OUGD503 - Studio Brief 1 - G . F Smith (Large Individual) - Digital Development

Digital Development 

For all the designs colours from this colour scheme are used. The colour scheme has three colours for each season with the last colour in the three also being relevant to the next season creating a gradual change in colour from one season to the next. 

Seasons Idea

For this idea the calendar would be split into four designs to represent each of the seasons. Each season design would be over three pages with each page being a new month  
over three. The three page sequence would change slightly from page to page so that elements change as the months progress. Circles are used throughout the design to reflect how G . F . Smith uses 'chips' (circular swatches) to represent their papers in their physical colour selector and on the Colourplan website. Using the circle as a basis for the design creates a restriction and will help create a consistency through the design.

Summer, it was thought could be represented through the Sun rising in the sky because the Sun is at its highest during this season and it is also the warmest. To create the design an arc was needed to create a consistent curve through the sky and the accurate placement of the elements along the arc. Through the sequence the position of Sun is shown through and enlarged circle, with other smaller circles outlining the route of the Sun through the sky.  Having a mixture of small, meduim and large circles aimed to create a sense of the route swelling as it progresses from one to the next. This worked effectively when the largest dot was in the middle however didn't look right as the Sun moved across the sky, which was partly due to the unequal positioning of the original dots. Using smaller dots with a larger dot emphasised the Sun dot more and made the route more subtle.   

Using medium sized dots with the large dot did not create enough contrast between the shapes making it less obvious the large dot was moving.

It was considered that the palette should be limited to three colours as the design would be created from three pieces of layered card. Blue was used to represent the clear blue skies seen in summer with the Sun represented through two tones of yellow, however this combination didn't make the Sun stand out very much. Using the red as the background created more contrast and a more vibrant design however looked too intense.  

The Orange as a background was subtler and allowed the other elements to stand out. It was considered that the Sun circle could be outlined by other circles of different colours to create a greater sense of brightness like when you look up at the Sun.   

Yellow created a sense of warmth and brightness however the use of a singular colour pallette would not fit with the designs which use a range of colours. 

The spring sequence is focused around the idea of blossom and growth and would be represented through dots that develop and get increasingly larger. The central design uses a restricted colour palette of mostly greens, to reflect growth, which would fit with the yellow Sun design for summer. The other designs use the pink combined with the green to reflect new growth and blossom. Within these designs however there was the aim of reflecting a blossom tree, which was created by using an image then positioning the dots to reflect the shape of the tree in a loose format, this was then taken away to leave the design. This didn't really reflect the shape very much however the colour palette is effective. 

For the winter design the sequence would reflect the idea of falling snow, with dots starting off at the top of the design then working their way down as the pages progress. The colour scheme for this season works well in reflecting a sense of winter. The designs with the lighter backgrounds aimed to reflect a sense of snow and ice all around however this means that the other colours are much subtler, but this could be effective when using the papers. 

With the scene per season idea it was considered that there would need to be more structure to the layout of the dots to allow all the designs to have a similar visual language. Having a grid it was thought would allow for the positioning of the different dots, however when this was used for the more busy designs e.g. blossom and leaves falling, because of the close proximity of the dots the grid made the dots look to square in formation. Having a radiating circular grid was also tested however there is still the problem of having dots in lines. Displaying the sequence images in a frame like box would allow all the design to be kept together whilst creating a sense of looking through a window out to the different scenes. 

Light on the Earth through the Seasons Idea

For the design reflecting the amount of sun that hits the Earth whilst it orbits the Sun, creating the season, it was considered that the design could be created by layering multiple papers either with glue or just layering them up with a dowel through the middle to join them all. 

The design took influence from the shapes created on the Earth by the Suns light at different points during the year. Using this as reference meant the circles used within the design could be split in different ways to mimic the light and shade on the Earth. One circle would be used for each month so extra circles were created and split in two to reflect the angle that would be created depending on its position. These circles would then be made from two pieces of card creating a two toned shape. The colours used would reflect the position of the original design around the Sun e.g. a design that is of the Earth in December (far right) would have wintery colours.

To create the two shapes the pathfinder tool was used by layering a block of colour over the top and therefore cutting the shape, which would allow the design to be coloured using two colours.

There would be four types of circle within the design however these would look slightly different because the angle of the line would be slightly different depending on its original positioning around the Sun. In the reference image the perspective is set so that the viewer is looking in from above which creates splits in light in dark that are half and half, and one sixth by five sixths. These were created and another two created to divide the circle into divisions between these two.

Each of the circular designs were then angled to fit with the points around the Sun creating the right angles for all the designs. The colours used fade from one to the next by having a repeating colour in the next circular design creating a sense of progression through the year. This would be created through the layering of the paper with the cut design allowing the other colour to show through creating the whole design.

It was considered that the design could be done per day however this would have made the design quite repetitive and quite large with all the pieces 

It was also considered that there could be a shape for each week, which could work effectively by repeating the design for that month four or five times. Using the circle as a positioning tool again the designs were repeated a tilted to fit around the circle, meaning that each week would be slightly different despite being the same design, because of the tilt in positioning.

The colour scheme was also used so that designs within a certain season had different combinations of colours chosen for that season creating a more varied design. There is an aim to reflect the progression through the seasons overlapping some colours from one season with the next however it is less structured than the previous designs, reflecting the changeable nature of the seasons and weather.

The different designs also had to start and end to correspond with the positions of the equinox and solstice. However the design has to start in January which is the second image rather than the one to the right of the whole design.

It was considered that the design could be monthly but have a different circle to represent the amount of weeks in the month. Using the whole diagram, this could then be split into twelve sheets by enlarging the design over multiple pages. This would create twelve different designs with the dots arranged slightly differently in all the designs. However when this was tried it was found that some of the dots for each month didn't fit on a page because of their positioning within the diagram.

  

Rather than having the weekly circles in the original format reflecting their position around the Sun it was considered that they could be laid out in a line so that they fit on a page. The order that they appear in would reflect the order around the circle. It was considered that the type for the design could be positioned so that it circles around the shape reflecting the movement of the Earth around the the Sun.

It was considered that the design could be refined to just a shape per month with all the numbers of the month following along line. The shapes would be created through layering up the two colours of paper to create the shape. The different shapes would be laser cut to create the forms. It was considered that each layer of card could either be cut to size or have a perforated line so that a section tears off to reveal the next colour underneath. It was thought this tear off section could act as a swatch for the different papers that people can keep. The perforated section would also reflect other G . F Smith promotional material reflecting their brand.  

These would be the twelve designs for each of the months the colour scheme overlaps between the designs.

Circling around the Sun Idea

With this design each dot represents a position around the Sun with each new design moving from one coloured dot to the next. The colours show the progression through the seasons whilst the dots reflect the positioning in relation to the Sun. The circles get smaller in the design suggesting they are in the distance and you are moving towards the next point and around the Sun.  

  

In these design the colours for the background reflect the colour of the previous dot creating quite a bright combination of colours. 

Using the dark blue behind the dots was effective in highlighting all the other colours and creating a consistent aesthetic throughout. Also the dark blue reflects the idea of space well.

Black works in a similar way to the navy blue however is a bit harsher. Overall the blue is warmer whilst still allowing all the colours to stand out.

It was considered that the design needs to arch from right to left as January is to the right of this diagram.