Book #2 Demo

Contents for book #2; The little book of PINK - arts, crafts, designs and other crap by Adam France. (Colour to be confirmed - pink or orange?)

1. 5 illustrations

- using various pink mediums

2. gift wrap

- make your own paper

- customise

3. 5 patterns

- non illustrative patterns

- using 5 different techniques

4. 5 textiles

- embroidery with beads X 2

- embroidery with thread

- felt

5. Flowers

- sewing flowers

- flower arranging?

6. Sewing

- toys

- masks

- crap

7. Clothes

- styling

- customising

8.  Workshop

- 30 people make a 'xxxx'

9. Crafts

- garlands

- wall art

- cushions

- masks

10. Xmas

- decorations

Book #1 Demo

I'm now going to flesh out the probably contents of 3 different books. On top of writing the contents here I'm going to make a mock version with paper to see how it reads. This post is for Book #1 - (tentatively titled) The little book of textile projects - arts, crafts, designs and more crap by Adam France. The contents reads:

1. 5 illustration

- printed on fabric

- silk screened

- digitally printed

2. 5 embroideries

- recycled beads

- typographic embroidery

- felt embroidery

- recycled fabrics

3. Dying

- natural dyes (made fun)

- applications

4. Toys

- DIY

- Freaky toy collection

5. Non illustrative patterns

- stamped onto fabric

- drawn onto fabric

- different ways to apply images to fabric

6. Felts

- sewing with

- dying

- felting fun

7. 4 Crafting projects

- garlands

- hanging wall art

- cushions

- masks

8. With nature

- sewing flowers

- flower art

9. Dance/Body play

- clothes/costume play and photography

10. Products

- scarfs

- tea towels

- blazers

11. Workshops

- 30 people make a 'xxxx' and the outcomes

12. Installations

- 1 big textile work

13. Xmas

- decorations, ie. felt genitals for your Xmas tree.

(I don't know how I would ever do all this, I'll have to make a smaller selection) as it has to be made into a beautiful book too. Gah!

Tutorial Recap/Moving Forward

Wednesday's class was another refresh, giving me new goals for the coming week.

Project feedback included;
- Don't worry about green cities, think more about green/DIY/recylced.
- Look into Sophie Calle (new post coming soon)
- Explore play
- If doing a book, look into confides and tasks
- Consider digital aspects too and the current climate for book publication
- The book could use the fabric samples/catalogue
- Be very systematic with the craft/book production
- Consider children as a part of my audience
- Could critique City of Sydney, use their left overs or satire their existing ideas

This weeks goals are;
- Create 3 ideas for genres of books (e.g.; textiles, PINK and typographic)
- For each of these ideas, create a contents page of 8 projects, each with its own rules. Really push the ideas!
- Decide on a genre, contents page and make 1 of the 8 projects!
- Create a font

Prototype #8

Knowing that class (and my 1 weekly catch up with my tutor) is tomorrow, I wanted to have as many ideas squeezed out of me as possible. So here is prototype #8, hopefully the last one as tomorrow we can decide on one of the 8 and start to refine and create within that idea.

Prototype #8 is titled 'the little book of textile reuse' and encompasses many of the ideas from the previous prototypes however this allows refines the field to textiles. The book would be similar to the craft book I have proposed in #6 and #4.

Content would include embroideries (using beads found at second hand stores), sewn patterns, drawn patterns, characters (from reclaimed fabrics) and craft objects (garlands, cushions, wall pieces).

On top of purely second hand reclaimed materials, the book explores more sustainable options such as different textiles to use (hemp, felt) and ways to colour fabric (natural dyes). I'd love to have some fabric digitally printed but that depends on how green the process is.

Another aspect that would be included is plants; I'd like them to be involved in some of the projects such as using them for dyes, sewing with them and creating products for them.

The book aims to:
- Inspire people to create from their left overs
- Think twice about the textile industry
- Be more sustainably conscious
- Have far more fun with a green initiative

Inspiration:

Demos of Previous (Textile Applicable) Patterns

Prototype #7

The 1 main thing I learnt from reading through all the online project proposals was that the more inspiring and exciting ones had chosen a more farfetched concept, that pieced together odd topics and sounded great in a sentence. These included Elle's branding of the moon, Sebastian's teen survival kit for religious homes, Liv's designers guide to lost language, and Ellen's Honey Babys girl gang branding. I just wanted to see them all now! Or do my own version of them!

There were also other projects dealing with a eco/green influence; such a sustainable food and fashion. While these projects will be fantastic, I was reminded how often we hear these terms and how... flat they can read. With this in mind I still want my project to be green, but I don't want it to be defined by that - almost as if that fact is hidden in the small print and only revealed to councils for grants. Shhh!

