Botany and Data Collection

After my first tutorial on Tuesday with Alex, I have spent the last week looking into Botany as a way of representing nature scientifically.

Botanical Drawing of Oak branch - www.lizzieharper.co.uk

I looked at botany books from the library to study how botanists drew, including their use of composition, media, language and subject matter. I produced a few drawings in response, looking at plants that were beneficial to humans, such as he crocus which is thought to contain a cancer cure. I realised that most botanists drew tonal drawings in pencil and then painted over their drawing, and left some areas in black and white to emphasise the area in colour which I felt worked well. I felt that the Cone flower drawing below was the most successful, as loved experimenting with watercolour on top of pencil, and I also thought that leaving some areas without paint worked well. I used the paint to emphasise the bits of the flower that I thought were most important

Cone Flower drawing inspired by Botany illustrations

This drawing also lead me to think about the anatomy of flowers, due to the cross section at the bottom right. I have found an amazing book in the library called The anatomy of Flowers which has massively inspired me. I am looking forward to getting the chance to explore this next week.

Anna Gillespie Sculpture made of Acorns

This week I was also inspired by Anna Gilespie after seeing one of her sculptures at Artzu. She uses materials that nature discards which seem meaningless. I decided to draw some of her subject matter, as well as taking this as an opportunity to collect my own ' scientific data' on my walk into University. I passed 3 beech trees and collected seeds from each, drawing their different colours and mapping them as I went. Although this seemed like a small task at the time I think the idea of representing data naturally has a lot of potential and I intend to develop this further as a result.

Sketchbook page about collecting Beech Seeds.

As well as drawing beech seeds, I decided to collect other materials discarded by nature and draw them in a botanical way, linking both elements to my work this week. I used different media and paper to experiment, and I thought that the different sycamore seeds on the black (below) worked particularly well, as it's striking and the colours stand out. The drawings below also represent how nature changes over time, as the Hosta leaf has started to decompose and the top sycamore was dried out, linking to the idea of representing data mentioned in my learning agreement.

Sketchbook page: Decomposing Hosta leaf (left) and Sycamore seed collection drawing

This idea of using time as a way of collecting data could be developed next week, along with looking further into the anatomy of flowers.

Summer Work: Preparing for final year: Concept and Inspiration

Part of the work I have completed before going back to University has involved thinking more deeply about what I want to produce and achieve next year. Below are two boards that I created to show the concept behind my work, and the inspiration that I have looked at.

This year, I want a theme and concept that can lie underneath my work to make it stronger as this is what made my final outcomes strong last year. As I am inspired by science and nature, my concept will incorporate both of these and give me lots of inspiration throughout the year. I have brainstormed my theme and have lots possible ideas to develop, including disease, cells, geography, super foods, and nature that's medically important to us. The board above shows how I have started to respond to some of my ideas.

My main inspiration over the summer has come from both the nature surrounding us, and the experiences I have had, including working at Digetex and Tigerprint. Being surrounded by designs for so many different contexts including wallpaper, cards, gift wrap and soft furnishings has really inspired me to create designs for a variety of contexts this year. I have also been surrounded by a variety of nature over summer, from holidays, trips out and my garden. I love finding natural patterns in the world that surrounds us, and I also love looking at how other designers respond to this from designers at Clintons, to designers from the Arts and Crafts Movement like William Morris. I intend to use all of this inspiration and my experiences to inform my work this year.

Summer Work: Preparing for Final Year: Media, Process and Context.

Part of the work I have completed before going back to University has involved thinking more deeply about what I want to produce and achieve next year. Below are two boards that I created to show the context of my work, and the technical skills that I want to focus on throughout the year.

Context Board

This year, I want my work to have a variety of contexts. I intend to create designs that can be applied across many surfaces, including soft furnishings, wallpaper, giftware and stationery. At the moment I am considering creating two different collections for large scale designs, and small scale designs. When considering this as a final outcome, I looked at work from this years degree show from both Lindsay Swan (http://jennasimpson94.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/visiting-2014-mmu-degree-show-lindsay.html) and Jessica Brown (http://jennasimpson94.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/visiting-2014-mmu-degree-show-jessica.html) as these artists work towards a similar audience. I reflected on what I learnt from them in the posts I have linked. 

