What skills have you developed through this brief and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
I feel that during this brief I have really developed my illustrative skills. Before this, I had never experimented with creating characters or individuals through illustration. I have always found it quite difficult to draw figures, and have therefore steered clear of doing so. However, with the help of Jenna and through different forms of research, I was able to come up with something I was really happy with. I feel that the characters created for this brief were extremely effective and reflective of our theme. It allowed us to create a friendly and approachable tone of voice, as well as experiment with colour and shape. They became a main focal point of our products, allowing us to modernise our Scottish theme and create interaction within the composition.
As well as this, I feel that I have developed my crafting skills throughout this brief. This brief was very hands on, and the final products needed to be executed well. We spent a number of hours crafting our products after printing. It took a lot of time and patience cutting each individual template out neatly and precisely. We then had to secure each template and create the clear windows within the packaging. I felt that by having patience and not rushing things, we were able to create some really well finished products. This was necessary as we were designing for Marks and Spencer, a high end brand, and therefore needed a high quality finish.
What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
During this brief, we found that drawing down our ideas and getting them on paper was extremely beneficial. It's always quite tricky trying to explain an idea to someone without having any visuals. We therefore made sure we used plenty of sketches to develop our designs and concepts. From this, we felt that we should make mock ups of our products to test whether or not they were viable. If we hadn't done this, then we would have came across quite a few problems when it came to printing. Mock ups allowed us to physically work with our designs, changing them when certain issues arose. From this, we ended up changing formats, measurements and layout, leading to different and new design ideas.
We also spent a lot of time researching existing products, packaging and illustration. When collaborating, it can be quite tricky putting two different design styles together, therefore we needed to look at a way in which we could both work. This gave us a solid idea in terms of visuals and aesthetics, allowing us to work together, inputting and giving feedback along the way. This is an approach we took to design development throughout. We made sure that whilst designing, we were with each other at all times. This way, we could work on the packaging at the same time, 'mini-critting' each aspect as we did so. By doing this, we were able to bounce ideas off of each other, coming up with strong design ideas.
What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
1. I feel that our illustrative skills during this brief were particularly strong. We worked in a style that we usually wouldn't work with, developing our designs along the way. I am extremely happy that I experimented with character illustration and explored colours that I usually wouldn't work with. In the future, I will make sure to continue working outside of my comfort zone, so that my work doesn't always follow the same route.
2. The crafting of our products was particularly strong during this brief. I felt that we had the time and patience to create something of a high standard as it had to appeal to a particular target audience. I will continue to work to this quality of end product in the future, so that my outcomes look as neat and tidy as they possibly can.
3. I feel that a particular strength during this brief was our use of food within our photography. Although the photos didn't look as professional as hoped, I am glad we experimented with using real food and products during this process. It gave a context to the brief, and allowed us to show how it would work in a real environment.
What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?
1. Due to lack of experience, we struggled when it came to photographing our work. We were given advice on certain aspects, however we were quite unsure on settings, lighting and angles. I don't feel that our final images do our products justice but I still feel that they are a lot more professional than if we had simply taken them in our studio. In the future, I hope to be able to get help from a photography student, or perhaps allow them to take my photos for me so that I am able to use them for my website or my portfolio.
2. I feel that perhaps we should have included another interactive aspect to our picnic, and not simply just the packaging. This could have been in the form of a game or sayings cards. We could have perhaps pushed the theme so that it included something that really reflected the Scottish theme, which would have attracted customers by offering them an activity to undertake whilst on their picnic. In the future, we intend to push our concept as far as we can so that we get the most out of it.
3. Finally, I feel that our copywriting wasn't strong enough. Although everything related to our theme, this could have been pushed further. Our tag line for our box was quite weak, and this could have been something that really stood out to the customer.
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