Studio Brief 4 - Cut, Colour & Assembly

Studio Brief 4 - Design Processes, Communicate

Cut, Colour and Assembly

With my mounting board cut using the laser cutter and my artwork produced on the vinyl cutter the next stage in my manufacturing process was to cut the artwork to size and cut the heptagonal inserts out. I was initially concerned that the artwork wouldn't line up with the mount board cut outs so the heptagons are in the correct place to relate to the venues however as I produced both files in illustrator they worked with the same boarders etc to ensure both elements of my design lined up I had to print my artwork on A2 card. For the cutting I placed one mount board cut out over the artwork and alined the cut out heptagons of the mount board with the position they needed to be cut from in the artwork. I used a digital file showing an outline of the heptagons on a tube map to ensure that I had the artwork correctly aligned. 

Once aligned I used tape to keep the components in position to ensure that any of the layers did not move while I was cutting. I then used a craft knife to score along the edges of each cut put heptagon individually before cutting the excess of the A2 page away leaving the A3 artwork with scored heptagons in position to align with the laser cut mount board. Unfortunately the intricate shapes meant that the I did not fully cut the heptagons from the artwork in the first cut, I then untaped the artwork from the mount board so I could cut the card easier. The first cut had left scored marks in the card this meant it was easy to cut the heptagons from the artwork accurately. 

COLOUR CHOICE;

With both colour variations cut out I placed my series of coins into the mount board to simulate a finished outcome. I then placed the White and Silver variations over the coins to see which I felt worked best as a finished outcome. I couldn't see that one variation was better than the other, they both had strong and weak design features for example the white variation was bold and contrasted well against the black stock background, it also varied the colour scheme when the coins were inserted, however weak features included that the accuracy was not as good as the silver variation due to the liquid ink bleeding slightly on the page. I found that the silver variation had strong design features such as it was extremely accurate and the detail was better that the white variation, also when it caught the light the silver of the get pen sparked and looked very stylish with the coins, however weak design features included that it didn't stand out as much as the white variation and from a distance some people said it looked greyscale. 

I asked a range of students and lecturers for their opinions as to which design they preferred, I found that the results were around 50/50 with different people supporting different variations for a rang of reasons, some of the comments included; 

'I like the white because it's bold and stands out really well' 

'The white makes the coins look sparkly' 

'I like the white but don't like the lack of detail in the logos etc' 

'I love the silver its far more stylish' 

'The silver matches the coins' 

'I like the silver but from a distance it just looks grey' 

Having taken onboard all these opinions I concluded that the variations were just down to personal preference, having concluded this I decided to choose the silver variation to be featured on my final outcome. I chose the silver design because the detail was better and it gavotte outcome a higher quality finish. Also I thought the silver looked more subtle and could see it in a home environment more that the white as I felt it was too bold and would not blend in with a range of rooms. 

White

Silver

Having chosen my final artwork all that remained to do was to bond all the components together to complete my final outcome. I chose to bond my components with spray mount as it is strong and easy to apply it also means that the card will not distort as it often can with other adhesives such as PVA. I placed one of the mount board pieces over the backing sheet and inserted my leftover mount board heptagons I made as a byproduct of creating my cut out mount board sheets, I then removed the cut sheet leaving only the heptagons paced on the mount board backing. I did this so that the these areas will not be covered in spray mount as it could permanently bond the coins to the sheet which was not acceptable for the purpose of my concept. I then sprayed both surfaces and bonded them together. I continues this process with the other layer of mount board and artwork to complete my final outcome. 

I was really happy with the final outcome I feel the product has a great quality and looks extremely aesthetically pleasing, I think the outcome answers the problem defined in the brief and resolved the aims I set creating a product that is both functional and has a great aesthetic.