Sunday 31 March 2013

FMP | Spotted Jersey




Researching more into polka dot patterns, and the history and culture of polka dots in France, I knew that one of the most visually significant use of polka dots is within the Tour de France annual bicycle race. Throughout the course, four coloured/patterned jerseys are distributed to racers for particular achievements and accolades.  

The polka dot jersey, maillot à pois rouges, represents the 'King of the Mountains'. Points are awarded to the first rider to reach the crest of designated hills and mountains, all of which being individually graded according to steepness, length, position on the course, and points correspond to these grades. Despite the best climber award starting in 1933, the jersey was not worn until 1975.







FMP | Polka Dot Fashion




As part of the La Petite Macron brief, and considering a design direction and application of polka dots into the design, I felt it was important to look at all aspects of polka dot application, and, in particular, fashion.

Since the 1950's polka dots have had a prominence within all sub categories and genres of fashion, be it rockabilly, romantic, preppy, or a classic vintage style. Much like their simple, yet effective fashion contrast, stripes, polka dots are the style and pattern that never seem to go out of fashion, and always maintain a charm, femininity and playfulness, as shown from some of the high street and high end fashion shown throughout the images sourced above and below from the site LookBook (link above).

Although I still feel the need to look further, culturally, and from a design perspective at the polka dot, as well as applying some designs myself, I'm anticipating some really positive and charming results which will wonderfully suit and visually communicate both the quality and the character of the brand and the product, as well as, geometrically, of course, having visually connotations and connections to the macaron products themselves.



FMP | Polka Dots




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Throughout the consideration and early stages of design development for the La Petite Macaron brief, I had an early concept to work the same, traditionally circular shape of a macaron into the 'Macaron' element of the logo. Although this felt a little too gimicky, I thought that it could potentially be incorporated into the design itself.

Although stripes are perhaps more quintessentially French (thanks to the riviera and, of course, Jean Paul Gaultier), this could be quite an interesting design direction and pattern application to explore, and would certainly suit the elegant yet playful, high end design aesthetic I hope to achieve in my design outcomes.

Shown above and below are some researched images of simple polka dot patterns, with varying sizes, and with some colour palettes dark on light, with others reversed out.

I look forward to both experimenting with the design process in further detail, as well as researching the history/application of polka dots to establish whether culturally, and from a design perspective, it would be a truly appropriate route to follow. 

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www.pomegranateseedshome.com








FMP | Macaron Photography



www.minigaga.typepad.com

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Shown and sourced above and below are some of my favourite macaron photographic food images, sourced collectively, originally, via Pinterest.

For me, whether I choose to go on to develop photographic displays as part of the brand collateral for the 'La Petite Macaron' brief, or whether it's something I solely choose to do for the submission of my design boards for the module, visually, I feel the impact is really significant and beautiful.

The selection shown here demonstrate the design direction, I myself will be inspired by, and feel visually adhere to the character of the design brief, the product, and the product consumer, with an elegant, gentle femininity and soft focus, balanced with a bright energy and burst of colour. I feel the images with added interest, such as the macaron lollipops and the image with the milk really help to add interest to the overall image, and could certainly be worth exploring and developing further at a later date.

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www.inspired-design.tumblr.com


www.iheartmacaron.tumblr.com


www.endless--imagination.tumblr.com


www.iheartmacaron.tumblr.com


www.macaronagerie.tumblr.com


www.verdadedesabor.blogspot.ru

FMP | Nigella Lawson Website



www.nigella.com

For me, Nigella Lawson's cookery website is a great example of the aesthetic I hope to achieve throughout my La Petite Macaron brief. Despite having a colourful, playful colour palette and vector-based type / logo marks used throughout, there is a clear grid structure to both the website itself and the use of type and colour in balance, as well as wonderful consideration for high resolution photographic images, which really sell the products, or in this scenario, Nigella's cooking, to the public.

A really fun, feminine and elegant site. I will potentially look to create something slightly more corporate to suit the visual aesthetic and to cater for the Central Parisian audience, but whilst developing initial designs, this source of contextual research will certainly be a consideration.


FMP | La Petit Macron Logo Development



After specifying a potential design direction and colour scheme for the brief, I straight away moved on to working with a potential logo to encompass the whole brand in a simple, yet stylish way that would suit the high end market and target consumer.

