Wednesday, 14 January 2015

OUGD601 / Context of Practice - Heavenly Chocolate: Evaluation.

OUGD601. 
HEAVENLY CHOCOLATE. 
EVALUATION. 




















EVALUATION

Looking back at the project I feel that I have created something that directly synthesises with and represents visually, the conclusion that i came to in my extended piece of writing. After hearing comments from others on the aesthetics of the collection, I feel that it does well to entice 21st century consumers towards sustainability. This was the ultimate goal for the project, to draw in consumers purely based on everything about the product that wasn't its green nature. I feel that the aesthetics of the packaging does this very well.  With a combination of colour print and foiled details, the chocolate bar looks like nothing else on the shelf and can easily fit in with its non green counter parts, aesthetically becoming part of the norm. There were some issues in the final production stages with the chocolate packaging, as unfortunately the back panel seen with nutritional table is upside down, However, I do not feel that this hinders the design and it is easy to see what it should look like. However, If I had more time I would have reproduced and printed the packaging without error. 

I also feel that the Heavenly story on the back of the wrapper design has been one of the most successful parts of the project. It tells the sustainable story of Heavenly in the way perscribed in my extended writing conclusion. It is fun, light hearted, positive, self empowering and simple, it removes the doom and gloom of most sustainable marketing and instead promotes positivity. To take this further or develop this more, it would have been beneficial to see how I could play with colour and the existing pallet, to create something even more visually eye catching. The same goes for the promotional video which I feel it worked on further experimenting with both colour and more experience in the program, could be made more eye catching. The video could have also been improved and made even more eye catching with further and more knowledge of After effects, with differentiation and complexity of transitions for more variation. However I do feel that the video serves its purpose, to interest the 21st century consumer on one of their frequently visited platforms (social media), in a style attractive to them. 

The billboards are a further representation of the Heavenly brand using the method to communicate and advertise Heavenly just as other 'non green' brands are communicated. To further this section of advertising I would have like to consider how an interactive bilboard could have drawn more people not to Heavenlys green morals, but the brand as a whole. This is what Heavenly presents itself as, a brand that is desirable, delicious, joyful and good for the earth. A mistake made commonly by green brands is that they are marketed as just that, all other elements of the product and therefore brand are forgotten about. Again I think it could have been beneficial to play with colours to catch the attention of pedestrians and people in cars however, the colours chosen have a necessary and strong purpose, to be appetising and edible. This project has definately urged me to look more closely at design elements such as choice of type, layout and more so colour, and the psycology of colour and its affects. Not only has it taught me how far to look into each component of the brand, it has taught me to look at how many components can be used to communicate the brand from the product itself (chocolate) to packaging, printed advertising and video advertising.  

I intended to give a solution to the lack of attraction to sustainability for 21st century consumers as I am constantly trying to open up and increase my range of skills in relation to branding, which is where my interests lie. I now feel somewhat more experienced and ready to work on branding and from fulfilling this brief, feel that more so than ever I can help to produce a new standard of green branding and marketing to entice 21st century consumers and use my skills for the greater good. Although Im not necessarily a designer that works on projects 24/7 that others would deem ethical (I judge this by my own standard), I feel that I am more knowledgable, more so than others to welcome opportunities in the ethical design arena.  

OUGD601 / Context of Practice - Heavenly Chocolate: Design boards.

Saturday, 10 January 2015

OUGD601 / Context of Practice 3: Heavenly chocolate - Rationale.

OUGD601.
HEAVENLY CHOCOLATE. 
RATIONALE. 





OUGD601 / Context of Practice - Heavenly chocolate: Promotional video.

OUGD601. 
HEAVENLY CHOCOLATE. 
PROMOTIONAL VIDEO. 

Today with just under a week left until the deadline, I decided to go back and work with After effects to try and see if I could put the video together I had been hoping to. I already have the digital illustrations needed to create each of the frames and so it was mainly a case of planning out the frames and going to visit Mike Flowers to get help in learning how to do the consistent transition pattern that I would put on each of my frames. 

