Notebooks

Danielle Muntyan OUGD603 Extended Practice Brief # 2 Notebooks

The Brief

To design and produce a series of packaged notebooks, that can either be used or given as a gift.

Brief Type

Self-Initiated

Context

There is a gap in the market for hand-made stationery that can be bought in-store. The main market outlet for items such as hand-made notebooks is Etsy, where the end user does not get to touch and feel the product as many stationery lovers do.

There is a beauty to hand-made stationery which is often forgotten through mass production, therefore this brief aims to bring that idea back to life. The notebooks would be sold at small gift/design boutiques such as Colours May Vary, Leeds and The Village, Leeds.

Considerations

There are several considerations which need to be looked whilst researching and designing, including:

Format and SizePrint/Pattern/Shape Concept/ThemeColour CostTypography Stock BookbindingPackagingTone of VoiceTarget Audience

Solution

A series of hand-made, screen printed, hand-bound, saddle stitched 48 page, A5 and A6 notebooks.

The products will be based around the idea of 90s style screen printed, overlaid patterns and prints, featuring branded, informative NOTES by Daniellebelly bands, allowing the end user to engage further with the brand and the designer behind the product.

Evaluation

I really enjoyed this brief from start to finish and feel very proud and happy with the final outcome.

I put myself out of my comfort zone with screen printing, however have learnt invaluable process and achieved what I feel are outstanding results by doing so.

I feel through this brief I have developed as a designer in terms of hands-on design skills, such as book binding, printing and illustration.

Target Audience

Targeted at Females, aged 16-30, looking to purchase a quirky gift or a new bespoke, high-quality piece of stationery.

Deliverables

A series of screen printed hand-made packaged notebooks.

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Packaging

In order to reduce the cost price of the notebooks, and keep the bold prints visible, a belly band will be used to package the product, as seen on several examples above.

Binding

From the research collected, stapled or perfect bound notebooks are the most common form available to buy through the mass markets, i.e. high street stores.

However, being a hand-made product, the book will be Saddle Stitched to keep tightly within the concept.

Format

From researching existing products in the market, it was found that the most common format is Portrait, usually at A5 or A6 size.

Two different formats have been chosen for the notebooks - A5, Portrait and A6, Portrait, allowing the end user to choose a convenient size depending on their intentions of its use.

Print, Pattern and Stock

Various obvious and unobvious stock choices have been used in the examples shown, from chip board to foil blocked kraft paper.

In particular I liked the coloured sandpaper (bottom left) and the kraft paper featured (bottom right).

I really like the hand rendered bold, colourful block shapes and repeat patterns featured, which I have taken influence from.

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Contextual and Aesthetic Research


The Printing Process

Screen Printing was chosen as the printing process for the notebooks due to the colours and effects which can be achieved through experimental, hands-on print.

With unusual and beautiful printing, the end user will also value and appreciate the end product for being hand-printed.

Influence

I was very inspired by the bold, fluorescent colours and gradients featured on the examples shown, and wanted to bring this into the prints and patterns in the process.

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Print Process Research


Concept

Three doodle-like prints have been hand drawn, and digitally manipulated in order to gain a repeat pattern.

Each print has been drawn and digitised keeping in mind the idea of overlaying the patterns when printing. By each pattern featuring different depths of detail and spacing, the final print will work more effectively.

Overlays

A digital example of two overlaid prints.

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Development: Print and Pattern

Screen Printing

Different colour variations and different overlays were used to create the unique, diverse and bright prints created.

This allows for each final product to be different when bound, creating unique gifts and stationery.


Belly Band

The belly band promotes the brand through its logo, whilst noting the product at hand.

The stocks used for the cover and the inner pages has also been listed to add a further sense of quality to the product.

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Outcome: Notebooks

Colour

As the print was entirely pattern based, I felt as though I could use colour freely, and didnt limit my colour range when printing.

Fluroescents and gradients were used to create bold, eye-catching and feminine prints, whilst overlaying with a contrasting print and colour to gain further visual stimulation and depth. I really wanted to experiment with colour, shape and pattern with this particular brief.

Print Process

The prints drawn at A3 scale, were screen printed onto A2 stock, and then trimmed down to A4 and A5 pieces to form the notebook covers.

By doing so this ensures each finished product will feature a unique screen printed cover, being bound in a variety of colours. Each item being individual is a key selling and promotional point also in the current market, whilst adding a both unusual and personal touch to the notebooks, which are self-branded.


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Book Marks and Gift Tags

Out of the excess printed stock, gift tags and book marks were produced as additional items.

They were packaged and further photographed in the same manner to show the collection as a whole, as well as a range of individual products.

Possible Future Product Expansion

From this is it possible to see how from a simple idea and print, additional products could form a larger brand and expand into different markets such as interiors, home ware and fashion.

Since producing the notebooks, I have given these out at studio visits, on placements and as gifts, and have received very positive feedback. Therefore, perhaps a different set could be produced in the future for the same purposes, or simply as a networking memento.

Outcome: Notebooks and Additional Products

Binding

The books have been saddle stitched in 2 key areas on the spine to support the cover and the inner pages of the publication.

Documents

Notebooks