OUGD503 - SECRET 7" In a Day: Submission

OUGD503 - Studio Brief 1/Individual Practice - Secret 7"

Secret 7" In a Day: Submission

I really enjoyed taking a step back from the briefs Ive been working on for weeks and just taking a day to have some fun, experiment with different mediums and create some fun suggestive design. I think the final resolution is boldly suggestive in its concept yet refined and minimal in its aesthetic resulting in almost more ambiguity and allowing the viewer to interpret the image in different ways. There are subtle referenced to the song that are embedded within the concept and aesthetic however still appears vague and would work well for the concept of secret 7". 

Rationale: A playful reference to imaginary visions that are common fears of overthinking. Inspired by the breakups and lust of any relationship.

OUGD503 - SECRET 7" In a Day: Development - Concept 2

OUGD503 - Studio Brief 1/Individual Practice - Secret 7"

Secret 7" In a Day: Development - Concept 2

7PM

reverting back to the sexual narrative within the video I took inspiration from this intimate scene which felt far more neutral and less specific to the video itself. I wanted to play around with a style I find engaging using simple illustrations and iconography to articulate my concept. I took inspiration for the illustrations from the surrealist animation within the video which adds subtle contextual links to my chosen medium. 

8PM

Using the simple animation as inspiration I created an illustration of a leg and reflected it to connote a pair of open legs, the peach colour palette adds a humanist quality to the piece and makes it more intimately provocative. 

8:30PM 

For further subtle reference I took a section of fur from the monkey mask and placed it between the illustration creating a nice contrast between image and illustration, this fur worked well to initially depict the pubic area however on a more subtle level represents the monkey from the video. This resolution works far better than the first concept as it is suggestive and explicit while  simple and refined in its design. 

OUGD503 - SECRET 7" In a Day: Development - Concept 1

OUGD503 - Studio Brief 1/Individual Practice - Secret 7"

Secret 7" In a Day: Development - Concept 1



1PM 

Taking stills from the music video I started developing potential concepts that could inspire my concept. I liked the abstract ambiguity of paint falling over the blacked out silhouette which creates some great shapes and patterns within the mixture of colours contours of the body. To take the sexual narrative of the video and apply it to this still I generated the concept of buying a monkey mask as this is key iconography of the video and covering his mouth in similar paint to connote ambiguous referenced to oral sex. 

2PM 

Walked into town, Sourced Monkey mask from costume shop, already had paint at home 

3PM 

I took some high quality photographs with a DSLR camera against a white wall in my bedroom before lashing paint all around the mouth of the mask to create the desired affect.  These images looked really affective, I particularly liked the texture the paint gave the fur, making it appear matted. From this I then selected the most engaging image and began work photoshopping around the base of the mask to extend the fur over the body so that the image would look like an actual monkey. 

5pm 

I experimented with a range of brushes and filters which gave me opportunity to revisit photoshop tools that I have not used in a while as my practice has been developing towards text and illustration resolutions, so this was fun to get back onto photoshop and experiment with image manipulation. I adjusted the saturation to make the pain pop and added the provocative text 'taste me' to create a sense of intimacy between the viewer and the piece. 

I think this resolution is effective however too obvious, the monkey is a key feature within the video which may not work as well with the concept of secret 7" as it is designed to be a secret. I like the sexual concept however feel it needs to be developed more subtly through the resolution. 

OUGD503 - SECRET 7" In a Day: Research

OUGD503 - Studio Brief 1/Individual Practice - Secret 7"

Secret 7" In a Day: Research 

10AM

Having completed the requirements for the Responsive module, I also wanted to take part in the secret 7" competition as I found it really engaging last year offering a great deal of creative freedom as opposed to a lot of the other briefs I have been doing this year which require largely substantial resolutions. Due to my current workload with all the other modules I decided to restrict myself to creasing a resolution in just one day. I wanted to use this brief as a bit of downtime where I could just experiment and have fun with design as opposed to thinking too deeply into it. 

I was familiar with the organisation from entering the competition last year and did a high volume of research around music artwork, I read through this research again which refreshed my memory about the style and fiction of artwork. To get me thinking about album artwork critically I did a quick analysis of some of my favourite album releases of this year. 

Bring Me The Horizon - Thats the spirit

The enigmatic nature of the artwork create huge hype surrounding its launch with a singular image doing most of the albums pre-release marketing. The advertising campaign posted poster and stickers around major cities and later the band posted the same images to its social media accounts. The questionable nature of 'what does this mean' got the better of people creating a hype of people dying to know what it all meant. The image itself is extremely simple with a strong monochrome palette that complemented the simple illustrative nature of the piece.

