Inspiration
Dungeness
As one final bomb project, we were tasked with visiting Dungeness, a okay known for its baron wasteland-esque nature. The whole brief is revolved around getting outside in nature and experiencing the outdoors, which is something I love to do as much as I can anyway so I was quite excited to go to Dungeness.
From driving down and getting to the beach, my first impressions were more amazement than anything else. I had been told many times about how baron and empty it was, but I don’t think I was quite prepared for how empty it really was. There is nothing there. After driving along a weirdly straight, flat road in the middle of noting but pebbles, we eventually parked up and got out to have a wander. The thing that struck me as the weirdest was the amount of little houses that look like they have just popped up out of nowhere; they almost look out of place against the environment. The other thing I noticed was the amount of debris and old fishing junk just lying around; it was almost reminiscent of Hastings beach, but without the bustling town behind it, there was just nothing.
I had also been told about the power plant, and about the stark contrast between the man made of the plant and the baron expanse of nature surrounding it. Whilst it was quite a contrast between the two, with the power plant sitting and looming in the distance, I wasn’t actually that surprised by it. Growing up around more built up areas it was almost a little comforting in some ways to see the power plant, weird as that may sound. The thing that I found weirdest about Dungeness was still the emptiness of the place; just nothing for miles other than a few, out of place houses dotted around almost randomly. It was however, a very beautiful place and I found the whole experience of walking along the front very peaceful and extremely interesting. As with whenever I go outside, it was calming to be out in nature and experiencing the outdoors, and it was fun to have a little adventure in the empty wasteland that sits down on the coast there.
Book Binding
Another GF Smith sample that I found very useful, but not for the paper itself, was the softy range. The aspect that I actually found most interesting with this was the binding method that they had used to put the little booklets together. As the softy paper is one sided, to get a double page print they have had to fold the pages over in a French fold, and then bind them by seeing them together. This is a technique that I actually find really interesting, and that I would love to have on a bigger book. I love the hand sewn binding as well and I love the red thread against the black cover piece. I think this is a really cool idea and I think I would actually like to french fold and hand bind my photo book myself.
If I am going to hand bind my book, I wanted to look at some examples of different ways of binding books. I have experimented previously with using signitures and simple ways of binding, but because I am using french folding and making quite a unique book, I wanted a more unusual, more unique method to use.
One method that I have always found really interesting and I have always wanted to try out is Japanese book binding. I really love the shapes on the seam that the thread creates when binding the book, and I just think it is a really nice and really different way to bind a book. As well, I love how the edges of all the pages can be seen on the spine, rather than covering them up.
I think this is really cool and I could easily see my book being bound in this way, and so I decided to look at some tutorials on how to actually bind books using this method. What I found is that it is actually quite a straightforward process, and it is something I could easily do myself, and I would absolutely love to do for my final photo book.
GF Smith
Every year at university we have a visit and a talk from GF Smith, a paper stockist that has been in business for 130 years, and is the UKs top stockist and distributor for high quality paper stocks in all colours, textures and styles. With every visit we are given a range of samples and sample books from the paper mills that GF Smith distributes; and every year I am inspired by the different kinds of paper, but have never acted on it. This year however, after listening to the talk and looking at all the samples, I felt immediately inspired and I immediately could see how the papers could work perfectly for my photo book, and it was something I definitely wanted to work with for it.
The first sample set that I was really inspired by and that I found really interesting was the Colorplan textured selection. I really like how different the paper is and I love the way the different textures look and feel. My first thought was that one of the textured papers in a thicker stock would be perfect for a front cover, and would be an interesting and unique paper to use. It would also make the experience of looking at the book more interesting, as whilst the viewer is looking through the images, they would also feel the nice textures in their hands and it would make for a more immersive experience.
The next sample that I really liked was this uncoated, matte paper. Firstly, I really loved the imagery used, and I think the photographs themselves are lovely. As well as this I love how the photos sit on the paper, and I love the way that they colours pop in the images. There was a lot of blue in these images, which is the main colour in my own photography with the blue motorcycle. This gave me a clearer picture of what my images could look like when printed, and I actually really love the uncoated paper, and I think I actually prefer this over a glossy, coated paper.
Following on from the uncoated paper before, the next sample that I absolutely loved was this book of photography on different uncoated fine paper stocks. Flicking through the book I loved the photography and I could immediately see my photography on some of the paper stocks, and I could see that it would look so good printed onto it. The first that really stood out to me was Accent Smooth Glacier White. I absolutely love how the ink sits on the paper, and I love how the texture of the paper shows through the images. A lot of the images shown on the paper are full of greens and blues, which there are a lot of in my images, and so I know that they would work well on the paper.
