All wrapped up...

I have finalised my designs for the elements of the paper product range. I have changed the colour scheme - the options are now craft stock, black and silver or craft stock, black and gold. I feel that this is a much more manageable range (with 4 colourways and 4 designs the range would have incorporated 30+ products) and can be achieved in the time I have left to produce it for the module deadline. I do have the opportunity to design a different colourway after the deadline for the brief deadline next spring.

These are the final:

Card Designs:


Primary Wrap:


Secondary Wraps:


Gift Tags:


Primary Bags:


Secondary Bags:

50/50...

I have produced 50 of the christmas cards I have designed for a client. They chose two designs, and two colourways (as shown below). I printed the colour areas of the design digitally (inkjet) and then screen printed the gold metallic ink areas over the top. It was relatively time consuming to produce them, but I am really pleased with the outcome as I hit several walls in the course of production.

Gifts in bags...

This is my first mock up of the gift bag format. I have stuck to the size guidelines that we were given in the brief, and looked at an existing gift bag to determine the type of net I should use. This is a very small mock up, but the net has worked really well, and I think that with some reinforcement (because the brown paper is flimsy) it will look really good for my final mock ups.

I have to produce 4 types of bag - 1 small, 1 medium, 1 large and 1 wine. I am going to produce a different design for each size that uses the type baubles, and another set all using the same simple dot pattern design. This will create a set of 8 bags that all complement each other, along with the gift wrap and card designs.

Cake Boxes...

These are my mock-ups for two of the cake boxes; the cupcake box, and the small cake box.
My decisions behind the design for the boxes are as follow:
1. The boxes carry no printing which means that they are cheaper to manufacture
2. The lack of printing means that the boxes are easier to recycle
3. The tag allows the buyer to save the details of the company,
without having to write them down, or keep a sticky piece of cake box
4. The ribbon (or coloured string or raffia) can be purchased in a range of colours that complement the logo and design work, and it can be bought in bulk as it is suitable for every box.

Overall these boxes will be cheaper to produce and more effective for the customer. In the future Cake&Co. may want to apply design to the boxes, which would be very easy to organise. However, for the moment they need a cheap but effective and aesthetically pleasing option.

All that glitters is not gold...

I have had many an issue with trying to print a certain part of my card designs in gold. I had to option of using gold foil or gold metallic ink.

The foil will stick to either; a screen printed glue or a carbon print (ie. laser print or photocopy)
I had tried using the carbon option before, but I have chosen to produce the cards on heavy watercolour paper* and the foil does not take well to it due to the texture. It does however take much better to the glue - as shown. The only problem is that the glue takes several pulls to make sure that it goes through the screen and as a result it bleeds a little. The letters are quite delicate shapes, and the bleeding shows, giving a rougher outline to the letters.



Screen printing the gold ink has worked quite well; shown below. The colour is not quite as bold or brassy as the foil, but the metallic element is still there, and it has quite a lovely glittery effect as well. The letters have come out quite cleanly (1 or 2 pulls works best).



I have to produce 50 cards this week for a client, and I have decided:
- Print the colour parts of the design onto watercolour paper using the laser printers
- Screen print the gold ink on to the cut down cards

* I am using watercolour paper because it is not actually white, which is warmer than stark white, and complements the colours and metallics better. It is also quite heavy and, when folded, stands up well. Overall it was the most suitable sort of stock I could find, and I think that it will work well for the cards.

Cosmetics Comparisons...

I have reached a point in my design process where the design is now formulated, and the application process is beginning. I have collated a range of different Boots Own Brand products, so as to compare their collective brand with my design for their Expert brand. The image below shows Boots ranges: Vitamin E, Tea Tree, No7, Ingredients, Sun Swim & Gym and Essentials.



I am quite pleased with the overall feel of the design, and I think that it integrates well with the rest of the Boots brand ranges. I realise that there are elements of the designs that I need to change and develop a little, but this is the basis of what my final designs will look like.

Cupcake Box...

I've been working on the design for the individual cupcake box. I have chosen the design below for several reasons...

1. The design is easy to make; it folds up in a simple way, making it easy for the staff to put together when they are required.

2. The design does not use excess materials; the other designs I looked at used unnecessary amounts of card, as well as incorporating handles that weren't of much use.

3. The design requires only one line of glue to hold it together

4. The box can be prepared for making (ie. scored and glued) and then flattened for easy storage.

5. The design will hold and support the cupcake without the danger of squashing it.