Museo Frida Kahlo

Grupo Richaud

I was interested in the different items that originate from Mexico but are found in very different categories. The first category that I came up with was food packaging and I was reminded of this crisp packet that I picked up at the market in Merida, Mexico. I actually have no idea why I kept this piece of packaging but boy am I glad I did. It may be pretty generic in most parts but the little motif of a Mexican character in a sombrero found in the middle is memorable, and therefore stands out. When using a linen tester to look at the detail of this piece of print it becomes pretty obvious that it has been created using flexography. I think its important that I find a piece of print made from each method that is directly related to Mexican culture.

Type Workshop: 30th Sep

Today we had our first type workshop with Graham from vis-com. To be completely honest I found the session a bit tedious at first. However when we got into the swing of things and were asked to use type effectively through just a few simple exercises my mind was opened and I began to appreciate type all the more. I learned some vital information about the introduction of type, right back to Gutenberg's first printing press in 1452, right through some interesting theories as to where type is going in the future. Graham whole heartedly believes that because most of the text we read these days is on screen, and the fonts used where designed for paper, its inevitable that they will evolve into something more efficient and effective. In terms of getting to grips with using type properly we where asked to communicate a simple series of words using just black fonts and the positioning on the screen. These things included our own names right through to a guard dog.

The one thing that was most important to take away from this session is that:

'TYPE IS SPEECH MADE VISUAL'

Mexican Posters

I found these posters on a design website and was instantly attracted to them. I have no idea about their origin; why or when they were created, but if I had to hazard a guess I would say they are original designs from at least a few decades ago. This however could be completely wrong, and in fact they could be very new designs, just with a retro feel. I am instantly reminded of the designs from the sixties with the use of block colours and the type used reminds me of one of my favourite artists; Saul Bass. I like the use of just two colours in each poster, and even more the colours themselves. I like how none are too vibrant, and each one has a dull quality to it. In regards to printing processes I would assume that they are either digital or screen printed. In my heart I would love to think that they are screen printed, so as to add an aspect of craftsmanship, and each print was unique compared to the last.

Mexico Branding

The product to the left is a t-shirt design with a very intricate Mexican motif on it. I think the image itself is just a mock up of what a final product would look like, therefore no physical printing has gone on. However I imagine if this t-shirt were to go into production the most effective method would be to screen print. I say this because there are limited colours; white and a darker green, and the design is simple enough.

The image to the left is the packaging that the t-shirt above would be found in. It is a novel solution to the packaging aspect and helps keep the idea original and inventive. It is similar in shape to that of a Pringles tube or even a tennis ball container. The design found on it is obviously heavily inspired by the ancient patterns of the Mayans or the Aztecs, yet somehow manages to look fresh and modern. This obviously has something to do with the colour tones used and the boldness of the strokes. I like the lack of type on the packaging as this keeps the aspect of intrigue, but also would attract the attention of possible buyers who know a little something about the ancient designs that were so popular. In terms of the printing processes that would have gone into creating such an interesting piece it could have been a number of things. If the pattern was printed onto a flat surface then rolled up after, then it could be lithography, digital, screen print and maybe even flexography if the material was something other than paper. I like the clear plastic lid on top as this also lets you have a sneak peek as to whats inside.

This is the poster that would also be found in the tube packaging along with the t-shirt. I think this poster would most probably be digitally printed as the numbers would not be too high and the quality would be the best possible.

Our Lady of Lucha Libre

I came across this interesting product on behance.net. I was instantly struck by the imagery used and only then did I realise the printing technique was also interesting and unique. The idea of the product basically combines three large aspects of the Mexican culture: 1) Our Lady of a Guadalupe, a religious figure that millions of Mexicans pray to, 2) Lucha Libre wrestling masks, the most popular sport in the country and lastly 3) the Mexican candle, which again is used in religious ceremonies and is often prayed to.

