Packaging (Heaven) - Brief

Student Brief – Innovative Packaging

Context to the brief: Personal care products and skin care range – body creams plus toiletry products.

Heaven is a premium skincare range of body creams and bath products that is made using botanical ingredients, essential oils and has no added perfumes, colours or preservatives.

Launched to capitalise on the trend for local, artisan made goods with health and well-being benefits the product uses a 10 responsibly sourced, simple high quality materials and naturally occurring ingredients. Sustainability values are a big feature for this luxurious product and this should be reflected in the packaging design.

Aim: To conceptualise and produce the packaging of a new personal care skincare brand. The focus of the product range is all about carefully selected ingredients and essential oils that allow customers to be elevated to a better sense of well-being.

Students are encouraged to reflect the qualities of the product (body cream and bath range), the name, the sustainability values, small-batch production and the ingredient choices when designing the packaging. You can invent your own packaging solution or use an existing format with modifications, depending on what is most suitable.

Considerations:

·       Small batch production of body creams and personal care bath products - opportunities for versioning and personalisation

·       The unique selling points of ‘Heaven’ skincare

·       How does this new brand compare with the competition?

·       The packaging will be made from Invercote - a smooth, high performance sustainably produced paperboard brand known for its flexibility, dimensional stability, and printability.

·       Repeated folding capability with Invercote G around 2,700 + times possible

·       Can the packaging tell the product’s story?

·       Sustainability messages/values regarding ingredients and packaging materials

Audience: Ethical consumers who advocate high quality, premium products - these consumers (not gender specific) are the audience for the range.

Quantity: Batch produced, small runs with print on demand digitally produced packs.

Requirements: Produce a visual mock-up 3d pack using the Invercote material provided.

4 x A3 boards to present your solution.

Provide a clear rationale on one A4 side to justify your decisions.

Visual Connections - Final Crit

This was the idea I come to the final crit with, I still wasn't happy with how it looked but I thought the idea might be in there.

• Bricks out of scale - not needed
• Too many spirals on notepad and no other side to them 
• Fixture could be more ornate? 
• Could include other language such as a red margin line or a pen or pencil in the spirals
• Could have a second poster as a stand to carry theme through 
• Hand drawn text is need for title

So I went away and changed things so it then looked like this: 

This still doesn't have the wow factor even though I like the idea. I decided to leave this project for the time being and come back to it when I had my next holiday from uni. 

* UPDATE* 

Mid Unit Review

In my mid unit review Helen looked through my back up work and said I had a stronger idea in there. So I went back and tried to combine a pencil top with a pint. I had previously tried to create a drawing where the two combined but it didn't work very well and was hard to distinguish what it was meant to be. 

I moved away from the illustrated style and choose to photograph the two. This is the final poster I came up with. I am still not happy with the image quality but I think the idea is a lot stronger and shines through more. 

NUA Norwegian Christmas Market

This year the Student Union is holding a stall on the Norwegian Christmas Market outside the Forum in Norwich. We were given the opportunity to make Christmas decorations and cards to sell. All profits would come back to the students and 10% to the SU.

I went to the first meeting to discuss what we could sell and what the stall would look like. I think I am going to make some cards and some baubles. I will have to go have a look around hobbycraft!

Storehouse Meeting

I decided to join the team that create the university's magazine, Storehouse. This is a student lead and SU funded magazine that is printed and distributed around NUA. It includes interviews from local companies and from creatives working in industry.

Twice a year we ask students to send in submissions to be included in the magazine. I was featured in Storehouse in my foundation year.

This issue is called 13 as it is the 13th copy of Storehouse and will be released around October time. The theme is spooky and Halloween.

I have found it hard to participate on his issue as the team has been spread about the country over the summer holidays. Then the week everything came together I was on holiday and unable to give my full attention.

I am looking forward to the next issue where hopefully we will have proper meetings and it will be more organised.

Visual Connections - Intermediate Crit

In my first crit for this project I was told to stop being so neat with my work. I need to do more sketches and layout designs. I need to go away and look at illustrative techniques and styles to help me with my final poster.

I was also told to look at existing graphic posters from places such as D&AD and design books.

The idea is key, not how busy the poster looks, I need to remember this.

Contextual Research Brief

Norwich University of the Arts

Graphic Communication, Graphic Design, Design for Publishing, Year 2

Term 1: BA2a
Project: 3,000 Report
Dates: Hand in: Friday February 17, 2017

Project title
3,000-word Report (made up of a 2,000-word essay and a 1,000-word annotated bibliography)

The brief in a sentence
The 3,000-word report will analyse a specific aspect of graphic design history in relation to key design issues. (The report will be in two parts: a 2,000-word essay and a 1,000-word annotated bibliography)

Background/context
Your research for your 3,000-word report will give you an opportunity to thoroughly investigate relevant ideas, designers, movements, issues and debates (both historical and contemporary), including those relating to ethical matters, while developing lines of inquiry and critical thought.

The challenge
With the support of your tutors you will independently devise a thesis question that will guide your research. The report should relate to your studio practice. The research should provide a foundation for your studio projects. The report must have a coherent theme and the sections need to relate to each other.

Audience
The report is aimed at a person who has no prior knowledge of your topic, but expects clear and logically structured information that is effectively communicated.

Things to consider
The report should make use of the most recent and most authoritative research on the subject. This research must be evaluated, analysed and communicated in a clear and concise manner. Academic writing skills will be developed and supported through the composition of your 3,000-word written text for which you will independently research, analyse and present your findings.

Assessment requirements
The 3,000-word report must be professionally presented. It must include all the standard requirements of an academic essay, including your name, title, referencing and a bibliography. Images must be numbered, captioned and be discussed in the text. Harvard referencing must be used in the body of the report (e.g. after quotes or other research) and in the bibliography.