Apron

I found this really good apron, the design of it is really useful keeps everything neat and tidy so you dont loose anything with the added pockets for the utensils. However the design and layout of everything is a bit random and mishmash but the idea works well.

Sally Elford

I have found these screen prints and although they aren't wallpaper, I could imagine the illustrations being used across a wall, I think it always looks really feminine when individual flowers are illustrated and used across a wall with a limited colour pallet, this is something Laura Ashley often do for there neutral colour range.

Rules

As the kitchen can be a dangerous place for children I found these kitchen rules recommended to parents for their children cooking. These are really useful and I may include a few inside or on the packaging for the children to read.

Cooking Set

I have found this children's bake set whilst looking for different ways I can individualise my set and make it a little unique from those next to it. Just a small addition of the personalised name makes it much more fun and personal for the children. The packaging is a really good idea, I have struggled with my packaging and originally wanted to create something that was reusable and protective to the items inside and a draw string bag made with matching fabric is a really good idea for children.

Amy Butler

This wallpaper has been inspired by lace and floral patterns, I find it really interesting to see where the inspiration comes from for patterns and to see what it has developed into. I would never thing to look at something existing like lace and develop it into my own work, its a really interesting concept I want to explore. The pretty intricate pattern surrounding the flower is what makes this wallpaper stand out and make it unique next to other floral wallpaper. Im dont like the colour scheme used but when it comes to wallpaper its personal preference, I would prefer something much lighter and airy rather than the dark background.

This is a really interesting way of using repeat pattern, definitely something worth investigating in future briefs, especially with how time consuming the pattern development process has been. It a really simple but affective way of using repeat by creating just one illustrations. The more context I look at, I do wish I had looked further into repeat patter I feel it would have benefited my choices so much and make the finishing processes much quicker and simpler.

Harlequin

I love these wallpapers by Harlequinn they are so cute and the bird illustrations are so lovely, I really like how they have used pattern within the illustration such as the birds wing instead of the traditional line in a birds wing, its a really interesting way to add something new and exciting to the illustrations especially when the audience is for children. Although these are only small snap shots, you can see the pattern is consistent running down the wall, what I feel helps makes this successful is the white space, usually everyone tells you not to have white space but when it comes to wallpaper I feel you need some empty space so not to over crowd the wall. The ratio of white space to illustration hear works really well and will help keep the room looking large and airy.

These designs are in fact very similar to some current Laura Ashley wallpaper, however this is influenced towards a much younger audience than the Laura Ashley. This is perhaps a future brief to introduce a children's range of wallpapers adapted from current wallpaper?

Interactive Wallpaper

I found this website when I was researching for my Enterprise, Rachel Kelly sells a range of bespoke products predominantly used for interior design. Its really nice to find self employed wallpaper designers, her work is really unique and has an expensive quality to it compared to manufactured wallpaper.

Packaging

Inside my packaging there will be some form of recipes to follow, I have decided at this stage I want them to have as much fun an interest as the rest of the product and not just be a list of words and amounts. The layout of all these different works and shapes and sizes similar to the image I have posted above, can transform a boring set of instructions to be really interesting. I do need to bare in mind with the layout and style I choose it needs to be legible and they are a set of instructions.

Packaging

I really like this and my aims for my work and increasingly being influenced by a limited colour pallet I feel it makes the product look more expensive and interesting than full colour with lots of detail. Minimal and simple are two words I want my work to follow for this brief. I also really like the flowing background with the bright colours shining through the spacing, I have designed and illustrated lots of cupcakes for this brief and want to make some sort of pattern with them, this could be a really nice way of presenting them without adding too much detail and attention to them.

Amanda Dilworth

This is a very busy wallpaper, but it works so well you would expect the combination of them all layered up would be too much, but Amanda had cleverly made each image translucent so you can see through to the lower pattern on each one, making the over all affect really soft and flowing rather than a solid block of different shapes.

This design by Amanda Dilworth really reminds me of some of the patterns I have developed with the 'blood lilly' my drawings are much more intricate than the below, however I really like how abstract they are below and how she has used vibrant colours on top of a charcoal grey this is really interesting and the opposite to what you would normally see. It works hear on this small scale however I am not certain this dark colour scheme work work across a wall, this is always something I have to remind myself when I am developing my patterns.

