haha

Yes. this is exactly what it was like. but it all worked in the end.  

Back to square one

We pretty much scratched that structure because there were a lot of elements that were not working well together.

Here are some of my sketches for the new structure.

We wanted to go with a new approach. More like a gallery viewing area. we still wanted to make it dramatic and visually stimulating. it was our goal from the beginning for customers to see the vogue signage from far away, and from every direction. 

Rendering

This is a rendering of our study model with the light panels behind the kiosk. 

The first third of the rendering shows the light panels be hind the kiosk. The second rendering shows the corridor where the kiosk will be placed and the kiosks are on the right side and the digital screen with the vogue signage will be on the left. the swirly metallic on the top of this image is a metallic curtain. We wanted to have this because when we thought of peep show we thought of a performance. we did not want to to red velvet which is typical to a performance because it would be to cliche.  

Vogue Kiosk

When you flip through a vogue magazine there are a couple things that you are guaranteed to find.
 - dramatic photography
- avant guarde styling
- some nudity

These characteristics are what inspired us to come up with our first concept. Originally we  wanted to expose the readers that read vogue, almost as if to expose there guilty pleasure. So we were inspired by peep shows. however this was a little confusing because we wanted to expose the audiences guilty pleasure but mixing this with the peep show concept it was contradicting each other.

Here was one of our study models.

The reason we like it was that each person had their own individual booths for browsing the magazines. the diagonal openings kind of lead the customers in but this would only be from one direction.

We also wanted to have a light display behind the kiosks as well as metallic decals on the floor. we wanted the light decals to reflect the lights on the ceiling and behind the kiosks.

However again this was confusing because it did not work with our contradictory concept. 

Final Display

For my final display i wanted to keep the theme of the little black dress so i had a classic silhouette of a dress for the inside. This also made it a lot easier to keep the display upright. I wrapped silver wire around the black dress (which is made of chipboard) and some wire pieces are wrapped looser then the others. This gives it more dimension and also allows for the magazines to be placed in the display (second image).

The magazines can easily rest in the wire. Also it is like the magazines are wrapped in the dress, so the display is wearing vogue, literally. 

Here's a view from the top, so you can see a bit easier how the wire is not flush with the black chipboard.

Inspiration

In vogue now are a lot of structural dresses. So for my display i wanted to morph the idea of a structural piece and a fashionable dress. The display has to be somewhat structural because it has to support itself.  My final idea is kind of a blend of wire sculpture and a dress.

This is a wire sculpture by Anthony Gormley. I was interested in this sculpture because it is a human figure that is able to stand on its own, which was a problem i kept running into.  

This dress that Lady Gaga wore to the Grammy's is pretty much how i wanted to proceed in my display. Even though her dress is a avant-garde dress it still shows how structure is fashionable. 

Ideas

So I was having difficulty trying to bring my marketing idea into the display. Just as a reminder my marketing idea is, vogue is as essential as the little black dress. So for the display purposes i altered it. But more about that later...

Since im working with wire the display is kinda tricky. The wire has to be able to support itself and not act as a slinky and flop all over the place. Originally made this:

This is nowhere near what a finished product of this would look like but thats why i stopped because i knew it would not turn out the way i wanted. This dress silhouette would be more of an hoop skirt dress and this does not represent fashion that is in vogue. I also dont see the magazines being worked in as a display.

Vogue Display

My original thought was to have a stair-like display and have the magazines sit on a different level. However there was not much to go from there. Then i wanted to go back to the image i used for the branding project. I was thinking of having a figure made of wire in that shape to hold up magazines. But that wasn't sending the message " vogue is as essential as the little black dress".  

My final thought was to have a woman sitting on the edge of a shelf, table, desk etc. The figure would be made of wire and only be covered by the magazines that she is holding. Thus showing vogue is as essential as clothing. 

Finished Container

For the final version of the container project i used single ply and double ply chipboard.

Here is what it looks like closed...

The problem i ran into with the dress was the folds. The container is one piece of chip board,  but opening and closing the package wore out the chipboard. Another thing i didn't like was that even though it is a silhouette of a dress it was difficult to make the cut out look like a dress without having the creases be to weak to hold. I definitely think that the ribbon helps with the image of the dress, and that simplicity works better with this project.

Here is the shot of the container when it is propped up...

Im pretty satisfied with the way the stand part of the container worked out. I definitely think the combination of double ply chipboard on the back and single ply for the front flaps did the trick. The part that is bothering me is the bottom flap, it is way to long for the display. It works well when the container is closed because it is part of the waist for the dress and the ribbon keeps it closed. If i were to redo this, the bottom flap would only stick out an inch, there would still need something for the top flap to latch too. I could use velcro to fasten it.