The video advertisement would be a platform of great benefits as it would reach a large range of people as discussed in eMarketer (2014), It would also provide an alternative place for viewers and consumers to experience the brand in a more interactive and exciting way. In my extended writing research I found that it was emphasised how important word of mouth marketing in which people choose to share things will each other based on personal opinion had become, in the crowd of competitors trying to win each other over in a battle of dazzling advertisements. 


I began to sketch up ideas of how I wanted each each slide to transition and tell the story, based upon the wrapper I had designed. I knew that in order to increase consumer interest I would have to cute the amount of words down on each slide thus making the video longer. However with a quick pace, and music I planned to add in the later stages (to increase interest and control pace of the video) I knew that I could word to keep the viewer/ consumer involved. 








I planned to keep the transitions simple in each video not only to keep viewers from being overwhelmed but also due to my lack of experience with the software. The general pattern I wanted to incorporate into the videos and discussed with mike, was to create a string of frames in which information on each slide would pop up one by one (represented in orderly numbers on my sketches) as if being read in time to the music.  


Mike firstly showed my the easiest way to set up my slides with the illustrations I had created in illustrator. He noted that everything I wanted to appear at a different time, needed to be on its on layer. Therefore I created 28 slide frameworks in illustrator, all with the different components that would arrive on screen at different times on different layers. 










I then went into importing them into After effects opening them as files and retaining the layers I have created in illustrator. Mike Helped me to set up a frame work in illustrator so that the slides I created were in the exact format needed for my After effects composition.



After I imported my frames they show up in my project tab ready for editing. 



After double clicking on whichever slide I want to work on, it comes up in the bottom menu, where I am able to edit the order and when each layer shows up on the frame. 




I am able to do this by looking at the names of the layers, which for each slide I have labelled with the order I want them to arrive in making the process easier. 


The time in which each separate component arrives on the slide can be determined by the grey bars seen below. Here I have stack them in an order and set up that allows the layers to flick up one after another in the order I desire. 


The order of each separate slide is then determined by another stacking of bars in the main composition tab in which the slides can be lengthened, shortened started and cut off anywhere in the composition. In order to know where this should be, I used the music as a template for the best times to change slide, by listening to the beat and rhythm. 



The video begins simply with the identifiable logo, which them zooms out to reveal a book titles the Heavenly story. An interesting and grabbing visual. 


The video instantly starts to the beat symbolising action and importance. The animation is pictured against a bright yellow background, a colour seen across the branding, radiating positivity. 


the rest of the illustrations/text for the slide are introduced on following beats in the music.




Although my experience with the program is limited, I also played around with the positioning tool as well to create some other interesting compositions in a bid to not lose consumer interest. 



Another element I played with you inject fun and excitement into the piece was pace, taking advantage when the music speeds up to speed up the pace of the video, as in the section below, which makes the video seem increasingly lighthearted, and almost chatty rather than over educational and patronising. 





The video finishes with the clear statement showing the way to find Heavenly media across social media. 


and skips to a frame identical to the first in order to come full circle. 



When looking for music to combine with the piece I wanted to avoid the depressing melodies found to be paired with most green causes, products, services and charities and instead totally oppose this precedent image and standard. I wanted to music to be inspiring and uplifting which would in affect motivate people to make change. Not stress and depress them coupled with a list of overwhelmingly long negative facts. The video needs to propose a new movement in which green advertising is produced through a positive lens, inspiriting viewers and providing them with the desire to make a difference. Thus by doing so, people will want to share this great EXPERIENCE. That in essence is what Heavenly aims to be, a great, inviting, inspiring, positive, fun, sustainable experience. 

Therefore In terms of music choice I came across a great track by Ghost Loft titled so high. The track has a very 'awakening sound' creating a musical vibe that something great is building up. The song is very self empowering, and also very calming via soft vocals and an electric guitar allowing there to be some seriousness to the video, but not so much that the viewer is put off.  





Adding music really helped me to figure out a pace for the video and when the best time was to switch slides and introduce content. I felt that adding music definitely made the video more interesting to watch, as it added another dimension and helped to carry the viewer through the slides.


FINISHED PRODUCT:

 

















  

Tuesday, 6 January 2015

OUGD601 / Context of Practice - Heavenly Chocolate: Advertising and promotion.

