Weekly Update

This week I got my new project brief entitled '3D visualisation'; the outcome is to produce designs for a set of 3 noodle boxes. For this project, there aren't many limits to the design or materials you can use which allows for experimentation but also makes it challenging to grasp in the initial stages. Currently, I've completed the initial artist research with 5 artists chosen by the tutors. All of the artists utilised elements of 3D into their work, from street art and murals painted with exaggerated depth to papercraft and woodworking techniques used to construct sculptures. Most of the artists had strong foundations as graffiti artists with bold graphic styles, something I wouldn't usually gravitate towards however it broadened my mindset to looking at alternate ways of visualising the 3D project. AJ Fosik, for example, was an artist I was drawn to for his ability to create wood and paper-crafted sculptures of animal heads. Although I thought the compositions were quite reminiscent of other artists I'd seen, I liked the idea of using papercraft to create depth and visual impact.

Noodle Character Concept

At this early stage in the project I'm still deciding on the direction I want to take with regards to colour, method of print and design, but know I want to keep the design quite traditional, with aspects of the minimalistic red and white Chinese colour scheme used in many boxes produced worldwide today. During the last triptych project, I looked at Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige who produced amazing woodblock prints of the Japanese mountainous landscape. The red and black colour scheme reflects traditionally printed illustrations and I intend to explore this style more, possibly adding a contemporary twist with the brief asking for a character to be in the design. Currently, I'm exploring packaging designs that interest me. Through branding research on Pinterest, I've found a Chinese coffee company that uses milk carton-shaped boxes with a continuous landscape illustration running horizontally across the front of the 3 boxes. I love the continuity between the three flavours and might look at replicating this feature in my noodle boxes. Chinese and Japanese packaging is predominantly very cutesy, tying in with the popular Manga culture there, characters are used for branding to appeal to a wide target market.

In the next few weeks, I aim to experiment with ink, watercolour and lino prints with influence from Hiroshige and reference mood boards to get a better understanding of the environment. In my mindmap, I looked at the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, a village in Lijiang with stunning traditional Chinese architecture and gardens with native flowers; closer research will benefit me with regards to symbolism being used on the noodle boxes. Through development I will hopefully get a better understanding what style has the greatest visual impact and will work best on the boxes, whether that be more tradition character illustrations or a digital graphic approach, focusing on simplistic shape and colour. I would usually approach projects with my illustrative storybook style as I usually create with a younger target audience in mind however it would be a challenge and add variety to my portfolio with a graphic outcome, possibly utilising the Riso printer which I enjoyed using in my first project.

Early Inspiration