LL: Problem Solving

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Part two of Core Concepts focuses on problem solving, working to a brief, understanding client expectations, researching and developing ideas and getting to know your target audience through use of demographics, before finally reaching a design outcome. This is certainly an area I feel I need to develop a better understanding of.

Previous feedback from my tutor encouraged me to focus on gaining a deeper understanding of design processes, taking more time to research and explore different avenues, allowing time for reflection, and gaining a better understanding of demographics so that I was able to incorporate this knowledge in to the next section of my course – Problem Solving.

My findings on design processes are as follows:

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Design Process

All Graphic Designers use a design process to respond to a brief.

A design process is used as a step-by-step guide to ensure satisfactory completion of an end goal that fulfils its function.

Simple 5 step process found here:  https://blog.designcrowd.co.uk/article/1159/graphic-design-process-6-steps

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Design Process in 6 steps:

Step 1 – Review the Design Brief

Step 2 – Research and Discovery

Step 3 – Brainstorm and Sketch Concepts

Step 4 – Build on Concepts

Step 5 – Evolve and Iterate Your Concept

Step 6 – Submit completed designs client

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As advised, I began researching demographics in greater depth.  I have dedicated a full page to my findings on demographics here.

Prior to my feedback, in true Jade-style, I had already submitted an exercise I had done based on a brief taken from my friend who has her own semi-permanent make-up business. 

Please see below:

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Client Brief

Company Name:  The Brow Bird

Established:  2017

Owner:  Paula Waite – Semi-Permanent Make-up Artist

Address:  The Brow bird, 6 – 9 Brow Studios, Hornsea, East Yorkshire, HU18 9RL.  (For purpose of project ONLY).

Opening Hours:  Appointment Only (Must contact for bookings).

Contact:  01232 792622 / 07975 795295 (For purpose of project ONLY).

Website:  Coming Soon!!

Social Media:  Facebook & Instagram

Business Type:  Semi-Permanent make-up / Bespoke Brow Design / Lash Design

Industry:  Beauty / Semi-Permanent Make-up

Company Size:  Small Independent

Target Audience:

• Gender:  Female
• Age Range:  18 – 60
• Area (+Miles):  East Riding / East Yorkshire area ONLY
• Profile:  Females seeking to enhance their natural beauty by adding definition to lashes and brows.
• Keyword Search (Digital ONLY):

Requirements:

Logo design – 2 Versions – Standard & Christmas Edition.

Business Cards – Double-sided business cards with standard logo on front, with contact/address details, and Social media logos, and loyalty card to the rear.  Size/Orientation: Landscape 3.5 x 2 Inches.

Flyer – For promotion of Christmas price list including treatment offers, contact/address details and logo.

Size/Orientation: Portrait A7

Offers/Discounts:

Business/Loyalty card offer – Collect 6 stamps to receive complimentary Brow Wax and Tint.

General Offer – 20% Off your first treatment

Client Expectations / Visions / Goals:

Sleek and Feminine design. Elegant.  Fashionable / On-trend. Relevant to business name.  Script Font.  Simple design / Easy to understand. Brow and bird incorporated in design. FB / Insta logos included in all deigns. Non-Clinical. Soft. Boutique-Style.

Colour Schemes:  Neutral. Grey / Gold.  Avoid bright colours, specifically red (Inc Christmas Logo).

Keywords:  Brows. Lashes. Natural. Definition. Feminine. Sleek. Beauty.  Fashionable.  On-Trend.  Simple.  Non-Clinical. Script. Relevant. Elegant. Boutique. Soft.

Production:  In-hand.  Client to arrange with local printers. 7 Day Turn-around.

Proof Deadline:  Mid-November 2019.

Artwork Deadline:  Late November ready for December promo campaign (Begins 2^nd December 2019).

Budget:  £500.00

Agreed Costs: 

Logo – £160.00 (Inc. VAT) Per Logo design

Business/Loyalty Card Design – £80.00 (Inc. VAT)

Promo Flyer Design – £60.00 (Inc. VAT)

Printing / Materials – Provided by client

Total Price (Inc. Labour):  £460.00 (Inc. VAT)

(For purpose of project ONLY).

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Using the invaluable quote referenced in the learning materials, I asked myself how I might use the ‘6 honest serving-men’ in this brief.  Below is my conclusion:

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WHAT:  2 Logos, Business card design and a Promotional Christmas Flyer.

WHY:  To create and promote company branding, resulting in growth.  To establish a more professional feel and promote the Christmas promo campaign.

WHEN:  Deadline Late November 2019 ready for print, to be finalised early December 2019.

HOW:  Printing provided by owner.  Designs must be complete and ready for print 7 days before live date to allow for production times.

WHERE:  Targeted to individuals living in East Riding area.

WHO:  Targeted at Females, aged 18 – 60 looking to enhance their natural beauty by adding definition to lashes and brows, living in the East Riding area.

Using this technique gives you all the information you need about the brief but moving forward from the brief successfully is a whole new matter.

I summarised my ideas and ‘metaphorically’ submitted them to my client.  Having a deeper understanding of design processes now, it’s obvious to me that the below response to the brief would not meet the needs of a potential client.  Not only because there is no option or variety, but there is no real reason or evidence to back-up the idea that any of these designs would work functionally or be perceived successfully by any potential viewers. I did not appreciate the scale research and development of idea would be required.

Nevertheless, please see summary below:

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Design Summary

Logo 1 (Standard):

A pair of closed silhouette eyes with long feathery lashes and freshly shaped brows in dark grey/almost black, with bird perched on the right brow as if it were sat on a branch in its natural environment.

‘The Brow Bird’ in bold gold script font – Alex Brush, running parallel below the design (Please see link: https://www.designbombs.com/best-free-script-fonts/).  Underlined and followed underneath by the words ‘Bespoke Lash & Brow Design’ in Arvo Font.

Logo 2 (Christmas Version):

Same as above but with Santa’s hat leaning to the right of the birds’ head, and mistletoe above the ‘&’ in‘Bespoke Lash & Brow Design’.

Business cards:

Front:  Printed on Smooth White Silk 350gsm card.  Logo to fill upper half of front of card with Name (Paula Waite), Title (Semi-Permanent make-up artist), and contact/address details in lower centre, with Social Media logos to left and right lower of card.

Rear:  Loyalty card to reverse with stamp design (Blank stamp area designed like logo using the right eye and bird section of design only), with ‘Collect 6 stamps to receive complimentary Brow Wax and Tint’ in Arvo font displayed centrally above stamp grid.

Christmas Promo Flyer:

Front:  Cream Double-sided portrait flyer printed on 170gsm gloss paper. Faint grey holy leaves creeping from diagonal corners form the background design. Large Christmas logo to take up 1/3 of design, positioned top centre with ‘20% Off your first treatment’ label to upper right corner of design. Font in cream to match in background, and label colour in mid-grey.  Address/Contact details, and social medial logo to bottom centre in Arvo font, colour to match logo.

Rear:  Background same. Logo positioned top centre, smaller in size than on the front design.  The header ‘Treatments’ below parallel to logo in Arvo font, colour to match logo. List of treatments and prices with ‘20% Off’ label to bottom right, in same design as front. ‘Appointment Only – Please contact for bookings’ Bottom centre in Arvo font matching colour of logo.

Additional Notes:

Keeping the idea of natural beauty in mind and incorporating the business name into the design without need for text, inspired the idea of a bird perched upon a brow that would be perceived as a branch.  Other than flying, this is how we are most likely to envisage a bird in its most ‘natural’ environment.

The eyes with fresh, feathery lashes were inspired by another logo design I found during my research which promoted the idea.  This set the foundation for the overall design. (Please see link: https://desenio.co.uk/en/lashes-13×18?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuOeSlMHH5QIVC7DtCh08AQM3EAQYCSABEgJoefD_BwE).

Keeping main colours neutral, without making the overall appearance feel clinical and medical-like, I opted for cream rather than white.  To add a more boutique, feminine flare I used Greys to compliment the cream.

Without a darker font and body of logo the design simply would not stand-out enough.  Whereas the darkest black would imply a more formal approach which I wanted to avoid in this design, without using too many colours and compromising the attention to important information such address/contact details etc, I opted for darkest grey/Pale black.

Naturally, the font for company name should have a more script feel, again due to the softer, feminine aspect of the design, and the target audience it should appeal to.

As the brief expressed an interest in gold, ‘The Brow Bird’ script font seemed the most appropriate section of the logo to incorporate this colour.

In searching for the correct font to combine with the selected script font used in the logo design, I found ‘Arvo’, which I felt worked with that, and could also be used positively for the supportive and informative text. Using only 2 fonts in the overall design avoids messiness and is easier for the viewer to understand.

The client required a Christmas edition logo and Flyer to aid the awareness of Christmas packages/treatments available, and any offer/discounts during the festive period.

The logo design needed a more festive feel, without using colour.  I added Santa’s hat the bird, leaning to one side, and added mistletoe above the ‘&’ in Bespoke Lash & Brow Design for simplicity.

For the Flyer, I added faint holy leaves to the background design on both sides to add a festive flare, again without the need to use bright festive colours, as requested by the client.

