Studio Brief 02 - License to print money

Research:

Some of the following components which could be important to consider are...

• medium and materials - processes used informing decisions - potential and limitations 
• typography
• subject of focus
• material
• security 
• specific event 
• specific country and location
• awareness of creativity, politics contemporary culture 
• other exhibitions influences, 
• piece of paper widespread audience

Different Ideas:

The first thing that came to mind in the platform of money is how widespread it is in among reaching countries to take, so to look at this advantage is important in the content being shown, representing a minority group whether that being related to gender or race in terms of who we see in the current media and who we could see instead. 

Although in the uk with the monarchy we have a women being represented there is a lack of diversity within that in whether a woman of colour could be more appropriate. The diversity of Britain has been discussed and debated so to challenge this and present an image of diversity in the face of so many white leaders and politicians would be interesting to approach and make a big statement as a piece of widespread imagery.

Another possible direction is is contrasting against the norm of having a hierarchy of a person on money and making it not have much soul into it and put more personality and character into it by going down a  more natural route and focusing on environmental factors and making something that focuses on nature like floral elements and animals that are seen in around the uk, I think this could take away any controversy and also be a neutral and pleasant way to view money. I'd like it to be intricate and be able to explore more illustrative elements rather than just one image. I also think it being based around nature could be quite uniting as just to having figures of power and to have a change.

South African currency

The currency of costa rica

These are some money designs that I found really interesting and wanted to emulate in some way, they featured natural characteristics and thats something I wanted to include within my own work.


Its interesting to find countries that use this for their money already, I think its a good way of highlighting the tone of a culture, it takes some seriousness away from money in some ways.

Environmental theme:

I think in the consideration of being environmentally friendly it would be wise to keep my design quite minimal to save ink on a mass production , which could pose a possibly challenge when it comes to making an interesting and engaging design with the limitations of being eco friendly. There are different ways in which I can keep the design minimal whether that be with the weight of the line used in the design, the variation of the amount of colour used, or the scale of the design.

The most important element of my work is more about the process of making it in not wasting and being efficient with all materials to the best of my ability.

Sketches of ideas:

These were some early ideas trying to save space and ink by cutting into the actual design and trying to save ink. I wanted it to be minimal and engaging

Development of idea:

I did some digital mock ups of what I wanted the design to look like. I then tried printing it on the stock and method I wanted to with the lino cut design. 

I didn't think the outcome of this was strong enough and I wanted to go with a different concept but using the same method and idea of having a natural and handmade look.

Minimalist currency designs:

Ink saving fonts to consider:

• Courier 

• Century Gothic

Also looking at the scale of the font is something that I think I should explore more and the way its presented in general. My idea was to have the main shape of the money be economical, saving space and time while being innovative and different. I found this challenging as money relies on the design to stand out, when looking for minimal designs and still being informative and interesting to look at I wanted to cut into the stock of the paper to create a shape and then 

Development: 

I experimented with different ideas in terms of how the the idea of an economical piece of work would look. The idea was it to look minimal but still have an interesting appearance. My overall theme and concept for this piece was to look at the idea of being 

Final idea:

After developing my idea to a more accessible and clearer coneept, I found the direction in which I wanted my work to go and stuck with it and was able to create three different outcomes that related to each other. 

Considering some different print methods/traditional print methods that could be used:


Letterpress:

Letterpress is a process that can be used to produce images and type, the set up for this method can be time consuming as each piece is induvidual and putting them in the desired order can take a lot of time and the style of type can be limited. The outcome has a very bold and defined look.

I'd like to explore this method more and be able to use it more confidently and incorperate it into my work better. With more efficient planning and time keeping I think I'd like to keep my

Linoprinting:

Lino print is something that I've been familiar with in the past and have enjoyed the results of, with this brief I've made the effort to do more research into this methods as apposed to the usual ones were presented with.

I love the effortless look that a linoprint gives, I wanted my design to have variety and the look of being handmade and i think linoprinting is the perfect method for this. Ive looked into this method before and I didn't really like it, however  I'm glad I explored this medium more and gained a like or it,  I'd really like to explore it even further with more practice and development and hopefully use it within my work and outside of it as well.

Screenprint:

The screen of this technique is built with a fixed wooden frame containing a mesh, the desired shape is created and the mesh under the screen is forced through the stencil onto the chosen material below it, for blocks of colour this is the best method. for more detailed work can be transfered by being exposed to light and imprinted onto the mesh and then being able to print over material. In the future I'd like to explore this technique more and understand it more by taking the initative to experiment with it myself.

Although screen printing is something that I've been quite familiar with over time and like the results its created its still something I'm not fully confident in and would like to become more comfortable using over time as I'd like to be able to use it more often.

Final design choices:

Stock:

For this stock I used Rag and Fibre Bagasse 56x76. i liked the way it held the paint and the feel and texture it has, I think it gives a very naturalistic kind of feel and doesn't feel the same as normal money as theres a bit more personality in it, which is what I wanted to create.

Type:

I made my own type out of the same method as the design, Although I used a variation of colours I don't think the type stands out as well as it could and it could of been stronger at a different scale.

Design:

I wanted there to be a natual element, I thought about doing something related to animals but I wanted to keep it quite neturel and simple, and an animal image could be quite intricate and difficult to achieve. 

The design was drawn on a piece of paper and then onto tracing paper, afterwards it was then transfre onto the lithograph material and carved into with the appropriate tool. 

Evaluation:

Although I'm happy with my outcome i think there are things I would change if i had been more efficient with my time. I think exploring a couple of different print methods would of been beneficial to the outcome, as although I wanted the theme to be 'handmade' I think it would of been interesting to look into a couple of different options and variations and show a bit more development.

I think the stock choice was well informed and researched as I knew it would make an impact on the design as a whole, I think if the design had been done on different stock it wouldn't of had the same effect and not been as strong as it is.

I hope I've achieved an outcome thats suitable and I look forward to experimenting with new methods of print and becoming even more confident than I was before hand, I like to push myself and see what I can achieve from exploring new methods and I think it would be really beneficial to push myself even further.

I'd also like to improve on my skills within development skills and work on my skills within photography and creating mock ups to give better context to what I make in the future. I'd like to take the opportunity to refine my skills and gain confidence in the second year of this course.