OUGD502 - Studio Brief 01 - NEST Issue 10 Tote Bags

During a discussion with the Student Union it was agreed that a range of branded merchandise could be produced and distributed at the launch event as a way of attracting new students to the event and creating a subtle form of promotion after the event had finished.

I wanted the design to represent the content of the issue, and so wanted to use one of the phrases from the introductory page of the new issue. Critiquing this ideas with peers, it was concluded that the final design should feature the phrase 'focus on the obvious' on one side and feature the NEST logo on the other, allowing people to have multiple option as to how they could wear the bag.

Front

Back

It was also suggested that to create an alternative product compared to the majority of tote bags that are sold or distributed at launch events, the tote bags should be made of black canvas with the designed printed in white ink.

Front

Back

A stock of 50 black tote bags were then ordered. Over the course of one afternoon I hand-printed the designs onto both sides, with help from L5 Graphic Design student Sophie Oldham. Once the ink had dried, each tote bag was pressed in a heat press to seal the design and prevent wear.

OUGD502 - Studio Brief 01 - NEST Issue 10 Exhibition Vinyl

The exhibition space at Colours May Vary also featured a large window on one side. Discussions with Becky on how to use the space suggested the vinyl lettering could be placed on the window as a form of wayfinding for the launch and exhibition.

Using the dimensions of the window (2m x 5m), I created a large format logo and a section of copy text including the launch details and running dates of the exhibition. The copy text was formatted using Eurostile, the same typeface used within issue 10.

The design was cut onto translucent vinyl to match the stock of the belly band, using the digital print facilities at LCA.

Vinyl letters as they would appear on the window - to scale

OUGD502 - Studio Brief 01 - NEST Issue 10 Launch and Exhibition Planning

Organising official launch events for new issues of NEST magazine is also an important role as Editorial Officer.

The first step in organising the launch for issue 10 was to locate an appropriate venue. There were many possible locations around Leeds that could have been used to host the launch, including Village Bookshop, Outlaws Yacht Club and Studio 24. However the most appropriate option was to use the exhibition space at Colours May Vary, as the space would be large enough to accomodate a good number of people and would be a familiar location to both new and existing students from LCA.

I contacted Becky at Colours May Vary and negotiated to use the space for the launch night and to hold the space for a week after in order to be able to display a small exhibition of work that had not been included in the printed magazine. The price agreed for this was £210, which was within my budget for the launch.

After visiting Colours May Vary I selected a number of works that could be hung in the space, including photography prints and a projector to display a moving image submissions.

Colours May Vary floor plan

Alex Robertson

Henry Vallance

Izzie Glazzard

Lucy Fricker

Nicola Beedham

Richard Taylor

Laura Sifi

OUGD502 - Studio Brief 01 - NEST Issue 10 Instagram

To aid in the promotion of the new issue, the utilisation of social media was crucial. There was a existing account created under the NEST name, however it had never been used in conjunction with the magazine. In order to create an effective social media presence I collaborated with L5 Graphic Design student Joe Turner. We discussed the format of the images that would be posted on the account and agreed that in order to create a connection between the Instagram and issue 10 of the magazine, the images would retain the same use of negative space. Within the square format, a minimum border of 5mm would be applied to the edges, and the featured image could be placed anywhere within this grid. The featured image could also be any size and orientation.

Grid for square format instagram photos

The instagram account was successful in extending the reach of the NEST brand, gaining over 250 followers and allowing NEST to promote both the upcoming issue and students from LCA who could not be featured in print.

OUGD502 - Studio Brief 01 - NEST Issue 10 Belly Band Folding

Once production on this issue had been completed, the magazines were delivered to LCA. As the belly bands had been delivered flat to allow for a lower quote, 1000 belly bands had to be hand folded and then stuck with tape before the official launch of the issue.

Initially I had tried to crease the belly bands using a creasing machine, however as the stock was so thick and also retained a plastic-like quality, the crease caused the stock to snap rather than fold. As a solution to this problem, the belly bands were folded free-hand around the edges of the magazine. The folding was done in just over 10 hours over the course of 3 days.

The belly bands were then stuck with white electrical tape, as the tape had a similar shine finish to the foil used to create the logo. Sticking was done in roughly 14 hours over the course of 7 days.

In total, the folding and sticking for 1000 copies took just over 24 hours worth of labour. The majority of this work (roughly 800 copies) was undertaken by me, with help from peers and the Student Union.

OUGD502 - Studio Brief 01 - NEST Issue 10 Printing and Foiling

Once the design of the issue had been finalised, the magazine was sent to print. There were many discussions and negotiations had with Pressision about the cost of printing, and the final quote given was £1580.87 for 1000 copies.

During the printing process I visited Pressision to gain a first hand experience of a professional printing environment. The spreads of the magazine were printed by offset printing onto two large double sided sheets. These were then folded multiple times and cut down on side to produce the individual spreads. The spreads were bound and the trimmed again to produce the finished product.

The belly bands were foiled using a white foil and the existing logo foil block from previous print runs. These were left flat so as to reduce the cost of production on this issue.

The issue took just over two weeks to be printed.