Setting up the Exhibition, Shop and Exhibition Catalogue

Since handing in last week it has been so busy getting everything sorted for the exhibition and setting up the shop. The final hand-in went really well and I managed to get everything finished with the bookmarks, prints, stickers and business cards I'd talked about making in my presentation. These were all important elements that I wanted for my exhibition stand but also to sell in the shop. Since I'd made a creative CV, I wanted to create continuity through the other elements like my business cards and prints that were featured in the creative CV. I also managed to get some die-cut stickers made with StickerApp based on some of the imagery from my children's book, 'The Woodster's Second Chance'. Another element was making the bookmarks which I finalised the designs for and riso-printed last week. I love how all of these elements turned out and they have been a great addition to my exhibition space, adding more interactive elements and personality. The bookmarks were also a way to utilise the new riso colours, (gold and burgundy) combined to create a darker brown colour. 

Finished bookmarks for exhibition visitors to take

Stickers for sale in the shop, the above woodster stickers and another greenhouses at night design

My children's book was bought by Ryton School for their library! When I went back to take some photos of the mural they loved my book and the diversity awards poster now sits in their entrance.

A5 prints printed with Print Work, to sell in the exhibition shop

Making the Illustration Exhibition Catalogue

Last week I decided to do the catalogue for the Illustration degree. This was a big task to take on with getting everyone to send their description, contact details and pictures but it's now finished and looks great in the exhibition! I decided the easiest way to do it was to make a template to show everyone where their images would go, and then get them to send me all of the assets via email so I could make the book in InDesign. The catalogues are printed and sitting in the front of the exhibition ready for the guests.

Cover design made using a printed texture with paper shapes cut out using the selection tool. It works really well as its not representative of an image of theme, rather showing playful type and the experimental opportunities of illustration

Page setup example, everyone has a double page spread and was able to submit one portrait image with either two more portraits or a landscape image

Finished catalogue!

Setting up the exhibition and shop

I'm writing this as we've just finished setting up the shop and left the exhibition space at 55 Westgate Road before returning for the opening tonight! It's been a long week with a lot of it being left to a small group who have helped every day and put a lot of effort into making sure the shop will run smoothly and everyone's exhibition space is complete. It started on Monday with bringing all of my frames down to the exhibition space at 55 Westgate Road. I was responsible for how I wanted it to be displayed so got to work measuring my frames and marking where I needed the nails in the wall. I have a photo collage arrangement which looks great but it took a lot of concentration to align each frame.

My exhibition space was one of the first to be allocated near the entrance as it mostly consisted of framed work. This meant it was better suited to the wall space but I was able to use a wooden board side to hang a shelf and advertise the prints available in the shop. It was good to have both spaces as I could stand my books, bookmarks and business cards.

Final exhibition set-up!

Along with a few other people from illustration we set up the shop which meant getting everyone's pricing and inventory before even starting on the signage and set-up. This was a long process with us being in every day this week which meant making more blog posts were jeopardised but it's great to see how the shop has turned out. We had labelled each drawer with a number which meant the wooden display board had to match, with each person having a row for smaller merchandise and A5 prints. I was tasked with putting everything on the board which was quite a challenge to make sure everything was displayed so the guests knew what was for sale. 

With everything now complete I'm excited (and nervous) for opening tonight, hopefully, it'll go well and there will be opportunities for me to talk to different people between helping out in the shop. I don't think it's sunk in that it is the end of the degree as there's been so much to do this week but I'm looking forward to some time off over the summer before moving to Cambridge in September!