OUGD503 - Studio Brief 1 - GF Smith Calendar (Large Individual) - Research into Existing Material

Research into Existing Calendars and G.F Smith publicity material

Existing Calendars

Having the whole month on one sheet means that only twelve pieces are needed for the design and it allows the user to understand better where they are within the month giving more of a sense of time within the design. However this format of singular cards means there wouldn't be much room for using the range of colours within Colourplan to reflect the seasons or allow it to be very usable.

This design could be constructed using only one singular piece of card using a net or different pieces of card in a modular format. The three dimensionality of the calendar makes it an object to be picked up and interacted with. The dodecagon shape allows each month to be on the face of a side, whilst the flat sides allow the object to sit on a surface.

Within this calendar by Hansen each sheet represents a month with the holes on each page showing how many weeks are left of the year. The holes within the pages allow the colours from the different papers beneath to show through creating abstract designs. The colours that can be seen through each hole shows the month that hole will end on. The first page starts off with 52 holes and the last will have four, these circles get progressively bigger through the calendar allowing the design to grow in terms of space however reduce in terms of circles. This combined with the different coloured papers allows the design to change throughout the calendar creating a new 'design' each month from the same elements.    

The form of this calendar is compact and doesn't take up much space making it suitable as a desk calendar. The block is seperated into six 'sections' with two months being in each. Only the date, day and month are included on each tab keeping the design simple. Having the month tabs at the front of the cube design means that the current date tab stands out in contrast to the month tabs meaning there is not conflicting information and only one date is clearly seen at a time. The perforated card allows each day to be torn off meaning that over time the 'year' visibly gets smaller.

Calendars that have interchangeable numbers, months and days allow for a compact design and something that can be used over and over again making them objects to keep hold of rather than throwaway calendars which last only for a year.

This wall calendar uses wooden blocks that can be moved around to form the layout of the different months. The top line of blocks display the days of the week allowing the other blocks to be rearranged to reflect each month. 

Interchangeable designs are used both as desk calendars, commonly through the use of  wooden blocks and wall calendars which have changing number sheets. This wall calendar design separates numbers into tens and units which means that not every number from 1 to 31 is needed instead only 1 - 9 is needed on both sides. These can then be rearranged to form all the numbers within the month. The day and months are abbreviated, allowing them to be the same width as the numbers and to fit within the grid of the design, whilst still conveying the same information as the full words. 

  

This combines both aspects of an interchangeable wall calendar through the use of sheets with the dates on, however this is used for a calendar on a desk. The design reflects that of a swatch stack allowing you to flick over the date after each day. Days are different colours and the wide variety of colours can be seen layered up within the stack creating a colourful and vibrant design. The design however is quite bulky and would take up quite a lot of space on a desk making it less practical for small spaces.

This calendar for Land Rover is a daily calendar that forms a three dimensional topographic design. Each sheet has a monthly calendar in the corner of the design, with each month repeated for ever day of the month. The topographic design is broken into twelve sections which are layered to create the form of a hill, with each section making up each month. By repeating the whole of the month the same size this means that printing the design is made easier as they are just replicated. Having the calendar small in the corner of each sheet means notes and reminders can be written in the rest of the space allowing the calendar to be multi-functional and act as a memo pad as well. Each month is a different colour allowing a subtle tone change through the design creating a sense of depth and adding to the three dimensionality of the design. 

This calendar has six layers to it as each page has two months on them creating a succinct an simple form. The pages are layered over one another with cut out sections which allow parts of the designs underneath to show through creating abstract designs from elements within the calendar as well as on the current page. The use of geometric shapes and bright colours creates a bold looking design.

Similarly in this design elements are cut out allowing colours from beneath to show through. This calendar however uses white backgrounds to contrast against the geometric colourful designs, creating a more refined and minimalist feel to the design. Also the colours and shapes used within this design create a sense of depth and structure allowing some of the designs to become architectural in feel.

