GOOD IS PARIS

Good is Paris What is good?

Good is ParisI decided to do my ‘Good is...’ on Paris. I chose this because its a city that I’ve always liked and been interested in. At this early stage I’ve decided not to narrow down my topic into something more specific as to keep my options open when coming to designing. I will, however, split my research up into different sections to make it clearer. I am generally interested in Parisian culture and the way of living. One idea is to take a more tourist approach to the brief, at first this was something that didn’t appeal to me as I wanted to explore Paris deeper than just famous land marks and iconic buildings. I’ve thought about making a guide to Paris, an exhibition of Paris, but the not so typical approach.

I have looked into different areas of the city that I want to explore further. Obviously because its an exhibition of Paris I need to include information about places to go and things to do etc. Three main things that stand out to me in terms of research would be places in Paris to visit, French Cuisine and the language. I’d like to look into the language because I think visually this could look good when designing my products, it also fits with the theme as ‘my good’ is Paris. The main topic I want to focus on would be Parisian culture.

Cafe culture

french cuisine

Good is Paris RESEARCH

Good is ParisFor research I’ve looked into the best things to do whilst in Paris, tourists and non-tourists. I’ve also researched into cafe culture, French cuisine, the language, the metro, famous and iconic land marks etc. I want to keep my research broad as that leaves me with options for when making the publication.

Cafe culture

Featured in Cedric Klapisch's 1996 film Chacun Cherche son Chat, which was shot on location in the neighbourhood, the Pause Café has managed to prolong its moment of glory thanks to its large terrace on the corner of rues Charonne and Keller. Inside, the modern salons benefit from a smattering of primary colours with ornately plastered ceilings and plenty of light. Having been immortalised on celluloid, the friendly staff occasionally let fame go to their heads: service can be excruciatingly slow at times. The food - French café fare with an Asian twist - is not bad, but you might be waiting for a while; best to order a well-mixed cocktail to pass the time.

Chez Prune is an excellent lunch spot, and still one of the best places to spend an evening on the Canal St-Martin. The local bobo HQ, this traditional café, with high ceilings and low lighting, sticks to a simple formula: groups of friends crowd around the cosily ordered banquettes, picking at moderately priced cheese or meat platters. Mostly, though, they come for a few leisurely drinks or an apéro before heading to one of the late night venues in the area.

Quasimodo certainly had good taste: the views from Notre-Dame cathedral’s towers are nothing short of stupendous, especially on a cloudy day, when the skies spin a moody hue across the River Seine and on towards the Eiffel Tower. From the top you also get the best view of the cathedral’s famous gargoyles - cheeky little chimeras whose ugly mugs watch over the city below. Unbeknown to most, they’re not originals; architect Viollet-le-Duc added them in the mid 19th-century when he restored the cathedral to its former glory.

The old Belle Époque Orsay train station was converted into the Musée D’Orsay in 1986 to house one of the world’s largest collections of Impressionist and Post-impressionist art. Aside from works by Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec, you'll find a dapper collection of decorative arts from the Art Nouveau era and a wide range of 19th-century sculpture. Digest it over coffee in the café behind the museum’s giant transparent clock. And don’t miss the classical music concerts in the Auditorium. The performances are consistently top-notch and usually involve world-famous musicians.

More than just olde-worlde shopping malls, Les Passages Couverts around the Grand Boulevards are atmospheric old covered passages that date from the 18th and 19th centuries. Glass-roofed and utterly charming, their second-hand bookshops, tea-rooms and gift boutiques make fun alternatives to stores elsewhere in Paris, and some of them wouldn’t look out of place as the setting for a Sherlock Holmes mystery – especially the Gallerie Vivienne and the Passage Jouffroy, which houses the Musée Grévin, Paris’s answer to Madame Tussauds.

culture

PUBLICATION DESIGNGood is Paris

Good is ParisI have looked into publications I think would work well with my subject. The ones that I’ve looked at our similar in the sense that they are to do with travel or a specific place. A lot of the ones i’ve looked at focus mostly on the photography, which is something I plan to use when making my own publication. I’ve looked at the general design of the publications, but also how they are displayed if its across a range of products. I want to try and create something that will keep my products together with consistent style.

I think this is a tidy and professional looking way to put all your products together. With good use of stock and a possible logo on the front, I think it could make a good travel type pack. It folds out nicely to reveal the products inside. This is a good example of something I would like to create to do with Paris, I think it works well as a set of products and I like the use of photography, something I hope to incorporate in my range of work. These small set of books are something I really like about the range, with the right photography, its simple but effective design can look very interesting and eye catching, with a subtle title in contrasting colours.

This is something that differs from the first two, in that the topic isn't to do with a place or travelling, its a book focusing on photography, I just think some of the photographs and the layout could work quite well when putting something similar together. I would like to have some of my photographs span over two pages, however this depends on the quality of the image.

This focuses mainly on photography, which is something I'm looking to use in my publication. I like the plastic sheet front cover overlapping the photo with the book title on the front. If I found a photography of paris that would work with this technique I think it could work well. Its simple design but I think it works, I like the idea of having the photo take up the majority of the page and having a white block layered with text.

I like the idea of having a fold out section of the book that could hold details about something more specific, I would like to feature the French language in my publication somehow.

PUBLICATION DESIGN Good is Paris PROCESSES

Good is Paris

binding

For this project I want to look at some processes that are subtle but make my product range look professional. My main focus for this project is publication design. I want to look at different binding techniques, coptic binding in particular. I also want to try foiling, I haven’t tried that process yet and i think it would fit in well with my design idea and topic.

Another process I want to try for this project is embossing, its something I’ve tried briefly but I think it would work well amongst my range of products, especially on publication design. If I made a logo for my products I think embossing this on to each product could make the design look consistent throughout. Another process I would like to explore is laser cutting. I think the idea of making either a wooden case or sleeve for all my publications to slide into would work well depending on the style of my range. I also want to look at laser cutting paper, I think this could work well bearing in mind Parisian architecture.

Good is Paris Photography

Good is ParisFor this project I want to focus on photography as I have some images I took when I went to Paris. The publication designs I’ve been looking at all focus heavily on photography, this is the kind of style I want to try and create.