My work experience at Digetex and Tigerprint has also inspired me as I designed for wallpapers, cushions, giftware and cards, teaching me about their audiences. For example, when designing cards, I learnt that a designer is designing for two customers; the person buying the card and the person who the card is for. I also looked at designers and companies such as Rebecca Newport, Paperchase and Rachael Taylor who create gorgeous designs for a variety of contexts to inspire my work this year. At this point I am unsure about whether I want to work freelance, as part of a studio or as a designer maker, so looking at these artists should help me confirm my context.

Media/Procces board

I also have a clear idea about the technical skills that I want to focus on this year. As I am located within print, I want to create print designs that have both a hand drawn and digital element to them. I feel that this added a great quality to my work in second year and I want to continue this next year. I also want to develop my colour and digital skills whilst doing this, and I hope that by looking at artists like Khristian Howell for inspiration, I will be able to achieve this.  

Tigerprint Placement Summary

On Friday I finished my placements for the summer! After working at Digetex throughout the summer break, I was lucky enough to spend the last two weeks on a placement at Tigerprint Studio's in Bradford. I have always wanted a placement with Tigerprint, from the moment I developed my love for pattern design and making my own cards.

Tigerprint Gift Wrap - www.tigerprint.uk.com

Tigerprint are an exciting, diverse and multi-disciplinary company with a studio that is full of creative energy! They design giftware for Marks and Spencers, and their studio has a lovely bright atmosphere, and something amazing is happening at every desk. From mocking up 3D hot air balloons to painting a cute dog and photographing their latest products, there is never a dull moment. The designers are divided into different teams that come from a variety of backgrounds such as Illustration, Annimation, 3D design, Packaging Design and Textile design. The wide variety of skills within the studio mean that fantastic, diverse products can be produced, combining lots of design elements together.

Christmas cards produced by Tigerprint for M&S - www.charlymouse.com

Whilst I was on my placement I was given the brief of 'Fathers Day' to play around with. I spent the first few days drawing and getting used to my surroundings. I loved being surrounded by creative people and also being restricted to working at a desk 9 - 5. When I am doing university work, if I am stuck for inspiration, I give up and leave it for the day. But actually I found that being forced to push through that block generated ideas and made me think more openly about my brief.

Also in the first week, I was invited to take part in a Tokyo Workshop which was so much fun! For a whole day we were given small tasks based on inspiration that one of the designers had brought back from Tokyo. There was so much to look at from painterly post cards to typographic cards and small illustrations of animals. The idea was to push us out of our comfort zone with drawing, and make us think about using other styles apart from our own. For the second day of the workshop we then had to take our favourite drawing from the day before and develop the style and spend a whole day drawing in that style. I chose Typography for this task as I haven't done it before and I linked this back to fathers day to create a selection of designs for fathers day cards. 

I spent the second week of the placement refining my ideas from the first week. I created a collection of male pattern for wraps and a collection of card designs based on my illustrations and typography. I also got used to all of the techniques and machinery that the designers use to mock up cards and product ideas. They had foiling machines, embossing tools, a gorgeous haberdashery and a large selection of glitter. I loved being able to foil some of my gift wrap designs and properly mock up cards using embossing, appliqué, glitter and foil. I was also able to make gift tags to compliment my wraps. Having learnt these skills I am looking forward to using them next year in my collections to enhance my work.

During the second week of my placement I also took part in an Innovation work shop which was designed to help us think of new ideas for projects. It consisted of thinking of a random letter, and then thinking of a random word starting with this letter. Then we had to brainstorm everything we could think of to do with this word, and when this was completed we linked as much as we could back to the project at hand. The task is supposed to generate ideas that you wouldn't have thought of before to help widen ideas for the project you are tackling. The word we chose was Jam and the theme was Party, so some of the ideas that we came up with were putting cocktails in Jam Jars to create a vintage party feel, or a humour idea of raising a toast (I.e. jam and toast), as well as musically 'jamming'. For this task we had to produce a board at the end of the day as a team of 3 designers. It was great to work in a team, as we all had different ideas that the others wouldn't have thought of. Both this and the Tokyo workshop thought me new techniques and transferable team work skills that I look forward to using in the following year and in future jobs.

