Meryem's Books

Meryem has a great collection of really old books that detail first hand reserach of patterns from around the world. There were a lot of sections within the books that interested me, but for the purposes of this brief I decided to scan in pages that where directly applicable to our African theme. The document below details the pages I found particularly useful. 

Niessen & de Vries

Whilst looking for colour inspiration for my African inspired patterns I came across the work of Dutch designers Richard Niessen and Esther de Vries. Their work has been described as 'a focus on the art of print and the techniques that draw the attention of graphic designers the world over, like overprinting, patterns, off-registration, large scale posters and amazing typography'. Though not strictly related to my African theme, the colour combinations seen below are mind blowing and certainly something to aim for in terms of success when working with colour.

The image to the left reminds me of a Saul Bass composition, but ultimately with so much more colour, which is a hard task to do considering he used such large amounts.

Collaboration Agreement: Brief One

Below is my section of the collaborative brief agreement. I have tried to fill out the sections as concisely as possible but obviously there will be gaps. This is something that I will hopefully stick to as closely as possible, but if our responsibilities change or the brief starts to go in a completely different direction I will have to revise it.

Metal Packaging

Wood Packaging

Orange Mini Munny

I came across this customised Munny and couldn't help but be blown away by the concept. I'm not entirely sure if the image is genuine or photoshopped, but either way its pretty impressive. However, the one thing that really solidified its brilliance is for me is the accompanying packaging. I adore the fact that it comes in an orange juice carton. It is something along these lines that I hope we can design. In terms of actual design, I think the visuals could be a little more fun. I realise the whole idea is for the packaging to resemble a carton, but the designer could have used a little more of a flare. They could have communicated the idea, but with more of an emphasis on creative graphic design, maybe not stuck so tightly to the formula. Nevertheless, it is something to use an inspiration, and certainly successful in its own right.

Art Toys

I know its probably unrealistic for us to consider actually producing our own vinyl toys, but there is something very appealing about the possibility, especially after finding the item below and the description enclosed.

RESIN TOYS: All my toys are made from polyurethane...some sort of resin. I started with a sculpt from clay, then made the silicone molds and casted the figures by a hand-rotocasting-method by using polyurethane. The figures are hollow.

Valentine Mini Munny

Although I am not blown away by the designs seen on the Munny here, I am impressed by the how well resolved the proposal is. From the flat image of the packaging with the appropriate visuals, seen to the left, to the way in which the facial and body patterns are displayed for very practical purposes. I also like how the Munny follows a theme and the use of only two colours. The red and white combination is perfect for Valentine's day and the use of a vectorised heart is subtle and clever.

The image to the left shows how a proposal should look and what different elements are required to successfully communicate design intentions. The use of a template is also something we need to think about, and how are designs will be placed on it. The image at the top of the page is a nice little addition in terms of promotion and placing the visuals on a different medium. It is a simple, two colour screenprint and is something we should consider.

This image shows how a finished product would look, complete with the accompanying packaging.

Dinner Time

Brief: Dan Ogren and Kaz Ishii wanted to create a refreshing package design that would break the trend of the “Italian look” for a series of items that are associated with pasta dinners. Keeping in mind; large portions of various pastas, two types of sauce, cooking utensils, parmesan cheese, and of course bread.
Aesthetically, the designers wanted to capture the homemade feeling with clean, simple and purposeful design elements. Starting with the logo, that resembles a birds-eye-view of a dinner table and chairs, to the fully custom hand-made packaging with unique locking system. All parts of the project are either screen-printed or vinyl. The designer’s intention was to present a high quality handcrafted product with extreme attention to detail.


Although this piece of packaging is not directly related to mine and Meryem's collaboration, it is closer than you may realise at first glance. Firstly there is the common theme; representing a country. We may be working towards an African theme, and this is Italian, but the use of a country's signifiers is present and something to draw on. Also the use of inventive ways to package items, using different stocks and producing final resolutions with a variety of print methods, is inspirational. If nothing else, this is an example of great, well resolved packaging, and a level of profesionalism I aim to work at.

African Cream Music Posters

I came across this collection of African themed music posters and was instantly impressed. The colours used are perfect, and the way in which black is used as a background colour is also visually pleasing. I also think that the style of illustration is something that Meryem would appreciate, and possibly create something close to. If there was one thing I would take away from this is would be the combination of yellow, green, white and black. Also the clever use of country's shape.

