VIVA VOCE Reflective Questions

How did the choices of projects you made, help you plan for the future?

Towards the end of the year I started using photography, which I originally felt reluctant about because I didn’t feel confident in it however I feel that the photography that I did enhanced my projects after I went back and improved them. I think I would like to buy a good camera and develop the skill more to use within future projects. I feel that the choice to not use animation or film has confirmed that I don’t plan to work with them any time soon as I feel as though my projects have been stronger this year from last year. The choices I made in SSP, creating a hypothetical Fairtrade, natural and organic brand to design for have made me consider whether there are more sustainable companies to work for.

I do plan to work within design in the future and I feel that the array of projects I have completed have encouraged me to keep open minded and have ensured that I don’t eliminate ways of working in which I don’t feel comfortable with my skill levels. After university I plan to continue practicing in areas of working which I feel less comfortable in.

Which piece of work or project best represents your ambition? Why?

I don’t feel that any one project best represents my ambition. I don’t have a specific ambition within design work. I know what I am less keen to aim or work for but at the moment I am still open to most areas of design work. If I had to pick, I feel that real world best represents some of my ambition because I worked really well in a group and I hope, at some point, to work in a friendly small graphic design company, similar to when I did work experience. Working with at least one more person can really develop and push ideas forward which helps to see things in different lights and take briefs even further.

Which is the most memorable, interesting idea in your work?

I feel that the contrast and juxtapositioning within my big idea piece made sure that I communicated eroticism in a different light and answered the brief. I really feel that this project has made me realise that this could be applied to many future briefs and has helped me to consider designing things in different non-typical ways.

I also feel that the texture photography that I did was interesting for my work, with the ink in milk and the lilies. I feel very pleased with the way the photography turned out and think they look strong and bold, memorable to me because they are also something that turned out well that I originally doubted.

Which is your most appropriate solution to a communication problem?

Real World was a good challenge, especially as it was a live brief, to finding one of the most appropriate solutions to a communication problem. Rhodri, at the time, didn’t have a huge amount of participants on his training problem so that was a large problem that we had to tackle.  We created an innovative and exciting campaign to raise awareness and increase participation in the Cynnal Cymru training programme. We designed an animation, a website, business cards and an infographic with a more fun feel to engage and hold people’s attention, developing on their more serious and minimal design. They also didn’t have specific way of communicating the training programme very much, which we completely changed.

Give an example of work formed or influenced by your research, by your dissertation topic, and/or contemporary culture.

Big Idea is most probably the project which was influenced the most by research and my dissertation topic. Obviously we had to do extensive research for this project to see how our word was already represented and so how we could show it differently. My dissertation was also influential as it was based around perception and how people perceive the same things differently, and whether the intended message can ever be 100% interpreted as it is intended to be. This is why I represented the most part of eroticism via writing as it is more personal. My piece is simply suggestive therefore it can be interpreted and imagined depending on how each individual perceives it, leaving it open for each person to read as erotically as their mind wishes.

Exhibition! (Excuse the creases)

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These are the calculations to work out how to put up my exhibition as perfectly as possible. I’m so glad that I went in on Thursday to start putting it up as setting a mock up took much longer than I predicted. On Friday I just had to put up my finals where I had marked them.

Final Exhibition:

Here is the final set up for my exhibition. For the show opening I think that I will fine tune it a bit by getting a few things re-printed to make it perfect. This photo isn’t that clear therefore it’s not the best representation.

Revisiting SSP

At the time I didn’t hugely blog about SSP as it didn’t go very well for me and I struggled to get into the project..however upon revisiting it I have made many improvements. I do feel a bit disappointed that I didn’t manage to mock up a pop up shop however I got the important completed.

I used a combination of imagery, of flowers and ink. The naturally formed shapes from both of these shoots I feel reflect the natural ethos’ from the brand.

