It is important to me to see how the images I make can be used and applied to real life products. Selling prints is good in itself but there is so much more mileage in an image and there are so many different things it can be applied to. Here I have looked at how my prints could be applied to products and I am judging whether each option is suitable for my target audience or not.
Prints were the first things I looked at but I wanted to see how they would work in a modern home, not the 1920s and 30s period that they were inspired by. I think the subtle use of colour in my prints and the variation within the set would help it to fit amongst a wide range of colour schemes. I think all of them could work within a neutral colour scheme, as shown on page 3, but even with a more limited colour scheme, i'm sure one or more of the prints would work. Personally I think the black frame works better as it is strong enough to battle with the black in the image. I think in the left example of a framed print, the frame appears washed out and dominated by the image and the product as a whole doesn't look balanced. Selling prints would clearly work for my audience as this was the initial intention for the brief.
Next I was looking at postcards and greetings cards. I made this mock up on Photoshop and included some ideas for coloured envelopes. I think this is appropriate for my project because at the time Christie was writing, all messages and greetings would be sent in written form because there was no technology to send a quick text or email. The sale of this product would be like trying to keep the handwritten word alive. I have also looked at a stamp on the back of an envelope or even having a sticker to seal the envelope with. I think the sticker has more of a purpose and if not used to seal an envelope it could always be used for something else. They could be sold in sets, maybe a set of found held together by a belly band with some a brand printed onto it. I like this idea, it seems simple yet traditional.
I really enjoy working with pattern so I tried to make a repeat pattern on Photoshop. This is a lot harder than it looks because it is so difficult to get the pattern to repeat when there are five different components you want to be evenly distributed across the surface. I wanted it to be a structured pattern because the individual compositions themselves are symmetrical so this would keep some nice vertical lines running through the pattern.
I tried really hard to get the pattern to repeat but it was just taking too long to get my head around and I couldn't think about maths or numbers any longer. I made the full pattern myself without using the define pattern tool, it doesn't repeat perfectly but it gets across my ideas well enough. Repeating a pattern is something I will keep battling with in my own time. I applied this to numerous different products.
I think the cushion works well, it would be in a similar location to the prints so I think this product would fit well in the home environment. Conceptually though, I can't see a strong link between furnishings and the work of Agatha Christie other than the interiors of the time. I have the same feelings about the tote bag. I know that these two products are booming in sales at the moment, everyone seems to want cushions and bags with all sorts of things on them but I would struggle to form an argument as to why I chose this as the channel of displaying these prints to the public.
I do like the look of the phone case but it defeats the point that I made earlier of keeping the handwritten word alive. Most people nowadays have a smartphone so this is a product that does appeal to the majority but it doesn't conceptually link to Agatha Christie in any way and just feels too generic.
The notebook is the product I can see a really strong connection with. I think that if I were to take these prints out into the real world as a product I would choose these because Agatha Christie organised her stories as well as her personal life in many notebooks. I think it would be a really fitting tribute to her as a writer and as a woman to produce a set of notebooks inspired by her. I think these would appeal greatly to the middle and older generation and even to younger people who have read her books or know a bit about her.
I later thought about teabags which are a traditionally British thing and I think these ovals would make really nice end tabs for the string. I think this would be especially fitting if they were flavoured teas inspired by an english garden because of the floral theme running through the designs and the different colours which could represent different flavours. Here is a small mock up.
I have become really engrossed in this part of the project. I love looking at how my designs could work as real products and its really encouraging to see that these things can be done and they would look professional in a commercial or home environment. I am really interested in the idea of making some notebooks based around these images because I have been making these in my spare time anyway with other designs on. If any of these products were actually made, I think they would need to be kept simple and accessible, like Christie's writing. I think the designs themselves have already achieved the concept of appearing decorative at first glance and then being able to realise the deeper meaning as you look closer. One thing I am concerned about with the pattern is that the small details would not get any attention at this scale so the meaning of the images may never be truly understood by the consumer.
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