It's a breeze to freeze book

The illustrations for 'It's a breeze to freeze' card looked too cluttered on cramped on the page so I've reassessed the format and decided to produce little book instead. This means I can dedicate each page to each illustration and I'll have enough room to play with the composition.

App

The other night I had a bit of a brain storm on my app and got quite excited about designing it. Here's what I've done today. I've based the image around the home screen of the app, displaying the options you can press from there. I want my app and printed work to work together so I've translated my imagery to work on screen also. By using the colour scheme and imagery from my box I've helped the two platforms work as a set.

I've illustrated suggestions of what will come up on the screen when each option is pressed. The app will also act as a market for my information pack by being a place where you can buy it. You can also download the information and any extras such as the shopping list etc online if you were to run out.

This still needs to be finished and I will explain the app in my depth once It's completed.

App Research

I didn't want to just produce a pack like I did last year as I wanted to push myself and improve. I needed to think outside the box (literally) and look at how I could stretch my idea. One of my thoughts was to design an app to work along my pack. I think this works well as it will appeal to a wider audience, with society being constantly on their phones. This also allows people to access the same information but on the go with ease. I don't want to just photoshop an image I've already made and propose it, but instead go that bit further and design the layout and graphics of the homepage etc. 

The first step was to look at existing apps with a similar purpose. This way I can see what's out there already and hopefully bring something new to mine. The presentation above shows my research in to this.

Overall, the apps are quite similar in purpose, but are very different in terms of image and design. I want my app to look attractive and fun, which should set itself out from these existing apps. Each app lacks the full package and I feel like each of them is missing something. I really like how the 'Love food hate waste' app provides a shopping list and meal planner as I feel this is a useful feature. The 'Leftovers' is very text heavy and 'Waste tool' lacks interesting imagery. This is something that my app will use as a strength by being very illustrative based.

 I've found researching in to existing apps useful and inspiring. I'm going to make mine look better! (hopefully).

Printing my box....again

Ok so I know I said that I was done with my box..... I lied.

A few posts back, I said that I spoke to Nottingham printers Johnewrights about them printing my box there. For a while I was worried about the card it would be printed on as I thought if it was too thick it would rip like mount board. However,  after ringing them up again (I think he was getting fed up of my calls), I felt reassured that it would be ok!

Today I picked up my box! Well I say box, it was just a flat piece of card. They found a small mark on the first print so they printed it twice. I thought I'd use the first one as a test so I wouldn't go wrong on the second one. In the end they both looked fine so I'll be able to use both for the photographs. 

The prints looked great! The colours really popped and worked well together. The card feels very thick and I think it I was to bend it too much it may rip a bit, so I need to be careful. The card may be slightly too thick but I think that's just me wanting it to be perfect and I need to stop worrying. The box is strong and hold it's form well. Also, the wrap around that I printed last week fits and looks perfect with the box. I made two wrap arounds just incase the patterned one looked bad, but now that I have two boxes it's worked out wonderfully! They will look great together in the photographs.

Overall, the printing and box making worked out well. The extra cost and hassle wasn't necessary, and I know I didn't have to make a better box, but I just wanted to be perfect in my eyes. For that reason, I'm glad I made the extra effort to make it stronger and have a more professional finish. I know doing this is not going to get me any extra marks and I think that shows I've started caring about what I think and if I'm happy with it, rather than the grade I'll get.

Print Day One

Today I had my first print day! I wanted to get my box done and out of the way so that I stopped thinking about it and started thinking about the work that really mattered. 

I was so excited!!

I also printed some stickers and the inner packaging as I was to wrap everything up inside the box like a present. I'm going to make some magnets so I also printed some 

wonky carrots on to sticker paper.

I'm really happy with how my box has turned out. The print quality is great and the colour/illustrations really 'pop' (these photos don't do it justice). I took more care in cutting and constructing this box than I did with the mock boxes, so it looks neat and well presented.

Although, I initially didn't mind that the box folded out back to the flat net, I'd now prefer it if I could stick the corners in so that it holds it's box form. I've asked my peers and they are in agreement. 

