Design Process for my Vodka Premix Bottle

Another university project completed and this time two weeks early. We had to create a Vodka premix bottle and label design for ‘Wedgetail Distillery’ using Cinema 4D and the Creative Suite. Here is how I went about doing it.

The scenario we were given (in short)

Wedgetail Distillery, makers of premium vodka produtcts have asked you to design the new bottle and labels for their pre-mixed vodka and citrus drink. It is a mid priced product (about $65 for a case of 24) and they are aiming for the 18 to 35 years market. It must have all the Australian legal requirements (which we had to research). It can have up to 4 colours including special or spots or CMYK if you wish. It must feature an eagle somewhere.

You must complete a 3D render of your bottle in Cinema 4D and the final presentation must be A4 in size and it must be targeted towards the client to sell your design concept.

Design Process

Research

I first redefined the problem then I researched bottle designs by going into my local bottle store and I also borrowed packaging books from the university library. I also researched the legal requirements for Australian packaging and alcohol. Who ever thought I was going to be researching Vodka?

Bottle Design Sketches

This was where we had to design the outline of the bottle. We could have any shape or texture or material we wanted, there were no restrictions.

I kept to the typical glass bottle design as I wanted to make it look realistic as possible however I did add some cool bevelled effects to the bottom of the glass bottle.

You can see to the left the shape of the bottle I designed.

Label Design Sketches & Vectorisation

After I had the bottle design done I could now start on the design of the label. I did a lot of sketches here and then once I had the general idea of how I wanted the design to look I started vectorising my ideas.

You can see the vector outline of my original label to the left and then the final label designs below. The fonts I used were Mesquite Std Medium (for Wedgetail), Adobe Garamond Pro Bold (for Citrus), Edwardian Script ITC Regular (for Premium Vodka).

The colours I used were Pantone 877C (Metallic), Pantone 8404C (Metallic), Pantone 1795 C (Solid Uncoated), Pantone Process Black U.

3D Rendering

After the labels were completed we had to render the 3D bottle in Cinema 4D from our original bottle designs (this was a big learning curve, let me tell you!). After we had rendered the 3D bottle then we had to bring the labels into Cinema 4D and wrap them around the 3D Bottle.

Below you can see a screenshot from Cinema 4D of me doing all of this.

Presentation

After I had completed all the renderings it was time for me to make them presentable. In Photoshop I experimented with different backgrounds and effects to see what was the best. Below you can see just some of the experimentations of different background effects.

I added the lemons into the composition to for scale and to add a bit of contrast to the image and to emphasise the citrus flavour of the vodka premix drink. I created smoke using the clouds filter and then used a light feathering on the clouds and then I added a zoom effect to make it look like a kind of back light coming out of the bottle.

Final Composition

Below is the final A4 composition that I printed out on Semi Gloss photo paper and to be honest it looks so much better in print. What do you guys think?

If you want to check out more of my university work go here.

As an added extra, just because I liked this project so much I did a little mock up of the 6 pack box.

Comments are always appreciated.

Design Graphics Student Magazine Cover Competition 2008

For university we had to enter the “Design Graphics Student Magazine Cover Competition” which is open to all Australian graphic design students and secondary schools. This is my mock-up for it.

For those who qualify, the entries close 30th April 2008. More entry details here (PDF). You can see last years entries here.

I have not submitted the cover yet as I need to refine minor details and we are still awaiting a student peer review at Uni so the design still may change depending on the feedback I receive from university and from JCD readers.

There were some tips on DG regarding magazine cover design saying:

“Magazine covers are generally designed to attract attention (sometimes called ’shelf presence’) and to reflect the style of the publication. With this in mind, there are some basic rules that make a good starting point. The use of a single, eye-catching image, for example, is a good place to start —and you will notice that these are the covers that once again proved successful.The golden rule of magazine cover design is that the image should contain some ‘emotional content’ that give it pick-up appeal. If the design is too ‘busy’, is too abstract, or the colours are too dark or dingy, it will not be immediately noticed on the shelf. By all means challenge the shelf browsers, but don’t ask too much of them. The publisher wants the magazine to stand out and attract new readers, as well as ring in the regulars. Try to create ‘graphic charisma’. “

1. Have I adhered to what is mentioned above?
   
2. What are your first thoughts upon looking at the cover?
3. What can I improve?
   
4. Would you pick this magazine up?
5. Would you buy it?

Please be as harsh as possible! Below is the original and then my updated and submitted version is below (with 3mm bleed). Try to spot the differences.

What is a Font Flag? What is a Font Specimen Sheet?

Do you know what a font flag or font / type specimen sheet is? Here are the answers as well as an example made by myself for typography class at university.

What is a Font Flag?

A font flag is a poster – a visual ‘sell’ – presentation of the style, feel, mood and aesthetic sense of a particular font. It deals with the emotive, pictorial, poetic or pragmatic sense of the font. It may recall the sense of history, the classification group, notable or famous uses. It is about appeal – looking good.

What is a font specimen sheet?

