Digitally Printing (Map and Stickers)

I have now digitally printed the final version of my map. I have decided that I will had in these as my final map submissions as they are much more successful than the screen printed versions which didn't go to plan. This version uses the concept of the 28 different shades: one shade of pink per square. 28 different shades of pink are actually actually shown on this version where as the screen printed versions only use one shade of pink- making it less exciting.

The digitally printed design is also double sided with the square containing the 28 different pinks on the other side to make it more exciting and to exaggerate the whole pink concept. Additionally, I also printed the stickers that I created to go alongside the map, the stickers help to exaggerate the whole pink concept.

Front:

Map back:

Stickers:

Screen Printing Map

Today I screen printed my map. I printed the map onto 3 different paper stocks to see which one would work best physically when printed on, I chose to print on antique white paper, dark grey and a light grey.

The grey colours relate back to the colours of the roads when I was on the journey, originally I liked the dark grey colour the most. However. I knew that this one would be hardest to see the printed colours on. When printing, the colour that looked the best out of the 3 was the light grey paper.

When screen printing today, I was faced with quite a lot of issues. At first the colours kept bleeding through onto the page- Mike said this was because there wasn't enough ink on the screen, but when I put more ink on the screen this issue still occurred. This issue occurred with both layers of colour which was quite annoying, but I did manage to get some prints that were better than others.

Additionally, I am not completely happy with how the prints turned out because of this issue but I did manage to get two decent prints.

I am still going to stick with my original plan to digitally print the other version of my map that uses the 28 shades of pink squares, as the screen prints aren't as successful as I wanted and the digitally printed design looks more interesting in general- the digitally printed version will also come with stickers which makes it a lot more fun.

I will hand in both versions (screen printed and digitally printed) on Friday and let the tutors decide which one they will use in the exhibition or I will either just had in one of the digital versions. For my final hand in I will use the digitally printed version with the stickers.

Most decent two screen prints (on light grey paper):

Failed versions and tests:

Idea Discussion

Today I had a small critique with Helena and a couple of my peers in which I discussed my 'issue' and the areas of the particular issue which I am focussing on, as well as ideas for how to develop these ideas into designs.

The critique was more of a chatty discussion which I found really useful as I got some really interesting ideas for how I could approach my issue through the designs that I create, I also got some interesting ideas that I could look further into. I will now be able to develop these design ideas over Easter.

Feedback:

• Idea of using production methods that were used before social media- could be an A2 newsprint fold out as newspapers were how people kept 'up to date' with things before social media. However, further feedback mentioned to focus more on design for screen which I agree with...but maybe I could use newspaper grid systems and design details instead?

• App which controls your screen time- e.g. limits you to 5 hours per day, tries to reduce your screen time by tiny amounts each day till it adds up to a lot?

• 'You are here: after the internet' -book to read

• The focus of 'fake accounts'/ linking to the area within the issue that focuses on the fake version of ourselves that we show online

• The 'fake version' idea could be visualised through heavy focus on clever photography and animation too perhaps

• Combine photography with social media details (icons, layouts, buttons, chat bubbles, small interesting details)- show this visually in a clever way. Research more into photography relating to this 

• 'Fake version'- communicated through masks on people?

• The issue should focus on being communicated through design for screen and should have a heavy focus on social media and how it could be shown on social media. This is how it will get most exposure as the target audience is 18-24 year olds (the ages which are most active on social media)

• 'Vs' idea- the actual post vs the behind the scenes (Instagram posts for example) or...the real you vs the online you

• Since it will be heavily design for screen, animation could be something to incorporate into the designs, also relevant to the young target audience

Social Media Tweets

Whilst I was scrolling through Twitter I thought it would be interesting to see what people on Twitter actually think about the issue that I am focusing on: 'the effects of Social Media'- obviously theres no better way of gathering research on the effects of Social Media than through an actual social media platform. Additionally, Twitter is one of the most popular social media platforms today.

Below shows the tweets that I found most interesting relating to my issue and with a high number of retweets and favourites, which shows that big numbers of people relate to what is being said in the tweet. These tweets are from general Twitter users as well as from verified accounts with big followings.

These screenshots of tweets could be an interesting element to use in my design work and edit somehow- the designs I create could focus on using social media app layouts and details throughout, making it clear that the issue that the designs are communicating relate to social media before even reading the content.

