Feathr: Final Designs and Submission

After quite a lot of experimentation with different colours I finally found a colour palette that works well because it has enough variety between colours but equally each colour is bold and stands its ground. 

I am really happy with the outcome I think it looks sweet as a wallpaper, the design is attractive but also practical as lining up isn't an issue and causes minimal paper wastage. The colours are a lot more vibrant and engaging in comparison to the previous dreary palette.

I have also submitted the plain black and white one as I still think this is a lovely outcome in itself. The wall paper works well in black and white because it adds detail and interest to a room without having to add colour, this means people can mix and match bright accessories or continually change the style with the reassurance that the wallpaper will work with any colours materials.

I have submitted and received a confirmation email.

Value Range: Campaign Poster

I have decided to develop the kitchen poster further. The problem with the design is that my eyes are jumping across the page reading different bits of information. 

Flipping the layout so that the kitchen is the other way means that the products can be pushed to the right with the main bulk of information to the left. This works better because the eye naturally reads from left to right, so the most important information should be where the eye will look first. The 'for £1.50..' now follows on from the banner which helps to support the message rather than becoming the message. 

I've tried experimenting with a white and orange banner instead to reflect the value colours. The white is quite stark but I guess this is associated with the cheaper products. Whilst the colours can work well as the background the logo needs to be at the top because of its dark, black colour. The black draws the eye down to the logo and skips the information above, if the info starts with the logo then reading it should naturally follow.

Bag Transparency

The one thing that was bugging me about the design was that the plastic veg bags would be transparent. However because the products were photographed on a white background this is what shows through. To solve this problem I have traced the area on photoshop and lowered the opacity.

Originally I lowered it to 70% however as you can see above this is too transparent, you can no longer see the bag detail - it just looks odd and unrealistic.

Above are two different outcomes although I am personally swaying to the one on the right because the colouring makes the design warmed and in a sense less cheap! The white on the left design just steals away your attention just because it is such a large area of empty space. As you can see both the set of bags transparency is much better; it has made the white plastic less in your face.

Final so far:
Below is my preferred design so far. Its not finished as there is still a lot to sort with the type and spacing however this will be the design I continue to develop. The sections of the advert are viewed in the correct order - I am going to show a few different people and see what they say to the layout/ what they read and in what order.I will move the logo and bits to the top.

Making the design work vertically has allowed for the design to work in a magazine format. 

Time Management: This Week

My main focus this week has been getting Ringtons and Sainsbury's Value range finished, the print slot on Thursday was my deadline. Although it means its been a hectic week it is good to have two projects nearly finished. I plan on extending the projects by creating campaigns over the next week.

Yesterday I was able to photograph both projects although I am not as happy with the Ringtons Tea pictures but I plan to rephotograph the boxes with the campaign as part of it. However I am not too bothered because the main focus was getting the value range photographed so that I could begin working with the images to promote the new value range idea. 

Over the weekend I will begin creating the Value Range campaign and start thinking about what I want the Ringtons Tea campaign to be. I also really want to extend the Walnut Whip to show how it could be advertised to reintroduce it to supermarket shelves. I also want to get the Feathr design completed this weekend in time for Monday's deadline. I drew an extra two houses in the week so will add them into the pattern to add some variety. I will also start writing out and designing the boards for submission to support VR and RT, I want to do this over the weekend so that my design boards will be up to date for the tutorial next week.

Feathr: Editing the Wallpaper

I have painted another two houses (far right) to add more variety to the wallpaper. 

Working in illustrator I have created equally spaced guides so that the pattern will hopefully be continuous across different sheets of wallpaper.

The houses create an interesting affect from a distance because they are not obviously houses. The black doors stand out but they have been randomised so that there are not clumps of black in certain areas.

Applying Colour

I have been trying to find a colour palette that works, searching for inspiration from the brightly coloured houses of Amsterdam and a purple macaroon,

Applying the colour to the houses.

Once they are positioned in coloured rows the colour is broken up by the windows. The colours that contrast stand out the most - the blue, purple and green work well but perhaps the other colours are a bit wishy washy in comparison.

The colour works well to add something extra to the design however I think the lighter colours need to be switched out for something brighter so that they really stand out. Because of the amount of space the windows fill  there is really very little solid colour showing - for this reason I think the colours need to be as vibrant as possible.

