When I started this project, initially I wanted to do so many things. There was an incredible surge of ideas, but nothing that felt real or tangible. I can actively say that this was, without a doubt, the second time I have come across an assignment in the past three years that completely stopped me in a way that made it hard to get over the first hurdle. The first was my final project for Design History, wherein I had to make a timeline for the periods we had covered in Design History. Much like this assignment, it was not the idea that I had, or the process I was testing or the theme of the work, but the starting process that was incredibly hard on me.
Living with disabilities like ocpd and autism can cause stress on the mind and even the soul during the process of creation. If I cannot overcome one hurdle, it can be near impossible for me to move on from that point. It’s a simple measure of “oh just move on to something else and come back.” However, in my mind, this is so so difficult. For this particular project, the hurdle that stopped me was a combination of overthinking and underthinking. I know, right? How does that work?
I thought big, but as I was thinking big, I kept stopping myself by thinking; “but it feels like its too much. I can make it simple and effective and that should be the mark of majesty here.”
Work it down. Dust it off. Think again. Stop thinking. It was touch and go! Constantly starting over without actually doing any work at all. All I wanted to accomplish by the end was a tactile experience that a wide variety of people could enjoy. It was about broadening your skills, accepting yourself, and opening your soul to the process of making! I carefully considered what it was that helped me growing up, and I kept coming back to art. Drawing and painting was my only connection to the world when I had no other way to speak and convey my thoughts and emotions. I wanted that for others as well.
There came a point where I had to boil it all down to a space where I was comfortable starting. I had narrowed it down to two ideas; A book that came with the necessary equipment to learn to bind on your own. No needles, no glue, no big scary contraptions that would make it harder to even start sketching. Just a simple method to help the user become more connected to their work before they could even start.
Or
A little box that could become a bag that would allow you to actively move around with your sketches, something that would cater more to a plein air painter. This idea was great, and I liked the concept of simply closing a lid and going, but what stopped me from pursuing this further was drying time and placement of the art tools that could impede the actual drawing process itself.
Binding.
Bookbinding is an experience that I have learned to thoroughly enjoy over the past few years. I’ve only done it a handful of times, but it’s a process that I’ve connected with in ways that I truly did not expect to love as whole heartedly as I did. The concept was then to make a physical connection to the process of making. Binding your own sketchbook, and allowing room for the addition of more pages as you grow.
During the early prototyping sessions for this project, I was testing using bare cardstock both a shell for the book, and as a bit of a palette as well. I came up with this idea first because I had some older prints that I had used during my process in serigraphy. I would print on cardstock and use the image as a stencil. Because the paper was so thick, it made cutting into the pieces over and over again easy and kept everything sturdy and in one piece. This was something that I showed during critique during class, however, because I was actively using this piece as a palette at the same time, I actually ripped it before I was able to take a picture. I wasn’t thinking about it at the time and realized almost immediately after that this was a really rough mistake. Because I don’t have any of my original prototypes photographed, I’ve made up for it as much as I can by documenting everything else to the extent of my abilities.
When it comes to these projects, taking photos is always the part I struggle with the most. For my process, I like to get lost in my work, so to actively stop that process and start documentation is very difficult. Looking back, the piece of work I have documented the best was my last assignment for Applied 1, “Untitled.” There was a process that I had developed at the time where documentation was a key part of exploring the brand. For something like this, I worked very on the fly, accepting and anticipating everything as it came.
So, how did I really start after I go over the hump of thinking too much and working too little?
My initial steps were to create a die-cut, taking the measurements that I thought would work the best. I took an in-depth look at the readings and really considered what making a proper template was like. My initial interaction with print production was not a pleasant one and I was unable to take away from the class the proper knowledge that I would have liked to, so these readings were a great refresher for how to make and format something like a die-cut/template.
Starting with an 11×17 document, I knew that the watercolour paper I had available was 9×12. This made it easy to figure out that the book should be 9 inches high and 6 inches wide, as when cut or folded in half, the paper would fit perfectly inside this little cranny.
Next, I would give room for the spine, and the fold-over portion of the design at half an inch, and the flap that sits on top at roughly 2.7 inches. The hole spots are 1.5 inches in, but the end product has the holes placed an inch in, as the hole punch I own was a little bit too short to make it the whole way in.
Creating this diecut made it easier to design the spaces that needed to be designed. I took a minimalistic and simple approach to the design and the structure, leaving an open top and bottom to showcase the insides in an organic way.
After getting my prints ready, I was able to start assembling the pieces.
When it came to testing the paper I had a couple of issues. At first, because I don’t always jive with numbers, I was under the impression that I would have to trim the paper to fit it in. Additionally, I was unsure if it would be better to do single page binding, which is the method I am most used to, or a double hole, single stitch style of binding. In the end, I decided on the latter. This decision was made in order to make it easier and quicker for people to bind, as well as stronger in the long run because of the hole punch options.
For the testing phases, I used my Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour pans. These pans come in loose, full pan form and are easy to rearrange, allowing for placement options with the primary colours.
With everything tested in a way that I was happy with, I began binding and packaging the book in order to showcase what it could look like finished up.
Overall, I was really happy with the outcome. If I were to do this differently, I would have added in the one thing that I really truly forgot. Instruction. For all my talk of wanting to make it accessible and easy to parse, I had completely forgotten to add in some kind of instruction materials! If this is something I pursue in the future, that would be my first step in perfecting the product. Making some cute illustrations and thorough instructions.
Material considerations.
When it came to choosing and showcasing the materials, my initial concept was to use paper chord so that 90% of the materials were paper of some description. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any paper chord, and the set that I had mysteriously went missing at the absolute best time! I believe this was a blessing in disguise however because I did have bamboo chord!
Bamboo is a great alternative to paper products, producing less overall waste, easy to grow, and a lot sturdier than most materials out there, it was a perfect way bind the book, as this material was stronger than the paper chord could ever hope to be, as well as softer, allowing for less opportunity for tearing.
A mylar sheet was used as the base for the palette section. While I found out that it is not necessarily ideal for acrylic type paints when it came to clean up, sticking to the surface to the point that even peeling it was not really an option, it was perfect for something like watercolour. The surface is easy to wipe with water, and won’t wear down even after doing so, making it a much better surface than the paper for mixing colour.
Speaking of mixing colour!
The considerations for the palette used were thought out thoroughly. Colour is important, and it’s something that can really connect a product to those who might want to purchase it. With this product, I considered offering a range of colours, but I stuck with a soft pink, white, and brown colour scheme as for me, it simply is a marriage that is not considered often enough! I adore the warmth that something like this exudes. For me this is a successful palette choice, and one that can resonate with a wide variety of people.
I really enjoyed this process, and while I’m disappointed with how I executed my planning and processing phases, I believe that the outcome was one that I am very happy with. It is carefully considered, and leaves a lot of room for improvement and building in the future.
Total time spent: 30-40 hours, if you include the sheer amount of time spent just thinking about it.
Mellvetica 