Village/Publication Research

Today I took a trip down to Village books in order to gather some more research and inspiration for how I could communicate my 'issue' through the designs that I create. 

I felt that this research helped me gain a clearer understanding of ways I could approach my designs as before I was quite stuck, but I did have initial ideas the sort of things I would like to create. 

The first bit of research that I gathered focuses on bold and vibrant aesthetics/details- particularly through the specific imagery, colours and typography used. I want my designs and aesthetic to be relevant to the audience which will also influence production method- bold and vibrant whilst remaining minimal and clean. The message I am communicating is quite serious and very current, I feel that a bold, eye-catching and serious tone is most appropriate. My audience is mainly 18-24 year olds so a young, bold aesthetic is relevant.

Below shows books that I found really interesting and fun which use bold and vibrant imagery and typography. I found the typography in images 1,2 and 5 really eye-catching and unique, particularly because of the interesting manipulation of the letters and the colours used. I particularly loved the typography in image 5 as it is quite odd but in an exciting way, the bright colour scheme in image 2 also works really well. Image 3 and 4 also use bold colour schemes and typography but in a more minimal way, which gives a more serious tone.

Furthermore, I found this book 'Pics Or It Didn't Happen' really interesting and relevant to the issue I am focusing on as it relates to social media. The book features photographs that have been banned from Instagram, this generously illustrated book explores modern censorship. Instagram's user guidelines prohibit posting "violent, nude, partially nude, discriminatory, unlawful, infringing, hateful, pornographic, or sexually suggestive photos." people felt that because of this they couldn't express themselves through social media. 

The book uses interesting imagery using details from Instagrams layout and other social media platforms, this is also something that I could consider throughout my designs. I also think the overall soft pink aesthetic works really well with the concept of this book. 

'Pushing the boundaries of social media guidelines and social mores, this book reveals a fascinating picture of 21st century society's complex views on the image of the human body and censorship.'

Sticker Designs

I created stickers as I thought they would be an interesting element to go alongside the map to add more interactivity and fun into the overall concept which relates to the theme of journeys as they should be fun. I used the designs that I recently created (as well as a new design) which also follow the concept of colour through using colour editing windows and icons that come up on design softwares.

Furthermore, the main aim of the pink themed stickers is to exaggerate the whole pink theme even further: helping to make the map even more OTT pink.

Sticker Initial Sketches

Final Map

Today I had a little chat with Dom so that I could decide on which designs to develop further for my final map, as I am running out of time since my screen printing slot is on Tuesday so I was getting quite stressed and felt that I was thinking too much into it. I mentioned that in my critique on Monday everyone liked the 28 pink shades designs the most but that it would be way too difficult and time consuming to screen print. I showed Dom my developed designs and explained the concept to her.

Speaking to Dom was extremely useful as I have now been able to develop my map towards a final design. She agreed that the 28 shades would be quite hard to do and time consuming but she gave me interesting ideas of how I could communicate the '28 items' concept in a more minimal way. Dom also mentioned that I should continue to use the coloured squares and to experiment with composition.

Below shows the first development design towards the final, it uses the original map in Black with the pink journey line on top. This design uses 28 squares which represent where I saw the 28 items of pink clothing whilst on my journey. The squares also create an interesting contrast with the black map lines underneath.

The design was then developed through making the black map layer more minimal in order to make the pink squares stand out more as they communicate they concept. I am happy with how this looks now as it successfully communicates the concept behind my map in an interesting way. I also really enjoy the overall abstract aesthetic. 

The final design communicates the idea of 28 different pink items seen along the journey without having to actually screen print 28 shades.

Final Map for screen print shown digitally

Digital Positives

Furthermore, I am also going to print a digitally printed version of this map which will use the 28 different shades: one shade of pink per square. I really liked the 28 different shades of pink actually shown, in critiques those were the designs that were found most interesting as well. This design will be printed double sided with the square containing the 28 different pinks on the other side to make it more exciting and to exaggerate the whole pink concept.

Digitally printed map front design

Digitally printed map back design

Further Map Development

Following the critique with Helena on Monday, I have developed my map design ideas using the feedback and ideas that I received. The main piece of feedback that I got was that the designs which follow the concept of showing 28 shades of pink looked visually most interesting as well as being the most relevant to my concept (28 items of pink clothing in 10 minutes, counted through a journey).