Packaging

There is nothing wow about this packaging, but its clean style stands out to me, it give it an expensive look and you would never guess its ice cream which I think adds a nice quality. I don't want to over power my packaging with illustrations and information, I want to add interest to it, in a similar way to the packaging above. I do however need to make sure the packaging represtents the product and it is still fun as its for children.

Justine Ellis

Justine Ellis is a London based designer and creates screen printed cushions (amongst other items) her patterns are full of lovely textures and colour. I thought she would be really useful to blog for two reasons firstly her cushions are created in the same print process mine will be but also her use of detailed repeat pattern such as the woven cable knit patterns. I have not had the chance to look too much into repeat pattern and it would have benefited my work immensely, however its not too late to look at how the layout and colour work.

I think what works best with this pattern is, Justine has enlarged what in real life is a very tight and small pattern when knitted, the spacing and sizing she has used is what makes them really successful. The choice of colour helps them stand out and not appear too cluttered by using a plain canvas background really helps the pattern jump off the pillow.

Liberty

The brand and website Liberty has a really beautiful home wear collection, I have posted some of the pillows as they have helped inspire and develop my work. The range I am creating is for the specialist collection of Laura Ashley I want all the different products to be as best created as possible as well as using as many different techniques as I can. For my pillows I really want to use embroidery as I feel it gives a really expensive look as well as bringing a quality to it, you can achieve with print. These pillows by Liberty have been heavily embroided adding to the quality of the design and price.

ECO packaging

I saw this and instantly thought, thats me! This packaging has be made by all recycled products, I love how hand made and natural it looks its giving such a simple and generally boring piece of packaging a really unique looks. I have commented on my practise blog that I want my packaging to look almost handmade and child influenced and I think this type of style and material would really strengthen my designs and concept. The only issue I have is the fact this type of material isn't sturdy enough to hold the weight of my product.

ECO Packaging

This is more in line with the type of packaging i can create that has an aspect of recycling to it. This product has been designed in mind that most yogurts come with a plastic spoon, which takes 100s of year to disintegrate, hear however they have costumed the lid to be the spoon. This type of design could be put forward with my work, perhaps the outer packaging opens out to be the apron? or the inside of the packaging has the cooking recipes printed on.

ECO packaging

I was browsing around and found this, its amazing a plastic bag that dissolves, can u imagine if all plastic bags were made from this how much it would benefit the environment. I would love to be able to include some type of environmental quality to my product. This always adds buying points to products with all the environmental issues floating around. Obviously the plastic isn't suitable for my project however this has spurred me on to look at other recycling techniques I could be using.

The bag going into water ......

Dissolving in the water.....

Disolved!

Packaging

This image is from a book called Graphics Packaging. I have decided I want my packaging to be different, but it cant be so experimental that the production for it would be really expensive, but at the same time I want it to differ slightly from the more obvious square box. When I saw this image, I straight away saw so many opportunities for this shape. Its possible to have a window to see in whilst still leaving enough space to include all the necessary information. Using the right stock it could be reusable with a safe fastening similar to the how it is shown above. The only thing to put this down so far would be the size of the packaging to fit everything in, it cant be too large to stock or too large to be kept in a house, where the simple box shapes offers flat packaging and a smaller space.

Claire Coles

I have recently discovered Claire Coles and her work is beautiful, it is pretty much exactly the style I want to develop with my work. If I could get any sort of feedback from her it would be fantastic. I love the simplicity of the design and how it still works so well and detailed across the wall even though the design space its self is quite empty. The beauty of this design I feel comes from the use of line and colour, the simple but detailed illustration with only the flowers filled with colour, creates a very feminine and delicate wallpaper. I am perhaps too far along in my current design process for this brief to take all of these points into consideration for my work, and some of these points would fit in with the Laura Ashley theme however this aside Claire Coles I feel has had a big impact on my work and inspiration.

This second design Claire Coles has printed onto a wallpaper giving it life transforming it into a piece of art and not just wallpaper. The design has a very vintage feel to it and the embroidered patterns add something completely different to the wallpaper making them individual from the regular wallpaper market. I think this is a really key point and something I should definitely consider in my future work as well as this brief where the range is 'speciality.' Something I find really interesting is how Claire has managed to arrange the pattern so it flows effortlessly across the wall, this is something I have struggled with in my design work especially as I have never worked to such a large scale before.

Experimental Packaging.

