OUGD504 Studio Brief 04 Augmented Design Developing and Designing the Table Sticker

The fist problem I encountered was the separating of the lettering from its background. No matter which tool I used the edges of the lettering were crude and unsatisfying. 

I then changed the levels of the original photo and played around with the brightness and contrast. Then by using the magic wand tool I managed to select the salt while maintaining the complex edging. 

However, the next problem was the legibility of the text, something I knew would be a problem.

I possibly went to extremes trying to solve this by using the original vector of the logo and an image of a flat area of salt I simply created a clipping mask. This didn't have the depth I was looking for in the mounds of salt, but was definitely more legible.

I then looked at a more compromising approach. I took the images of the lettering I did by hand in the sugar grains and then put each individual letter of the vector graphic over each of the image creating a great mix of defined edges and spilled sugar grain texture. This also had  the shadows and depth I was looking for.

For the font based and smaller parts of the design I used the flat salt texture to create clipping masks around the vectors. I felt comfortable doing this with the text that needed to be clear and crisp. This created a good mix of interesting visual texture and the practicality of what the piece needed to communicate.

Through the process of creating this sticker I have realised that printing this on a transparent surface would not work. The dominance of white in this design means that it would have to be white stock. So, I tried out a wood surface like it is sitting on a table and the landscape photograph that I used in the magazine insert. This creates a great link to the white text on image look that the website established.

Because it was an approach I used in both the insert and coaster designs I tried out the salt lettering on top of the rough wood texture I have used at various stages. I really liked the way this looked and the continuity it created between the print outcomes of this brief but felt that the loss of context that the landscape image provides is important in the message begin conveyed.

To ensure that the sticker would be the right size I double checked the website I found for printing vinyl stickers.

To achieve a strong sense of context (coastal) I layer the logo over a cross section of the landscape image. However, in retrospect I feel that this inter fears with the legibility of the letter slightly and I want to go back and try the wood texture background again.

So, I went back and put together one with a wood background. I am now uncertain whether I like this one better but perhaps it is something to look at once they are printed.