Design Process 01 - Window graphics...

I thought I'd step into 2014 by starting a new feature on the blog where I take you through my design process for a whole range of different projects... starting with some festive window dressing graphics for a fab London chain called Brissi.

The Brief
To create a corner floral design and text for Brissi's christmas windows.

Step 1 - little bit of research
I was given a reference by the client for the floral design. This is always helpful - as it's important to know if the client is after something elegant or bold and graphic - it's also important to not copy the reference, but use it as a starting point. I was asked to refer to their website for typefaces and style to ensure brand continuity.

Step 2 - get designing!
Floral designs can be quite intricate in nature - here's how I approach a design like this:

In Illustrator, I started by laying out some circles coming out from the top corner. This is good to get some geometry to use as a base. The middle image shows how I then started adding offshoot stems and twirls. At this point I started to see which lines I could use for the main design. I then started thickening the lines in places. 

Once I got a rough design I could start the fun bit by adding all the flourishes and details. 

Using a brand typeface I then set out the text and incorporated a little bit of the flourish within the D

Step 3 - send to client for approval and speak to printers

The client was happy with the design... the printer was not quite so happy and worried about just how intricate and thin some of the lines were for the printing technique that was going to be used. So I had to thicken up some of the thinner lines to ensure the design wouldn't tear when the window dressers were sticking the design in place!

Step 4 - final project 

Having not done too much window graphic work previously it was great to see the graphics in situ against Paul Wilkins window styling. 

Hope you've found this little project breakdown useful. The two main points are - use circles as a base for a floral design if you think it will help... and speak to the printer about printing techniques and limitations!