OUGD603 HARRISON ADVENT CALENDAR - PAPER CUT DEVELOPMENTS, FINAL DESIGNS & BRIEF EVALUATION

The present design was produced digitally as well an in paper cut, to see which version was the most effective, and suited the brief best. However after producing it digitally, the paper cut version works a lot better, as the digital version is almost too simple, or the wrong design to be produced digitally, it look as if it is lacking some element.

Initial paper cut scan of the present design. The trees work really effectively as a background pattern, and not being too compact allow the ribbon to stand out effectively. A gift tag has been added, as this is something you would find on an actual present, whilst also allowing for clever use of the Harrison logo to be added.

Final design: The scan has been digitally altered on Photoshop and Illustrator, to make the colours more vibrant, and to added the text and logo to the gift tag. These modifications create a much cleaner, vibrant design, which is hard to achieve from paper cut alone. The addition of the logo on the gift tag also creates a more personal element, as if Harrison are giving employees or customers a gift, rather than an advent calendar.

This is the scan of a more simple, text based design. Big Joe typeface has been used to create a simple, bold appearance with it's sans serif style and even, heavy weighting. Little paper cut Christmas trees are dotted around the design, giving it a more festive feeling. A comma has been used after Christmas, so when you read it, you almost sing it as it represents the song by Shakin Stevens, Merry Christmas, Everyone.This automatically puts you in a better, more festive mood,

Colours were altered on Photoshop to make them more vibrant and bold, however they have gone a bit too far in this design, bit too garish.

Final submissions:
These are the final two designs that were submitted for this brief. Both have the Harrison logo on as was required, and paring the two together like this in the final stages helped to get the matching of the colours right, so one wasn't brighter than another, so they could work as a pair rather than just individually.

Proof of submission (taken from email).

Brief Evaluation:
This has been a very simple, straightforward brief to start off the year, which provided me with a short task to get me back into the routine of designing. It has also allowed me to explore my interest in paper cut, and how it can be used to give simples designs something extra.
I feel I have managed my time effectively on this brief, only taking just over a week for the whole process, and blogging as I go to avoid a massive amount of work when I finish the brief and need to be getting on with other work. The only thing remaining for this brief is to do the design boards, which will need to be done before another brief is started, so I can draw a line completely under this brief.
Designing for a client, and knowing that if the designs are successful they will be well distributed has definitely made me think much more about how my designs fit the brief, and whether a property development company would be proud giving these advent calendars with my designs on to clients or employees, as this is a reflection of their company.