COP Time Plan

I have realised that this publication is going to take along time to create because of the various hand generated techniques used within the publication so I have created a time plan to carefully plan the little time I have left. 

COP Practical- Publication Research

Sticky notes annual 

Why is the ‘Sticky Notes Annual’ so useful? In Japan, almost every creative writes notes directly onto annuals and dog- ears pages when they study. This usually results in the pre- cious annual becoming damaged too quickly. We’ve solved this problem by adding sticky notes to the cover. There are three special features to the ‘Sticky Notes Annual’: notes and memos can be written onto the annual without damag- ing the pages; sticky notes will never get lost; the variety of colours creates a bright design.

Recollection 

Recollection is a special issue featuring the achievements of Taiwan e-Learning and Digital Archives Program conducted by the Institute of History and Philology of Academia Sinica, Taiwan. The whole design project consists of a publication along with a jacket poster and a manga booklet. The imag- ery of annual ring on cover responds to the title that every project and research in the book are memorable parts of whole program. In the design of book jacket poster, tracing paper was used as printing material to give the poster vari- ous looks when placed on different background.”

Fedrigoni Ispira Visual Book

The new Ispira visual book for Fedrigoni is no common catalogue. The smooth texture of the paper is enhanced by special treatments. Each paper is narrated through a different visual experience where everything changes many times: the color of the paper, the weight, the size, the inks used, the printing techniques. A whole new experience to explore with touch.

Taiwan’s Old Theatre

Over the past century in Taiwan, the different forms of towns were being developed. After people gathered, they built the theaters within the rich 20th century decorative arts.
As time goes by, these historical theaters are almost disappeared. We will lead you into the selected 9 old theaters which remained the complete decorative arts building exterior by Pop-up books, posters and documentary films. These theaters represent the wonderful past and the beauty of building, recorded and spread the culture values to continue their lives. Hope everyone could understand how they became the inspiration of the local culture, and learn to treasure the historical beauty.

Handmade Structure

We managed art direction and venue arrangements for “Handmade Structure,” an exhibition that gestured towards new attractions within paper, from the point of view of structure. For the direct marketing materials and the sam- ple book, we chose a folding process. The finished product resembles a wooden shingle construction. Assembling the materials communicated the concept of the exhibition itself. The exhibition was held at Take Co., Ltd.’showroom space, Mihoncho Honten. The shingle-like construction was used for the venue as well to express the many possibilities that are born when structural design and paper come together.

Commune Winter Greeting 

By using a chunky double sided postcard, Commune inserted a movie flip book that advertised the company for their 2012 winter greeting. On the reverse of the flip book, imagery of the company’s portfolio will become visible. To reveal the content, simply rip open the sealed postcard. The flip book can be unfolded like an accordion, and when it’s fully opened, a double sided poster can be seen.

Bynd Artisan &Larry

We were commissioned to create a branding experience for Bynd Artisan’s customers. The final result was a brand ethos of “Somethings Worth Sharing”, marrying the ideas of “hardware” (sharing Bynd Artisan’s expertise of paper, leather and bookbinding techniques) with the “heart” of their story (sharing their heritage, built upon the qualities of honesty, authenticity and partnership). This notion of “shar- ing” is especially apt in the modern context of social media shares and the exchange of user-generated content.

Specials Applied from G.F Smith

G.F Smith Specials Applied is a promotional catalogue realized by Brighton-based graphic design agency Studio- Makgill for historical paper manufacturer G.F Smith. Since 1885 G .F Smith offers paper products, special makes and highly bespoke services tailored specifically to the needs of the creative industries. This is what Hamish Makgill said about the project:
The main objective for us was to make sure it is the paper and the processes that does all the communicating and not to detract with busy graphics. An intricate system of die cuts allow the cover to become the contents and a window to the materials within. 

COP Tutorial 3

At this point I have finished my first chapter and I just have to add in a few things to my second chapter before moving on to my third chapter. 

This tutorial has been useful as I have thought more about my practical, this is the part that I need to move on with now. I have researched into various websites and apps for inspiration but I am just finding it difficult to choose one that I can turn into print, and for it to be relevant. From this tutorial I am going to to further research into app maps and website structure because I am thinking of making an interactive piece of print like how you interact with a website. 

