Concept
Wattle studio is a social enterprise which creates beautiful, nature inspired stationery which generates funds to put towards building the a sustainable future. At least 50% of the profits would go to local ecological initiatives, with a focus on regenerative and urban farming groups, as these have a significant positive impact on both the environment and the community.
Why Urban Farming?
Supporting regenerative urban farming has several benefits, which set this project apart in terms of impact. Regenerative farming is effective at sequestering carbon, which is key to slowing climate change. (1) Though there have been limited studies on sequestration through urban farms, they are proven to contribute to greening cities, improving local air quality and reducing the urban heat island effect. Urban farms are effective at recycling, using organic waste for fertilizer and wastewater for irrigation. (2) Though urban farms may not feed the whole city, they provide easy access to low-cost fresh foods, which can improve the health of community members. (3) Simply being outside in a green place, especially with other people, offers a healthful experience, reducing levels of stress. Indeed, many of the best documented benefits of urban farming are social, including increased community cohesion, a deeper relationship with the ecosystem and the ability to sustain cultural traditions through growing certain foods.(4)
This project is significant in the field of visual design because it provides the opportunity to visually communicate hope in a better future and employ design to make it happen. It is a project that allows me to explore and draw upon knowledge in history, science, craft, and different areas of design. An Australian made stationery enterprise would be unique in the market. It would bolster the local print industry, and provide mutual benefit for designer, maker and citizen. Above all, this capstone project is an opportunity for me to learn as much as possible and make the most of my final year at university.
Mood Board
About The Name
The Name 'Wattle Studio' was the result of a collaborative brainstorm session with my peers, where we generated keywords surrounding nature, joy and stationery. I chose the word wattle because it is a plant native to Australia, (also known as the acacia tree) and the bright yellow flowers embody the joy that the brand stands for. Including 'studio' in the name references the artistic and designerly aspect of the brand, and is common in similar brand names in the market.
Visual Research
As research to help understand art nouveau as a style, I looked mainly at a 1970s Clip art book, Art Nouveau Designs in Colour, which I found second hand a while ago. It happens to be a later, translated edition of the same ornament collection, first published circa 1900. The original can be found online, through the New York Public Library.
Art nouveau is almost always referential to nature, which is why I chose it for this project. I wanted designs that create feelings of beauty and peace. Many of the original designs that I studied, however, featured European plants and Wattle Studio is a locally focused brand. I wanted to include native plants as much as possible, so I referenced an Australian gardening guide, Australian Native Gardening - Made Easy by Dick Chadwick. (Little Hills Press, 1984) I selected plants and flowers that had nice colours, and I thought would work well in the art nouveau style. I also sourced some images of native insects online.
Using the nature photos and the art nouveau clip-art book as references, I sketched out some native plants and flowers in the art nouveau style, focusing on simplifying the shapes, creating segmented designs and balancing symmetry and asymmetry.
To test out the notebook design, I prepared two mock-ups. For the first I used the colored design straight out of Illustrator, and for the second I tried a gold foiled effect.
I liked the detail and the romance of the coloured version, but the gold effect added a lot of impact, and got plenty of positive feedback. I decided to combine the two and see if that would work. It took many iterations to get the gold effect just right, with enough area gilded that it has impact but doesn't overpower the colours. I print-tested the cover a number of times, trying to get the right sizing of elements and shades of blue.
Final Design
I created the physical prototype by printing out the coloured under-layer and applying it to an existing notebook. To create the gold effect, I separated the necessary shapes into a second vector file and converted them to outlines, in order to cut them out using a vinyl cutter. (Roland Camm-1 GS-24) I used a mirror finish gold vinyl so that the design would really sparkle.
Sticky Notes
I sketched a few ideas for die-cut sticky notes, but I ended up loving the idea of a leaf skeleton sticky note. I was inspired by the ghost-it note to create a translucent sticky note, which is helpful for annotating into books and recurring sections in a bullet journal. The leaf skeleton fit the best with that constraint and the direction that the collection was headed, but I would love to revisit the cat design at a later date.
I originally planned to make my own leaf skeleton, but was unsuccessful. Instead, I started with a stock image, which I edited in Photoshop to boost the contrast. I tested out a few different settings for image tracing the resultant PNG (below) and once I was happy I warped the leaf into its final shape.
Washi Tape
To design my washi tapes, I started off with sketches. I started out with simple repeating patterns, but after looking at the following example, I decided to go with a more varied repeat.
Once I was happy with my sketches, I scanned them in to illustrator to use as a guide. I ended up doing two fruit designs, and although lemons and pomegranates are imported fruits, they do a better job of communicating themes of nourishment and abundance than any native fruits I could have used. I wanted my audience to get the feeling that they were having a picnic in the park on a sunny day, and I think pomegranate and lemons for lemonade create that atmosphere.
Following a guide on the Washi Gang blog, I set up my illustrator files so that I could submit them to a printer and have the tape actually manufactured.
Mockup by rawpixel.com on Freepik >
For my prototypes, I printed A3 sheets of the designs onto litho paper, being the closest thing I could find to washi paper. I trimmed the sheets into strips using a craft knife, and adhered them to recycled plastic cores using repositionable glue.
Stickers
For the stickers, I settled on a 9x16 cm sheet with seven designs, similar to what stickii club makes. Once again I sketched out the designs and built in Illustrator.
Scarf / Fabric Wrap
Using the motifs I had already developed, I wanted to create a scarf design that could be used to sustainably gift-wrap the stationery collection. I used diagonal lines of symmetry to make the design striking but still uniform.
I had the fabric for the prototypes printed at Emerald Dreams in Brisbane, and cut and finished the edges myself.
Thank You :^)
Credits:
Created with an image by LifeCollectionPhoto."