Evaluation of the Project

What I have done:

1) Mood board
2) Mind Map
3) 4x Logo Analysis
4) Initial Idea: Logo Mounting
5) Logo Development x5
6) Initial Packaging Nets x6
7) Targets
8) Final Packaging Nets
9) 6 Examples of Swing Tags
10) 3 in depth analysis of Swing Tags
11) Initial Swing Tags
12) Final Swing Tag Design

I feel pleased with everything that I have done, however my checklist is slightly different to the one on the Graphics Blog because I chose to do different Logo developments and my Christmas homework was my Initial packaging Ideas. I have also made as swing tag which is not included on the original checklist. My work has been approved by my Graphics teacher and she has helped to show me points of improvement, especially around my final packaging design. The work I enjoyed the most was making the different logos while experimenting with different mediums. I have been inspired by the packaging work of Christie Tandiono, who designed the 'Donut Monsters' packaging and for my shop name and logo, I was influenced by cartoon ducks as I wanted my product to appeal to children. The carving used on my swing tag was influenced by Rob Ryan, who I looked at for my Typography project.

The brief of the project was to design the logo, packaging and swing tags of a shop that we have to make up. My idea was to make a doughnut shop. It took me a while to come up with a good idea for a shop name but I finally settled for 'Sugar Duck', after I looked at the figure of cartoon duck. My initial logos therefore featured cartoon ducks, until I was encouraged to start drawing from real ducks. I didn't like them however, because I wanted them to be more appealing to children and I decided to go back to my original cartoon idea. I also decided to make my wording more typographical as I felt that the words were not thought of enough in my other ideas. In this design, I emphasised that this was a doughnut shop by making the lettering doughnut shaped. I also decided to add the 'S' at the end of 'Sugar Ducks' to emphasise the 'Duck' part by making the 'S' duck shaped. I chose this to be my final design.

What influenced the changes in my work was my desire to get my work to a better standard. What influenced my final packaging design was my one of initial ideas which had feathers on it. It worked as it went with the duck theme of the the product. Feathers also went on to my final tag design as I thought it was such a good idea. What I could of done is emphasise my doughnut products more in my final outcomes, as that is the main thing my shop would sell. I like my final outcomes however, I think if I had a chance, I would change the colours used the most in my final packaging and final tag, as I had already expressed my target audience was for young children (both genders), I am not sure black and red are colours that would appeal to everyone.

In the end, I feel that I have accomplished more in this project than the Typography project. One improvement about this project which was different from the other project, was that there were three main outcomes that were made clear: research and work towards my Logo design, research and work towards my Packaging design and research and work towards my Swing Tag design. This helped me go through the stages to completion.

Mounted Work

Top Left: Swing Tag Ideas, Top Middle: My Final Logo Design, Top Right: My Final Logo Design.

Bottom Left: Pastel Experiments, Middle: Paint Experiment, Middle Right: Experimenting with doughnuts.

Bottom Middle: My Initial Logo Designs, Bottom Right: My Final Logo Design.

Initial Swing Tag Ideas

These are just simple ideas for my final tag. I tried to improve the shape every time, making it fit the product even more. I already knew what I wanted to do, which is my number 4 design. I should have coloured this more however it is just to show how show how simple it is.

My Final Net Design- Remake

I kept the overall shape as it was more or less what I wanted however, I had to remake it as it had to open without difficulty and it had to be made out of cardboard, which I did by spray mounting my net on to cardboard. I did the ends separately this time, which worked out better than last time. The feathers were easier to get on this time as I didn't have to fiddle about with the ends as much. One thing I haven't fitted on as you can see is the handle. Whoops! 

I think one reason why this was so successful was that this time I used double sided tape, which means you cannot see the little imperfections like last time.  

Working out the net design

The little imperfections that helped to make the final product. What you are looking at here are the attachment ends that where not quite to the right standard. These were too small, not the right colour and wouldn't fit on right. How irritating!

My Final Tag Design

This had always been my idea for my final swing tag design as it matches to my final packaging design quite nicely. I thought it was a good idea to elaborate that this idea was for a doughnut company, hence the doughnut center, keeping in mind it had to fit my shop theme, hence the duck bill. I wanted to show a handmade element doing some elaborate carving to make the tag look more appealing and look like there is more to it.

Packaging Examples: Donut Monster

This is the designs of packaging for the doughnut brand 'Donut Monster'. The purpose of the packaging is to fit different amounts of doughnuts into each one, depending on a persons preference. The designs would appeal to a young audience as the designs use of colours are appealing, fun and exciting colours that make the design stand out and make it look cute. The design is cheeky and establishes very clearly without needing a logo that the company sells doughnuts. In the first picture, the logo is not scene and even though in the bottom picture half of it is missing, we can see that it is hand drawn typography that suits the brand. The net is like most doughnut boxes except perhaps a little higher and it has ever a picture or a window into the box, which is shaped like a monsters mouth, which goes with the theme. The image presents the company as could show that they are in touch with a child's lifestyle and taste, showing that they are fun and unique, which is highlighted by the fact I haven't seen a doughnut box like this before. It has inspired me to make my product appeal to children for my packaging idea and to make it a certain shape and out of the ordinary.

Packaging examples: Velocita

What is the purpose of the piece?

To deport the coffee to different market places in different countries, where it is sold in this packaging. The thick cardboard box helps to protect the coffee beans while it travels.

What sort of image does it project about the company, organisation or product?

