Ringtons Tea: Evaluation

I chose this brief because I wanted to create packaging for a FMCG such as tea, and I settled on Ringtons because I had never heard of it before but thought it had such an interesting history and such a boring package design. My aim was to update the Ringtons brand image so that it appealed to a modern audience whilst remaining true to its British history.

In the end I redesigned packaging for 4 flavours of tea, created advertisements for the products, as well as considering the brand image at points of interaction with customers, i.e ordering and door to door delivery. I found the brief extremely useful as it got me thinking about the bigger picture and how the brand image can be applied coherently across a range of different designs.

Another reason for choosing this brief was because I wanted experience at designing one packaging concept but applying it to a range of flavours. In the past I have only ever designed stand alone packages so I thought it would be beneficial for me to challenge myself now and gain an understanding before entering the industry.

In the end I feel I successfully updated the brand image  whilst retaining a British element. This project has given me a better understanding of how to develop a brand identity that expresses its personality and history, as well as how and where it can be appropriately applied.

Ringtons Tea: Final Promo Posters

Here are the final posters advertising the different Ringtons Tea flavours, I have added in pictures of the ingredients to break up the illustration and provide the audience with a visual example of what is in the tea. "Just my cup of..." plays on the idiom suggesting that every cup of Ringtons is perfect and to the consumers taste. The use of teapots and tea cups add personality and character to the teas diffrentiating them from one another. 

The posters would be displayed in poster boards where passers by would see them. Ringtons only delivers up north and online so people down south probably aren't as aware of the tea. Displaying posters around cities will raise brand awareness and in turn increase online sales.

Ringtons Tea: Van Design

I've begun considering other ways to promote Ringtons and what they use to connect with their customers. Creating a design for the van provides a way to promote the company whilst staff are out doing their rounds. This will tie in the van with the rest of the promotional material.

Originally trying the pattern created for the box in a British flag however it makes the van look EDL than elegant and fitting. Definitely not appropriate for the company or the image that they want to portray to the outside world.

Using the repeat pattern made previously looks a lot better than the flag design, however it still doesn't work to promote the main qualities of the company. 

Blocking out the pattern with nay blue rectangles means that the logo can be added over the top. A slogan 'time for a brew!' has also been added to the bottom of the van to add some personality. 'Brew' sounds a lot more friendly and casual as if the company is friends with its customers.

The pattern still wasn't looking great, as a different more free flowing alternative another design has been mocked up. Having the teapot pouring out tea frees up the space of the van and creates a sense of movement.

I mocked up the design on 4 different vans to show the four different teas, I quite like the idea of different routes having different colours so customers will associate a colour with their deliverly. The design is fun and colourful which adds a more exciting element to an otherwise boring part of the brand.

Ringtons Tea: Better Photographs!

The photography studio Nessa and I booked out on Tuesday to photograph Olivia's Deli I decided to get some better pictures of the Ringtons packaging that I could use in my portfolio and on my design sheet. 

Introducing coloured sheets have really helped to bring the designs to life - the dark navy blue box now pops out against the colour.

 

Theses pictures give a lot clearer picture of the packaging and can be used in my portfolio to show the different sides, I may even turn it into a gif!

Ringtons Tea: Editing and Extending Brand Identity

I have been thinking about ways to extend the brands identity. 

One idea to help promote the company and also to reward loyal customers was an umbrella design. I really wanted to promote the true Britishness of Ringtons and one thing that all brits complain about is the weather! The umbrella gives loyal customers a way to protect themselves from the rain whilst also working in the favour of Ringtons by promoting the brand as customers walk around. The umbrella would have the logo printed on it with a statement "great, whatever the weather" this refers to how amazing a cup of Ringtons is whether it is raining, sunny, snowing etc... It could also reflect the brands positive attitude - the fact that come rain or shine they are delivering their products with smiles on their faces.

I have gone back and changed the box design so that it fits in better with the rest of the promotional material. Whilst I really like the idea of the flag I think it clashes with the other designs and stands out but not in a good way. The new design just shows the repeat pattern of tea pots and cups in the standard navy blue. This is a lot more fitting and appropriate as it no longer sticks out but still looks interesting and exciting.

A shirt has also been mocked up for staff uniform. This will help to show the staff as part of the brand as they are part of the Ringtons image. The design is relatively straight forward with the logo on the top left of the shirt, I don't think the design needs to be overly complicated as its just a shirt.

Ringtons Tea: Business Stationary

I wanted to extend the brands identity further by creating business stationery which can be used when contacting customers. Firstly, I really wanted to make compliment slips or thank-you slips which would be sent out with every order. Seeing as the company are online and door to door it would be good to have something physical that Ringtons would send in appreciation of their custom.

Sticking with the tea pot and cup outline I wanted to retain the aesthetic created for the poster advertisements as this will add more consistency to the brand. Putting tea quotes in the mug adds something extra to the design by reinforcing the love of tea. Having the tea pot central doesn't leave enough room for a thankyou message or for the logo to fit in comfortably.

Moving the teapot to the side makes a lot more room on the right which can fit a thank-you message. I have tried fitting the logo into the tea pot and above it but realistically the teapot will need to be smaller to fit everything in comfortably.

The tea pot and logo now fit a lot better together - the logo needed to be bigger so that upon viewing the slip it is immediately clear that it is Ringtons. A message at the side could be playfully saying thank-you for wanting the best tea; this acknowledges the customers high quality standards and also implies that Ringtons tea is the best. 

Writing thank-you from everyone at Ringtons adds to the personal approach and reminds the audience that Ringtons isn't a mass corporation.

Changing the wording ever so slightly to 'from all of us at Ringtons' so that it sounds more inclusive and again more personal - as if every single member of staff is thanking them for their contribution to the company.

I have applied the same design aesthetic to the rest of the tea pots. My thinking behind it is that there would be a huge range of different thankyou slips all showing different teapots and mugs to show the range in products but also to add variety. Not every thank you is the same, and by adding variety regular customers will not always receive the same.

I have begun designing a letterhead as this is something I am sure the company will need. I wanted to keep the page white so that the legibility of the message will not be compromised. However I think having the whole design white doesn't work because it looks so different from the other range of designs. Perhaps adding in a dark bar of navy blue across the top and having the logo on that will help to bring the design back in line with the range.

Ringtons Tea: Box Design

As part of the campaign I want to create a repeat pattern which can be used on merchandise and packaging.

Lining up the teapots with their respective mugs creates a sweet pattern which will look good once repeated.

Beginning to line up the pattern

I wanted to design it so that each line would be one teapot on purely so that it isn't columns of the same pot but rather a diagonal repeat pattern. I started creating it with all the teapots in the navy blue but was finding great difficulty in getting the pattern to line up. 

Sudden brain wave! changing the design to colour makes it so much easier to line up the pattern. As you can see a diagonal pattern is forming nicely.

Finishing the pattern and trying it on the navy blue as well as a white background. This could be used as a wrapping paper for Ringtons gifts or as a background design.

Using the navy pattern of pots and the union jack on photoshop to create a pattern, originally I was trying to get the tea pots to turn the colour of the union jack however I screen shotted the affect I stumbled on above as I thought it looked quite cool. The idea of using the British flag is to promote the company's heritage and origin.

I tried using the pattern as a background for the packaging but it looks way too cluttered and busy. It doesn't do anything to promote the packaging in fact it does the opposite! The clash of pattern and colour is really something.

Instead I've decided to put the design to use in the form of a box. The cardboard box would be shipped out to people who order the tea selection online via the website. Its alway nice getting something pretty in the post and putting time and effort into everything the customer will interact with will help to show the caring and personal personality of Ringtons. 

The flag pattern has been made out of the tea pots and mugs. They have been made relatively big so that people can actually see what they are!  Maybe its just my predisposition against anything patriotic, but I just always think British flags look tacky and for this reason I have tried to make the flag as gentle and easy on the eyes as possible. The flag works a lot better on the box as the brown background helps to dull the otherwise contrasting colours. The Ringtons logo has been placed on the side to promote the company and link it to the product inside - people will see the box and the British flag and associate it with Ringtons Tea.

On the inner box tabs it reads "almost time for tea! (hurray)" with two illustrations of the teapots and mugs. This will be read by the customers as they are opening up the box, it is supposed to create a feeling of excitement and anticipation.