External
For the D&AD/YCN I chose to colaborate with Anjelo Raposas. We both wanted to work with packaging and having worked together before, we thought we could work well together. As there are two of us, we have decided to do three briefs. The Body shop brief interested us because it is a well known brand and they have asked us to re-package four products. The second brief is also a packaging brief for an energy drink called Boost. We feel that the two are completely different as one is very classy and one is very cheap and it would be interesting to see the differences we find. The third brief is Thames Clippers, which is advertising. We felt that if we had three briefs on packaging we would get fed up of it so we took the third one in a new direction. We are still very much on the starting line having only brainstormed, sketched images and done some research but we feel confident that we will produce some excellent work.
For this brief, we have been asked to re-packaged four existing Bodyshop products. These packages must incoorporate the Bodyshop’s five core values; Against Animal Testing, Support Community Fair Trade, Activate Self Esteem, Defend Human Rights and Protect the Planet. This initailly interested us because it is a well known brand and is essentially a feminine store so we thought it would be a good idea to see how we thought from a male perspective.
Initial Sketches We feel that the Bodyshop is very up market, so when sketching initial ideas, we thought that we’d keep it simple but at the same time not make the products look cheap. The Bodyshop is very popular and we feel that people need to feel like they are paying for their products and getting their value for money.
Body Butter Body Butter is one of the highest and best selling products in the Bodyshop and we feel that the packaging works in every way it should as it is. Upon researching inside the Body Shop and purchasing some items, we realised that there were special deals on body butter. This gave us the idea to instead of change the packaging, come up with four new body butters which could only be purchased according to the season of the year. These butters are yet to be decided but we have begun to come up with ideas for the packaging and have started taking photos.
With the White Musk frangrance we are still very much undecided as to where we are going to take it. We like the idea of the clear bottle which keeps it nice and clean and we feel that adding to it may take away part of what it represents. Instead, for this product, we plan to add maybe a three or four page circular booklet to the bottom as to not interfere with the overall look of it. This booklet would simply have information on it to make clients aware of the companies core values.
For the foundation we also like the way it is currently packaged but are looking into slightly changing the shape of the bottle and are also looking into the materials used to make it. We would also like to give out the information about the core values on this product by attaching a small piece of card, or again a booklet, on a string, to the neck of the bottle.
We feel that the Tea Tree is the most difficult product to package and we have been told that it has recently been done. Changing this package sounds slightly unconventional as a squeezable bottle is the logical idea. We want to keep the ’ of the product but also would like to change the shape and materials used to make it. This brings problems as bringing in different materials may up the price of the product.
We also thought we’d give the YCN Boost packaging brief a go. I am collaborating with Anjelo as we both interested in Design packaging, and also because we have both worked together in the past, we believe that we can bounce ideas off each other and we both know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
The challenge is to create a new and exciting package for the the energy drink Boost, define a new consumer sector, promote the new look Boost in shops, or bars etc and promote it using social media, web, tv ads, advertising posters etc so the brand will be recognised around the world for today and the future.
We have been playing around with shapes, textures and size to create different and interesting forms. Another way of gathering ideas is to look at other packaging that isn’t energy drinks ie. milk bottle test tube and coffee cup. As these are only initial ideas, there aren’t any colours or graphics yet but we will continue to work on that as soon as we get a clear idea of our target audience and strategy.
Research and Thoughts
Our initial idea was to look at packaging books in order to see how crazy we could get with designs. We would like to change the Boost can package to something a bit more edgy and less obvious and conventional. At this stage, we have began to look into competitors and are researching a way to attract a target audience by making the Boost product stand out from the other energy drinks.
Recently I have been asked to come up with a few alternate logos related to specific products at this Fine Foods company I work for. I have been asked to keep the majority of the logo the same, but change the image in the middle to relate to specific products we send out such as, caviar, truffles and hampers. This has been quite recent and I am still at the beggining of my research but it is helping me to try and understand where I want to be and what I want to do after I graduate. I have been looking at some logo designs to try and capture the simplicity but also try to make it relate to the product on sale. These logo’s are some that I found that I think work extremely well. With the exception of the Sony Ericsson logo, the others are extremely literal and that is the kind of logo I would like to produce for the company.
I have a cousin that works at this beauty clinic who has asked me to produce a series of flyers to promote new treatments and attract new customers. I have been there to take photos and am in the process of producing them and pitching the idea. I am enjoying this more as I have been given creative control and can take it in any direction I want. For these external projects I am not being payed but if they go well I think it will be a good start to creating a portfolio and getting out into the real world.