Good Is... Task Four

Specialist Production & Distribution

Based on the terminology and examples introduced during this session, extend your awareness of the diversity of print production methods in relation to professional design practices discussed. See how this impacts on what you have learnt so far and how it might affect your personal interpretation of print issues around the 4 core areas below

- Branding and Identity

- Packaging and Promotion

- Publishing & Editorial

- Information & Wayfinding

It is important that you identify and evaluate unfamiliar products, contexts and functions of design for print as this will help you to develop a broader and more informed understanding of the specialist nature of print production.

For this task, I have collected examples of print that I have around my house to help show my understanding of print production. From now on, I'll be keeping a selection of leaflets, cards, and other formats, to compare stocks and print finishes.

The first postcard contains a flock finish over the black parts. This makes you want to pick the card up and stroke it! It's a lot more exciting than just a printed page, and it was actually the finish that drew me to buy this postcard. The second image is a Rob Ryan print, which is blue foil. Most examples of foil blocking I have found seem to be with silver or gold foil, so this is a good example to show how good different colours look. The stock is a recycled brown thick card, which works surprisingly well with the blue foil. This choice of stock makes this image stand out better than it would with plain paper.

This Dolce & Gabbana perfume box really shows you that you are buying into a luxury brand with your purchase. The box is unique, with a blue furry stock and silver foil blocking. This is the nicest perfume box I've ever had, and its quite a contrast to the simple bottle inside. While in the price of the perfume you are probably paying for this extravagant box, the fact that it is far more interesting that other boxes makes you remember it, and trust the brand as a quality one.

This Odeon cinema magazine caught my attention because of the metallic spot colour used. As a collectors edition, for the release of the new Twilight film, the use of this metallic colour adds makes this thin magazine seem like a special enough thing to keep. Inside the magazine, the pages are nothing spectacular, but I would be drawn in by the cover because of the spot colour.

This is another beautiful perfume box. Here the gold foil is very delicate, which I think works really well to stop the box from looking too much, as the gold covers quite a large area. The stock is an interesting texture that again makes you want to touch it. In comparison to a normal perfume box, which would probably be printed on to thick coated card, this slightly rough box would draw me more in to looking at the perfume. I also think the colours are very pretty, and all these factors add a touch of luxury to the product. I like the way the box opens, as two parts, and as a square. This may still be simple but is a good change from the usual rectangular boxes.

Another perfume box example! Although this is for a luxury perfume, I don't like it as much as the other boxes, as there is so much gold foil, it doesn't look as delicate. However, its still an interesting box that does draw you in. At our print visit to Team print, we saw similar types of boxes being made up, and this process of making the box is a way of finishing a piece of design which shouldn't be forgotten.

Foil blocking on title on wrap around cover / De-bossing on book cover

Tracing paper envelope / Photograph showing variety of stock weights, textures & colours

Tracing paper with text over image

Different size paper / fold out sections

Tracing paper image over other image

Flip pages / Thick, rough stock

This book contains many different stocks, print finishes, folds and so on that it is at risk of going a bit much. It works for this book because it is in between being a children's book and a 'coffee table' style book. I did think about using lots of variations of stock, finishes etc for my information pack, but I decided that it would look too much, and make it seem cheap, so I didn't, instead I just thought about a few things I could do to enhance my designs. This book contains lots of inspiration for designing a publication to be printed, however, I think it makes more sense to just choose a few things at a time.

The simple de-bossing of the Pandora logo on this jewellery box is an easy way to brand the boxes, so that they all look the same no matter what shape or size, meaning that they are always easily recognisable as being from Pandora, despite the simplicity. As we learnt at the beginning of this course, sometimes simple design is the most effective.

The cover of this book contains a simple use of foil blocking, on the silver parts of the crown, as well as spot varnish over the title text. This book is really inspiring for what I am aiming to create for my information pack, as it is clear who its audience is, and it gets this across with its girly colour, simple print finishes and elegant illustrations. The thin stock inside is relevant as it is delicate, relating to the theme of 'princess lessons'. 

This book is relevant to my information pack as it is based at the same age range. On this book, I think the metallic spot colour used for the title adds quality to the book, as the selected audience will be at the age where they are still drawn to childish looking designs, but want some sophistication in their books at the same time. I aim to get this right with my information pack, by having a good mix of sophisticated print finishes mixed with youthful colours and illustrations.

This is another perfume box example, with a subtle use of spot varnish creating a pattern over the box. I don't think the choice of stock and design of this box make it seem as luxurious as the other boxes I have looked at, but that doesn't matter, as this is not what this box is trying to do. It is trying to appeal to a younger age range, and I think it succeeds in doing that. I really like the contrast of the bright pink spot colour in comparison the the black box.

This is a perfume advert I found in a magazine. (I'm noticing all my examples seem to be about perfume!) The front bottle contains spot varnish, where the rest of the advert doesn't. Its printed on to quite thick stock, as there is a little perfume sample on the other side. By the advert being on a thicker stock to the other pages in the magazine, it is impossible to avoid this advert. Personally I think print finishes like spot varnish work better when covering a small area, as they look more luxurious there, but it still works in grabbing your attention.

This Miso clothes label contains a subtle use of spot varnish on the key design. I think spot varnish on a  colour which is similar to the colour of the background is a classy touch. A well made label like this can make the clothes seem much more luxurious than they are, helping for them to sell at a more expensive price.

Here is another example of how foil blocking can make an item look luxurious. This bag is a gorgeous purple which works well with the gold. It shows how just the logo and name can be enough to make the bag stand out when used with a print finish. This may be something I try when creating other formats to go with my information pack. 

These clothes labels are another example of making you feel like what you have bought/ are buying is luxurious. The 'Odille' label is printed onto a thick stock, with the logo slightly embossed. The other label is printed onto a much thinner stock, which makes it seem much less quality, despite the word 'luxury' being on the tag. However, it does contain a simple spot varnish to enhance the label.