OUGD401 - Context of Practice: From Theory into Practice: Vogue Development

I always start a new brief by writing down all of my initial thoughts straight away. I feel as though it helps me to organise my thoughts and this allows me to then be able to be decisive about which is the most successful idea to use and experiment with.

I know that I want to focus this publication on Vogue, but at the same time I don't want to create it in a stereotypical way, I would much prefer to create it so that it is interactive and gets the audience involved, as I feel this makes things more memorable.

I considered the history of the models featured in Vogue over the years, the trends, the history of Vogue internationally, brands, designers, editors, photographers and many more. All of these ideas interest me, however at the moment they are very broad ideas which will need close consideration and then narrowing down.

I then started to think about how I could present it. Whether it could be presented in 3 dimensional format, or whether to keep it simple. I think if I was to keep it simple it would be a shame, as all of the ideas have a lot of potential, and could really work if they were 3 dimensional. At the moment I particularly like the idea of having a pop up book which is in the shape of a house and this could resemble Vogue offices in London, then inside there could be lots of doors which allow the reader to enter Vogue internationally, as each door would be designed to resemble a particular country.

I have also been researching into different materials, such as lace, as I thought this might be a strong idea to start with. However, once I started to research, I realised that it would probably get quite repetitive and it would be hard to make it a fun and interesting publication, as lace is something that not everybody will like, so it would have to have a convincing persuasive tone all the way through. 

Having researched into a lot of different areas, as shown on my blog, I have decided that I think I would find it most interesting to focus on a designer who I feel passionate about, as this will make the brief much more enjoyable and exciting until the end point. Below I have looked at the different ways in which I could present Chanel in Vogue. I need to ensure that there is a link between the two all of the way through, otherwise I am going too far away from my starting point. 

At this current point in time, I am particularly interested in packaging, and have discovered this by producing lots of work based upon packaging. I love the idea of creating something and bringing it to life by making it interactive and hands on. This is why all of the ideas I have listed below are very creative and involve the audience to get involved somehow. 

After the crit we had, it became apparent to me just how important it is to make sure that my publication is focused. I decided to write a few more ideas down to help me decide the route to take. I started to think I could create a wardrobe with silhouettes of items inside and text on the back of them, explaining their history. I also looked at the idea of having a carousel of clothing which could be spun around, acting like a clothes rail too. Although these are all creative ideas, I feel as though they may be a little bit too creative. I need to carefully consider my audience too, they will be Vogue readers who are interested in looking at the free gift which comes with the magazine. I could make it so that they would have to pay, however I don't see any benefits to this idea, as Vogue often include free gifts therefore implying they can afford to do so as they are so successful.

Having carefully considered a variety of ideas, I thought it would be worthwhile to sketch some of my ideas. I think it is clear from reading my annotations and looking at the drawings, which ones would be most successful as a publication. I think the idea of a house popping up out of a book or a box is a strong idea, to represent Vogue house in London. Although since drawing this, I then thought about how it could be made even more accurately, in terms of how it relates to Vogue, and have considered designing the house to look like Chanel in Paris, where the brand was established.

If I end up using this idea and developing it further, I think this could be successful, as there is a lot of strong imagery linking to Chanel, and it has featured in Vogue for a long time.

I looked at other ways in which it could be presented, with the possibility of it being completely freestanding and 3 dimensional. Or the idea of including concertinas to contain information and make it look like a timeline which has to be pulled out to view. 

I then looked at an image of Chanel online and found a photograph of the original store in Paris, where Gabrielle Chanel lived and started her business. I used it to help me illustrate what the front of the building could look like. I have also explored the idea of having shelves inside the box, so that the individual can view all of the products on the shelves from over the years. I like the idea of this as it is visually exciting and interactive.

Here I have explored the inside a bit further, and how I could possibly make the shelves. I would have to create a concertina which could be folded away so that the box could be sealed. I have also considered the idea of creating a cat walk with a time line on, however I think the shelving is much more appropriate and fitting. I have also drawn a small sketch of what the products would look like, with the idea of having a piece of paper next to each one with information printed on it to indicate the history of the item. 