Tigerprint Stationery - www.tigerprint.uk.com

Overall, I loved my placement at Tigerprint, and I definitely want to work there in the future. At the end of the week I had to put together boards of the most refined outcomes from the two weeks. I created a gift wrap board and a greetings card board. At the start of the two weeks I was pretty nervous about working towards products for a male market as all of my work is very feminine. However I am really glad that I did because it really pushed me and proved that I can work towards different markets. 

Visiting the 2014 MMU Degree Show: Pip Pittman

Pip Pitmans work immediately caught my eye when I walked into the degree show. The large floor cushions shown below were on display and their intricacy and colour immediately fascinated me. I also love the fact that she has made such professional end products as part of her show; I could easily see them in a shop.

Pip Pittman's floor cushions - http://www.pippittmandesign.com

After reading more about her work, it is clear that she thoroughly researches her subject matter using a variety of media including photography, drawings and printing, to get to grips with her subject. She has recently been inspired by 'natures gift' and is passionate about surfaces that surround us every day. This idea of 'natures gift' is very similar to the kind of concept I want to investigate next year. I am inspired by nature but don't necessarily just want to draw flowers, I want to delve beneath the surface.

Pip Pittman's Tote Bag - http://www.pippittmandesign.com

 Something else that inspired me was the wide variety of products that she applied her designs to, including wallpaper, bags, diaries and ceramics as shown in the pictures above and below. It shows that she can use colour and scale really well and work for a variety of audiences. This is another aim that I wish to achieve this year; I want to create designs for a wide range of products.

Pip Pittman's Diary - http://www.pippittmandesign.com

 Pip's love for texture also comes across in her work, especially in this ceramic piece below. I love the line quality in all of her work, and these two elements are something that I want to achieve in my work next year as well.

Pip Pittman's Ceramics - http://www.pippittmandesign.com

Over all visiting the degree show was an fantastic opportunity and I gained inspiration from every single student, including those who weren't from Textiles.

Visiting the 2014 MMU degree show: Lindsay Swan

Lindsay Swans work was also very inspiring. Whilst walking through the degree show her work caught my eye because of the fantastic patterns as well as the 3D products on her display.

Photo taken from MMU Degree show - Lindsay Swan

What I love about her prints is the intricate use of colour and also the scale, composition and contrast within the collection. There is so much texture in her work, and it appears hand drawn yet digital at the same time. Her colour palette is beautiful and I hope that the colour in my collection next year is that good.

Photo taken from MMU Degree show - Lindsay Swan

After reading more about her work, I found that she was inspired by a month of traveling in Thailand, and the patterns and architecture that she came across. She also mentioned that she was inspired by an artist called Barbara Hulanicki who I hadn't heard of before, and looking into her work was also very inspiring for me.

Photo taken from MMU Degree show - Lindsay Swan

The context for her designs is gift wrap which is something else that I am very interested in. I have always loved patterns for gift wrap and this is one option that I am considering as a final outcome next year. Unfortunately after searching for Lindsay online I can't find any more of her work, from a website, blog, twitter or Linkedin. I would have loved to see more of her collection so I have emailed her to see if I can learn more about her wonderful work.

Visiting the 2014 MMU Degree show: Jessica Brown Creations.

When this years degree show was on I took the opportunity to visit it twice, looking around the Textiles in Practice work, as well as various other programmes in depth. There was so much inspiring work but I have chosen to write about my 3 favourite designers as their work has inspired me and I wish to create similar work next year.

Some of Jessica Browns Stationery Collection - http://jessicafloralscent.tumblr.com

Jessica Brown Wallpaper Design - http://jessicafloralscent.tumblr.com

My favourite student was Jessica Brown. Her work stood out immediately with the way she displayed her work and prints. I was inspired by her work because it is exactly the kind of collection that I want to be producing by the end of next year. Her wallpaper and stationery collection proved that I she can work across a range of products with a variety of scales, which is something that I want to show in my portfolio as well. I also liked the way she displayed her work in the vintage crates (as shown below), as it stood out because it was different to everyone else's and looked professional, which is something I will take into consideration for my show.

After reading through her blog, it is clear that she is inspired by organic and natural forms, and uses her strong drawing skills to enhance her collections. This is exactly how I work and I want to make sure that I keep a hand drawn, but digitally enhanced, element to my work.

