Assignment 6 | April 06
January 26th, 2009 | Published in h. Print Media
Assignment 6: Print Media (due April 18)
You will create a sketch of a print media. As a group, pick a concept to be presented as a print media. The concept could be one of your course projects or a pseudo project for the sake of this exercise.
1. Format and Material
As a group, pick a format to present your concept. Brainstorm about possibilities offered by the format. Things to consider:
• Affordance of the format (e.g., How many “faces” does the format have? Does the format stand on its own?)
• Order in which information about the concept could be revealed
• Possible effects offered by the material
2. Design the Interaction
Sketch your idea and build it. Use the sample templates, cardstock papers, markers, and cutting tools. Please use the cutting station to cut your materials.
3. In-Class Review (April 20)
Be prepared to discuss how your audiences interact with your print media and the manner in which they learn about the information you intend to present.
April 15th, 2009 at 9:51 pm (#)
Since my subject is movies, I made a fake 35 mm film roll. Using actual film, I attached a printed calling card with title, images from films and the URL to my site.
The film reel here: http://www.pickoffwhite.com/movies/stuff/reel.jpg
The fake reel with film here assembled: http://www.pickoffwhite.com/movies/stuff/reel1.jpg
And another angle: http://www.pickoffwhite.com/movies/stuff/reel2.jpg
I would probably bring this to leave with pitch meetings. Since 35 mm prints degrade, it actually is possible to buy ruined ones in bulk for cheap. For cost reasons though I would probably stick to a nice paper run through a nice print attached to degraded film.
April 17th, 2009 at 9:52 am (#)
I improved upon my idea to feature the trail of a tube of paint flowing from one side of a card to another. To go along with the theme of paint, I used canvas paper to line the cardstock and acrylic paint to make the trail. I also hand lettered the words ‘Eye for Art’ and ‘for undiscovered artists’ with acrylic paint. The latter was added to provide more context as to what Eye for Art is: a drawing program for aspiring artists who haven’t yet developed their talents. The colors brown and green are the actual colors chosen for the look and feel of the Eye for Art program. For the tube of paint, I wanted to go with something 3D that gave the impression of squeezing, so I used the wrapper of a bar of soap, which had a similar effect to the cardboard we used last week.
The intended interaction is that someone can pick up the card and look at it from either side. The trail of paint leads their eye to the other side, where they can read the rest of the card. The order doesn’t matter. Furthermore, the size of the card is small enough to carry around, or display.
I applied the paint thickly and made sure it flowed around the side of the card. The canvas paper has a woven quality about it. The overall intent of this piece of print media is to pique interest in Eye for Art in a very tactilely interesting way.
A more polished version of this piece would have computer printed lettering meant to simulate painting. The painting in this case was difficult to do, as the canvas paper is tricky to write on.
April 18th, 2009 at 9:42 am (#)
I created a little note for my boyfriend using one of the templates shown in class.
By carefully cutting out a stair-step pattern and folding the card-stock, I was able to create a message that slowly revealed itself. He could open up one flap at a time to gradually discover the messages written inside. The last flap can also be opened from the back, giving the note two points of entry.
The note was tied closed with a string and a little bow to look more like a present. When placed on a desk or shelf, the note expands slightly, revealing bits of the messages and encourages you to pick it up and look at it again.
April 18th, 2009 at 10:53 am (#)
For this assignment, I decided to create something that follows the same theme as my earlier pieces and so, I designed a brochure for “Art Therapy.” I see this brochure as something that would be handed out at, say, a stall for Art Therapy at a workshop. The brochure is essentially a laminated card stock with dimensions of 4.5’’/6.95” - a size I discovered to fit neatly in the hand. I wanted a minimalistic design for the front of the card, but also one that meaningfully conveyed the poster’s theme and information that the reader needed to know upfront.