Colour Packaging

I was looking into examples of pre-existing packaging that use colour in the best possible way when I came across the image below. The packaging design itself isn't exactly strong, in fact it's very plain and must have been constructed with very simple nets. However I adore the use of minimal colour and how strongly the two colours contrast. I also admire how the white acts as a third colour and helps the others to pop. The use of simple geometric shapes is also something I like and definitely links to traditional African patterns. Triangles is perhaps a theme to explore.

Africa: Visual Differentiations

Northern Africa
Countries and Territories: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, Western Sahara. 

Western Africa
Countries and Territories: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo. 

Central Africa
Countries and Territories: Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe. 

Eastern Africa
Countries and Territories: Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Comoros, Mauritius, Seychelles, Réunion, Mayotte.

Southern Africa
Countries and Territories: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland.

Vinyl Toy Research

I thought before we could begin designing for mine and Meryem's collaboration it would be important to do some initial research. I looked into what shapes where most popular within the vinyl toy community, and the vast difference between the models. I drew a variety of the shapes, scans of which can be found below.

I also thought it would be important to carry out some research into the different ways in which vinyl toy illustrations can be spread across a range of different mediums. I came across the book 'Jeremyville Sessions' and found it very useful for this area. Below are a few scans from the book that proved useful, most of the pages show the different forms of distribution, packaging layouts and fun playful imagery. This book will serve as a constant resource that I will continue to look back at and draw inspiration from.

Bibliography: Artoyz, Brief One

Budnitz, P. (2006) 'I Am Plastic'; Abrams, New York.

A great book for discovering the basics of vinyl toy design. Large amounts of detailed imagery, show ranges in existence. Great for listing the variety of vinyl toy shapes. Also really good for theme possibilities and colour schemes.

Mair, M. (2007) 'Jeremyville Sessions'; Systems Design Limited, Hong Kong.

Takes the concept of vinyl toy design and goes a step further. Details great examples of how illustrations found on the toys can be distributed across other mediums. Will be useful when thinking about packaging and promotion.

Templin Brink Design (2004) '2 Colour Graphics: Unlimited Design Solutions'; Rockport Publishers, Massachusetts.

Not a book directly related to vinyl toys, but instead lists memorable pieces of design that consist of only two colours. This is something I think we should do with our project. It will make the designs more vibrant, but only if we pick the right combination. This book will help with those decisions.

Killjoy Dunny; 20 inch

This is beautiful. The use of colour, the traditional Mexican influence, and how the aesthetics have been applied to packaging. Everything about this is just perfect. Besides from the fact that I now want one, I would love to create something just an ounce as spectacular as this. Now to brainstorm possible subject areas. 

Kid Robot

Perhaps the most prolific distributors of both plain and personalised vinyl toys, Kid Robot is an incredibly influential business that now has products sold all over the world; from New York to London. Their most famous ranges would without a doubt be 'Dunny's' and 'Munny's'. In this blog post I will detail a few examples of each vinyl shape.

Munny

Dunny

Below are images of just one of the many KidRobot series based around a popular culture theme. This particular one focuses on the characters from cult animation series 'Futurama'. Others include: TV shows South Park, Family Guy and The Simpsons, NBA Legends, Comic Superheroes and video game 'Street Fighter'.

On a personal note, out of all the personalised Munny's I found online, the image to the left is without doubt my favourite. It's an interpretation of a character found in the pages of many of the 'Tank Girl' graphic novels. This proves to me just how much fun and versatility can be created with a single figure, paint and a little bit of imagination. I also admire how the little prop beer can has been crafted and certain appendages have been added seamlessly to the figure itself, such as the ears and the eyebrows. They really help bring the idea to a well rounded conclusion. This single image has re-enforced just how keen I am to undertake this particular brief.

Artoyz: Creatoyz

After having a discussion with Meryem about our possible collaboration we came to the conclusion that undertaking a live brief based on illustration would be the best move. Meryem presented to me a range of briefs that she would enjoy undertaking, and would lend themselves to collaborative resolutions. The one that stood out the most to me was the 'Creatoyz' brief created by French vinyl toy distributors 'Artoyz'. It was first established last year, and has the potential to be repeated again some time in the future. Nevertheless we intend to adapt the brief slightly, and focus on a subject area of our choosing, but stick to the basic principles of character design and supporting packaging and promotional material. The prospect is very exciting and definitely something I am ready to sink my teeth into. The image to the left is my favorite entry from last years short list of winners. More examples are below.

Mr. Yeah by Julien Renault:

Jumble by WMK:

Kuma by Cuypi: