A personal project based around the Matchstick Girl's and the Matchmaker's Union of 1888.
Research
The Matchmaker's Union, originally The Union of Women Matchmakers, was the first all female union in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1888 at the Bryant & May match factory, and was based around better wages, fair treatment, and safe working conditions. Annie Besant, an outsider to the factory, interviewed some of the matchmaker's and learned of the awful working conditions. She also learned that the white phosphorus that Bryant & May had been using had been giving the girls phosphorus poisoning. It had been giving the girls hair loss, as well as bone cancer, resulting in "phossy jaw." Besant released the interviews, which then encouraged the matchstick girls to form a union and fight back.
DESIGN RESEARCH
I started my design research by looking at pictures and documentation from the matchstick girls. I primarily derived my color palette around the colors of the Union Jack, since the matchmaker's union was based in the United Kingdom. For the design of the match box, I looked at the cover of Fahrenheit 451 for inspiration.
Sketching and Ideating
I was pretty confident in the direction I wanted to go in, and had a pretty clear vision in my head. I still tried out multiple options and explored different designs.
FINAL
The final product showcases of the title of the product, and its goal efficiently, as well as the history to its inspiration. The color palette also eludes to the history behind the design and also really polishes the final concept.