Im not exactly sure what type of style or shape I want my packaging to be, so I thought it would be best to have a look around at different current types that I like and see what ideas I come up with from that. These examples are all from a book called Experimental Packaging by Daniel Mason.

I really like this first example, I have seen this shape and similar style used for other products such as cigarettes and cigars as well. Its a really unique but simple shape and the smooth curves give it an expensive look. I wont be producing to this scale and the the opening and closing int practical for my product as you can get all the way in, however it has inspired me to look at other shapes that those with straight edges and pointy corners. A second areas is, because the outside of the packaging is so unique and expensive looking they haven't over powered it with information , the clean look with expensive stock really works n its favour.

This packaging for a watch is really interesting, some of the designs I have developed are more suited towards this type of design and fastening, especially if I want my packaging to be protective and reusable. Its waterproof with a safe fastening for children. The clear plastic also give opportunity for the whole product to be seen, which is one of my main 'wants' when designing the baking set. If I am to follow on and develop this style I need to look at ways of printing on plastic.

I wouldn't necessarily say this is experimental, however this style is most likely to be suitable for my packaging. This style is also typical for children's products and cooking sets. There is the opportunity to have a window to see into the product whilst also leaving a space for me to add detail and information on the front of the product. The only negative I have towards this is that its similar to most packaging and doesn't have anything about it to jump out like the previous 2. This could be outweighed by the fact this commercially would be easier and cheaper to reproduce on a large scale.

This is an interesting concept, it would add organisational skills for children as well as learning how to bake. Each section could have a different item included in the product, keeping things safe tidy. I quiet like this idea, however you wont be able to see inside and it does slightly take away the fun side the product is meant to have.

Sarah aka Inky Mole

I really like this illustrator and randomly came across her work, I am not exactly sure of her last name but she goes by the name of 'inky mole.' I have never come across an illustrator who predominantly works with ink. This really takes me back to my art roots which I love. You get a rally crafted but neat looking piece of work. The line quality is completely different to using a pen. I have recently experimented with this and think its a perfect method for me to use on this brief.

I especially like the idea of using ink, as this brief is written so I experiment more with type, and using ink and nib gives me a completely different quality of work hand crafting type than I would with a pen. The below and above images are so simple, but still really beautiful to look at. I think the type working in line with shape and theme is what makes these illustrations so successful.

The hand driven type fits the theme/stye of the illustrations, although I haven't started experimenting I think this hand written swirly style writing will really suit the type of look I am aiming for with my work.

Traditional Christmas cards

These are some examples of traditional christmas cards, there is not much I can say about them apart from I really dont like any of them, and I want to produce something as far away as this as possible!

Linda Ketelhut

I mentioned earlier I love snow flakes, excluding the type at the bottom I think this is beautiful, I love how raw and handcrafted it is, the patterns are really affective and so simple with the colour choice. I think its really important that I a follow a simple but detailed approach with my designs.

Amy Blay

My brief proposes I either choose the religious side to design or the commercial side. I have chosen the religious side, I was brought up and went to a church school, so I think its a really nice opportunity for me to produce something I used to have a deeper connection to. I also as much as I love the commercial side to christmas want to use this opportunity to 'remember' and illustrate all the small religious parts of christmas I had forgotten. All of the below illustrations are by Amy Blay, the first is an example of what I dont want to produce for my christmas products. The characters and miss match of different images, as I have chosen the religious illustrations I wouldn't be using this anyway, but its too cheesy and not the warm christmassy feeling you want to get from a Christmas card.

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Although I wont be using characters, I do prefer this second illustration much more, the background adds so much to the whole image, the textured background looks liked cracked ice bringing life to the illustration. Although I dont like the whole cheesy character design on christmas cards I love snowflakes, and these alone could tempt me to just illustrate them. When I wrote this brief I wanted to use it as a chance to have fun an experiment with a new style and not necessarily use imagery, the illustrative type looks really original, I could use religious songs or words and illustrate them in a christmas way modernizing the traditional theme.

I love the next four illustrations and these are perfect examples of what I want to design for my set of christmas inspired products. Its a chance for me to play around with illustrative type and introduce illustration, rather than having this as my focal point. I have also restricted my colour pallet to 2 colours + stock, this is a completely different way to how I normally work but I think it will push my boundaries and help me illustrate something really amazing.

The blocked colour works so well and keeps in with the traditional christmas colours, I dont particularly like the character design, but its the over all affect which makes them work so well.