Studio Brief 02 - Back of the note design

To illustrate the impact of deforestation, aerial views were chosen because of the scale it presents and the intricate patterns that offers a desirable visual quality. To demonstrate the differing effects of deforestation, a section of the note could be broken up into further sections with different patterns of deforestation. 

To decide how the section will be broken up, I looked up at more aerial views of mans impact on land, and I came across aerial views of farming which could offer an interesting way the section could be broken up into.

Therefore instead of simply breaking up the section into a straightforward grid, the section could be broken up into the geometric farming patterns above whilst still adhering to the grid system of the note. This will offer an interesting take on the impact of deforestation and could offer a more engaging design.

Grid A

Grid B

Grid C

Grid D

A few possible grid systems were drawn up. These were created with the aim to form a design that resembled the aerial shots of the farming patterns whilst still being visually appealing. Because visual appeal cannot be objectively determined, these designs were  taken for feedback and from the four, Grid B and D were the favourites. This was because of the prominent diagonal lines which directed the readers eyes across the section, much like the use of colour gradient in Oxenaar's note design. These diagonal characteristics are desired because it will help convey a transition between the differing deforestation styles more effectively than a rigid grid. 

Using Grid B, this is an initial design mock up of what the back of the note could be. Overall the effect of having a lot of intricate patterns within the design doesn't communicate the destructive imapct of deforestation. To an uninformed eye, the patterns can seem meaningless as they dont give any visual context. Furthermore becuase there is a lot going on, there is no focal point in the section. What does stand out however are the flat black landscape shown on the far left and the dark tones in the bottom middle. These stand out because of how it visually contrasts both in terms of colour and pattern against the other deforestation patterns. 

In this iteration, the brightness and contrast levels were taken more into account to create a visual flow. The patterns on the left are darker and more deep in its blacks, which transitions into the lighter less contrasting patterns on the right. The central rectangle now includes a more contrasting pattern that hopefully draws the users eye to the centre of the design. 

Another adjustment was made to the design, this time instead of just altering the brightness and contrast of each pattern. They were shifted in each section to include more or less negative space depending on its placement on the note.

Using Grid D, the same technique was done. This time creating a different visual flow where the gradient goes from the bottom left to the top right. 

In this iteration, the borders of each grid section were changed to white and thickened to help separate each section and lower the visual clutter.

Instead of having the gradient flow from left to right in the previous designs, this gradient direction is more effective in communicating that idea because of the white space that is present on the left. This gradient direction is more natural as a result.
 
Despite the efforts made to include the differentiating patterns of deforestation and achieving a form of gradient across the note, the overall design is still too complicated for the intended note size. The intricate patterns may lose detail if printed onto a 11cm x 6cm size. The lines may not be fine enough which will not fully display the details. To alleviate this, instead of having each grid section displaying the deforestation impact, the design should include some sections of barren landscape caused by deforestation as seen below.

This can then transition into the patterns seen above and finally a mixture of pattern and the remaining forest. 

As shown above, the sections of the left are not of patterns but more of a texture that represents the barren lands left after deforestation. Having said this however, what will determine the success of these designs is the ability for them to be reproduced accurately through screen printing or mono print. Because the blacks within the images used are not 100% and have fade, exposing it for screen printing for example may pose a problem. This issue can only be figured out after trial and error. 

 So to carry on these are the 3 designs I will test in screen printing. 

Prior to any colour being added, these designs are going to be done to test the ability of the screen to recreate the level of detail. The addition of the two dots in the lower left corner resemble that of a cross cut log as opposed to a simple circle. This is to keep the design elements contextual to the theme of the notes design. In the bottom right, the section is coloured in as it fits in with the idea of creating a gradient.