FOOD-IMALS

Package Design:

Can we take it to the next level?

(of course we can)

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The Task:

Take a toy, any toy, and redesign it's package to not lonely look snazzy, but to have a hidden purpose behind carrying the goods. The first question on this matter, we found (We being Me and my accomplice), was A: "What toy" and B: "What will make this box really snazzy and cool". After going through ideas involving A gentleman bear, a car garage, and multiple other sketches of dollhouses, we sat down and realized how hungry we were.

And then, inspiration struck us with the full force of our stomachs:

And so, FOOD-IMALS WAS BORN.

The Process:

The first (and most challenging) task before us was to create the MYSTERY FRIDGE. We wanted to make a flat template that could be folded in such a way as to make a two-story fridge that could hold two little plush Food-imals with a working door. This was a little harder than it sounds (Unless it sounds moderately tricky to you, then you, my friend, are on point).

After a day or so of wrestling, experimentation, and cheese snacks, we'd finally come up with this template:

We designed the middle sections to fold inwards to make the middle shelf, causing the rest of the box to squish back together into a rectangular prism. The end result of the folded box looks like this:

In terms of designs and color, we went with primary almost-pastel colors for a childlike feel. Then, we played around with the different foods we could make this little cat orb into:

IN THE END: He became a cherry

With this cute little fellow in tow, we made the logo appear as a magnet for the completed fridge look.

The Challenges:

First of all: making the template was a huge block. But as we already discussed that one, I'll talk about the second challenge: the deadline. Now, this project may not seem too tough, but when you only have a week (and an average of less than an hour per day) to work on it, things can get a little tricky. This was only compounded by my partner being out for the count for the first few days.

Despite this, however, we managed to be one of the very few to submit our template in time for print, and of that we are proud.

The Collaboration:

As I mentioned, this was a team project and the division of work between us was the key to our success. My usual hate of group projects was overlooked by our past friendship.

The Result:

Our package has not been printed yet, and when it is, I'll be sure to share the picture with you all!

Fancying Text

A name, my name, what a wonderful thing to have.

In the name of uniqueness and custom graphics, I have ventured forth to learn how to take a name, and make it into something special. For this exercise, I used my own name since I am both familiar with it, and a fan of how the amount of letters in my first and last names are equal (as is my middle name, but that's for another time). I took advantage if this equal spacing to link certain letters together.

Unfortunately, at first, the font I had chosen was not of equal width, and the N in my last name took up three times the space I wished it to. Therefore, I had to convert the type to points and edit each little vertex manually. This is relatively easy in illustrator, as it willingly lines up text with itself, allowing the middles of each letter to connect.

The equal spacing and roundness of the letters was aesthetically pleasing when contrasted with the sharp corners, so when I came to this point I stopped and let it be. I wonder what I will do with this in the future.

Children of the Kern

KERNING:

The art of creating an aesthetically pleasing space between letters in type; creating a balanced feel to fonts which feel squashed or too loose.

Some Examples of Kerning:

Postcards From Nowhere

Seasons greetings!

(Whatever season it may be)

At the time of posting, it's about that time of year that people go about sending cards to each other to let them know what they're missing out on. So, it only seemed fitting that I work on some postcards to get some new Photoshop skills under my belt! Granted, I didn't get too much into the Christmas spirit at the time, so I stated off with a postcard about my favorite season: Fall!

The skill I demonstrate with this simple card is the use of clipping masks!

As you can see, there a nice, autumn-themed images nestled in the text. Now, how does one do this? Clipping masks! A clipping mask is an effect that allows me to frame one image within the boundaries of another. For example: framing the image of the apples in the letter A. (because apples starts with A, ehehehehe)

I used some glow and stroke effects on the text to make them have more 'POP' in the image.


Next, there was a call to make a personal postcard for ourselves! I may not be a destination, but that didn't stop me from trying to represent myself as well as possible in the card! Now, image wise, I tried to incorporate as much of my original work as possible. So, the last four letters of my name have pictures I created all by myself. (The first I have incorporated my favorite bird, the potoo bird). For the main back image, I found a shining sky and clouds background, to represent my head being 'in the clouds', and reaching for 'sky high'. To contrast it, I placed a storm in the thought bubble of the majestic Jackalope. (Kind of like a brainstorm, right?)

So, To create a nice balance of bright, shining colors, I delayered the clouds on top of themselves, and applied a screen to the top layer. To add even more shine, I put a light yellow, transparent ray of light over the majority of the image These effects gave the whole image a surreal, dreamy feel to it. The Jackalope only seems to add to the fantastical feeling.

And for any who are curious as to what are in those letters, they are a variety of creatures that I have drawn within the last year. All of the full images can be found on my
Deviantart account, as linked above.

The pinnacle of this venture, the icing on the cake, perhaps, was an independent card, made with no tutorial (though, in the model of another) over a theme or topic of my choice. Since I was, again, not in a christmas mood at the time, I went with the theme of sugary sweets of the colorful, fruity kind. (Maybe I was just hungry) To start, I had to extract the two gummy bears, one having it's ear overlapped. To fix the chunk of ear missing, I made a bite out of it.

one difficulty I encountered was the picture of the candy (Clipping mask+stroke), as it looked too powdery and light. One way I fixed with was to do something similar to what I did to the sky background on my personal card: I made a duplicate of the layer, but instead of a lightening screen, I gave it an overlay filter t make the colors more vibrant and bring out the contrast to a higher degree. Now, doesn't that big lollipop in the back just make you hungry? The degree of quality gets me every time.

Lastly, to make things pop, everything has it's own little drop shadow: giving the picture a sense of depth and letting each element separate from being lost in all the details.

Font anatomy

What's in a font?

Well, in class we each took a test to see what font supposedly describes each of us the best.

My font was Architype Van Doesman, accompanied with the traits of 

-Emotional

-Assertive

-Progressive

And 

-Disciplined

Architype Van Doesman is an interesting font where all letters take up an equal amount of space, and I find it very balanced.

Looking at these words, I find that they fit me in different ways.

I am indeed very emotional and passionate about the things I love, and will talk or work for hours on something that drives me.

When it comes to assertive, I do try my best to let my ideas be known to others, and will try quite hard to be heard over a din, or a noisy group. And I love to let my work stand out on it's own!

Progressive; now that's a word I can go with. I am always open to new tools and ways of doing things that will go faster and more easily! All the new computer programs and such, I love so many of them.

And in terms of disciplined, however, it's more of a loose term. I do meet my deadlines, and can be very particular about things, but there are some things where I cannot bring myself to commit. So out of the words, that one is the most iffy, but if I'm motivated and driven, i am VERY disciplined with my work!