Evaluation

This module has been really exciting because I was designing under my focused areas of interest and it has helped me identify who I am as a designer. My chosen briefs lent themselves well to conceptual communication, as well as my interest in culture, language and humour. These areas in turn related directly to my dissertation and context book, and I enjoyed having these links which to tie my practice together.

My strengths within this module were identifying strong concepts for each brief. I have struggled in the past with making decisions in order to speed up the design process, but this time round I made faster and more informed decisions in regards to idea generation and concepts. This in turn gave more time to develop projects and push them into more successful outcomes.
It has been a real learning curve working towards a live brief, and because it was the ‘real thing’ I felt extremely motivated to produce quality work which clients would be happy with. Since my plans are to work at a design/advertising agency, this experience has been invaluable as I learnt a lot about dealing with clients and got a taste of what it is to design towards someone else’s ‘vision’.
I found the 7sins competition brief gave a similar motivation because it was for a competition and I think this is why Blueprint and 7sins are my stronger projects, which I enjoyed spending more time on. I feel I pushed the seven sins project well and I am glad that the packaging was developed further and into a more successful outcome than initial plans.
My concept for both the Unesco and Epson briefs were also strong however I think the overall outcome for Epson does not do the concept justice. Even though it communicates my message, the producion needs to be improved for a better finnish. Despite re-taking photos, adjusting angles as well as perspective details, I still feel that it is lacking clarity. If I had managed my time better perhaps a different bridge setting would have resulted in a clearer visual.

In light of this, my weakness in this module is photoshop and time management skills. Although I have used photoshop for all my artworks, and am happy with those outcomes, when a brief such as Epson relies heavily on potoshopped finishes I feel that the concept gets let down by the finish. In this respect I am looking forward to working in an agency because I feel that collaboration would mean that I can contribute my strenghts without being let down by this weakness.
Time management has also been my weakness because although I was working throughout, the feeling of the deadline being 'so far away' in the beginning meant that I let briefs drag longer than necessary. Although in the beginning half of the module Blueprint and 7sins had the bulk of the products finished, I was still tying final bits and pieces together in an amoungst doing the Unesco and Epson briefs. This said, my time management skills have improved in comparison to past modules and I have been more efficient this time round.

This module has helped me find clarity on who I am as a designer and it has also been exciting designing new work to contribute to my porfolio. The course on a whole has equipped me to feel prepared to move into industry and I look forward to new design challenges ahead.

UNESCO brief

Presentation boards







Products in context:



Posters

final poster:

The above works best with the black background holding the composition together through linking the black cups & background.




I've transferred the visual elements of the tea packaging onto the poster designs which have worked well. I am not going to incorporating the UNESCO logo in the posters because it is not in keeping with the artwork (nor is it a requisite of the brief). I have not used the original logo on the packaging either therefore feel it is not essential.

Below is the final set of packaging including final outer case.




On the back of each tea sachet I have placed background information regarding the relevant tea:










Here are the new package mock ups; I have enlarged one of the cup images and used the print twice over the packaging. I think this is better for more impact whilst still keeping the overall look clean.





I'm pleased with the set of packages, the colours and stock work effectively together however the outer packaging needs a bolder element. The tea sachets have a good finish so I'm going to leave these designs but am going to push the outer packaging further.

Experimenting with context:



















I think this more pastel range will work better with the outer package design too (see net above).



The printed version of these designs did not have a effect I was hoping for as I don't think the bright choice of colours work well. The stock choice is also inappropriate as the ink cracked and smudged as folding so I need to use a thinner, smoother stock for the tea bags and a thicker stock for the box. Out of the range, the pale yellow and pale blue looked the most successful therefore I have changed the colours to a pastel palette (above). I am happy with incorporating the images of the cups and think this element ties the range together nicely.







Placing the cups on the relevant tea packages have given a more interesting visual feel and I think allow more information about each culture, which ties in with the description on the back of the sachets. I've also implemented a brighter colour palette, which will hopefully bring in the 'colours of the rainbow' effect.

To introduce a visual element on the tea packages, I decided to incorporate the traditional tea cups used in each culture. Starting from the top left the cups apply to the following:
South America, India, Poland, Spain, Egypt, China, England, Kenya, Japan, Sri Lanka, South Africa. (see context blog for reference photos)


Having re considered the range of teas, I've chosen the below as my key focus. Although these don't cover every continent or culture I think they present a good enough mix to communicate a variety of cultures, and bringing together cultures within the packaging.

South America- Yerba Mate
India- Chai
Poland- Peppermint
Spain- Lemon Verbena
Egypt- Chamomile
China- Green
England- English breakfast
Kenya- Kenya tea
Japan- Sencha
Sri Lanka- Orange Pekoe
South Africa- Rooibos

I've chosen ten teas for the below mock ups, but some of them (such as oolong, jasmine and green tea) are all from China. I really need to show a range from different places in the world so am going to re-consider the range. I chose to use the below colours to represent tea cultures, but also as a visual to show that bringing together colours can create a beautiful effect, and the same applies to bringing together cultures. I'm going to keep the use of different colours although think it will be good to try darker & brighter tones. I also need to consider the use of type as it is the main visual at this point and I think bringing in another visual element will create a better effect. I like the idea of using common sayings on the tea packaging to subtly tie in the idea of 'bringing together cultures'.



I've decided to use the concept of packaging teas from around the world to bring together cultures. As we know tea culture is historically a very popular aspect of English life and because England is a country in which there are such a mix of cultures, I thought this would be a nice way of presenting an underlying message. Tea is very popular in English culture, but other cultures around the world have their own tea traditions too. I am going to choose a range of teas from different places in the world & different cultures, and make a set of packaging whereby one tea from each is packaged and together they may be bought as a set. This would allow people to try tea from other cultures and hopefully encourage social cohesion & dialogue.


This is the latest brief I've started... It is perfectly tied into my interest in cultural understanding within visual communication, connecting well with my design context research. The focus of this brief is exploring 'the rapprochement of cultures' - bringing together cultures. I have adapted it to my specifications, above.

SEE DESIGN SHEETS FOR DEVELOPMENT