Brief 4 : Peer Collaboration : Christmas Card Designs

Introduction & Brief

 Create a design or series/variation of designs that can be utilised and printed onto Christmas cards and other related products. Allow research, hobbies and your own personal feelings, memories and nostalgia to strongly influence your work making it a more personal brief.

Concept

 Music is a large part of my life, in various forms such as singing, playing piano and listen to it daily. This is a passion. The concept will allow this to be reflected and influenced by this. In addition to music, it is a family tradition to spend 3 days decorating for Christmas each year with the whole family. The lights are the last to the turned on, almost as the finale. These main points, music and light, will combine to create a personal and inspired range of designs, patterns and products.

Stall

 As a collaboration it was decided to create and sell the Christmas products created.
The decided deadline for the products, in addition to a range of dates for the running of the stalls can be seen below.

These forms were approved by the student union and the health and safety officer

Audience

The cards will read 'Merry Christmas'. Although it is important to be aware that this could limit the potential audience, because of religion and belief. After conducting a survey (on people who go to or are employed within Leeds College of Art, as they are the focal target audience), it was found that no-one that no-one asked would be offended/refuse to accept the 'Merry Christmas' cards. Thus, it should not be a problem or limitation using this greeting.

Card Design Research

These are more 'traditional' cards. Yet it would be wise to stay away from religion as the potential customers, or recipients of the cards may not be religious, thus they would not relate to this religious themed imagery. Over the years, these religious ties have loosened because of developments in science etc, yet it is still a family orientated time. The religious links may also limit the audience.
 As the products will be sold within university, the main target audience are creative people and so this needs to be kept in mind when designing. The intention from here will be to create a minimal, handmade design which is very strongly concept driven, purely as this is the design which is the most popular in the design world and within university itself at the moment.

Design Research & Influence

 

Light & Colour
As mentioned, the lights are the last to be turned in the house and are the 'finale' to the decorating. Light is representative of life and makes us happy as it connotes growth and warmth, not to mention reminding us of Christmas time, a celebratory time (for my family at least). We, as human beings need light.

The right balance can have lots of mood lifting benefits.Sunlight and darkness trigger the release of hormones in your brain. Exposure to sunlight is thought to increase the brain’s release of a hormone called serotonin. This is associated with boosting mood and helping a person feel calm and focused.Without enough sunlight exposure, a person’s serotonin levels can dip low. Low levels of serotonin are associated with a higher risk of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). SAD is a form of depression that is triggered by changing seasons.

HealthLine: The Benefits of Light

 This shows that light actually makes us feel good!
 The colours used above are not seen as 'traditional', yet the 21st century Christmas, on the mass, is not either. For instance, similar coloured lights to the ones above, presented on a white Christmas Tree can be seen within my own home.

 

Music & Handmade Craft
The above images represent use piano sheet music/lyric pages. They appear to be handmade and connote the human touch of Christmas, family, joy and love. All of these combined have been an inspiration to use other products (such as sheet music) within the concept and designs for this brief. Creating something 3D and tactile is something else that is to be considered when designing.
 Brown paper/staining of paper connotes age and has a handcrafted feel. This provides a more personal and sentimental theme which is appropriate for this project and Christmas in general as it is a time to be with family and those close to you.

Colour Inspiration & Decision

My Christmas Tree & CMYK Colour Swatches
Purple 44:69:14:0
Green 57:0:53:0
Pink 0:50:0:0
Blue 64:0:26:0

As this brief is rather personal, above is a photograph of the christmas tree in my own home. To the right are the colours selected directly from it. These will be considered when designing.

In the Pycroft household, there has never been a green tree, in the more recent years, this has become more popular. In fact, as mentioned, we have a white tree and multicoloured lights decorating my home. The base of the decoration is simple (the tree), white and minimal, this could be represented by the stock chosen.

Design Decisions

As mentioned, I am going to use the sheet/piano music from my favourite Christmas song, 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' by Frank Sinatra to influence my design/pattern. Above is the image that will be used. The musical notes are as follows; C E G A C E D C B A B C

Design/Concept Decisions

To ensure that the concept of music is a strong running theme, the designs will be handmade using thumbprints, making the pieces more human. Each note will be recreated as a thumb/fingerprint according to the hand and digit that would play that specific key. The colours used will be influenced by the lights found on my Christmas tree at home, shown by the swatches, whilst the stock will be white to be reflective of the tree, shown in the image. Cards : The designs will be handmade using ink and then digitally printed to ensure the highest quality and the ability of quick, easy reproduction on a larger scale. The handmade aesthetic will still be visible because of the details present within finger prints.

