At the beginning of this project my key goal was to make an illustrated guide to the coffee scene in London, but I feel that my idea has developed so much from that point. I died up producing a magazine on monthly issue that would be given away free in independent coffee establishments for those who already love this drink, rather than those new to it. I went from a complete illustrative approach to working with different materials and prints that made a much more commercial-looking publication. This project has made me much more open minded and confident of my own abilities. 

My sketchbook is a massive visual and text based journey that makes it clear where and why I chose to do different things.  This was where the majority of my thought processes went down and where I reflected upon those decisions made which I was easily able to refer back to. The blog certainly led to a few eureka moments as I described a particular point in my development and suddenly had another new idea that I had to explore. The blog was at my fingertips and easy to update all the time which helped with my time management and productivity levels. Rather than sticking to the FMP planning sheets given to us religiously, I rather preferred to make my own time table and action plan lists that I was able to tick off as I went.

A main personal goal was to improve my own knowledge of coffee and apply that to my daily life, broaden my horizons and try something i’ve never done before. I can proudly say that I no longer take sugar in my coffee and enjoy the bitter taste which I would have never seen happen at the start of this project. A target within the plan was to look at illustration but that didn't happen; and I am glad for this. Collaging and printing was equally fun as I realised the endless possibilities outside the realms of watercolour and pencil. 

The smaller review cards were a massive turning point for me and the whole image of the final booklet. Without taking bright and bold pages from the Harpers Bazaar magazine and collaging them on the page, I’m sure I would still be working in pastel shades. This collaging technique opened a door to other forms of mark making and building colour that I would have shed away from before. Also, just the logo design and building the image for the text and visual ideas surrounding this booklet was a significant part of the process as it created the base from which I was able to expand ideas.

The group review at the half way point was a real eye opener for me as I was able to see what progress other people were making and compare that to my own work. One thing that really stood out was the contextual research, lack of, that was contained within my project. It was at this point that I made a conscious effort to link every development to an artist or relevant thing. This was a positive thing because it made me realise the effectiveness of this approach as I began searching on the internet for people to inspire my work. I was also told to experiment more, at which point is obvious from my sketchbook work because I really began to consider other materials available to me. 

Time management was a major issue for me during this project as I was unorganised at the beginning of this project to the point where I would procrastinate continuously. This changed however when I got to the mid-point of this project in which I could really start branding my journal and adding my own personal touch to it rather than researching alone. In fact it was the process of researching with my development and tying that in that really helped me overcome this obstacle and speed up the process. This project allowed me to also work within publishing design, which I found I thoroughly enjoyed. The idea of making an outcome that flows as a whole, but made up of individually designed components is something I will consider doing in my future as a graphic designer. I also want to try out brand design again as something I didn't get to fully explore in enough depth was the proper branding process of a product or concept and creating a logo, colour palette etc. for that particular thing. 

I was aware of the huge amounts of beautiful confectionary packaging in Selfridges, but wasn't quite prepared for the amount of perfectly wrapped treats on the ground floor that offered a perfect pace for packaging research.

The Sweet Virtues packaging shown below was perhaps my favourite on display with the pasted images over the packaging offering a colourful and dynamic display that looked artistic and organic. The type face that has a hand rendered feel to it is one of the first things you read and it instantly gives the product a natural look and feel that reflect upon the heath focused sweet treats inside. This is paired with the natural imagery pasted over the box, including elements such as plants and fruit in either artistic or photographic form. The colours and combined elements look well thought out and this is able to give a consumer the impression that sweets such as truffles can be good for them.

The foiling on the chocolates to the right was gorgeous and managed to convey an image of quality and luxury. Now although this isn't quite something I want reflected from my own potential packaging for my product, it was amazing to see the potential designs that could be considered for this. The intricate patterns and fancy lettering are all indicators as to how certain elements tell the consumer certain things. I would love to include foiling on my packaging or within my booklet as something on a raised surface that could add interest for the reader, however time restraints are my worst enemy. I also feel that gold foiling goes particularly well with brown papers and is able to convey the concept of coffee in a less conventional way.

This foiling was also evident on the Aquim chocolate above which was found in the global section. These illustrations demonstrate skill rather than commercial ability and whilst they match the packaging and the product very well, they aren't something likely to be put on my products. Something interesting is that these chocolates too feature the muted but rich colour tones such as blushes, greens and browns with a hand drawn/made quality to them.



