J card initial ideas

Today we undertook a similar exercise to yesterdays flag idea generation. The aim today was to start experimenting with the format and layout of a J card in preparation for our two colour screen prints next week or the week after. I created a varied series of cards using a mixture of the imagery from the previous task and concepts from research. One of my main considerations was to not follow the classic and functional format of having text is written along the spine, an image on the long side and the tracks on the short, therefore characterising the non-conformist, post-punk aesthetic. Also, the type of J card was taken into consideration as I went for the shorter 3 section card over the much longer and more flexible 6 panel. This choice just felt more No Wave as its less fussy and more of a DIY, improvisation. Producing designs for 6 panels would feel overworked. I feel that the iconic imagery from research in terms of NY city advertising campaigns is very effective and well applied here. Also, it appears that red is currently my accent colour although perhaps I should experiment with other bold colours such as blue, orange or yellow. I am still keen to continue with the tape idea which again features with the bold NO on the first design. Therefore I have ordered a roll of red and blue tape and a few other colours to help further my experimentation into next week and beyond.

We had a crit at the end of the session which gave an opportunity for peer feedback on my ideas. There was praise given to the imagery I used and its effective nature. However, some questions were raised about the effectiveness of the 'I love NY' branding as perhaps no matter how I adapt it, it will appear too cheesy. The I love NY campaign is arguably the less contextually relevant also due to its formulation in the late 70s while the No Wave era was at its peak, the big apple campaign can be explained better however as it was ineffective symbolises collapse of New York. There were also comments made on my layering of images and use of backgrounds, I need to put more consideration into how these images will actually screen print and interact with each other. I feel the bitmap apple design was my most effective and when combined with other imagery could be a possible final outcome. I need to buy some apples to see if I can get imagery of my own.