek shape which is interesting to add text to aswell.

Thinking about colour..

After looking at several designers that work with paper, I have decided that I would like to look briefly at colour and see how I can incorporate it into my final piece. After looking at my existing pieces I felt that I wanted to look at layering colour and the possibility of having shells inside each other.. the colour of the shell getting darker the further into the centre you get. 

First, I looked at just creating a shell shape, using my earlier techniques, but with orange paper rather than white. It creates a new dynamic and I found it interesting to see the colour coming through, especially as my other photographs were in monochrome as I was focussing solely on the shapes and shadows...

I found that the orange colours creates a much warmer shape, however felt that they looked slightly like decorations rather than sculptures.

I felt that the strips were too thick and not very delicate so thinned them out by adding an extra slit between each existing slit...

I then recreated one of my earlier ideas, with the simple vertical strips on a white A4 piece of paper, creating much thinner strips that previous, I hoped this would allow a more skeletal structure enabling the audience to see the internal structure...

Once I had created the white shape I inserted the orange shell, which has an identical net but is half the size. On the photographs the image is less appealing however when observing the build up of layers is much more magnificent.

The internal view created is very organic and unusual. I found it very enticing and interesting to look at. this could work with a further build up of layers? Something I'd like to try next..

Shell shapes, different techniques...

After experimenting with different directional slits and having looked at using a cut out net, I thought I would meet them both half way by creating thin slits. I found it represented almost a zebra skin pattern, but once in a 3D shape this texture was lost and a more flowing, organic shape was created. The unusual and non-identical, yet still repetitive pattern creates an unusual texture which shows a direction of flow and creates a unique texture.

Using the same net I looked at creating different shapes by attaching the 4 corners of the paper in different places. All using staples. This is not a method I intend for my final piece, I would like a more discreet way of attaching the paper, however for experimenting purposes it means I can easily remove the staples and reuse the paper.

This shape reminds me of one I created at the beginning using the simple slit shapes. This design was created only using 3 corners being attached. 

In many of the workshops Richard Sweeney mentioned pleating, however until now I have not really got around to experimenting with this technique. Similar to the technique I have been focussing on I found that it allowed the paper to be manipulated much more easily. I felt that the pleating also created an interesting texture which could represent some of the shells I have seen and photographed.

I found that the width above was difficult to manipulate as the ratio of length/width didn't leave enough room to create spirals and curves. 

I found by curling the shape around on itself it created a shell shape outline, however the shape isn't very intricate. 

The two shapes below I feel would work really well if they were continued into a larger shape, they could be tightly intertwined and wrapped to create a strong, supported structure.