COP Practical- Research into websites and creative app's

“Producers of successful  indie magazines don’t try and beat digital at it’s game; they focus on things only print can do. And they do them very, very well. They reveal the physically of the magazine. They play with the format. They mix paper stocks. They publish long, luxurious articles and photo-essays that takes month to research and hours to read and absorb. They lovingly craft issues that are beautiful, collectible and timeless objects.” Print is Dead. Long Live Print, Ruth Jamieson pg.8 

• Turn something completely digital into print. 

• To show off all of the techniques that print can do and express the quality of print. Research into creative websites/ apps that have no physical existence. 

• With digital something is there one minute and then gone the next, print makes everything more permanent. 

Websites

Designspration

Designspiration is a way to discover and share your design, architecture, photography and fashion inspiration.  

Designspiration would benefit from having a printed publication maybe as a monthly magazine, for the consumer to buy as inspiration and then maybe build up a collection.

Pintrest 

Pinterest is a visual discovery tool that you can use to find ideas for all of your projects and interests. 

Pintrest could have a printed interactive catalogue much like their gridded layout to their website, the user would interact in different ways.

Tumblr

Post anything (from anywhere!), customize everything, and find and follow what you love. 

Tumblr is a large visual social networking site where each user can edit their personal page to look like a website, I could illustrate a printed publication where the user build up there own print portfolio.

Design Taxi

All about Design, Art, Photography, Advertising, Architecture, Style, Culture, Technology, and Social Media. 

Design taxi is a website for creatives with the latest articles about what is going on in the design world, the website would benefit from having a printed publication almost like a magazine.

Creative app's 

An app being turned into a printed publication could be quite interactive, showing how the interactive elements of the app can be transfered into print, a publication to complement the app. 

Instagram 

Instagram is a social media that allows you to connect with friends and famous people

Instagram is one of the largest social media sites that is download-able as an app, the app works well as it is visual which makes it different from any other app. Instagram is now owed my Facebook.

Adobe Kuler

Create color schemes with the color wheel or browse thousands of color combinations from the Kuler community.

Adobe Kuler is a colour helper, putting images into a colour generator, this app/ website would benefit from having a printed publication as it could be a colour catalogue dis- playing which colours complement each other most.

Trend Generator 

Generate trendy posters quickly at high quality for print.

Trend generator is an app that helps people create trendy graphic design with the use of squiggles, lines and layers. This could work well as a publication as it would display peoples work from the app.

Glithe Lab

Glitch - a sudden, usually temporary malfunction or fault of equipment.

Glitche is an app that turns your own photographs into computer glitches. A glitche happens from a form of technology going wrong, so this publication could display how the digital world does have its implications.

Primary Research- Interview- Ben Freeman

Ditto Press; publishing, designing, printing, and selling books in East London. Ben Freeman is the Co Founder of Ditto Press, I thought it would be useful to interview him for my dissertation and gather some primary research. 

Website: http://www.dittopress.co.uk/

18th November 2015

After many emails with Ben about when to come down to London, where and when to meet. I finally met him in Shoreditch at Shoreditch House. I recored the interview, he gave some interesting answers that I will be quoting in my dissertation. 

What impact has the digital era had on publication today?

What is your opinion on this?

That is the question that everyone asks, we started our business when the print industry was dying in this country, we started it as a response in what was happening to publishing. Everyone wants to consume information differently; all art students want to design books because its more fun. People are still clinging on to old ways of operating, really I think there is still space in the world for print, but things that are printed you tend to consume them in a different way, more like slow communication. People still enjoy books, magazines and newspapers, they read them in a different way and people absorb information digitally, much faster and with a shorted attention span. When we started our business people started talking about, is print dead? And all of this stuff and its quite a pointless conversation, print is not dead, its just changed. I’m not saying there will always be a space for books and magazines, but there is definitely at the movement space in the market for everything because of the different types of consumption.

What do you think makes a good publication?

