Final Stamps

After talking with my tutors I was advised to follow up my idea of the stamp peeling away and leaving behind the animal. Although, as I needed a series of four stamps, keeping the theme of orangutans through all four would be difficult to differentiate. So I went with the idea of finding 3 other endangered animals and I tried to find 4 very different creatures ranging from land, sea and air. Accompanying each stamp is a web address related to the conservation of each respective animal and their habitat.

Below are my final pieces.

Ideas

My ideas are mostly in my sketchpads and unfortunately I can't get to a scanner to upload them at the moment, but they range from having orangutans behind chocolate bars instead of jail bars to orangutans being covered up by a plain stamp saying "Don't cover us up".

We needed two ideas to show at the start of our final week. These are the two ideas I chose.

Above is the stamp that would be bought by the customer.

Then, when they peeled the sticky stamp away from the book, the sticker would leave behind the orangutan. The concept behind this idea is to highlight our involvement in seperating orangutans from their habitat and also the blank silhouette of the animal is a reminder that if we continue to destroy their habitats as we are, they will be extinct in the very near future.

Blank silhouette stamp (above)

Orangutan left without its surrounding environment (above)

This is what will remain after the stamp has been peeled away.

My second idea is a very literal illustration. Orangutans in the products that use palm oil.

To follow up this illustration I added the tagline, "Do You Know What's In Your Food?", to create doubt in the viewers mind. Initially the first thought would be that these products are actually using parts of orangutan in their food. Then with the additional links at the bottom of the page, the viewer can find out exactly what is meant by the illustration.

Below are two examples for this idea, with tests on the layout for both.

Contextual and Referencing

I searched the internet for images of orangutans to use as references for my sketches and also looked at some other ideas and designs created about this subject. There are some very strong images and ideas used below.

Prezi Presentation

This is my first attempt at using the online software, "Prezi", to create a presentation showing my research for the "World with a Future" project.

http://prezi.com/zskmlm3-hip-/week-one-research/

Unsustainable Palm Oil

I was looking through a list of problems that are leading to the downfall of our environment and eco-system and then I realised I had completely overlooked one of the most important problems occuring right now, unsustainable palm oil plantations.

I have watched a large amount of documentaries and clips on YouTube about this problem and it is something I feel very strongly about.

What is Unsustainable Palm oil?

Step one: log a forest and remove the most valuable species for furniture.

Step two: chainsaw or burn the remaining wood releasing huge quantities of greenhouse gas.

Step three: plant a palm-oil plantation.

Step four: make oil from the fruit and kernels.

Step five: add it to biscuits, chocolate, margarine, soaps, moisturisers and washing powder.

At breakfast, when millions of us are munching toast, we're eating a small slice of the rainforest.
This is a huge problem that is destroying the homes of thousands of species of animals. Most notably, the very intelligent Orangutan.

The video above shows the personality traits which openly show just how similar Orangutans are to humans. In fact they share 97% of our DNA.

Below is a short but very informative documentary about the facts behind the deforestation of their habitat. It also gives facts about why it is happening and the truth about 'eco-warriors' and their hidden motives. It is well worth watching.

The link below is a great article outlining all you need to know to inform you of the true danger this problem creates.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/the-guilty-secrets-of-palm-oil-are-you-unwittingly-contributing-to-the-devastation-of-the-rain-forests-1676218.html



Carbon Footprint Idea #2

This idea is based on the Croation stamp. This QR code will send the user onto the carbon footprint calculator website. This is only a rough draft that I will use as a platform to push forward my idea.

Carbon Footprint Calculator

After researching the different types of stamps and how they can be used in many different ways, I want to focus more on what the subject matter of my stamp will be.

Over the next two days my research will be directed at what problems there are involving our environment, what systems are in place to help these problems and potential ways these problems could be averted in the first place.

My attention has been drawn to the much talked about 'carbon footprint'. I have heard a lot about it and I know that its a measurement of our effect on the environment but thats as far as my knowledge of it goes.