I also printed two wrap-arounds, one with the pattern and another plain one just incase the other looked bad. The patterned one however was my favourite so here is an idea of what it will look like:

Sourced Box

This week saw the launch of 'Sourcedbox', a pack of healthy goodies send straight to your door. I heard about this via instagram and thought it would be appropriate to look at as part of my visual research. Although the content is different (healthy snacks), the concept of the box of goodies being delivered straight to your door, is similar to mine. I learn the box shape and it's simple design. I also like the added element of the paper and sticker inside. It gives the impression that the customer is opening a present. Also seeing this, helps show that even in the digital age, this box concept is still liked by many.

Tutorial Feedback

I'm really happy with the progress I've made with both my practical and written and I felt this tutorial addressed everything that I needed to think about.

Dissertation:

• Well written
• Well structured
• Personally I feel like it addresses and answers the essay question
• Well referenced

My biggest worry is that I'm running out of words. I'm at about 8800 words and still have to finish my conclusion and add a few lines in to the main body of the text. I was advised to print out my dissertation and cross out words I don't need and maybe sentences where I repeat myself. I reckon I'll be surprised with how many words I can get rid of, though I am worried it might not sound as well written without them.


Practical:

• Illustrations look good
• Need to stop thinking about the box. It's not the important part.
• The imagery looks cramped on the pages- Need to rethink format, perhaps small books or pack of cards?-Research this.
• What is in the box is the important bit.
• I need to think outside the box (literally)....(you have no idea how much I wanted to say that in my tutorial!) - Look at what I can PROPOSE - Digital format, cafes. Think beyond the pack.
• Think about what my presentation boards will show/propose and how will I do this?

Overall, I really happy with how my tutorial went. I got both positive and critical feedback and I have enough time to address the changes I need to make. Over christmas I need to do the final bits to my dissertation and get it checked by a few people. I also need to get all my practical work reading for my second print day on the 7th Jan.

Box-Final Design

Now that I've finished the logo/title, I can put the wrap around design together. I did some (not very good) photoshopping to get an idea of how it will look from different angles. I was worried that if I added the logo, it wouldn't work with the pattern and would have to have a plain wrap around. After putting a boarder around the logo, I think they're going to work well together in terms of colour, size and shape.

Final Box Test

I bought some A1 card as the library to test my box net and I'm happy with the result. The box holds it's form well and was easy to construct. The card was a little too thin but it might have to do if I can't find an alternative. 

Mount Board

I went to down in print today and asked what the thickest card they had was. He said the card they have isn't very think but I can put anything up to mount board through it. I thought mount board would be a good idea!.... I was wrong. When you score and bend the board it rips and falls apart. Good job I tested it before hand!

Logo/Title

I'm going to have a logo or title on the top of my box, so as it's the first thing the audience will see, it needs to be good! I'd quite like to make something compact so that it can also be printed as a sticker. It needs to be simple, use the same font as inside, use the same colour palette and illustrate the idea behind the initiative. I first gathered some contextual references to give me some ideas. I found that it can be something really simple and still be effective so they is what I'm going to try do.

I got designing and really struggled as I'm not a graphic designer. However, I got there in the end and I think what I'm designed looks ok! Here's my development:

My box net

I made my box net on CAD ready for printing next week. After being advised by Aggie, I've made the box just over A5 so it's more compact. Also, I probably couldn't go any bigger than A5 as the net shape spreads quite wide. I'm really happy with the shape of the box. 

Should look good! (I hope).

Printing

I went to a printers called Johnewrights in Nottingham on Friday to talk to them about making my box but ended up being a waste of time because they guy they said I needed to talk to wasn't in.
I emailed and rang them up again today and got this reply:

Perfect! Hopefully it'll all come together!

Development

I want to get my box printed before anything else so that I have enough time to put it together. If I leave it till after christmas it'll end up being a huge rush. I was really happy with the pattern I made with the illustrations of utensils and also liked the colouring. However, although the colours looked good, I didn't feel it was appropriate for the subject and audience.