Its totally subjective, what you think is a good publication would defiantly be different to what I think is a good publication, but I would say universally what’s good is to be considerate, thoughtful and design something well and have it proof read correctly and not be wasteful. There are a lot of new fashion magazines coming out now and they are of a much higher quality than they were twenty years ago, there’s some really beautiful things out now. In some areas there are more things being printed than before, not more quantity but more variety and of a higher quality, which is great. It’s the same of what makes a good anything really, it’s the same of what makes a good meal or a good building or anything. I think now more than ever there’s no point in being wasteful, that’s the most important thing.

Do you think new media has been a positive for publication? In terms of online blogging, sharing and interactive apps.

Yeah, I mean we use this stuff all of the time, we’ve got twenty thousand Facebook followers and whatever else, it is to communicate parts of our message. We release music digitally, we promote events digitally, we employ online and talk through social media, our audience we talk to through social media, and we sell all of our books online and do all the marketing online. Its crucial, in this day and age you either have to be exceptionally interesting and mysterious and fascinating to be able to get away without doing anything online, or you just fail. Some people do manage it, like there’s a band called Kurupted a Japanese band and they never do interviews, they don’t have any online presents, they don’t do anything like that. Everyone loves them because the music is amazing. But they are deliberately mysterious. They don’t have any form of anything anywhere, but everyone loves them, but that’s very hard to achieve, we can’t all do that.

Do you think the internet has enhanced creativity?

I don’t think it has enhanced it, it probably gives people who don’t work in a creative job more of an opportunity to be creative. Its quite easy to sneer at that stuff, its quite easy to sneer at people with Instagram accounts with hobby pics of cats or whatever, thinking they are being creative, but actually if that fore fills them and makes people feel good, then why not, there’s nothing wrong with that at all. The problem with the internet and creativity is being things like Behance and stuff like that, you get lots of attention for something that is purely superficial, so nobody is looking at the brief, or did it work, did it communicate well or was it appropriate for the audience, all they are thinking about is whether is is pretty, and that’s not good for design at all, because its not what good design is.

Do you think designers are too dependent on computer technology nowadays?

No, not at all. Some people that are exceptionally good with their hands and drawing and stuff as soon as they start doing things digitally they lose the character so the best people understand what each medium is for.

Do you think print publication is dying? And do you think there is any point in trying to save it?

If it is dying I don’t think there is any point trying to save it for the sake of it, I think it evolution isn’t it. Nobody now misses wax cylinders or anything like that, people do miss old school black and white televisions and things like that but only in a nostalgic ridiculous way, its no lost to humanity. We don’t write on wax scribes anymore or tablets, its progress.

Do you think print is more valued?

Only by a very small amount of people. I was in Berlin last year there’s a place called Soho House in Berlin and they literally use books as decoration, they will buy trolleys full of second hand books and just use them to decorate rooms. That would not have happened fifty years ago.

How’s social media enhanced Ditto Press?

Its not that we wouldn’t have advertised before social media, but it makes it much easier for us to have a very accurate audience.

Do you think there is any need for business cards and flyers nowadays? Because of the rise of social media and the digital landscape we live in

Yeah, I mean we use flyers, flyers are still quite useful, but I don’t know things like posters and flyers will still have their place. But I think you have to be much more thoughtful of where your going to put them then you ever used to be. Business cards, I don’t ever use one but I probably should to be honest.

What do you think you would do without the internet?

I mean I’m thirty-seven I remember when there was no internet, people kind of did the same thing it was just a bit more difficult. The internet and computers have made our lives much easier and we can be a lot more productive than we ever used to be. So a job now that will take us a day, would of taken two weeks before. A hundred years ago it would of taken a month. It’s basically just made our lives a lot easier, but its also a sacrifice of if you spend time on something you make it a lot with much higher quality, so that’s the pay off.

The internet is a massive hub of information; do you prefer to read publication online or printed?

I read both for sure, for example Wired, I read Wired on my phone and online and in print all the time, and newspapers ill read the news on my phone and I read books in print.

Primary Research- Interview- London- OKIDO Magazine- Maggie Li

OKIDO is the arts and science magazine for 3- 8 year old children. It's designed to engage young children in scientific discovery in the most fun and creative way.