Originally, I had the idea of creating a 'Macaron' logo with a negative space counter in the 'O' to emulate the shape of a macaron itself, but felt this could look quite gimmicky, and didn't feel right for the brand. Deciding earlier to stick to the name 'La petite Macaron', I decided to use Gotham Rounded, as I felt this gave a high end, yet still friendly and slightly less corporate visual communication than Gotham alone may have done. I have also used a variety of light and medium weights to highlight the 'Macaron', and emphasising the 'Petite' in 'La Petite'.

Although I would have liked to have played upon the counter/circle idea, as I think this could work really strongly as a geometric pattern/visual throughout the branding, it is something that I will have to consider in other applications, as, in this case, visually, it just doesn't seem appropriate or as fitting.

With a small change (-10 kern either side of the Petite 'I') the simple typographic logo (as shown above) is good to go.


FMP | Jessie Leong Photography Website Body Copy Edits




Having been sent body copy from Jessie for her website, I started work on adding this in. Although the majority of content was sent, there are still some areas to include/edits which have been made for various sections, along with images that still need to be sent, which I shall inform Jessie of via email asap, hopefully to make amendments to ensure we can get the website live to the general public as soon as possible.

Again, in regards to the overall design, some allowances and edits have had to have been made to adhere to brand guidelines and create a sense of narrative throughout the text. In particular, the first line of each section of body copy within the projects being italicised to add emphasise and prestige to the text.

As shown in the bottom image (unpublished 'OFF' projects), around half of the content is currently complete, so hopefully those additions can be made in the very near future.


FMP | Jessie Leong Photography Website Content



Really appreciative into getting all the body copy and content for the website sent over from Jessie this evening. Clearly having taken time over the content, with a clear planning and consideration, this has put me in great stead for getting the website content completed as soon as possible, and being able to publish the website live to the general public, and on the web.

I'm very privileged to be collaborating with someone as hardworking and clearly as passionate as Jessie, and hopefully the website will provide yet another truly powerful tool in her branding and promotional design range and portfolio.


FMP | La Petite Macaron Colour Palette



After establishing the design direction for the La Petit Macaron Project, I knew I wanted to get started, and keep the momentum of the project, as soon as possible.

Due to the colourful nature of macarons themselves, I knew that colour would be an absolutely necessity in the deliverable outcomes, and looked forward to exploring a range of colour palettes (both pastels and brights) sourced and developed through both the Adobe Kuler website (www.kuler.adobe.com) and along with several images sourced through Google Images (both examples of which shown above and below on this post). 

Along with selecting colours, I also wrote down a menu of potential macaron flavours to develop, the colours of which I felt could distinguish further direction for the colour palette.

Flavours include:

* Abricot | Apricot
* Cappuccino | Cappuccino
* Cassis | Blackcurrant
* Noix de Coco | Coconut
* Creme Brulee | Crème Brûlée
* Chocolat | Chocolate
* Espresso | Espresso
* Citron | Lemon
* Rose | Rose
* Moka | Mocha
* Nutella | Nutella
* Fruit de la Passion | Passion Fruit
* Pistache | Pistachio
* Framboise | Raspberry
* Vanille | Vanilla
* Viole | Violet


I then went on to select colour palettes that I felt were not only aesthetically appropriate to both the product and the target consumer, but would also adhere to a "colour palette" represented by the flavours.

The lists read:

PRINT AND GREEN COLOUR PALETTE

* Rose
* Raspberry
* Pistachio

CREAM/RED/BROWN/PINK COLOUR PALETTE

* Cappuccino
* Coconut
* Chocolate
* Espresso
* Mocha
* Raspberry
* Rose
* Nutella
* Vanilla


CREAM/YELLOW/ORANGE/PINK COLOUR PALETTE

* Apricot
* Coconut
* Creme Brûlée
* Lemon
* Rose
* Passion Fruit
* Raspberry
* Vanilla


... With a total of nine different colours/flavours represented at this point from the select menu, the cream/red/brown/pink colour palette certainly has promise, but I will go on to develop some mock ups and initial design ideas before determining a strict outcome.