During my original presentation I showed these three colours that felt appropriate for this brief but later forgot about. I went back to these colours and edited my design to use this colour palette.

I did some research in to current designs in food and found that 

green and red were a popular choice!

I also looked in to the meaning of the colours:

GREEN

The color green is such a healthy color. Salads are filled with green foods and most products considered being more natural than others are usually contained in green packaging. Many people are attracted to the color green and associated it with abundance. This is a good color to promote healthy eating and lots of it.

RED

The color red raises a person’s blood pressure, heart rate, and causes hunger to be more prevalent. This is why many restaurants choose to have red table cloths on tables or red accents on the walls.

For these reasons, green and red seemed like the most appropriate colours to use. Here is what I did next:

I asked a few people if what they preferred out of the red or green box

 and the majority thought the green.

                                                    

Box Inspiration

I found this box on Pinterest like I stated in my previous post. I followed the link and it took me to this website. Now I can see what the box look like both apart and folded together, so I can work out the shape of the net for my own box. I'm going to make the box longer to fit my work inside.

 

Packaging Design

                  Follow Rebecca's board Packaging for Food Waste Project on Pinterest.



My original aim was to produce a box in the same format as other food boxes such as the Graze box. However, through testing and research I have been let to the conclusion that I must change my design. The way the net was put together was making things difficult as I couldn't find a suitable card to it make with. The cards I have tested were either too thick or too thin. I did some research in to packaging and box shapes to find a suitable alternative.

I really like the box format above. It's quite similar to the one I made last year in terms of the way it locks together. I've now decided I'd also like to make a wrap around sleeve like I did last year. The wrap around will most likely have the repeat pattern printed on to it to math the interior of the box. 

Below are two examples of the designs I'm interested in. Last year I had the wrap around printed fully in the pattern but I quite like the way the one on the left has a different pattern on the sides. Maybe I could try this?

Tutorial

I was really happy with how my tutorial went today. I got both critical and encouraging feedback. It's great that I'm on that right track and when I've written reads well but I'm also glad Fred told me what it else it needs. I feel so close to the end now it's amaaaazing! Can't believe I'm actually going to do it! I never thought I'd manage to write that many words haha.

What to do next:

- Add appropriate images for references
- Take out some words
- Take out some headings
- Make clear chapters
- Write introduction and conclusion
- So What??? Keep linking back to question
- Add to consumerism bit-Store cards-credit points

Store it Right When Money's Tight

I've just done the artwork for the card above. I really like the title for this one haha. I tried drawing food that weren't already on the other cards because the same foods kept coming up when I was researching. I still need to add the text, but I'm happy with the illustrations. 

However, I'm starting to worry that although it's good that the info cards work as a set, they're looking too similar. I don't really know what else I can really do though. This would be good to ask at my next tutorial. It's good that I'm questioning this now rather than later.

I drew this yogurt pot (yes it's supposed to be upside down). I think this is a much better drawing to the yogurt pot I drew on the smoothie card so I think it'll be good to go back and draw a better yogurt on the other card.

Looks Aren't Everything

This info card is on 'ugly' fruit and veg and how it's fine to eat!

I first thought I'd draw a variety of different of fruit and veg I started to think that the cards where all looking the same. I looked back through my sketchbook I found my wonky carrot page. I decided to strap the other veg and just draw lots of carrots. By doing this, I think it illustrates the message better by showing they can take many funny forms.

Throughout the module so far I've seen a big improvement in the way I've been using my sketchbook. In previous modules I've neglected my sketchbook and didn't feel it's importance as much as I do now. During this module I've used it as a tool for thinking and development. Instead of drawing refined work, I've loosened up my practice and had fun with it. This has then translated in to my later work as I've used it to refer back to when producing my final illustrations.

Top Tips for Foody Tricks!

During my research I found a few tricks on how to save and use up food. I already knew the trick to see if an egg was ok to eat (drop it in a glass of water and if it sinks it's fine), but I didn't know you can make lettuce crispy again by putting in ice water. There's a few tips that people wouldn't have thought of so I think it's a great card to include.

