OUGD203// End of Module Self Evaluation..

OUGD203 End of Module Self Evaluation

1// what skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?



I feel as though I have developed many skills throughout this module that I can now build on over my final year. One very important skill that I have learnt is collaboration and how important it is to work with other creative’s to come up with a solution to a design problem.



Working with Lisa and a third year Vis Com student during the YCN brief helped me build on my team working skills and ability to communicate and have responsibility when working with others.



I have also developed my design skills and ability to select and analyse pieces of work to help with idea development and final solutions to problems.





2// What approaches to/ methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?



My illustration skills have improved over the course of the module and this can be seen throughout the YCN brief and into Product, Range and Distribution. I am getting better at creating designs using the pen tool, which before I struggled with.





3// What strengths can you identify in your work and how will you capitalise on these?



My strengths within this module have been my illustration, I can now continue to build on these skills into third year as it is something I really enjoy doing. I just need to find more time to do more illustration.



I now also have a better understanding of how branding works and how to create a successful campaign for something. The Heinz Salad Cream YCN campaign was my favourite to work on during this module as I felt I tried the hardest and got the most out of it.



I will continue to investigate into branding throughout third year as this is something that I am wanting to continue in as a professional.



4// What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?



My weakness has probably been my time management as usual. I have not been as efficient as I could be due to laziness and being unorganised. I have also missed a lot of time off uni and then I have had to catch up which means I have not done as much work as I should have and would have liked to.



I think that this has been the case all year so I hope that by third year I will have learnt my lesson.



5// Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?



1// Make sure I do my blogging as and when necessary and not last minute which then does not give me enough time to do a substantial and worthwhile amount.



2// Manage my time better; this is a huge downfall for me. I always leave things to the last minute and seriously need to learn from this pretty soon.



3// Be more creative. Even though I have tried new things during this module I still don’t feel like I have pushed myself past any boundaries.



4// Evaluate my work more and gain feedback from my peers. During this module I failed to attend quite a few crits which means I have been unable to gain feedback about my work therefore leading to not being able to develop my work accordingly. I must try to get as much feedback as possible to help improve my work.



5// Try harder. I don’t feel I have worked as hard as I could of in this module. There are many things that I wish I had done but failed to. It has got to the point where I have really realised that by third year I must be willing to put my life into my work.









Attendance: 3

Punctuality: 3

Motivation: 4

Commitment: 3

Quantity of work produced: 3

Quality of work produced: 4

Contribution to the group: 3

OUGD203/ Product, Range, Distribution boards..

OUGD203// YCN: Webpage..

These are the website Home page designs that I did. We decided to just do the home page to give an idea about the tone of voice and what the content of thewebsite would be if we were to design the whole thing. This was the initial design that I came up with. I tried to link it with all of the other designs that I had created to keep it consistant. The links on the Home page include info about the site, how to win festival tickets, the tour and a link about Heinz Salad Cream.

I think that it became too over complicated with the name of all the festivals and a link for the tour.

So with this design I took away the festival names and use one direction post with just a few festivals names on it that wouldnt be links, just to give an idea as to where the tour would take place.

This design worked a lot better as it was simple and gave all the information needed. We didnt use this one in the end though as it did have a resemblence to the Snap Tag poster.

This is the final design that me and Lisa decided on. Its still very simple and we have taken away one of the links that was not necessary. The design approach is consistant with all of the other designs.

This is what the Home page would look like.

OUGD203// YCN Submission proof..

OUGD203// Self- initiated brief: Posters..

As part of the student kit that I am designing for the Peace One Day campaign, I have been designing posters that will be in the kit for students to place around university to spread the word.

This design is based on the logo design that I did in a previous post. I have tried to keep the poster designs as simple as possible as I didnt want to lose my target audiences interest if there was too much information on them. I also changed the tone of blue within my designs as I felt the previous blue was too bright and solid. This blue is still bright but it is more sky blue and softer which I feel works better with the branding of Peace One Day.

 

 This poster has slightly more information on it because I did need one poster that told more about Peace One Day. Within the pack that I am creating there will be several posters included, meaning a few of each design.

OUGD203// Self- initiated brief: Origami..