Container Continued

Like i said earlier, the problem with the container i previously made was that the customer could not see the object, in this case, the Vogue magazine. So i was advised to go with a simpler approach. Instead of wrapping the whole magazine, i would just wrap a band around the magazine. I would still keep the theme of the little black dress and have the black band be in the shape of a dress. 

Since the front has two overlapping parts there would be a ribbon to hold the container together. With the ribbon, there is still the sense of unwrapping. Also, with the ribbon wrapped around the waist it gives the ribbon a sense of meaning, not only is it a way of holding the container together but it alludes more to the fact that the container is a dress. Again this works with my concept that Vogue is as essential as the little black dress.

Container thoughts

The object I am working with for the containment project is a Vogue magazine. The first thought that crossed my mind when I had to do packaging was that magazines are not only sent to peoples homes, but also to stores, nail salons doctors offices and a variety of other locations.  My goal for the container is to have a package for the magazine and then the package could transform into a stand.  When something is on a stand, or is raised higher then other objects, it gives it a sense of importance or hierarchy to the object.  By putting a Vogue magazine on a stand it shows that it is of higher quality then the other magazines that it is next to. Generally, when someone walks into a nail salon, doctor’s office, etc. there is a mess of magazines on a table somewhere. By having Vogue magazine on a stand it is the first magazine that someone would see. Additionally, it is on top of all the other tables and it would be the easiest to grab, without the stand someone would have to either dig for it or not even know that it is in the pile. 


Here are some thing that i am working on. . . 

So my thought is that when a magazine comes in the mail, instead of having that plastic wrap on it thats annoying to tear off, the package can be a bit more...fun. I want the act of opening the container to be like opening a present.

 One of my ideas was to have the container be similar to a box that had the silhouette of a dress on the front so that the customer would have to untie or undress to get to the magazine. Then the two flaps would latch together in the back and form a stand. However this didnt work because the product (VOGUE) was covered and the customer could not know what the object is that they are buying. 

This was a similar idea. Instead of having the whole cover be a dress it would only be the top half of a dress, or maybe some would call it a blouse. But the general idea was the. It would untie and latch in the back. Since it was a similar idea there were similar problems, like you could not see the object name. 

A Vogue Woman

The message I want to create for the viewer is that a Vogue magazine is as essential as the little black dress.

I tried to show this by having an unrecognizable woman wearing a simple timeless silhouette of a dress that has Vogue covers on it. The reason I want the woman to be unrecognizable is so the viewer doesn't associate the woman with anyone or to compare herself to the woman. This way the viewer would only focus on the image. I had a similar idea for the setting. By placing the woman in an unrecognizable place, it could be anytime period, in any country. The woman could be poor or rich, old or young. This shows that Vogue really is for any woman.

Review of Blog

After looking at a couple of the blogs listed, Andrea Joseph's is definitely my favorite. I really liked how she not only had a title block that looked like it would be a label on a sketchbook or on a notebook. This automatically sets the tone for the blog. She follows by saying that this is her online sketchbook. This immediately tells the viewer that this is going to show her process sketches and then the final project. I like this already because now i'm looking forward to see her train of thought.

Before i started reading her blog i just skimmed through the pictures. I liked that she has themes that she organizes in her blog. For example on the first page she has a Mexico and Spain inspired artwork and then she has many sketches of shoes. Her shoe theme is pretty cool, just the way the composition is. She has a lot of similar shoe sketches but they are all laid out differently. The way she plans her sketch with the shoe she gives the sketch a personality. Earlier with the Mexico and Spain dish, i really liked how she joked around with the drawings. She really gives a personality in her sketches.

Since her blog is based on sketches i really like how she teaches the viewer how to sketch, or teaches the viewer her 6 step process. This is a great tool for students or whoever wants to critique their own craft because she tells you.

It was interesting to me that she actually sells her sketches. I thought that was cool because by blogging about her sketches and selling them its like a gallery opening without all the hassel.

   My concept for the semester is "Printed Media" so i automatically thought of magazines. 

   There has always been an ongoing trend to reinvent the past, you know "retro". So i wanted to prove this by comparing two magazine covers published fifty years apart. The Bazaar magazine was from November 2009 and the Vogue magazine was from 1950. I think that by forcing the covers next to each other the viewer can see that nothing really has changed in the final outcome of magazine covers, even though the process used to get to the final product has changed.