OUGD401 - End of Module Evaluation

OUGD401 has been a challenging module as it required a lot of reading and writing and different forms of research to what I have been previously used to.

I found many of the study tasks quite challenging including the triangulation and analysing images however over the course of the year I have found myself improving at analysing texts and gathering relevant information.

For my research I felt I could have used more appropriate forms of collecting information by reading more critically acclaimed / academic sources than the 4 books I got from the library and I felt I sometimes relied too heavily on internet sources. This however allowed me to gather more current information as it was more recently published than the books were. I also felt I could have used triangulation and some of the other techniques we learnt in the lessons more throughout my writing. Before my next COP essay I plan on reading a few examples of 3^rd year dissertations to get a grasp on the style and layout of writing that we are meant to be producing.

For the practical side of the submission I felt confused by the requirements for a long time and didn’t know how to get started / what outcomes to produce that would link in with the content of my essay. Because of this I feel my final outcomes were a bit rushed. If I had time to revisit the project, I would improve my work by producing my own photographs for the posters and actually making physical versions of the packaging rather than relying on Photoshop for both. I would also get the posters printed on high quality thicker stock, or made into magazine advertisements on glossy stock paper. I would also make sure the images were high quality resolutions so they didn't pixelate when printed out. 

I was happy with the outcome of my logo design and thought it worked well in achieving the new look I wanted to give to the brand. The feedback I received enforced that.

The questionnaire I made was successful in gathering feedback for the rebrand that I had done for Sprite and the results concluded what I had initially intended for the purpose of the rebrand: consumers buy a product for the lifestyle that the brand is advertising rather than the product itself.

From the survey results, the change of this ‘lifestyle’ also boosted sales of sprite amongst women as they found the previous packaging and advertising of sprite very masculine.

Looking back on my final piece I wish I had made a more gender neutral re-brand for a company than the one I did as I would have been able to gather much more varied research and opinions rather than focussing purely on women. This would have also allowed me to gather results on the relationship consumers as a whole have with branding rather than just women. In this respect my question began to cross over with "To what extent does advertising construct our ideas of gender?"

Overall I believe I completed COP to an good standard and was happy with the results that I got.

Survey Questions and Responses

I made a quick questionnaire to see if I had achieved the aim of the practical research which was to see if rebranding the packaging and advertisement of sprite changed the demographic which it appealed to and created a lifestyle associated with the brand. 

I then gathered feedback and information from the target audience I was aiming at on their opinions of Sprite and to see if I had been successful at making the brand more appeling to women. 

WHICH PRODUCT PACKAGING IS YOUR FAVOURITE AND WHY?

I like the one on the top right best because of it's simplistic packaging and clear bottle. It stands out to me more than the others.

Top left examples, they are gender neutral ad aren't too modern like the others.

San peligrino - colourful and fun and reminds me of the sun! Makes me think the drink is going to be delicious and thirst quenching with the water droplets design :-)

Top right, glass bottle looks exclusive and fresh

I prefer the top right, it has a clean, minimal design which highlights the product it's selling in a clear and natural way which makes the product seem more appealing.

The last 2 look more fancy

The second one, it's unusual and looks like a fresh, new design, yet looks durable and versatile too for further uses

Belvoir Elderflower, it is a clean design but interesting design and gender neutral.

Off white - neutral, sophisticated packaging

THESE ARE IMAGES  OF THE NEW BRANDING AND ADVERTISING: 

WHAT SORT OF LIFE STLYE IS THE NEW REBRAND PROMOTING AND WHO DO YOU THINK IT IS AIMED TOWARDS? 

It seems to promote a more outgoing, active and idyllic lifestyle. Aimed towards teenage girls

A healthy and energetic one. Girls 15 and over

Care free women's drink

Happy, fresh, organic aiming at women and girls

Being carefree, creative and in touch with nature, exploring.

Nature and adventure aimed at young women.

