Unit 1, Retail Graphics Project: Evaluation

For this project we had to set up a shop of our choice, choosing what the target audience of the shop will be, type of shop and what the theme will be. We then had to come up with a company name and design a logo, piece of packaging, a swing tag and an animated web advertisement to go with it. 

I chose to put the city scape into the logo as it matches the name of the shop 'Electric City' and the theme of the shot, that is urban. Where as the lightening bolt that features in some of my other logo ideas maybe put across the wrong idea of what the shop is selling. I got the inspiration of adding the city from the city lights image on one of my mood boards. I chose to make the logo fit around the shape of the shop name which had been drawn in between two outwards bending curves. This helps to give the logo a more unique shape compared to other logos. I decided to only add one colour (navy) to my logo to keep it simple and versatile. This is because after researching lots of different logs i realized they were mostly all black and white probably because if they became too complex they would not look as good when adding the logo to other products. Finally I added 'clothing + shoes' along the bottom of the logo to make it clear about what the shop sells. I could improve this font by making it on the computer instead of by hand.

I chose to make an open top box with a slide on cover as its an unusual design compared to other shoe boxes that all seem to have a similar design. It also gives easy access to the shoes inside for the customer to look at. The extra tabs on the box that over lap other more important tabs make it a stronger piece so its less likely to get damaged and will also provide extra protection for the shoes inside. If i had more time i would make the extra tabs have edges that slope inwards slightly and make them slightly shorter than the sides so they would fit more neatly into the box. my inspiration for the shoe box came from the red shoe box/bag shown on my packaging research post.

I decided to add a city across the top side of the box cover so I could cut out windows so the product inside can be seen from the outside. I also made the buildings navy blue to give a strong, bold contrast between the back and front layers on the box. This idea was the most effective compared to my others as it was the most eye catching and stylish. To improve I would re do the windows and cut them out more carefully to make it a better quality. I got the idea of cutting out the windows from the 'Soapworks' box that I did an analysis of.

I added an edited version of my logo to the end of the box where it will be most visible to customers and on the bottom of the cover with the other information about the product. If I had more time i would go back and re edit my logo as the yellow outline is not clearly visible all the way around the words, also the city scape has a double line and overall doesn't look as good as it could. The reason I added the yellow lines was to give it a glowing effect and also to make it stand out from the rest of the box.

I chose this idea over others as it is a more complex with  a more interesting shape and design, compared to the others that have a more common shape. I also liked this design best as the yellow stands out really well from the background and also gives a good effect of light shining through the windows of the layer above. Where as the other designs that weren't as bold or visible on the navy blue background. The reason I chose to use a two layered swing tag was because it would allow more room for information and also it works well with my design. If I had a chance to remake the tag I would make the windows slightly smaller and more the circular hole for the string away from the edge as these parts will easily be ripped. Also I would add more information about the product on the back.

Conclusion: I enjoyed coming up with ideas and designs for this project, as i enjoy clothes shopping in my spare time this was a fun project for me. Overall i felt the project went quite well as i managed to finish all of the work, although if i had more time i would of been able to make more improvements to my final outcomes.

Unit 1, Retail Graphics Project: Animation

This is an animation i created in Adobe Photoshop, using a series of photos I had taken of my box. I decided to show the box opening, turning and then closing. I inserted the images using file-scripts-load files into stack, then i went to window-animation so the animation frames menu opened at the bottom. I then inserted my pictures into the order i wanted them and changed the time delay in between each picture to 0.25 seconds and the amount of times it is played to 'forever'. 

Unit 1, Retail Graphics Project: Final Swing Tag

For the top layer of my swing tag I added the same texture background as I used on my box. I also added the shop logo along the bottom towards the left so its clearly visible to customers. As the shape of it is a cut out city scape I also decided to cut out the windows of the buildings so that the colours from the layer underneath would show through. For the second layer of the swing tag I used a rectangle shaped piece. I made the background navy blue and added yellow rectangles on top in the same position of the windows on the other piece so when put together the yellow would show through. Along the bottom I added the web address for the shop also in yellow as it shows up well on the blue background. On the back I added the logo at the top again and at the bottom I added the bar code.

Unit 1, Retail Graphics Project: Swing Tag Development

Next I took my four favourite ideas and created them on the computer using illustrator as well as creating some new ideas that I came up with.

I decided to add a second layer to most of my swing tag ideas as it would allow the second layer to contain any information about the product. For one of my new ideas I chose keep it as one piece but give it a fold so it has two layers. The other was the same idea but instead of having a fold I made them two separate pieces.

My least favourite ideas were the one layer rectangle design as it is too simple and quite boring to look at. The second is the two piece city scape design as it is too delicate and wont hold much information on it. Lastly the city scape folded over onto the background as it doesn't stay flat and will be damaged more easily.

I then took my Three final ideas and experimented with printing them out on brown paper. However the coloured ink doesn't show up as well so the effect isn't as good and the colours/material doesn't match well with my shoe box.

I also experimented with using thin white material to make them. For the tag on the left I used a tea bag to stain it a light brown colour and I also added a piece of card behind the tag on the right. 

Since I didn't have the right equipment to be printing on the material I had to draw my designs on by hand which was a lot harder to do and didn't look as good. The design on the left was the hardest because of the city scape being difficult to cut out, therefore the edges of the material are quite messy.

I then chose my favourite idea and developed the surface design of it in Adobe Illustrator.

My least favourite out of these designs was the top right as it is too plain and simple and also the bottom one as the black rings are barely visible on the blue background.

Unit 1, Retail Graphics Project: Initial Swing Tag ideas

These are the first 9 ideas I came up with for my swing tag.

