Brand X process journal

brand x.

Brand X. little plant 4 weeks alice gunn

introduction to the brief Working initially in a team of three, a brand for a futuristic scenario is to be created. With a speculative exploration of domestic scenarios through the lens of the future, identify emerging trends and how these manifest as opportunities for a new brand and products.

With a clear definition of what this brand stands for, its target market, its look and feel, an individual product prototype is to be produced for the brand launch.

This is in the form of a pop-up shop or concession to be exhibited in the New Glasgow Society space.

synopsis As a group we developed a future fiction concerning the domestic situation of three generations living under one roof. Our range of products targets all family members residing in the living room, improving everyday life by providing little moments of privacy and peace.

My individual outcome is for the eldest of the household. With a love for nature and a desire for a moment of alone time, I created a drinking experience. With a shared water source, the human user is encouraged to sit with his plant; controlling the water flow and caring for them both. The drip bag hung on the wall is a visual cue to the rest of the family the remaining time the pair have to themselves.

discover what is a livingroom // 3 future predictions // domestic scenario

For this project, I was designated a domestic environment to focus on with two fellow team mates; our designated space was the livingroom. what is a livingroom?

The first act of this project was the exploration of what a livingroom was physically, and what it meant to different people within their homes. Our initial brainstorm highlighted associations such as relaxing, peace, family, time to one-self and warmth.

On this same day, we took a trip to IKEA and walked around the show rooms. This gave us an idea of what was in fashion as function and aesthetic in this particular domestic environment currently.

We were able to quickly identify trends; for example, indoor plants and the popularity of hiding belongings in storage units.

But this is today; what are the livingrooms of the future going to feature, how are they going to function and why?

VISIT TO IKEA//INITIAL RESEARCH

3 future predictions In the specification of outcomes for phase one, we were to generate three futuristic predictions.

We tackled this by individually exploring one and presenting to one another.

After discussing our predicted trends and statistics, there was one that stood out. We decided to continue with prediction 2.

Prediction 1 obesity epidemic reaches a scary level.

ecosystems are introduced into the home.

the craze for home-grown foods increases.

sensitivity to eco friendliness intensifies.

2000,000,000 people diagnosed as obese.

world wide health kick gets underway.

conditions for growth are easily implemented.

people farm fish and fruit in their livingroom.

life expectancy has continued to increase.

people expected to work until 70+.

more elderly people are living in the city.

50 inhabitants per km2 is exceeded.

health care and disease cures are on the increase.

the retirement age has continued to increase.

three generations are living under one roof.

denser living as city population increases.

people are more aware of our environment.

eco-friendly packaging and recycling is in.

people regularly re-house based on their needs.

house swapping networks are the fashion.

The ozone diminishment is a wake up call.

there is a clear reduction of wastage.

city to country life with belongings?

relocating home is cheap, easy and popular.

Prediction 2

Prediction 3

domestic scenario To proceed, we analysed the future’s effect on the living room. Would new activities, rituals or habits develop based on the changes of our world? These considerations would prove of use when the product generation stage was reached.

Our chosen future prediction helped us identify our audience for our brand. The three generations living under one roof; the child/children, adult(s) and grandparent(s) were perfect for the three of us to consider as our target market. We justify this by explaining that to ensure the living room remains a harmonious, relaxing environment, all occupants should be addressed equally.

define brand understanding // archetype wheel // brand DNA // pattern development

brand understanding To ensure that my understanding of a brand was sound, I read Marty Neumeier’s ‘The Brand Gap’. His statement“a brand is not what you say it is. It’s what they [the consumer] say it is.”

A brand is not a name, a logo or a product. It is not even all of these combined. The brand is a feeling derived from all of these designed components.

So what was the feeling we wanted to communicate through our brand?

How does this influence the look and feel of our products?

We created mood/semantics boards to ensure we were all envisioning a similar brand ‘feel’. This would help to ensure that our outcomes would appear as a family and strengthen the patterns within our brand.

SEMANTICS BOARD

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ruler archetype wheel Another way to approach the feeling of a brand is to study the archetype wheel. By identifying the character that our brand will play, we had a shared understanding of ‘the feeling’ through brands we are all familiar with. We identify as the care-giver.

We wrote out our brand DNA at this stage to refer to when we continued with the project. It acted as a brief for our designs to revolve around; to ensure we all kept the feeling in mind when creating any new aspect of our brand.

Future fiction and brand DNA In 2040, the retirement age will have risen to 76. More elderly people will remain living in the already overpopulated urban environments; and in some instances, three generations will be living under one roof. With a 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation sharing the same home, the family dynamics will be reminiscent of traditional social conditions. But modern artifacts and technology have made this a less harmonious environment than experienced in decades prior.

Instead of large families living in farm homes or equivalent, the small city flats pose issues when it comes to privacy and personal space. With less and less time available for relaxing due to extending work hours, family dynamics can become challenging.

We are a brand promoting the little things in life and their values to you and your family. We aim to provide little moments of stress relief and you-time to preserve harmony in your home.

pattern development The importance of ‘brand pattern’ is explained well by Method- an international experience design firm. This ‘pattern’ is used to build trust through the effective use of logos, names, colours, materials and products.

Our next stage of the project was the generation of our brand name. This came about in quite a backwards manner, as we came up with the first name idea and felt it fit. The term ‘little moments’ was used so regularly in the project so far, it was obvious to consider the wording for our brand name. To make sure this was the case and it wasn’t a fake eureka moment, I did a brainstorm with our name idea in the centre to check the associations were fitting.

After we were confident in the invisagement of our brand feeling, a physical similarity had to be confirmed. We decided on our material palette before our product idea generation to allow us to consider this factor. Pine [wholesome and warm] combined with ceramic [clean and honest] are both suitable and already apparent in the livingroom environment.

The next phase of pattern developing was the typeface that our name ‘little things’ would be written in. Using wordmark.it I was able to view the name in all of the fonts available on my computer.

I printed the font swatches out and marked possibilities. We were looking for something clean- a sans serif with a roundness to portray innocence and care. The chosen font is Avenir Light.

little things co.

Post name generation, font decision and material palette defining, the final player in our pattern is our logo. A wooden ball had the correct connotations for our brand; simple, honest, trustworthy, pleasant.

Above is our final logo design for the little things co.

develop persona development // little moments // product idea generation // development of product design

PHOTO SOURCED FROM HUMANS OF NEW YORK // BLOG

persona development My individual responsibility for the design of one launch product began in week three. However, this did not mean that the group dispersed. To ensure our products for ‘little things’ looked like a family, we worked closely through every stage from idea generation to prototyping.

To have a clear starting point, we developed a persona for the three user groups we determined earlier. We took responsibility for one each, and I began working with the 1st generation; the grandparent(s).

I began with an all round development of Melvin, my persona.

Melvin swears by Petroleum jelly for everything from broken skin to his Grandson’s squeaky bike wheels. Melvin decants it into the same jar he has had in his pocket for over 30 years now.

Melvin moved to the city six years ago when he took paid leave from his then job within a family business.

He now works in admin for a car mechanic store. Simultaneously to this recruitment change, Melvin moved into his daughters family home.

Melvin has been divorced for 20 years and won custody of his daughter.

Melvin has a permanently black thumb from an accident with a Ferguson tractor.

Melvin would rather not have iron creases on his clothes.

A song or a hum is usually coming out of Melvin’s mouth; if it isn’t, you know that something isn’t quite right with him.

Melvin insists on doing any DIY tasks required around the house.

He splits all of the domestic bills with his daughter.

melvin’s stresses and strains As I believed it would aid me in my idea generation, I also highlighted what stresses and strains are experienced by Melvin, day-to-day.

Melvin keeps his keys tied to his belt loop with a piece of string.

Melvin misses owning his own car and the freedom he felt when he drove.

Melvin has high blood pressure and minor circulation issues. He takes herbal medication that has been proven to help.

Melvin thinks the young managers at work are incompetent and gets red in the face when discussing them. However, his daughter thinks this is just an expression of his dissatisfaction with his city job.

Melvin really loves combine harvesters and has done from a very young age. He had dreams of being a self sufficient farmer living only with his wife.

little moments Whilst in constant communication with my team-mates, I began the design process of my ‘little things’ product. To do this, I generated a comprehensive list of little moments experienced in everyday life, central to the livingroom. breathing // tidying // dreaming // sleeping // eating // grooming // meditation // money // music // plants and flowers // artwork // tea and coffee // television // sitting // chores // conversations Additional elements I considered was whether this personal act could be beneficial to the shared space and/or a communication tool to the rest of the family.

Highlighted are the four little moments that I whittled the list down to. My final chosen direction was a combination of grooming and plants/flowers. These two held the most significance within Melvin’s life and I was interested in their position in a futuristic domestic environment.

As noted as a trend earlier, plantlife and exposure to nature will be harder to come by. Self preservation can also become difficult to fit into a day filled with a busy work schedule, chores and family time.

My aim was to create a product that encompassed and solved both of these issues apparent in our chosen future scenario. product idea generation From the beginning of this project, I was keen for my outcome to be a physical artifact. The idea of researching future technologies did not interest us, and the language of our chosen directions lent themselves to the production of objects. My personal direction derives from the appreciation of a plant as a physical being and I was keen to highlight this through my outcome.

I created some exploratory sketches of combining nature and self preservation.

chosen idea My chosen idea for my ‘little things’ launch product is a water drinking experience for the user to share with a plant. By tethering two vessels with piping and providing a shared water source, the user is encouraged to drink in the company of his plant. The hung drip bag supplies the water to both the human drinking cup and the plant pot equally, unless the user intervenes. This encourages careful care for the nature in the livingroom and provides the user a valuable role in the maintenance.

By default, the user is keeping themselves hydrated, and with regular exposure to nature, taking care of his mental health. development of product design I re-addressed the form of the vessels to give my outcome another level of meaning. What about encouraging conversation with the plant? This would allow my user to relieve himself of all his daily worries without having to have his ear talked off by family members in return. So how would the form of the vessels prompt this behaviour without being an extremely literal translation?

Dunne and Raby’s plant horn pictured on this page, is a tool to allow the user to communicate with the plants at the back of the garden; the plants that are usually neglected.

These are some initial sketches of conversational tools for talking to plants.

Prince Charles enjoys talking to his plants. The Royal admitted in a BBC documentary that many people considered him ‘loony’ before the modern environmental movement became ‘hip’.

“I happily talk to the plants and trees, and listen to them. I think it’s absolutely crucial,” I was struggling to come up with the form of the vessels and so I decided that the way to develop the design of this visual prompt was by sketching in 3D.

deliver final form // exhibition // booklet content // project reflection

final form Using Solo cups, I sketched forms that would be suitable for the speaking prompt.

I finalised the form of the vessels sketched below; one being the inversion of the other. Shaped similarly to a megaphone, the users cup has a smaller top and wider base, encouraging speech. Whereas the plant pot has a larger top and smaller base, suggesting the keeping of secrets and absorption of information.

FORM EXPLORATION // WORKSHOP

exhibition We displayed our objects suitably.

Below is a photo of our space along with a photo of our three outcomes in situ. We produced a booklet each to explain the products individually.

booklet content Nature is hard to come by in our urban environment, and we rarely make time for ourselves to just stop and rest.

This is the littlePlant; a device connecting you with your little piece of nature found in the livingroom.

The shared water source and tethered vessels encourages you to spend a little time watering your plant and caring for yourself. Sit with nature and have a little minute of escapism from your busy day. littleCare The visible health of the plant suggests to you and your family members how long it has been since your last little moment with your littlePlant.

littleTalk The form of the drinking vessel is to encourage you to talk to your littlePlant when you have a lot on your shoulders. It will listen but not argue and will help you vent, helping you stay happy and calm with your family members.

littleFact Stay connected with nature; regular exposure to plant life is wonderful for your mental health. In this stressful age we are living, even the smallest moment of quiet can help you cope with daily stresses and strains.

FINAL OUTCOME // MODEL PHOTO

project reflection Working with future fiction is exciting and this brief was the project I was most looking forward to this year. Thanks to Mil’s primary presentation and reading Neumeier, I am now confident in my understanding of what a brand is.

As the biggest project I have completed since my exchange in Philadelphia, I thoroughly enjoyed the making of my prototype; something I fell in love with over there. I am very happy with my final model- although not fully functioning, I did not imagine that I would be able to display a water tight drip bag made from a polypocket sealed with a lighter.

I did not have an elderly man at my disposal to photograph with my model, so my user in the images is not quite right.

The persona I created for this project was the most detailed one I have ever produced. This made my product idea generation simple and my process linear with no tangents. Achieving this has always been my biggest challenge.

I used to alter my direction as soon as I felt the project wasn’t going as well as hoped or if I hit a wall. Combined with my experience in Philadelphia, this project has shown me that this problem is in my past. I have developed as a designer and have learned how to deal with myself in this situation; to have confidence in my work and push it through the block.

Some things in the project came easier than others; we used each other a lot when it came to idea generating for the products, but the name and logo were decided very quickly without any debate.

Communication was tricky at times between us as a group, however, I believe that this is not surprising based on the nature of what we were discussing; a brand as a gut feeling.

In conclusion, I am extremely happy with our outcome of our future prediction and our family of objects. I thoroughly enjoyed project Brand X.