Prototype #7 now bears that in mind and seeks to construct a 'far fetched, art/craft/design, eco' idea. After pausing at this sentence and scratching my head for an hour the answer is; Adam's eco craft textile catalogue. As I've mentioned I've worked in textiles for a while, and enjoy new alternatives and ways to deal with them. I also love Tsumori Chisato who blends illustration, embroidery and art into her converted textiles (image below). This catalogue would deal with eco notions such as sustainable fabrics, production methods and textile reuse. The textiles themselves would allow me to explore art, craft, illustration, design, embroidery (all my loves!) but regulate it to an eco textile medium. I could also explore some uses for some of these textiles - some being more art wall pieces, others being more fashion friendly. I'd also like to see the catalogue run as a consistent collection, so again some themes and restrictions would be put into place.

Final Proposal Document

On Sunday evening we had our refined proposal hand in. All the PDF's went up on a blog on UTS online and we all all got super snoopy by reading and critiquing each others. I think the document reads really clearly and sums up where I am. I am still really desperate for an outcome but aim to have that sorted this week; I need to talk through all the prototypes with my tutor. I want as much time as I can get to make the thing! 

This was mine;

The City of Sydney has committed to several goals to fulfill its 2030 Green City vision, these goals can be seen at both the 2030 website and partner site Green Villages. Here a range of initiatives are underway: from rooftop gardening to worm farm workshops. This project is my response to this context as an active and skilled designer/artist/craftsman, and also as a devoted inner city greenie. 

Where the problem lies in these initiatives is the momentum and excitement; often the bottom can fall out of a eco/green project as people have heard enough, can’t be bothered or find them uninspiring. So while the City of Sydney continues to invest in green projects, many opportunities are being missed and sydneysiders have become uninterested. 

This contrasts my goals as a designer;
I seek to incite play, joy and imagination. 

From here I’ll be finding opportunities to contribute, refresh, expand and excite. I’ll be developing a project that injects fresh blood into inner Sydney’s green scene. Since looking through all the material from the City of Sydney, my main area of interest is the DIY/creative areas, where environmentally friendly workshops, craft projects and gardening solutions have been proposed and promoted. Notably this is the Green Villages collaboration with mega website Etsy, that proposed 3 green craft projects: terrariums, macramé plant holders and fabric wrapping. This initiative shows that the City of Sydney is willing to get playful, and inspired me to think about further solutions and crafty projects. While this campaign has it’s flaws, it has set a benchmark that I aim to pole vault over.  

Since my research period has wrapped I’ve begun developing a series of ideas on how best to address this cause, while also enjoying and expanding my interests as a designer - this project is rooted in a cause, but is also a firework of my favorite creative ideas. An outcome is quickly shaping, and involves a creative campaign with fresh visuals and inspiring designs. Developing a bold new look for a green campaign is also a part of the project, as I’ve been warned of the dangers of green design - ‘just don’t use green’ I’ve been told. 

The project is likely to expand beyond this point, but ongoing work, a range of prototypes and many experiments are shaping my research, ideas and outcome. 

Prototype #6

Here comes a hybrid! After talking to a classmate, it is obvious that my prototypes are getting better (good news!) with #4 and #5 being the strongest to date. For this prototype I want to blend the strengths of these two prototypes.

This project is a (small) book of wild green ideas. Including crafts, illustrations, polished works, writing and photos. There is DIY moments and there are calmer moments where work is showcased. I could incorporate a small workshop area (as I love that idea!). The book focuses on my initiatives, how they are green, and how they inspire green thinking. The book is similar to a craft book, only some of the ideas have been taken further and are more art pieces. Again the book would also be a humour book and I'd look to add as much sass as I can without being a nut.

I'd like to put some constrains on the project to keep it small and selective, such as every page only has visuals in a circle box or the whole book only deals with things that are PINK; 'The Little Book of Pink" or "The Little Book of Green". (Or I still love orange... am I going mad?)

The first step of this project would be going to the art supplies store and buying every single thing in my colour pallet. Thats motive enough for a craftie like me. 

Developing Visuals; Unique Font, Illustration, Colours

As my pintrest boards have been building, themes and interests have emerged for my visual language. Here is my attempt to process these scattered boards into some solid ideas, which I can move forwards with.

THE UNIQUE FONT

Firstly is ideas for a unique font. As soon as this is sorted I'm keen to start developing it; this week! Here are 3 approaches that are inspiring me at the moment.

