website works and finally finished!

Here are some screenshots of my final website, all done and finished! Yay! A weight off my shoulders at least.



sewing typography.

I've been doing some of my own sewn typography for the latest re-branding project, which you can see in my sketchbook. I think they look really nice, and might look even better scanned in and used in some collages. It's also a definite for hand-made collages, keeping the materials related to the main purpose of the store. I'm really pleased with it!!

publicity.

As part of the Versus debate, we have to construct our presentation and I'm finding it realllly difficult to try and find information! I just have no idea where to start. I've tried looking into some reliable internet sources on online versions of The Guardian and The Times, but unfortunately nothing has turned up that I thought would be beneficial. Hopefully I can find something somewhere. It's strikes up the fact that I don't really think issues within the design 'world' are publicised very well, maybe because people think all we do is design stuff and that's the end of it. Well it's not helping me anyway! 

sewing machines.

Quick update on The Sewing Lounge. I got some image of Singer sewing machines to make some line drawings from, and I'm hoping out of these I might be able to find some interesting shapes to use in my logo. As I've decided the name might be too long, but if I created a pictoral identity, this could be used instead of the name on things were there is little space for the whole name of the shop.

Alan Fletcher.

I'm thinking of maybe doing something a bit collagey with my re-branding project to make it a bit more appealing to the younger, "prom" market, which is the direction I'm going to head in. Taking inspiration from Alan Fletcher, I'd like to make it out of found materials, and wallpaper, to give it a vintage feel.

D&AD.

After the Directions lecture at Salford the other week, listening to the Communication pathway, I heard that part of the second year of the course incorporates work with D&AD. So I decided to check them out...

D&AD is a non-profit charity that awards the best worldwide in the creative field. It was set up in 1962 but a group of designers to "celebrate creative communication and raise standards within their industry". This group of designers included David Bailey, Terence Donovan and Alan Fletcher (wow). Now, D&AD has a  very successful education section in which students and emerging creatives can be recognised and develop professionally in the real world.

They also now offer a 'Graduate Academy', which offers people who are graduating the chance to respond to a communication brief, and the top 50 of these receive paid placements at some of the top design companies. I think this all sounds amazing and I'll be keeping my eyes peeled.

dan mountford.

Found a photographer online, who produces these absolutely gorgeous double exposure portraits. I really really love them!



cath kidston.

After talking to the owners of The Sewing Lounge, I thought about the homeware designer Cath Kidston, which has the kind of "Keep Calm and Carry On" feel, which is really fashionable now. I want the rebrand to look modern, but still a nod back to an era where this was the norm for women to make their own dresses and clothes etc. 

the sewing lounge

Today I went to meet the owner of 'The Sewing Lounge', the retailer that I am going to re-brand. It was a lovely little shop on one of the main roads that runs through Haydock, easy to reach from the centre.

It turns out that the shop is ran by two women, both sisters, who had been worked in the industry, in factories, before going onto different things. Then, about four years ago they opened up The Sewing Lounge. The shop is very busy, and as the owner said, she said that it is always busy, which actually, I was quite surprised about, seems as I thought that the demand for hand-made dresses was pretty low. The shop is small, but it seems the women's talents are in high demand.

After asking them a few questions it became clear that the business was not just headed in one direction, but very much they do a bit of everything. I asked if the women were busiest around the prom period, but they said they can't really say that because of the demand for them year round. They also make fancy dress outfits. I've decided, from the info I gathered today that because the women are pretty open to the direction and there is no specific "best-seller", I'm thinking about focusing on the "prom" side of things.