I decided to experiment with a range of different shapes. Simple ones such as rectangular, oval and square that are commonly used on other products and a couple of unique shapes that link to my logo design and theme such as the city scape shape and the shape that matches the one of my logo.

My favourite shapes for the swing tag are the rectangle, oval and city scape.

These were the first ideas I came up with for the shape of my swing tag.

Unit 1, Graphics Retail Project: Swing Tag Analysis

One

This is a swing tag made for Tommy Hilfigers clothing shop, it looks like its made for top of the range products therefore the target audience is most likely people with a lot of money to spend and middle aged people. As stated on the round yellow stamp on the front it is an american company. A very small version of the shop logo is featured on the bottom of the tag. Above the logo it says what the product is and what colour in fairly big bold writing so the customer can easily see it. The name of the shop is printed across the middle of the tag in big bold capital letters with a white outline and navy fill. The white outline helps to make it stand out from the background as it gives it a sharp edge so the word looks clearer. The swing tag is made out of brown card with a piece of brown string for attaching it to the product. The hole in the top of the tag has a gold eye lit in it to stop the string from ripping through the card.

Two

The swing tag on the left is made out of black card with two pieces to it. The front piece has a material texture imprinted into the background, possibly because it is for a clothing shop, with an embossed shape/section on the front. The logo and the shop name are featured in the middle of the raised part, to make it stand out better. The second layer of the swing tag is also black card with a black glossy strip printed down the right side which features the shop name and logo. A piece of black and white thread is used through the holes at the top to hold the pieces together and also so it can be attached to the product. The ends of the thread are held together by a piece of plastic for extra strength so they don't come apart as easily. The swing tag looks like it is made for a sports clothing shop with the target audience of teenage boys.

Three

The swing tag is made for another shop that mainly sells jeans. It is made out of thick strong material that has been printed on. The colours used are navy- to symbolize the colour of the jeans and red- to highlight important information. The logo is featured at the top of tag in a sectioned off part from the rest. The main writing in the middle of the tag has a 3D effect with the front of the letters left without any colour. String is put through the hole at the top for attaching it to the product, there is a gold eye lit placed in the hole to strengthen it. The target audience for this shop is most likely all ages, boys or girls as jeans are a very popular product for everyone. 

Unit 1, Retail Graphics Project: Swing tags research

I had to carry out some research on existing swing tag designs to help give me inspiration for my own.

One Two Three Four Five

Unit 1, Retail Graphics Project: Final Package

For the background of my net I flicked black ink across a piece of paper with a paint brush. I then scanned it in and cropped out certain parts that i wanted to add to each section of my net. For the next layer i added a range of different sized circles/rings varying in black or navy that i had created in Adobe Illustrator. For the final layer i added in my city scape, that i previously made for my logo, across the top part of my net which i filled in navy as well as the side. I also added windows that i cut out with a craft knife once i had printed my net out and mounted it on white card.

Since the theme of my shop is Urban I decided to type this into Google to help give me inspiration for my box design.

One- The rough look and the paint splashes gave me the inspiration for my textural background to my box.

Two- The look of the circles/rings in the picture inspired me to feature it in my own design.

Three- This shoe box net idea had the biggest impact on my own design, as it is an unusual, clever and unique idea.

The surface design of my box relates to my urban themed clothes shop as urban culture is the way of life in towns and cities and the main feature of my logo/box is a city scape.

I decided to remake my final box so I could make a few changes to improve it. First I needed to make the box cover a few millimetres wider and higher so the main box could slide in and out without any difficulty. I also added some acetate behind the windows I cut out from the top of the box so the product inside will be protected. I drew a picture of a pair of shoes in the inside of the box to show that when the product is inside you will be able to look through and see it.

I also added some information about the product/shop, such as the web address along the side of the box, the size of the product and price on the back. As well as the recycling logo, bar code and another image of the shop logo. This will help promote business for the shop and tell the customer more about the product.

Unit 1, Retail Graphics Project: Package Developments

I used a paint brush to flick black ink across this page so I could add the effect onto the background of my box design.

The box on the right was my first idea that I drew onto the net by hand. I then chose to develop the idea on illustrator, I added in the ink effect to the background and removed the city from the top as it didn't look as good or fit very well. Next I decided to re add the city but going across the box the other way as there is more room to fit it into.

This is the net of my favourite box design.

Unit 1, Retail Graphics Project: Shoe Box Net: Repeat Pattern

I decided to use the lightening bolt from one of my previous logo experiment ideas to make a repeat pattern of in Illustrator. By repeating the edge on one side to the opposite so the edges fit together and then creating a swatch of the pattern so it could be added as a fill.

Unit 1, Retail Graphics project: Net Designs

I covered this net in different coloured stamps in a random order and pattern to give it a more effective and unusual look.

For this net i used cut out text from newspapers to give the net an urban, rough look and to make it a typography styled piece.

For this net i used the marble painting technique using only three bold colours to add texture, give a randomized/unique pattern and to add a fun look to the design.

For this net i took rubbings of different coins with different coloured pencils to get a better more detailed effect rather than drawing the coins by hand.

For this net i used charcoal free hand to draw out the basic pattern then used my finger to rub over the lines adding a 3D effect to the design.

For this net i used a black fine liner pen to create an overview map of an urban city, to match my urban theme for my shop.

Unit 1, Retail Graphics Project: Initial Packaging Net Ideas

The first net in the top left is a basic box shape with a separate lid that sits on top. The box in the top right is a rectangular shape with the lid attached to the rest of the box. The net in the middle is of a box with a separate cover that slides over the top. Finally the one in the bottom right also has the lid attached to the rest of the box but is more of a square shape and the lid has locking tabs to make it more secure.