As part of my campaign for Peace One Day that I am designing. I was trying to think of creative ways in which I could help spread the word. An idea I had was to use origami, it is something that I have become very interested in over the past few weeks and have used the technique to make my creative CV. I looked into how to make an origami dove online and found a circular template. So I made a plain version and then worked out how I could place a design on the bird to make it unfold out into information regarding Peace One Day.

This design is very simple but works well. The information is on either side of the logo so that the logo stays as the main focus when the bird is unfolded. I have used a feather design on what will be the outside of the bird to help communicate that it is a dove.

With this design I have placed the image and the text on separate sides to try and simplify the layout so that it is easier to read, but I do feel like it is lacking something. Although it communicates what it needs to, I think that it could be done in a more creative way.

On this design I have placed the logo on the other side and added more detail so that it doesnt look so boring. The text is on the other side and has been kept in a simple layout. I have then changed the peace symbol on the outside of the dove to just a stroke because it didnt stand out from the feathers.

OUGD203// Self- initiated brief: Research List..

Here is a list of things that I will be researching throughout this self- initiated brief to help me fully understand the subject of the brief and how to communicate it as well as exploring product, range and distribution within specific design relating to my concept.

I will also need to look at socially fabricated days to help me understand what makes a particular 'day' or event memorable to a wide target audience.

Here is my research 'to do' list:

- Firstly I need to do extensive research into what Peace Day is. Including its history, aims, ethos, ambitions for the future, current target audiences and potential target audiences for the future.

- I will need to research into large event campaigns to gain an understanding of the best methods of communication to a large target audience.

- Moving image design that has been specifically made to communicate a message that persuades a target audience into investing time into a specific event or product (Although I am not primarily wanting to focus on the advertising of any products that are to be sold).

- Viral events that have caught the attention of the world (for example the recent Kony Campaign) and how they have approached methods of communication.

- Look into the history of days like Valentine's Day and Mother's Day to see how they became socially fabricated events that have become an annual event. This will help me understand what approaches I will need to take to make Peace Day a memorable day.

- Look at promotional material for large events, which could include the upcoming London Olympic Games. Exploring things like t-shirts, goodie bags and other souveniring items. I do not want to make Peace Day too commercialised, so therefore must look for ways in which I can use this deliverables but in a non or low profit way.

OUGD203// Self- initiated brief: First Draft..

Brief Title// Create a memorable name for Peace Day

The problems are:

-          Not many people know what Peace Day is.

-          Peace Day want the whole world to get involved.

-          Peace Day needs to be as memorable as popular annual days such as Valentine’s Day etc

-          How will the concept aim to communicate with a large and broad target audience?

-          If it needs to memorable, how will I do this and what methods of product, range and distributions will best support and give hand to this?

I intend to (inform/ instruct/ persuade/ direct/ educate/ promote to):

Inform and promote Peace Day to a specific target audience. They will be informed about the day itself, I will then promote to the target audience and persuade and educate them to get involved.

… A group of (identify your specific audience or context):

My target audience will be very broad; I am aiming to focus on targeting people of power within different parts of the world including Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Politicians etc. I will also need to work towards communicating with the general population of the world to make them aware of Peace Day, but it will be the people of higher power that will influence the majority of my final solutions.

…. That (state your message, idea or concept):

I will be branding Peace Day which will promote itself on a global scale to help the population understand and participate in this one day, yearly event.

In order to achieve this I will produce…

(Specify at this point in time what you aim to produce, the method of delivery/ distribution/ the context in which it will be viewed):

Product, Range and Distribution//


Here is a list of the products, ranges and distribution methods that I could and will either create or propose as part of this self- initiated brief:


1// A campaign to 'promote' Peace Day


Campaign will include things such as:


- Posters:


Posters will be kept fairly simple and communicate a clear message of what Peace Day is and what it involves, using mainly image as a means of visual communication.


- Flyers:


Flyers will have a similar concept as the above mentioned posters, I will be creating these as a deliverable as it gives me another product of which I can create a range. This also means that I will be able to explore scale and format as part of the brief and therefore developing my skills.


- Information guides:


Creating some kind of guide will give me the chance to explore with editorial design, of which is something I am not keenly interested in, it will be good practice to try and create something within this brief.

