Digetex Brief
This week we began our Unit X Print and Pattern project and Digetex provided our brief. Using their trend boards as a starting point, we have to produce a collection of print designs. They are a digital print company who produce wallpaper, fabric and promotional materials for businesses and individuals on a bespoke basis. We had the opportunity to visit their base in Trafford and have a guided tour of their offices and factory.
This week we began our Unit X Print and Pattern project and Digetex provided our brief. Using their trend boards as a starting point, we have to produce a collection of print designs. They are a digital print company who produce wallpaper, fabric and promotional materials for businesses and individuals on a bespoke basis. We had the opportunity to visit their base in Trafford and have a guided tour of their offices and factory.
A relatively small company of about 20 employees, (based on those we met) Digetex works with people from renowned designer Matthew Williamson to university students requesting their own designs to be printed on sample sized pieces of fabric. Winning Best Wallpaper Collection at Northern Design Awards shows the scale of their success. In future through their website www.surfacepatternprint.com they aim to run a selling service; designers will upload their designs, and if a client wishes to buy the print, Digetex will print it out and ship it to them.
The company is structured into four main parts, as seen in our group presentation board below, and each serves a different purpose. Included are images from the Digetex website.
Digetex is a really forward thinking company, who have always been involved with technology; they were working digitally before Photoshop was created. Researching and choosing from current trends they make modern pieces, but they don't forget the past. Antique fabric samples are a source of inspiration alongside more current ones. There is a strong emphasis on traditional image making and hand drawing for research purposes, which is then augmented and updated using digital tools.
Listening to Debbie, one of the founders, speak about this mixture was reassuring; as someone who likes to screen print as well as produce digital work, I appreciate that not all designers choose to care about quality research and a hand made approach. Also with relation to being forward thinking, she made me see that in order to sell designs you have to give them an edge, for example investigating the use of 3D fabric or conductive material. A combination of hand made and digital work should produce a more rounded, interesting collection.
Working as a group to research Digetex was a valuable experience; we each thought of different aspects of presentation, such as text size, general layout and content, and contributed different shortcuts on photoshop that sped up the process. We worked well as a team from the start, because we organised a set time and place to meet in the very first lecture when we were made into a group, all turned up to this one meeting prepared to contribute, listened to each other's suggestions, set a time limit to achieve our goal, and incorporated something from everyone when producing the final board. I learned that when trying layouts it is best not to arrange images in a simple grid, but to create movement by laying things out in diagonals or on different parts of the page, and that having peers who you trust and are reliable is really important when it comes to producing work successfully.
Continuing Professional Development
To prepare for 3rd year, and having spoken with a current 3rd year Print student about how best to finish fabric samples, I decided to organise an overlocker induction for interested 2nd years so that we would no longer be restricted to finishing pieces with pinking shears or backing sellotape.
Working as a group to research Digetex was a valuable experience; we each thought of different aspects of presentation, such as text size, general layout and content, and contributed different shortcuts on photoshop that sped up the process. We worked well as a team from the start, because we organised a set time and place to meet in the very first lecture when we were made into a group, all turned up to this one meeting prepared to contribute, listened to each other's suggestions, set a time limit to achieve our goal, and incorporated something from everyone when producing the final board. I learned that when trying layouts it is best not to arrange images in a simple grid, but to create movement by laying things out in diagonals or on different parts of the page, and that having peers who you trust and are reliable is really important when it comes to producing work successfully.
Continuing Professional Development
To prepare for 3rd year, and having spoken with a current 3rd year Print student about how best to finish fabric samples, I decided to organise an overlocker induction for interested 2nd years so that we would no longer be restricted to finishing pieces with pinking shears or backing sellotape.
Julie the fashion technician kindly agreed to set up 3 workshops for us. The overlocker and baby overlocker are fantastic as far as I'm concerned; they are quick and simple to use, and produce a high quality finish in seconds. The process is considerably faster than cutting fabric to size by hand, and means that even with thinner delicate fabrics the edges can drape and move more naturally. The finished look is more professional and will raise the standard of my presentation.
My sample (rushed as we were short on time) looks a little uneven, and it took a few tries to get used to the correct pressure you need to apply to the pedal; I tended to push too hard and move the fabric through too quickly. When I next use the machines I will definitely practice on spare scraps of fabric first! We were taught how to change the threads and work safely with the machines, so when I next work with fabric I can present samples using overlocked edges.
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| The corners would still need to be trimmed and hand sewn but the edges look neat and professional |
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