I also loved her choice of colour palette and colour is something that I intend to work on this year too. It is also clear that she had done a lot of market research about stationery and different designers and ways of designing, as well as concentrating on her brand.

Jessica Brown's Colour Palette Board - http://jessicafloralscent.tumblr.com

Jessica Brown's Market Research Board - http://jessicafloralscent.tumblr.com

Jessica Brown's Business card design, and logo design - http://jessicafloralscent.tumblr.com

I hope to achieve this in my projects next year and being inspired by Jessica's work has shown me that brand and great product knowledge is just as important as designing.

Presenting our work to Digetex.

Today we presented our work and final outcomes to the Creative Director of Digetex, Debbie McKeegan! The presentation was just 3 minutes long so it was a challenge to make sure that I was concise and got my point across effectively. I therefore couldn't show all of my work, but I wanted to take her through the journey of my project. I selected a few drawings from my body of work, and made design progression boards to make sure that I didn't have too much to talk about. I started by talking about my concept and context, and briefly showing her a few initial drawings from my visual research. I then moved on to explaining my colour palette and showing how my designs started to develop from the research I had done. Finally, I showed her my final collection and context images. I explained how I responded to each of the trends she gave us, and showed a strong awareness for my audience.

I feel that preparing well for this presentation meant that I came across as being confident and professional, and kept to the time frame. I had organised my work and bookmarked my sketchbook to ensure that the presentation flowed well, and I knew exactly what I wanted to say about each piece. I chose to show Debbie a cross section of my work because I feel it is necessary to understanding my final outcomes. I also opted to show her physical boards and sheets rather than a powerpoint because I would rather see physical things in front of me, and not just see work on a screen. I believe this was very effective as she responded well and could see exactly where my ideas, colour palette, and inspirations had come from. The only thing I would have changed about my presentation would be printing out my designs onto A2 paper. The large format printers have been out of order for over a week, so it wasn't possible, but I feel that having my designs at a larger scale would allow her to further see how they might look on a cushion for end use.

Final Collection.

For the last few days of this project I have been putting together my final collection. I am really pleased with the final designs, and I feel that they represent my progression work and initial brief really well. I have ensured that a variety of my ideas, concepts and processes are represented within the collection, such as watercolour, felt tip, fine line and floral studies. I have met the clients brief perfectly, producing lots of drawings, and keeping a hand drawn feel to my final collection, not just creating a sea of photoshop files. I also wanted to ensure there was a variety of scales within my collection, by having some small and some large scale patterns. I also revised the collection as a whole numerous times to ensure the colour mood was perfect, and represented my colour palette.

As well as perfecting my final collection, I also created context images for each design to ensure that the client can see my design on the products it's intended for. From the start my context has been cushions, but as Debbie said she was also keen for me to bring my designs outdoors, I decided to adapt my collection to be suitable for garden furnishings too. This was also a challenge for myself as I had never designed for outdoors before, but I really enjoyed creating bright summery designs and context images, so I will definitely be doing this again! The images below are a handful of my context images, and they show how my designs are versatile and can be used for the home or garden.

Overall, I am confident that my final collection meets the brief Debbie gave us, and I believe that I absorbed all of the advice and feedback I have been given throughout the project to produce a strong collection and ensure the client is happy. This proves that I understand how design works in the professional world, and that I adjusted and adapted my approach to embrace this.

Design Progression

I have recently been designing more prints for the brief, based on the visual research I have done so far. I am fairly happy with the results, and I think some of my designs have the potential to be part of my final collection.

This design below (Image A) was created from a watercolour piece that I created by blowing paint with a straw (Image B). I like the fact that it looks like branches, or grasses, and also the contrast between the bold shapes in the background and the watercolour in front.

Image A: Watercolour Branch Print

Image B: Watercolour painting using a straw.

During the week I have spent quite a lot of time working on a few different poppy designs, including drawings and watercolour. After completing the designs and looking back on them a few days later, I have realised that they aren't right for this project. I feel that these designs would suit a surface pattern based project better, for example a stationary collection, rather than the cushion collection that I am designing for in this project.

Image c: An example of a Poppy design I created

One of my more successful designs is also shown below (Image D). I created lots of similar variations of this using watercolour, line, and solid colour, and I feel that having a simpler, geometric design has the potential to compliment the rest of the collection well.

