OUGD603: Brief 5 Evaluation

I’m incredibly pleased with the outcome of this brief. The use of bright colours throughout the artwork portrays the colourful and creative ethos of the brief. By putting this over various collateral it shows how the branding would work in a real store. By using the macaroons from the logo into a pattern this further enhances the actual products and pushes the brand beyond just a logo.

This brief has enabled me to produce work I am proud of and to be able to push the boundaries with design for bakeries and patisseries, as they are usually natural and neutral designs. The research that went into this brief to gain an understand of what was aesthetically required has taught me to look at design in a more critical way as I changed me sketches multiple times by discussion the design with others. By using a simple circular shape as a simple portrayal of the macaroons it has created a simple branding design, which could potentially be a real brand.

OUGD603: Brief 4 Evaluation

This brief gave me a chance to explore what I had learnt on my placement at Totality GCS, as this is one of the first briefs I have worked solely on packaging designs. Within this brief I have been able to explore research into design for retail, which has given me an insight into what sells in supermarkets. Learning from this I was able to create a successful illustrative design that showcases my ability to work within a new area of design and understand that this must work onto a bottle shape.

My research into colour and layout meant that I understood naturally linked colours were more successful because they were comforting for the consumer. The design I created used illustrations I created of ingredients, which enhanced my ability to draw using illustrator. This brief has allowed me to further experiment with concise and minimal designs to improve the overall design aesthetic. The subtle use of textures within the logo displays the ‘edgy’ nature of the brand without alienating the consumer within the supermarket environment.

By completing this project I now have more confidence with retail based commercial briefs and packaging design is something I would like to continue with developing in the future. I enjoyed the limitations of space and being able to problem solve with the project. By digitally mocking these items I was able to see how they would look if they were to be printed.

OUGD603: Brief 3 Evaluation

Creating artwork and being shortlisted for the Penguin Design Award has been one of my favourite briefs this year to complete. The concept I felt was a strong idea to represent the author Caitlin’s humorous and bold personality through the illustration of Doc Marten boots that juxtapose the connotations of a Chanel styled ‘little black dress’. The use of a vivid pink and yellow colour palette was inspired by research into Punk and feminist protest. This is a strong use of colour as not only does it have strong links to the guerrilla girls and strong female art movements. Caitlin’s book is witty and filled with humorous comments but it is about revealing secrets that women keep- therefore a bold colour palette portrays this bold and non-apologetic stance of writing.

Receiving comments from Penguin’s art director gave me an insight as to what they look for in a commercial design to sell on the shelf and this allowed me to further develop my own design to fit into a commercial environment instead of just being an art piece.

Again much like the previous briefs I strived to ensure that the designs were as concise as possible by using minimal amounts of elements. As a designer I am slowly beginning to understand through completing briefs that I am enjoying designing using vectors and clean shapes. Within this brief in particular I focused on how the design would show impact. With the judges comment being that they like that the eye was drawn to the title of the book I feel I have achieved a massive amount of success just through receiving positive comments. By being shortlisted this has proved to myself that the concept I created was clearly understood by the judges and they liked my unique take on the book.

By organising and sending the various pieces of work for resubmission this taught me how to work to a professional deadline and how to send work off packaged correctly. As we were only given a short amount of time to develop our work it was rather a rush with time management but this means in the future I know what to do. By restrictions of only having one design board it has taught me to be more concise when explaining my concept/ ideas. I also worked out of university hours to be able to print the materials to send which I sourced from a printers in Leeds as this would be a quicker and more reliable option than waiting for print slots at university. 

OUGD603: Brief 10- Extension for End Of Year Show

Brief to be extended: 

Personal project to rebrand an Indian Restaurant & Take away. The brief is to modernise the branding of an Indian restaurant to appeal to a younger audience. The initial stage of this brief was research into culture and existing restaurants. The new branding created modernises traditional Indian culture and food for young professionals in a city environment. 

To extend this for the exhibition I am showcasing the new branding across a range of printed collateral. This includes how the brand would work across printed materials patterns for the restaurant (wall space). Physical prints will also be produced such as menus and packaging for take away food. (desk display)

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I will require:

Sufficient wall space for several printed pieces onto mount board for the walls. 

A display space next to the wall area for packaging and printed materials. 

OUGD603: Brief 10- Brand Concept

Name of brand: CASSIA. Interesting and sweet aromatic spice. 

Logo Icon: Lotus inspired flower resembles style of tiles found in 

traditional Indian temples & Diwali. 

Logo type: Modern and simple to aspire the brand to be a high end city based Indian Restaurant. 

Aura: Positive, colourful and sociable. The inspiration of  Lakshmi brings hope to anyone to enters the restaurant. The brand hopes to spread positivity through shared enjoyment of food and atmosphere. 

Colours: Bright and bold colours inspired by Holi, the festival of colour. 

OUGD603: Brief 10- Concept & Name

From researching I found that there are various symbols of India but the most relevant is the Lotus. It resembles purity and wealth which is what I the brand to represent as a high end restaurant. 

National Flower of India: The lotus flower has a very significant position in Indian mythology. It is the flower of goddess Laxmi and symbolises wealth, prosperity, and fertility. Also, it grows very uniquely in dirty water with its long stalk far above the water, bearing the flower on the top. The lotus flower remains untouched from impurity. It symbolises purity, achievement, long life, and good fate.

Names of spices would link to the products within the Restaurant. Some that I considered.

Clove

Cumin

Star Anise

Juniper Saffron

Cassia

From discussing these and gaining feedback I mentioned the patterns and floral designs of Henna which links to the symbol of the lotus. With this in mind it was suggested that Cassia would be the perfect fit as it is feminine sounding and it is a sweet spice. 

Brand Name: CASSIA


Development of logo:

Because it is a high end restaurant/ take away that would be based within a city environment it would be best to use a clean modern font. I experimented with the colour yellow because of my research Mango is India's fruit symbol. I also found these bright tones within the temples and Holi. 

For the icon of the brand I researched into Indian culture and found that colourful floral designs are incredibly important during Diwali. 

A rangoli is a colourful design made on the floor near the entrance to a house to welcome guests. At Diwali, Hindus draw bright Rangoli patterns to encourage the goddess Lakshmi to enter their homes. Hindus believe that Lakshmi fills the home with her protective spirit, wards off misfortune and encourages prosperity, and pictures of Lakshmi are often found in shops, restaurants and offices.

This concept of creating a version of a rangoli is a brilliant way to incorporate authentic Indian culture into a new UK based brand. It encourages a positive way of thinking which enhances the entire brand ethos of happiness which can be seen through bright colours and enjoyment of products. 

The final logo: 

OUGD603: Brief 10- Research

To gain an understanding of authentic Indian cultures I spoke to my neighbour and his family along with looking in various books/ websites to gain a better understanding and to educate myself on the various different elements of culture specific to India. Below is a collection of different visual examples I found that could inspire a new Indian restaurant concept. 

Symbols of idea:

National bird, peacock

National animal: Tiger

National Flower: Lotus

National fruit: Mango

Taj Mahal

River Ganges

Food, spices, colour

Diwali 

Henna

Hindu Temples: 

Festival of colour (Holi):

What I noticed most from discussing these images with my neighbour is the amount of colour found in these images. Of course red is the most common colour of India as it is found in wedding and various other cultural events. However I have rarely found brightly coloured branding in the UK of Indian restaurants. The colour found in food, spices, Holi festival, Hindu temples and fabrics are absolutely beautiful and are definitely something to celebrate within a brand.