Creative CV

Below shows a copy of my creative CV.

Reflective Report

Work Based Learning 

Reflective Report 

From the beginning of my graphic design degree, I have had a strong indication that I wanted to focus my skills on the advertising and branding side of graphic design. Therefore I wanted to focus carrying out my work placement in a studio that focuses on re-brands and also advertising, or gaining work experience with clients that have put forward a brief for a product to re-brand. By working in a studio or gaining freelance work of re-branding products, I would gain the valuable experience of how things would be run on a day to day basis during projects, like the timeline of when and how fast tasks needed to be completed. Additionally I would also gain experience doing freelance work, as this would show me in a real life situation, the many tasks that I would have to deal with during the project. For example dealing with a client that had a different opinion to mine in the case of the design of the product they have put forward, and how I would deal with that. As well as this it would also show me the amount of work that needs to be done to the highest quality in the short space of time that the clients have set, which would be very similar to a design studio.

In the beginning I started enquiring about work placements at design studios through emailing the companies themselves about whether I would be able to volunteer to gain some more experience. I emailed a number of studios and agencies in the local areas, however the studios that got back in touch through email said that unfortunately they wouldn't be able to take any volunteers at this time. However I didn't give up on finding a work placement, as I then decided to expand my search for of design studios further than the local area. This ended up with me searching in the areas of Liverpool. I continued with the same approach of first emailing the studios. Some of the studios got back to me in the immediate days after, unfortunately they were saying the same, that they wouldn't be taking any volunteers on at this time. But a few of the studios did say they would keep hold of my information, so that I could ring up later in the year to see if their position had changed. Which I will do, because even though I was unable to get a placement here at this time, I still believe that this would be extremely beneficial to me in the long run to gain more experience, as this is never a bad thing. 

However although this was a set back for me, I wasn't giving up on gaining the experience that was needed for me. Fortunately I was given the opportunity to gain the experience that was needed through freelance graphic design work. This was a fantastic relief for me, as I had had the setbacks of not being able to gain a work placement in a studio. However I had been given the opportunity of gaining the experience in the other way that I wanted to which was freelance work. Although the timing of this wasn't the best as I had a number of other big deadlines coming up in the weeks that I needed to be working on this freelance work. It gave me the opportunity to test myself as to how it would be in a design studio, as I would have multiple projects ongoing at the same time. Therefore it would give me the chance to make sure I was fully able to cope with the timelines of each project, which would obviously be very difficult for me, but I wanted to give myself the ultimate test, which this would be. 

After I had very greatly accepted this piece of freelance project, I got straight down to work. The company that this work was for was called ‘Honey Bee-z’. The work that they wanted doing was to completely redesign the product which was honey. They wanted there labelling as well as the jar itself to be redesigned, as they were not seeing the projected sales that they were hoping for when their product hit the shelves of the supermarkets here in the UK. The ‘Honey Bee-z’ honey is currently being sold in ‘Home Bargains’ however consumers are turning away from this product as the labelling as well as the design of the rest of the jar is not up to the standards of its competitors. However this product was of a much better quality than its competitors, but customers were going for the cheaper, lower quality honey because there jars looked more appealing to the eye. The plan of action that was set forward by the client was to increase the sales of the ‘Honey Bee-z’ honey by completely changing the design of their jar, making it more appealing of the eye for the customers , in addition to making them aware that the ‘Honey Bee-z’ honey was a much better quality honey than the rest of its competitors. 

To start off with this project, I first set out to do intensive research on its competitors not only in the ‘Home Bargains’ stores but also other honey products that were doing well in terms of sales. By doing this it meant that I was able to see the types of designs that other companies were using, and whether this was the main focal point as to why there sales were at a better level. Furthermore I also wanted to look at the level of designs that the more premium high-end honey companies had designed there products. As this is what was wanted for the ‘Honey Bee-z’ product, to be seen as a higher end, premium quality honey compared to the competitors. 

After my initial research into existing honey brands and there designs, I then started to create some initial ideas to take to the client. These were just very basic designs that were shown, however it gave me a better understanding as well as a better idea as to whether I was in the right area with were the company wanted to go, and whether we were on the same page. We agreed that the designs were in the right area to what they were wanting, however they still wanted that extra something to make their product stand out from all the rest. This was something that I totally agreed with. After this correspondence I took all of the opinions and information on board, and went back to designing something that would best represent the ideas from this conversation.

After taking everything that was said in the previous conversations on board, I came up with a few new and different ideas show the client. These designs were not totally different to the first set of designs that I showed the client, but they did have in my opinion that little extra edge that the company was looking for. We agreed that this was the path that we wanted to go down in terms of the design of the ‘Honey Bee-z’ honey. But we continued to talk through additional segments of design, which might benefit and help the design along even more. This talk was very helpful as I went on to create the final design from this conversation. 

The design that was eventually decided on being the on that would be taken forward was a design that I was very happy with. This design included a honeycomb type effect on the bottom of the jar. One thing that was agreed was to add this effect to the top of the jar as well, as we both agreed that this would give the jar that extra special something that was so desperately wanted by the company. This design featured the honeycomb effect like I have said, however the shapes that were used for this effect were cut out so that customers would be able to see the honey through the labelling and design of the jar. I done this as I felt it give the design that extra special edge that would make it stand out from the competitors. After further correspondence with the client, we decided to take this idea even further. As we talked through using this cutout technique on the packaging as well as the actual jar of honey. We decided on using it on the whole of the packaging, this resulted in the customers being able to see all the information on the jar even though it was in its own special packaging. By doing this it shown consistency in the design as a whole, and again added more to it in the process. 

I also came up with the idea to create a special three pack design for the jars of honey, this was something the client was very excited about, therefore I went ahead with this idea. I again used the cutout technique to a certain extent with this packaging as I cutout a piece of the packaging so you could see the front of the jar more clearly. Additionally I also added bees around the packaging to again give the customers a clear view of what they would be buying. 

After the design of the honey jar itself as well as the packaging for the product, we discussed the possibilities with the advertising aspect of the project. After several conversations we determined that the best way to advertise this product would be to think of something fun and quirky that customers would be able to relate to. As a result of this I came up with an advertising poster that I thought would be best to promote the company and its product, and give it and them the best exposure. The design I created featured the jar of ‘Honey Bee-z’ honey in place of a beehive in a tree, with bees flying back towards the tree and the ‘Honey Bee-z’ honey. With the caption ‘See what all the Buzz is about’. After showing this to the client we agreed that this would be a great way to advertise the product. 

I am extremely happy with how my work based learning has gone, although I was disappointed at first not to find a placement in a design studio I still feel that I have gained invaluable experience with this freelance project. It has taught me a lot of how the day to day running of a project would be, and I still feel that this is the career path that I would like to continue with. Therefore I will continue to try and gain more experience during the summer months by finding a placement within a design studio, or more freelance design work. However I do feel that I would be better getting a certain schedule set up during future projects, as although I did complete all of my projects on time, there were certain stages during this project were time was tight. This was because I was also juggling projects and assignments for university therefore I had to make sure that my time was always being spend wisely.  

Bibliography

http://influencedesign.co.uk/32556/381358/all-work/abraham-moss-clc-banners
[online] [accessed 25th April 2015]

http://influencedesign.co.uk/32895/540925/interiors/whitworth-art-gallery-autonomous-agents-lynn-hershman
[online] [accessed 4th February 2015]

http://influencedesign.co.uk/33030/330681/signage/mca-wayfinding-signage

[online] [accessed 16th February 2015]

My Portfolio

Final Pieces

Below shows all of my final pieces, that i believe will help the Honey Beez product have an increase in sales. 

Advertisement Ideas

After i had concluded the designs for the honey jar itself, as well as the packaging. I then went on to look at how i could advertise the honey, that would get people more aware of the honey, as well as making them want the honey. 

Therefore i came to the decision to make advertising posters. i thought this would be a good way to advertise, as you could place these advertising boards in built up areas were they are going to get the most out of them as more people would be seeing them.

One idea for an advertising board design is shown below. 

 I came up with the idea of using something fun for the advertisement poster, to try and get people involved with the honey. Therefore i came up with the idea above. Which shows bees flying back to what would be the beehive, however it is instead a jar of Honey Beez honey. I felt that this was a great way to advertise as its something fun as it shows the bees going back to the beehive which is instead a jar of honey because it is so good. 

However i felt that the text wasn't the best on the previous poster, therefore i changed it, again using the something fun aspect, and using a bit of word play. This time the poster says 'See what all the Buzz is about' with an obvious reference to the noise of the bees. By doing this i think it again fits in with the fun part of the advertising, and i believe that this would get more people interested in the honey, as they have seen the fun and quirky advertising poster, they may then be looking out for this product in the supermarkets as they remember the poster. 

Here shows the poster in a busy environment, as it is in a shopping centre. By putting the poster in a shopping centre i believe that this would give the product most exposure, and making people fully aware of the product. As i said before, if people see this poster they may then look out for this product when shopping in the supermarkets. Which is what is wanted, as said from the brief. 

