Pantone Potatoes...

Clearly this is a design that every designer, printer etc will appreciate, I do however see a flaw. There is no indication of the flavour; the blue and green - Salt & Vinegar and Cheese & Onion or vice versa? The brown- Worcester sauce? Beef & Onion? Steak? I like them, but packaging needs to be clear and informative, which this certainly isn't.



From Thoughtful

(Someone guessed salsa for the red, and cucumber for the green...had they eaten crisps before?)

Writing on the wall...

This stuff is amazing...I seriously wish my house was painted in this stuff because it would a) be so much fun and b) so easy to design at anytime. This is Idea Paint -
"IdeaPaint is a single-coat, roller-applied paint that can turn any “paintable” surface into a dry-erase surface. Essentially, IdeaPaint can create a whiteboard environment wherever your ideas might take form (walls, columns, doors, refrigerators, bathrooms, etc.)—but it’s less than half the cost of a traditional whiteboard and better performing. IdeaPaint is also the most environmentally friendly dry-erase product on the market, with limited packaging, transport and materials required."




The packaging is also rather good - simple and to the point. The graphic elements in the logo represent exactly what this product is about. Generally pretty bloody good! The only down side is it costs $175 for 50 square feet...which seems like quite a lot. Never mind, a girl can dream right!?

A cup is more than just a cup...

There is not much like a Red Starbucks Cup in November to make you feel just a little bit festive, and just a little like christmas is taking over the world. I purchased my first Red Cup beverage of the season today, and in all honesty I did feel cheered. It made me think just how much a colour can affect you're mood and attitude toward a product. Normally a cup is just a cup, whether its from Starbucks, Costa or that random coffee place you get your morning caffeine fix from, cup; but in some instances a cup is much more than a cup; just as packaging is so much more than a wrapper. The packaging can make or break a product, it is your first impression and as well all know, first impressions count! The exterior is the bench mark for everything held within. You expect a product with basic colours, information and imagery to be a basic product. Something that is more dressed up and decorative is usually A) more expensive and B) a better product, possibly the best product.

I have recently come to realise that perceptions and first impressions are important, or at least more important than I used to think. I have been working on several briefs that all require interaction with the consumer on a very close level; the designs they see will give an impression of what the product will be like whether I as the designer want it to or not. We as consumers have come to expect just as much from the packaging as from the product itself. As a designer I realise that the work I produce gives a first impression about me; who I am, what I like, whether I'm good at what I do...I put a lot of trust in myself to choose briefs that will showcase my abilities and enhance my attributes. I am not sure whether I trust myself that much. It is hard to accept that in a few months time I will no longer be a student. I won't have the security of someone telling me when they think I'm doing it wrong for my own benefit. The real world is going to be a bloody scary place when I'm done with uni, I just hope that I am up to the challenge.

Discoveries from the back of the cupboard...

I am speaking of the metaphorical cupboard that seems to exist within my mac hard drive. I recently installed the new leopard upgrade, Snow Leopard, which therefore encouraged me to delve into my hard drive and tidy it up a bit. It is amazing what you can find, and what you've forgotten you had.

I came across my taxonomy photographs from last years summer project and realised that we never really got the chance to do anything with them, so here are a handful of my favourites...I may do something more with them in the future, but for now I quite like them as a type archive...

A One Off...

The photos above are of all the lovely, and very talented people who work at The One Off a multidisciplinary agency in Islington, London. I spent a fantastic two weeks at the agency, assisting on one major project, that by the end of the first week seemed to have taken over the majority of the studio, and most of our lives.

Sadly, I signed a confidentiality agreement which means I can't tell you all about the project... But the basics were brand identity, mark/logo and name, the look and feel for brochures, advertising, in store point of sale, customer journey and store layout/defined areas. The customer journey and in store design were not something I had thought I would be working on, but having been thrown into the project part way through I had to get into it pretty quickly. I really enjoyed working on an aspect that I had never had the opportunity to consider before, and it has made me think more broadly about the way graphics can be implemented, and the effects that they will have on the consumer.