After some research I've found a website http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx that helps you find out an approximate result of your effect on the environment. It also then goes on to give you information on how you can easily lower your carbon footprint.

Carbon Footprint Idea

I wanted to get an idea I had in my head out into some actual physical work before I forgot it so I created this. It may be a bit too advanced for this early stage in the project but I had the idea and now I can use this as a point to push on from.

The idea is that we do not realise the effect of our carbon footprint until it's too late. This stamp will be a sticky stamp. When you peel it off, the footprint will be left behind.

Then when the recipient receives the letter they will see the empty space where a footprint had been. Hopefully this would create intrigue as to where the footprint is.

Interactive Stamps

I've always liked the idea of my work being interactive with the viewer and, with the influx of people buying smartphones, this is now easier than ever. QR codes are a quick and effective way of adding a large amount of information into a very small space. When the user scans the code with their smartphone they will be brought to a link that you've decided the QR code will send them to. Not only can this give the user a more entertaining experience (by adding a video or mp3 link) but if you wanted, you could set it up so you would get feedback on how many people viewed your link.

Here is an example from Croatia where they used just the QR code to create a simple but intriguing stamp. It is to celebrate their 20th anniversary of using stamps. When the letter or package arrives at it's destination, the sender will be notified as soon as it's delivered via their smartphone.

This idea could be used to aid me in getting more information to my target audience without the constraints of the size of the stamp or the limited time the receiver will spend looking at it. I could have a video link showing the effects of global warming or whatever direction I choose to look at our eco-system.

Split Stamps

I really like this idea of having an image split over two or more stamps that work well on their own and as a complete set. Again, I think this idea could work really well for my brief. Over my series of four images could be one whole image that only works when it's whole showing how we need to work together to save our eco system.

Stamps and Association

I have seen a trend of people creating a series of stamps that associate images with their respective countries. Here is a humourous take on that by illustrator Adam McCauley.

Each location has been represented by it's local mythical creature. I could continue this trend with our environment based idea.

More African Stamps

http://stampcenter.com/blog/2010/03/31/namibia-uses-clever-postage-stamp-shape-to-honor-diamond-industry/

Here's another stamp that I think is well designed. The link above explains the story behind it but what interested me most is how the stamp book is incorporated into the stamp designs. As we are looking at conservation of our environment as the basis for our stamp design, the idea of continuing a design from the stamp book to the stamp appeals to me. So when you remove the stamp it could show how you've left behind a part of it, emphasizing how easily we create waste.

Adobe Illustrator Tutorial

Today was my first attempt at Adobe Illustrator. It was just a short introduction to the fundamentals but it seems to be in the same mould as all the Adobe programs and it didn't take long to get the hang of it.

This is the demo page we were given to practice with the Pen Tool.

I messed up on the last part but I did everything just as the diagram said. I have had run ins with mistakes like this in Photoshop before and it's usually because something is turned on or off somewhere deep inside a dropbox within a dropbox. So I'll make sure I get it sorted in our next class.

Day One

So I have one foot in the Visual Communication door. It's been a long road to get here but now I'm here and raring to go. Our first project is the exciting prospect of designing a series of stamps based on our environment and all the issues surrounding conserving and protecting it.
     I wasn't blown away by the brief at first but, after some research, I've found that there's more to stamps than a profile of the queen or a random image of birds.

The website http://www.worldstampnews.com/tag/innovative-stamps/ has some great examples of innovative ideas that challenge the ordinary expectations of a postage stamp.
One that I find very interesting is this stamp from Liberia.

It shows the country's exports within their primary export, cocoa. Also the stamp is cocoa scented to add to the experience. To bring this stamps message even further, they've incorporated a QR code that brings smartphone users to a link showing a step by step demonstration of chocolate in the making.



Another innovative piece is the Royal Mail's "intelligent stamp".