3 Pack Design

I also thought that another good way to get the best of the honey was to create a three pack. 

You can see this design below.

As you can see i have again stuck with the cutout technique, this time with the packaging box, as well as this i have kept the material of the box the same as it is in the singular jar of Honey Beez honey. Which again promotes an environmentally friendly packaging. This will again promote what was a big statement in the brief that the company want people to know that this product is organic and fair trade. By putting them in environmentally friendly packaging i believe this would help. 

By using the cutout technique on the packaging it means you can clearly see the jar of honey inside, giving customers the recognisability that this is the same product as the single jars of honey. 

In addition to this i have also added bees to the rest of the packaging. This again makes it clear what the product is. 

Packaging Design

After it had been that the decided that the design was on the right track, i started to think about the packaging for the honey. I immediately thought of how the brief talks about fair trade and organic. This immediately made me think of an environmentally friendly packaging for the honey. 
An i feel that the design i have come up with fully represents that. These can be seen below. 

As you can see from the image above, i went with an environmental packaging. In addition to this i also decided to continue with the cutout technique for the packaging the same as i did for the honey jar. 

I felt that this was the best way as it shows a consistency in the design of the honey. I believe it is also a unique selling point that customers will immediately recognise in the supermarkets. As i feel that this product would easily stand out from its competitors on the supermarket shelves. I used the cutout technique on everything on the packaging, so not only the shapes are cutout, but also the name of the company, as well as the 'Properties of Manuka Honey' and the fair trade logo. Which again continues with the consistency that i was aiming for.

Above you can see how the design would look like as a whole, with the jar of honey inside the packaging. I thought that it would be a good idea to maybe have two different versions of the packaging, one were you can see the outline of the jar of honey on the outside of the packaging, which you can see on the image to the left. As well as a packaging were you can't see the outline of the honey jar, you can purely just see the cutouts through the packaging and also the honey jar itself, which is the image to the right. 

I thought that this would get people extra interested as they would maybe want to acquire both versions of the packaging. If this was the case i could maybe think about create additional versions of packaging if this is something would be interested in, almost like little collectable items for people.  

Chosen Design Changes

After the decision was made that this was the design to take forward more, i continued to tweak little bits of the design, as the main aspect of this had already been decided. 

This time i wanted to see how the design would look when on the jar. This images are below.

 I chose to go back a step in design as see how the main image would look on the design without any text, which you can see above. I felt that this design worked as a whole on the jar. This was also are by the company, therefore i continued on with the process, which is below.

After looking at the design however, i felt that the design needed something extra, as a result of this i came to the decision to use a cutout technique on the shapes. By doing this it means that customers will be able to see the honey through the design. This is shown in the image above the right. After i had done this i felt that the design had been taken to the next step, which is what was wanted by the company in the brief that i received. 
In addition to this i also added the text back in to the design, which was the companies name. I also thought that it would be a good idea to include that this honey had properties of Manuka honey, which was the most high end honey products. By doing this it also shows the customers that this is a top quality honey, at only a fraction of the price they would be paying for the Manuka honey. I also added the fair trade logo back in to the design, as this again would be a incentive for the customers to buy this product, because as was said in the brief, it would give the customers a feel good feeling when they see this logo. 

More Design Experiments

As i still felt that the designs were not right for the brief, i continued to experiment with different designs. 

I felt that my current designs were still missing that extra something that was wanted from the brief to make the Honey Beez product look more high end to increase sales.

I decided to completely change the way i was currently designing. This was to try and make that extra step up to make the product look like a premium brand.

These were the next set of designs i put forward. 

Firstly i decided to create an image that represents honeycomb, however i believe that this design still keeps the high end look that the company was looking for in the brief. As i felt that this bit of design would work well on the jar of honey, especially when colour has been added, which you can see below. 



                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                

After i we had come to the conclusion that this design was the one we wanted to take, i started to add colour to the shapes, as well as adding a few more shapes to keep the effect going up the page. I liked this design, however i felt that the top of the page as well as the jar looked a little sparse of detail, therefore i continued with the development of the design. Which you can see below.

This is when i came up with this design. As you can see i have implemented the honeycomb effect on the top of the page to fix the issue of it looking a little bare in the previous image, However after consulting we decided to keep the extra shapes in the middle of the page, as we thought that this give the design a little bit extra, rather than the middle being bare.
I also added the fair trade logo to the design, as the company made it clear in the brief that this was an important aspect of the honey that the wanted the customers to know about, as they thought that this would give the customers a feel good feeling when buying it.  

Continued Design Tests

Therefore i decided to change my designs giving me a better understanding of were i wanted my design to go, as well as the company, which is to give the company a more high end premium looking honey to increase the sales of the product. 

