summative statement

Design in Soviet Russia’s ‘Golden Twenties’ has been a source of inspiration for art movements and designers for years. In my dissertation I have explored how Communist propaganda infiltrated artistic culture during this period and whether the dynamic Constructivist aesthetic is still relevant in design today. I have carried out wide varieties of visual research into Constructivist posters, textiles, advertisements and children’s books and analysed how they became used as propaganda.

It was the embodiment of propaganda within children’s books, which inspired my practical element. I found the controversial use of such an innocent product really fascinating, where the propaganda is executed both subtly and unsubtly. For my practical, I produced an educational pack, for children ages 9-12, about the Russian Revolution; titled ‘The Rise of Communism in Russia’. The pack’s main product is the 2 metre long illustrated timeline, in the format of a concertina book, depicting Russia’s history from 1905-1924.

The approach I took to illustrating it was influenced a lot by the Constructivist research I had done – mainly Rodchenko’s advertisement posters and the children’s books. It’s purpose is to educate children about Russia’s complex, yet very interesting history during the revolution. Although the text is factual, the illustrations suggest a less objective stand as they are more sympathetic to Lenin and the revolutionary, Communist underdogs – this subtle comment on the controversial history links back to my research of indoctrination through children’s books and influencing children through the power of image.

My educational pack also includes Communist stickers and fact cards, which give interesting facts about particular events on the timeline. This interactive element makes the pack appeal more to children as well as making it an effective learning experience.

final boards

visual/conceptual development

final product

evaluation
I am really pleased with what I have made, I think I have managed to design and produce the work to a high standard, and make it into a consistent pack. But I also think it is a good outcome from 6 months of research into art and design during the Russian Revolution. I would have photographed the pack better if I had more time - I would have booked out the photography studio because trying to re-create one in my room has meant the photos don't look very professional. When we get the work back, I want to photograph it properly to put into my portfolio.

This project has gone quite smoothly once I knew what I was doing, I struggled at the beginning because I was worried that making work about Russia and in the Constructivist style would be like illustrating my essay, but I don't think my outcome is just an illustration of my essay. I have been carrying out research on design in 1920s Russia - in children's books, posters, advertisements - and then taken what I have learnt to help create an educational product about the revolution for children, there is a purpose to it. 
I have never worked on such a big scale before, or in this kind of format. I am glad I chose to do a concertina instead of a book because it allowed me to try out something different - and think more about the concertina as a product within a pack rather than just a book. I am pleased with my figure development as well - it is something I usually stay away from. Now that I have developed a more shape-based approach to work, it has meant I find making figures much easier as I just see them as shapes. I think I have sustained a strong tone of voice throughout this project - which has been important for the narrative aspect, the consistent use of a limited colour palette helped a lot with this. I had proposed to at least make covers for other concertina books in the series, but I didn't have time - I couldn't make any promotional posters either - the concertina took longer than I thought as it turned out so big! 1920s Russia is one of my favourite periods in history for design, and I find the history behind it so fascinating, I'm glad I chose it for my dissertation project as it has been enjoyable carrying out all the research and producing something to embody what I have learnt. 

cover printed

I got my cover, stickers and cards printed!

I added an extra pocket for the stickers and cards

The pocket was too tall - the cards wouldn't have been visible, so I had to trim it back a bit

I added some velcro to the flap so it all stays together. I think it has come out looking quite professional. I was worried I got all the proportions wrong, but everything fits nicely.
If I were to make some changes, I would have maybe added a blurb or little bit of information on the inside - mainly to break up all the red, maybe even an illustrated inside cover would have worked.

The cards came out well too. I couldn't get them printed onto thick card, it is on the same stock as the cover and concertina, but it hasn't turned out too bad, they're still quite stable. I think if they were thicker they would be too wide and heavy for the pack

fact cards

I decided to add some fact cards in with the concertina to make it more of an educational pack. The timeline itself is informative and factual but doesn't elaborate on specific events or key figures - I thought the fact cards could give some extra information and 'fun facts' to make it more appealing to children as well as enhancing the learning experience. 

This is a basic layout of how I imagine it to look:

Some examples of areas I thought they could focus on are:
Lenin
- how he was considered a modest leader compared to most dictators (especially Stalin)
- how he spent time in prison and was exiled for a few years
- his dislike of Stalin

Stalin
- his personality cults
- the movement of his body after his death
- his make-shift photoshopping of historical photos and paintings

Communist emblem
- its meaning, what it stands for
- different meanings of 'bolshevik' and 'soviet'
- why communism was so revolutionary

These are my final designs:

They came out well - in a similar style to 'top trump' cards. They're not necessarily 'fun facts' but they definitely give extra interesting information about the time period which children interested in history would find interesting.

final crit

My feedback was all pretty positive - I didn't have everything finished (I only had mock ups of the cover, fact cards and stickers) and the boards were incomplete but they gave a good enough idea of what I plan on doing. 
The general feedback was that it was visually interesting, good colour palette, good layout which aid narration, well informed by research

The peer feedback was also very positive:
- good amount of research, wide variety of contextual references, good reflective posts
- knowledge has created an informed and innovative piece, mock ups show thought has gone into layout/format of product
- good explanations of visual changes 
- research reflected in production, clear understanding of subject
- have thought about elements such as copyright, planing is evident

the suggestions were to make sure the presentational aspect of final product is finished, to finish blogging and make sure all the links work within the blog.

