28 February 2020

THE COLOUR OF WATER

Six Equator designers recently sat down for a watercolour workshop led by Creative Director Martin Orme. This is how they got on…

Equipped with paint sets, paper, tools and even a how-to guide produced in-house by the workshop’s leader Martin Orme, members of our design team sat down to get creative and expand their skills sets in the medium of watercolour.

The six Equator employees who participated – Alex, Heather, Jack, Lejla and Inge – had all shown an interest in developing their watercolour knowledge and skills and were chosen for this first cohort because illustration was part of their development plan.

As designers used to facing creative challenges, they were all very keen to learn and to get stuck into the three-hour workshop. Their watercolour workshop essentials included a guide to the history, materials and applications of the medium, in addition to watercolour paint sets, hot-pressed, cold-pressed and rough paper, and an array of tools like a natural sponge, masking fluid and a spray diffuser so that they could experiment with creating various affects.

In the workshop, Martin outlined the materials and offered his own views on their use. He also shared examples across genres and usage, both from a fine art and a commercial perspective. The participants had been asked to bring examples that they found appealing or intriguing to open up a wider inclusive discussion.

“Beginning with simple mark making, we then moved on to using bleach, salt crystals and masking fluid as means of introducing special effects, textures and negative highlights,” said Martin. “We worked with watercolours in semi dried ‘pans’ but also liquid watercolours in order to explore the merits of each.

“We then each created a watercolour of a strawberry, which on the surface sounds quite easy, but avoiding the addition of white body colour, the challenge was to render the form with all its indentations, highlights, etc. People found different techniques to achieve their strawberries and it became a learning experience in itself to compare and contrast.”

Ahead of the session the designers had received a packaging brief to create a tea caddy using watercolours. This would help them to begin aligning their new skills with Equator’s business.

“The resulting tea caddies really showed the potential of watercolour. They demonstrate how we can adapt the medium to really suit our style, our individuality.

“I was surprised by the range of subject matters and I loved how the designers created and integrated their own brands to showcase their illustrations.” added Martin, who notes that Heather has submitted designs for a wine bottle in which she has used watercolours with salt crystals. Alex and Jack have also done ingredient illustrations using techniques covered in the workshop.

Heather said: “The workshop certainly helped me get to grips with the basics. I really enjoyed learning about the materials and hearing about people’s personal experiences working in watercolour. It was nice to have an open discussion about a subject matter, which we don’t always get to use at the same time as one another.

“I found experimenting with the materials to be very interesting, as well as understanding how to start a painting from the early stages, and time ran away with us building detail into our illustrations so that it became late on in the workshop to begin our tea caddy exploration. I’m looking forward to coming back together to see everyone’s techniques and how all the tea caddies are coming together.”

Inge, who also enjoyed the team building aspect of the workshop, said: “The watercolour workshop has already has come in handy when working on a new project. Even though I’ve dabbled with the medium in the past, being shown the differences in the materials and what to look out for is invaluable and gives me the know-how to make the right decisions from the start. We were given the opportunity to test our newfound skills, and also see other designers’ interpretations. I only wish it had gone on longer, and I am definitely up for part two.”

“It’s a medium I haven’t used in years and didn’t really have much understanding of,” said Alex. “I found the course very informative and learned some techniques that hopefully I will get the opportunity to use in a live job.”

Martin is now planning a second watercolour workshop, which would be double the length of this first offering, and he has already experienced a high level of interest from members of the Equator team. His aim is to build on this offering, and expand the course based on the feedback he received from the first session. He is also considering a workshop on visualisation and black and white ink illustration techniques.

More Insight

View All
What pet food trends should producers focus their development efforts on in 2023/24?

What pet food trends should producers focus their development efforts on in 2023/24?

04 September 2023 04/09/23

What pet food trends should producers focus their development efforts on in 2023/24?

As a design agency that frequently handles innovative pet food packaging projects, our team turned its attention to the pet food trends producers need to know, to stay ahead of the pack. In this blog post, you’ll find all of our insights consolidated into an easily digestible format (uh oh, we’re drifting into on-pack parlance) […]

Read More
Equator Manchester designer volunteers to create a smashing new logo for Leeds Powerchair FC

Equator Manchester designer volunteers to create a smashing new logo for Leeds Powerchair FC

02 August 2023 02/08/23

Equator Manchester designer volunteers to create a smashing new logo for Leeds Powerchair FC

Leeds Powerchair FC, one of the leading powerchair football clubs in West Yorkshire in the UK, has unveiled a charismatic new club logo designed on a volunteer basis by our own Nick Wilson. The brief was sent to the team and several designers put forward compelling concepts (thank you, all) but Nick’s was the one […]

Read More
What is Sunrise 2027 and how can brands prepare for it?

What is Sunrise 2027 and how can brands prepare for it?

14 July 2023 14/07/23

What is Sunrise 2027 and how can brands prepare for it?

Throughout history, finding new and better ways of doing things has been a driving force for innovation. Not much is immune to optimisation, which is why it’s so strange to see things remain unchanged for decades. Funnily enough, one of those things is the barcode – specifically, the Universal Product Code (UPC), which has been […]

Read More
Carbon Footprint on packaging design: Customers demand clearer info on sustainability

Carbon Footprint on packaging design: Customers demand clearer info on sustainability

21 June 2023 21/06/23

Carbon Footprint on packaging design: Customers demand clearer info on sustainability

You may have already spotted eco-labelling on product packaging design at your local supermarket. If not, you’re almost certain to spot this trend very soon. That’s because brands are increasingly incorporating carbon footprint information onto their packfronts and making this information available online, in aim of evidencing their firm commitment to environmental sustainability. Following the […]

Read More
Previous Slide Next Slide