And so on the 24th of January 2011, AAA recommenced it's school term, as usual, ever so much earlier than other tertiary institutions. And bang, we dove in, head first and not really knowing if we were coming or going. You see, second year is the year of the ever so illusive computer, more specifically, the jump to the Apple Mac, and very few students are accustomed to the workings of these wondrous creatures after surviving a first year of working everything by hand. So, they briefed us on what is to be a brief that will continue throughout the first term, culminating on April one [my birthday-hip hip horray].
Our brief initially required us to write a research essay outlining the design elements of our most weird and wonderful museum shop. We had several types of shops to choose from, I chose the hoax museum and streamlined it to April Fool's Hoaxes. Along with the research essay came the task of learning how to manipulate Adobe InDesign to your every command- as we all know, computers sometimes have a mind of their own, and only if you stroke them and talk to them nicely, will they co-operate. Adobe Illustrator was also on the cards, and so the hours began. However, along the 18th Century European research path that I chose, I stumbled across some beautiful images that were to inspire the style of my shop. The shop is meant to have an eighteenth century neo classical (new classical) design approach, with a more classic modern touch. Thus, incorporating light colour palettes and the beautiful blues that enriched the era, I began my design inspiration. Florals and stripes are also prominent features for this time period, which suite my actual taste so wonderfully, that I enjoyed the image research. Enough babbling, here they are (please note that these photos have been found on blogs, museum sites and the like, and are not my own):
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| This glass feature is beautiful |
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| Designed by Pentagram, Corporate ID is so elegant |
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| A beautiful French store front |
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| Illustration reminiscent of the French style. The colours and type are a perfect fit. |
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This logo, designed by WeMadeThis, has exquisite graphic elements.
The colours are also elegant and classic, yet grasp the modern atmosphere. |
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| Ah, and it comes down to the one and only typeface, Bodoni. Ironically, it comes freshly designed straight out of the eighteenth century, so I didn't have to do much persuading. |
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| The combination of styles of the typeface is an example of how different line weights can be incorporated into design. |
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| Gorgeous soap packaging that captures the mood beautifully. |
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| I stumbled upon this just before hand in, and what a lovely discovery. |
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Typical eighteenth century room decor. I could do with a little less
gold, but the style is beautiful on its' own. |
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Beautiful eighteenth century pattern design, found on the V&A Museum Website.
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And, the perfect store front for the museum, which had been placed in Britain.
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We have just finished designing the logo, forcing us to delve even deeper into the world of Illustrator, but learning the ropes is very rewarding when the finished product is produced. Next up, we'll be designing signage and posters as well as packaging for some of the crazy weird products that shall engross the shelves of our mysterious shops. One of these days, I'll be a Adobe wizz, until then, I'll claim ignorance and fear.