Image D: Geometric Triangle Print

Image E is a final example of some of the designs I have created, which consists of a scanned in sketchbook drawing of a flower. I like the contrast between the grey background, strong lines, and bold colour within the flowers. I feel that it represents my colour palette well, and overall it works as a design. The inspiration from this came from a Clintons Wrapping paper as shown in Image E on a previous blog post (http://jennasimpson94.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/developing-ideas-and-meeting-with.html). I took on board the qualities I liked most in the design and translated it to this brief.

Image E: Grey Floral Print

Creating more designs this week has helped me to work out what is working and what is not. I also had a pin up this week of all the work and designs that I have done so far, and this also helped me to realise how my collection might come together, and see how my colour mood is working across the designs. I need to make sure I have a mixture of scales in my designs, as well as a combination of solid colour and watercolour so that the collection isn't too digital or watercoloury, but is a good mix of both. So far I am really pleased with how my work has responded to the trends and the brief that was set out at the start. I have managed to combine them all well, whilst putting my own spin on things. I feel like I have absorbed all of the advice Debbie has given us, and produced work that reflects this. 

As one way of deciding which designs might suit my final collection, I spent time this week

placing some of my designs onto cushion images. This has also allowed me to realise which designs are working better than others and play with scale; some of these images are shown below (Image F & G).

Image F: Felt tip Design on Cushion

Image G: Watercolour Branch Design on Cushion

After creating some context images I realise that my designs look good on the cushions, but that maybe I should try taking some pictures in different environments such as outside, or even on different sized cushions. Rather than just doing a typical sofa cushion, I could create big floor cushions or bean bags as well! I feel like this would add a fresh feel to the collection, and show how diverse my designs could be! It would also push my out of my comfort zone and allow me to take on a new challenge.

I aim to carry on designing for the remaining time that we have on the project, and then put together a strong final collection that shows how well I have embraced the brief, along with context images to compliment these.

Colour, Inspiration and Internship!

My Colour Palette: 

After creating a few designs, I have decided on a final colour palette for my designs. The inspiration for my choice of colour came from one of the colour palettes that Debbie gave us initially which included bright pinks, pale blues, yellows, greens and greys! I loved the idea of challenging myself by using bright colours, as I usually work with subtle, cool colours. When I started designing with the scheme I found that the palette naturally started to develop, and below is the final colour palette that I chose, along with some colour source images found online. 

Image A: My colour palette

Clarissa Hulse:

I have spent some time during this project looking at designers other than Digetex that provide me with ideas and inspiration in relation to the brief. Clarissa Hulse is one designer that is particularly relevant, as she designs cushions for the home, with bright bold colours. The way she uses her colour palette is very clever, and her combinations of colours work really well together, and this is something I want to take into my own practice and develop in my designs.

Image B: Bright cushions by Clarissa Hulse. http://clarissahulse.com

Image C: Bed sheet set by Clarissa Hulse. http://clarissahulse.com

I like the fact that she uses her prints along side solid bold colour, such as on the duvet (Image C) and on the back of her cushions (Image B). Her designs also consist of only two or three colours, and I feel that I could have some designs like this in my collection that are simpler, in contrast to some complex watercolour based designs. I also feel like in my collection I could suggest a complimentary colour for the back of each cushion to enhance my designs.

Image D: Triangle collage of Designs inspired by Clarissa Hulse

Image E: Stripe collage of Designs inspired by Clarissa Hulse

Above are some examples of how I have embraced the way she works. I have taken the idea of introducing block colour between designs on board and I think it adds a really interesting quality to the designs which could be part of my final collection.

Internship with Digetex:

After meeting with Debbie twice, she emailed me and asked me to go down to Digetex in Trafford Park for an Interview. I was so excited to be offered this opportunity as is means that she is really impressed by the way I have been responding to the brief she has set, and proves that I have embraced new challenges, understood her professional brief, and met her requirements. I was lucky enough to be offered an Internship with them, and I am so excited! I will be starting throughout this project, doing a day a week working in their studio. From then on I will be working 4 days a week over the whole of summer! It will be a fantastic opportunity and I can't wait to see what I learn! 

I also feel that this will enhance my work for Unit X, working even further in collaboration with the designers in the studio, and having first hand access to the way Digetex work and working in a professional context.