Iterations
These are my iterations and process!
website sketches (coding)
September - October
It was fun, but I had a very hard time developing
the website into something
Analogue sketches
Getting familiar with the text but also with the software
First sketch after I decided on my theme - consumerism- where I am trying to make more of a 'bold' move, by using space and also a mouth - in my head relating to the theme.
The design wasn't further used because I couldn't link the design with the idea. I wasn't really feeling it.
Feedback was positive as I starting to make baby steps into developing my design. Was encouraged to go further and think if he mouth is relevant.
I really liked the idea of having these pink sheets that hide content - translations of the text (at the time) - making the reader curious and also making him curious to go through the publication
Feedback (15/10/2024):
THE MOUTH IS MEANINGFUL BUT EXPLORE IT FURTHER, now is just decoration
IS it just random,
second design prototype (full text)
- A publication doesn’t have to be an answer necessary the answer, but an exploration too
Feedback (4/11/2024):
- nice but safe design - it doesn't pinch me
- the pink pages are fine
- (red text) be careful what text you use and how you formulate ideas
- play with typography
- make it more colorful and playful
Third design
This time I was designing without thinking - just doing - to try get to a playful, crazy design.
Feedback:
- find a reasoning behind why is some text highlighted
- what is the reason of the random pictures? try to have a colour scheme and typography family
- break the text
- so far so good : )
Website feedback:
- a lot of ideas, narrow it to only one thing (a shop)
- make sure what you sell relates to the content inside the book
Ok, what do I want to sell in my shop?
My book and stickers with quotes from the book (the highlighted ones)
Why?
I decided to create a shop to sell my book and stickers for two main reasons. First, it highlights the idea of consumerism by putting the critique itself into a marketplace. Even things that criticize consumerism, like my book and stickers, become products to buy, showing how consumerism is so deeply a part of our culture that it even includes its own critics.
Second, the shop plays with the irony that today, almost everything becomes a business. Whether it’s art, activism, or even resistance to consumerism, it all gets packaged and sold. By creating this shop, I’m not just critiquing consumerism—I’m also showing how it’s nearly impossible to escape from it.
This shop is part of my project’s message, making people to think about their role in the consumerist system and how deeply it influences everything around us.
From now on I just kept on trying to polish my design.
I had an idea for the website, but coding could have been better, and what I had in mind to do was least likely to be done with the time I had left.
Therefore, I came up with the idea of using Shopify! First, because I wanted a shop, and secondly, I felt like it strengthens the concept of consumerism
(on the right a sketch with how I imagined the website with anymations and pages)
i narrowed it down with the colours and I only focused on pink and yellow.
I also tried to use a pattern inspired by the dollar texture! :) Of course, it was inspired by consumerism.
So this is my final design for the publication!
I maintained the "simplicity and safety" of the design at the beginning, but as you turn the pages, the typography becomes more playful and larger, reflecting the evolution of consumerism over time.
I also included a QR code with one of my stickers that directly links to my website!
For my sources, I referenced John Berger, Banksy, and Naomi Klein, as they all discuss the disruption of morals. The highlighted passages also relate to their works.
Initially, my plan was to copy and paste the same text from my publication onto my website. However, I realized that this approach lacked a fair justification; I was merely aiming to meet the word count. After discussing this with my tutor, who reassured me that I could have between 15,000 and 20,000 words, I decided to focus on the content I could include on the website.
I aimed to provide information about the sources and their relevance to the theme, as well as insight into why the book was created. Additionally, I included fragments of the text from the sources to pique the viewer's interest in the book. If I presented the entire source, there would be little incentive for someone to purchase my book. Finally, I also included brief descriptions on the stickers, which contributed to my overall word count.
That's it! Thank you! : )
Andreea Mironeanu (1053539)