EVALUATION - Harry Ramsdens

I had never worked within this sector of design, and had never completely rebranded an existing company; therefore this was an exciting process that I was unsure whether or not I was going to enjoy. It gave me the chance to work with packaging and illustration, however, which I feel I have learned a lot about in terms of how it can be used and applied to create high quality visuals, reflecting brand values, whilst targeting a specific customer base. I learnt during this process that a lot of brands are very inconsistent within their design, in terms of colour, type and imagery, and through research I was able to see how a brand could be made to be more successful. More contemporary branding was stripped back and minimal, with focus on intricate illustrations and restricted colour palettes on natural stocks, which helped inform my design.

I feel that overall I have created a consistent product range that is suitable and appropriate to the environment it is intended for, and it’s purpose, showing how the new identity would effectively work across a broad range of scales and formats that are relevant to the setting. Everything has been kept consistent on all final outcomes, including colour, print and type, vastly improving on the previous visuals that were conflicting and garish. The design now reflects the price range that the restaurant currently sits in, with a strong focus on heritage through the inclusion of facts, imagery and specific content, such as the date on the logo and inserts in the menus.

In terms of my strengths, I feel that I have become much more aware of how important primary research is, especially in terms of using it as a reference tool for my illustration, making my design work much more informed. It helped me create a connection to the brand and to create a much more focused understanding of the audience and the environment that you would find each visual in.

In terms of weaknesses, I feel that more care and consideration could have been taken into the crafting of the packaging. Whilst I am evidently not going to be an expert in this area, I wish I had taken more time to consider how everything was going to print and fit together. Unfortunately, some products were printed a number of times, wasting time and money, because of annoying things like pixilation and sizing issues. I also feel that it would have been much more appropriate to explore a range of different stocks to create a visual that didn’t show all the imperfections – for example an off white stock. This also would have offered a more natural canvas appropriate to my illustrations.