mock ups

I think in terms of context my product can appear in a variety of places - schools, websites/digital viewing, kids homes - as it is an educational piece but is also a nicely illustrated print to own.
I mocked up some examples of places the artwork could appear:

classrooms - although the second one looks pretty fake, the first looks realistic I think. I can imagine timelines such as mine being in school classrooms alongside all the other educational material 

websites - I took the 'bite size' site as an example as it gives information about lots of history subjects. I can imagine the artwork of the print being interactive with the ability to scroll along and hover over certain areas for more information. 

cover final design

I am really pleased with the final cover, I think it has turned out professional looking and works well with the concertina it is holding. I printed out a test cover to see how I would make pockets for the cover and extra bits

I printed the pocket separately but I think it might work better if I attach it to the main net - that way it will be cleaner, and less chance of it all falling apart. 

concertina printed

I got the concertina all printed!

It was stressful trying to glue each section together - especially the areas where it cut through text. I had a few slip ups because I cut each section a tiny bit different the last. 

It would have been very hard to get completely perfect when split into four sections because each one is cut out separately. I am happy with how it came out - and it looks impressive all opened out 

extra bits

I want to make the concertina book more of a product rather than just a long print. So I have thought about adding some extras to make it more of a pack - like stickers and fact cards.
The stickers because they will appeal to children, and some of the imagery I have been working with will translate well as a graphic sticker. 
The fact cards because it will make the pack more of a 'learning experience' as they will give extra information not revealed on the timeline and will be set out as 'fun facts'. 

My audience for this pack is 9-12 year olds, although the illustration on the print isn't directed at any age in particular, the text has just been made easy to understand. 
I think it works for that age group because at that age children don't want to be patronised and are keen to learn - the russian revolution isn't normally taught at that age in school but this timeline condenses the complex yet very interesting time period into an easy to understand and informational timeline. The illustrations aren't childish, and the words used are understandable but some may have to be asked about - which will only help with the learning process. 

I thought I could maybe add a blurb on the inside of the cover giving more of an explanation to what it is - although 'an illustrated timeline of russian history from 1905-1924' is quite self-explanatory. 
In terms of proposed outcomes and context I thought the pack could be part of a series, either:
revolutionary series - russian revolution, french revolution. cuban revolution, chinese revolution
or 
russia series - imperial russia, rise of communism, stalin's russia, the fall of communism 

cover ideas

Here are some initial ideas for the cover of the concertina:

I got inspiration for the composition/colours from 1920s Russian book covers and some of Rodchenko's advertising:

I love the dynamic angles for shapes and colour, and the limited colour palettes make the images so bold. Elements that seem consistent in most examples I look at are - red/black/white, elements of photography/photomontage, slanting text, arrows, images/text surrounding shapes. I will think about including some of these design techniques into my own design.

I want to make the cover eye catching and graphic like all the examples I have been looking at - but also appealing to children as that is my main audience. 

I worked out the dimensions I need:

(front binding)

(inside cover)

From that I started developing one of my ideas:

This wasn't working how I wanted - the figures all looked a bit messy when piled together, and I felt having the text at that angle would look a bit cliche. So I started again.

I thought it would be a good idea to include some factories/big buildings because of the Constructivist's love of architecture and machine - it featured a lot in their design work. Also it is very relevance to the working class. I also decided to add some figures - that way it might be more attractive to children. 

I made some little men and women workers - I chose men and women so that this educational timeline can appeal to both girls and boys, also the Constructivist movement valued men and women the same in terms of art, which I mention in the pack. 

I added a red triangle as that is a shape used a lot in Russian designs -  and I could have it pointing to something. Although it does look quite like a pack of Marlboro cigarettes with it on both back and front

It looks better just on the front - and I added people walking across the two sides but I think that will look a bit messy - I might just do a separate design for the back and not make them connected

I felt it needed something under the red arrow, so I made a little factory which turned out well - it looks very graphic. Although it definitely needs to be bigger and possibly with something either side of it - maybe more buildings 

Making the factory bigger adds to the boldness of the image. I added some photos from the Russian revolution - Lenin talking to a crowd and a march of Communist women. I used similar shapes to Rodchenko's advertising - it makes the cover resonate much more with what I have learnt over this dissertation project as I am including design techniques I have picked up from research. 

I tried out some different combinations for the back cover but I think the last is the most effective - it is simpler but makes the cover look cleaner and more professional I think. But I think the very bold colours will still make it appealing to children. 

The age group I am aiming at isn't too young - about 9-12, an age where children don't want things too patronising and childish. I think this cover works as it is educational yet also bold and exciting which could work well for children. 

mock up

I printed out a mock up - it had to be smaller as the studio printer can't print on A2, but it was more so I could figure out the binding. I want to cut and glue as little as possible, so I have cut the image into 4 sections and each of those sections will be folded:

The beige flap is where it will be folded and the previous section will be stuck onto, heres the mock up:

That was before i added the text, so I thought I should do another one to see how well I can line up the text when sticking each section together:

The format was different:

It was taller rather than longer as each section wasn't as wide and had text with it. Sticking the sections together went well, they don't look too noticeable as cuts, just creases. I will have to make sure I print onto stock which folds well and doesn't crease too much. I stuck it with prittstick which worked well for this thin paper but might not be sticky enough for a thicker stock - so will have to do some tests.