Through the Looking Glass: Inside the Design Process

Note: this will be a semi-regular series on the design process.


I first had the idea last summer to create an Alice in Wonderland card based on the scene where she steps through the looking glass. However, last summer, I was studying for the bar, so I only really had time to make the sketches below. I also saved this shiny silver packaging that came with my printer ink, thinking that I could use it as the mirror.



After I took the bar and came back from Russia, I started on my fall collection. I didn't feel quite ready to work on the Looking Glass card, though, and then after I picked up my second part-time job, didn't have the time.

That winter, my boyfriend gave me the idea of creating 2-card designs - where part of the image is on one card, and part of it is on another card, so you can fit them together like a puzzle. I thought about it, and realized that the looking glass scene would be perfect for a 2-card design.



The above sketch was made in January. I knew that this would be a difficult design to conceptualize, so I put it off for simpler and more time-sensitive designs.

By the time my self-declared product development week rolled around, I was itching to get to work with this sketch. I knew that I wanted the colors in Wonderland to be brighter and bolder, and the colors in Alice's world to be more muted and neutral. The challenges: 1) which colors and patterns to use? 2) how to make Alice's world visually appealing using muted and neutral tones?

I started out using a bright pink as the background color for Wonderland, and very light blue for Alice's world, but then decided a bright blue would be better - and that the blue spectrum (light blue, blue (Alice's dress), bright blue) would also be a visual representation of the transition from normal world to Wonderland.

I decided to use patterned paper for some of the objects to make things look more interesting and three-dimensional.

I looked at the original illustration, which had a desk clock smiling in Wonderland, and made wall clocks.

I also vaguely remembered a chessboard, so I placed them in the corner so that area would not look so empty. I also made the board dark blue and white - instead of brown and white - in Alice's world to give it a little more color.

And here is the result:

Sketching

A few nights ago, I thought it would be a great idea to make an Alice in Wonderland themed Easter card, namely around the encounter with the White Rabbit. The idea behind the card would be to wish the recipient an Easter filled with delightful surprises.

I sketched out a few possibilities:



As you can see, there is a reason why I work in collage. The parallelograms below Alice's feet are actually a sketch of my stand-out graduate card from a previous page - I'd cut out the bottom of the page earlier although I don't remember what for now.



(Yes, I use a regular notebook to sketch my ideas.)

And this is what I came up with:

The Choice

I've been wanting to make an Alice in Wonderland Collage for a while now, and finally got to it a few weeks ago. I will be selling this as a giclee art print in my shop. I call this one "The Choice." Alice must decide which side of the mushroom to nibble on.