After analysing this product I then realised that the candle must have gone through an interesting process for the vibrant designs to appear so vividly and of course so sharply. Obviously the material the design is printed on is glass so that means the process could perhaps be flexography, maybe even digital. However after analysing the products further I then realised that they are in fact stickers. This is probably the easiest method of successfully communicating the designers wishes, and of course, keeping the level of quality the highest it can be.

I was kind of disappointed to discover this was the way the product had been created, however I suppose the designer knew what they were doing and had narrowed down the options for the best possible outcome. In conclusion I really, really like this product and love how it combines so many different things aspect of Mexican culture. I hope to create something as interesting and thorough as this product above.

Design for Print: Illustrator

I have to admit that I went into this session a bit skeptical. I thought that I knew pretty much everything there was to know about Illustrator. After practicing on it for the entire first year it seemed as though I had come on leaps and bounds with the programme. However sitting through this first tutorial taught me that there is still a large amount to learn. We were told how to create personalised swatch palettes for any future design work. I have come to realise that it will be incredibly useful in the future and will really come in handy when I am juggling more than one brief at a time. It will allow me to open my desired colour palette and get on with my work. I took notes throughout the tutorial and followed along with the process at the same time. I jotted down some things that I thought were particularly important and could come in handy when communicating with printers in the future.

A few key terms are below:

• Registration Swatch: only use for crop and alignment marks, never use to colour artwork. The main reason for this is because it is a mix of 100% cyan, 100% magenta, 100% yellow and 100% key black. There will be far too much ink on the page.
• Global: This is a small tick box that is found when adding a new swatch. When selected it's as if all the objects using the same colour are connected and therefore universally update.
• Spot Colour: A mix of other colours; when each individual colour has its own printing plate. Advantages include better accuracy, cheaper costs and creating colours that are not available in CMYK mode.
• Pantone: A library of colours found within the 'colour books' section of the swatch palette drop down menu. Available to pick a variety of coated, uncoated, matte etc. and move to specialised swatch palette.

Above is a screen shot of what I learnt in this first lesson. The box on the left demonstrates the variety of different attributes found in a customised swatch palette. In the box there are CMYK colours, Pantone selections and the different tints of particular colours. Also shown at the top are the four essentials for a swatch palette: (X), registration, white and black. The box on the right shows what a Pantone colour book looks like in Illustrator, this one shows 'pantone solid uncoated' specifically. By clicking one of the many colours on show it is automatically added to the box on the left. Another feature that is also visible in the above screen shot is the 'find field' which allows the designer to find the colour of their choice in the quickest way possible.

Todays session was incredibly useful in hindsight as it allows me to use Illustrator in the most optimum way. And isn't that what this whole design thing is about? Being thorough and creative, yet as efficient as possible at the same time? I sure hope so.

Print Process Session

Today was our first session about the analysis of different printing processes and the advantages and disadvantages to each one. We were asked to bring in three different examples of interesting print. At first I thought inside the box and picked three different examples of print on paper, then I realised the possibilities were almost endless so I chose: an old B-Movie poster, a 'nerds' sweet box and a penny tub from Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

In the session we were put into groups of 4 or 5 and told to pick just three examples from everyones collected samples. We then had to fill in the sheet to the right in accordance to the objects we had in front of us. We all agreed on picking: the 'nerds' box, a 'Sol' beer opener key ring and a personalised canvas tote bag.

We went about deciphering the right answers to the questions posed in a debate style manner. We discussed what we thought was right and wrong, and why this was so. Some answers where a lot easier than others and the two columns that we seemed to struggle with most were 'cost band' and 'quantity', because without the right information these can be hard to guess properly. Nevertheless we tried hard to come up with proper answers.