This bold pink font is slightly illegible but so fun! I like the simple conversion of an existing font and the ruthless treatment. Very smack in the face pow pow pow! 

Like the previous image, this one duplicates an existing font but gives each a contrasting and complementing treatment; a pattern in one, a flat colour in the other. I'm already excited at the idea of crafting this myself! 

The final inspiration picture is a again very block'y font, but this one has had each letter broken into simple geometric forms and hand generated. The genius comes in where the creator has incorporated the printing method to creatively layer colours into successful mixes; pink and blue make purple, yellow and blue make green ext... I would like to do this again; hand generate my own blocky letters then in a new colour code play with layering to mix new blends. Fantastic!

ILLUSTRATION STYLE

Only 2 illustration styles have stuck with me, probably because they are my favourite and what I already work with. 

The first idea is (my usual) scribbly edges. This takes a lot of precision and repeats to perfect each illustration but makes my heart melt when it is done well. 

The second approach is more relevant to my freelance work where I spend a lot of time on illustrator generating artwork - I've got good at vector art as a result. Its odd this is such a contrast to my first scribbly idea as this is everything that idea is not; sharp edges, flat colour and a very contrived process. 

Another idea is to do both; draw over the flat vector images. 

COLOUR CODES

Pink has for a long time been my main girl. It's politically loaded, ignorant, gender sneaky, and so incredibly infectious (a good and bad thing at times). This colour code includes; baby pink, strong pink, grey and a charcoal/deep blue. Also some black and white. Examples below. 

My second colour code is rooted in Orange - a colour associated with creativity. Similar to pink I find orange infectious and burning. This scheme would use a deep orange, light orange, golden yellow and occasionally some pink/orange blend. The inspiration images also remind me that this combo looks best on a cream background. 

SO WHAT DO MY INSTINCTS SAY?

Right now its the second idea for the unique font, the first idea for the illustration and the orange combo for the colours. What do you think?

Prototype #5

Each prototype seems to be a stepping stone onto the next (still desperately seeking dry land/the final idea!) As I was writing my conclusion to the last prototype, this one was born. I've gone away and thought about it for a few hours and here it is, incomplete and everything!

The previous prototypes have been focusing on craft, maybe too much. This prototype looks at removing that from the project and focusing on design and art, which is a far more polished field (this interests me). Again applying this idea to my context (Green Sydney), this project sees me focus on creating strong, polished and professional artistic visuals that can be applied to Green designs. These means illustrations and digital works, for green products (recycled papers and eco textiles?) and a visual identity. At the moment I could imagine this expanding into a small collection of items - not dissimilar to Jenny Kee's brand, which is small and simple; some art, some classic prints and a small capsule collection.  I'm interested in shaping a brand/collection like this because small and resourceful textile based brands is what I have been working for/with over the last 2 years - creating prints and doing graphic design work for Serpent and the Swan, Dion Lee, Romance Was Born and Rachel Castle.

Jenny Kee's opal print is a winner!

Prototype #4

It was when I was talking to my friend and collaborator Cleo that I remembered my love of collaboration and community.

For this prototype I am proposing a book of green art, craft, and design ideas. Each idea will be explained by me, with the following page showing 20-30 outcomes created by peers in a workshop. Between now and hand in I would develop the series of craft ideas and have 1-2 workshop days with a large number of people to try out the ideas and photograph the unique outcomes. Each idea will be as green as possible - recycled papers, threads, ect...

This projet would also involve a written intro to each idea, and in the spirit of Amy Sedaris (and my love of tongue-in-cheek writing) I would happily do these. The book will also be visually styled to reflect my 'brand' and work as a colourful inspiration book as we'll as a craft ideas book.

The gaps in this project are that there is a lot to do - can I do this in the time frame? My other problem is that this could get very caught up in the craft exercises and stray from the design decisions and also from the core of my project, which is it's context as a City of Sydney related green initiative.

Prototype #3

It sort of sparked in my head a few posts ago that creating a visual language for council related green projects was an interesting and playful area for this project. This prototype looks at doing just this as the sole project; developing a highly refined, very well designed, playful and exciting visual language for green projects.

To round out Prototype #3 as a full bodied project, I'd love to develop a set of 3 identities (again all for the same brief) but examine and critique how each can capture the essence of the green movement from different angles - such as using the colour green in visual communication (outdated or relevant to green design?)

This project would link back to the Green Villages website, from where it would take it's deliverables - such as logos, banners, fonts, flags, and small campaigns.

Wether this prototype goes ahead or not, creating a modern and exciting visual language for green initiatives is a large aspect of my project.