This then took me to the designs to what you can see below.

These were the designs i came up with next. I wanted to use the honeycomb effect on the bottom half of the jars. However i still felt that these designs were missing something. The top image i felt that the honeycomb effect didn't give off the realistic effect that i wanted it to, also i felt that this would not be a sufficient design for the Honey Beez to increase the sales of there honey. 
This was also the case for the bottom image, as i still felt that the design was missing something, for it to fully stand out on the shelf of the supermarkets. 

Because of this i continued to experiment wit different types of designs that would better represent the information that's presented in the brief.

Initial Design Tests

The first thing that i decided to look at in terms of design, was beehives. Therefore i designed different types of beehives that all had different effects on them to see if these would work on the Honey Beez honey. 

These can been seen below.

As you can see from the image above, you can see that i have added different effects on all the different beehives. However i still thought that i needed to see this in a more complete way. 

Therefore you can see that i have continued this test by adding honey dripping from above the beehive, as well as coming through the bottom of the beehive. 

However after this i still thought that this design was not what i was expecting, in terms of end result, not only for me, but also Honey Beez, and the requirements that was expected from the brief. As a result i decided to continue my designs in a different direction, but still kept this design in case i wanted to go back to this later if i thought of a better way to implement it to the Honey Beez honey.

Continued Research Into Existing Honey Labelling

After this i still thought it would be best to continue my research into existing honey products on the market today. However this time i tried to focus on more high end looking honey products, as this is what Honey Beez is looking for. 

Which you can see from the images below.

I especially like the way this product has use the lid as a part of the design, attaching the honey dipper to it, which is again in the shape of a beehive. As well as this they have also continued this in the design of the jar as they have continued the stripe effect around the centre of the jar.  

With the image above, it again shows the more high end product, As they have used a honeycomb type effect on the jar in black. However with the clear jar, were you can see the honey through it, it gives the product as a whole a very high end look to it. This coupled with the black label ties the whole product together really nicely, giving the product a premium look to it. 

The image above again shows a more a high end honey product. This design shows a more simplistic design, with a simple but effective honey drip coming from the top of the lid that runs down 3/4 of the jar. This runs from the black label on the lid, to the black label in the centre of the front of the jar, giving the design a consistent look to it. In addition to this i also like the jar itself, as i feel that the look of it gives the product as a whole a more expensive look to it.

This packaging shows a different way to advertise the honey product. As you can see, the beehive shape dismantles, as each ring separates, to eventually show the jar of honey inside. This is a totally different way of advertising, and this is why i think that's product would sell well. Because this is a totally different way of thinking, i believe that this would make people more aware of this, and be more willing to pick this up of the shelf because of the quirky aspect that it has. 

I really like the way the design of this honey product has been thought about to how this product would look on the shelf in the supermarkets. As the way the product is shaped gives off the honeycomb effect that we have seen previous. Not only that, the overall design has also been completed to a very high standard, again giving this product an extra edge with a premium look.  

I like the product above shows another different way to design honey. The design of this product is very simply, however it is the packaging of this product that makes it. As i have said in the previous designs above, it has a quirky look to it. In addition to the packaging being wood, it also gives the honey a more fair trade and organic feel to it. 

For this honey product the thing that stood out to me the most was the colour scheme of the whole packaging. As the window were you can see the honey through, really complements the colour of the cutout that has been used as well as this colour of the actual box that the honey is in. As the black, yellow and orange really works well together, giving the honey packaging a premium high end look and feel to it. 

Initial Research Into Existing Honey Packaging

After reading through the brief, and noting the key points from it, i decided to research existing honey products, and there labelling. From this i noticed that a lot of the current labels currently on the market today, show some sort of beehive, or honeycomb print. Obviously these are clear references to the bees, as well as the end product.

From the images above you can see that the majority if not all of my initial research shows some sort of reference to beehives or honeycomb. I especially liked the way the image directly above incorporates the use of the honey dipper into its logo. Giving this labelling an extra bit of quirkiness to it. 

Therefore i tried looking at taking a bit of design from all of the images above, as i believe that all of the design above give off a very professional look and feel to them. Which is something that the Honey Beez honey is currently missing.  

Re - Written Brief

Project Brief

Project Title : Honey Rebrand Campaign

Objective: To give ‘Honey Bee-z’ a more sophisticated look.

1. To rebrand a totally new look and advertising campaign for the ‘Honey Bee-z’ product.
2. To change the look of the product, which will result in the increase of sales, as well as the recognition of the honey.
3. To create new and current advertising and promotional materials for the company that will give the product an improved look.

