Live Project Working With 'MOO' Evaluation!

In this project we were asked to work with a client, in this case we were working with a company called ‘MOO’ which is based in Barnsley. This project tested both my time keeping skills and creativity. The brief was to produce a number of samples that were based on invertebrate sea creatures for spring/ summer 2014. We also had to make sure it was monochrome with one splash of colour as this is what was asked of us. These samples were to show ‘MOO’ potential printed material that they could use on an Avant Garde garment that they were designing. This project was a competition which made it all the more competitive and challenging. At the start of every project research needs to be done about the clients you are working for and the brief to get background knowledge to produce an excellent project. At the end of the project we were asked to present our work to ‘MOO’ so they could have the deciding vote. So here is how my project went. My research consisted of primary, secondary and drawing from observation. I took photos of sea creatures from the sea life centre, I also took photos of items in the ‘MOO’ boutique to get a feel of there company. I collected images of sea creatures and images and information of various artists and designers that relate to sea creatures or sea colours. From these images I drew numerous sketches throughout my sketchbook mainly of designer’s sea inspired clothing collections. I developed this research by creating mood boards; this was a collection of images that I collaged onto A3 sheets of paper showing pattern and colour from invertebrate sea creatures that inspired me. From this I then developed my visual sheets which I took pattern and colour and started to develop it further by using different media to recreate the sea creature patterns. Then finally I did my development sheets which I finalised my chosen pattern to print onto fabric. All this sheet work was mainly based on shells because I liked the texture and shape, I then made it my own by adding intricate patterns within the design. The elements I took forward into my design (tracing) were the colours and shell patterns. I really liked how they looked on the sheet so I decided to recreate the exact pattern onto fabric including making the Procion dye the same colour as the sheet work. When ‘MOO’ came to have a look at my sheet work they picked out patterns that they liked which was the shell pattern. This helped me in deciding what my tracing was going to look like. When it came to the colour they said it was entirely up to me what colour I think would look best. In a way this made it difficult for me when it came to dying my fabric because I didn’t have a specific colour of what they wanted therefore I just had to guess. My research showed me that turquoise was in this summer so I produced mainly shades of turquoise dyed samples. To show my experimentation I also dyed some fabric in other colours such as purples, pinks, and oranges. This meant they would have a wide variety of samples to choose from depending on what they were looking for. The original brief was to produce monochrome samples with a splash of colour, however I decided to take a risk and do most of my samples with a strong background colour with a black print on top. The risk paid off because they ended up really liking my samples the way they were. I took this risk because to me Avant Garde means outstanding, unique and never done before, therefore to make it outstanding I wanted it to first stand out with both the unique pattern and stunning colour and I believe it worked out well. I found it difficult with the constraints the client gave me because they wanted an Avant Garde garment design, they ended up choosing a simple beautiful print with really soft colours which was the opposite to my samples, I found this frustrating because when I researched Avant Garde designs there was nothing subtle or simple about them so I struggled making sense of the brief. The experimentation I did throughout this project was printing on various materials from heavy viscose satin to habotai silk. This showed how it would work on different materials to get different delicate effects. I liked how strong and outstanding it looked on heavy viscose satin because the dyed background was really striking and metallic, but on material such as devore silk it looked really delicate and simple. I also experimented with puff binder on a few of the samples. I really liked this technique because it gave it a 3D effect and with my design it looked really creative. I also used devore paste which burns away the fibres on the material revealing the pattern, however I didn’t appreciate the full effect because I used too much devore paste which was slightly disappointing because the detail didn’t show up correctly. A problem I encountered was that my screen wasn’t exposed properly meaning that a little bit of the pattern was missing on the print, but because the print was so intricate anyway it wasn’t that noticeable. Another problem was that my screens didn’t line up properly due to my fabric shrinking so I had to just try my best. I also used puff binder and realised that it wasn’t suitable for a garment because when washed and pressed it goes flat or even burns. I experimented by layering up puff binder on a small piece of dyed fabric, this looked really good because you could see random patterns against a blue background. I found it easiest printing on material such as calico and cotton because it was firm material and gave a nice result. When I printed on material such as muslin and heavy silk it was really difficult because the print kept moving even though the fabric was taped down and when the print was revealed I think I used too much pigment ink. The results on the lighter materials weren’t as reliable or effective as the other samples. When I printed on a piece of calico the screen must have had too much excess pigment on it because all the detail was blocked therefore I decided to print puff binder on top of it to cover my mistake and it turned out to be my favourite print. If I didn’t have any client constraints I