Design Practice 1 // Stamp it - further design progress

While experimenting with different slogan options, I decided on the option of 

• 'Stop living on standby'

I feel this sentence helps aid the visuals to convey a clear and concise message to the reader, I intentionally picked a slogan that had the word stop or off in it, this would allow me to manipulate the 'O's in each word to represent a standby button.

I also decided to remove the Northern Irish section from the design because of the odd and fairly un- distinctive shape of northern Irish territory. even once the shape of the country is revealed on the final stamp, because people are used to seeing the entire shape of Ireland, it will cause unnecessary confusion

 I'm not sure what it is but all designs I am producing for the stamps feel a little bland to me, this may be due to the fact that I am used to seeing a generic type of stamp and mine at the minute really don't look like everyday stamps,  I would still like the stamps to have impact, so that they would not just be ignored when stuck on the envelope.

I could combat this problem by experimenting with patterned backgrounds rather than solid colour, or at least consider having another visual element on the stamp.

The background pattern that I incorporated below, I think helps the stamp have a little more inpact, however having a patterned background does make it more much more difficult to see the dots and the type.

To help bring attention to the back to the dots, I thought it necessary to interrupt the background pattern with the shape of the UK. Adding both the pattern and a the constant shape of the UK definitely takes away from the simplicity of the stamp that I first intended, each stamp will clearly show the UK.

I also tried inverting the colour scheme, to see if this improved visibility and layout. I believe that the black background still creates the best contrast for the red of the dots, it helps them stand out more brightly, giving a more convincing visual representation of standby lights.  

I am still wanting to use the text I originally chose but alterations are needed to the font and layout to help it link to the visuals better.

I changed the font to Politica XT regular - 16pt for the word 'Stop'

                                                                  - 8 pt for 'Living on standby'

This squarer font makes the stamp look more like a warning which is inteded to draw the attention of the viewer to the type straight away, which will help them realise the message that is being communicated.

It also creates a good shape for the standby button I want to incorporate, the square red 'O' on the black background is the first think of the type to grab attention. the standby symbol is hugely recognised all around the world, so no matter what country the stamp is in people will not have to speak English to understand the general message of the set.

 

 After creating a large enough solid background section for the type to be placed on, I wanted to arrange the type so the standby button would be closer to the top of the stamp, this is more commonly where standby buttons are found on electrical products. However by doing this it means the text faces away from the design which really doesn't feel like it works, it looks satisfactory on screen but after i printed a test version, it felt unnatural and strange to read the type in this layout.

The text this way feels much more natural when printed.

 

This is now my chosen stamp design, i will create the stamp cover in a similar theme. I like how the cream coloured lines of the background contrast with the dots and the black background to help the main visuals stand out, it also helps each stamp stand out as being different from the others, you can clearly see the gradual increase of standby lights throughout the set.