The Japanese House - Clean  

The calming nature of this piece works well to represents the bands ambient acoustic sound. Working as a set from their single releases the band begins to form a defined aesthetic for itself using unsaturated film photography with minimal boarders and signature vertical typography. The link between their sound and aesthetic is creatively conscious and works well appealing to the target audience of the genre, which is important to them as they are an emerging band that need to build a solid fan base. An aesthetic that is comparative with the acoustic means the target audience may stumble upon the release by accident and listen to it based on its aesthetic similarity to their preferred musical genre. 

12PM

The next stage in my research project was to identify a track to produce artwork for, I gave all the tracks a listen and quickly narrowed it down to between the chvrches track and tame impala as Im participating in this brief mostly for fun and these tracks have the highest energy that will allow me to be spontaneously creative. Looking into the background of the tracks I found both to be fairly emerging artists, eventually taking it down to a coin flip that determined I would produce my resolution for Tame Impala - The Less I Know The Better.

12:30 PM

The first time watching the music video gave me a full range of inspiration. I was initially shocked by the sexual aesthetic of the video as this was not the initial reading I took from the audio was about a breakup, this still correlates to the video with a much more abstract playful narrative. I concluded I wanted to develop my concept around these sexual referenced within the video as they could result in a range of playfully engaging resolutions. I tried to research the meaning behind the song but there was little additional information. 

OUGD503 - YCN - Submission: Evaluation

OUGD503 - Studio Brief 1/Individual Practice 

Submission: Evaluation


I have fully engaged with this brief to create a substantial body of work that is reflected in the quality and concept behind the final resolution. Due to this being my first extended competition brief I have successfully raised the standard of my work particularly the articulation of the resolution to create a professionally engaging response that is contextually relevant to the brands ethos. The concept behind my proposal is focused on the sustainability and ethics of the brand. This informs the re-usable and bio-degradable materials within the products packaging and extends into a revitalised branding identity, that is concentrated throughout the brands DNA.  The raw minimal aesthetic will engage current customers and appeal to a new demographic whilst remaining true to its brand values, utilising high quality, sustainable materials complemented by contemporary detailing. 

The logo design is re-designed to create a dynamic new identity for the brand. The distorted logotype removes a sense of digital rigidity. This adds subtle  humanist detailing to evoke a stronger personal connection with its audience, whilst paying homage to the plantation workers with its organic unrefined aesthetic which works well to articulate the brands sustainable ethos while remaining dynamic and aesthetically pleasing to a contemporary relevant audience. This attention to detail cohesively flows through the brands DNA and seamlessly into its packaging identity. The iconic lids help bring the packaging to life with a playful bursts of colour that will grab the attention of the consumer.  This not only builds on the engaging  modular aesthetic but adds innovative functionality as retailers will associate the different blends with these colours, this not only adds to the theory behind the design decision but also makes the product more intuitive. As a result making them easily distinguishable at a glance in a busy retailing environment.  The identification of the colour palette through the products tasting notes generates a strong product link that creates seamless continuity across the extended packaging series. The Eco-Refill packs extend this aesthetic to distinguish an easily identifiable product range, that will appeal to retailers and consumers with a bold fresh aesthetic that equally considered and reflects the ethics of the brand.

The sustainability and ethics that the brand pride themselves on had to run succinctly through the DNA of the whole project to ensure it is relevant to my concept and attributes tp  the quality of the final resolution. This concept transcends beyond the surface aesthetic to ensure this new direction holistically represents the brands ethical and environmental values. From using square shaped tins to minimise wasted storage space to reusing these display tins, promoting sustainability and the creation of eco refill packs produced from bio-degradable bags. These refill packs reduce the overall packaging weight and materials making them more environmentally friendly to ship and lowers the overall production costs while still presenting the consumer with a high quality point of sale display tin that will ensure the brand sits pride of place on display which was identified as a crucial part of the brief by the client demonstrating my ability to take from a brief to directly inform the resolution.  

As with all good identity work it must be able to stand the test of time to ensure its feasibility over its lifespan. I have created a set of future proposals that will ensure the brand remains engaging to customers and relevant within the industry. The first being to develop the aesthetic over the products lifespan with high profile artists/designers creating limited edition wraps allowing the product to push into new demographics, reaching a larger audience and effectively raising the brands profile. The second being a Grand Cafe barista awards which is an extension into the development of product awareness, with customers voting on local establishments/baristas for recognition and awards. This will further engage retailers to communicate the brand with the customer asking them to vote,  providing a means to get the customer online to the UCC website where they can vote and discover more about the grand cafe range, this allows the experience of using Grand Cafe to elevate from an in store moment to physically getting the customer online, this can be developed with massive potential for education awareness or even add on sales. 