The brand identity aspect was much more in the vein of the work I did at The Gild, but it wasn't the same thing, as working with different people, and in a different way made it feel like a completely new experience. I feel that I have really improved my communication skills when it comes to discussions over designs, and how the brand will be viewed if various designs were to be used.

We had some difficulty with the company, as we spent the entire two weeks without an actual name for the business, which meant a lot of guess work, and multiple options were required for every design idea. This really tested my skills, as it was really hard to visualise a company that had no name, only a list of emotional words and ideas that they want their brand to portray. We spent a lot of time considering the feel of the brand, getting into the essence of what was required, and moving pieces of paper about on our huge chart that dictated the areas of design. Though some parts of this process were a little slow, I think that it really helped to fully understand, and experience the brand values, before ploughing into designing for something we didn't really comprehend.

Overall the two weeks were very informative, and a really great (and I think accurate) experience of work in a real studio, dealing with a proper client, and working as part of a small, but very experienced team of professionals. I can not thank the team at The One Off enough for all of the help they gave me, and the time they took to improve my skills and make me feel that I was contributing to an important account.

Hand drawn type...

I have recently discovered two lovely hand drawn type illustrators. It seems a rather elaborate area of graphics, but also one of the most experimental. I have enjoyed exploring the work of these clever and imaginative people, and I hope you shall too...

Linzie Hunter

















































































Nate Williams

Vintage Type...

These are just some interesting pieces of vintage type...

Type-joy...

Type is something that you can experience everyday of your life, and still not realise the finer points of it's beauty. I would like to think of myself as someone who appreciates it's elegance and magnificence, even in the most mundane of uses. I've been continuing my collection of type that I started as last year's summer project, and those shown below are just a few of my favourites...

Young Blood...

Whilst in Sydney I visited the Sydney Design Festival exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum. I got pretty lucky as they had their Young Blood Designers Market on, which showcases the best design talent from across Australia and gives them an opportunity to get their name into the commercial market. It's a bit like D&AD New Blood, but in a museum...

Anyway - I came across several really interesting products that I wanted to buy, sadly they were pretty expensive so I didn't, but there are some examples below...

Bespoke Press

Shuky

Rebound Books

The lovely people at The Gild...

Well, as we all know from the ridiculous heat wave last week, summer is finally here. Mine is shaping up to be so busy, but I'm thinking that is a good thing, I hate sitting around doing nothing.

Since finishing term and moving out of my flat I seem to have been all over the place - but in a good way. For the first couple of weeks I was busy working part-time, sleeping and sunning myself the rest. Last week I started the first of my two placements for this summer, at Exposure. Granted I was nervous for my first day, but it turned out to be pretty fun, and nowhere near as scary as I thought. As I settled into the swivel chair in front of a seductively shiny mac cinema display, I began to think 'yeh...I could do this for a living'. The first week was really busy; brainstorming for new brands, logo design, presentation preparation and general office banter really take it our of you! I'd been getting up at 7am and not arriving home til after 7pm - it was clear that sleep was going to be a top priority over the weekend (sadly, I didn't get much due to a trip to Leicester, a family gathering, and a irritatingly squashy hotel bed).

I am now nearing the end of my second week, and my time at The Gild. The people here have been amazingly nice, really accepting of me and my inexperienced designers brain, and very willing to help and give advice. I don't really think I can mention exactly what I have been doing - it's probably a breach of confidentiality; but I've really enjoyed working on different projects, and experiencing life in a real studio. I'm very excited to see what comes of work I have done; and the other projects that have been going around me.

Thank you to all the lovely people at The Gild!

Portfolio - End of Year 2...

This is the PDF portfolio that I have put together for my end of year presentation. I have included 15 pieces of work, and given a short description of each brief.