Evaluation

In this project my main aim was to finish off the work I began in the last unit, and to prepare myself for beginning my career after university. To achieve this I wanted to finish my three main collections, but I also wanted to allow time to take on extra projects to build my portfolio and prove that I am a versatile designer. I also intended to develop my brand and prepare the beginnings of a business that I can kick-start after I graduate.

The biggest challenge I have faced in this project is managing my time. I have reached the stage where I have all the skills to do all the things I want to achieve, but this means I often take on every project that comes my way, which leads to me trying to juggle multiple projects at once. This challenge has however taught me a lesson as I have come to realise that as good as I may think I am, there is only so much time in each day and I need to manage my time to make sure I spend enough time on each project, and to complete it to a high enough standard.

I am really proud of the amount of work I have managed to produce over the past few months. In the earlier stages of the project I took on a lot of external projects, but I have always felt it is important to push myself as much as possible. Designing my large-scale piece for the Tatton Park exhibition was a great challenge and even though it took up a lot more time that I had planned, I feel it really paid off. Even though the exhibition was separate from my main project, I feel it has had an effect on my work as the experimentation I did with scale has in turn influenced my other design work.

I have had great experiences of collaborating with people in this unit, from working with Zach to build his new magazine empire, to learning the reality of working on a project and not getting selected after working with Ailsa. I have come to realise that even though it is important to be self sufficient and independent, its even more important to make the most of your contacts, as networking has led to some really exciting opportunities this year that have had a big impact on my work. For instance, repeatedly designing for the Patternmash project got me noticed by Hannah Kirkbride who runs the site, and I can now count her as a valuable contact.

I feel like my efforts of doing all this extra work are finally beginning to pay off, as I was selected for New Designers in London, and I have also been put forward by my tutors for Texprint. Both of these are big opportunities which could further my career and would give me the chance to show my work to wider audiences.

In the last project I worked really hard to develop a strong concept, but this sometimes left my print design lacking as I was too busy thinking about the ‘idea’ behind everything. This time around I feel I have made stronger decisions about design, worked harder with my layouts and really considered what it is the customer wants and what would make my work saleable. I’m particularly proud of my scarf designs as I have put a long amount of time and effort into each design, but I feel it shows and makes a covetable, exciting product that I could easily sell post university.

My next aim between now and the project hand in will be to finish my visualisations and lookbook to go alongside my design work, and to finish them to the same high standard I have created all my other work to.

I decided in the end that it was best to keep my online shop and personal portfolio separate as they are both selling different aspects of my work. I feel I have learnt the importance of getting your work out there and not being afraid to show it to anyone and everyone, as you never know where the next opportunity with crop up. Having my Instagram page and Patternmash profile has been great for getting across to people what my work is about and showing myself to be a versatile designer. Even though I am currently looking for design jobs, I know that freelance design is also an option, so I have made sure that my portfolio is broad and shows off my variety of skills so that I am not just pigeonholed as a print designer for fashion.  

Business and branding

Final logo

Throughout the project I have been thinking about where my work will go next after I have graduated, so I have taken the time to really consider my branding as I wanted to create something that I would be happy to use after university. I spent quite a long time perfecting my logo as I want it to look modern but also reflect the ornate and often historic nature of my work. I am so pleased with the final design and have already begun to order stickers that can be used as part of the branding and packaging of my scarves. I have also been doing lots of research about packing, boxes and labelling to reflect the luxuriousness of the product and make the customer feel like they are buying into something special. I rather like the idea of having swing tags or cards to go with each scarf to explain the concept and context behind each design, as each one has a story which adds to the visual interest of the scarf.  

Section of my Instagram page

The next task in branding my work will be to create a website so that I will be able to sell my products online. I have already set up an Instagram page just for my work, and this has been a great platform to get my work seen and show some of the process behind my practice, but I also want to set up an online portfolio to send to prospective employers. 

Scarves

Selection of some of my final scarf designs

Over the past few weeks I have been concentrating most of my efforts on getting the scarf collection finished. In my last project the scarves were intended to be a part of a larger fashion accessories collection, but after much deliberation I have decided that I would rather dedicate myself to one of them, creating one really strong small scarf collection rather than a poor larger accessories collection. On reflection I wasn’t very happy with the scarf designs I handed in for the last project, so this time around I have spent a lot more time thinking about layouts, how the scarves are worn and therefore what should fall in the corners, and just generally creating a varied selection of designs that reflects the concept. I have taken some of the motifs from old designs and reworked them with new ones, but continuing with luxurious colours to complement the fabric and using the trompe oliel idea to create 3D scenes. I’m glad that I have taken the time to make this collection the best I possibly can as I really want to have something exciting to take with me to New Designers in London, and hopefully it will make me stand out to judges at Texprint. 

Photoshoots

Image from tableware shoot

I really enjoyed doing my tableware photoshoot in the last project so I have actually allotted time in this project to work on this aspect more, as I feel it will give me something a bit different to show off the variety of my work in my portfolio. I was quite heavily inspired by the lifestyle and clothing brand Toast, and tried to keep my imagery homey with natural lighting, but trying to keep the general collections and antiques theme involved by including antiques and dark wood surfaces to look like an antique shop. I think the introduction of seasonal flowers adds some interest to the imagery and helps it to fit into my chosen context.

