Laser Cutter Induction

Just had the laser cutter session down in sheaf workshop, it was surprisingly easier than I expected it to be, having never done it before.

The fact you can cut and engrave is nice too and will be great for future use where I can plan things ahead of time, I won't be using the laser cutter for my packaging as I will be using really thick paper and don't want to burn the edges of my net, also don't want to spend a lot of money on a print and then screw up the alignment.

Below is a picture of my test shape that we had to do in illustrator, which was quite easy to do so.

Packaging Net Testing

So I really needed to sort out my nets for my packaging idea, the lid was pretty simple, the only problem I needed to solve was how I was going to fill the corner that has been 'cut off' here are some photos showing progress of the lid:

As you can see I progressively got to a decent point for the lid, and I think it works really well.

Next was the base which turned out to be more of a challenge, seen as I only have a base and 2 walls there was a problem of stability and whether or not the 2 walls would be really flimsy.

I came up with 2 solutions to make the base and test how well the walls stood, here are some photos to show how I tackled the problem.

 Aobe is the first solution which consists of folding the paper underneath and gluing it in place, this looks tacky and would take away the flat surface.

 Then the second solution involved creating an oblong that would hide the paper underneath, I think it adds to the solidarity of the overall package as well as you can see below.

I prefer the second one, although I will have to take into account the design that gets printed on the base as I want the package to look good with the lid on and off.

Further Logo Development

So after the feedback I recieved below I did some further work on the logos people chose and my personal favourite. Adding rounded corners, adjusting line weights and putting them into containers gave me a whole new set of logos.

Here are the new set of logos:

Number 1 and 2 are a variation of number 7 from the last post whch people seemed to like, I definitely think the rounded corners help the logo seem friendlier and easier on the eye (yes, Aaron Draplin is a boss), although i'm not a fan of the negative space which helps define the letter R.

Number 5 and 6 are also a variation of number 7 but I think i've executed the design way better, the R looks a lot nice and the rounded corners are very appealing to me, I prefer number 5 though, the offset of the R adds an interesting composition inside the logo.

Number 3 and 4 are a variation of number 8 from the last post, I think the tracking of the 'letters' fits together better, not so much blank space.

Number 7 and 8 are also a variation of number 8 from the last post, I think the circular container and the thin line weight give it a really nice professional look.

Number 9 I didn't alter from the first version, this was my favourite as the motion in the letters really reflected the way I draw, I think it's the most 'fun' logo.

Overall I am torn between 5, 8 and 9, some reflect me as a designer more than others but don't look as aesthetically pleasing, as James pointed out in the feedback from Facebook, the R could look like a P in number 8, I tried fixing this but I felt it took away from the logo, I think the majority of people saw an R first though.

After some general feedback from people on Facebook it seems number 2 is the favourite, but as someone pointed out number 3 is more artistic, which I agree with, I think it fits better with what I want to do as a designer, which is illustration, but number 2 can be altered in more ways to fit for example the series I might do in future, I could change the black to a pattern or painting and it would still work as a logo, which may not be possible with number 3.

Logo Development

Here are the logos I took forward from paper sketches and planning, overall I think I have a good selection of different styles, some of which reflect me more than others but I will provide a brief description of each. All the logos are black and white because I believe a good logo should work in it's most basic form without colour, which can always be added later.

• Number 1 and 2 are an abstract self portrait of the contours of my face, not the nicest looking chap I know haha, but I like the bold lines and thick bounding box, it reminds me a lot of Shepherd Fairey's Andre The Giant image.
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• Number 3 and 4 are a form of my initials I use on some of my illustrations already, I really liked the shape so I vectorized it and it turned out pretty well, the tapering lines provide character to it, I think it reflects me a lot.
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• Number 5 is a basic drop shadow using the Futura font, I think it's clever the way we can look at this and see how it forms an A and R, making the audience feel sort of clever.
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• Number 6 is a lowercase freehanded signature, it's not my favourite, it's too loose and doesn't work well in my opinion.
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• Number 7 combines the overall shapes of A and R in a way I think works, it's by far the simplest logo in the collection, which could work in it's favour.
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• Number 8 and 9 play with the idea you don't need all the lines in a letter to make them out, I did 2 versions with different line weights, I prefer the lighter version, it might look better in a container (such as a box).
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• Number 10 combines the lines of each letter together to create a whole, I think it works well but the point at the top of the A is really sharp and distracting.

I will ask my peers to vote on which one they think is best and suites me as a designer.

Primary Research Survey

I created a survey using Survey Monkey to gather some primary research, to find out people's opinions about myself, packaging in today's world, colour preferences and why, what makes a good logo and how I could improve my survey (improve my surveying skills for next time).

Here are the questions I asked:

1. What 3 words would you use to describe me as a person?

2. If possible write a short description about me as a person, or a designer.

3. If you walked into a room and there was a random box on the floor, what colour would make it appealing and why?

4. What are the 3 most important things about packaging in today's world to you?

5. What has been your favourite design trend of the past year? Provide examples if possible.

6. List 3 things that make an aesthetically appealing logo to you.

7. If you have any suggestions for future surveys, please list them here.

I gathered a lot of useful information from this survey that will influence my design to make it more appealing, the fact it was anonymous led people to be more honest than usual which is always good. It was definitely worth the time to make it.

Here are just a few answers from the survey I thought were interesting: