Evaluation for Retail

What were we asked to do and what was the brief?
Our brief for the Reatil project was to create a new identity for a Scandinavian retail company called 'kopa', that is opening branches around the UK. Our aim was to create a design that reflects the current trend for Scandinavian style. The outcomes that I aimed to produce for this project were a bag, swing tag, a vase box and a poster.

What research did I do?
To start off the project, we researched into what retail is to improve our understanding of the process and other aspects that are involved. I learnt that retail is known for providing excellent business opportunities throughout the whole world, and involves buying merchandise or a service form a manufacturer and selling it to the consumer for their personal use. This helped me understand that my aim was to sell, and to look into all different aspects that will please my chosen audience. To further our research even more, we explored the places associated with Scandinavia such as Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. We also looked into Scandinavian artists such as Sanna Annukka, Bolundberg and Darling Clementine, who all showed similar styles of work to express the Scandinavian trend. I particularly liked Sanna Annukka because her work looks very modern and expressive which allows it become more relatable to me. One aim for our project was to come up with our own designed logo to represent 'kopa', therefore we examined other retail company logo's. We looked at other companies such as 'H&M', 'Marimekko', 'IKEA', 'LEGO' and 'INDISKA', which all had bright use of colours and big over exaggerated letter shapes which contrasted with the background.

Another form of research we did was looking into colour theory. I looked into the meaning of the colours red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white and Black. This researched allowed me look look further into which colours would be more appropriate for my final piece. We also looked into the meaning of primary, secondary, tertiary, complimentary and analous colours which allowed me to find out which colours worked best with each other. We also looked into the meaning on tone, hue and shade.

Further research we did was looking into colour theory. I looked into the meaning of the colours red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white and Black. This researched allowed me look look further into which colours would be more appropriate for my final piece. We also looked into the meaning of primary, secondary, tertiary, complimentary and analous colours which allowed me to find out which colours worked best with each other. We also looked into the meaning on tone, hue and shade.

Marimekko and Sanna Annukka are very much big representatives when it comes to Scandinavian style, therefore we looked more closely at their work. I love the creative extended shapes that Marimekko create, and I loved their pure use of vibrant colour. Sanna Annukka's work I found very relatable because it seems so personal, and you can see her passion come through her work. Her use of pattern is is creative, because they're almost like random doodles that she expands and develops to become and final piece.

What techniques/materials did I use? 
To create our logo, we started off trying out different designs on grid paper to get an idea of size and shape of the letters. I found this difficult to work with because I intended for my letters to be rounded, however because the grid paper is made up of squares, it's difficult for the shapes to not go geometric. The shapes of the letters were also difficult to work with because the shapes didn't mould in well together. Once I had experimented with different fonts, and asked outside viewers opinions, I managed to come up with my final design which I was happy with. We then took our final fonts into illustrator to finalise the shapes and proportions. I found this particularly difficult because I'm not naturally the best when it comes to digital work, and I still wanted my font to have a natural handmade look to it. After spending ages using different shapes to create the exaggerated bend in the letter 'k', I then used the pen tool to create a bent, curved shape and this is how I accomplished the final look. I was happy in the end because it still had a sense of naturalness to it, because I didn't make it perfect, but it still had a sense of professionalism to it.

We looked into how our logo would look in greyscale, and I thought overall this worked well for me, as instead of just using colour it was awakening to do something different. I thought the darker contrasting shades were more effective for my font because it allowed the think curved shapes to stand out more against the background. Even though I liked the white writing on a grey background, when I asked people for their opinions they thought it didn't work so well because it didn't stand out enough.

We then went on to the website "Kuler Adobe" to experiment with different shades and tones of the colour theme we would want for our outcome. After looking into Scandinavian style, I knew that earthy green colours were very popular, therefore I had an idea for what I wanted to achieve, however I did keep quite open minded to stay surprised. I preferred the more organic, earthy tones because the bolder colours didn't really seem to fit in with my font. More abstract colours such as blue contrasted with my organic interpretation of Scandinavia.

We then went on to create swatches to create a surface pattern. I found this really dun because I had never done it before and I loved the free experimentation flow of creating a new design after new design. I'm happy that I really went to town and experimented with a range of different shapes, however my only downfall was that I didn't stay with my theme of organic shapes and colours because I got too carried away. None of my designs fitted in with my idea therefore I was disappointed with the majority of them, however I feel I gained a lot of ideas with a new technique and it's something I know I could take further and do more with.

The majority of these experiments were new skills that I learnt, and I feel they worked well and pushed me to go out of my comfort zone. I do wish I could have spent more time on them to allow them to be of a better standard.

What didn't go so well?
What didn't work well was the colour variations I did with my final logo, as I don't feel I experimented enough because I didn't have a lot to go by. Even though I found a colour variation I liked I feel I didn't go on to experiment with it as far as I could. I wish i had taken it furtherer to experiment further with the tones of the colours and the order I put them in.

What I also don't think went well wad the observational drawing, as I didn't experiment to the best of my ability, and I didn't take it very seriously. I just done some quick sketches that I feel if I spent more time of them they could have looked better and been more effective.

What would I do if I had more time?
If I had more time I would really focus on experimenting with my designs to the bestow my ability, and really pushing myself when it comes to my outcomes, i don't feel they worked so well because I didn't give them enough time. I would also really looked into the organic theme I wanted to produce, because I kept going off track and trying irrelevant experiments. I did manage to complete all the work however I don't think it was to the best standard it could have been.

What outcomes I produced? 
I produced the outcomes of a bag and a vase box. The bag went well because I knew how I wanted it to look and I knew how to achieve this. However my box I feel wasn't such a success as I couldn't really settle on a design layout and couldn't think of what contents to put on the actual box.

Did I meet the brief?
I do feel I met the brief as I feel my final outcomes do represent a Scandinavian style, and they do look personal and experimental.