Adventurous, aimed at younger generation, the sort of drink you can carry around easily with you for fun days out etc

Helping you to live a more adventurous, healthy and active life. Encouraging creativity and individuality. Would appeal to a young and active audience.

THE URBAN OUTFITTERS LIFESTYLE. No but more specifically - new branding screams 'adventurous youth', more female orientated but could also be neutral

DO YOU LIKE THE NEW REBRAND? WHY / WHY NOT?

I do like it because it makes the drink seem up to date and sought after. I also really like the packaging, I think it would stand out against all the other brand out there. It also somehow looks more expensive and which automatically would make me think it was better.

I really like the playfulness of the typefaces used as they mimic the energetic feel of the advertisements.

Yes it's very simple and makes you think it's going to be low in calories and a refreshing drink.

Yes, makes Sprite seem far more upmarket, also healthier and more organic, although this could be seen as misleading?

I do like the new rebrand as it makes sprite feel like it is a more natural drink that lends itself to be healthier. The clean minimal design helps give the brand more focus and I think will help it stand out. Although the design might look more high end and expensive which could put people off as they just want a cheap fizzy drink.

Yes

Yes, it reinvents a drink that was previously less popular and brings a new look to it

Yes, I think it's great and I would definitely be more inclined to buy the drink. It looks much more premium and reminds me of health drinks and organic/fair trade produce.

yes!! v minimal, subtle and aesthetically pleasing

DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD BE MORE LIKELY TO BUY SPRITE IF THIS WAS THE PACKAGING / THESE WERE THE AD CAMPAIGNS? 

Absolutely.

It is a big change and it may not jump out on the shelves to some people as being sprite but I think that the clear can/bottle is interesting and has not been done before and people are interested in the new up and coming designs so I think this would sell well.

Yes because it looks light and refreshing

Yes,

Personally I would be, it has a fun, carefree feel that isn't in your face, compared with the old design. It also makes me feel like this is going to be a lot nicer than sprite normally taste using more natural ingredients.

Yes

Yes

Definitely! It looks amazing and is much more appealing than the old packaging which looks tacky and outdated.

I don't drink sprite but would buy it just for the bottle/can tbh, very aesthetically pleasing

Review and Evaluate Cop Work in Process

What were your initial aims? 

To rebrand a product, focussing on creating a lifestyle for the brand rather than focussing in the product itself to sell the product to the consumers.

What processes / strategies have you used and why?

Illustration, Editorial Design, branding

What literature have you read that informs this work?

Wally Ollins on Brand, Naomi Klein, The Brand Gap

Is the work effective in terms of your aims? In what ways? How do you know it is effective testing? 

I am yet to test the effectiveness of my practical research.   

Does it communicate what it should do? (in what way?) 

Yes, it communicates that the product is aimed at women, through the use of feminine advertisements and illustration. 

What are the succesful elements and why?

It is undeniably aimed at women now, which is what I wanted to acheive. 

What areas need improving or developing further and why? 

After reading various articles on the empowerment of females in branding I have discovered that all the girls used in my advertisements fall into the gender norms of females in advertisments: young, beautiful, skinny, which is could be off-putting to some women and also make women feel self conscious or insecure. 

Practical Body of Work - Sprite rebrand

For the practical aspect of my COP I wanted to rebrand a product focussing more on the lifestyle of the product and the target market it was aimed at. In my essay I looked at how Marlborough and Red Bull both targeted a specific area of the market to ensure their brand was successful and made a profit. 

Therefore I wanted to take a neutral object and rebrand it so it was targeting a specific area of the market and to also create a lifestyle that the consumers purchasing the product would aspire towards. 

I began by considering 'neutral' objects that weren't particularly aimed at anyone and compiled a list such as:

- Stationary
- Cutlery
- E-cigarettes

However they all seemed boring and pretty mundane. Considering I had researched the branding of a drink in my essay, it led me to think about the different brands of drinks currently on the market and which ones I could rebrand to target a particular audience. 