Value Range: Creating the Campaign Poster

A very quick and rough cut out of the packaging just to see what it would look like in a kitchen setting. Whilst I like the idea of using a plain white background to fit in with the no nonsense, straight talking brand, I also want to explore using a kitchen background to help people imagine the range in their home. Using a nice kitchen will hopefully help to remove the connotations that the value range is only for poor people or students, and replace it with the notion that the value range is for anyone who wants to save money for the more important things in life.  

Going back around the picture and using the anchor tool to accurately cut out the background.

The products look a lot better in the kitchen with the edges neatened up.

Adjusting the brightness and contrast makes the products look more natural in the kitchen setting.

I added black underneath the range to create a shadow in an attempt to make the products look more grounded to the counter opposed to being photoshopped in. A Gaussian blur makes the shadow gentler and more realistic.

Moving the design into Indesign allowed me to use grids and easily create separate layers for the type and background. I decided to add in an orange background because the type wouldn't be clear directly on top of the busy image.

Experimenting with type layout and colour, the white jumps out at you.

Changing the colour to match the Sainsbury's orange and the tint that was used on the packaging has made the design a lot lighter. I have changed the colour of the type so that Bring the family together is in white as this is the new Savour positioning - all about family centricity. 

Adding in how cheap it is to promote the second point - saving money for the things that matter. I am not sure if it is £2 each, its probably less if you are just counting the veg you use (I can't imagine anyone uses 4kg of potatoes for there Sunday roast). This information works better bold and big on an orange background as it will be a huge selling point and should be clear. However I don't know if having it in its current position works well because the £2 distracts from the informative type on the right and the products.

Moving the price to underneath the sign definitely makes the design easier to look at however I think the information needs to be bigger so that it catches peoples attention. 

Plain Background

I have simultaneously started mocking up a vertical poster with a plain background. Working in this layout means there is a lot more room for type as it is not constricted by an orange box allowing it to be bigger and more in your face.

The white and orange background immediately identifies the poster with the Sainsbury's basic range which would work in the favour of the campaign. It simplifies the design down so that the focus is purely on the products and the campaigns message. The type works best on the orange background as the colour makes it easier to read. 

Value Range: Campaign Research

I found an interesting article here about how Sainsbury's invested the most money for their advertising and campaign work but still loses market shares. Interesting. There was one part which I have quoted below as it is very relevant to my own project:

“Initially built on the premise of saving money, the new wave of discounters are now a regular part of grocery shopping and have changed shopping habits forever. For instance, switching to cheaper grocery brands is again the top household tactic for saving money. Furthermore, nearly half of those cutting costs will continue to buy cheaper grocery brands even when economic conditions do improve.

“However, what is different this time is that discounters are no longer solely associated with price. They’ve been very astute at promoting the quality of their offerings to appeal to a wider range of consumers.”

Hopefully the new packaging that I've designed will help promote quality and therefore begin to break down negative associations and be used by a wider range of people.

They have quite a few different kitchen scenes with the food spread out and then these little builder men adjusting things.

#littletwists encouraging people to try different odd food combinations which also encourages them to buy extra products. Whilst some of the combos are gross and definitely not something I would try myself, the campaign does get people talking "did you see the sainsbury's advert? coffee in a spag bol!!! eww,  who'd have that?".

I like how this advert highlights how many meals you can get out of £50. 1 happy family is a nice touch and brings the advert back to family values with the family being at the core of the advertising. The campaign I will make should follow on nicely from this keeping the focus around the family and getting the most out of your money.

A similar structure of the food piled up with type - clean, clear.

Whilst sainsburys have many advertising campaigns they don't seem to have anything for their value range. I think that in the current economic climate more and more people are seeking cheaper alternatives or just ways of saving money. The campaign I will create needs to raise awareness about how cheap Sainsbury's can be and the advantages for the families who buy value.

Value Range: Photoshoot

Overall I am really happy with the photographs taken of the value range. The new design is a vast improvement on the previous cheap design. I think the packaging is successful because whilst it has been limited to 2 colours it has been able to inject some life and personality into the otherwise boring product range. 

Collective set

The main reason for the photoshoot was to get images that I could use in the campaign. I knew I would need one of all the produce together - below are some different layouts experimenting with how the designs look best (and also work best together).

Whilst individually the products look good, together they look separate - not part of a set. The products need to be closer together.

This photo would work on a counter top - which is one possibility I want to explore as the kitchen environment is the context to where the food will be used. It would also introduce the home and idea of spending family time together cooking and eating a meal. My only issue is that the potatoes look slumped down when they need to be standing up right.

These two photos are probably my favourite because the products are close together but presented in a neat composition. The labels are clear and easy to read and the image will work with additional typography.