Prototype #2

So after a little breather yesterday, and a small panic, I'm taking from today till next Wednesday to whip out a prototype EVERYDAY! This stage needs to move quicker or I'm not going to have time to create some really detailed work. Panic panic panic... picnic. Ha

Prototype #2 seeks to stay within the environmental, recycled, and Sydney based boundary but within this space do what I as a designer want to do - AKA what Amy Sedaris would do (a range of crazed projects that scream AMY). In this prototype I will create ephemera of all nature (within the boundaries listed). This means illustration, art, craft, typography, and dance all captured in images. These can then be put into a book, onto posters, or a digital context. I would aim to create X amount of pieces under this project (each a small project of it's own) which together portray my signature creative stance on the environmental cause. Smaller projects could include;

- A new font
- Photographs of an eco dance
- Patterns made out of trash
- A series of recycled craft projects
- Some art installations
- Embroideries
- Illustrations
- A small amount of writing (intro...)

My Hero; Amy Sedaris!

Amy Sedaris is an American actor/comedian, famous for her series Strangers With Candy. Since that wrapped 5 or so years back, she is now famous for her guest stints and 2 best seller books. Of these 1 is titled 'Simple Times - Crafts for Poor People', which is a huge coffee table book comprising of the worlds most adorable but beyond useless crafts. It's created from Amy's twisted lil mind and she smiles her way through it, with many photo shoots adding to the fun. 

After prototype #1 was so obedient and well behaved, an Amy inspired approach is where I'm going for prototype #2. Amy is my hero and lives tha life! 

Pics from Simple Times;

YES YES YES!

Wednesday Recap and Goals for the Next Week

Today in class I presented the 3 mock up images I had created for Green Villages crafts. After making these last night and working with them today I've decided it's time to move on to prototype #2. They proved to be very dependant on clear, council'esque communication and left very little room for experimental design and art, so my next prototype to an exploration of these ideas. Details of it in the next post!

The images were a great place to start and prototype #2 will be in response to what I do and don't love about them. Ideally I'll be prototyping for 3 more weeks, after which the ideas and semi complete projects will be pointing in 1 (already underway) direction. Feedback on the images today included;

- Examine how much 'looseness' you can get away with. This encourages me to get into more (as I said) experimental design and art, and linking the project back to a passion project, which has roots in City of Sydney ideas but takes it somewhere individual.

- In my brief I need to focus on the problems with the existing context (City of Sydney, the inner west, and the green movement) and not promise any solutions, especially because this project is still so open ended. These no-definition projects need to be hinted at, but not promised, in a way that walks a fine line between clearly communicating a great project, and knowing I'm still shaping what will be a crazy piece of work.

- I need to refine my visual language quickly, as I'll work with it on all the prototypes and it will consistently grow throughout. So much so that a spankin' well designed, green related, visual language is likely to be a big part of my final hand in.

GOALS FOR THE NEXT 7 DAYS

By friday submit Prototype #2 to this blog.

Submit proposal document to Zoe by Sunday. Don't over think this. Design it semi-nicely.

Before class next week have prototype #3 underway, and mock ups and ideas for prototype #2 explored.

For Sundays hand in and next week have a greater refined visual language; choose 2 fonts, plan some letters of my own font, choose colours (specify as pantones even), decide on an illustration style (and do 1 drawing in it), and make a mood board of identity images all generated by me.

Rough Trials

These are some mock ups of my campaigns, with rough drawings sitting where photographs will and some experimental fonts. 

The successes of these are; 

- I like the pink

- I like the font change for the title, and want this to be hand generated (as the third images suggests)

- I like the circle but it needs a boarder

- I like using my own name, and am keen to get that out there

- I like the first (spotty) back ground. Its the feel I am aiming for

- The square frame (not a rectangle)

The fails are;

- The fonts are pretty BAD. This will need a lot of refining and time, some fonts need to be hand generated.

- The backgrounds need to be pretty but not distracting

- The composition needs a lot of work to feel like a unified campaign

Taking these in to class tomorrow for feedback and discussion! 

Proposal Draft

In class we worked through a bunch of exercises on putting together a successful project pitch. Here is a recap of those writings, which were combed over briefly in class, and now are getting another edit. Before Sunday's hand in this will get looked over in class (on Wednesday) and edited again, then turned into the perfect pitch.

1. What is the aim of your project - what are you trying to visually communicate?

The aim of this project is to create a refreshing 'greening the city' initiative. This will be achieved through my signature visual communication, which strives to excite and inspire viewers. Also an important aim is to draw more people to the pressing environmental cause of going green and changing our lifestyle habits.

