You’re invited to

The Intermission: Grad Show

When

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Industry Reception

4:30pm—7pm

Doors Open

7pm—11pm

Where

The Liberty Grand

25 British Columbia Rd, Toronto

The Intermission is the 2016 York/Sheridan Program in Design’s annual showcase of the best work produced by its graduating class. It is a night for the industry to connect with emerging designers and explore their works, and for students to celebrate their past four years of hard work with you!

Getting to the Show

Getting to the Show

TTC
29 Dufferin → Saskatchewan Rd
504 King → Dufferin St
509 Harbourfront → Manitoba Dr
GO
Lakeshore West → Exhibition
Get directions on Google Maps

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the show free?

Yes, absolutely. However, we do help fund the event through sponsorships. If you’re interested in supporting this or future years, get in touch.

What can I expect to see and do at the show?

The show is an opportunity to browse the work and meet in-person with grads from one of Canada’s top design programs.

Will there be drinks?

Yes, we’ll have a cash bar available throughout the night.

What is the 'Industry Reception' portion of the show?

We dedicate a part of the night exclusively to people working in the design and creative industries. All students will be there to answer any questions about their work and experience. No ticket or registration is required.

I'll be at FITC on April 19th. Can I still come?

Definitely! The FITC schedule ends at 6pm on April 19th. We’re open until 11pm, so there’s lots of time if you’d like to swing by in the evening.

Where can I park my car?

There is a parking area located beside the Liberty Grand that will be available.

Come Meet the Cast!

Let us know if you're coming on Facebook and add the event to your calendar. We hope to see you there!

Grad Show Liberty Grand, TorontoApril 19
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Package Design
Strike

A match is a small object with endless possibilities as to how it can be packaged tends to be overlooked and lacking in creativity and variety. Therefore I decided to design the packaging to not only be aesthetically appealing, but innovative, engaging, educational, and as a collectable item.

Humans as consumers are usually inclined to reach for packaging that are attractive and playful, but the existing packaging for matches are lacking in both the aesthetics and in innovation. Presented with these issues, I decided to Redesign the packaging to become a sustainable, educational, and is visually intriguing. It is a lost opportunity that the existing packaging does not address any of these problems. Solving these pronounced issues could increase attention from the intended audiences and teaches them to become more knowledgeable about matches.

Going into this project, it is crucial to do the research in order to have a better understanding of what matches are: how they are made and used, where and who uses them, and why they are used. With these information gathered I would have a better grasp of whom my target audiences are and what elements are missing with the current packaging of matches.

So how are matches and movable type related? After pages after pages of research, sketches and prototypes, I decided to design alook-a-like package with matches as wooden movable type. Despite the lack of connection between the two objects, I was able to find a connection through using the history of matches and typography to link the two together to create a successful and informative packaging.

Coming up with a memorable branding was also a process that requires well overall understanding of matches and type. The branding needed to be short and simple for the audience to remember, but also related to matches. Originally, the initial brand name I developed was “Stroke” to represent the strokes used to create letterforms and the motion created when lighting a match. However due to the negative connotation behind the word “stroke”, I later decided to go with “Strike”. Strike also represents the motion of striking a match as well as the striking resemblance the packaging have to wooden movable type. With the branding established, it can be applied to throughout the packaging.

Due to the matches and movable type being packaged together, I was able to redesign the current match packaging that is lacking in creativity to something more creative. “Strike” is an innovation and educational set of matches designed to be the centerpiece for any collectors, designers, and type enthusiast’s coffee table. The set of 27 unique look-alike wood type matchboxes were shaped to portray the wooden movable types that were used centuries ago before printing machines were invented. Each matchbox represent a letter in the alphabet and with one carrying the brand name. There are three different sizes of boxes which each contains different length of matches. Similarly, wooden movable type also comes in varieties of sizes. The small and medium sized matchboxes are designed to be portable and fit within a person’s shirt or pant pockets. The larger matchbox is made to stay and be used within the household.

“Strike”, the match packaging was created to educate the target audience on the history of matches as well as the history of type with the use of a typographic poster engraved on the top of the container’s lid. Not only was it an appealing and an educational set, the packaging is also playful, allowing the individual matchboxes to be rearranged in a manner where words or sentences can be formed. Once the matchboxes are emptied, the matchboxes can be REused to hold candies and other sweets to welcome and impress guests when they are over for a visit.

During the process of developing and creating the packaging, I learnt that the preliminary steps of developing the concept for the packaging are critical. Prototypes plays a large role in further evolving the packaging because packaging is such a physical element, it requires one to physical look and hold it in order to fully apprehend what needs to be changed or what is working. The more prototypes made, the more refined the final product transpires to be.