For 2019/2020 YCN Student Awards, I submitted work in response to a brief which was a collaboration between Oliver Bonas, an independent lifestyle clothing brand, and Fedrigoni, an Italian manufacturer of paper. The brief challenged students to create packaging designs for a candle range combining both brands, as a part of their upcoming summer 2020 collection.
The purpose of the collection I designed was to focus on the importance of taking time to relax. I chose to use the Danish concept of Hygge, as a basis to my theme as its meaning of enjoying life's quieter pleasures, fitted perfectly with the ideology I wanted to present. They say Hygge is the feeling of home and being safe. Within the book written by Meik Wiking, there is a chapter that explained how candles are an important part of experiencing 'Hygee' and the Danish are a country that are fascinated by candles and the importance of good lighting. Also stating that candles act as an element of happiness.
I experimented with Fedrigoni paper and printing techniques such as mono-printing to begin the project exploration.
I chose to develop my designs from sketches into lino prints to see how relief print could create texture and an unique manipulation for the patterns. I use lino regularly as I enjoy the process and how each result is distinctive depending on the methods taken beforehand. Also I like how lino printing requires a lot of skilled craftmanship and concentration in the creation process. These all can be evident in the details of the final prints.
I also tested with some combinations of colour schemes that were seen in the mood board's suggestion to help inspire my choice of inks when lino printing.
I was really happy with the lino outcomes as they were bold and very playful patterns. I felt they related to the brief and the objectives well. The lino technique made it useful to test out different compositions and colour schemes. When looking at the prints as a whole, some stood out stronger for me as they some were more intriguing. Also it was an important factor to see which patterns work as a collective because the brief mentions having four designs and I wanted them to be effective individual and as a whole collection.