I retained the successful title style from my posters (I imagine if it’s a stall, it will have the posters too and uniformity always creates visual harmony). However, I removed the picture of the woman as I figured that trying to capture everything from the poster would only clutter the brochure. In lieu of the previous picture, I added a picture of a flame that attempts to still convey the earlier theme. This image is rendered as a paint swab that is a mixture of oranges and yellows. I also added a line of paint beneath the letters to convey the essence of ‘art’. Both the swab and the line of paint are meant to stimulate one’s tactile senses. To my eye, the location and the portrayal of the flame as a circle now balances the piece. The line is also meant as a directional guide leading the reader to turn the card to read on. The rear end of the card contains names of the authors and brief information about Art Therapy.
As an alternative design for a larger brochure, I added information about Art Therapy in a two-column format. This might work when we have more information to convey.
http://picasaweb.google.com/j.vasudev/InterfaceAesthetics#
April 18th, 2009 at 11:06 am (#)
I designed a business card for myself for this assignment.
Originally, I wanted the front to have cut-out squares revealing the color on the inside of the card. However, I had a hard time making this work. This is something I may play with for the final project.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:11 pm (#)
I made an invitation for my journalism teacher’s retirement party. I played off of the pseudo-obituary I had written for him, in which he took on many different personalities, and I wanted to show pictures of him with unique identities, but always the same “John Brown” underneath.
Originally, I was going to use one picture of him and print his hats on different transparent papers to layer on top of the picture. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out because the paper wasn’t transparent enough, it ended up obscuring the actual picture. So I printed out the pictures with the hats on him. It’s a bit plain besides the pictures, but those who know him will agree that the humor of his picture is enough to fill the page.
Also, the back and front of the invitation look very similar, which is MEANT to confuse the guest.
The binding was a bit troublesome. I had originally wanted to fold the invitation, but after the all the fuss with the transparent papers, I didn’t feel like messing with printing and folding, so I used one of the easier methods of binding that was presented during lecture. I cut two indents into the sides of the paper and wrapped a piece of ribbon around it. It’s effective and practical, if this were a real invitation to be sent out to hundreds of people.
April 18th, 2009 at 6:47 pm (#)
I decided to make a business card for an imaginary company called “threeqube” per the earlier logo design that we did. I wanted the business card to be fun and dimensional, making a play on the “qube” or cubic aspect of the logo. I created a design in which there are folds that when folded in are in the shape of the logo. When you open the side flaps, the business contact info is inside for one to see. I was hoping to put this onto cardstock to delineate the actual look and feel of a business card but had a difficult time aligning the front and back designs. In the images below are included the front and back designs for each that I did on photoshop in addition to the actual end product.
April 18th, 2009 at 7:11 pm (#)
I made a simple print media for proposing a marriage. I was inspired that print media can hold some 3-dimensional implications which other media cannot usually have.
So far, it does not seem to have any meaning on it.
However, once you roll it around a pen, it shows you the meaning of the piece of paper.
Originally, I thought it would be good to have a glass bottle to contain this piece. Something like the below.
April 18th, 2009 at 10:06 pm (#)
For this assignment, I would like to make an invitation card for a presentation of my research: Intelligent Home Care Environments for the Elderly. To begin with, I utilize a large “I” in capital, covered with metal, to serve as the central structure. The “I” also stands in the beginning of the word “Intelligent,” and in the middle of the word “environment.” Thus, when the card is received, it shows the texts “Intelligent environment,” and accompanied with several chips, giving a sense of “artificial intelligence.”
http://picasaweb.google.com/HsinHsienChiu/Assn06PrintMedia#5326342352470513874
For the second phase, there is a motherboard being able to be pulled out by holding the silver side of the card.
http://picasaweb.google.com/HsinHsienChiu/Assn06PrintMedia#5326342379203388658
It is extended into two parts: major information is exposed on the right: the main topic “Intelligent Home Care Environments for the Elderly” and “Invitation” are shown at the original position of chips. The researcher’s personal information is written in the middle. On the left, the other information, including the date and location of the presentation, is integrated on a large chip.
http://picasaweb.google.com/HsinHsienChiu/Assn06PrintMedia#5326342342191345602
The texture of the motherboard could be seen on both sides. When closing the card, the user has to “insert” the motherboard back to the main body of the card. By manipulating the card, hopefully, it brings users a sense of high-tech matching the topic “intelligent environments.”
http://picasaweb.google.com/HsinHsienChiu/Assn06PrintMedia#5326342368096985378
April 18th, 2009 at 10:52 pm (#)
My print media is a business card holder and business cards that go with it. I decided to make a set that works together. The holder makes it easy to take out a single card at a time. It also reveals a little of the content of the cards.