Below are images of the two most interesting items I brought to the session. I didn't originally think that the 'nerds' box would be that interesting, however, Lorenzo soon pointed out that there was a very special print process behind its vibrant colours. Apparently it is a 'hexagraphic' print, which means instead of your traditional CMYK 4 colour plates, this one has six. The second interesting item I brought in was an original film posters from 1962. Before the session I had assumed it was screenprinted, as this would have been the normal process almost 50 years ago, and by using a specialised magnifying glass designed to see great detail I was proven right. This particular piece of equipment is called a linen tester and more information can be found here. Throughout the whole design of the poster you can identify the layers of colour and even in some places notice where the alignment is slightly off.

In addition to the discovery that the 'nerds' box had gone through hexagraphical printing, Lorenzo also cleverly identified that the nets would then go through another process, this time with purely black ink. It could even be suggested that the black layer is left until last because it is the layer that all the text is in. Therefore it could be re-produced in as many different languages as possible. This is just a guess but after looking thoroughly at the box it seems feasible.

The Visual Dictionary of Pre-Press & Production

After sitting through an enjoyable lecture on four different types of printing, I found myself immersed in the subject, but was somewhat confused by the amount of new phrases and wording that was being thrown at me. I decided to do something about this so I went to the library and took out a book that I though seemed most appropriate to helping me understand the subject better. I stumbled across 'The Visual Dictionary of Pre-Press & Production' by AVA Academia publishing, and after reading some of their previous publications, I decided to give it a look. Their previous attempts are concise and help explain often complicated processes in the most simplistic way. The book is arranged in alphabetical order, but every entry also has a colour coded band placed below the main tile, deciphering which of the following categories it falls into: design term, screen term, finishing term and of course print term. Below are a couple examples of page scans in relation to print terminology.

The Printing Ink Company

Mission Statement: 'Intelligent, caring ink manufacturing by industry specialists, pigment mixing, milling and packaging in a quality-driven environment guaranteeing production of industry-superior ink formulation. The Printing Ink Company, Rycoline Inc., is a Canadian, family-owned printing ink manufacturer and supplier of pressroom products. Our mission is to satisfy the printer’s demand for prompt, personal service, highest quality products and effective technical guidance, all at a competitive price.'


Environmentally Friendly:
Rycoline Inc. is committed to sustainable development by implementing sound environmentally friendly practices, such as:

• manufacturing of printing inks that contain reduced levels of heavy metals and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
• using recyclable packaging

Our environmental claims are based on three pillars:

• a well-informed awareness of what specific environmental concerns are important to clients
• a sound scientific and technical understanding of the potential environmental impacts and trade-offs
• the use of relevant, defensible and “greenwashing-free” language, supported by a third party verification

Environmental Testimonials:

• “Being the largest independent sheet fed printer in Quebec, we support sound environmental practices, which was proven by our Chain of Custody certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). As another testament of our environmental commitment, we use eco-friendly inks with low VOC, such as EMERALD Series Ink by The Printing Ink Company (Rycoline). EMERALD Series ink combines high performance parameters with eco-friendly features, and we greatly appreciate Rycoline’s continuous product innovation and customer support.”

Michael Maassen, Director of Printing Technologies and Quality Control
PDI Group of Montreal (a printing company, based in Kirkland, Quebec)

• “We would like to acknowledge the important role that The Printing Ink Company (Rycoline) plays in our environmental management system. As a quality offset printing company, we are fully committed to environmentally responsible and sustainable business practices and operations. In partnership with Rycoline we have successfully beta tested their new Diamond Ink process. This new environmental formulation has reduced two key components (VOC’s Volatile Organic Compounds by 70% and the use of ink driers by over 25%) over their already environmentally and ECO sensitive Premium 2000 Series which we have adopted over five years ago. Peter Welfare, (B.Sc.H. & ATSC, a Head Chemist at The Printing Ink Company) has spent over three years developing this new formulation. Scientifically tested against other printing inks the Diamond series (formulated in Canada) sets the new environmental benchmark for all to aspire.”

Dean Baxendale, President and CEO
J.F. Moore Communications (a printing company, based in Toronto, ON)

Below are a few images of the machines that play a pivotal role in making these incredibly vivid inks.