Change Of Plan

Over the holidays I have been working on my prints and trying to enable them to incorporate both screen and digital print techniques.

I really wanted this idea to work and I tried many different ways of putting imagery together where part could be screen printed and part could be digitally printed. However this hasn't gone as well as I would have liked it to. Although I received positive feedback from my peers I myself am not happy with the outcomes, some of which are below.

I feel that the imagery doesn't work well together and it doesn't portray my distortion theme as well as I would like. I have spent a lot of my time trying to get this to work with (in my opinion) not enough success. Unfortunately because of this I have decided to alter my plans for the unit.
In one of my last tutorials we discussed creating an all new collection from more simple and geometric imagery, taken from the visual research I have already collected. This gave me the idea of creating one digital collection and one screen collection that take my visual research into different directions. This way I can still show skills in both processes, just in two collections instead of one.

I now plan to do some market and designer research for my second collection and begin drawing for screen. For my CP3 Extended Essay I researched the differences between screen and digital printing and the ways in which we can design for both. I am planning on using this research to aid my designing for the two different printing methods.  

Colour Palette and Screen Print

Throughout the project I have mainly stuck to the pink and blue colour palette in my prints, however I think this has become a bit tired and overpowering. I looked for new colour palettes to experiment with by taking colours from my own summer photography and also colour palettes I found online. I definitely feel like this colour change is important for me because this could be one of the reasons I am stuck with my prints. I really want to experiment with a wide range of colour in this project as I have been inspired by Clover Canyon and Prabal Gurung.

Another reason why I decided to alter my colours was because I had a colour workshop with Alex. During the workshop I also found out that it is best to have both screen and digital printing in your portfolio for third year. I mainly see myself as a digital printer, however I also really enjoy screen printing and don't do it as much as I would like. I had only set myself the goal of producing digital prints this unit, however I have now changed my mind and would like to achieve more if possible.

One idea I have been playing with is engineer designs to incorporate both processes onto one fabric. My dissertation research lead me to a designer called Emamoke Ukeleghe, who uses both screen and digital on one print purposefully. I find the idea of having a digital element in a screen print really interesting, especially when it has been engineered to do so.

I am now going to design my prints with the intention of screen printing certain elements. I want to be able to show that I can also work with a limited colour palette, as well as having skills in both screen and digital printing. This will provide myself with a challenge for my final project as well as enhancing the portfolio I take with me when I graduate.

Unit X | Digital Editing

Although we aren't supposed to produce digital prints for this Unit, I still want to be able to play to my strengths. Which is why I am choosing to digitally edit my designs before putting them onto a screen to be screen printed.
I'm not sure whether my drawings would be best as repeat prints or placement prints, so I decided to experiment with both so that I can see the designs full potential before putting it onto a screen.

Reducing to one colour edit

Quick Repeat edit

Experimentation - placing drawings together as placement print

Overall I am happy with the experimentation and development that I have created by taking a digital route. After showing my work to Louise she really took a liking to the design above, which is simply an edit of my original drawings. This would definitely be a strong and effective placement print. Next, I plan on experimenting with ways of engineering prints, possibly through using a projector or pinning paper copies to a mannequin.

Locating | Unit Evaluation

The Locating Unit is the first in which we were required to produce both a Self-Initiated Brief and a Live Brief. Producing two sets of work along side each other has been really beneficial for me, and I feel I have produced better work because of it. I thought that I would become stressed and find it difficult, however if anything I have been more relaxed.

 I often get frustrated with my work because of seeing it too much or getting temporarily stuck. Sometimes I need to take a break from it or a step back in order to overcome the issues. Having another project to work on at the same time has meant that I haven't had to stop working to take a breather. When one project came to a stand still, I would work on the other until I was ready to resume both. I also think I made less mistakes because I wasn't doing things for the sake of doing something, I had more time to think about what I wanted to do. My time management has always been one of my strongest points, however I feel like having two projects has helped me improve it massively.

One of the things I feel I could have done more of is new techniques. I have developed my skills in Photoshop which is what I stated I wanted to do when I wrote my brief;  the Mirror-effect, Offset Repeat and Image Editing are a few of the things I have experimented with. However, in a way I wish I could have pushed the boundaries a little more and tried something completely new. I will definitely be pushing myself to do this is Unit X.

Nevertheless, when it comes to processes I have greatly benefited from experimenting with stand work. I find it way too easy to just copy and paste a print onto a garment in photoshop. The stand work made me really consider where the print was going and how it would look on a finalised garment. The anatomical feel to the final collection was largely due to the placements of the prints as a result of using a mannequin. I will definitely be repeating this development process in future units.

One of the learning objectives in this unit was to build networks and contacts as a career development resource. I took part in a Threadless competition and also adapted my self initiated work to fit a Bradford Textiles Association brief. As I said above I felt this was beneficial to me in terms of time management and work load.