Envelopes : These will be store bought and white to reflect the tree and the white stock within

Wrapping Paper & Tags : This will be created using the same design from the cards as to create continuity throughout the brief and products

Printing Visit (Pressision)

As a group, we took a visit to a professional printers to ask about how they would charge us if we decided to have our cards printed in bulk with them. This was as we had the thought of opening an online Etsy store to sell our products on.

Coloured Paper Inserts
This would almost double the price

Laser Cutting
They so not laser cut, they would have to be dye cut

Folding
This would be done by a machine automatically and would not cost too much more. Yet if the colour inserts were added to be folded this would boost the price right up

Gluing

Fixing the coloured stock to the actual card would add further cost

Stock
As a collaborative we decided to all order the same stock to bring the price down a little bit. The other option would be to use card that they have left over from other jobs.

Quantity (x500 Cards)

Quote (for all above)

£450- £520

This price was without the gift tags. For this reason (the stock and finish would not be the same) in addition to the high cost that cannot be afforded at this time, it was decided to print and create the products by hand in university. Although this was an eye opener into how printers work and the processes that a designer has to go through in order to have work printed when the facilities are not at hand.

Physical Experiments

Physical Prints
Using black ink to ensure that the details contrast against the white paper (makes it easier to pick up when scanned), pages were filled with finger and thumbprints. Repeating these prints allows for variation and choice.



Colour edits

The prints were then scanned and edited using the colours selected from the lights and tree earlier in the process.
 Each time a note is used a different print will also be used to create variation. For example, 'C' is played 4 times (as shown below) and so 4 different 'C' prints will also be used. Each finger/thumb print relates to a note and a colour. This will allow the audience to identify the notes according to these factors. Each musical note has been assigned to the digit used to play that particular chord.

C x 4
D x 1
E x 2
F x 0
G x 1
A x 2
B x 2


This reveals the flow of the notes in a simple visual way. This could be simplified further by removing the ledger lines (the horizontal lines behind the notes)



Line Experiments
Above is how notes appear when joined up with a simple line. Each trace of the line is reduced and simplified further. This just shows the experimentation of the line and notes. These basic line illustrations will work well to create the rope for the lights. The last example will be the most appropriate as 4 could be overlapped in order to represent the ledge lines. whilst not creating too much 'mess' and distraction from the rest of the design.

Colour Decisions

Note: C

Print: Thumb

Hue & Saturation: Green 88:69:0



Note: D

Print: Forefinger

Hue & Saturation: Purple 285:40:0



Note: E

Print: Middle Finger

Hue & Saturation: Blue 180:25:0



Note: F

Print: Ring Finger

Hue & Saturation: Purple 285:40:0



Note: G

Print: Little Finger

Hue & Saturation: Green 88:69:0



Note: A

Print: Little Finger

Hue & Saturation: Blue 180:25:0



Note: B

Print: Thumb

Hue & Saturation: Purple 285:40:0

Print Choices

C E G A C E D C B A B C
Above is how the lights will look in the correct order. The colour and print variations provides diversity. 

Critical Feedback

After showing this design to a group of peers, I gathered the following feedback;

 - Put the name of the song on the back of the gift tags to create another link with the music that people can piece together themselves.
 
- Maybe put an explanation of concept on a little card when you are selling your products so that the audience can discover the links and concept on their own?

Card Design

This is the initial mock up of the card designs. Using the lines, prints and layout of the notes from the earlier research, deconstructions and illustrations. Everything is well informed from the positioning and arrangements of the 'notes' and the illustrations of the lines.
 The 'notes' are connected with the same lines used from the ledger lines/rope. The handmade design still runs through this part of the illustration which is also inspired by the research images, show again below.