The holder has two cutouts that correspond to the two parts of the ischool logo that I made for the previous assignment. The holes alone also form an i. Since there is an i inside the circular part of the logo, I used that part of the logo to give context to the i. That meant using the logo big enough to wrap around, which turned out to be a nice effect. The holder has a slot on one end, and if you run your finger along the rectangular cutout to slide a card, it comes out the slot. The box has a little ramp on the slot end, so that cards will continue to slide out as they dwindle in number.
Front side of the business card holder with cards inside.
Back of the holder.
You can push a single card out with one thumb.
The holder with cards removed.
April 19th, 2009 at 12:43 pm (#)
For this assignment, I was looking at tangible or interactive materials I could use to present my company’s work in an attractive form. One thing we’d like to create is a binder to have on display at conferences with page inserts for design printouts, like an art portfolio binder:
But since we have a wood/stencil/stamp kind of motif with our own branding, I thought creating a binder cover out of wood would be a nice convergence of design and medium using our logo:
I didn’t have a chance to actually acquire the wood and do the etching, but this is a mockup of the cover design. If I use this for my final project, it will be laser etched into a thin sheet of wood and then the burned-in part dyed slightly red, and the entire face of the wood sealed. I’ll then affix it to the cover of the binder portfolio to provide a striking and branded cover to the glossy printouts inside.
April 19th, 2009 at 2:47 pm (#)
I am this invitation cards for the exhibition of Interactive brocks, my imaginary project. In order to express block stacks, I used pop-up book techniques – the 90 degree and 180 degree tilt-up.
On the cover, for more dramatic effects, I just simply described a rectangle - a nuance of blocks with texts “Open Your Imagination”, and the exhibition place and date.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/HwyActfw9Z5W-wRSxb5dBA?authkey=Gv1sRgCKKqyui4gMfAGQ&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8Hml7dThkEF-kfOsig5M5Q?authkey=Gv1sRgCKKqyui4gMfAGQ&feat=directlink
On the first card, I used 90 degree tilt-up technique. It was effective to describe block stacks. I also added children’s play with blocks and the project title with a simple project description. The combination of them can effectively explain my project intention – “play in your imaginative places you’re your friends” with interesting experience.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/BlNGOs1zsUvLIx2qPz-u8g?authkey=Gv1sRgCKKqyui4gMfAGQ&feat=directlink
On the second card, I used 180 degree tilt-up technique. It was effective for expressing tree-dimensional shapes. The card can provide an exciting moment on card opening. AS the first card, I described children’s play, the project title, and the project description.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Zt_5dpqy2kdCTs8DtvXucw?authkey=Gv1sRgCKKqyui4gMfAGQ&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mffL2yiCTN9Xlylol0iOUA?authkey=Gv1sRgCKKqyui4gMfAGQ&feat=directlink
April 19th, 2009 at 3:57 pm (#)
I created a brochure for my manga project. I wanted to evoke the feeling of a book, given the subject matter, as well as work in a feeling of zooming out of the picture, so the audience first notices the details and then the larger picture.
As such, the brochure goes from a close-up of a panel to a more macro-view. On the left-hand side of all the pictures is a blank white space with part of the logo and some of the event information (I’d redo this in Illustrator and lay it out better).
You can view just the manga pictures, or just the logo + information, or you can flip through it like a book.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35254914@N04/3456859395/in/set-72157616972276067/
April 19th, 2009 at 8:00 pm (#)
For my print material, I created a set of spoke cards/stickers for the 2009 Collegiate National Mountain Bike Championships, which the Cal Cycling team will be co-hosting with the University of Nevada, Reno this coming fall. I currently ride and race with the Cal team and will be responsible for the website and some of the print materials used in the competition. I took this assignment as an opportunity to design a logo for the event and a chance to consider additional pieces of print material. To this end, I designed spoke cards (like those typically used in urban “alley cat” races) for the event. These cards would be distributed to each rider along with their race number and other registration materials and would serve as souvenirs of the event.