The award for the most innovative packaging foes to these treats put into a tiny book with the British flag on. This showcases just how many possibilities there are within this market and how anything has the possibility to be effective. This design made me pick it up off the shelf and inspect is which is obviously what the designer wanted which shows that it isn't just bright colours that do the trick.

This design features some impressive illustrations that are something that could very well go on my product. The line drawings are used to create a pattern which was something that I had never considered before and won't dismiss in the future, as a pattern consisting of coffee cups would looks effective. The background colours are also gorgeous to look at and reflect those colours I have used within my journal.

This small trip was an insight into all the possibilities that there are for my packaging exploration and concept of an awareness package. From colours to techniques and what makes a product tick, these are all things I picked up on when browsing those foods available in Selfridges. It just shows what a little market research can do, even if it's not completely relevant to my own concept.

I'm not sure why I completed the editorial last, as it is going to be the first page in my booklet but I feel I am able to write this content and present it much easier now that the rest of the booklet is complete.

I began by looking at several examples of editorials within publications similar to mine, this included those from an art magazine, university prospectus, Harpers Bazaar and Harpers Bazaar Art issue, NME and John Lewis magazine. All these magazines or booklets are issued directly to their target market, which is the case with The Coffee Journal; to be placed in various independent coffee shops for customers to pick up at will. I noted down various similarities between the editorials that will help me whilst designing my own. They all featured a large chunk of text, its content varying greatly but generally including the following; an introduction to what the magazine is or contains, things the editor loves this month/week, personal dilemmas, thoughts and feelings.

As usual with page designs I began by drafting up a few ideas in my sketchbook, but doing the majority of it on Photoshop; exciting and moving things around as and when I do it, choosing what looks right in the spur of the moment.

               
                                  

The images above are an example of how I played around with the title. Of course, the torn paper wasn't on the original design for the editorial, but I added this in as I went. I found it difficult to erase the texture of the original file which I found on Google, rather than tearing paper myself and scanning it. I managed to solve this issue however by duplicating the later and changing its properties to get a nicer colour and finish.

The stencil effect I found in the image above adds a handmade, printed feel to the piece which I like for the editorial. The pale pink contrasts well with the vibrant blue which is the most recognisable colour used throughout my booklet and accessories. 

It is essential that I get the colours of this page to correlate with the one opposite, which is why I designed this entire page looking at the inner cover. One of the reasons why I chose this cover was because there are so many colours in it, that it's extremely difficult to design an opposite page that doesn't match well. I picked a base colour, which was the turquoise, and worked around that by manipulating different elements until it was well suited.

Writing the text for this page was challenging as I was trying to compose an editorial for a hypothetical magazine. This magazine doesn't and will never exist, but I had to make the entire concept as believable as possible with this writing. I made sure to use the first person with the present tense, using a friendly and causal tone in order to make the reader feel welcome. Of course this was going to make or break a first impression to the journal, so the grammatical aspects and content of this first piece of writing are essential.

These two pages are essentially the first and last ones seen by the reader when they open the booklet. They aren't the most important elements of this magazine, but they need to make a good impression on the reader whilst maintaining the flow of the piece. Of course I played around with several potential patterns and images I had created throughout the length of this project; the potato prints, torn paper, coffee painting, bean experimentation and star drawings. I chose the coloured beans, not only because they took a bloody long time to complete, but because they contained all of the colours featured within my booklet which maintains the status quo. This means that any page going opposite to this print wont have a hard time blending in. 

I knew that I wanted the journal to open with a quote; something that changes every month, and perhaps close with the person who made the statement. After searching online for various quotes, I decided on a lighthearted 'espresso yourself' which lent itself quite well to the image held by the publication. 

With this single quote on the inner front cover without an author, I was free to design the back cover as I wanted. The first concept I came up with was one for an app as a way of developing my project. I know that my target market, as a younger audience, will spend a large amount of time on their smartphones and so it is only right to develop a concept for an app that can deliver an online alternative, much like The Guardian or BBC News apps. Of course, I wouldn't go any further than designing an app logo and perhaps a design of the interface, but an advert for this featuring the icon would look good in the magazine.

Rendering the logo for the app was easy as I took the smaller logo alternative I had made previously in the project, exactly for this sort of venture. I chose the turquoise as the colour as this seems to be the standard for this booklet, which like all good brands, needs a distinctive colour to set it apart.