Having thought a lot about this brief, and considered various ways to approach it, I have finally settled on the Vogue - Chanel idea and will be starting to develop it digitally. I am taking the idea of having products illustrated on the shelves, so I have decided to focus on eight different products to allow me to have 2 on each shelf without it looking too crowded. I have opened images of the products up in illustrator, and have experimented with inverting the colours to start with. I am not happy with the outcome of this though as I feel it is too dark and not easy to define what each item is. I also feel as though it is an easy option by allowing the computer to do it for me. 

The items I am going to draw are: makeup, chanel bag, perfume, jewellery, little black dress, watch, two piece suit and the two tone shoes. I feel as though these are the most well known products by Chanel and they are certainly the reason for Chanel being so successful.

These images seem to work a little bit better, as I adjusted the levels prior to inverting the colours, which seemed to make a positive difference. I am still not certain though, so I am going to develop some of my own illustrations digitally.

Below are my illustrations. I have tried to keep them as clean as possible, to represent the style of Chanel. I feel as though I have successfully managed to do this, and they are all recognisable. I didn't want to overuse the Chanel logo which is why I have only included it on the bag and the necklace to represent jewellery. I think the others are fine without the logo on them, plus if I had included any text on the makeup it would have been too small to read.

I found this net online and tried to make a prototype with it, however I wasn't very successful because it is isn't fitting with the aesthetic I want to create. I have decided to ignore this idea, but it indicates my starting point.

I decided to draw out the front of Chanel, without referencing the photograph, just to create my own interpretation. I imagined it with awning outside and a large window displaying the products inside, with a door to the right hand side. I have drawn it quite simply on illustration so that I could get my head around what it would look like.

I was then fortunate enough to be able to ask someone who can do 3D modelling on the computer. This was created on Maya software, and it indicates exactly what I currently have in mind. I am really pleased with this accurate depiction of it, and I feel as though I am progressing well, feeling positive about the ideas I have.

Although I am pleased with the previous illustration and 3D image of what it could look like, I feel as though I should make it more like Vogue, in fact as accurate as possible. I feel as though this will help me to illustrate Chanel as closely as I can, without trying to mimic it and approach it in my own way.

Using this image, I opened it in illustrator and placed it next to my document. I then drew guidelines to help me to draw it as accurately as possible. This enabled me to draw the awning and the building just above it, so that I could reference the street number too. I think this is a strong, symmetrical image which should work well for my final publication.

Once I added some block black to reflect the photograph, and added the number to the centre of the image, it looked like this. The entrance is striking because of the awning and the logo/name of the brand. I therefore feel as though I can get away with altering the door slightly to fit in with my design.

With a bit more detail added it looked like this. I didn't want to add 'A Brief History of...' anywhere on my work, as I feel as though it is a bit too predictable and obvious. This is why I have put 'In Vogue since 1916' on the plaque next to the entrance, as this is just enough to reference Vogue whilst at the same time hinting and referring to the history too.

Now that I am happy with the front of the house, I am going to develop the net to make it 3 dimensional. It is important that I get the depth of it right and also need to consider how the publication will be received. I think I would like it to be included with an issue of Vogue, but not in the form of a flat pack. I would design it so that the person in charge of feeding the product through the till would also be in charge of delivering the publication too. 

Along my way, whilst designing, I find it helps me to create digital prototypes as well as physical ones, as it helps me to visualise the end result. Here I have drawn the shelves as well as the concertina with some shading to illustrate the piece of folded paper which it will be attached to, for it to maintain it's form. 

I then printed it all off on white stock which I use to print on daily. It is not high quality stock but I just needed to see whether it would work before progressing any further. I stuck the outer net together first and then placed the steps on the inside of the building effectively.

This is what it looks like from the outside, before it has been opened to reveal the shelves inside. I think because the front is so symmetrical, it has helped me create something which is easy to work with. Especially as it means I can have the opening right in the centre.

Whilst developing a paper prototype I also considered other options and experimented further. I wondered whether it would be worthwhile to create half shelves, and half rail. Just because items just as the dress and the two piece suit needs to be hung up. However, considering I am not making it completely true and realistic, I think I will be able to work with the idea of the shelves alone, otherwise it will lose the simplicity and taste I think. By adding a rail it will detract from the shelves and be a bit more unsettling, as the audience won't know what to focus on first.

This is what it will look like with the items on the shelves. I have attached small tabs to the back of them so that they stay upright and they aren't flimsy meaning that they may become damaged. 

