EXTENDED PRACTICE MODULE BRIEF COVER SHEET
Student Name: Will Jeffrey
Module Code: OUGD603
Module Title: Extended Practice
Level: 6
BRIEF TITLE: Studio Brief 5_ Brown & Blond
Brief: Help Brown & Blond make their way into retail by developing and designing the packaging concept for their range of brownies.
Positives and Learning Curves This is the first piece of design I have ever produced that I actually feel proud about. I had a perfect vision in my mind of what I wanted the solution to be like and I pursued it. One of the initial positives of this brief was the fact that I was working for a real brand and a real client. Although the client is one of my closest friends, I think the fact that whenever the project was discussed it became a business meeting between 2 professionals, not 2 friends, meant it good practice for me in terms of listening, advising, talking and presenting. The fact that my work was actually going to be used and put into production also made this a pretty exiting project for me. In terms to working with a real brand, I felt this was a really good thing because it presented me with a challenge. Brown & Blond already had a logo; it already had an identity that people recognised and because of this it couldn’t be changed. But it could be improved. It could be pushed further; made better; made cooler; made newer – and it was my job/challenge to figure out how this could be done. I’ve never really had chance to think about a brand in that way – like figuring out what makes Brown & Blond, Brown & Blond, and how can advance on this through design. It has really paid off too, because I have now been asked to develop the rest of the design material – promotion, banners, t-shirts, web etc. The final positives of the brief relate to production. Firstly, because the designs will be being put into a retail situation, I had to learn about packaging specifications – primarily food packaging spec. I felt this was a good thing to learn about as it is not something I have ever looked into before and it will no doubt in handy in the future. Secondly, because I am not a professional packaging designer and didn’t feel ready to be taking full responsibility of production when the time came, I was in contact with a number of specialised packaging companies whilst I was developing the concept. I felt this was good because it allowed me to learn about pricing, their processes; specifications for production and what can be achieved on a large scale. The final positive of this brief was that it allowed me to practice my screen-printing skills. I had decided that I wanted to spend more time in the print-room this year before we finished and I regretted not making the most of our facilities, so this gave me another chance to do that. Also, the fact I had to print so much stuff, most of which was just extremely small text, meant my skills were really put to the test.
Negatives and difficulties Most of the difficulties faced during this brief related to the client and miscommunication. Firstly, during the initial briefing I was told that once I had developed the designs we would be going straight into production with a packaging company. Because this was early in the year and because I was also using this as a college project, my plan was that I work alongside the packaging company so everything went smoothly - develop the designs then bring them to them for production – all in good time before extended practice submission so I could steal a few to photograph or hand in. I contacted a list of packaging companies the client had given me to find out what they could do for us and who was best for the job, ready to discuss my ideas and how we could take it to the next stage. Unfortunately, the next time I met with the client his mind had changed and he now didn’t know when he would be ready to take it into production - he just wanted the designs there ready for