Notebook
One of the ideas I had for this part of my project was working on my old outcomes as I was unhappy with how they looked looking back on them. I decided to tackle the cat notebook again, making use of graphic lines to build an interlocking design. I began by doodling out some rough ideas, and then began to digitalise them, focusing on making sure different elements interlocked but didn't overlap. I was happier with my outcome this time around. |
Stickers
After doing some research, getting books produced was too heavy of a task for this project, costing too much in shipping or the minimum quantity was too high. I decided to make the different cats into sticker designs as it was cheaper to do and easier to make. This meant that some of the designs had to change, accounting for the fact they had to fit in a square, and had to all roughly be the same size. This consisted of moving tails and paws to fit in the square. |
Earring / Charms
I also decided that I wanted to produce charms, like the ones made for the Illustrator as Author project last semester, but with a better use. For this, I decided to make charms that could be made into earrings with fun designs. I settled on making cat clown earrings, following the cat theme. I decided to test out different styles. For my first attempt I sketched out a design, before working on shrink plastic to make a mock up of what they would look like. I was fairly happy with the outcome as a test piece, but was too patchy for a final development. |
While I waited for them to arrive, I began to work on some backing card in between working on my main project. Using the dimensions of similar earrings I had bought over the years, I came to the conclusion that my backing cards would roughly have to be 7.5 cm by 10.5 cm
With this in mind, I planned ahead and bought cellophane bags to keep things secure and sanitised when I would be putting all the earrings together. |
While waiting for my stickers and charms to arrive, I made mock-ups of what I wanted the layout of the packs to look like. I was happy with my outcomes. Upon receiving the order, I realised some small mistakes I had made in the formatting process. Some of the stickers ended up being much larger than others. This was because I hadn't accounted for the shape of some of the full body pieces. With that said, I was pleased with the outcomes, and could begin to mock up packs that would be together. The only issue with this, would be that the stickers would move around in the pack. For the sake of the degree show, I would probably keep the packs sealed, leaving one open to get a feel of what the packs feel like closed and open. |
Similarly to my cat designs, I mocked up my ballerina stickers as they would look individually as well as in a set altogether. While these designs were completely different to my cat stickers, when the designs arrived, they worked out too. If I had put more detail into this sticker set, or if they had been smaller, I don't think they would have worked as well. |
Overall, I was pleased with the outcomes I had produced, especially the physical items. While it was difficult to photograph them, if I had more time I would have been able to photograph the outcomes better. But given the time restraints, it was the best I could do. If I were to do this project again for myself, I would give myself some more time, as it took a month from production to building the physical items.
I am glad I did this project, as I learned a lot throughout the process. From how to get things made, to timescale and product design. |