To articulate all this information to the board of YCN judges I created a photoshoot to take professional quality images of my resolution that would reflect the quality of the physical resolution. I produced two photoshoots one in a studio to focus on the quality of the design and the second in a local coffee shop to demonstrate how well the product works in context. These images elevated the quality of my promotion boards with succinct articulation of my full design process. The brief as a whole was challenging and extended my understanding of embedding a concept throughout the whole resolution and it shows in the final results, creating a contemporary identity and high quality packaging design that effectively represents the brand and will appeal to its target audience. 

OUGD503 - YCN - Submission: Impact Boards

OUGD503 - Studio Brief 1/Individual Practice 

Submission: Impact Boards

Although not directly practical the impact boards were a vital part of the brief as they needed to succinctly articulate my whole design process to the board of judges and convince them that this is the best possible resolution to the brief. I workshoped these boards in a responsive seminar where I looked previously successful entries to understand the tone of voice and the right type on information to display. I concluded from this that the first page needed to be high impact and present the final resolution to give an instant wow factor to the judges. I used one of the images of the resolution in context as it is a high impact shot that makes the resolution look glamorous shining in the light, this also instantly presents the judges with the assumption that the resolution fits well within its environment taking it from a studio based resolution to design with real life application. The typography is a mix of different styles, weights and faces to create a recycled miss match effect that is then liquified to create consistency with the resolution, This works well as feature text making it more engaging and pleasant to read. The actual statement is confident and suggests a professional resolution that could instantly be put into production. 

From this the next board transitions into studio shots as this is talking in more detail about the design, these studio shots provide more detailed focus on the actual design and the minimal grey background supports body copy legibility while ensuring the focus of the board is directed to the product photography. The second board introduces the resolutions concept talking about the sustainability of the brand and how this translates across the branding and packaging identity. 

The third board comments on the design and its function stating how the aesthetic also informs the products function with retail staff associating the blends with the coloured lids which will make them easier to identify within a busy retail environment. 

Sustainability is a main concept that runs throughout the resolution this board explains the detailed ways in which I have considered the sustainability and environment when designing the resolution from square tins to reduce wasted space, to recycled aluminium and eco refill packs to reduce packaging weight and production costs. 

Finally I talk about the future of the brand and where this resolution could lead to in the future. This leads to artist collaborations such as wraps by Hattie Stewart (pictured), I used hatties work as she is really contemporary adding a relevant on trend note to my resolution. I also talk about the potential for a grand cafe sponsored awards platform that would further encourage retailers to communicate the brand asking customers to vote for them and will get the customer online improving the consumer brand relationship. 

To finish the promo presentation I finished with a collage of the context photography to reinforce how the resolution will fit within industry and its environment as a high quality point of sale display. The photography will leave a lasting impression of how sophisticated the packaging looks in context and creates nice symmetry for the presentation beginning ending with context shots and discussing the design in the main body. 

The promotion boards successfully articulate my concept and highlight the main design features within the resolution, There is a strong confident tone of voice that feels contemporary and succinct that will hopefully impress the judges of the  YCN board. 

OUGD503 - YCN - Post Production: Photography Shoot - Context

OUGD503 - Studio Brief 1/Individual Practice 

Post Production: Photography Shoot - Context 

Asking tutors for feedback regarding the creation of my promotion boards, I showed them the product shots of my resolution, they agreed the shots would work really well in reflecting the tactile quality of the resolution however added that it would be nice to see the tins in context allowing the judges to see how the resolution would fit into its natural environment. I agreed with this advice and arranged with a local coffee shop to go in and shoot some images in context, the shop was really helpful and let me free to position the tins all over with no restriction which resulted in a number of great quality product shots in context, similarly to the studio shots there was a range of post production in photoshop to ensure the images created the highest impact but feel the results are great quality and show off the product perfectly in context. 

OUGD503 - YCN - Post Production: Photography Shoot

OUGD503 - Studio Brief 1/Individual Practice 

Post Production: Photography Shoot

When assembled the quality of the resolution shone through as a statement high quality piece of packaging design. Aware that I had to produce promotion boards for the YCN judging process I wanted to make sure these looked as professional as possible, I hired a photography studio in university so ensure the images reflected the quality of the physical product. 