The guide could include information about the Peace Day itself and what the day will entail, along with the aims of Peace Day and the effects it has and will have on the world if it is made to be memorable.


- Booklets:


The booklet in a way would be similar to a guide, although I could focus this product on introducing Peace Day and using it as a piece of factual information that will tell the story of Peace Day and how it came about, where as the information guide will be focusing more on the future of Peace Day.


- Souvenirs:


When I say souvenirs I don’t mean silly things like hats and mugs, I mean things like t-shirts which can be worn by participating individuals on the day to promote it. The t-shirt designs could be very simple and just have the logo design on them. This means I will add to my product list, therefore allowing me to explore a range and look at deliverables and how the t-shirts will be distributed and packaged.


2// A moving image:


- The moving image may be a proposal or storyboards dependant on how much time I have and taking in to account the other products that I will be producing.


- If I am going to create a moving image then I will not be creating a particularly long one, maybe up to 30 seconds long.


- The moving may be used to set and show the tone of voice to my design approach to the brief or a short piece used as promotional material. I think that at the present time I am looking to try and use image as the main focal point, along with a piece of audio as part of my design approach to this particular deliverable.

OUGD203// Self- initiated brief: Initial ideas..

After analysing the 4 live briefs that I had chosen from D&AD, YCN, ISTD and one of my choice, I have started to come up with some initial ideas ready to solidify my concept and the path that I will be taking through the second part of this module.

I know for certain that I am wanting to do something that is related to branding and identity as this is an area within graphic Design that I am very passionate about. I am also wanting to explore many other areas that I have either not tried before or I want to develop my skills in. This includes editorial, moving image, image based design and possibly hand crafting.

Here are some of the initial ideas I had for this brief:

- Branding Peace Day: This brief from D&AD was about promoting and making people aware of Peace day all over the world. I feel that if I brand the Peace Day much like that of Valentines Day and Mother's day then it will instantly become recognisable. Obviously I will have to do this in a more creative way than just advertising it in a very commercialised way as the other well known 'days' mentioned above.

Peace Day is also a known profit organisation so I dont want it to become too much about giving money, it is about stopping violence for one day a year and giving aid to those who need it most. Peace Day's aim is for everyone in the whole world, for one day only to unite and reduce the violence in the world. Targeting the whole world will be a challenge, but one that I am ready for.

I will have to do a lot of research to be able to determine what the best way is to communicate with such a large and broad target audience and also on how to make one day within the year be so memorable and unforgetable that people from all over the world will instantly know what it is and have the willingness to take part.

- Swarovski is another brief that I have been considering doing. My initial ideas for this brief were to create a launch event for the new younger generation jewellery range. I could produce the POS, advertising, packaging and catalogue for the new range to be within the stores and distributed using other methods of delivery including the launch party.

To expand on this concept I could create a monthly launch event for new items of jewellery to the range therefore broadening the possibilites and outcomes of the brief. One thing that has already put me off completing this brief is that in the first part of this module I had already seen the outcomes of others that had worked on it. I fear that seeing their work that has been produced may subconsiously effect decisions I make when approaching the brief.

- The main ideas and concepts that I have thought of mainly relate to the Peace Day brief and I do believe this is because it seems like such a challenge and it will also allow me to develop skills I already have and try new things to then I can also develop.

Product, Range and Distribution//

Here is a list of the products, ranges and distribution methods that I could and will either create or propose as part of this self- initiated brief:

1// A campaign to 'promote' Peace Day

Campaign will include things such as:

- Posters:

Posters will be kept fairly simple and communicate a clear message of what Peace Day is and what it involves, using mainly image as a means of visual communication.

- Flyers:

Flyers will have a similar concept as the above mentioned posters, I will be creating these as a deliverable as it gives me another product of which I can create a range. This also means that I will be able to explore scale and format as part of the brief and therefore developing my skills.

- Information guides:

Creating some kind of guide will give me the chance to explore with editorial design, of which is something I am not keenly interested in, it will be good practice to try and create something within this brief.

The guide could include information about the Peace Day itself and what the day will entail, along with the aims of Peace Day and the effects it has and will have on the world if it is made to be memorable.

