Snug by Design Live Brief



I've tackled my first brief as part of my portfolio production module, which was to design a logo for Snug by Design; a local business that sells handcrafted home accessories. The spec for this logo was 'white text on a pastel background'.

 

I chose to create a design which would be on course with the 'vintage shabby chic' trend and reflected the products on sale; vintage handmade home accessories.

 

I'm so happy that Michelle has chosen my design to represent her business! This is a great opportunity for my work to get out there as she'll be attending various fairs across the country with her products.

 

Keltie Cochrane - Live Brief

 

We've been asked to expand on our experience of work week and develop our Keltie Cochrane STI awareness campaigns into a final outcome as part of our Work Based Learning Module.

I decided to go ahead with a hard hitting answer to the brief, showing the audience the a worst case scenario that shocks them into getting tested.

This was inspired by an HIV poster campaign which I felt was extremely powerful when it came to the audience feeling an emotion:

 

Creating a seemingly normal scenario with an element that looks wrong and doesn't fit gives the audience something to think about which is something that I want to achieve.

 

 

I started my development by experimenting with different materials to see which would look most effective:

My original concept

Using paint in a soft colour

Adding a grunge effect using splats

Experimenting with a charcoal pencil

 

 

 

I really like the effect of the splats and decided to pursue a grunge effect

IKEA Placement - Week 8 / 9 / 10

I’m really excited about my latest request, which is to design some graphics for IKEAs new bulb and battery recycling machines, situated at the stores exit. They are currently placed against a wall which is out of the customers eyeline when leaving the store. I have to come up with a solution that draws attention to the machines and promotes what they do.
My initial ideas were to add floor graphics and possibly hang a trail of bulbs from the ceiling within the eye line of customers. I also want to add back lights to the machines so that they give off a glow, drawing attention.

Portfolio Production

We're now onto our final module of the year (scary stuff!) and it's time to start building a portfolio of work for final show. This is massively important as this is when I will get to showcase my work to potential employers.

During this module I will be producing final outcomes on a weekly basis which will be great industry practice although I think this will be challenging.

Here's my SWOT analysis for the module:
Strengths: I feel that I am good at designing for different clients which will benefit me when switching from one brief to the next.
Weaknesses: If I come up with an idea, I tend to put all my focus onto this. I will usually end up disliking the concept and starting again with little time left! I will need to be open minded from the beginning, exploring different routes and ensuring I am satisfied with the idea I chose to develop.
Opportunities: This module will give me the opportunity to develop industry style practice (quick, quality outcomes) as well as revisit last years work and improve on them using my developed skills and knowledge as a designer.
Threats: Working under pressure to meet deadlines, however I feel like this will be a great opportunity to challenge myself.

Inspiration - Conrad Roset

I found some beautiful illustrations by designer, Conrad Roset. On his website he states: Drawing has been a passion and a constant feature in my life. “I search the beauty the body exudes, I like drawing the female figure.”

Experience of Work Week

Today we had to have our final ideas ready to show to Richard and Laura from Keltie Cochrane.

At the beginning of the week we kick started our research by looking into gonorrhoea and syphilis, understanding the signs and symptoms and what these infections could lead to if untreated. We also had a quick look at previous sexual health advertising campaigns from the likes of durex, NHS and local councils. Nick from my group also collected together some information leaflets on chlamydia and C-Cards for young adults. From our research, we realised that a lot of these local campaigns were uninspiring and condescending, considering they were aimed at young adults and people our age (I know that me personally found them childlike). The bigger campaigns were a lot better but seemed to focus on the humour aspect which is a great way to tackle the taboo topic of STIs.

Our group got together and brainstormed some initial ideas. Nick (advertising student) showed us a great technique to bounce ideas which involved writing down 'truths' from the brief and our research and then narrowing these down to the most interesting, stemming further ideas from this. As a team we decided that we wanted to make and impact on the audience by including hard hitting truths about the STIs and the damage they can cause, we felt that this would be a great way to tackle the complacency issue.

We each developed our ideas and got together to chose the best one to take forward to present to Richard and decided to go for a social media ad - current, on trend and hits our target market. Here's what we came up with:

All of our ideas

 

It was great to get feedback from Richard and Laura, which gave me an insight into how their advertising agency works when generating ideas and developing work.

 

I've really enjoyed this week, its been refreshing to take part in group work and developing ideas as a team. It was great to also get to know some of the advertising techniques for generating ideas, something that I will definitely be using in the future. The most important thing this week has taught me is that every piece of work must have a strong concept behind it.

Inspiration - Linder Sterling

One of my tutors introduced me to the wonderful work of Linder Sterling today after discussing some initial ideas for our Keltie Cochrane brief. Linder Sterling is an experimental artist renowned for her crazy collages.

Her designs look slightly 80s porno with a sinister twist, but I love the grunge vibe. Sterling is most notable for her rebellious mass-media collages, combining naked torsos with everyday generic objects to create and obscene image.

Experience of Work Week

Well we're back at college after a lovely two week break and this week its experience of work week. This week will give us the chance to work together in groups and collaborate with advertising students, so I'm looking forward to picking up some new skills from this along the way.

We've been given a week long mini brief by local design agency, Keltie Cochrane. The brief is all about raising awareness about STIs (specifically gonorrhoea and syphilis) in the local area and encouraging people to get checked out. The deliverables is a poster campaign however we have free reign on any further ideas to support the campaign. Our target market is 18-25 year old women.

The real challenge this week will be completing this task without computers. Richard from Keltie Cochrane has specifically asked that we show our development and final ideas as scamps, back to basics with good old pencil and paper!


I've completed a SWOT analysis for the week ahead:
Strengths: I feel like I'm good at research so learning about STIs and previous campaigns will be my strength.
Weaknesses: My drawing skills are rubbish! I think I will find it difficult to present my ideas through sketches alone.
Opportunities: Working as a team will be a great opportunity to see how other creatives generate ideas. This task will also enable me to gain experience within the advertising process.
Threats: This project gives us one week, meaning only three college days to work together as a team. The time restrictions will encourage us to work at a faster pace and is great industry experience.