OUGD603 - Casper Tapes - Final Designs and Evaluation

This project has been useful in learning how to effectively speak to the client. Working side by side with Jack has meant that I can efficiently translate both his and my ideas into an appropriate outcome. This has meant I could guide him into choosing the outcome I thought worked best by talking him through the idea more thoroughly in person and showing him how it works effectively. This worked especially well during experimentation where, despite changing the final outcome considerably, I had a better idea of how the final would look in his eyes.

As I was working more hands on with my client, I found it difficult to stick to my original time plan as I often had to work around Jack's schedule as well as my other projects. Despite this, I nominated a day a week to focus completely on Casper Tape giving myself a fresh look at the project every time I spent time working on it. Towards the end of the project

My extensive research on this brief helped me to focus more on the target audience which in turn helped influence the look of the final outcomes. Looking into 1990's rave posters and work from the genres that inspire the client's music have helped to decide on the chosen hand made style used throughout the work produced.

Consistency has been key to standing out in this project, continuing the colour scheme and handmade feel across all media produced means the project is instantly recognisable from promotion to after the release. This has meant choosing a specific paper that works across the cassette cover, poster and social media. It was difficult to find the exact salmon colour used in experimentation however we decided to compromise after experimenting with a lighter pink and dark blue whilst printing.

Overall the work produced for this brief has stuck to the considerations and requirements stated at the start of the brief which in turn has helped to finalise a brief which was completed in time and to the best of my ability. The work produced suits the industrial music being released and was liked by the client, which is the most important factor when producing a live brief.

OUGD603 - Casper Tapes - Print

I will digital print this poster as this is easier for distribution however it may also work well screen printed or printed using a Risograph due to there only being two colours and no shading. This would also link well with the hand made ideas the work revolves around however, these processes are more suitable to long print runs so for submission it won't be appropriate however, will work better for the final release.

I have decided to print on GF Smith Colourplan paper. At ____ gsm, the inner sleeve is durable and suitable for removing and reading by the user. I wanted to use coloured paper and match this as best as I could with the colour pink Jack chose to use consistently through the project. This coloured paper will be used instead of printing the correct pink so the ink doesn't appear streaky or off colour. My results are seen below:

OUGD603 - Casper Tape - Poster

As my recent critique feedback suggested I produced some posters to add to  the project and help it become more substantial, I decided to experiment with how I would do this effectively so the design is different to the tape but is still obvious they are connected.

I looked at producing my posters using the same features used within the casper tape cassette. I laid these out in various ways, using mine and Jack's experiments as a referee to how it could look. I created three distinctively different poster designs to show to Jack before being printed.

For these poster ideas I used the same pastel pink and black colour scheme chosen earlier in the brief for the cassette covers. Staying consistent with the previous designs will be essential for the Casper Tape brand to be more recognisable within the electronic music community. Influences from past research on poster, record and cassette design however being distinctive was a priority as previously mentioned within my brief.

Although all three of these designs are pretty similar, I knew it would be important to show Jack different poster options as he was so picky whilst I was producing the cassette design.

After showing him my three ideas he chose the second design however gave me some feedback and added what he wanted changing. These improvements are seen below. 

OUGD603 - Casper Tape - Critique

I brought my developed tape designs to a critique for feedback on what I could improve. To this I brought my practice prints within a plastic tape cover as this best shows how the work will look once it's produced. Overall I got positive feedback from my crit group, mentioning that the overall design work suits the artist I am producing work for, also that working hands on with the client as I did with Jack to produce initial experimentation is a good way to work effectively with the client. They did however suggest I produce more elements to the brief such as a poster and social media. This will add to the brief and will effectively help market the tape.

OUGD603 - Casper Tapes - Development

After speaking to my client I found that he has decided to release the music as a cassette. Because of this, I must transfer the work I have produced for the vinyl onto a tape cover. Having had cassette tapes around the house when I was younger, I knew that the covers often folded out, giving room for more content or the options to better spread out the designs.

I first looked into different cassette tape webs to do my designs on to see which would suit the work best. I want to take advantage of the fact I have more space now Jack has decided to use a cassette. This will give me the opportunity to add body copy, giving more information about the tape. I have chosen to use the web with two large and two small panels. This will let me add content such as track names and information about slump sounds and Casper Tapes.