The slip for my magazine was a concept inspired by the Moleskine packaging. Particularly the pastels selection, within their wrapping is a ring of card that wraps the three separate books up and holds them in place. It contains varying different bits of information that are all relevant to the product within, these include a barcode, product specifications, branding and promotional content. Of course my magazine doesn't need the majority of these elements on it, but this concept is still a great little asset that can be a decorative feature, keep all the elements together and provide small bits of information that aren’t present on the front cover; which is very minimalistic. 

The colour variants for this small piece were absolutely endless as I had picked a versatile cover design with a white background. I must note that my booklet is swaying to a largely female audience at the moment and I don't want to completely deter males by placing particularly feminine colours on the front of the booklet. Greens and yellows are particularly gender neutral and play a large part in making up the theme throughout my booklet. Therefore I decided that these were most suitable. 

I had the problem of the slip covering up a large proportion of the title underneath, and as this is a magazine, I want that element to be eye-catching and bold on the shelf so people are inclined to pick it up. Although it would be difficult to execute perfectly I liked the idea of matching up the text on the slip to that of the title as a sort-of overlay which would look more effective with a slightly lighter and different variation of the actual title cover. 

As usual I chose my Futara Medium font. I must reiterate that I am so grateful that I went with this typeface in the end with it’s universal outputs and ability to make anything look professional. 

I decided to look into making paper for the slip design that I want to place on the outside of the book as a way to contain an finish off the piece. Therefore I wanted to see if there was any natural or recycled alternatives that I could use. An initial concept was somehow making paper out of leftover coffee cups, as sustainability is a major issue in the coffee community, particularly as I found coffee drinkers more likely to care about these issues. Of course the waxed card used in disposable coffee cups is unusable so I tried to make some paper of my own as an experiment. 

Equipement

The pulp set to dry

I found instructions to make paper online and discovered that there were multiple different ways with different complexities. I tried to find the easiest kind and sourced the right materials. The colour of this paper if it wants to be used for the slip has to be a specific colour and I know that using recycled paper is temperamental on the pattern and colour produced, so completely defying the point of RECYCLING, I brought a cheap roll of coloured paper to make into paper. Another hurdle was that as I was unable to find a fine mesh to sift the paper, I had to use muslin which, being a fabric, went slack when wet and lead to a build up of the blended paper and water mix. This had no drastic effect on the finished paper and only added a texture which I liked. I’m always up for adding another dimension to my work and texture is definitely and option. The imperfections in the handmade paper are also more authentic and rustic which is perfect for my journal.

Drying paper

The main issue with the handmade paper is that the colour produced are just too dull. There was an online tip that suggested using acrylic paint in the water mixture to add vibrant colour, but this also adds a waxy finish which deviates from the ‘natural’ intention of the venture. I also want to print onto this paper in order to maintain a familiarity within the booklet; this would simply be impossible. 

The bulk of the research for this piece came from my trip to The London Coffee Festival which provided me with lots on information on what’s hot or not in the coffee community. The main points gathered such as rediscovering old beans, an interest in the source of the water in a coffee, nitro coffee as well as food and coffee combinations. I also found a helpful article in The Daily Telegraph about a water cocktail bar opening in Selfridges within the coming months that would be of use.  I helped that there was a trends section in the information guide provided by the coffee festival which I delved right into. 

This was the most difficult page to design. There were just so many possibilities and paths that I could take and I just didn't know where to start.

Page ideas

I tried to start somewhere and ended up discovering an amazing illustration design case study by Cristiana Couceiro who designed an article within the New York Times Magazine on cancer. The piece was edited by various designers, but I was interested in the shapes and imagery used by Couceiro who used circles often, whether it be layering them or placing an image within them. Until now I hadn't thought of using circles within this booklet and began working around that idea after trialling several others. The magazine spread she had illustrated looked contemporary and high end and I wanted to emulate that in my own work, but using illustrations rather than photography. 

New York Times by Cristiana Couceiro

Favourite page

For the illustrations I used a purple pen to create some line drawings representing each trend I talked about. This only ended up being three due to the rearranging and designing of the page I did on Photoshop. I always work in this way, and even after creating an intricately detailed design on paper beforehand, when I go onto Photoshop the end result will never look the same. When drafting ideas I even went in with the goal of incorporating my signature printed coffee pattern into the page but failed miserably. 

The result is an aesthetically pleasing page that seemed balanced throughout.