Study Task 03 - Grids

I was drawn to a double page spread out of the Guardian due to the high impact use of large images and interesting column/text layout.

I noticed throughout the Guardian they express a lot of their articles on double page spreads without restricting them or treating them as separate pages (formed by the fold).

Here I began tracing the lines of the grids that they use from the headings, subheadings, text boxes, images and captions that form the layout. By leaving some of the grid lines of it shows where the images fit in more and really demonstrates the high impact they make due to their large scale.

I continued drawing on the lines and came up with this. 

Things I've noticed:

• grids are organised by 15 x 8
• right side of the DPS is more concentrated with grids - opens up and becomes more spacious along the left side 
• all the thin gaps to separate images and text all line up
• text boxes fit into image boxes
• smaller shaped boxes are positioned at the top and bottom of grid
• split into 4 main sections vertically and horizontally 

Study Task 03 - Agatha Christie Book Cover Design

First began by researching the plot of my chosen book, as I've never picked up an Agatha Christie book or really ever acknowledged their many designs.

Title : One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

Initially began by looking at past designs. The book was published in 1940 and interestingly the cover artist for the first edition is unknown. Since then there was been many publications of the same book, each time sporting a new cover design.

original design by unknown 

                   

 

              

other cover designs through the years 

I knew from my time limit that I probably could not be able to achieve a design as detailed as some of these previous ones. Which is somewhat a restriction to my final outcome, as I wouldn't have the luxury to explore different design areas and create final designs for each to decide out of. Instead I simply began by sketching a few ideas and creating a mini mind map of potential ideas; the plan being to choose one and let it develop within it's own path.

Found this typeface called 'Catch and Release' whilst researching types. Simply began by typing into google 'Book types' which came up with various styles and fonts that all seemed very serious and rather bold.

Displayed the font out as the title, but decided it wasn't appropriate for the novel. It feels too bland and not enough mystery or seriousness I want to get across. Instead I decided to focus on the design and would come back to the typeface of the title when the design was done - means I could pick out a more appropriate type.

Inspired by the 1940's (when the novel was published), I researched old dental records and considered laying out the book design in the style of one. With the time scale being low, instead I decided to create an aspect of the old dental records - the teeth diagram. 

Using my wacom tablet I drew out a cartoon like outline of the teeth, tongue and tonsils for the main design.

Began adding colour and experimenting with colour schemes.

Using my wacom I did a quick sketch of a buckle that I wanted to incorporate within the design. However, I spent most of my time drawing out the teeth structure so instead decided to just digital create a buckle using Adobe Photoshop. 

Here it kind of struck me that the mouth/teeth drawing could act as a buckle itself, so I decided to incorporate the buckle design into the mouth to make a hybrid of the two. Whilst still keeping it obvious to what it is.

The murder weapon in the novel, being the gun, was another factor I wanted to include in the design. However, after drawing out an outline of a gun using my wacom tablet and incorporating it into the design, I felt it was rather odd and did not necessarily fit into the layout or aesthetic of the design.

To create a more eerier atmosphere of death I filled in the colours with a grey and light pink/grey colour palette to represent this vibe.

Studio Brief 1 - Logotype

Pop Boutique are an independent vintage and retro clothing store that are located in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Goteborg (Sweden).

Founded in 1985 and it claims it's mission is to "Bringing back to life retro clothes from the 60's, 70's and 80's".

"Our employees all love vintage clothing and we try our best to keep the shops filled with cool vintage pieces that are not overpriced as well as our own label. All goods are ethicly sourced many being made from recycled fabrics."

"Pop Boutique has been open in London since 1996 its a relatively small store packed with great vintage clothing, accessories, furniture, vintage vinyl and kitch. It's close to London's Convent Garden Hotel so we get our fair share of celebs popping in as well as our regular vintage junkies." 

Shop sign outside Manchester store 

colour variation design of original logo

London store

Leeds logo and shop sign, photographed by myself.

Before given this brief, I have previously been to the Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and London stores. I'm an avid shopper of Pop Boutique's for a few years now and I closely follow their social media networks, such as, their various Instagram accounts.

https://instagram.com/popboutiquemanchester/

https://instagram.com/popboutiqueliverpool/

https://instagram.com/popboutiquelondon/

I documented my visit to the Leeds Pop Boutique by taking photographs as I went around and shopped myself. Did this to get a real feel for the shop, it's clothing/products and surroundings/aesthetic, even though I've already experienced it many times. 

You really get the retro feel every time you enter one of their stores. From the mustard yellow stained wallpaper, to the funky red curtains, to the black and white patched tiles that make up the stairs that lead to this lounge like layout; such a throwback. 

The 70's inspired interior instantly reminded me of it's icons and music figures. 

"Music and fashion have had a kind of incestuous relationship since the Fifties. It started with people like Elvis Presley and pop icons like James Dean. Then it exploded in the MTV days. Now, with the Internet, it's instantaneous."

- John Varvatos

Inspired by the colours, photography, culture and music of the 70's I wanted to manipulate and experiment with some of the photos I had taken of the Pop Boutique in Leeds.

Using Adobe Photoshop I used a few types of filters, such as Radial Blur, to create this spiralling blurred effect that reminds of the shape and texture of records.

Out of the photos I then cut out circle shapes and straight lines to create the text that is POP.

Here is also when i made a conscious decision to use POP as the name of the logo.

Critical Feedback - 

                                                                                                                              

                                   

                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                              

    

                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                              

Crictical Feedback -

• "Colours on black. Instantly recognisable as a shopper. Colourful and vibrant."
• "Bright colours, suits the shop"
• "I think the first design would be the most versatile design to transfer to bags etc… because it is the most bold design and would stand out and be extremely effective at a range of sizes."