don’t think I’d do anything differently because I produced so many samples, I think I produced every possible colour and material for them to choose from anyway, rather than sticking to just light fabrics. I would say I produced a wide variety of different coloured fabrics varying from light to heavy. The only thing I would change is maybe experimenting with white backgrounds and different coloured pigment rather that just black, the only reason I didn’t is because I think with a design like mine it needs to be printed black because of the intricate detail. I would also have liked to experiment with fabric manipulation just to see what it would look like, but due to time I couldn’t have fitted it in. My chosen designers such as Monique Lhluillier and Alberta Ferreti influenced my work because of the stunning colours they used specifically turquoise, however my inspiration for the intricate detailed shells design came from Avant Garde garments that I looked at. None in particular but as a whole I just noticed that the prints were bold and eccentric and the colours were vibrant and fun that is how I was inspired. I also loved how my chosen designer’s interpreted sea creatures in many different ways from elegant and simple to bold and bizarre clothing. I wanted my design to be in-between these two categories so that it could be wearable but as I have learned maybe my design isn’t what they were looking for as a garment. Deciding my final design was pretty easy because I knew from day one I wanted to do shells, and because of my individual artistic style I just combined shells and pattern together to produce my final print. I think reproducing my print onto a larger piece of fabric would probably be quite difficult because I didn’t create a repeat print, and the detail was so complicated that I couldn’t guarantee a perfect print each time. This was because I struggled with most of my A3 samples which wouldn’t have been suitable or perfect enough to feature on a dress garment. The processes I used throughout this project were screen print, puff binder and devore. The media I used were fine liners, gouache paint, procion dyes, brusho powder and fabric. I also used equipment such as the heat press, and the heat gun. The things that went well were my research, sheet work and dying my fabric. The things that went slightly wrong were lining up my screen, printing because it was faded due to the material such as heavy silk viscose and the screen not exposing properly. The things I would change for next time would be to allow more time to print and also I would request having two separate screens rather than having two on one screen because when I printed I had to let the whole screen dry. This meant in-between each print I didn’t really have anything to do because I couldn’t print my second screen. I think I managed my time well up until the printing stage because we only had one week to print and with everyone in the print room it was pretty hectic and stressful. I came in one day during the holidays to wash and press my fabric this was so I could get printing soon as possible but even that didn’t give me a lot of time left over to print. To solve this problem in future I would come in on my days off to get work done to a better standard, however I managed to produce a good amount of samples to present to ‘MOO’. When I presented my work to ‘MOO’ I felt quite confident in my work and they were very reassuring, but they obviously wanted something different. Therefore I didn’t end up winning. This process and interview gave me confidence for the future because I now feel I can present to any client. I would say that it has given me confidence even though it wasn’t what they were looking for. The owner of ‘MOO’ reassured me by saying it is great just the way it is and not to change it. This made me realise that I should never change my individuality and that the design world is purely down to personal preference. We were given a weekly diary to complete to see how we managed our time, if I’m perfectly honest I can’t say it made a difference to how I managed my time, it just made me aware that I had to fill in a diary. For my final project I will definitely use it as a time management plan because of limited time on our final project. Therefore I think it will really help me. I have learnt that it would be useful to take notice of the diary because I might have not been rushing as much as I did. It was quite scary working for someone outside of college because it was added pressure and I’m not really a competitive person, but I have learnt that if you want to win you have to do everything to get there. I have also realised that to get to where you want to be you sometimes have to change your style to suit a client, in this circumstance this wasn’t the case thankfully. I found it difficult because my individuality and style means more to me than just trying to please someone else, that is why the owner of ‘MOO’ comments meant a lot because I didn’t feel she was trying to steer me in anyway. It was definitely an experience because I now know that if my work is good enough for the design world, it will be recognised in the right design industry rather than fashion without me having to completely change my style. I am probably more suited to interior design. I’m aware that many artists and designers have gone down this road and it isn’t easy, it may have took many years but staying true to my own style means more to be than any competition, it was an interesting experience it just showed me how uncompetitive I am. The clients were really good to work with and very positive about my work and it definitely built my confidence. Overall I really enjoyed this project and I was pleased with the outcome. My strengths were my confidence and motivation; if I was to improve anything it would be to keep better time management and to be confident enough to see it more as a competition rather than just a project. I think I tried to forget about the competitive side because it would just have been added pressure and stress but in the real world I guess it would be something I’d have to learn if I wanted to be a top designer.