I was near set on the Accent Smooth paper, until I came across this next stock called Naturalis Absolute White Smooth. I absolutely love the look and feel of this paper, and I love how the images look on the paper. The images used are filled with blues and greens and they come out in such nice tones, that I know my images would look beautiful on this stock. I love the feel and the texture of this paper, and I love the balance between smooth and textured, and I would love this kind of thing in my photo book. This is definitely my favourite paper stock out of all of the ones that I have looked at, and I know that my photography would look lovely printed on it, and so I would love to have my book printed onto it if I can.
Final Style Guide
After finalising my logo design, I moved on to creating my style guide. I wanted to look for some inspiration for the guide before jumping into a design, and I came across this example for a brand called Bosphorus. I really like the simplicity of the design, and while this example is much more in depth than the one that I need to create; I feel very inspired by it and I want to try and create something with this kind of simplicity and this much impact. The style guide is a piece of design in itself and so I think that almost as much thought needs to be put into it as with the logo itself, which is very clear to see with this example.
http://identitydesigned.com/bosphorus/
The specification for the style guide was to create one A3 sheet with all of the information included, and so I began by placing the logos into the guide. As well as the main logo, I also decided to include a secondary, simplified logo in the form of just the block of colour, widened out into a square. The idea behind this was that it could be used as a simple little icon for the brand, used at a small scale for things such as letterheads or website icons perhaps. I placed these into the design at quite a large scale, as I wanted to emphasise the strength and power behind the logos. Next, on the other side of the page, I introduced some more information detailing the colour scheme details, and examples of how the logo should be used on white backgrounds compared with dark backgrounds.
So far I had kept this design quite minimal, with very little text included, however I felt that I needed to include more of an explanation behind my design and how I came to the decisions that I did. As a way to include this, and also a way to make the style guide a little more interesting and more immersive, I designed a small panel with all of the detailed information written on. This panel is scaled to the exact same size as the white area on the full page, with the idea being that it would be stuck to the front, covering the white and acting almost as a front page that is turned over to reveal the logos. I think this is an interesting little addition to the guide, and as well as a way to include important information behind the look of the brand, I feel like it is an innovative way to solve a problem and a way to make a more engaging experience, which is a strong way to represent the ideals and values of the Kent Sales Academy brand.
Colour Theory and Logo Development
After quickly mocking up that first design I wanted to do some research to help create a more in depth piece. I was still hooked on the idea of incorporating the theme of tenacity, resilience and curiosity into the design somehow and so I decided to look into some colour theory behind those words.
After looking through a number of various web pages (the most useful ones linked below) I found that generally tenacity is linked with the colour blue, resilience a the colour purple, and curiosity often with yellows. I found this very interesting, and whilst the colours are all quite bold, I feel like they could potentially work well together and compliment each other to make for a strong and bold design, reflecting the values and philosophies of the Kent Sales Academy.
http://www.arttherapyblog.com/online/color-psychology-psychologica-effects-of-colors/#.WTCPVHeZM6V
https://hubpages.com/education/Psychology-of-Colors
https://hubpages.com/health/The-Meanings-of-Color
After looking into the colour theory, and looking back to my first mock up, I decided to try the colours out together with my design, replacing the original colours with the blue, purple and yellow. Whilst the colours are not quite right, with the yellow getting slightly overpowered and the design not being right, I feel that those colours do work together and could definitely compliment each other in a design that does work well.
Before working on more designs I wanted to make sure I had the colours just as I wanted, and so I started using Adobe Kuler to experiment with different colour schemes, editing the blue, purple and yellow until I had a selection that I liked, and that I felt worked together well enough to fit with my design, and to represent the KSA in a strong enough way.
Photobook Idea
After finalising the website design, I had made everything I originally set out too, and so I was kind of finished with the brief, but I felt like I hadn’t made enough. Also I felt like I hadn’t made something I was really excited and happy about yet. At the same time I felt like I hadn’t used my photography to full effect, and in a way that truly shows off how nice the images are, and so I decided that I wanted to make a photo book. As all of the images I took revolve around the one bike (named Suzi by my friend), I liked the idea of telling the story of the bike through the book, and really showing off not only the bike and the brand, but also the photography and the design skills I have utilised throughout the project in one, final piece. To make it a slightly more personal piece as well, I really liked the idea of printing and binding the book myself, making the whole process my own and creating something that is truly mine and represents the high quality and impressiveness of the brand.