Poster Series Work:

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For the posters I used a series of ink images and reflected them so each side was equal. I found that subtly incorporating ‘fff’ into the posters was a nice idea to create more of a brand identity. The reason for the three posters are partly down to the theme of three throughout the project but also because the mock up shop is I’m three different pages. I did have quite a few problems with the layout as there was quite a lot of writing even after cutting the text down which I found made the posters look too busy and untidy, especially on top of the hidden fff.

Booklet Work:

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I experimented a lot with the double page spreads but once I really experimented with the new inks and floral images, I began to get into it a lot more. I found that the photography made it a lot stronger than it was and suited the brand a lot more than the illustrations that I was originally experimenting with.

Upon revisiting this project I ended up linking the poster series photography with the front of the booklet to keep the branding flowing, which I think works a lot better than the black which didn’t match my visual style at all. The front cover however is the aspect that I am the most uncertain of.

Promo Code:

The promo code I decided would be best to use imagery that I had already used within the booklet, to tie it in with the style and to make it clear that it’s linked. I kept the back side simple as the front was very bright and dramatic however I still feel a little unsure on the promo code graphics as a whole, I just need to develop it a bit more.

Textures and Type:

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I have really enjoyed editing photos throughout this project and pushing the imagery further and further to create more striking imagery. I feel very happy with the colour scheme that I went for, including the neon yellow and pink for the text. I feel that the flowers compliment the ink nicely.

Overall I did struggle the most with this project but I think it was because I was being pushed towards a style that I wasn’t used to working with. However I am really please that I was pushed to try something new and it has made me more confident to.

Here are the outcomes:

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The other side (Big Idea)

The other side of my eroticism cards took three lots of photoshoots but I got there in the end and got some photos that I am really happy with as I captured some nice textures and shapes. Everything was printed on time for the exhibition for this piece however I expect that I will have to do some fine tuning for the opening of the show just to make it perfect. I really enjoy having a go at photography and manipulating the colours and have really gained a liking for vibrant design work.

Here is the work from my photoshoots:

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I’m pleased that I have used my own photography throughout a couple of my projects as it’s something that I didn’t really do, so I feel that I progressed in that sense. I also included some of the best photographs into my portfolio as I feel that they look beautiful as stand alone pieces.

I also got practice editing photographs, which we had a tutorial on in second year. Getting rid of imperfect marks and enhancing and adjusting the colours, all good practice towards using photoshop better as well.

Re-visiting Big Idea

After being back at uni for the first week I had a tutorial with Ray and Ian about re-visiting my projects and which project would be best to exhibit. I am confident that Real World is complete and I just need to show the research and development for it. The other four need work however I have all of the research and development for them up to date. We decided on which piece would work best for the exhibition and i’ve been working on it since. I don’t have as much work to do on the Big Idea project as some of the others, so I feel that it is the most achievable for the exhibition which is very lucky for me. I’ve been re-doing the front side of the Eroticism cards however I havent yet decided on the text which goes on the introductory card and im still slightly unsure of the visuals on it. For the other side of the cards I am focusing on the photography of it and am re-doing the photography for it on Monday. I feel like the project is doing well for time but I hope that it’s good enough for the exhibition.

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The true cost.

I found watching the True Cost incredibly beneficial to moulding the direction of my work and it really helped me to gain a broader range of knowledge. It was really eye opening and I have taken some really poignant sentences from the film which i’d like to integrate into my project. It has also helped me with ideas for visuals and in what style to portray my work, I really don’t want to use any guilt advertising techniques.

Further ethical research.

I really feel that by looking into these areas of the ethical side of the clothing trade it gives me a much clearer understanding and therefore gives me many more ideas for visuals, expanding upon my initial visual thoughts.

What they stand for.

After researching a variety of clothing brands which support similar aspects which I would like to campaign for I picked out some of the most affordable brands and the most likely to be aimed at people aged 18-30. I am undecided now as to whether I would like to advertise for a clothing company to physically ‘give back’ as well as be fair trade and organic/natural, as it could become a very expensive brand which is not quite what i’m going for as i’m aiming it at younger people, including students.

