Statement of Intent
For this project, I designed a set of greeting cards primary using a design inspired by an aspect found within nature. Using the abstraction process, I decided to use seashells in creating the pattern that would decorate my greeting cards, in combination with snowflake-like attributes to keep some inspiration from the season nature is currently in at the time of this project. In order advance the pattern and design, I made it a goal to apply color to the design that would hold its effect in grayscale to maintain widespread accessibility, and would communicate the mood and energy I was aiming for as well.
Ideation
The ideation began with diving into a little bit of exploration with methods of creating pattern in Illustrator. We created random repeat patterns as a class, and I then started by using simple shapes to create combinations that I transformed into different radial and grid formats.
Next, we began developing our designs using abstraction grids, in which we drew out and visually analyzed different attributes of forms from nature, such as movement, symmetry, value, etc. This ended up being a very useful tool for inspiration as I continued to make multiple throughout the process of designing my pattern.
I was especially inspired by the elements of movement found in some of these forms, and continued exploring this with a couple of my favorite abstractions.
I then began a new abstraction grid, using more forms I thought had the potential to bring forth some of the attributes I was interested in.
Iteration & Production
After deciding on an abstraction I was interested in exploring further, I starting using different illustrator techniques I explored earlier during the ideation process. As mentioned earlier, the elements of movement that certain forms more clearly displayed were what I found most inspiring, and I decided to further explore this using abstractions derived from seashells.
Starting to think about color, I generated some color palettes based on colors within images of seashells sourced from the internet and Pinterest, as well as winter images from my own camera roll, creating one color palette to apply to reference for the design. I used Adobe color through most of this process, and was able to get insights on my chosen colors and issues of accessibility, as well as consider more about the mood and energy I hoped to bring into the design using these colors.
I experimented with different possibilities of what type of features I wanted to incorporate in to the design, and was initially interested in the idea of cutting out and layering different parts of the pattern. After testing with the cricut was not super compatible with my designs, I decided to explore some alternative solutions that still involved dynamic and layering aspects.
I continued sketching out ways to use my pattern using previous ideas and iterations, which I was able to translate into a layout on Illustrator.
The structure of the card consists of two layers, adding more depth and allowing the bottom layer to act as an additional outline to the card’s border. I applied colors from my color palette that matched the energy and fit well with the design, pictured above.
After finalizing my card design, I moved on to the accompanying envelope. I decided to keep this part relatively simplistic, using white card stock to match the whites found in the card design, and to allow the card to stand out to the recipient when the envelope is opened. I started by using a model of my card to layout the required measurements and built a prototype.
I then built my final envelopes from card stock using these measurements. As a way to close the envelope, I printed a coordinating sticker from sticker paper; a simple circle to coordinate the design with the circular attributes of my card in the deep red color found on the back side of the card itself. I finally printed each layer of my card design onto card stock, and assembled both copies. I them paired them with the matching envelope and photographed the final results.
Reflection
In this project, the process of creating and applying pattern to real-world contexts was what I found to be most interesting. The added challenge of incorporating a more in-depth production process, in terms of printing and assembly was an especially interesting aspect of this project as well, and really helped me apply new project management-related skills that I can continue to build upon throughout my time as a design student. Investigation into the visual characteristics of forms one might not otherwise have seen with the potential to become decorative was also something I found most interesting about the concept of pattern itself, as I ended up exploring with abstractions of things I never would have thought to at the start of the project. This also presented a unique challenge in itself, as it remained an important aspect to balance this explorative sense with what would appeal to an audience in search of a greeting card. Within these unique aspects of the project, utilizing color and through the primary applications and symmetry and rhythm, I was able to produce a design that I feel balanced the use of a unique abstraction with traditional pattern and color techniques. Another primary goal in my use of color was for its application to enhance the design, even if only the contrasting values are able to be seen, which I feel was something especially successful in this design.
Portfolio Project
The page showcasing my final Pattern project can be found through the link below!