- Booklets:

The booklet in a way would be similar to a guide, although I could focus this product on introducing Peace Day and using it as a piece of factual information that will tell the story of Peace Day and how it came about, where as the information guide will be focusing more on the future of Peace Day.

- Souvenirs:

When I say souvenirs I dont mean silly things like hats and mugs, I mean things like t-shirts which can be worn by participating individuals on the day to promote it. The t-shirt designs could be very simple and just have the logo design on them. This means I will add to my product list, therefore allowing me to explore a range and look at deliverables and how the t-shirts will be distributed and packaged.

2// A moving image:

- The moving image may be a proposal or storyboards dependant on how much time I have and taking in to account the other products that I will be producing.

- If I am going to create a moving image then I will not be creating a particularly long one, maybe up to 30 seconds long.

- The moving may be used to set and show the tone of voice to my design approach to the brief or a short piece used as promotional material. I think that at the present time I am looking to try and use image as the main focal point, along with a piece of audio as part of my design approach to this particular deliverable.

I have given myself a lot of work to do, but I do feel that it is achievable.

OUGD203// Brief selecting..

For the self initiated brief for the second part of OUGD203, we were asked to choose 4 briefs (of which I have done and can be viewed earlier on my blog). I have begun to analyse each brief and write down why I have chosen each one, the problems I may encounter, what deliverables I could produce, practical and personal skills I could develop within the brief, the contexts of which I will need to explore and also important things to consider that may have been left out.

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D&AD Brief: We want to make it impossible for anyone to ignore Peace Day

Problems I may encounter//

- Has a very wide target audience so it might be a challenge to create designs that appeal to anyone and everyone

- There is no set restriction on the final deliverables, which could make it hard for me to decide on what I feel would be the best method

- Trying to make Peace Day as popular as days like Valentines day, set days in the calendar take years to become tradition, how will I be able to make Peace Day as popular?

Deliverables I could produce//

- A promotional campaign/ advertising campaign including posters etc to engage with a ranged target audience

- Branding material for Peace Day to try and make it more recognised and give it a memorable identity

- Some kind of information guide about Peace day to educate people of its purpose and the importance of joining in

- A short moving image piece highlighting how important Peace Day is

Practical and personal skills I could develop through this brief//

- Strengthen my skills in branding and identity as this is an area of Graphic Design that I am very interested in

- Improve my researh skills, this will be very important as I will need to make sure I research in depth for this brief to be able to fully understand it and how I will communicate it

- I want to try new methods of delivery and expand on methods I already have an understanding of as this will build up my skills and help me to become more creative by thinking outside of the box

Contexts that I will need to explore//

- What is Peace Day and why isnt it as popular as days like Valentines Day (how did they make Valentines Day so popular?)

- What is a campaign? How many different ways are there to approach a campaign?

- Branding and promotion of large events


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YCN Brief: Swarovski

Problems I may encounter//

- The target audience is specified but is still quite broad (20- 30 year olds) which means I could focus on students, young working adults or young families. Even though they would have an interest in the latest fashion trends I can still see this may be a problem

- Swarovski at the moment have a much older target audience and although the purpose of the brief is to make it more appealing to a younger audience I would still have to persuade a younger generation that Swarovski isnt 'old fashioned' as such

- Deliverables is quite open which can sometimes be a problem if I do not know exactly what problem I am trying to solve

Deliverables I could produce//

- A promotional campaign launching the Swarovski range to the younger generation

- Packaging for the new fashion jewellery items

- Instore POS to advertise the new range

- Website designs to launch the new range

Practical and personal skills I could develop through this brief//

- Apply branding and identity to the new range to make it memorable

- Research into Fashion which is an area I know little about

- Develop my knowledge of packaging and how the packaging of an item can effect its communication

Contexts that I will need to explore//

- Different ways of packaging jewellery, what works and what doesnt

- Research into the fashion industry and new trends

- Look into the popularity of fashion jewellery

- Look at POS for jewelers and see how this effects communication to a specific target market


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ISTD Brief: It happened on this day

Problems I may encounter//

- The brief is very open, which means I may struggle to initially find a solid idea and concept to stick to. Any day ever in history gives me a lot to consider

- Deliverables is restricted to type only. Typography is not my strong point

- I must decide on who my target market will be, the event that I focus on will help me determine this but I can still see this as being a difficult hurdle to jump

