Studio Brief 02 - Clothing tag prints

Having printed out the final designs of the clothing tag concept, multiple variations were sampled to find the most successful. The cover design was printed on thicker 200gsm stock compared to the contact card on the inside which was printed out on 135gsm stock. This difference in stock weight effectively creates a "cover" for the clothing tag and increases its professional feel. 

Score marks

Tearing of the ink

Initially the idea was to fold over the cover to create a sleeve for the inside pages of the tag. However this created unwanted effects of the ink tearing on the outside fold and noticeable score line along the inside fold. Furthermore, because its folded, it pushes out the inside card and creates a "lip" on the outside that lowers the overall quality. From a design standpoint, this is a failure to conduct printed mock ups that would have otherwise prevented this. 

To alleviate this problem, the folded cover piece was cut into two separate cards. Despite not following the original concept, the separate cards still effectively conveys the form factor of a real clothing tag. The removal of the cover also removes the natural tendency of it unfolding. 

 

In terms of the inside contact card, both colour schemes are equally effective visually when in sequence with the tag. The white colour scheme is definitely cleaner visually as people are used to seeing black copy on white ground, however the black colour scheme does align more with the overall visual of the entire clothing tag. After gaining some feedback, there isn't a definite choice on which layout works the best. Some preferred the first copy layout because of the off centered appeal that relates to the layout on the cover card. The central information also stands out because of this. Some preferred the second layout because of the visual balance whilst some preferred the third because of the right justified copy that lends itself to the way one naturally reads the cards.

The tag done in Helvetica Bold offers better legibility as the larger counters make each letter form more distinguishable for the reader. The cover tag in Helvetica Black offers a more unique visual that keeps in line with the copy design in the contact card. However that being said, the consistency of the copy does not offer the same level of contrast as the Helvetica bold. Its this contrast that makes the design of the contact card more noticeable to the reader.

For the card that is supposed to mimic the grids found in InDesign, the initial idea was to print it onto a stencil sheet that is stiffer and thicker than tracing paper which tends to curl up on the edges after some time. However due to the inability to digitally print onto this stencil sheet, a 112gsm tracing paper was used instead. In order to print onto the stencil sheet, printing methods such as screen printing would have to be used.

When overlapped, the InDesign grid fits over the contact card and displays the layout.

On the last tag, a white space was added to allow for messages to be written prior to handing out. This adds a functional element to the tag.