Website: http://www.okido.co.uk/

I was originally meant to be interviewing Sophie Dauvois the Editor of OKIDO but I ended up interviewing Maggie Li the Illustrator and Art Director of OKIDO. She was a very interesting person and had some good opinions of the digital era and publication today. Maggie studied illustration at Kington university. 

Website:   http://maggie.li/#/

I recorded the interview, at doodle productions in London where OKIDO magazine is based. 

Questions and Answers: 

18^th November (2015)

Maggie Li 

There’s only 4 of us here at OKIDO, I do a bit of everything because it’s a small team and you just pick up whatever needs to be done, yeah its good its really involved. We only publish monthly, so we do get a decent amount of time to do each issue, but then there’s also a TV show which runs along side it. The TV show has their own department, they have their animators etc. We are the accompanying magazine to that, yeah there’s a lot of work into having to do both. There’s lots of different parts of doing the magazine so you sort of have to juggle.

What impact has the digital era had on publication today?

What is your opinion on this?

Its changed the print world quite a lot, an interesting thing about working on a children’s magazine publication, I think parents still want to give their kids printed stuff, if it’s books or magazines. I think parents regard it as having something more substantial having something print, because the magazine is for three to eight year olds, it kind of starts very young, there’s not a huge amount of print publication in that age range, so I think we have that unique selling point on our side, and I think the digital side well you can’t fight against it. There’s so many screens now, everyone’s got a phone. I think at that age parents are still dictating what the kids see and how much screen exposure they get. I think the print part of it is still really important, they get this quality thing that they can kind of look over. The point of OKIDO is that its not just something you buy and kind of do in five minutes and throw away, its something you keep and each issue has a different theme so its kind of creating an Encyclopedia of different subjects so kids can learn from it. So I think its difficult, I think digital has taken over a lot of print publications in terms of magazines, loads of magazines have probably died or just gone on screens online, and that serves a different purpose. Everyone’s online and people are more likely to browse blogs, then to buy as many magazines as they used to. I think for the children’s market I think the print side of it is still pretty strong, parents still buy books and still buy magazines for their kids, it’s a good quality item.

How did OKIDO start?

I’ve been here for four years and when I joined the magazine it had been going for about three years. Sophie (the founder of OKIDO) is a scientist, she does genetic biology and she started doing research and then her partner Rachel is an artist and they have a son together and when he was very young they discovered there wasn’t a lot of good printed material for kids at the time, there wasn’t a lot of good magazines around. So they came up with the idea of doing an arts and science magazine that combined, early learning and science but also a lot of creativity. That’s kind of where the magazine was born from. There’s no advertising, its non commercial, at the beginning they didn’t really have any money for it so they got funding from the welcome collection, which is funding from a science fund, they give out money for educational science purposes. So they were mostly funded by that, and it was important it wasn’t a commercial magazine, its very much about learning and fun. Were not going for the mass market, going for the niche audience.

Do you think print has more value than digital?

I don’t know, its hard because I think that he two things are both incredibly powerful. With things moving on and the birth of the digital age you get that kind of shift and people get very excited by the digital side of things, and you see a lot of new digital type projects. But I think there is always that push and pull against it. When the digital side seems to get over saturated people always go back to print side, so its that balance really. With us we’ve not felt like the digital side has over taken the print side not in children’s publication so even within books that we do, the books are still your valued source and often people want apps and games that go along with it. Digital always seems to be like an extra thing, a side thing that supports print. Both really are going for the same aims, it’s a different way of communicating those ideas.

Do you think digital will ever replace print publication?

It might do, yeah it could, lots of magazines and newspapers have gone mostly digital. People fear there is going to be the death of the bookshop and no one will ever buy books again and actually I don’t think that happened. The Kindle was huge and I have a kindle, loads of people have kindles and its great but at the same time a lot of people still buy books and the high street still has book shops and people still value having the physical thing, so I can’t see it going really quickly. The more digital things get the more people cherish the real printed mediums.

What do you think makes a good children’s magazine?