Scarf visualisations

I have also been thinking about how to visualise my scarf collection as one of the comments made at the feedback of my last project was that the visualisations could have been stronger. Whilst most people on the course doing womenswear have booked studios and models, I want to go down a more unusual route to reflect the unusual content of my designs. In the past I have placed photographic scarves on illustrations, so this time I want to displace my designs onto photographic collages featuring mannequins and marble busts as alternative models.

This has also made me think further about what I would like to show alongside my scarves at the degree show, and I think a large composite version of these photo collages, made up to look like a curiosity shop, would be a great piece to sum up my collection and to make my work stand out at the show. 

Tableware designs

I have thoroughly enjoyed doing the styling for my tableware collection as photography is something I never really get the time to do. I just did the mock ups with white plates so I can displace my designs on at a later date.

As I have chosen to look at different types of collecting as inspiration for each design collection, I decided to push my concept further and look at the collections that seem to grow all on their own - all the worthless bits of matter that people seem to collect but don't want to throw away. I used photographs of objects I found in jars at home, and used just the objects from one jar or drawer in each print. I really like the soft effect of multiplying the layers of photos. These are just mock up designs as I have not the chance to thoroughly develop this collection yet, but I hope to use these as a starting point in the next project. 

Tableware

So far in the project I have just been working on prints for a fashion context, but the more I work with my motifs I realised they would work really successfully in a homeware context. I'm excited about the prospect of creating a tableware collection, which could cover crockery, tins, napkins and other kitchen ephemera, as it will give me a chance to develop my surface pattern skills. I have done plenty of research this week into companies which digitally print onto various objects, which has got me very excited about the endless possibilities. I also think it would be the perfect opportunity to do some styling and photography, so I have started to bring together some inspirational imagery from the likes of Toast and Country Living.

Scarves

I decided to lay out my motifs as scenes for the scarf designs, which I think is really effective as it puts all the objects into perspective. The simple shape of the scarf gives the perfect canvas for a non-conventional print, as it becomes an abstract print once folded and knotted around the neck. I'm also really pleased with the shadows and sense of perspective as I have been looking at trompe l'oeil paintings for inspiration - the shadows mixed with photographic and digitally drawn imagery works really successfully. 

Customer

Now that I have revised my collections, I decided it would be a good idea to have another look at who I am actually designing for, so that I can have them in mind throughout the design process. Whilst both customers are fashionable young women I saw them with slight differences - the womenswear customer would be chic and elegant, choosing simplistic and classic items, whilst the accessories customer would be more quirky, vintage inspired, and open to buying something a bit more unusual. Now that I have a more clear idea of my customer I feel I can visualise them whilst I'm designing.

Live projects

Entering online print competitions has given me a good break from the monotony of working on my main project lately. I thoroughly enjoyed both the Front Row Society and Textile Federation projects as they were inspiring themes that came with a wealth of imagery. I found it useful practicing print-making with photographic elements as I have mainly been working on drawings in my project. As fun as it has been having a break from my usual work, it has also given me a chance to practice other styles of working, and to remind myself of where I see myself after university. 

Even though I hated doing the prints for the Lacuna Press competition, as I mentioned in a previous post, I actually won the competition and was asked if I could have my designs listed on the designed fabric section of their website. This is really exciting as not only is it the first proper step towards my design career, but it also shows that it is worth entering every competition even if it is not particularly enjoyable at the time.

Reflecting

When I went round town for the shop report I realised that I didn't feel very inspired by the shapes I was seeing, and and it made me rethink my idea of just doing womenswear collections for high end and high street. I really want to use this project to create something different and exciting, alongside being able to show that I can do commercial design. I know that I want to do scarf designs again as that has been successful in the past, but I also want to branch out, so I have decided to widen this into fashion accessories, but I will also stick with doing one high end womenswear collection for variety. After quite some thought I realised that handbag linings will be the perfect vehicle for my busier prints, as I can create something quite simplistic on the outside that reveals a wealth of treasure once you open it. 

Womenswear research

Handbag research

The things that I found most interesting when researching clothing shapes was the use of panelling and contrasting textures - lots of sheer sections in unexpected places. There was also lots of unusual hemlines that were longer at the front or back. I think it is these subtle details that rather than an in-your-face print that makes something high end stand out, so I will make sure to incorporate some of these elements in my designs. 

When it came to handbag research however I was even more uninspired by what is on the market, which seems to be flooded with basic tote shapes and boxy designs, excluding the odd unusual shaping from Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney. I chose instead to focus on vintage handbag shapes, which lead me to look at some really interesting history books where I discovered lots of interesting things about the origins of handbag shapes which will feed back into my design work. As I am planning on designing a simple exterior to contrast my busy linings, I think I will need to try sourcing some leathers and suedes to experiment with.