Each card is roughly 3″ across and is sized so that it can be slipped between the spokes of a contestant’s bike. The card has two sides; one features a print of the event logo, while the other displays the rider’s race number (which matches the number attached to the handlebars of their bicycle during competition). The logo is built around a star motif with a silhouetted cyclist at the center. The colors used in the logo are drawn from those of the two host teams - California Gold and Yale Blue (the UC Berkeley Colors) are used to color the stars on the logo’s right side, while UNR’s Blue (PMS 282) and Silver (PMS 877) are used on the left side. The reverse uses the same background overlaid with the rider’s race number.
The logo side of the card is printed with an adhesive backing and can be peeled off and used as a sticker. Riders can either place the card in the spokes of one of their bicycles as a memento (many alley-cat riders and bicycle messengers collect cards this way) or peel off the sticker and use it to decorate another item or space.
April 19th, 2009 at 9:36 pm (#)
I worked on plant labels for the Strawberry Creek Native Plant Garden & Nursery. Typically these kind of labels just contain the plant name, both Latin and common, and the family name, again both Latin and common. They give no information other than this which can be especially difficult during a non-blooming season. So for the garden I wanted to design labels that have more content. The main requirement is that the label has to be durable to the elements (including UV).
Here’s my try:
I also hoped to give plants a more dynamic character through the illustration of the plant’s natural history. I used drawing mixed with scans of actual plant material b/c I was out of time to try to illustrate the timeseries via illustrator. I actually kinda like it the mix.
Some unresolved issues on which I look forward to getting feedback:
1) So this is obviously made out of paper which cannot be the case in the garden. The plan would be to use something like contact paper to weatherproof the tan and white portions. For the blue-green tab end (minus the tab), I was thinking about some sort of UV resistant plastic that is molded into a curve and could be engraved with the text. Thus when the label is rolled up it is resistant to the elements.
2) The label currently doesn’t roll back up! Maybe some sort of spring loaded roller could be used — but it would need to be weather resistant….
3) I used my color palette from a few weeks ago — not sure it is working…
4) Not really liking my font choices — from feedback from the posters, I tried for a font that was designed to be like old handwriting. I used Chancery for the Latin species name. I also wanted to use an all caps for the family Latin name b/c this is standard in botany. I used Copperplate, which I like. But I’m not sure it works well with the Chancery and Century Gothic for the common words….I still don’t feel I understand typography….
April 19th, 2009 at 10:40 pm (#)
For this project, I wanted to make a business card for a small custom furniture building company I may eventually start. The idea was to take a quarter inch thick 3″ square piece of red oak, and to somehow put my name and contact information onto it.
In the past I’ve had success using a laser printer to print a template, and then to use a hot iron to transfer the toner from the paper to the oak, but I didn’t have particularly good luck with it tonight.
In the end, a fair amount of the toner transferred over, but the deep grain of the oak prevented it from being a complete success.
I do like the tangible quality of the card, and the idea of using a chunk of wood as a business card for a company, but I had to do some photo editing in inkscape to make the final product look good at least digitally. Here’s the fake version:
I’ll bring in the non-edited version to class.
April 20th, 2009 at 2:12 pm (#)
A business card that folds into a business card holder
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3554/3460969814_3c8fb64c05_b.jpg
April 27th, 2009 at 12:46 pm (#)
For this assignment, I took the personal logo I designed for exercise five and laid it out on a standard-sized business card.
http://rhyencoombs.com/projects/misc_images/aesthetics/logo_card/print_media.jpg
I experimented with a few variations, including one that would divide the information between the front and the back:
http://rhyencoombs.com/projects/misc_images/aesthetics/logo_card/card_back.jpg
http://rhyencoombs.com/projects/misc_images/aesthetics/logo_card/card_front.jpg
While I liked the effect, I decided that placing all of the details on one side would be more efficient. To add texture and emphasize the play on white space between the r and the c, I plan to use heavy-weight card stock and letterpress printing to imprint the gray of the “r”.