Augmented Design: Creating the Booklet

I initially drew out an idea for a folded concertina booklet when I first came up with the festival idea. I came back to it and adjusted it slightly, removing the side folds that came out and making it one straight concertina design. For the binding of the book I wanted it to be like a cereal box so that it could open and close. I am still unsure on how I will make this work but will experiment with paper later in the week. I felt for now it was best to get on with designing the content so that I actually had something to put together.

I came up with the idea of roots coming down from the tree and leading to each of the four things there is to do: shop, eat/drink music and theatre. I tried creating this method but it made the booklet look overly complicated and didn't suit the simplistic infographic style. I wanted the book to be relatively simple and to follow the same infographic style as my website.

The roots idea didn't work so instead I played around with a path leading down from the tree. I think this has worked well, perhaps even better than the roots as it is a clear and simple path which leads the viewers eye through the design without distracting them or over cluttering the work.

I edited the type so that it would fit round the path, this has made optimum use of the space without overcrowding it.

This path fed nicely down from the tree and pulled both the map and information together.

Working on a white background felt really boring for a festival especially one with such a vibrant culture. I decided to use the turquoise for backing, this immediately pulled the colours out of the design and provided a good and interesting background to design on.

I am really happy with how this design has turned out. Both information and the map have been linked well and blended into one. The path provides a natural guide for the eye as well as breaking up the otherwise heavy information. This fits in well with the website design. However I may now change my website so that the background isn't white, I feel like that has perhaps been what has been making it look quite bland and boring. I could strip back my web colours but use a brighter background.

I remembered this poster I had created ages ago but that didn't really work. I knew I liked the gradient but perhaps in poster form it was overwhelming. I decided to try the gradient out on the booklet. This worked a lot better after I made some minor adjustments such as removing the solid background of the Shop tent.

                               

I do like this outcome but am unsure between this and the solid colour. I will again, ask people for their opinions when I see them. The solid green either side of the design represents the front cover to be.

Augmented Design: Creating the Ticket

I wanted to create a ticket which would be given to people upon entry after applying online. The event would be free but people would have to register online for tickets, which they would be given at the gate. I wanted to do it this way because it is nice to have a ticket to take away as a memento but if the event cost I feel that people wouldn't go. Mainly because they wouldn't have an initial interest in the culture so wouldn't want to pay. Where as if it is free then curiosity is more likely to make them go. 

I kept the same colour scheme and fonts as the poster. Specifically Amatic, only one of three I used on my website. I didn't want to use Lobster and Bebas so much, because they are bold and have impact it works well for the website but, especially Bebas, would be very intimidating and formal for this purpose.

I wanted to have a flow throughout the design so played around with the waves coming out of one corner and growing into the diagonally opposite corner.

I tried working with the same patterns that I previously tried for the poster but again these looked to heavy and overcrowded the design. 

I experimented with where I placed the information and what font was used. I didn't want to over Amatic it but at the same time I didn't want to add a font that looked out of place. In the end I followed it around the bottom of the yellow using Helvetica. I previously used this for body copy so it seemed most appropriate.  

Information was added to the left hand side which will be perforated once printed. I still want to tweak so parts of the design such as centralising the type for the ticket so that once it is perforated it is in the centre rather than the far left. I also want to make the type paths of the righting clearer and more in line with the waves of the colours. That said, so far I think the design fits in well with the poster and it is all coming together as an event package.

Finals
These are my final ticket designs. I neatened up the type as well as the coloured waves. I also experimented with the darker colour as I think it is the reason for making the other colours seem darker than the poster, even though they are the same pantone.

I quite like the other designs but am still more inclined to go towards the neater original one. The clear cream one definitely feels lighter and fits in better with the poster, however I'm not sure about the wave cutting through the type. The left tab information looks better on the lighter cream but the dark blue in the top right makes the ticket design top heavy compared to when it i in the bottom corner where it fades more gently into the turquoise. I will ask other people and see what they think before choosing.

Augmented Design: Creating the Poster

I really wanted to reuse the illustrations I had created for the map, I began by playing around with creating a pattern out of the shapes. I didn't really like how this turned out as it looked odd and didn't suit what I was going for. So I put the idea to one side and moved on to experimenting with gradients.

I really liked how the white solid line looked against the gradient. I created the gradient from colours I had used previously on my website. This adds a level of continuity throughout my work linking both the website to the printed extras.

I took this idea further and added illustrations over the top of the gradient. I am not sure if I like this or not, part of it gives of a friendly festival vibe whilst another part feels like the gradient and the solid block colours clash. This is an idea I will perhaps come back to in design later.

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I wanted to create a simple poster which I could screen print. Designing for screen print limits the amount of colour that can be used as each new colour is a new screen. I have tried to stick to 3 to save time practically as I won't have long to produce them. I made the background and the type cream when in fact this won't be printed, I will just use an antique coloured stock. 

I used the same illustrations which I had previously designed for the map. These have allowed me to keep the same graphic style throughout and will link all the design aspects together. I already had a rough idea sketched out of hills representing the terrain of Cyprus but with illustrations on each one, each representing a different layer or aspect to the event.

Below is the basic idea I started working with.

I experimented with having the type in different colours. I decided it was best to have the blurb about the event in the cream because it blended in with the address and other information. The dark blue just stood out too much and distracted from the design. 

Although the design looks relatively simple, I have tried to continue the a similar concept to the map. The maps form looks like a tree which links to the idea of grounded, long living much like Cypriot Culture and Traditions. Here with the poster a similar visual is created with the information and illustrations forming the rough outline of a tree. 

