YCN - Grand Cafe Coffee

RSA - Africa Pack & YCN - Grand Cafe Coffee Nicole H.D.W. Sinclair

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YCN & RSA Contents Initial Ideas Two Briefs of Interest RSA - Africa Pack YCN - Grand Cafe Re-brand

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P 7 - 15

P 16 - 26

YCN & RSA Chosen Project - YCN

Contents P 27 - 45

Chosen Brief Logo Ideas Secondary Research Logo Development Final Logo Packaging Ideas & Development Final Packaging Evaluation

P 27 P 28 - 29 P 30 - 32 P 33 - 39 P 40 P 41 - 43 P 44 P 45

Initial Ideas

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Initial Ideas

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Two Briefs of Interest What caught my interest?

YCN: Fedrigoni Fever Tree Royal Opera House Wrap - recycle UCC Coffee - Grand Cafe

RSA: Africa Pack Sustainably Clean Moving Pictures The Good Life Mind Your Money P6

In regard to the RSA briefs, I have decided to concentrate on working with the Africa Pack brief due to the social and environmental challenges it brings forward.

From the selection of YCN briefs I chose to look at UCC Coffee’s Grand Cafe. I have choice this brief due to its focus upon branding and identity, along with the creative freedom allowed within such. I plan on building up my knowledge around this area of design and therefore feel it will benefit my portfolio.

RSA - Africa Pack Contents The Brief Case Studies Areas To Research Current Conditions Issues Raised Bibliography

P 8 & 10 P 9 & 14 P 11 P 12 P 13 P 15

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The Brief Keywords: Frugal Design Ethical Sustainable Affordable Robust Accessibility Informative

The RSA is calling for creatives’ to produce a design solution which not only enables easier transportation, but also looks at aspects such as income and resources.

Using this information the creative will create a packaging design which both enables effective transportation while reducing the cost to both consumer and the environment. Further to this, it asks for thought to be taken upon how the user consumes such medication and getting the information on how to do so to them as clearly as possible.

The possible outcome possibilities range from a new product design, dispensing environment or distribution techniques.

Location:

Some key factors to consider when tackling this subject are as follows:

Sub-Saharan Africa

Hostile Environment - how to deal with combating the hot temperatures the products are exposed to.

Measurement - some people, especially those whom are poor are illiterate or cannot afford weighing scales - what can be done to incorporate an effective measuring strategy into the product.

Pack Design - enabling people to effectively understand instructions without reading knowledge.

Experience - How can we improve the waiting experience that people face in the crowded medical centres? Or how can we improve part of the journey along the way, especially the last mile?

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ColaLife Case Study My inspiration for taking on this project is that of the pre-existing story of “Cola Life� the re-imagination of packaging for anti-diarrhoea kits. Diarrhoea is a leading cause of death in under 5-year-olds in Africa, so this innovation in packaging literally helps to save lives. By considering the lack of medicine available and the amount of coca cola available the idea was born and it is through looking at this example that I have created my initial response to the brief.

My design inspired from this, is based on a similar triangular format, though in a straight tube format such as the famous Toblerone box. My idea was to rather only fill the tops of the cola crate, why not fill all gaps which appear within the crate and in theory my idea was to fill these with the said triangular tube.

However after reading the article describing their products success but yet how it still holds drawbacks, I decided maybe I should concentrate on this aspect more also. Their drawback was the cost, although the majority of women agreed it to be in-expensive, there were still a proportion who found themselves unable to afford the product. Due to the nature of the products aim it is imperative that it reaches as many homes as possible and so they re-designed the packaging as to enable local manufacturing at a cheaper cost. Further to this they found in practise only 8% of the pharmacies actually used the products shaped for the purpose of transportation which was intended.

I also came across their model for verifying that the product was genuine, as shown to the bottom right, the kit included a unique number which the user inputs into a text as to achieve verification. This is another major key factor as there is a prevalence of counterfeit medications due to the unmet demand and this can help avoid dangerous mixtures and/or dosages. http://www.colalife.org/2013/10/15/kit-yamoyo-packaging-looking-to-the-future/

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Brief Re-look Which are the key areas?

Environment - weather conditions and protection of product when in storage while in use.

Measurement and Dosage - aid to inform the consumer and heighten health.

Value and Re-use - what value does the packaging give to the product and how so in a low income environment. Multi-use product, re-use over recycle. Bring back and top up scheme could be used here?

Experience - Improving the patients waiting experience before purchase. This improved GP experience would help improve the locals knowledge of their medication also and therefore reduce under and overdose risks.

Low cost - Keep the cost to the user at a minimum while providing the best possible value. Look at local materials available and local products currently around.

Transportation - Between factories and pharmacies. How to transport the medication between long haul distances before dispensing.

Verification - to ensure medication is official and not counterfeit.

Reality Check - Consider water availability and unpredictable electricity and how these factor can limit the designs capabilities and/or reliance on either.

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Areas to Research Where do we start?

Identify an area of Africa to focus the ideas around and look into what services and materials they have available to them locally.

Look into already existing methods of measurement as alternatives to the conventional weighing scales.

Technology and its role in their everyday lives - what technology do they have commonplace?

Look at pre-existing examples of small robust packaging.

What is missing from their GP centres and what is currently in place there that could be changed?

Is there anything else they would benefit from in their everyday life which is currently too expensive?

What are their current modes of transportation to pharmacies?

How does water and electricity limitations affect the design and to what extent is it limited in the chosen area?

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Current Conditions Nigeria • Around 38% availability of medications.

• There is 4 times as many private sector doctors available to urban residents than rural residents.

• Only 10% of rural households are connected to electricity while in the urban areas it is 40%.

• Although the ministry of health provides essential drugs it is commonplace to see by the road vendors which exposes medicines to heat damage.

• Private railway and port and poorly maintained roads causing traffic fatalities.

Ethiopia • In the past has usually suffered from droughts every 10 years.

• Due to the large population and land mass is it has one of the highest GDP growth rates.

• One of the weakest health systems in the world though improving through implementation of 33,000 health extension workers in rural health centres.

• Only 10% of the rural population are within 2 km to an all-weather road. 76% of the population lives in rural areas. However Ethiopian Railways Corporation are implementing construction of a 5,000km railway network.

• Access to electricity is limited though government is looking into hydroelectric plants. By 2020 the power supply should by 5-fold.

• Government supplies majority of pharmaceutical products while only 20% is manufactured locally.

Rwanda • Nearly universal health coverage. Bridged the gap of1 voluntary health worker to every 1,000 patients in rural areas.

• Most if not all are insured. 10% is private insurance. Publicly insured patients have access to general medications and need to be referred to go to hospital.

• Fairly good road systems though lacks a railway system. This is a major challenge with Rwanda due to it being land-locked.

• Electricity here costs 3-4 times as much as neighbouring countries. Therefore the government is considering alternative energy sources.

• The Rwandan government greatly influences the pharmaceutical market. 95% of all drugs are imported.

• 70% of drugs are supplied through the public sector.

In comparison with India • Africa’s(in terms of the above areas) main differentiates are a higher poverty count, less transportation and a lack of electricity.

Source: https://s3.amazonaws.com/skipsolabs_rsa-student-design-awards/frontend/challenge/ material/Analysis%20%20background%20information%20%28RSA%29.pdf

Issues Raised Prescriptions and Self-Medication

Misc

Self-medication without adequate understanding of dosage is a major issue in Africa.

This is more prevalent where there is a lower income due to cost and time spent obtaining the medications. Another factor is illiteracy and their understanding of the instructions. This causes both unnecessary treatments and uncompleted treatments.

There is also the view that when they feel better there is no need to complete the prescription.

55 - 60% of households in urban and rural areas experience electricity blackouts everyday in Nigeria.

In the case of Largos slums there is a high majority whom don’t receive a dr’s prescription before purchasing antibiotics and is therefore usually sourced from illegitimate sources.

Most prescriptions for antibiotics given out are also not based on the patients symptoms and is based more then not, on the prevalence of disease at the time.

Solution Ideas • Can we encourage the sharing of information verbally through pictorial means?

• Peer to peer instructions.

• Verification of authenticity - Using Kit Yamoyo as an example here.

• Means to tell if a product has lost its effectiveness - possible strip on packaging fades as usability is affected?

• How to ensure the packaging doesn’t cause unnecessary waste? Enable the ability to incorporate it into their lives as something else.

• Create packaging which supports local communities and has after-use value.

Most don’t have Electricity due to the connection fee.

Boreholes are the most relied upon improved source of drinking water. Meanwhile (Other being highest majority up to 93%) an unprotected well/spring being used for urban areas and surface water such as a lake, for those in rural areas as the most used nonimproved source of water.

Average distance from a dwelling to a water source is 19 minutes.

Kerosene powered stoves are the most used across the board.

Radio and Cell Phones are the most accessible forms of ICT across the board.

According to: LSMS GHS-Panel - Nigeria 2012-2013

In Uganda 30% other facilities compared with 26% of government health facilities had electricity.

According to: LSMS Uganda 2011/2012 National Panel Survey.

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Case Study Life Guardian - Woolcool Key Points: Sustainable - sourced from 100% clean wool of which is unsuitable for use within the clothing industry.

Affordable - Cheaper then previously used methods across the globe.

Space - Provides more space for medication while using overall less space and producing less weight.

Self-Contained - doesn’t require temperature controlled vehicles.

Sourced from: http://www.packagingnews.co.uk/news/markets/ pharmaceutical-medical/woolcool-pack-04-01-2016

After 3 years of testing and development, Life Guardian boasts at being able to keep items cool at 2 - 8C, for 72 hours or longer (as seen in background poster in the left-hand side image) this meets the environmental temperatures well. This innovative invention aims to save lives by providing greater value pharmaceutical packaging and at a lower cost. Inspired by their original product used to store fresh food when being sent out in the mail, the core element is wool and ice-packs combined to insulate the contents.

How would this benefit the brief?

In terms of re-use, perhaps the ice blocks could be used as a source for fresh drinking water for the patients. Could the course wool be possibly re-used as a rough blanket or pillow? Or perhaps be reused to create shelter from the sun like a sunshade. However a major issue here would still remain with the sizing as in terms of the brief we are talking more so about individual packs and here this would need further adaptation.

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Bibliography Brief Analysis Background Information (RSA) http://www.colalife.org/2013/10/15/kit-yamoyo-packaging-looking-to-the-future/ http://www.packagingnews.co.uk/news/markets/time-for-a-dose-of-innovation-cover-featurepharmaceutical-30-05-2013 https://s3.amazonaws.com/skipsolabs_rsa-student-design-awards/frontend/challenge/material/ Analysis%20%20background%20information%20%28RSA%29.pdf LSMS GHS-Panel - Nigeria 2012-2013 LSMS Uganda 2011/2012 National Panel Survey. http://www.packagingnews.co.uk/news/markets/pharmaceutical-medical/woolcool-pack-04-01-2016 http://www.lifeguardianpackaging.com

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YCN - Grand Cafe Re-brand Contents Initial Ideas The Brief Current Design Case Studies Brand Ethics Bibliography

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P 17 P 18 P 19 P 20 - 24 P 25 P 26

Initial Ideas

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The Brief Keywords: Ethical Sustainable Feel Good Fresh Distinctive Accessible Expert

UCC Coffee is presenting a brief in which I am required to re-vitalise the branding for their product “Grand Cafe”. There is free reign to design and create concepts for all areas of the brand, in particular to keep focus on bringing the brand to the focal point of view and enable easy discussion.

Their current audience is typically unbranded coffee shops, café’s, bars and restaurants, with their product reaching over 10,000 customers and many more consumers. The main focus points of Grand Cafe is the ethical sustainability it provides and the fresh expert blends. This product provides its customers with a step up in the coffee industry, both economically and sustainably on a worldwide level.

Further to this the brand wants to brings a feel good attitude to the customer in a grounded down-to-earth but travelled and educated tone. The brand is simplistic is language and provides a solid distinctive taste.

Although the core-market is unbranded retailers, there is room to open this up further, though this audience needs to be retained and strengthened.

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Date Started:

21.04.15

Last Amendment:

21.04.15

Ricky Manani Design Ref No: Print Ref No: Clifton Packaging Group Ltd © 2015

WF4160

Format:

Illustrator CS6

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356

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368

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1795

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White

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NO. 2

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Film Spec:

Film Spec:

20 MATT OPP / 12 PET MET / 60PE Substrate:

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UC-GCT03

Black

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Operator Email: ricky@cliftonpackaging.co.uk Web: www.cliftonpackaging.com

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Unwind:

Version Ref:

v1-1

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Printing Spec:

Grand Cafe Traceable 385x310

Colour Breakdown: Colour Breakdown:

Design:

File Info:

UCC Coffee UK LTD

PRINT PRINT PRINT

Customer:

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Printer: Printer

Print Type:

Flexo Reverse Film Dimensions:

385.00 (mm) x 310.00 (mm) Barcode:

N/A

Eyemark Size:

Metalised

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Design Info:

Current Design

15mm x 5mm

Chronos

Plate Making:

WF4160

Design Ref:

120 lpi

Process Screens @:

Print Size:

Additional Notes:

385.00 (mm) x 310.00 (mm) Stepping:

• Calibrated proof required

1A / 2R

• 3 Designs side by side: Total 3A/2R

Print:

- Grand Cafe Slow Roasted - 1A/2R

Reverse Cylinder:

620mm

Spot Screens @:

85 lpi

• Full set of plates

Thickness:

45 thou

- Grand Cafe Sustainable - 1A/2R -Grand Cafe Traceable - 1A/2R

Microdots required on each impression

As seen here their current design is very simple, plain and is adhering to a green and white colour scheme. This colour scheme can also be mistaken for Asda’s own brand colours.

The main problem I see in their design is a lack of visual interest. In regards to the type I feel it has a friendly tone though childish, meanwhile the plain packaging is juxtaposed against it with a plain no frills display. The range doesn’t vary in appearance according to the change in taste either, which could add visual appeal.

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Case Study Kicking Horse Coffee

Winning 17 awards to date, Kicking Horse Coffee is a well established brand in Canada. Boasting of its natural and fair trade roots combined with the strong, bold graphics it has even beaten the likes of Starbucks for the number one spot of grocery “super premium category”. Strengthening the brand’s success is a prototype cafe created in 2008 and still running, based in Invermere. This cafe is surrounded by the graphic elements from the packs while immersing its customers in a top quality coffee experience and education. For each blend they provide a different symbol to identify with the flavour or region it was sourced. This brand is predominately aimed towards grocery purchase as to achieve the freshest of coffee, however the brand does welcome and encourage commercial sale. Their website has a friendly down to earth feel, using a bold textures background in combination with bright imagery and hand-crafted style graphics.

A key aspect to the brand is the highlight on fair trade and its effects. They are very people focused and strive to promote such from the farmers, to the communities involved right down to the health of the consumer. This shows their serious commitment to the customer and the brands ethical values.

Target Market: Late 20’s upwards - middle class - looking for a rich experience made available for home use. Wanting something sustainable and ethical but with a sense of fun and adventure.

Case Study Starbucks Starting in 1971 Seattle as a small shop, Starbucks has gone from strength to strength over the years.

Now in more then 17,000 locations across the world Starbucks is primarily a retailer and provides their coffee to other stores in the form of Franchise or License.

Although predominantly a franchise, Starbucks in recent years has made their coffee beans available to purchase through supermarkets. This opens their market up so that no longer is it through takeaway convenience but now available to enjoy in the comfort of your own home. This creates further reach and opens their product up to a wider market. Their design is instantly recognisable due to the ubiquity of the brand and their bold logo. The logo earns its routes from tales of the sea in the form of a Siren.

Although traditionally a symbol of threat, Starbucks have reinvented the siren as a symbol of fairness and equality due to their products properties.

Their most recent re-brand clearly shows the icon in its purest form which is at the heart of everything they do. The use of Green as their colour helps to establish a feeling of fresh, down to earth produce which does good. Their coffee bean packaging is very different from their retail paper cups. Whereas their cups are plain with just the logo to embellish it, the beans packaging has subtle upmarket decorative features added to heighten the products standard against others on the shelf whilst retaining its accessible tone through the plain background and bold logo.

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Case Study Grumpy Mule

Grumpy Mule is a brand which in May 2015 has had an overhaul on its visual identity. The ethics and quality is the same but with a bigger punch in regards to the visual appeal. The company asked their customers what they thought of Grumpy Mule as a brand(old branding seen upper left), to which they responded with “suggesting disgruntlement to average coffee”. Less concerned with promoting the ethics as much as the tone of the brand, this created the brief which designers Manifest Communicators Ltd tackled and delivered.

Asked to get the branding to “live up to the name”and generate a fun, disgruntled but whole hearted approach they delivered the above(upper middle and right). In comparison to the old branding visuals you can see how the update has revitalised the brand, especially in terms of the beans packaging. Once stuck to mainly oranges the packs are now bright, bold and fierce with a worn looking typeface to match. The iconography of the logo is bold and energetic create a vibrant energy for the company. The aims here were to keep the brand fresh and up to date while enabling the products to comfortably sit in a variety of settings.

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Case Study Tiny Footprint Coffee

Tiny Footprint Coffee is an excellent example of a brand not too dissimilar to that of Grand Cafe Coffee. Dedicated to providing ethical and sustainable coffee at a high quality their branding takes place in way of clean, clear type combined with a natural colour scheme and geometric logo.

Seemingly selling through wholesale alone, with maybe the exception of one off online buys, the product appeals to companies wishing to be green in their efforts.

They take the sustainability to a further level in selling re-usable eco-friendly filters as well as allowing compostable packaging while recycling the used grounds.

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Case Study Equal Exchange

Equal Exchange is a fair-trade movement which has been in place since 1986. As a worker owned organisation they are dedicated to producing coffee which values its workers while being sustainable to the environment.

Providing a range of coffee, tea and food goods for individual purchase or wholesale they have a range to offer a cafe. Their standard coffee visual identity is strong and empowered through modernist geometric design and bright colours. The Swiss style layout to the packaging creates a feel of community uprising, encouraging a sense of community togetherness through striving for equality.

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Although the brand which own this coffee product is the same, as can be seen through the use of the logo, the feeling is very different. Rather then being bold and forefront, they have taken a delicate approach to this packaging design. Made for Percolator coffee machines, this product is aimed towards small groups and/or individuals to enjoy. Due to the quieter setting this is reflected in the packaging through a toned down colour scheme and hand drawn elements. The hand-drawn elements add a home-made feel to the product while the organic form of the typeface welcomes the customer as if they are a best friend.

Research Grand Cafe Ethics

Rainforest Alliance To ensure biodiversity in the rainforest is preserved through sustainable farming methods. Also ensuring sustainable livelihoods for the workers involved, through business practises and consumer behaviour.

Soil Association Aims to improve the condition of the earth’s soil around the world through organic farming methods.

Fairtrade Fairtrade is about supporting the living and working conditions for the workers who produce your food. The symbol means the workers meet the required social economic and environmental standards put in place.

This ensures the workers, community and environment all benefit.

Triple Certified Coffee This means the coffee is organic and shade-grown while providing fair trade to those employed.

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Bibliography http://www.theukfashionspot.co.uk/life/392139-is-your-coffee-eco-friendly/ https://www.kickinghorsecoffee.com/en/media/presskit http://globalassets.starbucks.com/assets/F62C45CD8A8B4699BEFC60A2618F0431.pdf http://www.starbucks.co.uk/blog/archive/brand http://manifestcomms.co.uk/our-work/grumpy-mule/ http://foodservice.grumpymule.co.uk http://www.tuco.org/news/item/something-grumpy-this-way-comes-grumpy-mule-unveiled-rebrand-atlondon-coffee-festival-2015 http://www.tinyfootprintcoffee.com http://shop.equalexchange.coop http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/work/agriculture/coffee

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Chosen Brief Grand Cafe Why did you choose this brief?

YCN: Grand Cafe RSA: Africa Pack

Due to the previously mentioned motivations for working with the Grand Cafe brief, this shall be the one to which I will produce design outcomes. I feel due to my lack of knowledge around different packaging materials, this may weaken any designs I create for the Africa Pack, while further limiting my array of ideas. However although that is the case I am aware that these sort of issues I will need to learn about more and more. I have chosen Grand Cafe as to boost my portfolio in way of branding design, as opposed to taking the more technical packaging design route.

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Logo Ideas

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Logo Ideas When starting my re-design of the brand, what I felt needed particular attention was the logo.

I felt the logo as it was, was too disconnected from the brand name, although connecting well with the ethos and roots of the brand. I wanted to keep the source of the brand’s produce at the heart of my ideas and work around this to create either a typographic based or iconographic logo.

As a starting point I began working on their current logo and considering how it may be altered and developed upon to bring a greater sense of knowledge and respect to the brand.

I considered the brand’s sense of personality and how this could be presented within a cafe and restaurant through its identity.

As shown at either side of this text, I considered the geographical roots of the produce and how this could be incorporated. I felt this didn’t quite work, apart from one instance shown left. Though this logo seemed familiar to me, though I couldn’t work out why and so I decided to expanded my ideas around the alternatives further.

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Secondary Research Moodboard

Secondary Research Moodboard

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Secondary Research Moodboard

Development Logos

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Development Logos

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Development Logos

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Development Logos

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As seen on the previous pages, I started to work at incorporating the initials of the brand, GC and use these as the main shaping of the logo. Inside this I would present the coffee bean, which would represent their company and produce clearly and simply. I was greatly inspired by studying the Fairtrade logo(as seen to the bottom left). At first I saw a road with a setting sun within their logo, though on further consideration I noticed it could be interpreted as a waving person. This multiple interpretation within the logo I felt was a really important technique which could work for Grand Cafe. Therefore I have decided to incorporate holding hands into the positive space of the coffee bean.

Development Logos

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Development Logos

After presenting my previous logo variations to my tutors, I was recommended to try stay away from the generic coffee bean association as a basis for the logo. It was also mentioned how hands could be generic as a symbol, so i took to taking my logo ideas in a different direction as to see how this would compare to those created earlier. I looked at a selection of sans serif fonts and chose those shown above to experiment with their form in presenting the full name to the brand. I used these tests as a guide to choose the typeface most suitable for manipulating into a pictogram which would present the brand as a forward thinking, friendly and accessible company. I aimed to incorporate either the holding hands, sprouting coffee bean or cafeteria coffee dispenser within the logo to bring across the brand’s product category, however I felt using the typeface I had chosen was perhaps a bad move, as the designs appeared clunky and industrial. I proceeded in trying to soften the design to create a greater sense of human connection with the brand, though felt my prior designs were of a higher standard. I decided not to take these designs further and moved back to the designs shown earlier.

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Development Logos

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Final Design Logos As mentioned previously, I took an earlier design to proceed with in developing as the final logo design. This was in part due to a considerable amount of time having been spent upon the logo alone within the project and therefore the logo needed to be pushed forward to begin with the packaging design. I did however develop it a touch more as to give a professional finish to the piece. When speaking to my tutors it had been mentioned that there may have been a way to simplify the design and in turn create a stronger image. In particular my tutor Nick was concerned with the beans/ holding hands in this respect.

I agreed that I had over-complicated the design and therefore took the advice to simply the design. I took my idea of the holding hands and enlarged the gap between each hand to create a clear definition between either side. I also removed the “C� shape and created a subtle suggestion at the full title through the use of the negative space between the bean and the letter G. To make this suggestion a little clearer I experimented with ways to use terminals as a way to manipulate the counter space to create the c, though found it best to keep this restricted to the one terminal within the g. When placing the logo design upon the initial packaging design, I felt it needed a little polish in terms of its sharp edges as it presented itself as a tough, robust machine cut letter. In order to retain the human friendly design I curved the corners slightly to create a smooth finish.

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Sketches Packaging I had one design planned in mind for my packaging, inspired from my research shown previously. However I decided to create a quick series of sketches displaying how I could present my idea and variations upon it. As part of this I created a very rough sketch of the various countries Grand cafe source from as possibly icons to include within the design. Though if I were to include these, I would create a much cleaner, more defined drawing.

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Development Packaging I decided that the best way to represent the different countries in a way which could relate to any of the ones mentioned as the brand’s source of produce was to create a landscape scene based upon varying images of coffee plantations in the countries mentioned.

A common theme between these was the way the coffee plants were planted in terms of positioning and some common elements in terms of landscape were that of mountainous backdrops and tropical surrounding plants.

In addition to these themes I incorporated a stream and juxtaposed a coffee bush within the foreground as to create an interesting contrast.

I decided to create the illustration which would serve as the main interest grabber upon the pack as a lino print. I felt this was a good way to take to design as it would produce a organic and hand-crafted feel which reflects that of the brand’s ethos towards fairtrade and supporting the natural rainforest.

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Development Packaging The image shown right is of some packaging that is use within my universities cafeteria and I have found the design printed on it to be inspiring for this project, I found it inspiring in terms of the way it “almost” marks where different recipes have originated from. It wasn’t until the late stages of the project that this connection occurred to me.

In terms of my own design, once the lino prints had dried I scanned these into the computer to convert into a live trace within illustrator.

I looked at how it appeared as a grey-scale trace compared to the black and white version and found the plain black solids to be more effective in terms of producing a clear but unobtrusive to the text, background image.

Before creating the lino cut, i experimented with creating a vector “trail” of footsteps which would represent the hard work carried out by the coffee producers. In addition to the “footsteps trail” I created an alternative which comprised of the coffee bean from within the logo. This trail represents the journey the freshly brewed coffee has taken and the countries it has been cultivated from.

I decided to use the bean trail as I felt it was more prominent due to the beans being a solid shape in juxtaposition to the broken up print.

In order to create a mock-up of the packaging design I first attempted to create a 3-D model of the coffee bag within Cinema 4-D, however I was unable to work out how to do so despite finding informational videos on creating box packaging. I feel this is due to the complexity of the coffee bag net in comparison to a box package.

I decided to create a physical prototype as a remedy to the problem. This was created using some brown recycled parcel paper as the material to represent the more robust recycled paper which would be used for the actual packaging. I chose to change the material the brand would use to package the beans as I felt a recycled material would help to extended and reinforce the brand’s ethos further. Once I had folded the net, I padded the inside with bubble-wrap as to achieve a realistic looking product shot.

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Final Design Packaging

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Evaluation How Did You Find The Project?

I found this project at first a little daunting due to the heavily populated market the coffee industry sits in. However I also found it to be an interesting and exciting project to endeavour.

I found the logo design process to be the most challenging, in part due to the importance I placed upon this element, which as my tutors advised later is still only one element of a design and needs to be balanced. I found the packaging re-design to be particularly enjoyable, in part due to being required to use my previously taught skills and develop onto them through self-initiated study in order to learn how to produce a photo-shoot mock-up. What was particularly challenging about this task was the way I produced the mock-up, due to limitations on time and being unable to quickly produce a printed prototype, I needed to super-impose the design onto the physical prototype.

What Would You Do Differently?

If I were to start this project today, from what I have learnt from carrying out the project would be to create a time-plan for each graphic element of the branding and spend less time upon the logo alone. This would enable me to create and produce the packaging design and mockup in time for the initial competition deadline, which I unfortunately missed.

Did Your Design Meet The Briefs Requests?

Overall I think my design meets the YCN - UCC Grand Cafe Coffee brief well. I consider my outcome to be a very well produced response to the brief due to my understanding and considerations regarding the brand’s personality and incorporating that within the individual design elements. I have also carefully considered the colour palette used and chosen colours which are grounded in terms of their saturation and hue, therefore reflecting the brand’s respect for natural resources. Finally, in respect to entering the competition, unfortunately I was unable to produce the outcomes in time for such due to many factors. In order to avoid this in future, as mentioned above I would carefully consider just how much time should be spent upon each element and set a deadline for each accordingly. In terms of the Universities brief, entering the outcome was not an compulsory element and so in terms of the universities brief, I feel I have successfully completed the task.

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RSA/YCN UCC Grand Cafe Coffee University Of Huddersfield

© Nicole H.D.W. Sinclair 2016