OUGD602: Oslo Talk

Ellie from Oslo came into to talk about the process of colour within design, this was particularly relevant to me as I use a lot of bold colour within my practice, although I have briefly explored colour theory in level 5 It was a great insight to listen to Ellie having studied this academically to explore the varying relationship we have with colour and how it has so much impact on design in the connotations it provides to the user. 

OUGD602: DBA - Feedback

Unfortunately our team wasn't chosen as the winners of the DBA competition, however the experience was really beneficial as we got some great feedback from the creative directors. 

They loved the idea of Mr Potter and how the brand had a British feeling but wasn't stereotyped or cliche. They were impressed with the outcome and the quality of the final packaging commenting on the success of the aesthetic style making it approbate for its audience, they could see the product doing well in its primary environment of high end department stores. Within their feedback they started how they would have like to hear more about the backstory of Mr. Potter, such as how we imagined the character and wished within the presentation we immersed them within the 'mr. potter universe' 

I really enjoyed the process of working collaboratively, our individual skill sets definitely help develop a resolution no individual designer could have created in isolation, we worked well as a team to manager our individual commitments such as workloads and external placements to come together and create a successful response to the brief. 

OUGD602: DBA - Presentation

We created the presentation to represent all of the work we had put into the project, the opening slide clearly sets the tone of voice, content and design direction we took to excite the judges. We kept the layout of the presentation extremely simple showing the header for the topic we were talking about, we chose not to include information within the presentation to retrain from taking a presentation style that reads directly from a powerpoint, this paired with presenting physical outcome we felt would be too much going on at once so reinforced our decision to pair the visual presentation right back only providing images when appropriate. 

Unfortunately Jack wasn't able to attend the presentation due to being on placement, so myself, Charlotte and Lo assigned 3 slides each based on what we flt most comfortable taking about. 

OUGD602: DBA - Final Packaging

The packaging reflects the luxury connotations of the brand, is appropriate to the context and back story of Mr.Potter, will appeal to its target audience and sit well within premium retail environments. The design direction is contemporary to reflect the innovation within the product yet traditionally charming and is sure to attract the attention of the target audience within busy retail environments. The sandblasted logos reinforce the brand from eye level and further enforce the luxury nature of the product. The overall quality of the resolution is finished to a high standard that mimics industry processes with the facilities we have available to us within college. We photographed the product in a homely environment to reinforce its contact when delivering the presentation which succeeds in depicting a commercial and successful concept  that innovativley challenges the brief. 

OUGD602: DBA - Packaging Development

It was established that the brand would be aimed at 35-50 year olds, therefore would be in established careers with a higher proportion of disposable income. The ideology behind the brand is the consumer is just starting to feel they aren't as young as they once were and need a little extra boost to get them through the day. It is important that this be reflected within the packaging direction to ensure it is appropriate for the audience. Based on this profiling we further established key retail environments would be premium retailers to reinforce the quality of the product, such as 4th floor Harvey Nichols, Waitrose, John Lewis, and M&S. Furthermore it is important the product fits within these retail environments and is informed by its surroundings. 

Based on this key information we identified a luxury market for the product when analysing the target audience. I suggested a premium glass container to reinforce the products ethos, by allowing the audience to see the physical product it assures quality and suggests transparency within the brands ethos, as through we are not hiding anything from the consumer. This also allows the audience to see the product reinforcing its premium quality. If produced commercially we suggested we could consider creating bespoke packaging to reinforce the luxury nature of the product however with the appropriate time scale and budget we found stock tins online. We instantly drew towards the transparent paint tin pot as it felt harmonious with the quirky nature of the brand and felt expensive at first glance. 

Creating a bespoke net to fit the packaging was a challenge to ensure all of the measurements were accurate, me and jack collaborated on the shape of the packaging which I then translated into a net for charlotte to work with. We identified Charlotte should develop the packaging as this is one of her key specialisms having produced a large volume of packaging briefs within her portfolio. We all discussed directions for this and established a botanical theme would contextually fit the back story of Mr. Potter, being a botanist and would add a enigmatic luxury to the product. We briefed charlotte to design with a range of texture and shape to create the perfect net. We further identified sandblasting onto the tins would work appropriately to create further luxury connotations and reinforce the brand, we suggested the packaging could be upcylced into herb planters or storage contains therefore it was important to retain a sense of this brand throughout the packagings lifespan. 

Charlotte did a great job with the nets creating an elaborate yet elegant design treatment. She themed the colour palettes to the times of day the teas will typically be drank; 

Breakfast tea / taken in the morning / yellow colour palette 

Green tea / taken throughout the day / green colour palette 

Camomile tea / taken in the evening / purple colour palette 

We suggested if we had more time we would have created bespoke illustrations and packaging for each blend however with the available timeframe established this was unfeasible. 

OUGD602: DBA - Identity

Working with a new concept we went back to the drawing board in creating the brands identity.  We took the interim feedback on board in aiming to create a personable logo that emotively engages with its target audience, I came up with a range of initial ideas that utilised a range of creative copy and engaging compositions. 

When discussed with the rest of the group, everyone liked the use of the signature within the logo as this was a way to integrate the personable brand connotations discussed by the creative directors within the interim feedback. This further adds to connotations that the fictional brand ambassador Mr. Potter has produced this tea just for its user, signed off with his personal seal of approval, which aids the adoption of nootropics into the users lifestyle if it is perceived to be legitimate and safe. Developing the concept into a refined logo we agreed Lo should conduct most of the final design playing to her strengths of hand rendered type to create the personable logomark.

The final design works appropriately to connote the humanist ethos of the brand which is reinforced through the hand rendered logomark. The logotype is produced from a mono typeface that feels traditional without being a serif as we wanted to still create a contemporary feel to the brand, which is reflective of typewriter fonts playing further into the character of Mr. Potter. The design will engage the target audience while taking the initial connotation of danger and risk out of the nootropics marketplace to ensure the brand is fully adopted by the user.