I decided to go with 'Sprite' as currently it was a popular drink with I felt not much advertising. I thought the name 'Sprite' would also lend itself to be aimed more predominantly at the female target audience as the word draws parallels with fairies and nymphs. 

The brand I wanted to create would:

- Be aimed at females between 15 - 30
- Promote a bohemian, care-free life style 

This is the current packaging and advertising for Sprite. At the moment it is all very male orientated using a blue and green colour scheme, and young skater boys and basketball players in their advertisements. 

To begin making a more female orientated brand I then conducted research into current packaging and branding that was on the market that I felt could be suitable to inspire the new branding of Sprite.

Kirin Ichiban Beer

I like the mix of hand rendered typography and illustration in the colours used on this can. The metallic gold finish makes it look both luxurious and feminine.

Gin Rawal,  by Dorian (Spain)

The way the illustrations on these bottles are printed directly onto the bottle create an interesting effect. The limited colour palette also makes the bottles look more expensive.

Mermaid Bay, by Lucy Han

Using a navy blue colour scheme instead of black creates a more nautical finish to these bottles. I love the pen and ink effect on the illustrations printed onto the bottle, and how the differences in scale affect the depth. 

Femme Natural Boost, by Ehrenstråhle & Wågnert

These tins for Femme Natural Boost feature hand rendered typography in an inky brush effect on the side. Creating a modern yet feminine effect.

I wanted to take the name sprite and use it in it's literal sense, creating a fairy/ sprite for the brand mascot/logo. 

A few sketches I played around with:

 Chosen design: 

I then wanted to use hand lettering in the design as I felt it created a more feminine tone of voice. 

This is the one I went for: 

I then combined the illustration with the hand lettering to create the logo.

I felt like it needed something extra to complete the initial logo on the front. I wanted to include a tag line to emphasise the message of the brand. 'Release your inner sprite' links the name of the drink to the target audience I am focussing on and create appeal towards the brand, emphasising that the customer's life may somehow be better for buying this product, which is a topic that I explored in my essay. 

I wanted to incorporate a clean sans serif font for the tagline in the bottle and to highlight the flavour of the drink. 

I chose DIN Alternate in bold as I thought it was modern and compact typeface with clear legibility on a smaller scale. 

I wanted to keep the design of the logo black and white so it gave a minimalistic finish to the design of the bottle, making it a timeless design that would live on through passing trends. 

These are a few different layouts I played around with: 

I ended up going for this one: 

I then used photoshop to super impose the logo onto a bottle to see how it would look. As sprite is a colourless drink I wanted to keep the design of the bottle black and white to keep it modern and fresh. 

I then wanted to design some ad campaigns to further highlight who the product was aimed at. I wanted the brand to give of a fun, go-getter lifestyle aimed at women. I wanted it to promote adventure, creativity and spontaneity.

I found pictures on the internet featuring young, women who fit the fun loving and creative criteria and photoshopped the logo into the image, so it could be used as a poster, magazine spread or bus stop advertisement etc. 

These were the results I got: 

When I asked my peers for feedback they said they got mixed messages about the logo and background image used for this first poster. They said the logo was very girly and 'fairy' ish, whereas the background image was very extreme and adventurous. This made the overall message fairly confusing. One suggestion was to try the logo on a less extreme picture, perhaps featuring more nature like woodlands, or meadows, where you would associate the word 'Sprite' with more. 

This is where I came up with this resolution. The composition still works well as a whole however it ties in better with the name of the brand. The image still demonstrates a sense of adventure and spontaneity but to a less extreme degree.  

I also wanted to create an ad that promotes creativity as I feel that being creative ties in well with being spritely and further expands the target audience that the drink would appeal to. 

This is the final poster that I mocked up. I feel all 3 are very effective in highlighting the target audience I want to aim the brand at. 

To enhance the appeal of the brand I could add sections to the bottle like cocktail ideas to use the drink Sprite in, or mocktails for younger buyers.