Cllage

The plan for the inside of my box is to have a collage already in there, with numbered white squares that correspond to a tabbed image of an object that the you are invited to 'pop' out of an accompanying card (it will be perforated on the laser cutter) and stick on, giving it a 3D effect.

First, I had to plan the collage itself....

Next comes sticking objects on to simulate the 3D collage...

Step three was to mark where all of the tabs sit and then scan it so I can reproduce the image again to then print as a card and put in the tray.

Edit: the plan was to reproduce the image in photoshop and place the squares on after, but I found that I liked the effect of the scanned image too much, so I'm going to make the collage again, but neater........

Prototype

Before proceeding to design the collage and the pop out in my box I had to test that the net I had drawn up and altered would actually fit together like it does in my mind. The outcome was successful, turns out the little ledge on the bottom is a great support for the drawer and it works a lot lot better than the last prototype I mead (where the drawer fell off).

Laser cutting

I finally got to find out what's what with the laser cutter today, because I have big plans that you will see SOON. (Unfortunately, he didn't go through the circles thing with me so I don't have that fancy 3d thing everyone else has to show for a morning spent lasering, but I do have a piece of paper that we tested etching, cutting and perforating on)

Now I've pretty much got everything sorted, just need to test it, print it, laser it and voila!

Testing pop ups (again)

Jen suggested I researched materials a little more in my assessment last week, when I realised that I'd gone with 'route a' for making the pop up. I've acted like folding card is the only way to make a 3D collage! So I thought I'd explore a few other methods before I reach my final. 

Obviously, these aren't practical for a final design. The G keeps falling off the toothpick and it's secured with blu tak; the straw is secured with sellotape. But they were things I had laying around my flat, and they do make the letters stand up, and it gets the ideas out of my head. 

New Pop Up

The next thing I tried was this traditional pop up method. Thought it would be a lot more stable than the slithers of card I had used before. 

To test this idea I gathered up some spare boxes, (2 match boxes and a cigarette box - it wasn't mine, honest!) to put more quick letter collages in. The first was two very, very long pop ups stuck inside an old cigarette box (covered it in the test run of my brown paper pattern. 2 birds, 1 stone) to see if it would pop up when you take the lid off. 

Didn't work as well as I hoped, the springs weren't particularly strong, and flopped over, but they did pop out when the lid came off! (Now I can't decide whether I like brown or white more...). Next step from here would be to try again, with smaller springs.

After constructing this, with a separate spring for each image I thought about having just one platform with all of the imagery on which would pop up.

 

Could this be the way I make my pop up?

Looking at other pop ups for inspiration....

Decided to do a quick google search as well. Typed in 'Pop Up' to see what would come up. It was mostly childrens books and handmade cards, but it was something to look at for inspiration at least. I even found Morag Mysercough's pop up café!

Owen Gately Pop-up adventures

Daisy Lewe

Morag Mysercough

Pop-up Kings Cross

Jodi Harvey-Brown

Logos (last one, I promise)

I didn't like how linear and 'perfect' my logos looked since I'd made them digitally. So I planned to develop the shape a little, first looking at expressing it in different styles that I like (sewing, watercolour) and then moved onto turning the pattern that I've just made into the logo somehow. 

And this particular design was my absolute favourite, so I made it into the full logo, using a scan of the GM hand drawn to keep the analogue nature of my brand. 

Cracked it!

That's my nets done, and half coloured. Here's to the next one....