- Method of delivery is very broad, it states that any media can be used, which isnt necessarily a problem but it does give me a lot more to consider

Deliverables I could produce//

- A piece of editorial design focusing on the event I choose

- A series of posters about the event to educate and communicate to my chosen taregt market

- A piece of moving image using kinetic type

Practical and personal skills I could develop through this brief//

- Develop my skills and knowledge of type

- Build up my confidence in trying something new and exploring with type

- Thinking outside of the box, I am used to using image to communicate

- My ability to make informed decisions about what I will be focusing on

- My ability to be specific when defining my concept

Contexts I will need to explore//

- Type based editorial design

- Kinetic type

- Ways of making memorable day memorable


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SELF CHOSEN Brief: Puffin and Penguin

Problems I may encounter//

- It is a very open brief, which book cover would I illustrate and how many?

- There is a restriction on deliverables being that I can only produce a book cover

- I wouldnt be able to push any limits as the brief restricts this

Deliverables I could produce//

- Limited edition book covers

- A series of book covers

- Could possibly design packaging for the books

- Design covers for both Puffin and Penguin books

- Online/ digital deliverables for the books

Practical and personal skills I could develop through the brief//

- Develop my illustration skills

- Develop my drawing skills

- Thinking outside of the box when it comes to pushing the concept

- Idea generation, I will need to think of ways to get the most out of this brief

Contexts I will need to explore//

- Childrens and adults book covers

- Packaging Limited edition

- Styles of illustration that arent necessarily similar to the way in which I currently work

OUGD203// Concept development workshop..

26/04/12

Today we had a workshop where we were looking at the fundamentals of concept development. This workshop is based upon the chosen briefs that I have been looking at to work with throughout this second half of the module. The workshop involved some short writing tasks and brainstorming in relation to what I want to achieve with the self initiated brief.

- 5 things I want to do
- 5 things I need to do
- 5 reasons why
- Personal skills I want to develop
- Practical skills I want to develop
- Processes I want to investigate
- Products I want to produce
- Contexts to explore

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5 THINGS I WANT TO DO//

- Hand crafted designs (paper crafting)
- Image based design/ Illustration
- Create both print and digital designs
- Introduce branding and identity into my brief
- Create advertising campaigns/ promotional design

5 THINGS I NEED TO DO//

- Research into methods of advertising campaigns and branding
- Ways in which to engage with varied target audiences, best methods of communication
- Look into methods of deliverables and their best met purposes
- Experiment with different products, ranges and deliverables appropriate to my target audience
- Continuously evaluate my work and progress to see if I can make improvements


5 REASONS WHY//


- I love creating hand crafted designs, but it can be very time consuming, I want to make time
- I have a strong interest in branding and identity and feel that it would be good practice to try and include it within my brief where appropriate
- Extensive research will help me undertsand the subject of the brief, which will have a huge impact on my final deliverables
- I need to start experimenting with new methods of delivery to broaden my skill set and knowledge
- I am very print based at the moment, I need more experience of working digitally to challenge myself


PERSONAL SKILLS I WANT TO DEVELOP//


- My time management and organisation.
- Confidence in myself to try new things
- The ability to engage more with my work and try harder


PRACTICAL SKILLS I WANT TO DEVELOP//


- Hand crafted design (paper crafting)
- Research methods
- Idea generation and practice of communicating


PROCESSES I WANT TO INVESTIGATE//


- Paper crafting
- Illustrative design, mainly vector based
- Book binding


PRODUCTS I WANT TO PRODUCE//


- Some kind of binded book
- Packaging
- A series of branded products
- An advertising campaign, including posters, flyers etc


CONTEXTS TO EXPLORE//


- Advertising campaigns
- Unusual packaging
- Image based, Illustrative design within advertising
- Large events promotion


WHAT IS MISSING?//


- The content to deliver
- A problem and a way in which I will solve it


Tasks in for next Thursday 3/5/12:

- 5x each brief, and why I have chosen it
- Analyse briefs in relation to the lists above (not including x5 things [top 3] questions
- Write my own brief, concept pitch for next week

OUGD203 Design Practice 2// Product, Range, Distribution..