The professional lighting elevated the quality of the images making them look and feel very professional, there were a number of marks on  the light table which needed to be photoshopped out, I also adjusted the levels of the image bringing the saturation up to ensure the coloured lids 'poped' and blended the background to a more neutral grey to ensure the full focus draws the eye to the product. 

Raw Image 

Photoshop Final 

The final photography is finished to a professional standard which reinforces the quality of the resolution, I am confident that these images will digitally reflect the physical resolution and will ensure my promotion boards start out during the judging. 

OUGD503 - YCN - Production: Print

OUGD503 - Studio Brief 1/Individual Practice 

Production: Print

I am confident with the development and resolution of the packaging identity which lead me to print the final designs. I printed the designs as stickers as this was the most industry standard resource available to me however am aware the in industry the graphics would be printed directly on the tins and bags respectively to reduce excess materials and ensure the production of the packaging is as sustainable as possible. A major benefit with the producing the resolution graphics as stickers was that there would be no problems with binding them to to the tins/bags as it is already adhesive whereas if I had to outsource adhesive to find the graphics there is more potential for inconsistency and irregularity within the resolution. Another great benefit of printing on adhesive paper is that it can be used in conjunction with the vinyl cutter accurately cut the design, again removing any potential of human error with a greater degree of accuracy than cutting by hand. I am happy with the production of the packaging graphics, the minimal aesthetic will work well applied to the raw packaging materials to create an engaging point of sale display that will grab the attention of the audience. 

OUGD503 - YCN - Extended Development: Refill Pack - Development

OUGD503 - Studio Brief 1/Individual Practice 

Extended Development: Refill Pack - Development

The initial label experiments varied in their tone from subtle minimal designs that played off white space to bolder designs that reinforce the brand identity with larger logo placements and more centralised impact. Asking a rage of students for feedback and found the minimal aesthetic was successful in creating a subtle balanced design that created continuity with the display tin and extended that brand DNA. However encountered problems due to the lack of available space translating the design from the wrap around label to the smaller front and back label. This less available space meant it was increasingly more difficult to create a minimal design that incorporated white space yet allowed the text to be function and be clearly legible. I initially tried placed the description on the reverse side of the label however this left no available space for the storage/ingredients and preparation instructions. Following this I placed the description on the front of the design that made room for the storage etc on the back however this took away from the minimal aesthetic and made the front label appear cluttered. 

Talking through these restrictions from tutors gave me a better sense of clarity differentiating the audience and functions of the different packaging. I identified that the display tin is aimed at third part consumers buying the coffee from the cafe, this therefore should educate the consumer about the brand using product descriptions and social media connectivity whereas the refill pack is targeted at the retailer who already know about the brand values and product descriptions etc therefore the is not essential information to be placed on the refill packaging. 

Taking tutors back to the initial designs their feedback varied from that of students saying they liked the use of the large logo to reinforce the brands identity which will be crucial in ensuring its success and adoption into the industry. I agreed with these suggestions of promoting the brand identity to ensure the brand awareness is elevated to both retailers and consumers. This design is nicely balanced creating a simple engaging aesthetic that is most importantly functional using the block fill of the colour accosted with the blend, a clear hierarchy of the logo blend and supporting text to clearly articulate the information.

With the front label design developed and finalised, I began to further develop the reverse label, through the problem solving with tutors I identified the blends description was not essential to be placed on the refill back as the retailers will already have prior knowledge of the different blends and can refer to the tins whereas the storage and preparation instructions was key information that needed to be clearly identified. 

For the reverse design I took the inspiration back to the initial tin label due to the higher volume of smaller text that would be much easier to read against a white background. This also created a clear sense of consistency across the product range that would allow users to instantly identify the products to come from the same brand family. I trailed a range of different layouts for the reverse label however found a bold 'eco refill pack' title to be the most effective clearly communicating the products function creating continuity using the same styling as the blend titles for added consistency. For the final design the same chunky margins were used from the front label design to seamlessly tradition from the front to the back of the packing. The main body copy delivers insight to the refill pack and offers storage instructions and ingredients which will be essential for the retailers to read and understand. The final section of the label features the website and telephone order numbers as well as the weight and recycling information which are also essential for the retailers. The reverse label is balanced and creates continuity with the front of the refill pack and further extends the brands DNA with its set aesthetic that will become iconic and identifiable to consumers and retailers. 