The calendars visuals and concept for its form reflect each other within the design. The imagery for the calendar is of waste materials / leftovers e.g. orange peel, this idea of not wasting things is reflected in how once a day has been torn off, instead of being thrown away it is reused. The calendars form means that it acts as both a calendar and memo pad. When a day has finished the perforated edge allows the day to be ripped off and on the back there is space from notes to be written. This multi-functional aspect to the design means that the design is not wasted 

This desk calendar has a cut design on each page which the user can then fold sections open in their own way to allow different colours to show through allowing for personalisation and choice within the design.

Different forms can be created through folding a singular piece of paper / card or combining multiple to create three dimensional designs. The left design is one piece of printed card with one month on each of the twists. This form, although interesting is not very practical for a calendar as you would have to keep undoing it in order to mark off the days, also the twist within the design makes it difficult to be able to view all the numbers easily. The modular design allows all the months to be joined together to create stacks of cubes. This format however only allows for one formation if all the sides are to be visible. Although the stacked element of the design allows the calendar to be compact and functional within a small space. 

G.F Smith existing promotional material

G.F Smiths Colourplan selector uses 'chips', round swatches of the papers, to allow the full range to be viewed in a simple and less costly way compared with displaying them as full swatches of paper. To allow the colours to stand out all the chips are placed on a neutral grey background  creating contrast between the chips and the surface they are on. Each of the swatches is a separate piece of paper which has been stuck onto the main piece of card. The design is concertina in format allowing a large surface area to be folded into a more compact format, this format also means production costs are less than a conventional book because only folding is needed of the long piece of card.

Designs on both small and large scales have used the bending of paper to allow the viewer to see the underside of the stock. Presenting the paper in this way displays one of processes that Colourplan can be used for, duplexing, which bonds two pieces of paper together to create a double sided page. The colour combinations are based off the complementary colours suggested within the Colourplan website. The folded piece of paper also reflects the logo of the brand which shows someone testing the paper thickness.

Duplexing is also seen within the business cards of G.F Smith, however this time two pieces of card are used on one side and one on the other. Having the two colours on one side brings the contrast and comparison between colours seen within other G. F Smith material onto a flat surface.

Within some of G.F Smiths promotional material there is an emphasis on the use of geometric shapes. Many of the booklets created do not have whole pages, instead they are cut to different shapes to allow pages beneath to show through creating bold and bright designs as well as allowing more of the different papers to be seen from the front of the book. 

Pages are either cut completely and bound or have perforated sections which allow users to tear sections off . This allows the books to become objects that can be engaged with and this combined with the colours, creates changing and playful designs.  

Other books have full pages however shapes are cut out through multiple pages allowing other colours to show through, creating abstract designs within the book, whilst also combining different colours as you progress through the book. In this design they have also printed across the cut outs so some of the print is in the hollowed out sections, this would have been created by printing the words in exactly the same place on every page, however the top layers would have sections cut out, allowing the sheets with the rest of the words on to show through.    

This G. F Smith promotional display again plays with geometric shapes, however this time they are created through the different orientations of the paper. Some sections allow paper to be slid out of them making the shape on the display much thinner, whilst others display the paper as a solid A4 sheet. The light grey used on one side of the display reflects that of the Colourplan selector background, whilst the red on the other side is the same as the G. F Smith swatch book. This creates consistency and visual links within their materials.

The G.F Smith swatch book compiles all of the different papers that the company produce into one publication. From the side of the book a cross section of all the pages can be seen creating a hint of what is inside. 

Throughout much of G.F Smith's promotional material, type is kept to a minimum. The minimalist use of type within the designs allows the qualities and colours of the papers to be the focus of the designs. The use of small point sizes, particularly within the swatch book and colour selector creates a hierarchy between text and the material with the paper being at the top of the hierarchy. 

Having full page swatches allows the texture and colours of the paper to be better absorbed and a greater sense of the material is achieved.