For the second part of the Design Practice 2 module we were asked to find Live briefs/ old briefs that we were interested in and would want to work with. We asked to pick a D&AD, an ISTD, a YCN and another live brief of our choice. The briefs could have some relevance to the practice that I want to pursue or they could just be one that sounds like a challenge.

Here are the four briefs that I have chosen:

D&AD// We want to make it impossible for anyone to ignore Peace day.
YCN// Swarovski.
ISTD// It happened on this day.
MY CHOICE// Design a Penguin adult or Puffin children's cover.

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D&AD Brief// We want to make it impossible for anyone to ignore Peace Day.

We want to make it impossible for anyone to ignore Peace Day. We want to make it a day that everyone around the world engages with, so the governments and leaders in conflict zones have no other choice but to implement it. The task is to grow grassroots awareness and active personal engagement with Peace Day, to make this day ubiquitous and as part of our social fabric as Valentine's Day or Mother's Day.

Tone of voice//

Stimulating, optimistic, realistic

Proposition//

Dont let Peace Day be ignored.

Points I have taken from the brief//

- Aim the brief at everyone, but try and focus down on people who are change- makers, those who believe in actions rather than symbols, in the practical rather than the theoretical. Those who enjoy getting their hands dirty and believe in the power of individual actions to build a greater future.

- This idea needs to work everywhere in the world irrespective of cultural particularities.

- Peace Day is a non- profit organisation, Peace Day relies on all- inclusiveness.

- They want something that works beyond media and across cultural, political and denominational frontiers.

- Collaboration is key to Peace Day and should be key to your solution.


My reasoning for picking this brief//

I decided to choose this brief as I liked the fact that there was no restrictions on deliverables. The brief is very open and I feel that there is a lot that can be achieved with it. I also find the subject interesting, everybody wants world peace but no one knows how to go about it or even if its possible. If everyone worked together then Peace Day would be easily achievable, I would just have to inspire, convince and educate people about it. Where theres a will theres a way!


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ISTD Brief// It happened on this day.

We want you to consider how best to interpret the project theme. Is it what happened through the centuries on a specific day in the month/ year or could it be the story of one particular day in time? The 'Big Bang'; Battle of Hastings; the first pulls of Gutenberg's 42- line bible; Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan show; assassination of JFK; Liverpoll's European Cup win in 2005 or the atrocity of 9/11- you are spoilt for choice.

Howerver fascinating the topic and the information that you select, yoru challenge is to create a delivery platform that demands the reader's attention. It needs to address the norms of information architecture while actively working to evoke an emotional response from the reader or viewer.

Use print, screen, combined media- the choice is yours- as long as it expresses a solid idea, informs us and shows your typographic skills. Remember that words and language are our collateral and that your submission should essentially be typographic.

Reasoning for choosing this brief//

The reason that I chose this brief is similar to the D&AD brief, there is a limited amount of restrictions on this brief which means I have a wider variety of outcomes to consider. One thing about the brief that I do not particularly like is the fact that the outcome does have to be type based. Type is not a strong point of mine, but I could maybe re- jig the brief so that it fits to my skill set and interests.


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YCN Brief// Swarovski.

- Attract the next generation of Swarovski fans.

We'd like you to creatively demonstrate how you think Swarovski can relevantly and powerfully engage their fashion range with younger consumers. You are free to explore all marketing channels, demonstrating the media and enviroments that you think the target audience will be most receptive to messaging and engagement. You can consider all elements of marketing, PR, advertising, in- store applications, points of sale, packaging, social media, experiential ideas and everything inbetween.

Points taken from the brief//

- Target audience: Swarovski are interested in reaching a new younger audience (20- 30 year olds) primarily targeting young urban UK females who love their jewellery, like to keep up with the latest trends and fashion, and want to express themselves through jewellery.

- Aim of the brief is to take the repositioning of the brand to the next level, concentrating on attracting the next generation of Swarovski fans to their fashion collection.

- Daniel Swarovski I said: 'Evolution never ceases. Reforms in one area lead to further reforms in other areas. One must, however always be alert to the opportunities'.

- Swarovoski want to broaden its appeal and desirability to new consumers.

