cmyplay

This is the final product of the style experiment I went through over the past couple of weeks. Considering the corporate toning down of the image, I think it came out rather well and I’m looking forward to seeing it in print.

I had a lot of fun creating these images. They are all elements that were generated while designing a cover page for a project proposal document. The final design is close to completion and I’ll post it up as soon as it’s done.

I drew a lot of inspiration from some of the images on ffffound. It seems that for a while, there was a surge in the bookmarking of images that featured starfields and triangular elements. I wanted to avoid using the same elements in the way that they were used previously. I then opted for textures and and created a number of vector elements (including the lens) to round out the image.

A large part of the concept came about through a stream of consciousness approach that I took. Most of the time I was aiming to create visually arresting images.

I only realised in retrospect that this site is reminiscent of the British Empire’s colonial map. Quite fitting when considering how Know Your Nation seems to be making ground on finding parties in different countries that are interested in becoming production partners for the show. Know Your Nation is a two-minute, format show dealing with country’s heritage.

The map started out as a stock vector illustration from istockphoto. Remaining true to form, the illustration’s North American origins were exposed when I found that all 50 states were present and accounted for, while the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (not to mention the rest of the UK) turned out to be a single, undivided land-mass.

The topography of the ocean floor was done using paper texturing. I initially tried to crease a single piece of paper to represent the different features. It was clear that I needed to build up the features using individually copied creases arranged as closely to the landscape as I could.

The decision to use an airmail envelope and postage graphics wasn’t an obvious choice but luckily it turned out to be an obvious fit. Adding stamps and postmarks to the envelope was particularly interesting. The finishing touch to a country page takes the form of a ticket stub. I had some time to play with the texturing- and blending effects to bring evoke a tactile response.

The initial image made use of arbitrary colours and texturing. The effort made with the topography helped push the overall image towards a natural finish.