 
 

Type & Additional Stock Decisions

Typeface: The font used, Dancing Script OT, is reflective of handwriting to provide a 'handmade', handwritten aesthetic. It is clear to read whilst also creating a decorative and ornamental overall design. The loops, ascenders and descenders suggest rhythm and movement, appropriate for a brief inspired by music, song and light.
- Laser cutting: This will provide more depth and allow the colour inserts to shine through adding more colour to the cover whilst still allowing the imagery to be the main focal point.
- Coloured paper inserts: The coloured paper provides depth to the design in addition to allowing subtle variation within the pack. There will be 4 chosen colours, green, blue, purple and pink, selected from the tones from the original image of the christmas tree and lights. This provides a link between the front cover and the inside of the cards.

Final Card Designs

  

Final Design

  

Laser Cut Separations

The first image will be printed whilst the text above right will be laser cut into the card.

 The insides of the cards will feature coloured card; pink, purple, blue and green, to reflect the colours on the outside. This continues the concept of colour and music throughout the product. Music and colour are all around us.

Gift Tag

 

Using the same design as the cards to create continuity whilst also including the lyrics from the song, reveals the depth of the concept and also creates context. This was inspired by the crit feedback which ran earlier on in the design process.

- Use black string for the tags, to reflect the lines used within the design

This feedback has been taken into account and makes a lot of sense. It allows every aspect of the brief to be influenced by the design in addition to being aesthetically continuous.

Wrapping Paper Design

 

Wrapping Paper Designs

By using the design created from the front of the Christmas card, a repeated pattern was created. A small crit was held as to choose the most aesthetically pleasing design.
 The image above right was decided to be the most appropriate because of the relevance of the long, continuous, horizontal lay out of the lines, which reflect that seen on the original piece of piano sheet music.
 It was essential to consider how the design would appear when used in context. This particular variation would be aesthetically pleasing and the most appropriate for this brief because of the way that it would appear when wrapped around a present, the design would be visible from all angles.
 This design will be printed on a thin paper stock to ensure that it can be folded around gists without tearing or damage.

Material

The material used for both the christmas card and the tags will be a 300 GSM, matt stock. This simply because it is strong enough to endure being stood up and displayed for a long periods of time. The plain texture of the stock reflects the simplicity of the tree itself before decoration.

The coloured inserts will be a much thinner paper stock as not to make the product too heavy. This is as it could weigh the card down and become hard to display. It would also deter people from buying them to send through the post to family and friends as the weight would increase the price of the letter.

As the stock is think. it is essential to use a professional folding machine to get a crisp, clean fold without any damage to the product itself.

Price List & Concept Card

 

Concept Card & Price Card

These two pieces were created to display at the stall.

Firstly, the concept card which explains the design to potential customers, allowing them to understand the work in more depth.

 The second is simply a pricing card for if I had to leave the stall with my other team members.

Final Photoshoot

  


  


https://www.behance.net/gallery/33929054/Christmas-Card-Design-Inspired-By-Music

Evaluation

"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas".

The ledger lines (the horizontal lines used to place the notes on any piece of sheet music) are warped
in order to reflect the positioning of the notes from the original piece of piano music. The notes themselves
are actually finger/thumb prints of the according digit used to play the specific note, whilst the 4 individual
colours represent 2 or 3 various used notes. These 'notes' are set out in relation to each other in the
same way that they appear on the ledger. In addition to the cards, the wrapping paper reflects the aesthetic of the original piece of sheet music to provide a strong, conceptual visual.

This brief was influenced greatly by two passions, Christmas/family/decorating time and music showing that nostalgia has greatly influenced the work, but not so much so that it is too personal for others to purchase for their own families. This was considered the whole way through the brief and so through designing something slightly more abstract, this was avoided.Overall, the pieces work strongly individually as well as when shown together. They show how the design can be used across various products; sizes, shapes, purposes to prove the strength of the work. The brief was extremely conceptual and a strong piece overall. This was a brief that was very much enjoyed.

Christmas Stall

 

Photographs
The designs sold well at the stall, more so when the concept was explained. They would become a talking point for families. This was a nice thought.
 The only thing that could have been improved upon was to provide concept cards with the pieces themselves, this was mentioned by a purchasing customer.

  

Asterisk Instagram Account & Chalk Board Advertisement

Social media was an appropriate platform to promote ourselves upon. By creating Facebook and Instagram accounts, more people knew about us, fro outside of the college also.
 Was advertised ourselves within the university by having the chalk board above created by another pupil. This proved to be a brilliant asset as passers by would stop to see what it was that she was writing whilst also looking at out products.