2. What is the context of your project? Personal & Professional

As a hardcore inner city green, this project encompasses my personal values and allows me to explore them professional. I'm keen to work in an eco-concious field and my portfolio is crying for a great green project. The blend of an issue like this with my goals as a designer (to incite play, energy and creativity) is a really exciting place for me to be working from. Politically this issue is hot hot hot, with the City of Sydney devoting money and attention to it - I support this and am keen to interact and influence Sydney's direction.

3. Who or what is the audience?

My audience is the increasing number of socially engaged people within inner Sydney.

In light of these answers here is my new...

PROPOSAL DRAFT;

The City of Sydney has committed to several goals to fulfil its 2030 Green City vision, these can be seen at it's 2030 website and it's partner website for Green Villages. Here a range of initiatives are underway, including getting vertical and rooftop gardens seeding and running a range of workshops to get Sydneysider's involved. This project is my response to this context as an active and skilled designer/artist/craftsman, and I'll be finding opportunities to contribute, redo, expand and excite. My 'refresh' of some initiatives is my way of drawing attention to and interacting with the cause and context, but is also largely a passion project - where I will blend green initiatives with my brand of fun.

Since looking through all the material from the City of Sydney, my main area of interest is the DIY/creative areas, where environmentally friendly workshops, craft projects and gardening solutions have been proposed and promoted. Notably this is the Green Villages collaboration with mega website Etsy, that proposed 3 green craft projects - terrariums, macrame plant holders and fabric wrapping. This initiative shows that the City of Sydney is willing to get playful, and inspired me to think about further solutions and crafty projects - such as paper projects, textile reuse, and innovative ways to garden in the inner city. (For now) this project will be a rethinking of the Green Villages X Etsy collaboration, which will;

- Propose 3 craft projects that are more green, interesting,  and well designed than the previous.

- Present these in a more polished, professional and infectious manner than the previous campaign, while still using similar formats (web banners, a short video for each, clean photos and instructions)

The project is likely to expand beyond this point, but redoing this is a great starting point, and the outcome is likely to be including in my final hand in.

Audience

I'm still honing in on my audience for this project and working out who this project is very specifically for. Parties involved include;

- me, and the grad show audience (friends & fan)
- the uts community
- gardeners and Sydney city greenies
- people of the inner west (politically minded, small garden spaces, not much nature)
- people who vote green
- people struggling to find greenery to enjoy
- crafts people! people who love to create things with their hands as a hobby
- the design community, those who can enjoy this project even if they do not realise the ideas
- local council and government (work opportunities, and opportunities for the project to be green lit)

Understanding these parties means the voice of the project has to be clear and understandable to all, and with a fun yet formal tone. Also in a tone that government officials could relate to.

Prototype #1

So for prototype #1, where I will redo the Green Villages X DIY Etsy green projects, this is my list of deliverables and thoughts around them.

The 3 craft projects are:

1. Newspaper seedlings
How to fold recycled newspaper into a range of small pots, lined with wax (of a household candle) then used to raise a small selection of Sydney native plants, such as dianella. Each pot is also styled/decorated, with craft techniques, such as painting patterns, some illustration and other (not too materialistic) techniques. Below is a demo pot and a picture of some Sydney native Dianella. I can imagine the promo pic being a cute photo of 3 seedlings in newspaper pots.

2. Eco Garlands

For the past year or two garlands have been the hottest ticket in the craft community. Looking though etsy and pintrest these are a million different versions of the garland. A vast majority of them are ugly, childish and not great design.  Doing them in the most DIY way possible is an exciting challenge. Many use felt which is already a more eco option, as long as the felt is sourced properly. This also makes the option to dye the felt yourself (beetroots, blueberries, turmeric...). I'd also like to look into using recycled fabrics from second hand stores .

3. Jar Reuse

I adore glass jars, and think they can be styled up to be successfully reused items (successful in that they can look chic and new). During this project I'm holding onto any glass jars in hope that they can be used for something. The obvious first idea is the terrarium but I also want more craft and design opportunities with the glass jars reinvention. For the final 'product' I'd like to put together a photo that has 3 looks for your glass jar - options including; a candle holder, a styled vase, a water garden, a craft jar, a candy jar, an illustrated lantern, ect... 

For now I would like to present these in similar formats to the existing campaign, with each object being featured on a flier/banner with great typography. With this I would like to propose a small and simple video that explains how to create each item - in a style that excites (with the motion graphics). 

Theres a list of other craft solutions that I'm considering at the moment but at this stage it's worth sticking to these 3 items to round off prototype #1.