OUGD602 - SB02 - Creative Report

OUGD602 - SB01 - Design Strategy Presentation + Evaluation

My presentation went well as I was able to articulate all of my concerns with my professional life after university, but it also allowed me to realise how far I've come on the course in the course of this year. When I first started the degree, I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do when I graduated. Even though I don't know exactly what I want to do now, I'm confident that I'll be able to commit to something I'll enjoy. 

OUGD602 - SB02 - Final Deliverables + Evaluation

Designing the collateral for our brand was extremely straightforward due to the in-depth research we had undertaken for the brand inthe production stage. We had discussed everything as a group from the colour schemes to the names of the flavours. All of our products followed a strict set of protocols in order to maintain consistency throughout each of our different delegations, which was imperative as we needed to make sure we designed everything using the same assets such as typefaces and hex codes for colours.

The result was creating a broad set of deliverables in a short space of time, even creating a working prototype of the website we would launch for the brand, going beyond what was asked for in the brief. Our tone of voice was one of the strongest points of our project as we were able to communicate with our audience on a personal level, without sharing the same demographic or age range as them. Our products were unique in the methods used to advertise, taking nootropics in a more mainstream and friendly direction with advertising on bus stops and pharmacies.

Evaluation

This brief was very enjoyable to work on as working in a group is not something I have been able to do with other graphic designers this year. Even a sizeable brief such as this one was relatively easy to undertake with correct delegation and smart usage of meetings.

I was also able to use the perspectives of both Charlie and Joel to influence my work, and numerous times thought of things I wouldn’t have if they had not given me their insight. This brief has taught me the value of collaboration in the industry as the previous years’ group tasks seemed quite unorganised and usually left one person doing more work than everyone else.

The feedback we received for this brief was extremely helpful, and gave us an idea of what we could improve on for the future both as a group and individually. Whilst we considered the age range of our target audience, our products were seen as slightly too feminine by the DBA judges. Whilst I disagree with the verdict, it is something to consider, branding our products with a more neutral tone may have improved the brand as a whole. However, we were told that the progression from our initial logos was really impressive, and we had been able to analyse what was going wrong with the project to make whatever changes were necessary going forward.

OUGD602 - SB02 - DBA Presentation + Feedback

Unfortunately me and Joel were in Budapest for the date of the presentation since it was rescheduled into the interview week, but Charlie was happy to take the reins in presenting our project to the DBA staff.

Feedback

The overall design treatment was really nice but possibly too 'pretty'. Although the visual design treatment was good, it possibly was leaning more towards women due to the flower like illustrations that were supposed to represent herbs. The progression from the first logo ideas we presented in the interim-crit were impressive. The way we recognised that the initial logos didn't fit with our concept and how we changed our design approach was extremely beneficial. Another point they made was that it appeared that we had jumped from our initial concept to our final designs and missed out a large part. We should've explained our concept in depth more and how it related to our final brand.