I felt the design didn't look Cypriot enough so I experimented with adding a border which would help to tie it into the greek and turkish traditions. I didn't want the poster to be stereo typically Cypriot with over use of patterns, colours and fonts like Papyrus  because the point of the event and then in turn the purpose of the posters is to encourage people to learn about the culture. I felt if I bombarded them with typical design then they would be put off as it can be overwhelming.

I found that creating a frame like this pushed the poster into the background making the frame the central point. I tried a different Idea where the frame would be made out of the design. Below I used a swirled pattern to create the framing of the poster. This took ages to line up all the colours and ended up looking pretty bad. The swirls again distracted from the poster and really didn't fit in with the style. 

I decided that just a plain coloured frame would be better as it would nicely frame the work but not distract from it. I felt that the bottom of the poster was missing something as it was plain. I played around with adding the live music tent I had previously designed and this seemed to work well.

However the colours were too garish and clashed. On a practical level they wouldn't work because It would have added another two screens to the screen printing process. I changed the colours around to make it appropriate for the poster design. 

I still played around with borders as I really felt the design was missing something and wasn't quite right. I then had the thought that greens weren't very Cypriot colours so changed the colours to reds and yellows. This really lifted the piece up and made it more cheery, colourful and appropriate. 

I still attempted to keep the frame but in the end scraped it as I realised it looked a lot better without it. The poster is now neater and cleaner. At the moment this would be a 4 colour screen print due to the darker insides of the blue tents. However If I can get this to work as one of the other colours or just as stock then I can screen print with 3 colours. I am happy with the design as it is upbeat and has a friendly look. Using Amatic as the primary font feels inviting and not serious which encourages people and their families to come along to the event and learn about Cypriot history, culture and tradition that way.

Augmented Design: Sorting out Information

‘Cyprus: A Celebration of Culture’ is a one off event aimed at bringing people together to celebrate and learn about the cultures and traditions of Cyprus.  

Experience every aspect of Cyprus tradition without the heat! From traditional food and drink to dancing, live music, theatre and hand made goods to buy.

* Register online for free print out tickets  handmade


FOOD AND DRINK

A wide range of traditional Cypriot food is on offer from Souvla (σούβλα) a Cypriot style barbecue, where large pieces of pork are slowly cooked on a rotating spit for up to 3 hours. They are served with grilled with halloumi cheese, mushrooms and loukaniko (pork sausages). They are typically stuffed into a pitta pocket or wrapped in a thin flatbread, along with a salad of cabbage, parsley, and raw mild onions, tomatoes and sliced cucumber. Or if you have a sweeter tooth then perhaps Loukoumades would be to your taste;  deep fried doughnuts with honey syrup. All food is made from fresh local ingredients and cooked with traditional Cypriot methods.

A great selection of wine, beers and spirits is also available. Why not try a classic Cypriot beer called KEO, it is extremely popular in Cyprus and is regularly a prize winner in world beer competitions. 

Cyprus wines and wine production is amongst the worlds oldest dating back to around 2000 BC. There are over 100 varieties of grapes cultivated in cyprus. Probably the most famous wine is the dessert wine called Commandariamade from the Nama grape variety and dating back a few tens of hundreds of years:

Cyprus spirits include Zivania, a strong drink similar to Raki normally served cold, and Cyprus Brandy which is again of high quality, probably the best known Cypriot brandy being Five Kings.


THEATRE

The theatre is a excellent opportunity to fully immerse yourself in the tradition and history of Cyprus. Witness the great historical and mythological stories depicting domestic differences, betrayals and heroic deeds, written by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes and re-enacted in classic Greek tradition.

SHOP

All products sold are hand made by Cypriots from all across Cyprus. Cyprus is famous for its traditional handmade Lefkaritika lace which has been crafted into beautiful garments and decorations. One off handmade leather goods are also for sale making lovely presents much like the traditional ceramic items. 

LIVE MUSIC

Cypriot music has been influenced by a long line of predecessors which have all had some type of impact on the traditional music. Come and experience a wide range of music through all the eras such as medieval, renaissance and byzantine and understand how the culture has changed and developed

Augmented Design: Creating the Map

After I had created the first few illustrations I became stuck with what to create next. I decided it would be a good idea to draw a rough map out by hand so that I could get an idea of what I would need to illustrate and how I would do it. 

Theatre 

The first thing that stuck out to me after drawing the map was the theatre. I wanted to show this through a symbolic theatre drawing - red curtains etc...

This was my first attempt. I liked how it came out but it didn't fit in overly well with my other illustrations. I realised that it was because it had a sharp outline around it, something the other illustrations didn't have. I changed it so that there would be no outlines, this looks a lot better and continues the same design style as previously used.

 Food Tent

I began to create my food tents. I wanted them to be quite open to imply that it was an open air tent. Using white allowed me to add detail which defined the tent.

Creating the Map

I then began to move on and create the base of my map. I used the same green that I had used throughout my infographic website. The first thing I did was try to find a way to comfortably fit in the market tents. Below are a few examples of layouts I tried.

I decided that the green was too strong and it distracted from the illustrations. I wanted to keep the same green so I changed the tint. This has allowed it to remain the same colour but at the same time be lighter.

I put a tint of the yellow for the background to get rid of the strong white contrast. I might remove this at the end and print on a cream or antique paper instead of printing cream ink on white paper. 

I wasn't sure what colour to do the food tent, the gold clashed with the green and the blue completely faded against it. Red seemed to be the best colour as it worked against the green and also balanced out the red of the theatre and live music tent. 

I made the paths a darker tint of the yellow so that it could be separated from the background. The map has ended up looking like a tree which is quite cool because it reminded me of this famous quote which I may use.

"A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots." - Marcus Garvey

I decided to experiment with adding text to welcome people in. I think my initial idea of overlapping or having more than one language just isn't going to work as there isn't any continuity throughout the fonts with certain glyphs.