The final refill pack design works well in communicating the most relevant and essential information to the retailers whilst ensuring a strong visual aesthetic that is consistent with the display tin creating continuity across the product range. The label takes inspiration from the uniquely defined lids of the display tin to articulate said information whilst adding to and developing the brands strong visual aesthetic. This was then developed across the different bends adding the distinct colour palette that will work effectively in identifying the different blends at a glance. These colours are strong and complement the design well to create a succinct and strong aesthetic for the refill pack that fully flows across the packaging range. 

OUGD503 - YCN - Extended Development: Refill Pack - Research

OUGD503 - Studio Brief 1/Individual Practice 

Extended Development: Refill Pack - Research

I identified that the design strategy for my concept would come with a large production cost using expensive materials like aluminium tins, Through tutor discussion and self initiated problem solving realised it would be unfeasible to full implement this concept into a real life application, this resulted in further research to uncover the kenco refill packs that company their luxurious glass jars. This is a great way to reduce production costs and aids the environment using 97% less packing weight which makes would fit inline with the conscious efforts I have made to ensure my resolution fits the brands environmentally aware ethos. 

I decided paper bags would fit my aesthetic well as it connotes another raw material that will complement the brushed aluminium nature of tin and is easily recyclable, researching this online uncovered an online retailer that sold true bio bags which are foiled lined for freshness and 100% bio-degradable, I found these to be the best option as they fit with the brands environmental ethos and produce a visually pleasing finish that is similar to other high quality coffee packaging identified within my research. 

To create further continuity between the display tin and the refill pack I took the shape of the lid which will become an iconic due to the bold colours and organic shape to carry over to the label of the refill pack. This creates clear continuity establishing the display tin and refill pack as a set adding strength to the overall aesthetic and brand DNA. Measuring the label against that standard 500g bag I found a 90mm x 90mm label would be the most appropriate size as it is large enough to present all the information and sits nicely within the proportions of the bag. 

From this I started to create some initial label designs, due to the different shapes of the label from the tin to the bag it would require a understanding of the new brand guidelines to create a new label design that still has a similar look and feel to that of the tin ensuring extra continuity between the product range. Similarly to the display tin I opted for a toned down minimal aesthetic as this follows the prescribed DNA created through development thus far. Using a filled block colour will help to identify the blend similarly to the lid on the display tin it will also add an element of eye-catching colour to grab the attention of the user and break up the packaging material. 

OUGD503 - YCN - Extended Feedback

OUGD503 - Studio Brief 1/Individual Practice 

Extended Feedback

With a scheduled critique set in the level 5 calendar I focused questions around the label design as the other elements of the packaging design were completed and produced great results. I based this feedback on any final improvements to the label design as in proof feedback a number of minor issues arose. The first question I asked was if the text size of the body copy should be reduced as on a physical mock up the text appeared larger than on screen, it was suggested by the whole group that the body copy should be reduced comments included 'it looks bit too big' and 'if you reduce it marginally it will just give the design as a whole a lot more room to breathe. 

The second focuses question was more focused to any additional featured that could be suggested that I may have overlooked through the design process. Feedback was fairly positive with students commenting the design as a whole and the concept however suggestions were made towards the first section of the label which would act as the front. Some students felt this was too minimal and felt it was 'missing something' they suggested small illustrated icons however through discussion found this would be difficult to characterise the blends by a unique simple icon. 

Following the critique I reflected on this feedback reducing the boy copy from 10pt to 8pt this  resulted in more white space to balance the design and made it initially less harsh to look at as the previous design was very text heavy which was found to be un-engaging. The next design dilemma was to balance the front design without adding irrelevant detailing that would reduce the overall impact of the front design. I experimented with square statements of colour to further reference the colour of the blend however this didn't work effectively was was thus disregarded. 

Taking inspiration from other successful coffee brands I developed an intensity scale which would further educate the customer about the different blends particularly allowing new customers become familiar with the product range. The intensity rating states the strength of the blend which is an important feature allowing the user to identify the most appropriate one for them based on their personal tastes. 

This then altered the aesthetic of the front tab, The logo was placed central again reinforcing and promoting the new brand identity to the consumer. The blend name is then placed at the top to allow a smooth hierarchy and the intensity rating mirroring this at the bottom to create a well balanced aesthetic. Type development was also carried out making the blend title and logo target to create a bold statement that is clearly legible. The final label design is very well balanced with a host of the components alligning over the whole leaflet to ensure a seamless transition from one side to the next resulting in a consistent design that highlights the minimal modular aesthetic of the label design.