2nd Dreamweaver session

I found the 1st session really easy to get into and it's certainly benefited my concentration by having the session on a private study day. The 2nd session we went through some of the basics from last week and went from there. It was a bit more challenging this week with the html but I think I've coped reasonably well and my notes should help me when we go into the next session.

Mushy Pea Development

Since my crit on friday I went back to Waitrose to gain more research and understanding of other products, product placement and define my target audience. All of which have now become resolved, I hope. I've pushed forward a new design which I think ticks the right boxes for the criteria of the brief. I'm going to work a bit more on my logo and see what the tutors think in my tutorial tomorrow.

The Interim Critique

My interim critique wasn't the best as my idea looked too much like a copy of the Waitrose brand and I didn't have an image showing of where my product would be situated and no obvious target audience. I spent most of the morning really working on the type which shouldn't have been my main focus. In the critique I was hoping I had the opportunity to take everyone through my thoughts and ideas vocally but I felt shot down immediately which was justified but I'm now completely unsure of where to take my ideas and I don't feel I received much guidance on where to take my work.

Mushy Pea concept

Yesterday I found myself stuck with several ideas and just decided to go with one and develop it before it's too late. So I went for a design that I felt sticks to the brief the best suited the brief. I've gone for a design that is clean and should hopefully re-brand Mushy Peas successfully.

The product would be packaged in a sachet that would be refrigerated in the chiller next to the fish products in such supermarkets as Sainsbury's and Waitrose. The reason for its new placement is to reintroduce Mushy Peas unsavory reputation in the food market. Being a refrigerated product it probably won't last as long as something in a tin but the peas will be fresh and preserved in the packet. I was thinking the name "Original Mushy" could be a brand name that would have a range, like "Original Mushy Carrots".

Below is my initial idea of the look of the typography.

More New from Old

Looking at the various Brands and designs of Mushy Peas out there it's clear to me that Mushy Peas haven't been shown in the best light. I think the designs currently out there could compliment the actual product so much better. The images that are used on the packaging aren't appealing to the consumer. I feel that Mushy Peas could be given a real fresh, natural and perhaps local approach. I mean in the sense of how Dorset Cereals is branded and has become very successful. Sainsbury's Mushy Peas didn't seem to have their own Higher market brand of Mushy Peas and perhaps that's what I should aim for. To create a much more refreshing, natural and rich look, perhaps design a limited edition with a golden colour palette.

New From Old

My latest project is based around re-branding a food product from a list. I have chosen to re-brand Mushy Peas. I've developed several ideas but I need to select one and push it forward. The idea that I feel has the most scope is to make a Mushy Pea flavoured crisp that would be accompanied by a mint sauce or some other kind of sauce. I envisage the crisp to maybe be part of Pringles and contain a small section that would be within the Pringle tube and could be detached from the main part of the product. I'm unsure whether a flavoured crisp is too far fetched and not sticking to the basis of the brief.

After the tutorial thoughts were raised as how to push the idea forward, it was suggested to design a Fish shaped fritter/ crisp that could be dipped into a potato sauce and a separate fish sauce. The idea being to flip around the traditional concept of Fish and Chips with Mushy peas and making the Mushy Peas the key part thus creating a playful and fun snack/ meal. I think the idea could work but I'm worried that it's too much of a novelty and it might be a product that wouldn't sell.

I prefer the idea of building upon what Walkers have done with some of their crisps with which they have combined random flavours together to form a new crisp, such as: Chili and Chocolate but push it even further and find something even more obscure that could combine with Mushy Peas.

I still feel that I'm behind with this work and need to settle on one of my ideas and just push it otherwise I risk my final outcome not reaching its full potential.

HVW8

This is a link to HVW8 which is a Production House and has some really wicked work that always gives me inspiration!

http://www.hvw8.com

Business Identity

I was given a random name of a person for whom I had to create a set of Business Stationary. I landed Genghis Khan which I was thrilled about as I knew that researching this person would be really interesting and it had a lot of potential for a great set of Business stationary.
After extensive research into Genghis Khan it was apparent to me that I should either create stationary that would reflect his brutality and the presence the conquerer created or to design a set that would represent his efficience and overall power. I originally explored the 'brutality' option with a business card but soon found that my work was becoming cliched and obvious, so I moved onto a more contempory design that still had underlying messages of his notoriety, ambition and the typography subtly resembles the time of Khans existence. I have produced a Business Card, Compliment Slip and Letterhead whioch still needs more work to the layouts and typography which I will develop alongside my next brief.

1st Project 'Thank You'

The first project we were given was 'Thank You' where we were given the opportunity to thank a particular person in visual way. So instead of thanking a family member or friend I chose to thank my comedy hero Alan Partridge/ Steve Coogan which I thought would allow me to create a piece that would stand out from the others within my group. I felt that it could lead me to a very interesting final outcome. We only had a week to realise and produce our final outcome so it was a great brief to get me kick started into the new academic year and get me ticking over once again. Originally I chose to make my piece into a personal "Thank You" from me to Partridge himself, which after discussion before the final critique I decided to change and make a thank you which almost shows appreciation from other Partridge fans and a way in which everyone can share their recognition of the 'genius'. I was under a really short timeframe to change my idea before the critique so I came up with the idea of putting together a Bumper sticker design that contained a classic quote/ catchphrase from the series. The reason why I chose to use a bumper sticker design was that it represents a real passion, appreciation and a sense of pride for that particular subject. You often see football logos and other such related signs within cars that almost make a statement of that persons character and admiration for that particular subject. I chose to use the quote; "Back of the net" which at the time seemed a good idea, but after the feedback from the tutors and students it became apparent that it may be a quote that has too much of a football reference and the message could be lost and project the wrong meaning.

So now I will look at other ways I can show my appreciation to Partridge and push a concept that I might not necessarily be able to achieve due to resources and cost. I want to provide a really clever outcome that relates to Partridges' character and series.

This is one of the original concepts.

The Return to Uni

After months of inactivity I've returned to Visual communication for my second year. It's been a strange Summer which has flown by and now I'm looking forward to pushing myself and hopefully producing some wicked work. Over the Summer I was involved in the Larder exhibition at 60 Million Postcards which was running for roughly a week at the beginning of September. It was my first proper exhibition aside from shows at uni. I really enjoyed the whole process and was extremely pleased with the work I produced. It also allowed me to meet some other artists in the local area which was great. I will look to obtain the photos of the exhibition and post them shortly.

Below are the works I displayed in The Larder Exhibtion at 60 Million Postcards.

"Talking In My Ear"

"Drift"

"Life Restraint"