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Millionhands is a fairly small and fairly new brand which uses 100% organic cotton t-shirts, is Fair Wear Certified (sweatshop free) and Climate Neutral. The other newish and fairly small brand is Wasted Heroes which prints on 100% combed cotton t-shirts and screen prints using environmentally friendly water based inks. Both of these are quite small brands but they make the effort to be kind to the environment.

The other brands I included are Rapanui, People Tree and the Eco Edit of Asos as well as their Asos Africa.

These brands carry out a variety of positive actions such as:

1. Fair-trade principles using local craftsmanship
2. Clothing produced from organic or recycled materials in an ethically accredited, wind powered factory.
3. Low waste printing technology and incentivised material recovery.
4. Providing details and images right back to the people who pick the cotton in the fields, pictures inside the factory where the cotton is cut and sewn, plus the full journey from truck, to boat, to warehouse in the UK. You can even get this on your smartphone from the labels inside our clothes.
5. Free-posting old garments to receive in store credit for reuse and recycling.
6. Eco-friendly and sustainable fashion, accessories and beauty buys, sourced from across the globe.
7. 100% Fair Trade throughout the supply chain.
8. To support producer partners’ efforts towards economic independence and control over their environment and to challenge the power structures that undermine their rights to a livelihood.
9. To protect the environment and use natural resources sustainably throughout trading and to promote environmentally responsible initiatives to create new models to promote sustainability.
10. To supply customers with good quality products, with friendly and efficient service, and build awareness to empower customers and producers to participate in Fair Trade and environmentally sustainable solutions.
11. To provide a supportive environment to all stakeholders and promote dialogue and understanding between them.
12. To set an example to business and the government of a Fair Trade model of business based on partnership, people-centred values and sustainability.

These are some of the things that I definitely want to support in the campaign, to encourage and persuade people to buy from clothing brands like these!

I think I may just stick to these principles and make it very clear how buying and not buying these clothes affect people and the environment negatively and positively.

 

Areas of research

If I am to continue with this brief there are various areas which I need to consider researching to give me the broadest outlook on the project. I have also started to consider which aspects are going to be necessary to design. So far I have thought about designing some clothing (possibly four female tops), clothing labels, stickers (to be sent with the clothing) and a website. However I feel as though I may need another point of advertising perhaps?…

So my first areas of research are:

Environmental charities
Fashion brands that give back
Fashion brands which are eco and/or Fairtrade
Environmental Campaigns
Clothing websites
Clothing design (natural dyes, African/Indian pattern)

I have started by searching for fashion brands which encompass some of these factors and have found several which I will research into how they portray and advertise themselves:

Asos Eco Edit – An eco-friendly edit of sustainable fashion, accessories and beauty buys, sourced from across the globe. From the best of British and hand-crafted jewellery to upcycled vintage, these pieces are produced with a little extra love. Plus, don’t miss out on our fair-trade label ASOS Africa, made in partnership with SOKO in rural Kenya – it’s fashion that doesn’t cost the Earth. http://www.asos.com/Women/Eco-Brands/Cat/pgecategory.aspx?cid=10062
Asos Africa
Sevenly
Feed
Out of print
Ivory Ella
Elegantees
Love your Melon
Toms
Too Apparel
Rebuild Globally
Million Hands
Wasted Heroes

I think it will be really useful to see what they believe in and how they portray themselves and the visuals and design that they use, this should lead me in the right direction. I really admire how smaller brands such as Wasted Heroes care about making their clothing environmentally friendly and fair considering they are smaller.

 

 

Student Set Project

This is the final project of the year (which is mad) and i’ve decided to create my own brief or do a YCN brief if my brief isn’t good or broad enough.

When I looked around last years exhibition I took some photos because some of them really stood out to me! I feel that these have influenced me slightly because I found them inspirational.