In addition to the live briefs, I also decided to create profiles on popular social medias to get my work seen by the outside world. This has certainly been a productive and valuable process for me, as the responses have helped me gain confidence in my work. The positive feedback has enabled me to overcome the fear that people won't like my work and that it isn't good enough, as well as giving me the confidence to send my work to companies or designers.

Additionally, the career development objective pushed me to write and design a creative CV that I can send to companies or use to apply for internships and placements online. My aim is to use this to arrange some placements over summer.

Overall during this unit I think I have come out feeling like I know where I belong in the Textile Industry. Through briefly dabbling in interiors I know that fashion is the right direction for me, and I have also cemented the fact that digital printing is where my strengths lie. The self-initiated brief shows me that I am capable of setting myself useful goals and achieving them. Positive feedback from social media and also from Louise Whitaker makes me think I am ready to connect fully with the outside world and start experiencing it myself through internships and placements.

   

Live Brief | Bradford Textiles Final Boards

I created development samples for the Bradford Textiles Association brief in order to see which print with which beading I should print as the final design. There was a clear favourite between me and several other people who saw the boards which made the decision very easy.

Here is the final main sample with the two boards I will be submitting with my application. I am pleased with what I have produced for this brief as it isn't what I normally create. I've never designed for interior or used embellishment on any samples before, however I think it has been successful. I do think this would make a nice cushion for a sofa or bedding arrangement. The 9mm Silver beads don't stand out too much but look really lovely when they catch the light. Overall I am happy with the outcome of this project.

Locating | Final Collections

This week I made the finishing touches to both my high end and high street collections.

I'm really happy with how they both turned out. My main fear was that the garments wouldn't be appropriate for the audience intended, as in the Intentions unit I aimed my collection at high street and although it was still high street in the end, the collection was more suited to high end high street, which was technically a different consumer.
Overall I am happy with the final garments and the prints themselves. This week I will be attending to finishing touches such as presentation of samples, consumer boards and finalising my submission for the Bradford Textiles project.

 

 As my final collections are finished I had to choose fabrics for each print to be printed on. This process is very limited for me as I don't have the budget to buy my own fabric rolls, which means I have to use the ones available to me in the studio. I have experienced these fabrics from the previous unit so I already have knowledge of which ones will or won't work for this units prints.

Luckily, most of the fabrics weren't too different to what I imagined the garment to be in which was a plus. After choosing the most suitable fabrics for each print, I had three different materials being printed on; Habotai, Cotton Optic and Cotton Satin. I am really looking forward to seeing how these turn out this week.

 The only major change I would have liked would be the sweatshirt and tshirt in the high street collection, I would have preferred those to be in a more stretchy Jersey material.

Locating | Editing in Photoshop

I have finally taken my drawings into photoshop and started to work with them. So far they have turned out quite well.

I want to work with contrasting colours through this unit as it is something I personally haven't done before, I normally stick to a well thought through and structured colour scheme. Because of the way I am, I would stuggle to choose the right colours to contrast with eachother as I am too inclined to choose colours that 'match' or go together, which isn't what I want for my designs right now.
As a result of this, I am repeatedly using the 'Hue/Saturation' tool in Photoshop to edit the colours for me.
So far I really like the effects it is giving me. It makes my designs colourful, weird and a little bit crazy. The vast colour story reflects those used by my inspirations Basso & Brooke, Clover Canyon and Piafries. Although my colour story doesnt match the literal colour of an iris, I feel the designs somehow still look anatomical, keeping in theme with the concept. This is something I said wanted to achieve if possible in my brief, so I'm glad that is starting to look possible.

For a while after my first set of designs I became stuck, as for some reason the colours weren't changing correctly when I altered the hue/saturation. Eventually I realised that it was my projector photos and the vast change of colour in them that was creating the results I wanted, meaning I needed to find a way of working those into each design.
However, I didn't want to disregard the shapes and cut-outs in my collages, so I used different layer effects in order to work them together. Here I experimented with hard light, soft light, divide and overlay. The colours show through nicely and worked perfectly when the hue was altered.

Locating | Clover Canyon and Basso & Brooke

I recently perchased 'The Print Revolution' by Tamasin Doe, and I absolutely love it. It has really reminded me just how much I love digital print. Although I had heard of a lot of the designers there were a few new names. Two of which are Clover Canyon and Basso & Brooke.

I have fallen in love with all of their collections, and they produce the exact type of designs I want to create for this Unit. They are so energetic and full of colour, and are beautiful to look at. In my brief I stated that I want to be more experimental with colour and not stick to a strict palette this time. Taking inpiraton from these colourful collections should help me fullfil this. I will be taking inspiraton from both designers when it comes to editing my own designs in photoshop.

As I am creating a High Street and a High End collection, I believe prints like these could be adapted to both easily and effectively. The prints are so enthusiatic and vibrant on their own, so positioning on the garment will be crucial.