Website Layouts
Now that I had some imagery to play with, my next step was to start building some website pages. As I already had quite a lot of deliverables for the project, I didn’t want to build an entire, working website, but rather I wanted to design static mock ups using Illustrator. I felt that this would still allow me to show how a site would work and what it would include, but where I don’t need to worry too much about making it work, it would allow me to spend more time getting the appearance of the site right. The main thing that I found with all of the existing shops’ sites that worked was that the actual design was very simple and minimal, to keep the main focus of the design on the imagery and on the bikes themselves. This is something I kept in mind when starting working on my designs, and I wanted to make sure that the main focus was always the bikes and the images.
Another popular trend with websites that I really like and I think works really well is the use of anchor points to allow the viewer to jump to different areas of the home page. Similarly, I like the idea of having a long, stacked home page with lots of sections on, and so that is the kind of style I began to design.
With the very front of the homepage, I wanted to use a full page image of the bike and the branding, and so I thought that a slider would work perfectly here, allowing a roll of images to cycle through slowly and allow the viewer to immediately get a feel for the brand and what it does. As for the menu, I didn’t want to distract from the imagery and so I simply placed the full logo in the top corner of the page (linking to the letterhead and comp slip designs) which would act as a button to bring down a drop down menu. I feel that this doesn’t distract from the imagery at all, but is still a strong enough design to work and fit with the rest of the brand. I really like the way that this looks and I think it is successful, and so the next logically step was to add the next section in. This next section I decided to add was about then “story” of the brand, where I added in an image of my Grandad’s, adding some history to the brand.
When moving between the sections, on the site, the movement would be animated and the page would scroll fully from one section to another, and so in that space I didn’t want the line to be a simple flat line. Taking some influence from the design of my diamond comp slip, I decided to make the line between sections into an angular, diamond-esque shape. When looking at the entire site stacked up this creates an almost chevron style layout, which I really like and which relates to the theme of motorcycles, where the chevrons are reminiscent of tyres and concrete road markings. I continued to add in sections underneath, including a section for the motorcycles and for the shop itself, each with a slider in the same shape featuring my images from the photoshoot.
When it came to adding in text to the sections, I again didn’t want to distract too much from the images, and so instead of completely blacking out a section and adding text into the block, I made the block slightly transparent and grey; allowing the image to still be seen through the block, but knocking it back enough the the text can be read easily and clearly.
Finally when it came to designing the footer for the webpage, I wanted to keep that same chevron shape through the design and onto the black bar for the footer, which I think looks really cool. When adding in the information, I wanted to obviously include all of the most important aspects such as the address, phone number and social links. I had to go through a few different iterations when it came to getting the layout and the spacing right but overall I think the final layout is strong and works well. Keeping that same theme as with the letterhead and the comp slip, I included the small diamond logo in the centre of the black bar with a white border, as I still think that this makes for a strong, bold design that works and is a successful way to represent the brand.
Overall, I think this whole web layout is strong in representing the brand in the way that I want to, keeping that same strong and bold design theme that I have been working with throughout all of the assets, and keeping the design elements as minimal and simple as possible so as not to distract from the imagery and the motorcycles as the main focus. I think this design does well to keep to the themes and styles that I have developed for the brand, and I think that it is certainly a strong design, representing the brand in the way that I want to.
Grandad’s Photography
I mentioned working on this project to my Grandad, as he has always been interested in, and when he was younger he always used to ride motorcycles. I figured he would find the project interesting and after showing he and my Nan photos of my friend Will’s bike, their immediate reaction was “Ooh that looks like your old Enfield”. As it turns out, my Grandad used to own a Royal Enfield in almost the exact same colour scheme, and they went to show me old photos. As well as bikes, my Grandad also used to be interested in photography and he has loads of old prints of his images in his house, many of which are photos of motorcycles and really old fashioned track races that he used to go and watch. I found these photos really interesting, and it was really cool to see that glimpse into the past, and to see that same passion for the culture all those years back. I love the history behind my Grandad’s old photos, and I love the idea of fitting some of that history into my work.
I borrowed some of my Grandad’s images so that I could scan them in at around 1200dpi, which allows me to blow them up a bit bigger. This also gives me a digital copy of the images, and gives me the opportunity to use them within my work, which I would absolutely love to do. I love the idea of putting some history behind the brand, and I think the opportunity to use some of these old images is perfect in allowing me to do that.
SMITH 