A font specimen sheet is about measurement specifics, display of the font – all characters and expressions, at differing point sizes, paragraph setting, leaded or tracked. Upper Case and Lower Case, title box, formal identification of the font - its name, classification, designer/typographer, the foundry – and a demonstrated showing of ‘font family’ characteristics – weights/shade in print.

My take on making a font flag and specimen sheet

For typography class at University we could choose any typeface we wished and then we had to make up a font flag and a font specimen sheet, here is the result, as well as a title page.

I chose Bodoni because it is so unique and because I wanted the challenge of working in an Didone (Modern) font, something I have never done before.

I made the background in Photoshop from about 8 different layers, then merged them and imported into Illustrator. The rest was done in Illustrator. You may notice that the Fibonnaci Sequence or golden mean has been the inspiration for these designs.

The characteristics of a Didone (Modern) type face.

• Thick vertical strokes.
• Thin horizontal strokes.
• Fine hairlines.
• Straight serifs.
• Extreme contrast between the thick and thin stokes.
• Curved letters balanced and slightly compressed.
• The angle of stress is vertical.
• Prints best on a smooth matt finish, white paper with black ink.

A thing worth noting on most digital Bodini fonts is that they suffer from a particular kind of legibility degradation known as “dazzle” caused by the alternating thick and thin strokes, particularly from the thin strokes being very thin at small point sizes. For more info on this see Bodoni on Wikipedia.

Bodoni Font Flag

Bodoni Font Specimen Sheet

Typography Title Page (For a little typopgraphic pdf book we are creating.)

Need to brush up on your typography skills?

• Top 5 Typography Resources of all time
• 30 Fonts That ALL Designers Must Own
• How To Choose A Font
• ilovetypography - A typography blog
• 54 Typography Resources Every Designer Should Know

Feedback / Suggestions / Constructive Criticism is appreciated. I would love to hear your feedback.

Free Abstract Cube Decoration for you to print out!

Here is a free graphic design abstract cube decoration that you can print out for decoration to remind you of Just Creative Design You can see above what the cube looks like when printed out and made up. Your size will be the mini one, it is approx 6×6x6 cm or 2.36 x 2.36 x 2.36 in. You can click on the picture below to download the template. You then print it (don’t forget to change print format to landscape), then cut it out, then sticky tape it together. It should take less than 3 minutes to complete. About The Cube This cube was part of a university project (view another uni project here) where we had to examine the use of common design symbols in an abstract context to help create a unified cohesive design which in the process will develop conceptual, critiquing and presentation skills. We had to work in black and white and choose use one typographic element (except letters) and then choose a single geometric shape. I chose the Helvetica Bold asterisk and the good old circle and you could use any amount of lines that you wished. After choosing these elements we had to design each side of the cube to different instructions. I won’t mention all the instructions here, but I’ll give you an example of one… 1. Using each element only once, incorporate type texture into the design. The context or meaning of the text is irrelevant. The emphasis on this design is to explore implied texture and tone. You can see my solution on the far bottom right of the 6 squares above (on the mount board). Anyway after we designed all 6 sides we had to construct the cube and also mount the designs on a board as you can see in the top picture. What are your thoughts? Please let me know if you print it out

Update:

Kod from Turkey has sent me his printed out and made up JCD cube which you can see below! Thanks!

Mascot Design for NSW Fire Brigade

This is a post showing you some of my work from University and the thought process behind my designs. Just out of curiosity, what do you see first, GOOD or EVIL in the optical illusion above?

The Brief:

Design a promotional cartoon character (mascot) for the NSW Rural Fire Brigade that can be used in a wide range of promotional material from brochures, TV, clothing, fliers and the internet. The purpose of the promotional campaign is to minimise the occurrence of uncontrolled burning and fire devastation in residential and bushland areas and to educate the public in how to prevent bushfires. Think of a name for your mascot and design a suitable typeface for the name.

Submit two versions of your mascot, a Photoshop CMYK version and an Illustrator 3 colour PMS version.

Problem Redefined:

Create a mascot that will appeal to all NSW Residents, both adults and children and can be used across a variety of media. The mascot must make residents take action to prevent further bush fires.

Research:

This was my first ever illustration so I needed to do research more than ever. I researched mascot design, character design and my biggest downfall… drawing.

Brainstorming:

After a lot of research I brain stormed different ideas and had a lot of sketches however I kept coming back to the usual clichés. ie. a fire ball, a water man, a super hero, a fireman, etc and I wasn’t happy with these clichés as I wanted to do something original.

Solution:

I ended up taking a different spin on the project…. I made an evil character called ‘Match Man’, one that lights fires.

This evil character engages all of the target audience as it is not your usual friendly mascot and due to the evil nature of the mascot, it will make people take action to prevent further bush fires. People will want to help fight the ‘evil’ fires.

Illustrator 3 PMS Colour Version

Please take it easy on my illustration, it is my second illustration ever! The colours used were Pantone 192C, Pantone 107C and Pantone Black C.

Photoshop CMYK Version

As you can see I am a little more comfortable in Photoshop but the illustration still sucks, the background is a bit better.

What do you think? What can I Improve? Got any links? Let it rip, I am only in second year so what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger