#06
Name_ Ross Francis Student ID_ 102181 Level_ 06 Module Code_ OUG603
Brief Title Type Of Brief Skills Collaborators Nature of Collaboration
Elmwood
Brief
Competition, Concept pitch/proposal
Produce a presentation and proposal for the branding of a Dog Kennel, to be submitted to Elmwood for the brief ‘Brand Boring’.
Concept Generation, Copy Writing, Branding and Identity, Layout Joel Burden Joel and I entered the ‘Brand Boring’ competition together. We conducted our own independent research and explored our own design direction. We followed the concept named ‘Staaay’ that I had mentioned in passing, and we determined a design direction together. After the pitch, we revisited the brief independently from the feedback we had gained.
Background
Considerations
Dog Kennels are where dog’s stay when their owners are on holiday. The branding of the run of the mill dog kennel is usually shrouded in the same superficial branding. Many dog kennel’s dub them as dog hotels, or dog resorts, making a holiday for the dog, instead of focussing on the basic care and requirements of the dog. All dog kennels try to offer something different, and in result, end up offering the same superficial and (usually) superfluous services. What are all dog kennels doing? What can be done differently? Will this make our submission stand out? Are there any factors that should be avoided?
Solution
To oppose the range of ‘doggy hotels’ that are capitalising on the dog as human fad, the response that is proposed seeks a more human tone. From humans to humans. The solution is to create a budget dog hotel that appeals to the family that want to save the money for their holiday, and not the comfort of their dog. The concept opens possibilities for a humorous tone at the dog’s expense, and applies witty copy as a brand identifier.
Evaluation
This brief has been another exercise in applying copy to a brand. I think I have fully exercised and nurtured my interest in copy here and improved the ability to apply appropriate copy and within promotion that compliment a brand tone and aesthetic. Presenting the brief at Elmwood was a great experience, especially as I thoroughly believed in the material I was presenting. The presentation went really well with Chris, the design director at Elmwood, saying that the brief had the potential to be award winning. This was particularly nice to hear, and I think it was down to the simplicity of the idea and relationship of each of the brand elements that helped it be so strong. A part of the crit Chris gave concerned a couple of visual elements that did not quite work overall. The presentation won a chance for a placement at Elmwood, which I will be engaging with after I leave university. After the crit, I returned to the brief to tighten the visual appearance of the brand and expand some of the deliverables that I had not had time to execute before the presentation at Elmwood. The context of this brief in my overall design practice is an interesting conflict of interests. While I have no intention in pursuing the industry of dog kennels, or indeed anything to do with animal hospitality, I had to rise to this challenge in order to have the opportunity of presenting my work and myself infront of a design agency. Through working on the brief I have refined a set of skills that focus on the appropriate application of my design practice. The design itself will not win any awards, however, I have understood that the effectiveness of a brand and more generally a concept can not rely on the design itself, but the overarching relationship between content and design direction, and a will to step back from being a designy designer. As I move forward from this brief and into the wider world, I will focus what I have learnt from this brief toward a setting of more geared toward the cultural sector.
Research
Ross Francis 102181
Extended Practice OUGD603
What did I do?
Why did I do it?
What more could I have done?
In the research stages of this brief I looked at a variety of different stimulus to acquiant myself with the problem. I first looked at Dog Kennels, as this is what I would be branding. I then spent time looking and engaging with peoples attitude toward dogs. I engaged with the way that creatives look at dogs and how they apply their form and personality in a way that is engaging to a viewer.
I looked at a huge range of dog kennels, from the terribly branded, to the overly branded. I was interested to see that there were few that stood out from the crowd. Some were quite trendy, and some were name doggy hotels, that seemed like a terrible plea for accreditation. I wanted to understand how kennels were branded, and how peoples relationship to dogs can be used with this branding project.
If the dog kennel I was branding was real, I coud have conducted primary research in terms of the location, the staff, the surrounding population, and the building. I was very pleased with my research for this brief, as I had a more approach to research. I found that I needed to strt designing and using research as a tool to improve my design rather than conducting it in a linear fashion.
Elmwood Brief #06
Design Direction
Ross Francis 102181
Extended Practice OUGD603
What direction did I take?
Why did I take this direction?
What influenced me?
After a couple of crits, it was decided that the direction to be taken should be based around a budget aesthetic. Expensive doggy hotels have been done to death, and although they haven’t been done well, or indeed to the extent that their luxury suggests, we felt that taking an alternative route would be the best way to get the attention of Elmwood. The direction of budget aesthetic would be coupled with humour and light heartedness that I felt related to the relationship between dogs and their owners.
I decided to take this direction as I felt that it would help set the brand apart. Recently there has been an influx in budget supermarkets and their presence has played on humour. The budget aesthetic lends itself to humour, and I felt that the subject of dog and humour was a strong connection between the humour and budget aesthetic. I realise that a good idea can be made by making strong connections and I felt that the connects here were too good of an opportunity to miss.
I was influenced by a range of different budget brands in a range of different sectors. Visually I was influenced by EasyJet and it’s budget looking aesthetic. The typeface used looks budget, the colours used look budget, and yet it maintains a level of respect due to it’s confidence. What I find particularly interesting is that budget brands assume a level of humour. With budget comes humour, with expense comes seriousness. This notion exclusively informed the direction.
Elmwood Brief #06
Development
Ross Francis 102181
Extended Practice OUGD603
How did I develop the brief?
What problems did I have?
Was it successful?
I developed the brief by first creating the identity. I started with a very weak piece of graphic design, but I decided it needed to be stronger with a bolder typeface. I originally started with a scheme that was built around an over arching concept ‘the dog’s...’, however this became very confusing and it was appropriate that I reduce the brand to it’s core elements. After the crit and presentation at Elmwood I revisited the brief as I thought it had some potential to be refined.
The first problem I had was that I did not partiicular understand the concept. This came with the crit that I had at Elmwood where I presented the work. The crit highlighted that the concept needed to be reduced in it’s complexity. The crit highlighted that the brand did not need ‘the dog’s...’. Chris from Elmwood highlighted that this should be a tool that should be used sparingly and not across every deliverable.
Admittedly the brief had a few hiccups and it took a fresh pair of eyes to really develop the brief to it’s final stages. The revisit certainly helped, and I think that it is part of a healthy workflow, however I realise this may not always be possible in industry. I need to work on making these realisations quicker, and I think that is definitely something I will take from this brief. I have realised that sometimes I need to let some things go, and be willing to let go of some ideas in order to make a brief successful.
Elmwood Brief #06
Presentation
Ross Francis 102181
Extended Practice OUGD603
Elmwood Brief #06
Brand and Identity
Ross Francis 102181
Extended Practice OUGD603
Elmwood Brief #06
Business Cards
Ross Francis 102181
Extended Practice OUGD603
Elmwood Brief #06
Submission Form
Ross Francis 102181
Extended Practice OUGD603
Elmwood Brief #06
Flyer
Ross Francis 102181
Extended Practice OUGD603
Elmwood Brief #06
Poster Series
Ross Francis 102181
Extended Practice OUGD603
Elmwood Brief #06
Frisbee
Ross Francis 102181
Extended Practice OUGD603
Elmwood Brief #06
Kennel Signage
Ross Francis 102181
Extended Practice OUGD603
Elmwood Brief #06
Kennel Uniform: Name Badge
Ross Francis 102181
Extended Practice OUGD603
Elmwood Brief #06
Website
Ross Francis 102181
Extended Practice OUGD603
Elmwood Brief #06
Website
Ross Francis 102181
Extended Practice OUGD603
Elmwood Brief #06
Mobsite
Ross Francis 102181
Extended Practice OUGD603
Elmwood Brief #06