OUGD601. 
HEAVENLY CHOCOLATE. 
ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION. 

Today I began working on the advertising and promotional aspect of the designs. It is important that the advertising follows the same themes as the previous design pieces, with a focus on selling the product at hand for its qualities such as taste, texture and enjoyment, over the greeness of a brand. As discovered in research from my previous pieces and for the extended writing, marketing and advertising needs to be used as a tool to compete will its competitors to be the best overall, overall in terms of taste, enjoyment, sense of fulfillment from the product, texture etc over being green. 

Therefore I decided to do 3 different adveritisement designs, 2 in the scale of 12 sheet billboards and the other the size of a bus shelter/ portrait rotating billboard. This would allow the promotional items to be put in a wide range of areas and be seen by pedestrians, car drivers and bus passengers. 

I have based the designs for the billboards mainly on the Heavenly story and each promotional piece has a theme or purpose. I will draw upon all previous illustrations done for the Heavenly story and use these for consistency across the range, as well as using the same colour pallet. 

No.1 - Inform the consumer of the amazing taste of Heavenly. (Bus shelter)

No. 2 - Also inform of the great taste of Heavenly, but nods towards how great the nature of the product is. (12 Sheet billboard)

No.3 - Emphasise the ease of the Heavenly movement, but also nod towards how the product is so good, it is to be shared with everyone and used endlessley. 



No.1 

Text to be included on the poster:

-A little taste of Heaven. (play on words - fun and lighthearted)
- Silky smooth chocolately truffle enveloped in a layer of scrumptious melt in your mouth milk chocolate. (Emphasis on taste)  
- Social media. 

With the phrase a little taste of Heaven I imagined the chocolate bar up in the clouds, reiterating the same concept seen on the front of the chocolate bar surrounded by beams of light. 

I sketched up the idea for this billboard and then started to digitalise it in illustrator. Will a strong brand Image already established, I was able to take lots of inspiration from the pieces I had already completed in terms of colour, style, illustrations and typefaces. The pieces uses the exact same colour pallet and 3d illustrated chocolate effect in order to construct an appetising appearance seen throughout the brand. 



The whole idea of the piece was to make the chocolate look visually 'Heavenly'. The emphasis is put on the chocolate bar in the centre, whilst the rest of the piece is in support of this. The composition when finished, almost gives off the persona of magic, giving the illusion that not only is the chocolate Heavenly it is somewhat magical. 









No.2

Text to be included on the poster:

-Heavenly by name, Heavenly by taste, Heavenly by nature. (Taken from the Heavenly story)
- Social media. 


This poster takes a lot of visual influence from the previous poster as I want to encourage a strong brand visual and consistency, where the scale and shape of the billboards change. 

Again as the main feature and theme is the idea of the chocolate being heavenly it aroused the same style of visuals as the previous poster in a landscape format, with simple type conveying the message.







No.3

Text to be included on the poster:

-Spread the Joy (taken from the Heavenly story)
- Snap it, melt it, love it, buy it, gift it. Share the moment, share the movement. 
- Social media. 

The advertisement aims to expand on the heavenly story, sharing the sense of joy that one will receive from not only buying the chocolate for themselves but sharing the Heavenly chocolate brand with others, thus provoking a mass involvement of the involvement of a single person. However this is not the only theme of the advertisement, the advertisement gives the possible consumer the idea that with the purchase of Heavenly they will not just acquire a joyful moment in consuming the chocolate, they will also become part of something larger, a movement. Thus giving them a sense of self empowerment as spoken about in Obamas presedential campaign by Clendaniel (2013) and incorporated into the TOMS spread of TOMS ad video (2009).





Visually the advertisement aims so use the same layout as the previous poster with an emphasis on the visual of a gift, so that when consumers are purchasing Heavenly chocolate they feel that they are receiving something special, rather than sacrificing money that sustains green causes, as shown in earlier researched chocolate bars 'IQ chocolate' and 'Endangered species chocolate.' Heavenly works for the consumer, and for the world. 










BILLBOARD MOCK UPS IN CONTEXT.