So I have decided to do a natural, fair trade and charitable clothing brand and here is my initial draft brief:

Title
(Title not decided yet)

Topic
A clothing company which uses sustainable sources such as organic cotton and natural dyes, that do not affect the environment negatively or destructively. It will also be a fashion company which gives back, so each item bought will support the charity that it works alongside which helps with environmental preservation. Both fashion and environmental care interests me. I’m fairly conscientious in regards to the little things that I can do to help the environment. Using energy saving bulbs, turning off lights and appliances, having quick showers and shallow baths and recycling are some of the things that I contribute to daily. Therefore, I feel that combining two of my interests together would contribute positively to my portfolio and would be enjoyable to work with.

Project Aim  
The aim of this project is to advertise and make people aware of buying clothes which are ecologically and fairly sourced and manufactured. It aims to sell the companies clothes which in turn will help support the environmental charity.

Potential Audience
The potential audience would be between 18 and 35, to encourage younger generations to also buy clothing which contributes to good causes, making a difference to the future.

Personal Aims
Upon completing this work, I hope to gain a strong project which could potentially be used in my exhibition at the end of the year. Of course I hope to improve upon branding and advertising and aim to gain confidence in this area. Photography is something that I have little confidence in so I would really like to develop this skill and think that this project could be one that pushes it further.

This is my back-up brief from YCN:

Title
Feel Good Drinks

Topic
Nichols plc has recently purchased the Feel Good brand. Launched in 2001, Feel Good Drinks is a premium range of 100% natural still and sparkling drinks for adults sold in over 20,000 outlets across 15 different countries. The brand ethos is all about Feeling Good -100% Natural ingredients with no added nasties, giving 1 of your 5 a day with no added sugar. No added anything! Feel Good has been marketed in the past but only had Facebook activity since summer 2014. They want me to show them how they can spread the word about Feel Good and get more people feeling good. I am interested in this brief because i’d like to get more experience in advertising as it’s something that I feel that I am more likely to want to go into in the future. I also like that they are trying to engage people in a healthier drink option with natural ingredients, contributing to a healthier lifestyle.

Project Aim    
The aim of this project is to re-engage 18-35 year old females with the Feel Good brand and is very open minded as to how I go about doing it. They want me to spread Feel Goodness, driving awareness and inspiring people to engage with the brand and buy the product. They want to remind and reassure the target audience that Feel Good is relevant for them, that it’s simple and honest and that it delivers against their needs of wanting healthier cleaner drinks.It is a deliberately very open brief and I am free to demonstrate my creative thinking in any medium or combination of media I see fit. They are open to ideas for new campaigns such as press adds, PR, Packaging, social media, sampling, on-pack promotions, in-store engagement; concepts for grabbing people on the streets or fresh thoughts for how their bottles and packs look. They want me to think about the moments, formats and contexts in which we can most successfully engage with our target audience. How can they spread positivity and connect with this audience in fresh and memorable ways?

Range of refreshing good, honest, great tasting drinks:

• 750ml Sparkling fruit juice
• 275ml Still & Sparkling Fruit Juice
• 400ml Still Fruit Juice Drink

Available in Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys, Spar and cafes, parks, deli’s and restaurants across the country.

Potential Audience
The audience would be 18-35 yr old millennials.

• United by attitude rather than age, sex, money or geography
• Healthy but not obsessive eg. they go to the gym but they will enjoy that slice of cake
• Want quality at a fair price
• Lead busy lives and use technology to save time and communicate
• Sociable, Ambitious, Adventurous
• Must talk regularly to them, they care and can help
• Marketing savvy….. keep it real!
• They are socially conscious
• Work hard – play hard ethos
• When would they drink FG? At lunch in 275ml or 400ml format and then in the evening with their meal instead of alcohol (750ml larger bottle poured into glass)

Personal Aims
Upon completing this work, I hope to gain a strong project which could potentially be used in my exhibition at the end of the year. Of course I hope to improve upon branding and advertising and aim to gain confidence in this area. I would also aim to submit this work into the competition which would be as well as the D&AD competition I am entering.

I would really like to do the clothing brief however i’m a little worried that it will not be a big enough brief but this is something I can talk about in my tutorial today.