Evaluation - The Gallery Calendar - Self-led Brief

The calendar is bold, bright and eye-catching and is successful as a contemporary object to be sold in art galleries. Each page celebrates a different art institution from around the UK, illustrating a piece of their permanent collections. A lot of these pieces are famous and recognisable which means that even if the 'art-lover' consumer doesn't have a personal relationship with the museum, they can appreciate the art pieces featured. It has been created in a format that can be replicated each year, with the central rectangle for art - potentially using different colour schemes and art styles in years to come, but with the strong use of typography underneath making it recognisable as 'The Gallery Calendar'. The design has been influenced by contemporary gallery design work, and current calendar designs noted from around the UK - such as Studio's Pepouze's colourful work. The design uses a refined colour schemes and bold shapes to stand out and situate itself within this modern trend for simplistic shape-based work.

The brief suggested that the design could potentially showcase an artistic process, and as a response to this the design was initially produced using screen-printing. This created an interesting texture and finish and created some authenticity as it using a artistic process to showcase art. However, screen-printing meant that the design did not have the professional quality which was necessary for calendar outcome. As a result it was printed again using digital means, which meant it was of a far better quality and the design could be explored further without the constraints of the screen-printing process. Screen-printing them was an interesting idea but if the design was to be mass produced for galleries all around the UK it would have to be a digital process to be cost effective. The design was not well suited to screen-printing as many of the important details such as dates were small and meant there was little room for error. In future I hope to consider design process more realistically and do the production in ways which will make the product look best. 

The binding and the stock also needed to be considered carefully. The stock of the screen-printed calendar was a thick, cream card which complicated the transitional method of print. The digitally printed design was printed on a soft white matte, which absorbed the colour well and meant the design was bold and striking. It also allowed the pages to glide across each other smoothly, which was necessary for changing the calendar month. The screen-printed calendar was ring bound - which suited the traditional nature of the print. The silver wire contrasted well with the bright colours of the design. Unfortunately ring binding is difficult to achieve a professional standard without industrial machinery and as a result the bind is not perfect. However, the process was useful to learn and given time, the quality would likely improve. For the digital version of the calendar, it was held together with a bulldog clip. This meant that the design remained clean and unmarked, and would allow the consumer to keep certain pages as prints after the year without causing any damage. The bulldog clip is also often used in exhibitions and would remind the target audience of gallery experiences.

One of the most important features of the calendar was for the dates to be legible and read well from a distance. This was ensured by the bold 'Ebrima' typeface which was consistently written out in dark blue across each design so it would contrast well with the white backgrounds. Many tests were conducted to strike the correct balance between functional/ visible dates and contemporary and artistic calendar. The image takes up the majority of the page to ensure it stands out, but the dates have been organised in a very clear and legible way to ensure they stand out. The other information has been carefully slotted underneath for optimal space - e.g. the name of the gallery and the piece details have been written vertically to create better space around the dates.