Polymer Plate Images

This is what my final image will/is supposed to look like (after letterpressing):


Here is how my colors split:


So, unless I decide to make any other changes (more drastic stroke around the Munchkin? tail entwined with the DNA double-helix? any thoughts?) - I think I'm good to go!

Polymer Plate Ideas

"Custom Made"

When I started thinking about a simple two-color design I could create in relation to the phrase "custom made," I thought about furniture and clothes and kitchen cabinetry... All very domestic things, but perhaps not such interesting illustrations. Then I began trying to think about "custom made" in relation to the place where I work, the Bell Museum of Natural History. Images of dioramas and taxidermy came to mind, but then I thought: natural selection. Of course, natural selection isn't exactly customized - so I opted for something more along the lines of trait selection.



Munchkin cats are bred for their short legs, which is actually a genetic mutation. Some professional cat registries don't recognize this breed (for show) for that reason.

My design incorporates an illustration of a Munchkin cat and a DNA double-helix. I will be editing this design to incorporate "custom made" more organically - the words might form the links between the two strands of DNA. "Couture cat" was a suggested label from a friend who is studying clothing design. I am still considering how to use this phrase, if I decide to keep it.

New Assignment: Polymer Plate Printing Project

For the next assignment, everyone in my class will be creating his or her own 4"x6" two-color design revolving around the theme of "-made." We were each assigned our own prefix - I was assigned "custom(-made)". Other examples that were assigned are: re-, hand-, and home-. We will be producing polymer plates with Boxcar Press and printing them on Vandercook letterpress machines (pictured below). In the end, we will be compiling our prints into books and each taking (at least) one home!





This assignment will be very fun - and an exciting break from the computer!

Series: Personal Critique

To be honest, I hit a creative wall with this assignment. Maybe there were too many other things happening at the same time, but as the due date neared, I couldn't find the mental energy to focus on this project as closely as I wanted. My products tags suffered the most as they were my last priority. Ultimately, however, I am pleased with the results. I think my final designs speak to who I am and my illustrative style. The pieces I've created are simple and attractive and might appeal to a wide audience. I feel like I could pick this project up again in the future and complete mat designs for other specific poses.

I'm also happy that I tried to design for product development as this is something I think I'd like to practice more in the future. This would be a good project to use as a critique in the future - what I learned on my own and what I could improve with further training.

Series Development

Product tags are in place! I just need to refine them before printing tomorrow...



I'm looking forward to mounting and finishing tomorrow night. It will feel so gratifying!

I can almost see it...

... if only it weren't for those darn product tags, for which I can't seem to find the brain power. Hopefully I will be smarter tomorrow!











This studio was photographed (with permission) at the Yoga Center of Minneapolis.

Product Design Progress

This is the last week I'll be spending time with this assignment. Class critique and final, mounted designs are due next Tuesday. Hopefully I'll be able to post my progress a couple more times this week because I have a lot of work ahead of me! Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

This past weekend I made some progress with putting my designs in context to yoga practice and retail display. My retail display contains two of my three major pieces for the series: the product tag and the display poster. The product tags (3 layouts for one specific pose/color to be developed this week) will contain the majority of my typographic design (health benefits, pose tips and, of course, pose name) and will be mounted on one board together. The display poster is important to show my pose illustration quality. I'm not sure if I should print this piece to scale or full size (24"x36" like my original yoga poster), but this piece may also be mounted on its own board. The contextual retail display (with final tag and poster designs applied) will also be mounted on its own board.

My yoga mat design is the third major piece of this series, though it is possibly the most important. This is, after all, where my ideas for this assignment began. I will be focusing on the same pose that I develop for my product tags (Fire Log Pose might be the best pose to work with) to create a more artistic and interesting mat design. In the illustrations to the left, I've laid the texture of a yoga mat under each design in order to further influence the design. I'm not sure if this is necessary or if it detracts from the design. Ultimately, the graphic I work with will be mounted on it's own board.

My last board will include my final mat design applied to a contextual image (as seen to the left) and perhaps my three other mats. I don't know if I'll develop them further, but perhaps they're necessary to show the overall grid system of my mat designs.