For this brief, we needed to respond to what we had learnt within our Photoshop Inductions so we need to produce Postcards that have been created on Photoshop. From these, it was necessary to find some inspiration and research into Postcards.
Postcards:
Traditionally, Postcards are used as a way of communication in the form of a letter without having the need to use an envelope. Normally, they would be expected to be used by people who go on holiday so it is a convenient way of communicating with your loved ones without the need to use anything specialist to contact them from a wide-ranging distance. They would usually have a depiction of a photograph of the surrounding scenery to show where they were on the front with a plain back to have room for the user to say what they had done.
 |
| Gurney- Read, J. (2012) "The Death of the Postcard?" [Internet] The Telegraph 13th August Available from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/9472654/The-death-of-the-postcard.html (Accessed 12th December 2012) |
As illustrated by Josie Gurney-Read in the Telegraph article 'The Death of the Postcard?', sending a postcard on holiday has now become a dying tradition with statistics proving that the postcard has become something of a vintage hobby.
"nearly half of all British holidaymakers (45 percent) have never sent a traditional postcard"
That being said, Postcards are now something that isn't usually used as the digital age has made it easier to contact people in this instance. However, despite this, there have been new ways that postcards have been adopted to find new uses for them:
 |
| Some of my Collection of Gig Postcards |
It has become a trend for promotional collateral to come in the shape of postcards, an example being with bands producing postcards as leaflets to promote themselves, merchandise or up-coming shows. The small size means for cheaper printing costs and is small enough to be put in the pocket of a music fan to carry away with them. This has also been done by independent shops and fashion labels to promote labels who are desperate to get their name out.
 |
Miscellaneous Designers (2013) "Sunday Secrets"[Weblog] Post Secret 26th January Available from http://www.postsecret.com (Accessed 26th January 2013)
|
A contemporary use of postcards is the idea of being able to make artistic, amateur postcards and send them to strangers. These usually have some accompanying featured image and piece of text that describes a secret that they want to tell but feel as thought they cant for fear of being scapegoated for it. This takes the traditional elements of a postcard and turns it on its head.
From this, I felt it was necessary to look into some design inspiration to see how other people have approach producing an artistic postcard. I will try to focus on postcards using photography and shapes like I will do in the brief.
Postcards Design Inspiration:
 |
"Time Postcards" (2012) by Ella Laytham
Laytham, E (2012) "Time Postcards" [Weblog] The Behance Network Available from http://www.behance.net/gallery/Time-Postcards/3380641 (Accessed 12th December 2012)
|
These postcards take the aspect of using photography which have been manipulated in Photoshop to get a vivid, visual explosion which the viewer can't take their eyes off. This slightly contradicts the natural subject matter depicted within the photographs but the added emphasis placed on the images due to the manipulation gives them added impact. The choice of having a light weigh font with text overlaying is quite a trend thats currently being used but the small font size and thin weight means that it doesn't entirely take away from the strong visual identities of the images.
 |
"Classic Apple Postcards" (2012) by Viet Huynh
Huynh, V. (2012) "Classic Apple Postcards" [Weblog] The Behance Network 4th June Available from http://www.behance.net/gallery/Classic-Apple-Postcards/4124075 (Accessed 12th December 2012)
|
These postcards use a mixture of photographic imagery and illustration to get a 70's feel to the postcards. The fact that the colour is kept the same throughout the design with only tonal colours and white stock taking care of any detail adds to the overall appearance of the work. The use of the circle shapes on the front creates a delicate structure that the designs revolve around. The simplicity of the designs gives a clean aesthetic, particularly with the back of the postcards which have a lot of space due to the white and the colour provided separating the space for the address and the message.
 |
"Dwell Postcards" (2011) by Vicky Fong
Fong, V. (2011) "Dwell Postcards" [Weblog] Coroflot 9th September Available from http://www.coroflot.com/vicdesigns/Dwell-Postcards (Accessed 12th December 2012)
|
These postcards have been produced with the intention of being professional and with a serious tone of voice as they are used for the company 'Dwell' to encourage people to visit new opening stores and store events that are taking place in order to optimise their sales. The use of a photograph that appears that it hasn't been manipulated gives an aura of professionalism and honesty to the clientele whereas the stark white back page with the black type gives the reference to a museum artwork which adds to the quality aspect of the products.
 |
"Postcards I Would Send To Myself" by Nicole Martinez
Martinez, N. "Postcards I Would Send To Myself" [Internet] Available from http://arterdesignist.com/postcards-i-d-send-to-myself (Accessed 12th December 2012)
|
This eclectic collection of postcards designs highlights the range of manipulation that you can create on Photoshop by adding colour filters and texture to photography in order to get the message across that you desire. The postcards give a stereotypical impression of the design presentation of the capital it revolves around, but it gives the photograph a new lease of life. The typographic elements are clever as they have another photograph imposed within the lettering thereby adding to the layering texture and personality of the places shown.
No comments:
Post a Comment