Strategy:

Being based in Santiago, Chile, our family has been at the forefront of producing only the best honey that is available in the region. The cool southern rainforest regions, as well as the sunny and warm central valley, helps Chile deliver a wide range of honey types that are rich in flavour and activity. We believe that the bees should get all the buzz, as we did the easy part, so Primo are proud to offer the ‘Honey Bee-z” brand, active 12, which is now available at all Home Bargains stores in England. Im looking to create an all new design for the ‘Honey Bee-z’ product, that will result in the expansion in the industry, in addition to this, be able to have that eye catching appeal to stand out from other competitors in the market. Honey Bee-z currently has the advantage over its competitors with features of Manuka honey. We will look to find these key features, and promote them in the best possible way, to show the differences in “total activity honey” and “Manuka honey activity”. Once this is recognised by consumers, the sales of honey will increase. 

Target:

The target that we are looking at aiming at are shops that sell and also provide the highest quality products, as well as also selling a substantial amount of fair trade products. In addition to this we will look at the type of customers that buy honey, were they buy their other foods, as well as whether they are shopping online, getting it delivered, or going to the shops themselves.

Current Perceptions:

The current feedback of the Honey Bee-z product is that the turnover in sales isn't at the level they expect. They believe this to be down to the fact the labelling, design and pricing of the product, isn't at the level they want it to be compared to there competitors. Also were the product is being paced on the shelves compared to the competitors. 

Desired Perceptions:

A mature and classy look is wanted for the final product, which has all the key information about what the honey provides. 

Insight:

Customers don't realise that they are missing out on a premium product, instead choosing a low end product, due to the current labelling and design, as well as the pricing. This opportunity will catch the attention of buyers and show off the best features in a new classy design and in turn increase the sales. 

Proposition: (The Reward)

Customers that buy are getting the premium Manuka honey features for the low cost prices. Currently Manuka honey retails at around £24.99, however the Honey Beez product provides very similar features to Manuka honey and retails for around £3.99. Furthermore this honey is fair trade, which will give the customers that buy this product a satisfied and feel good felling. 

The Word:

Beneficial, Rewarding.

What Makes This Unique:

The thing that makes this product unique is the value you get for your money is simply brilliant. As you are getting a product similar to Manuka honey for the price of normal honey. 

Support:

Why wouldn't you buy this high quality honey for the low price?

• Honey Beez honey is quite simply a better quality product of honey, this is because anything below the price of this honey will contain Chinese honey, which is not good to put inside you.
• Is an active honey with very similar properties of Manuka.
• It has the U.M.F (unique manuka factor) that people pay up to £24 for, and this is a very similar product to ours.
• Our honey is organic as well as coming from a protective biosphere.
• Has a fair trade status as the producers are getting paid more that anyone else is paying, securing the supply for the future.  

Tone & Manner:

Classy, modern and high end.

Guidelines:

Make sure research has been carried out on the food, in addition to health and safety rules for the labelling and branding to make sure that the information that is essential to be on it so that it is able to be sold. 

Are there media or budget considerations:

No set budgets or media considerations have been set, however you will need to keep in mind the profit margins for the product, and how these changes will effect the product. 

Objective: What is this work expected to achieve?

1. An increase in the sales of the product, thanks to the making the product more appealing to the customers.
2. Making the product look more high end, and expensive, this is because this product is premium, that will be sold at a higher price than other honeys. 

Target: Sector, needs, age, position, job, geography etc.

The Honey Beez product is a high end premium honey, therefore the target audience should be:

• Customers who shop at more expensive supermarkets.
• Customers that shop online.
• Working - middle class people

Current Perception: How is the product being perceived?

Honey Beez honey is some of the best quality honey at a very respectable price on the market. However customers are choosing lesser quality, and cheaper jars of honey because of the poor labelling, in addition to the cheap looking jars. 

Desired Perception: How should the product be perceived?

This product should be getting seen as the finest quality honey that you can buy for this price, this is because of the sharing properties with manuka honey, however this is priced at £20 a jar. Whereas Honey Beez is retailed at £4 a jar. 

Insight: Why are people not buying the product?

The same as a lot of things, if the product doesn't look nice, people wont buy it, which is the same with this product. The problem is not the quality of the honey, but the way it looks. Undoubtedly if the product looks cheap it will steer the customers away. 

Guidelines: Are there any legal, practical or product - related inclusions I should consider?

Due to the food industries laws and regulations i will need to incorporate the nutritional values and also the ingredients that the honey contains, this will be on the label l as well as incorporated into the design.