Fashion Figures

Started looking at fashion figure books - trying to see what would help a fashion designer in drawing their designs out quickly. Scanned some of these in and did some drawings, going to print it on acetate and have it in their journal.

Going to do some test prints on Acetate now to see if it works and give to a fashion design student to ask her if this would be helpful to have in her diary.

Experimenting

New Layout

Here I've tried this new layout that includes the day in english and four other languages, italian, french, spanish, german. Basically European languages, I thought it would be useful whose first language isn't English. I just put 4 crucial European ones. I think this font is better, looks a lot neater and classier.

Emma Bridgewater

Was at John Lewis the other day, really liked Emma Bridgewater's work, especially her recipe notebooks. They were ring bound and really cute. I feel this would be a suitable binding for a "fashion journal" as with such a diary its very easy to add pages or take out pages without ripping or ruining the pages. Also to have figures on acetate would be better with a binding like this as it can be taken out to be used properly wherever whenever.

Called up a couple of places, seems very difficult in this country to get a customized A5 ring bound folder. Was thinking maybe to buy a ready made ring bound folder and cover that with my design. Hmmm... maybe for the crit, I will do this unless I think of something better.


Possible Cover Designs

I really like this cover - I personally think it would work and sell to female fashion designers, It's not unisex at all. Thus I possibly couldn't use this for my final front cover. Any fashion illustration image would come across to feminine, thus maybe I should reconsider using a fashion illustration. Possibly one plain colour?

Had my eyes on this Marc Jacobs forever!... Was just looking at it again and thinking what if I made my diary cover from a coloured PU (Fake Leather). I really like the gold plaque on it, makes it look high end and sheek. I defnitely would want this 'Fashion Journal/Dairy' to look a high end brand.

Here I've got some possible samples for the Journal Cover. This fabric would defnitely make it look high end. Going to go tomorrow or saturday to buy a meter and actually try it out.

Possible label on the front cover

- "fashion fades, style is eternal" - Yves Saint Laurent
- fashionize your life? ( like organize your life )
- fashion journal
- mr belvedere (referring to a butler, that helps you with your life )
- the way we live
- i seriously need to organize my life
- "dressing is a way of life" - Yves Saint Laurent
- fashion is made to become unfashionable - Coco Chanel
- "only great minds can afford simple style"
- behind the scenes
- secret life
-ohh la la

French words/phrases
- Noir - Black
- c'est la mode - such is fashion
- couturier - fashion designer
- haute couture - trendsetting fashion
- jeunesse doree - wealthy, fashionable, young (glided youth)
- rouge - red
- suserrer - whisper


After looking at quotes and thinking of possible titles for the journal, I was thinking that in the diary I could have random pages that have inspirational quotes from designers.

Testing Different Dividers/Pockets

Daybook for a Fashion Design Student

After experimenting with different layouts, I was just looking at the different feedback I got and I was thinking with all these suggestions it would be difficult to design a daybook for a "design" student as there so many aspects in design - thus deciding I will make a daybook for a Fashion Design Student.

Key specifications for a fashion design student :

- a pocket to slip in magazine cut outs 

- key calendared fashion events

- selection of female/male template figures - could be printed on acetate so that the designer has front view and back view of the body (Acetate is hardwearing, won't fall apart so easily - possibly ideal material for the template)


- tracing paper would need to be in the book for the artist to tear off and place on top of template figure and make a sketch of their idea


-a selection of female/male body parts (face, hands)


-pics of technical garment types/parts (collars etc)/seams with correct terminology


-a list of fabric suppliers in town with address/contacts and what they are known to offer etc


Will try incorporating as much as I can, with additionally having a notes page, to do list, sketchbook paper too. Next step, finally get cracking on a prototype to give to a fashion design student to get further feedback.


There goes my weekend.

Target Market - Design Students?

So my target market is all designer students, thus my notebook needs to cater to what designers need. Need to look at possibly having graph paper for typographers, sketchbook paper to draw down designs, notes pages etc. I have made a survey and given it to design students to find out what they would want in their journal.

Sent out a facebook message to few friends, this is one of the feedbacks I recieved :

Designing possible layouts 

Looking at different layouts for the days in the diary - Here I've just done a sample of a possible layout. I quite like it, nevertheless I think it would be too girly for a diary for any designer. I think the Edwardian Script Font gives it a very vintage girly feel, may not be suitable for male designers. Also maybe the lines  could be too much?

From the feedback I recieved, most designers wanted a "To Do List" -

Thought near the end of the journal, I could have several pages like this to write other things. Tried it with a pastel yellow background just to give it like a rough page to scribble anything down.

I got excited when I found a site online that would let me design my own sticky note and they would print it for me. This a design I made for the sticky note - 

Action Notebooks

Fun flamboyant colours - the small ones come as 5 small neon notebooks. I think its awesome as they have several actions in the book on random pages. It's kind of exciting, as you go on using the book their some what 'revealed'.

This is one of the pages in the Action Notebook - where this action is to 'recycle your phone charger'. I love how the designer has made a small design on the side of phone chargers and the wires would be lines to write on for notes. I really love the concept.