Reasoning for choosing this brief//

The first reason that I chose this brief is because it is one that I was considering greatly for the first part of this module, it really interested me because there was a branding element to it and branding and identity is a path with Graphic Design that I am currently very interested in. The brief is again very broad which has made it very appealing, the only restriction really is the target audience, which even then has some breadth to it. Although I am not really into fashion, I do really love Swarovski which I think helps if you are going to do a brief on it.


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Penguin and Puffin Brief//

Design a Penguin adult or Puffin children's cover.

Reasoning for choosing this brief//

To be honest I dont really feel that the brief has much structure to it and the reason that I chose it is because it sounds fun and it will also give me the chance to use my image skills. I think that in a way it is good that the brief is so vague because it means I can interpret it in my own way and pretty much do what I want with it.

YCN// Heinz Salad Cream van..

As part of mine and lisa's ideas for the YCN Live Brief, we decided to create a salad cream van. The van sprang from the idea of having ice cream vans at festivals and the festival idea came from us deciding that a festival would be a good place to show our campaign to our target audience of 18-22 year olds.

We decided that a festival would be a good idea as many students attend so many different festivals over the summer. Salad cream is known to be a sauce of the summer, so works very well. What we are proposing to do is have a Heinz salad cream van that will be based at all the major festivals in the UK. The van will be giving away free samples of salad cream and they will also have a menu where people can buy food with salad cream. We will be giving away free food in cones, so trying to keep along the lines of traditional ice cream vans. We want to attract our target audience by creating an ice cream van that looks as though it has been taken over by Heinz salad cream, this will attract attention and also add some humour.

Our incentive to get our target audience to try salad cream is the free food. Every student loves free food! What we are proposing to do is create an app where students can share their thoughts about salad cream and photo share what they do with their salad cream. When they do this they will have the chance to have their photos shown on a big screen at the festival and then they would receive their free food with salad cream.

I have been looking at different foods that can be eaten with salad cream, including the most obvious and the unusual. I have found this information out by conducting a survey, looking on Facebook and researching into it. I will be designing the menu for the van as well as designing the van itself.

I first started looking at different types of ice cream vans and which one would best suite our concept. Me and Lisa decided on a more retro styled van as these look more fun and also the act that the 'retro look' is in fashion at the moment.

Here is what I came up with//

This was the first idea that I came up with, the ice cream van shape is a more up to date model, you see them everywhere these days, but not so much with the retro ice cream vans. In terms of the design I think it is very simple in terms of content but there is too much going on. The giant salad cream bottle works well on the roof of the van with the salad cream dripping out of the bottle onto the van. This would be 3D much like the Red Bull promotion minis. I havent made a place for the menu on this van which was a bit silly as this is our USP. The writing on the van is a list of different foods that arent commonly known to be good with salad cream, but actually are, along with the Heinz slogan 'Pourable Sunshine'.

I decided to add the writing to fill the space, and it didnt work at all. I did find designing the salad cream van difficult at first, hence the initial bad design of it! After showing Lisa this design, we then made the decision to look at a more retro shape and get rid of the writing!

This was the shape that I found that worked really well. It was very rounded, which I always associate with being fun, something with curves isnt so 'in your face'. I think the angle at which the van is, gives a good view of what the side and front would look like. Once I have settled on a design, I will design the back of the van too, to give a full 360 degree perspective. The angle of this image has also helped it to look more 3D without me having to make it 3D (if that makes sense).

This was my initial idea for the retro salad cream van. I think that the shape works a lot better than the one above, it looks more fun and interesting. I have kept the colour scheme in line with that of Heinz Salad cream branding to make it most obvious what the purpose of the van is.

I have then gone on from the above design and added elements to make it more appealing to the eye. This has been done by adding a few more details to the actual van and then adding elements to the design such as the stars and changing the position of the word 'Heinz'. I used stars on the van to make it look more glamorous and to add detail. The stars work a lot better than the writing on the first design, it adds a nice touch without having too much going on.

This is then a further development where I have added stars to the bottom half of the van, the stars are in reverse colour from their background to keep in line with the colour palette of Heinz Salad Cream. On this design and the one above I have also added a menu board, it is a rough version at the moment  as I havent yet designed the menu. It will be set out like an ice cream van menu to keep with the theme.