I think when you are doing something with children its really important you think about what benefits the kids and what they want to do because we are all adults and we work on this publication, we get sort of sucked into it. We used to be able to test the magazine on Sophie’s son but now he’s too old, he’s a teenager and you don’t always get the feedback that you want and really what you need is to appeal to their sense of fun and learning because at that age they don’t want to be taught stuff. The idea is to teach them through a lot of activities, a lot of play, a lot of interactive stuff. There’s no right way or wrong way of doing the magazine, trying to appeal to them and parents obviously, you’ve got to get them on your side. They’ve got to see that their kids are involved with it and its not just a piece of tat with a toy on it. Its important that it has enough engaging content. For every magazine we have to always think about new things and how to improve it.

Do you think the younger generation now is becoming too obsessed with technology with the rise of apps and social media?

Yeah, I think definitely for teenagers, I think as soon as they go to school they get exposed to it, through friends, through parents, you see young kids that are really attached to their parent’s phones, I think that is something that is a growing issue. Its something that I didn’t experience when I was younger, so its hard to imagine how to deal with that, but I think you can limit screen time and you can limit how much they spend on apps and games and stuff. I think because our age range is still really young, the parents control it quite well, but I think when they get beyond eight it is quite difficult. It is important that you don’t completely ban them because kids will always get access to these things, if you can kind of find that balance. There are really good app’s and games there is educational stuff out there, so if you can steer them in the right direction, they can get a balance between using print and digital resources.

How has social media enhanced OKIDO?

Massively, I think before social media our network was very much like door to door local, going to local bookshops, talking to people, talking to moms. Through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram you can reach so many people around the world that you would never would be able to reach, so with that the exposure is much wider. Every company has that access now, so you have that fight.

Which social media has given you the most exposure?

I think Facebook actually, all the mums are on Facebook during the day time and we post quite a lot on there and we get a lot of response. Twitter, there a lot of moms on there too, but you are kind of lost in the sea, and you need to be on it constantly. Facebook is a bit more kind of, its there and you post stuff and it doesn’t go away. Twitter is just a constant conversation. We do a bit of everything. Facebook and Instagram seem to do quite well in terms of exposure and people seeing stuff.  

How important do you think it is for children to have a printed publication rather than a digital one? In terms of hands on methods and interactivity?

I think that’s how kids learn, they do benefit from having something they can hold and feel. Its visual, they can keep it, they can put in on their shelf. Everyone remembers children’s books that they read, I’m not sure how much kids would remember a great app or an eBook even. The real thing exists much more powerfully in the memory, It’s really important to still have printed matter. I think you have to think about where things are moving, so you’ve got to take digital into account. We really want to build the digital side of stuff but I think first and foremost we are about print.

Has the digital world effected OKIDO in anyway?

No, I think its been good actually, I don’t think we have been negatively effected. I think that more than anything we kind of opened up an new area we can expand into and we are definitely thinking about online resources, games and apps, but stuff that really complements OKIDO. We are not going to completely try and digitise a magazine, its more having something that would complement, its been a real positive. Digital is a really nice extra medium to use.

Do you think having a print publication in your hands gives you a nostalgic feeling?

Definitely, I think a lot of what it is is how parents feel about it too, parents see this magazine and it has that nostalgic feeling, its got a bit of a retro style and its quite 2D. the TV show is 3D so that’s quite different in terms of the look of it. The look of the magazine is quite 2D its very bold, parents love that nostalgic feeling and parents distract a lot of what the kids are exposed to. Its something that feels like quality and made with experience. I think that when you see a copy of OKIDO it does look different, it does have quite a powerful visual look to it.

What print processes do you use to bring OKIDO magazine alive?

We print it on recyclable paper and its printed with vegetable inks, its all kind of eco friendly, that was another really important thing for Sophie. You spend a lot of money printing magazines that may just end up in the bin, the idea is that we didn’t want that we wanted it to be completely renewable and hopefully that people keep it as well, its not something that you chuck away. The funny thing is about that is the idea that you can eat the magazine because tis vegetable inks and its all sort of eco friendly, so the kids can chew on it and its fine, its all kid friendly.

Pictures from the London interview: