ILLUSTRATED CRITICAL
ELLIE
JOURNAL
GERRARD
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
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MARKET
RESEARCH
4
ARTIST
RESEARCH
6
BRANDing
/
CRITICAL
REFLECTION
IMAGE
LOGO
REFRENCES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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8
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introduction
Through the ages, fashion has always been a form of self-expression and identity. The aspects that influence personal style may be age, ethnicity and class, but through time the most influential has been gender and sexuality (Paoletti, 2015). Unisex fashion refers to clothing designed to be suitable for both sexes and to a style in which men and women look and dress in a similar way, wherein their sexuality is indistinguishable (Callan, 2008). For this project, I have decided to create my own brief. I will carry out this brief throughout the whole academic year, running through to my Final Major Project. I have chosen to set up my own business, as this is something I have wanted to accomplish for a while and after taking inspiration from my visual communication project last year, I have decided to create an online genderless streetwear company. I have decided to create this company after researching the market of gender neutral clothing, I believe there is a niche for this business as there is, “a shift away from gender stereotypes [which] is driving more and more [people] to seek out gender neutral products and it seems [people] are beginning to embrace this trend” (Mintel, 2017). There are currently no well-known genderless clothing business, other than gender neutral clothing lines within original stores that are launched alongside the men’s and women’s clothing lines. I would like to make gender neutral clothing a movement instead of a moment. As society becomes more adjusted to the idea that gender is far more fluid and that it can be expressed via clothing, the fashion industry has responded, and I want to use my creativity, business and marketing knowledge to respond to this movement. I believe in breaking into the unisex sector as the whole perception of sexual orientation is being challenged by the millennials. Fashion is evolving with society and I therefore want to be a part of this movement and put my own stamp on it.
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MARKET RESEARCH
launched gender neutral lines, such as River Island and Selfridges, were more successful, stood out, and were more interesting than others. Selfridges have made it their ‘Agender’ to create a unique genderless shopping experience across fashion, accessories and beauty with their ‘Agender’ collection.
Figure 1. Selfridges ‘Agender’
Research into some brands that have already
However, brands such as Zara, have launched less successful gender neutral clothing lines that are
Figure 2. H&M
boring and there isn’t much unique about it. After research into gender neutral clothing lines, it shows that the collections don’t need to be plain, boring and baggy to be gender-neutral, but it can be plain and simple and can be styled in different ways. An example
of a brand that has done this is H&M’s gender neutral line. H&M have images of models wearing the same items of clothing but styled in different ways, the woman is wearing her dungarees with a pair of heels and the man is wearing the dungarees wrapped around his waist and with a pair of trainers. Having images in store of models styling the clothes in different ways could widen the consumer market to more people from different ages, as you can style the clothes in a feminine or masculine way, or somewhere in between. These are all brands that have created a gender-neutral line within the already existing men’s and women’s line within their company.
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Further research into gender neutral clothing revealed there are very few unisex/gender neutral brands, with even fewer ready to wear clothing lines for the public. An example of a company that brands themselves as being gender neutral is Toogood London, created by Faye Toogood. Faye Toogood, a British interior designer, and her sister Erica, a fashion designer, started Toogood clothing more as a movement to redefine fashion than as a Figure 3. Toogood London
consumer brand, creating ‘unisex outwear’. Gender neutral brands such as 69, which is a provocative Los Angeles-based brand, defines itself as a “non-gender, non-demographic clothing line”, carries comfortable and cutting-edge unisex pieces. One DNA’s first ever collection is Figure 4. One DNA
sleek and sophisticated, inspired by travels to Iceland and are unisex and can be worn frontto-back. They are designed to be worn yearround by “all genders, ages and races.” (One DNA, 2018) Gender Free World is a relatively new UKbased label founded in 2015 based on ethical principles. The brand’s mission is to fit bodies in a way that high-street clothing cannot. It’s the “anti-one-size-fits-all” model. Their shirts are designed with “a gender-neutral sensibility
Figure 5. Gender Free World
to fit body shape. A looser cut with left over right buttoning and a hidden bust button to avoid gaping in the chest area.” (Gender Free World, 2018) Brands for gender neutral clothing are still part of a marginal market. Unfortunately, many of these brands are high-end and difficult to find.
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ARTIST RESEARCH
I wanted to include my own illustrations into my branding and designs for the company, so I decided to do some artist research. I can then express my own opinions of the artist and their work, what I did and didn’t like about the work, and if the presentation of it in context with the space and other pieces has any effect on it. I can then personally take from researching the artist and their work and what I plan on doing with it and whether it has influenced my practice.
and colour, her images capture beauty in a fun, contemporary and almost cartoonish way. The artist has added in flower illustrations which give a natural feel. Cabal’s style has a natural feel to it and her projects include people of all races, backgrounds and genders. Alex Cabal, whose work I was drawn to due to its alternative and contemporary look. I also found interesting that Cabal has drawn portraits, which is something I will be doing to display the products of the brand, and I would like to take into consideration the style and composition of the illustrations. What I will also take inspiration from Cabal’s illustrations is the incorporation of flowers and the contrasting colours that make the illustrations stand out.
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Figure 6. Alex Cabal
Alex Cabal’s illustrations bring personality
Jordan Best is an illustrator that mixes a range of comic book inspired styles with a fresh, urban twist, and produces caricatures. I loved his style of drawing, and I would love to take inspiration from this style in my own drawings to make. Figure 7. Jordan Best
feel to it, while the addition of watercolour gives her illustrations an organic look and her restrained use of colour sets the mood. She made the
Figure 8. Amber Day
Amber Day’s bold line work has a natural, sketched
decision to draw products how they’d look when laid out flat and it’s proven extremely popular with clients in fashion and beauty. Chrissy Lau’s compositions are quite fluid but she usually starts with a focal point and from there it’s an organic process as she adds line upon line building up the image and its textures. Dashes of colour are added digitally. Chrissy’s work is full of detailed patterns and intricate line work. The black line work is brought to life with a dash of colour. Her Chinese heritage inspires her, but there’s also a twist of surrealism and quirkiness. The black line work is brought to life with a dash of colour and this is Figure 9. Chrissy Lau
something I would like to incorporate within my own illustrations.
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BRANding
/ LOGO
The brand name HONI was decided, and a logo and corporate identity needed to be created. This then began by creating a brand story, brand personality and brand messaging to use throughout the sales materials and marketing efforts. Marty Neuemier says in The Brand Gap, “The need for good brand names originates with customers, and customers will always want convenient ways of identifying, remembering, discussing, and comparing brands. The right name can be a brand’s most valuable asset, driving differentiation and speeding acceptance�. HONI is short but sweet, and because of this it is memorable. A structured name seemed the best step forward as it is strong and consumers would have a more positive reaction to this. A 2010 University of Alberta study found that consumers have a more positive reaction to brands with repetitively structured names, such as Coca-Cola, Kit Kat, and Jelly Belly.
Figure 10. Brand name When choosing the brand name, it needed to consist of four factors in order for it to be a strong, memorable name. According to neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, how consumers feel about a brand has more pull than what they think about a brand. The first factor is that the name needs to be meaningful, the word HONI communicates the brand essence, conjures an image and creates a positive emotional connection. The brand name also needs to be distinctive, as if it is unique it will be more memorable and stand out from its competitors. The name also needs to be accessible, even though the name HONI is unique, people can easily interpret it, say it and spell it. The name HONI also should be future-proof so It can grow with the company and maintain relevance. It also needs to be able to adapt for different products and brand extensions in the future. Lastly, the name must be visual. HONI needs to be able to communicate through design, including icons, logos, and colours. When regarding the font, HONI needs to
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Baskerville Experiment shows font and its influence on our perception of truth. This study on how font affects trust found that the serif font Baskerville had a statistically significant impact on whether readers
Figure 11. Typography
come across as professional yet memorable. The
found a quote trustworthy or not. HONI will not have traditional font, yet it will be professional so that it will come across as memorable and trustworthy for the consumer. When deciding on the colour palette, HONI needs to have a strong colour scheme to make the brand memorable. One of the most famous colour theorists, Faber Birren, wrote about the link between colours and our emotional state, and HONI therefore should create a positive reaction when consumers look at the branding. The colour palette will consist of neutral base colours with the addition to occasional bold colour to give the colour scheme a pop of colour. As this is a gender-neutral brand, it is important to consider which colours create a positive reaction for both men and women. KISSmetrics found that women prefer soft colours while men prefer bright colours. Similarly, women prefer shades, colours mixed with white, while men prefer tints, colours mixed with black. HONI’s colour palette consists of both these preferences, to meet in the middle. It is also important for the HONI to be consistent with the colours for the branding. By using the same colours in all the business ventures, it will strengthen the brand’s association with those colours, and by extension strengthen brand awareness. What this all amounts to,
Figure 12. Colour palette
at least for branding, is that the branding colours should be chosen carefully as they’ll have a direct influence on HONI’s brand identity. Therefore, the foundation colours for the HONI brand will be yellow, white and black. Yellow portrays happiness and optimism, white gives the sense on clean, virtuous and healthy, and black give the appearance of powerful, sophisticated and edgy.
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CRITICAL REFLECTION On reflection, I am happy with the path that the branding is going down, and I have enjoyed going out of my comfort zone in drawing illustrations in a more abstract way than I would usually do. I wish I had had made more time to focus more on taking inspiration from the urban environment and using the structures that I took pictures of in my own work to incorporate into the products. This is something I would like to improve on and potentially work on further in my Final Major Project as this is an urban streetwear brand.
Whilst creating my business I will come up against many challenges. I think one of my biggest challenges will be cash flow and the costs and making the business profitable over the longer-term. Cash flow is essential to start a business and I am going to struggle to fund the costs of starting up my business whilst being a student. Having the personal risk makes that barrier seem a little higher Proper budgeting and planning are going to be critical to maintaining cash flow, but I am also going to have to apply for funding to help start the foundations of my business. I plan on doing this by applying to the ‘Business Growth Solution’ is a Leeds Beckett University scheme which provides up to £3,000 of funding per project. It will offer mentoring, workshops and coaching in order to launch and implement a growth strategy tailored to my business. Another challenge of mine is that as the founder of my start up, I’ll be expected to come up with new ideas consistently and when a competitor emerges, it will be my responsibility to come up with a response plan. I think this will be a challenge for me as I find it hard to make decisions, especially if they are important ones. As a new entrepreneur, I will be forced to make hundreds of decisions a day, from big, company-impacting decisions, to tiny ones that I have always personally struggled with. I also find getting a plan
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together quite tough as I am a perfectionist and I like things to go right the first time around.
Therefore, the challenge for me is to accept that decisions I make might go wrong but these mistakes will help me learn to make better decisions in the future. I have a constant challenge of thinking is the idea good enough? Is there a space for my business within the market – can it be made cost-effectively? Can give myself a steady pay check? Can I then build a career out of it? Therefore, the challenge for me is to be more confident and have courage within myself and my ideas, otherwise I will struggle to succeed “An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail” (Dr Edwin Land, 1982 p65).
For my Final Major Project, I will continue to work on my own brief to set up my own brand. On reflection, I have also found that I cannot possibly complete this business by myself, so I have started the process of asking for help from other creatives. My cousin has a master’s in Menswear and has shown interest in helping with the designing process and sourcing materials for production. I also have friends that have said they will design prints for garments and products, as they are on Illustration, Fashion Design and Graphic Design degrees. I think that reflecting on the fact that I am not strong in all skills needed in order to set up this company, will help in the long run and it is important to be able to work and collaborate with others.
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IMAGE REFRENCES
Figure 1. http://www.selfridges.com/DE/en/features/articles/selfridges-loves/selfridges-lovesagender Figure 2. https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2017/03/146721/hm-new-unisex-collection-spring-2017 Figure 3. https://www.hercampus.com/style/12-gender-neutral-clothing-brands-you-need-know- about Figure 4. https://www.hercampus.com/style/12-gender-neutral-clothing-brands-you-need-know- about Figure 5. https://www.hercampus.com/style/12-gender-neutral-clothing-brands-you-need-know- about Figure 6. https://www.illustrationweb.com/artists/AlexCabal/view Figure 7. Figure 8. https://www.illustrationweb.com/artists/JordanBest/view Figure 8. https://www.illustrationweb.com/artists/AmberDay/view Figure 9. https://www.illustrationweb.com/artists/ChrissyLau/view Figure 10. Own illustration of brand name Figure 11. Own typography for brand Figure 12. Own colour palette
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anon 12 Gender-Neutral Clothing Brands You Need to Know About [Internet]. Available from: <https://www.hercampus.com/style/12-gender-neutral-clothing-brands-you-needknow-about> [Accessed 14 December 2018]. Anon 69 Worldwide AW15 [Internet]. Available from: <https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/23708/1/69-worldwide-aw15> [Accessed 14 December 2018]. Anon About — One DNA — Gender-neutral Basics, Made in New York [Internet]. Available from: <https://onedna.earth/about/> [Accessed 14 December 2018]. Anon About GFW Clothing – GFW Clothing [Internet]. Available from: <https://www.genderfreeworld.com/pages/about-us> [Accessed 14 December 2018]. Anon (2018) H&M’s New Denim Line Is Entirely Unisex [Internet]. Available from: <https:// www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2017/03/146721/hm-new-unisex-collection-spring-2017> [Accessed 14 December 2018]. Anon (2019) How To Choose The Right Logo For Your Business [Internet]. Available from: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthaharrington/2017/01/31/how-to-choose-theright-logo-for-your-business/#2c84685ffe42> [Accessed 3 January 2019]. Anon (2018) SELFRIDGES LOVES: Agender | Selfridges Loves | Selfridges [Internet]. Available from: <http://www.selfridges.com/DE/en/features/articles/selfridges-loves/selfridges-lovesagender> [Accessed 3 January 2019]. Anon (2019) SS Campaign [Internet]. Available from: <https://www.riverisland.com/ ss-campaign> [Accessed 14 December 2018]. Anon The Team — FLAVNT STREETWEAR [Internet]. Available from: <https://www.flavnt. com/about/> [Accessed 14 November 2018]. Anon (2018) Zara joins the gender fluid movement with new unisex range [Internet]. Available from: <https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/news/zara-gender-fluid-agender-unisex-fashion-transgender-ruby-rose-a6917496.html> [Accessed 14 December 2018]. Callan, G. & Glover, C. (2008) The Thames & Hudson dictionary of fashion and fashion designers. London : Thames & Hudson, 2008. (World of art). London, Thames and Hudson.
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Curtis, D. (Director). (2017). Colour Theory: Series 4 [Video file]. No Coincidence Media. [Accessed 11 December 2018]. French, K. (2019) How to Choose the Perfect Brand Name in 4 Steps [Internet]. Available from: <https://www.columnfivemedia.com/how-to-choose-a-brand-name> [Accessed 3 January 2018]. Forbes (2019) How To Choose The Right Logo For Your Business [Internet]. Available from: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthaharrington/2017/01/31/how-to-choosethe-right-logo-for-your-business/#2c84685ffe42> [Accessed 3 January 2019]. Jin, B. & Cedrola, E. Fashion Branding and Communication. May, R. The courage to create Paoletti, J. (2015) Sex and Unisex: Fashion, Feminism, and the Sexual Revolution. Team, M. (2019) 1 in 5 US parents support gender neutral kidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; clothing [Internet]. Available from: <http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/retail-press-centre/us-parents-supportgender-neutral-kids-clothing> [Accessed 11 December 2018]. French, K. (2019) How to Choose the Perfect Brand Name in 4 Steps [Internet]. Available from: <https://www.columnfivemedia.com/how-to-choose-a-brand-name> [Accessed 3 January 2018]. Jin, B. & Cedrola, E. Fashion Branding and Communication. Ltd., T. (2018) Toogood | Unisex Outerwear [Internet]. Available from: <http://t-o-o-g-oo-d.com/#manifesto> [Accessed 14 December 2018].
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