The feedback I was given related to whether I should make it so that the publication was distributed to the audience over a period of months. This made me in turn think about scale, as well as how to present it. I will have to consider stock very carefully, because if I am wanting all of the items to fold away neatly I will have to use stock which is easy to fold. 

In terms of scale, I think I will design it so that it is no bigger than the width of a Vogue magazine. The prototypes I have made are smaller than A4 so they are definitely not to scale at this moment in time.

Below is what the full set of illustrations look like once they are placed on the shelves.

I used antique to print on for the interior and the exterior and I am really pleased with the result. I feel as though I have chosen appropriate stock, as the cream works really well to reflect Chanel. It will however need reinforcing, especially if it is going to be larger than this, so I will have to consider this when it comes to printing the final publication.

 

I experimented with stock, using bulky newsprint to see how it turned out, and although it looks fairly cream on this photograph it isn't cream enough for Chanel in my opinion.

 

 

When I was in Edinburgh I came across this. It is a 'grow it yourself' cress set. Inside it opens up to create a front garden. I would say this has probably influenced me the most out of everything, as it relates to closely to my idea and also engages the audience. This is what I am hoping to achieve with mine.

Now that I am happy with the exterior and interior of the main part of my publication, I need to now arrange the content. On an A3 sheet of paper I decided to measure out how I wanted the concertina to look before approaching it digitally. I used the whole sheet of paper landscape to draw everything out and measure the spaces so that they were equal.

Using InDesign I applied the exact same measurements and created guides so that my text and images are aligned perfectly, allowing me to manage them easily.

I then created my first concertina. I arranged the dates and used my research to write text for each of the products. I used Couture Bold to represent Chanel and Baskerville to represent Vogue. I am going to use these fonts consistently as I feel they are the most appropriate to use, and also work well together. 

I then added the images at the end and feel as though the scale of everything works really well to created a balanced concertina.

Without the guidelines this is what the concertina looks like, I am pleased with the spacing and just hope that the size works well when it is printed.

I then used InDesign to create the shelves, and I placed the products on the shelves to make sure that I had the sizing accurate before printing them out.

I developed this prototype of what my mock up would look like before designing it digitally. This design is for the timeline I will be creating of images for each of the products that I found online. All of the images are adverts which featured in Vogue over the years. 

Below are some prototypes of concertinas and shelves that I made to help me visualise the end result. I feel as though the book idea with it being bound in the centre is a strong idea, however it is unnecessary when I can use a concertina which more accurately represents a timeline.

Considering my feedback during the crit, whereby I received a suggestion to have my publication in parts so that it would be received over a couple of month's, in separate issues of Vogue, I have decided that I will split it up by having the main box with the concertina shelves, and the products packaged separately in a box,  with the concertina of images and text and the image timeline concertinas in the second issue with the images taken from Vogue, providing the main link between the two.

I have therefore drawn out two separate nets which I feel will be appropriate to use for the 8 small cut out products to fit in to. I hope that either box is successful and will be experimenting with them as soon as everything is printed.

Today I went to digital print and printed my designs out on to A3 antique paper. I printed the image based concertinas in black and white to start with as I thought they would look better, however I ended up going back later on in the day to reprint them in colour, as I feel it is necessary to illustrate the changes in advertisements over time. 

I had an image in my mind of foiling my publication. Having never foiled before, I tried it on one of my black and white copies whilst I was in college. I went and bought 4 different foils to try out, all of them are fairly similar. I was going to use them depending on how these experiments turned out.

I decided to foil the first four dates and the last four illustrations so that I could see how successful they foiled, and whether it would be worth doing or not.

The foils I have experimented with are copper, champagne, platinum and pewter.

I feel as though copper was most successful, with both text and image. If I decide to use the foil then this would be the one I would choose as it creates the most impact in comparison to the others.

This is what copper turned out like on the line illustration. It doesn't really give it that much of a significant change, and I am actually not sure whether it is worth foiling or not. 

I tried the copper on this image too, but it reduced the quality of the design in my opinion and was definitely unnecessary. I think in the past when I have liked foiling it has been on black stock. Whereas in this case, it doesn't really add to the design much, just makes it more about the production of the print rather than the print itself which is the most important element I need to get across to the audience.

