M&S Picnic Illustration Research.

 Klas Fahlen

We both loved these illustrative pieces because of the simple block shapes and slightly geometric feel. The people illustrated have a lot of character that is brought too life by their expressions and quirky body positions. I love the two colour schemes used in the pieces below as they're simple but still create an interesting composition and highlight the shapes.

I selected this image to look at as I felt it would be good inspiration for if we need to create buildings in a similar style to the people. These designs really focus on highlighting the main shapes of the architecture and then highlighting them with a few more details. Using bright colours for them is also an interesting touch as it something very different from the everyday.

I love this food packaging as I think how the characters interact within the composition is very clever. I like how the packs have been designed so the product can be shown through and also how especially with the spaghetti how it has been used to bring another level to the design. The type used is very sophisticated and works well with the more naive style illustrations.

illustrationdivision.com/fahlen

Miroslav Sasek

This is another artist who's work is in a similar style that we're hoping to use ourselves. These illustrations have a more traditional look because of the paint texture used that gives a vintage aesthetic. The colours used are quite muted and authentic that I think would work very well with our Scottish theme. These images whilst being made of simple shapes have a lot of detail within them that I think is something we won't focus on.

miroslavsasek.com

Brave the Woods

The bright colours is what really drew us to these illustrations and I think colours like this something we would be interested in using with our own work. We liked the use of a white stroke to add detail rather than black as I think it enhances the colours rather than dulling them down. As well as the people we also liked how this style could easily be applied to other aspects like building and foliage as these things will probably appear within our composition.

bravethewoods.com

M&S Picnic - Packaging Research.

To gather further information we decided to research packaging design that wasn't necessarily related to picnics or M&S. We felt this would help to give us a larger range of ideas as the products we would be looking wouldn't be as focussed. We selected items where the design appealed to us or we felt used an interesting concept.

This packing appealed to us initially as we really loved the idea of using a wrapping paper to cover our products. We thought the bold print was vibrant and worked well with the more neutral belly band, which in our case would be great for stating the name of the product inside. Although after some consideration we decided that we both didn't like the thought of food being wrapped up and not being able to see it before you eat. It is very reassuring and enticing for an audience to be able to see their lunch when the purchase it.

This example really demonstrates how packaging can be used to show the food inside but in a creative way. Seeing as we have decided that our own packaging needs windows we can look into thinking of a more interesting way of them like this has. It adds an element of fun to the product that will really help the audience to engage with it.

I love this design as it is something that really attracts me aesthetically. I love how the products are all have slightly different styles but come together well as a set. The bright orangey/red spot colour is very vibrant and I think would help to attract the audience. I like how the box is also a more unique shape that would give it stand out shelf appeal.

We both really liked this design as we felt the illustration style was strong, although for our own products a definitely less feminine approach would need to be taken. I like the mix of filled colour and linear shapes as I think it adds an interesting effect to the composition. The type is also used in a way where the hierarchy is clear and easy to read.

We found these crisp bags a great inspiration as we loved the illustrative style. I think that creating characters like this and making a scene really helps to put across the theme of the products in a more creative and fun way. With the style of illustration I like the use of block colour and simple shapes to create a naive look the settings that are shown are also humorous that I think is great.

Next is another illustrative example that we loved the look of. I love how the style of drawings and colour is constant throughout. The characters also have a great sense of personality that matches the foods they are relating to. This definitely pushed the idea further for us that we wanted to use this kind of approach with our own designs.

In this packaging I like the use of simple illustrations to create a pattern and the use of block colours in similar tones really helps it to be successful. There is a slightly textured look that adds a vintage feel that helps to add character. The use of type also works well with this look and I like how the different fonts compliment each other.

We selected this image as we felt that the concept was really interesting and exciting. The design style and context doesn't fit with our idea but we still felt that coming up with a unique approach like this has is relevant and could really enhance our products.

The Scottish feel comes off very strongly with this packaging and although it is a very successful and relevant design I feel it represents a route and style that we aren't going to take for our own work. We plan to step away from traditional Scottish design and produce something more contemporary.

This was selected as I feel it is good inspiration for the structure of our packaging. As we decided earlier we felt that having windows within our package was very important and this shows how it can be incorporate whilst still working well with the more aesthetic design aspects.

I like how this biscuit tin has created a scene that clearly depicts a landscape associated with the products inside and I feel that this could be a good approach for us to take. A minimal colour palette has been used but the shapes are still clear and the composition still very interesting.

Brabantia - Final Boards.

Interim Crit.

Today we all took park in a large group crit. Here are my questions and feedback:


Brabantia

R.T Millinery

Galina London

R.T Millinery - Business Card Developments.

After an email with Rosie she suggested that she would rather not have an image on the business card just so that when she brings out new collections they're still relevant. To progress I have continued experimenting with some of the layouts but just used a block colour background, these are ok but I definitely feel that their can be some development to improve them a great deal.

I feel that these two designs would be more suited to the back of the business card where the contact information can be inserted to fill the composition, as how they are now I feel it is too bare and reminds me of a letterhead.

To create something more interesting I have looked at making a pattern using a repeat of the logo. I initially started with the more square design but I felt that this had too much white space and the shapes were slightly uncomfortable. I then pushed this idea further to the next option, that I prefer a lot more. I think that the diagonal lines work a lot better and also how the logos are smaller.

Next I considered using embossing as I felt that this process would give a professional and desirable end result. I think this works successfully but the layout and composition would need to be developed further.

Finally I looked at reversing the colours and I was impressed with how it looked. With the white as the background I think it now looks a lot more crisp and the logo stands out a lot more than it did before. I also think that having the logo smaller is more successful as the white space is effective.

Brabantia - Promotional Posters.

To tie up and complete this brief I have designed these promotional posters for my 'Bloem' collection. I wanted to keep the design and layout simple so that the focus was on the products. I have one main poster that highlights the majority of the collection and then some supporting ones showing additional items and some in more detail. I am really happy with them and I think it would be a strong way to advertise it if this was a real campaign.