in line with the categories we were asked to separate and organise all of our printed material into different piles based on the each different category and what it entailed.
1. format - in terms of format we separated the material by what form it came in as opposed to its size or scale. in this sense we put all the packaging together, all the flyers together, all the receipts together and so on. for the most part we didnt have much difficulty but when it came to things like flyers vs leaflets and what we defined the material as we sometimes disagreed or struggled to categorise certain things.
2. colour - when it came to colour we organised the material into categories based on the number of colours it used plus stock and then full colour (1 colour plus stock, two colours plus stock, three colours plus stock, four/full colour[cmyk]). this was actually pretty easy once we had established what the stock colour for each example was as it was then just a case of counting the rest of the colours. at times we had difficulty determining whether an example had used two different tones of the same basic colour or just different shades of the same colour (the latter meaning that it would only count as one colour just in different shades).
3. production - for production we looked at the levels and extents to which each piece had been produced, so judging whether somethings had been mass produced or bespoke produced or where in between. for the most part it was easy to determine the commerciality of the material but on some occasions we differed in opinion on the extent. because we tried to organise the ephemera in a spectrum from most mass produced to most bespoke produced and this is where most disagreement arose but still i think we established a good gradient.
4. process - in terms of process we looked at the way in which a piece had been printed, so if it was printed digitally, and how specifically, if it was printed using screen printing etc. because we had done a few sessions last year on different printing methods and how to recognise them we didnt have much difficulty in organising the material but certain ones proved more difficult, partially because we didnt have a linen tester, but also certain ones were just harder to determine. some looked as though they had been originally screen printed then scanned in and digitally printed for mass production. some of these took longer to organise but we managed it in the end.
5. cost - with cost we were initially quite confused as how to organise the printed materialzzzzz because there are a lot of different variables to consider in calculating the approximate cost. we first decided to estimate the cost based on the individual print and so not taking into account it potentially being a mass produced print. so we decided after debate to base the cost on the method with which the example had been printed (so cost of any equipment needed), the inks/paints needed, and the cost of stock. we decided that we wouldnt include the cost of the designer and any technician needed in the print process and so organised the designs accordingly.
- branding and identity
- information and way-finding
- publishing and editorial
- packaging and promotion
this exercise was for the most part simple as it was just a case of determining the main aim of the print and then categorising it. certain items were quite difficult to classify because they didnt really appear to have a design purpose such as the birthday card and the tissue.
i felt as though i gained a lot from this exercise because it was interactive and we had examples in front of us that we were working with and so could recognise what we were learning about and discovering. i re-affirmed my existing knowledge of print and processes and learned lots of new things about it also.
No comments:
Post a Comment