In particular I really like the mirror effect on many of Clover Canyon's Garments. This effect is done a lot in the fashion industry, so if I choose to made use of this I will also have to try and make it my own.

Intentions | Unit Evaluation

The Intentions Unit has been a huge eye-opener for me in terms of the purpose of my work. I have taken a lot of time and done a lot of research on where exactly I see my work going. For the first time I have been making decisions based on the research I have done on fashion and have taken inspiration from real designers that are already out there. Making Inspiration, Consumer and Concept boards has really helped me get my head around what I am doing and where it is going. I have made myself much more aware of what I need to be producing to target the right audience, which I hope will benefit me a lot for the rest of this year and Level 6.

I have also tried to link everything together in terms of concept. I often find it easy to get lost and stray from my original ideas into something completely unrelated. I have tried hard to back everything up and link it throughout. Although I did start with windows and stray from that into textures which in the end took over a little, I see that more as development because I became stuck with the windows concept by itself. In terms of linking my work to contextual practice, I think I have tried to find artists/designers/photographers along the way that relate to what I am doing and why I am doing it. However, I definitely could have had a few more just to make it crystal clear where all of my ideas are coming from. I've learned that I need to document this from the start so that I don't get confused trying to place them later.
When I first think about the Unit and the new processes I have tried, I feel like I haven't experimented anywhere near enough. However I then think about the fact that I have really come to terms with which processes and media work for me. I have really dedicated this unit to progressing digitally, and I have realised this is what I enjoy the most and it plays to my strengths. In a way I have learned countless Photoshop processes which I have documented in a technical file, but aren't as obvious to see when just looking at my work. Nonetheless, I feel like I should have taken a lot more risks with my drawings beforehand, as the only overtly new process I tried was paper making. In comparison to Level 4 my drawings are a lot more thought about and considered, rather than drawing for the sake of drawing.

 The one thing I would say I have done the most successfully in this unit is refining and fixing. Although I didn't take as many risks as I would have liked to I certainly made enough mistakes. I kept stepping back and thinking "Ok, what's wrong and how am I going to fix it". Mind mapping helped me a lot along with asking other people for their opinions. I learned that to be able to criticise yourself its important to be able to take criticism from other people and work on it accordingly. Overall, this unit has been a learning curve for me. I can feel myself becoming more prepared for the outside world and understanding what it will want from me. The key process for me has been refining again and again and finding solutions to what needs fixing in order to produce the best possible outcome.

Intentions | Development

My digital prints came out exactly how I wanted them to, and in some cases a lot better. Although I intended to work on them further in the print room, I found some of them to be lovely enough on their own. This made me wonder whether I should just stick to digital printing...

I screen printed on a few of my samples just to see what the outcome would be, as this might also come out better than I expected. Although there are two prints which I do think were reasonably successful, overall I think the pigment dye on top of light fabrics is too heavy, especially in comparison to the detailed print in the background.

I have decided to now only aim to produce digital prints as this seems to be where my strength lies. Although everything is still mostly screen printed, digital printing is definitely coming through and will probably take over in the future. Even now Photoshop is used to create the separations for screen printing, so developing my digital skills will not go a miss. However, I am still comforted by the fact I can take my designs into the print room if I need to.

On the topic of digital designs, I played around with masks a lot this week. I do like how things came out however the collection as a whole is looking a bit too similar. I want my prints to tie in together but also have some aspects of individuality, which I dont feel they have at the minute. They currently blend into eachother rather than compliment eachother. I'm going to head back into photoshop to come up with some new designs, and also do some more drawings to work with.



Intentions | Direction

One of the main criteria of this unit is to think about your work, its purpose and audience. I am really interested in printing for fashion, I know that almost for sure. However I have never thought about whether I want to go in the direction of high end fashion or high street.

I have thought about it a lot in the last few days and I came to my own conclusion. I thought about how I would feel seeing my work on a catwalk, and as proud and incredible that would be I realised I would get more of a buzz from seeing a regular person wearing my prints in the street. Obviously this makes me want to design for high street fashion, for example retailers like Topshop, H&M and Urban Outfitters. I've realised the 'dream' is to have my designs available to the average person like myself, and to remain affordable.

I did some research on high street clothing and their materials. I found that high street clothing is largely made up of polyester and cotton. The fabrics used on the high street need to be cheap, fast and easily accessible. Due to this I had my first set of digital prints done on a Cotton Voile. I also had a set of prints done on Crepe de Chine, which is a silk that is a little more expensive. I chose this because the example fabric showed that the colours come out vibrant and opaque, whereas the cotton provides more of a translucent print. It will be interesting to see how the two fabrics produce the same print designs.

I also took a look at WGSN to see what kind of fabrics are set to be used in upcoming trends. I found that a lot of S/S15 predictions make use of sheer fabrics along with opaques. I like this trend and it is totally adaptable to high street fashion. I like the idea of an opaque dress with sheer sleeves or sheer sectioning…