Below are some images I took whilst I was cutting up all of my final prints. I started by cutting out the concertina for the shelves. Before printing I decided to add dates on to each of the shelves as there was too much negative space around each of the products beforehand.

I backed each of the prints on to black card as I felt as though they needed to be reinforced. This made it quite challenging to fold all of the shelves, and I was concerned that the black card may come away from the paper, however this wasn't an issue at all. 

I then used scissors and a scalpel to cut out all of the individual products, making sure I left room below each of the products to create a tab for them to stay upright, otherwise they would just fall over.

Using a scalpel I cut the net down to the correct size. When I printed in the morning I made sure I had two copies of each, just in case anything went wrong as I didn't want to be rushed for time. Luckily, so far nothing has gone wrong. 

This was the most challenging part of the day. I had to ensure that all of the edges of the net were folded precisely as it needed to be identical all the way round, to make a perfect 3 dimensional box. 

I had to use a bulldog clip at one point to keep the bottom of the box in place whilst I secured the sides. At first I used double sided tape to secure the sides, but this didn't seem strong enough and kept coming away from the card it was secured to. I therefore has to dismantle the box a little bit more to reduce the amount of stock which needed to be secured down, therefore reducing the weight and pressure. This meant that it could be secured firmly.

The last thing I did whilst I was in college was use the guillotine to cut down all of my concertinas and then I folded them all before leaving to go home and carry on with more work.

I then had to figure out a way of keeping the concertina closed. I didn't want to pierce the holes into the concertina itself because the shelving wouldn't look right with holes in. I therefore attached small tabs to either side of the shelves to enable me to then feed ribbon through them at a later time.

Once the ribbon is fed through, the weight of the cardboard causes it to fall like this. However I quite like the effect this has. When it is in the box it will be folded appropriately and then the front doors will close so that everything stays in place. Therefore I have no concern with the way this looks. 

I did the same with the concertinas and added tabs to each one of them, so that everything would close in the same way, ensuring my publication is consistent and works aesthetically.

Below are photographs taken to illustrate the process I had to take when printing. The photographs show how foiling and printing in black and white wasn't as successful as I had hoped, and they also illustrate the prototypes I printed and designed before constructing the final publication.

I then thought about how I could include some text about Chanel and also information to tell the audience what the publication is for and what it is about. At first I wrote what is printed below, and then I realised that it needed to be much more concise and relevant than this. Which is why I altered it.

Chanel's clothing is traditional, original and stylish. In 1920 Gabrielle Chanel opened her first shop on Paris's Rue Cambon in 1910 where she mainly sold hats. She began expanding her store to Deauville and Biarritz where she began selling clothing. In 1920, Chanel began her first perfume No 5. In 1916 Chanel was first featured in Vogue, and from then onwards Chanel has been continually advertised until the current day. In 1925 Gabrielle Chanel released the iconic Chanel suit and her famous Little Black Dress. When she died in 1971, Karl Lagerfeld took over and is currently in charge today for Chanel.

This unique collector's item contains information about the most significant turning points in Chanel's history. Exploring the changes through imagery, with a noticeable difference in the way in which photography and advertisements have developed over time.  

I then designed the following once I had made adjustments...

I felt as though I needed instructions to explain how it works and how the person receiving it needs to use it essentially. Otherwise everything would just look like separate parts. The idea behind it is that the consumer is able to create their own timeline by using the images provided in the illustrative timeline. They will do this by removing the plastic on the sticky tabs I have provided and placing the appropriate product on the correct shelf with the correct date next to it, then this can be kept as a collector's item and something that can be kept out on display. The idea is that if it was to be reproduced in the industry, they would be hand made and therefore the person receiving it can feel that they are receiving something unique and personal. By adding a personal touch themselves they can feel as though they have been a part of the creation.

When designing the net to contain all of the individual product pieces I printed off the first one and tried constructing it. I found that there wasn't enough paper within it for it to be secure enough.

I then used one of my nets I designed earlier and it turned out that this was perfect for the items to fit into. I was going to include a shelf on the back of the Chanel house to put all of the concertinas in to store but I think this would reduce the overall quality of the publication. 

For the final box I printed a title to the front and had to super glue the edges to make the box as secure as possible. I am really pleased with the size and the outcome of this.