I started by incorporating the 28 shades design into the Pantone card design concept as I thought this may be an interesting combination as it still focuses on the same concept, I played around with typefaces and colour a little to see what worked best. However, I still think that the 28 pink shades square would look better on its own without the Pantone layout.

Additionally, I also developed some designs which focus on the concept of colour through using colour editing windows and icons which appear on design softwares. I really liked this idea as it relates to the theme of colour and I was able to incorporate the 28 shades into it which created a really interesting, funky design. I developed this further by exaggerating the colour pink by adding it to every detail.

Furthermore, these ideas are interesting but I still think screen printing this would definitely be way too difficult and time consuming considering my screen print slot is only for one morning so I would have to digitally print these. If this brief was more substantial and longer I would try to figure out ways around this issue. 

I will speak to Dom this week and show her these designs as well as my previous designs in order to gain some feedback on what to screen print and what to possibly digitally print as I need to decide on my final map design so I can start to print next week.

Map Crit

Today I had a quick critique with Helena and 2 other peers in which I showed my ideas and development for my map so far in other to gain feedback on which designs to develop further. I got some interesting feedback points but some of them weren't so useful and realistic.

Also I mentioned that I was worried some of my designs didn't really look like a map, however it was mentioned that the design could be as abstract as you wanted- it doesn't have to look like a map at all if that is appropriate to your concept. This was useful to know as I feel that I can experiment more now without restrictions.

• The 28 shades idea is the most interesting as it relates and reflects my concept well (I saw 28 items of pink clothing throughout my journey)

• The map line doesn't have to be there (doesn't have to literally look like the map) so maybe take it out if I go with a more abstract approach moving forward

• Incorporate the 28 shades design into the Pantone layout and see how it looks

• The 28 shades idea screen printed- I mentioned that this may be extremely hard. However, I could do it through building up the pink shades slowly within the same exposed square- the pink shades would gradually get darker and I would just keep adding more colour into the emulsion

• 28 different shades shown in the pink air dropper icon and the window that comes up- could be an interesting colour related concept

• If the 28 screen printed shades was too difficult to do, I could also do a digitally printed version and maybe keep the screen printed version more minimal and just the colours

• Title idea: 28 pinks in 10 minutes

Map Development

I have started to come up with some more ideas of how I could communicate my concept and research (pink map, based on 28 pink items I saw on a 10 minute journey) through the design of the map. I have already created some visual designs but I think experimenting more could be useful in developing and adding to the designs that I have already created if relevant.

Notes from sketches:

• The different 28 items of pink clothing could be represented through 28 different Pink Pantone shades- still sticks with the Pantone idea whilst being more interesting. However this would be way too difficult and expensive to screen print that many colours, it would only work if I digitally printed
• The 28 different shades could be represented through 28 different illustrations of the items of clothing that I saw (and how many of each, so 6 coats etc)
• The illustrations of the clothing could be dotted on the design of the map along the journey route/line
• The pink journey line could be created with clothing illustrations or 28 different shades of pink

Additionally, below shows a visual example of the idea which follows the concept of representing the 28 different items of pink clothing through 28 different shades of pink with the journey route line on top. This idea could be interesting if developed, but this would be too difficult to screen print and doesn't seen exciting enough at the moment.

Additionally, the Pantone idea that I originally started to design still remains the most interesting concept wise as well as visually. The first image below shows the original developed design, designed to look like a Pantone card, the point that needs developing now is the 28 different items of clothing, it is listed on the card but I think it needs to be visually more obvious. The design next to it shows the actual map version of the journey based on pink items.

Furthermore, displaying the full map looks a lot more interesting so this was then developed in a way which would allow it to be screen printed whilst linking to the concept. The map visual was developed through making it grey scale (just black lines) with the pink journey line in the same pink, this makes the journey line stand out a lot more as well.

Additionally, another idea could be to keep the Pantone card as the original pink design with the edited black and white map with the pink line on the back- working as a double sided map could be interesting and fun to do. Or another way in which I could develop the black and white map Pantone card is through incorporating the 28 items more into it visually somehow, I will display all of these ideas in Mondays critique in order to gain feedback on which areas to develop.

Screen printable version, black and white with the pink.
Threshold and colour experiment