I then tried changing the whole van to cream and adding the green stars to see if I could make it simpler but still visually engaging. I think it works well although I do prefer the two colour designs more. With this design I have also changed the size of the salad cream bottle to see what it looked like. It doesnt seem to work as well because it looks as though it has just been stuck there randomly. 

This van has been changed to white and then I have made it look as though the salad cream bottle has squirted salad cream all over the van and its dripping down. This looks pretty cool and also works well with the Heinz slogan 'Anything tastes supreme with Heinz Salad Cream'. This design is meant to be funny as it is proposing that you could eat a van with salad cream and it would taste amazing, because salad cream is amazing!

YCN Brief// How open is our chosen brief?..

After choosing our brief we were asked to consider how open it actually was. We were given four categories to consider, of which we had to pick five points out of the brief for each one:

Content subject//

- Heinz
- Salad cream
- Food values
- Taste
- Modernity (hip)

Media distribution//

- Campaign
- New media/ interactive website
- Traditional media
- TV and radio commercials
- Posters

Audience context//

- Fun
- 18-29 year old adults
- Sociable
- Food lovers
- Young

Product deliverables//

- Name
- New product ideas
- Packaging
- 'A campaign'
- Digital media

YCN Brief// Choosing our brief..

We are asked, as a pair, to pick two briefs that we liked and one that we didnt. Me and Lisa had a selection of briefs that we personally liked/ disliked, so we looked through our selection and picked out the three briefs.

The two briefs we liked were the Heinz Salad cream one and the Marks and Spencers brief and the one that we didnt like was the SEGA brief. We were then asked to make 5 points about each one on why we did or didnt like it.

Heinz Salad Cream//

- We both had a personal relation to it, as we both liked salad cream.
- There was an open outcome, which gaves us the opportunity to use digital or print.
- The brief is light hearted and fun.
- The research will be interesting and fun to do, there are lots of Heinz campaigns we can look at.
- It will be a challenge because we will have to make the brand appeal to a younger target audience.

Marks and Spencers//

-A broad target audience means we can choose who we target at.
- Comfort with considerations like colour.
- Interesting to research the M&S food.
- Design development for the final outcome will be interesting.
- Can relate to it and already start to come up with ideas.

SEGA// (The brief we dont like)

- The subject which is sport and football.
- Neither of us have a connection or relation to the subject matter.
- Never played a SEGA football manager game.
- Would be challenging to become interested in researching the topic and hard to get motivated.
- No relevance to how we want to develop as Graphic Designers.

YCN Brief// My response..

Brief title// YCN

1// Why have you chosen to work with your creative partner? What are your aims?

We know how each other work, yet we both work in completely different ways (im image based whilst Lisa is type based). I also get on well with Lisa which has worked out well. My aim is to work hard and create some amazing design, and win of course :)

2// What are your specific areas of creative interest in this brief?

I really enjoy image based print design. I would say I also like type but im just not that good at it. I also enjoy the branding and identity aspect of Graphic Design which I know comes into some of the YCN briefs.

3// What specific design skills do you have to offer in relation to your collaboration? How do you intend to use them?

I am quite good at using Illustrator, which will be handy when creating either digital or print solutions. I like creating vector based imagery and I am also interested in photography. After Effects is another program that I really enjoyed in the last module which I would love to use again during this one.

4// What specific non- design skills do you have to offer in relation to your collaboration? How do you intend to use them?

I work hard (sometimes only under pressure), I am fairly good at time management and I can motivate myself. These will all be helpful when collaborating because the work load will be split equally which means we will both need to do our bit and we will need to stick to deadlines.

5// What will your specific roles be in the collaboration?

I will work hard and try my best whilst doing what needs to be done when fulfilling the brief. I know I wont be in charge of time. I could be in charge of budget as I earn less money than Lisa.

6// What will be your individual responsibilities be in relation to your collaboration?

I will be responsible for research for the brief and work that I have been given to do. I will also be responsible for being punctual, committed and communicating with Lisa and meeting all deadlines set.

7// What will your joint responsibilities be?

To work hard as a team and try our best, to be creative and think outside of the box, to be punctual and committed and meet all deadlines and make sure we share the work load fairly and support eachother.