I also just wanted to put it a close up of my bowl of lettuce because I liked it so much haha. I really like the composition of it with the shape it makes and the simplicity of it. 

One of my favourite bits so far!!!

It's a Breeze to Freeze

Here is my second information card. This one is about freezing and how it acts as a pause putting and saves your food for a later date. When I went to the 'The Big Freeze' event I found out I can freeze eggs which I didn't know before! I found last year you could freeze cheese too. 

After speaking to people at event they informed me that people are surprised with what you can freeze, so I thought this card would help inform those people.

I also found this font and thought it was quite quirky and fun. I don't know whether it's too much and if it goes with the imagery, so this will be one of my questions for my next tutorial.

Getting Organised! - Print slots

There's going to be a lot of people wanting to print when I get back after christmas so I thought I'd be organised and book a slot nice and early. I decided to book one just before christmas break and one the week back to spread it out. That way I can get some of the stuff ready before christmas (maybe my box) and then work everything around that cake and format. I'm then also not building everything the day before the final crit. I'm so happy I won't have to go to drop in!

Cheesy Tag Lines

I thought it would be fun and amusing to have cheesy tag lines and titles for all my info cards to make it more appealing. I had a little brain storm and came up with a few. Some aren't that great but there's a few good ones.

• Top Tips for Foody Tricks (little tips and tricks)
• Looks Aren't Everything (about wonky food)
• Save Waste, Think Small
• Watching your Waste Line (portion control)
• Stock rotate to watch your date (keeping an eye on dates)
• Taste it, Not Waste it
• 5 a day, your soup your way (using up soft veg for soup)
• It's a Breeze to Freeze (freezing and saving food)
• Preserve and Serve 
• Store it Right, When Money's Tight (storing food correctly)
• Blend it, don't bin it (using up fruit for smoothies)

Using the Freezer

The next info card I want to work on it one on the freezer. When I went to 'The Big Freeze' even last month I found out you could freeze eggs which I didn't know before. I thought I'd look in to what food you didn't know you could freeze. I found this website.

Some foods you may not know you could freeze:

• Cake
• Eggs
• Cheese
• Bananas
• Potatoes
• Mushrooms
• Yogurt
• Milk
• Pesto
• Pasta
• Wine
• Bacon
• Lemons
• Rice
• Buttercream
• Herbs
• Nuts
• Garlic
• Butter
• Cookie Dough
• Flour
• Jam

Testing Card

After trying out the box net last weak with rough paper, I decided I needed to start trying out different thicknesses of card and test production methods. Below I tried quite a think card/paper so the box wasn't strong at all. I also found that I didn't take as much care with the measurements and folding so it didn't look well put together.

I next went from one extreme to the other and used a really thick card. This is the same one that Aggie used to make her box last year. After I measured and cut it all out I found I couldn't fold it together to back the box as the card was too thin. I need to find suitable card to work with.

Shopping Lists and Meal Planners

                  Follow Rebecca's board Meal Planners and Shopping lists on Pinterest.

Shopping lists are apparently 'out of fashion' and people tend to buy on impulse so I thought it would be a good idea produce a shopping list and meal planner to go inside my pack. I started by looking at some contextual references on Pinterest. It wasn't overly helpful.


I remembered that Rifle Paper Co produced some meal planners and shopping lists so I had a look at them. I love the colourfulness and how they've played with shape and used the format. They've turned something quite boring in to something pretty that you would want as part of your stationary. This is what I will aim to do also.

I had a quick go playing with block shape around the list. I first cut out a shape of a lemon which proved to look a bit boring.

I actually liked the shape of the milk bottle as it went well with the format of the list and page. However, I still felt it looked a little simple and like I hadn't put much effort in to it.

I went back through my sketchbook and picked out some of the favourite sketches and redrew them better digitally. I carried on with this black textured theme as it seemed to working well. I like that this design shows more effort and skill and drawing. The small emts of detail against the textured black work really well and also sit well around the list on the page. However, I do wonder if they look too randomly placed like I haven't thought about the format and just made them fit.

I am Happy with the progress I'm making. I'd like to have a similar design with 

the meal planner so the work well together.