Idea development

Initial concept 

Fedrigoni said in the brief that they want a play on the formality of UK printers. Therefore, this is the starting point to my thinking behind the task. My initial concept plays on the idea of a tie. I quite like the idea of receiving a piece of paper in the post with an information graphic on it outlining where to fold the piece. Then, as the user folds the paper it turns into a fairly substantial tie that could even be worn in the office. I think that would be a really fun idea- to create something that could be used as a funny prop around the work space  Perhaps the ties are very colourful, like my research of existing Fedrigoni advertisement. It would definitely have to be a comical gimick rather than something that is beautiful to look at and own unless I was particularly clever about its construction. 

Below is my initial attempt at this. It is constructed from a single piece of A3 paper, and in a way that requires very little glued edges and has the potential to have wire etc inserted through it so that it could be worn underneath a collar. I have payed particular attention to the knot, I wanted to get it as close to a realistic tie knot as possible. I think this is a fairly successful attempt at this.  Ultimately for this idea to be effective it must be as simple as possible, using as few folds as possible. The bottom right shows an example where I am experimenting with the placement of folds and also where I need to place surface graphics on the A3 page before it is folded. 

I have come up with a new way of approaching the construction of the tie. Instead of creating a poster that would be folded down, I have devised a way of using the vast paper range that Fedrigoni offer in the construction of the tie. My idea is that the tie would be constructed out of paper samples. The different types of paper and colours will create a spectrum of colour that would look really visually interesting. It would be bright, colourful and fun. Then, this tie could be sent to UK printers, 

perhaps in a presentation box again playing on the formal quality that UK printers have (as suggested by Fedrigoni). The images here are the construction process for the samples sheet that the tie would be made out of. I am making mock ups of the tie out of cartridge paper before I construct the tie out of coloured paper. I am being particularly precise with the measurements and making sure that the samples are cut evenly. I do not want the tie to look overly gimicky. 

This is a final mock up of my tie in the presentation box. I think that it is effective in that it is cleanly made but is quite a substantial object. The colours would have to be considered more, but this is a quick mock up where I have edited the hues in Photoshop. I quite like the little touch of adding the Fedrigoni logo on the knot of the tie. If I am to produce this as a final design, then I will emboss each type of paper into each sample of the tie, underneath the layer above it so that it is discreet but so that it can be referred to and is a practical object when it is required. The box will also be letter-pressed and made out of heavy weight black/dark Fedrigoni paper.