It could show that the company care about recycling, fair trade and cheaper packaging materials. The company also wanted each pack to be labelled with stamps that show the date of roasting to emphasise that the coffee beans are fresh, which shows the company cares about the satisfaction of its customers. It effectively shows me the message of of the product and the feeling of the people who made it. 

Who commissioned the piece to be made?

Velocita obviously commissioned it to be made as they took the time to think of all the features they wanted to include on their packaging.

Who is the target audience?

Mainly for fair trade coffee drinkers, who are mostly adults. These boxes contain 400g of coffee, which means it may be expensive for deported coffee.

What is the shape of the net? 

It is a simple cuboid box shape, which is held together by express tape.

What colour is used?

The main colour from the packaging is ordinary cardboard brown, however the main colours come from carefully made cardboard stamps, travel stickers and tape which is thrown almost randomly onto the packaging. This helps to make the packaging stand out from other coffee products and shows exactly where it comes from, which sometimes wonders the buyer. It is not similar to any other coffee packages I have seen as most other coffees comes in jars or plastic re-sealable bags. The colours thrown around messily are yellow, red and blue, which makes me think that the distributers do not care about presentation.

Discuss the use of typography, fonts and sizes.

Some of typography is handmade, and some words are signed by hand, however the product name 'Velocita' uses an almost 'Impact' style font, which is in bold, sans-serif and italics and at a large size. It looks too official and industrial to be exciting and its colour is a dull black. 

What sorts of images have been used?

No photographs have been used and it doesn't show the audience what is inside the product from the outside, so there is no way of telling what the beans look like and what condition they are in. The only images come from the packaging stamps, which are industrial, artificial and dull.

What is the layout, how is the text aligned and what information is included on the piece?

The information includes the best before date, the date of roasting, travel details, how much the amount of coffee weighs, what way up it should be opened and the name of the company. Most of text is aligned in the middle of the product on a unevenly stuck on sticker.

Do you like the piece and could it influence on your own designs?

I appreciate the clever lack of any other unnecessary packaging to cut down on expenses and to help fair trade. However, its lack of original typography, images and colour makes the product look unappealing and a little uncreative. While the different net idea is a good idea, it is too much of a used idea for my product which is for doughnuts. I also want my packaging to be more colourful and more attractive to a younger, funner audience.

Analysis of Three Swing Tags

This is a swing tag made from card, created and cut out by a computer. The shape of the tag links with the pictorial part of the logo as it is flower shaped. The wood background links to nature and goes well with the company name ‘my escape’. The tag helps to create a calming emotion as I can connect the soft pink colours, natural connotations and the image of a woman practicing yoga to peace. This helps me to guess what types of product the business sells, which could be yoga equipment. They are feminine products, which is highlighted by the pink colours used on the tag. The design is effective as it is simple and suits the the less traditional shape. This tag inspires me to make a differently shaped tag as well. 

These are traditional shaped tags, made out of soft fabric and stitching, which look effective for clothes tags. There is a pleasing amount of colour on the tags as well, which was the main thing that caught my eye. The intricate stitches impress me and the traditional tag shape works well as look like normal clothes tags. However, the problem with the stitching is that, while the letters look pretty and are in a suitable swirly typeface; the thinness and the height of the letters make it hard for me to read the writing. I think the products being sold with the swing tags are women's clothes as there are flowers patterns and feminine colours (such as light blue, red and pink) which are used. This example influences me to make my swing tag not entirely out of card, but out of other materials as well.

A very effective tag, as it looks like it was made with very thin leather and was embossed with letters. This type of tag makes me think of jeans somehow, and that is exactly what is being sold. The colours suit each other nicely and the letters are a nice bold. It is also more traditionally shaped tag, with the logo etched into the material, however it is rather hard to see. I think this tag is sold with male jeans as the colours used are more masculine. This is my favourite out of the tags as it looks very professional, simple and well made.

Swing Tag examples

Final packaging design idea

This is basically what I want my final net to look like. Unfortunately, this version is held together with sellotape, which looks unprofessional. It has no locks which means it would be hard to get into. The whole look was approved but I was advised to fit in a packaging lock. This would be hard to do on a cylinder so I may need help. 

Example Nets- basic shapes

These are just some shapes that I made, just basic shapes moving onto packaging ideas. I liked the idea of the cone as it bears some similarities to the beak of a duck, so I had the idea to make my net almost duck shaped, using a cylinder as the main shape. I think a cylinder would work for packaging doughnuts as the doughnuts could fit around the shape. I also experimented with packaging locks, however i do not expect any of them would work for a cylinder. The bag net gave me the idea to give my net a handle. I found the locks harder to make as there were many things to cut that weren't simple and I had trouble sticking the smaller tabs especially with the cone.

My Final Net Design

I chose my final net based on one of my example nets (the one with the feathers). It was important to add my logo design on my net, so I tried to incorporate the feathers around the side. The smallest white circles represent where the feathers will go, and the bigger circle present where the ribbon handle will go. The triangles represent the beak, which will be stuck on the red circle of the cylinder. 

Experimental nets

Logo Analysis

Targets

IT'S THE NEW YEAR! WAHOO!
Here are my 3 New Years Resolutions to improve my Graphics Portfolio!

1) We have a lot of work to do, so I cannot miss any lessons. If I have to I have to ask for work before I go away, which means calling in when I'm away or forward planning. I should also do work in my spare time.

2) I should also do extra work that is relevant to the project.

3) I should work harder in class. I've been feeling that my work has been getting more half hearted.