I started to bring the record design onto the cassette web. After designing each idea I printed the results out at home and fit them into a plastic case to see how they would look. These results are seen below

1st stage

2nd stage

3rd stage

final

I showed my client my progress so far, noting that I needed the song names and a description for the body copy.

develop chosen idea further

update with correct text from Hodgy

OUGD603 - Casper Tape - Record Cover Experimentation

I found it difficult working with Jack as he often wanted to change what I was producing. Because of this, I decided to have Jack help me produce the layout of the record sleeve. I did this by printing out different elements of the design I had produced and working with him to lay them out on paper. This worked well as I was able to get a better understanding of what he wanted to include within the design and how he thought it would be best laid out. This way I could work exactly to the clients needs. Having a good working relationship with the client is essential, I also believe having face to face contact with the client is the best way to produce final outcomes which both me and the client are happy with. I felt it was easier to influence his decision whilst working with him, this would also work well for the style we had decided to use. This meant I could photograph the results and use them on my final designs, moving them around appropriately on photoshop if needed. The below images show the varied layouts we came up with.

After photographing the results I added them to a record cover layout, keeping the same ideas Jack and I produced in our experimentation. I felt this design worked well however the space looked empty. I decided to experiment with this, adding various backgrounds I felt could work to better fill up the negative space without adding anymore elements (such as those already seen on there) which make the design look too busy.

The background I decided to use can be seen below. The grain and ambiguous shapes work well alongside the handmade look of the rest of the cover. 

I produced 4 different colour schemes to this cover to show to m client. I tried to choose more pastel colours as this is what Jack had asked for in the last feedback session apposed to the more neon colour used within experimentation.

OUGD603 - Casper Tapes - Feedback from Jack and further research

I showed Jack the 3 ideas I came up with for his record sleeve. He picked out the first and second idea as the best however felt the would work best together. Unfortunately he was against using an icon as his logo and felt the ones I had produced for the 1st idea resembled a cassette tape too much so I suggested using the logo type used used in the second idea. Despite not liking the logos I created he felt the concept behind them worked well and the developed illustrations used more on the album covers I showed were more appropriate. He added that coupling this with the 'hand-made' aesthetic of the second idea would work well. In terms of the colour used, Jack added that pastel colours would work more appropriately than the ones used previously. He suggested looking at the album art for DJ normal as this was similar to how he wanted it to look. The feedback received from talking to Jack will be essential to produce a final outcome that suits his needs, but also I am happy with.

OUGD603 - Casper Tapes - Initial Concepts

After researching different things that would influence my design and talking to my client about his ideas, I produced three different identity concepts that I would later bring to Jack for feedback and to decide which to move on with.

1. My first idea was to focus on how Jack said his music is "inspired by various genres with the outcome often having parts taken from many different types of music and presented in a new way." I felt this could be represented well through a simple logo. I wanted this logo to be distinct and instantly recognisable. I decided to look at the spools of a cassette tape as inspiration. Although Jack will be releasing his music on vinyl, it works well in connection to the name. My experimentation is seen below:

These lines in these icons represent the different genres the song uses as inspiration. The circle around these lines represents the song Jack eventually produces. I took the idea of lines in circles and started experimenting with the liquify tool, making the shapes appear 3d or just more interesting. This shows how despite there being so many different types of inspiration within my clients music, the results are always completely different. My responses are seen below.

I experimented with a number of sans serif typefaces as I felt this would work best with the rounded shapes produced for this idea

After the typeface Maison was chosen to represent the casper tape name, I started adding the different design elements to a record sleeve.

2. The second idea focuses on the identity having a handmade look about it however, I would still like this to seem contempary. This could be done using more modern typefaces or experimenting with modern techniques. I also feel laying out text in a ransom note style may work well seeming as though elements of the album cover have been placed down. This is what the experiments below show:

I felt photographs I have taken of my client whilst DJing could be used along side the text I have created. If the images are printed out and photographed the will appear as though they were placed on to the album cover. A photograph of one of the images is seen below:

3. The third idea would be contempary and use obscure typefaces, linking to the varied songs Jack produces. I first found an example of what typeface I could use. Although I'd like to explore various other examples, this was chosen to show Jack what I could produce.

I added the chosen typography to 2 record sleeve designs, influence from research helped to produce the initial artwork. Although everything from the colours used to the body copy would be developed, these covers will work well to demonstrate how the final designs will look.