Week 10 - independent study
^ I want to shift this so it’s a bit more dynamic and actually comes to relate to the project a bit more. It feels very dislocated right now, just a nice piece of brush lettering.
^playing around with some imagery at the end - the idea of taonga and children being taonga now for our future (feathers). Still feels quite dislocated though. I like the feet concepts going on.
^was originally thinking about adding in some swooshy kea above to talk about manaakitanga and tāwharau, but not sure how i feel about this quick sketch - i want the big kea to be a surprise i think. I want this logo to be intriguing and create some mystery around what it could be about.
^kept playing around and ended up with this, I quite like it! I talks about the leading through a space - which also talks to the ideas of support and protection, it builds curiosity - much like the curious kea! It’s eye catching and fun and yeah i think it works really well!
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I already had a vision of how these would look: nicely typeset with a coloured boarder on one side and an image of a feather on the other - represents taonga for the waka huia: a treasure for the treasure box - much like flash cards. Here’s a general sort of pinterest board for odd bits and bobs like this that need general inspo: https://www.pinterest.nz/kelseyjaynegee/vcd-454-general/
Type setting the first letter and adding in some illustrations so the kids can start to gather who this character is and what they’re about.
^trying to figure out how this might be placed and arranged. I had the background wholly green at first but the feather just blended right in. I popped the “To....” up the top so it personalises the kit for the child and makes it feel more special for them - a bit like a letter from Santa.
figuring out the layout of the letter in the second kit. really trying to capture a bit more of that cheeky friendliness of the kea at this stage. He’s playful and welcoming, excited for the kid to come and visit.
The front is similar to the first letter. I have used the secondary orange to differentiate between the two stages/letters/phases of kit.
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Now that I have my illustration style sorted it’ll be easier for me to just smash out all my illustrations and develop a little library of imagery to use. Just going to document my final illustrations here
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this was a little difficult as I don’t know what the layers or styles used in Māori cloak design mean and I really don’t want to make something that is completely wrong. So going with a very simple representation - perhaps in future this could be co-designed with iwi and actually become something that has a bit more meaning.
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Maunga w/snow + shrubs + rocks
looks a bit like a poo but perhaps the kids will find that a bit fun and funny
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Awa w/ eels, koura, stepping stones + pukeko
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nest w/ other kea, rocks + eggs
For reference: https://www.keaconservation.co.nz/kea/breeding-nesting/
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kai > grasshopper, weta, stick insect, leaves + roots
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Presentation for Grant Robertson
I hadn’t heard from Grant so decided to send him a wee taster of my project - this took a bit of time but helped me think about what I might show in my presentation.
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Chat and exploration with Ant
Ant was doing his rounds and asked me if i had had a chance to check out block 10 yet - I hadn’t so we went for a little explore and had a discussion. I’ve decided to film my experience instead of do a walk through with my examiners - firstly due to time constraints and to control over how long is spent on that section of the project and also just to be easier and less strenuous with no trying to make sure everything is in the right place or getting exactly what I want out of the environment.
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https://twitter.com/laura_oc_rapira/status/1049064241095823361
Seeing tweets like this really make me want to make this project real, I’m not designing hypothetically, I’ve done the research, i’m constantly doing the research. Will this work? I’d love to know, what needs tweaking to make it work? I know we wont see immediate change, the effects of this project will snowball and take a few years to come to show themselves in our future generations.
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Went and brought a 20 pack of single sheet adhesive paper for my sticker sheets - gonna do some testing on this first before i decide if i want to get them professionally done or find an alternative.
^Whoops.... (facepalm) - as you can see here though there’s a big logo on the back of the sheets that comes through when held up to the light. I dont really want any logos on the back of my stuff as something like this could really distract from the work and bring it down. Still gonna go forward with this test and see what happens - gonna see if i can stick one of the other sheets over top of it to cover it up.
^aaaaand you can still see the logo right through two stuck together. The stock also isn’t great to die cut around as it’s so thin! these would have to be cut out individually for them to work. They’re also quite filmsy!! Going to find an alternative.
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This came about because I wanted the Kea soft toy to have a name tag - I was thinking it’s a friend right so it cant really have a tag that’s like a pet’s collar - that’s not right. I dont want to stick a huge “hello my name is” on him either that feels so institutional and discordant.
I got thinking about the kaupapa that surrounds my project already, it’s based around tikanga and manaakitanga - so how might a new friend introduce themselves in Māori? - a pepeha!
I learnt throughout school how to write a pepeha so wrote this little one for our Kea:
Tēnā koutou katoa
Ko Tūtoko tōku maunga
Ko Te Ana-au tōku roto
Nō Piopiotahi ahau
Ko Michael tōku papa
Ko Āwhina tōku mama
Ko _____ tōku ingoaNō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa
I found this new site by Designworks really helpful: https://pepeha.nz/ especially when trying to choose a maunga and awa/roto/moana that would be relevant to the Kea whakapapa.
Mount tutor - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Tutoko > highest mountain in fiordland where kea are often found.
Te Anau - https://www.fiordland.org.nz/about-fiordland/te-anau/
Milford Sound / Piopiotahi > https://www.milford-sound.co.nz/
https://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/maori
Mikaere - Michael > archangel Michael > the archangel designated for physical and emotional healing. He is also the patron of travelers, watching over them to ensure a safe and harmonious journey > In context he too is watching over these invisible children. > http://www.beliefnet.com/inspiration/angels/galleries/the-7-archangels-and-their-meanings.aspx?p=2
Michael is concerned chiefly with protection, truth, integrity, courage, and strength > https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-recognize-archangel-michael-124278
Āwhina - to assist, help, support, benefit. > https://www.behindthename.com/name/awhina > https://maoridictionary.co.nz/search?idiom=&phrase=&proverb=&loan=&histLoanWords=&keywords=awhina
trying to figure out the type setting - the front just says “ko _______ tōku ingoa” with the little feet stamp like the letters.
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measurements/planning of box for sticker
trying to figure out how i might line this with a sticker or with paper to look like a nest. I feel like this might end up looking really tacky so thought about how i could give it a little more magic and tactile-ness > what if i really pimped it out and made the inside of the box actually a nest e.g. sticks and feathers and a bit of softness?
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not sure how i feel about this. going to take a break and let it breathe a second.
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Trip to Mt. Crawford Prison
Pretty creeped out... Cant believe this place was still running less than a decade ago. After this project im just not sure how we can not treat humans - no matter how far from themselves they might have strayed - like humans.
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turning the boxes into something a little magical.
Thank god it’s halloween season!! I brought three witches broomsticks and dismantled the sticks off them for my nests!
woohooo!! this is pretty groovy! I think it needs a little something in the bottom though 1. to help little fingers pick things up without getting stabbed badly by the twigs and 2. to think about soft landing and protection nests offer.
Cushy softness and then everything (so far) all in the box together. Pretty happy with this! certainly looks better than a sticker would.
Thinking about the viability of these boxes - they may cost Corrections/Pillars/Kea Project a lot of time and money to make - perhaps these could be something that is crafted by the prisoners as a part of their programme? much like how the spatial narrative would be changed every 6 months or so and co-designed with the prisoners. I’ll pop a little ‘made by tag’ on the underneath of the box so it makes it a little more special too.
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changing ‘name tag’ to ‘pepeha’ and adding a call to action for the kids to decorate the box how they like.
Did some testing printing these myself at uni on some nice excess stock i had from last semester - it feels a bit feathery / is a little textured - and they came out really nice! going to keep it and go with that stock for these letters, the pepeha and the advent calendar.
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coming back to this - pretty happy with how this is looking but defs needs a few tweaks here and there.
Added the logo in and made the maunga a bit bigger - looks like he’s conquering a really big adventure! Still not 100% happy with this.
transposing that same concept to the CD sticker.
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Sticker re-testing & final solution
I was talking to Helen Wang (aka sticker queeeeen) about where to get a plain back adhesive from - she suggested looking at gordon harris. I popped in and asked about a sample she had given me but they didn’t have it. I went with getting a pack of double sided A4 adhesive. I’m going to try printing the illustrations out (at a4 on an a3) on the same textured stock as the letters and pepeha then transferring one side of the double sided adhesive to the back of the a4 area and cut it down to a4 size whilst leaving the other side of the backing of the adhesive on so it becomes a sticker sheet. Ill have to test hand-die-cutting these too as I need something that doesn’t go all the way through but does come off with the adhesive like a sticker!
Result: It worked REALLY well - going to go with it - boom another final output done myself!
So far: boxes, letters, soft toys, pepeha, CDs and stickers (x2 of everything)
To go: Storybook cover, spatial, parent hand book, advent calendar, dossier and presentation!