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Conclusion

Although I had managed to gather most of the key details of the brief, it felt messy and hard to navigate and understand.  I set myself the task of developing a simplified method of gathering as much information as possible in a clean, understandable manner that could also be used in a professional setting, both in print and digital form.

This also allowed me to exercise some of the key elements I had learned about Graphic Design following the initial feedback received from my tutor.  Please see ‘Understanding Graphic Design learning log’ here.

Project Brief Form

Exercise – Working to a brief

These are extracts from briefs set as part of a student competition. Your task is to read and analyse them. Ask yourself:

• What are you being asked to do?

• How will the client will judge a successful outcome to the brief?

• What are the keywords? In addition, log any other questions you would want to ask the client.

(Keywords highlighted below):

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Brief 1:

Create packaging for Quaker’s new ‘Chilled Creamy Oats’ product for young women looking for a truly delicious healthy snack. The target audience is young women juggling many jobs and priorities every day. They like to eat well but also love treats and hate feeling hungry. They like the idea of oats for their natural goodness but find the idea of eating them bland and unappealing.

Brief 2:

Most of us have experienced a long rail journey – we witness the dramatic contrasts of the changing landscape, the inter-connections at various points along the way; various people embark and disembark; the dynamic is ever- changing… finally we reach our destination. This brief challenges you to take a metaphorical journey on the theme of connections. Explore the theme as broadly as possible and take us on a journey that might link, amongst other things – people, events, philosophies, theories, objects, movements, inventions, history, literature, etc. Your journey is only limited by your own imagination and the quality of your research – surprise us with the juxtaposition of your selected themes but be sure to communicate to the viewer the ‘connectedness’ of the thinking within your design. Define your market, and how you will target it.

Brief 3:

To raise awareness of the risks of underage drinking and contribute towards a cultural change in society’s attitude towards alcohol. The purpose of the Department for Children, Schools and Families is to make this the best place in the world for children and young people to grow up… to make children and young people happy and healthy and help them stay on track. With a core proposition of ‘Alcohol leaves you (or your children) vulnerable’, the campaign will urge parents to talk to their children before they consider drinking, to help avoid vulnerable situations. The messages to young people will get them to think about the effects of drinking. Creative ideas should use the campaign identity ‘Why let drink decide?’ to extend the campaign’s reach and specifically target young people aged between 13 and 16. We are open to ideas about the media or format you think is most appropriate to reach the target audience.

The Task:

Having analysed the briefs, which one do you think you would most like to tackle? Is it the one with the most restrictions or the one that is most open to interpretation? What do you think your chosen brief would offer you? In what way do you think it would stretch your skills and abilities? Make notes in your learning log.

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Conclusion

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Brief 1 – Although the first brief is clear and easy to understand in terms of WHAT I am being asked to design, its target audience consisting of busy, working females, of various ages, leaves the door open wide for interpretation and doesn’t feel specific enough for me to confidentially deliver the message to the correct viewer.  This brief requires refining and filtering to establish a more accurate demographic.

Questions for the client:

• What is the age range you wish to appeal to?
• What colours are you wanting to see in the design?
• In the brief you mentioned that it should be targeted to women juggling many jobs – hat jobs are these? This will help to establish a concept.
• What imagery / logos / photography should be used and who will provide these?
• Where will the product be distributed?
• When is the deadline?
• What are their expectations and how will they judge a successful outcome?
• Is their product original?
• Who are their competitors?
• What do you believe makes Quakers stand-out from your competitors?

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Brief 2 – Firstly, WHO is the client? If you were in a meeting with them it would be safe to assume you would know who they are, but this brief didn’t make that clear. What type of design are they looking for? With experience this level of freedom could be a blessing but I feel it lacks direction. Maybe with experience that confidence will grow but in my current stage of knowledge, I wouldn’t feel confident enough to tackle such a broad idea without digging deeper.  I liked the inspiration that supported the brief but was unable to gauge a starting point in my mind. The brief lacked guidance or a clear enough message to know how to achieve a successful outcome.

Questions for the client:

• Who is the company / brand?
• What are you wanting designed? A poster or leaflet etc?
• Who are you trying to reach out to?
• What are you trying to achieve?
• What makes your train journey’s better than your competitors?
• How will you judge a successful outcome?
• The concept is broad, but what would you ultimately like to see in the design? Colours, mood etc?
• Who will provide imagery / logo etc?
• When is the deadline?

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Brief 3 – The third brief seemed the most specific. I had ideas racing through my mind the moment I read it. From a personal point of view, it was more ‘up my street’. Any response to this would be controversial to some degree. Personal views aside, it’s a daring and exciting project, one that will most likely push boundaries, but a design of deep meaning that is intended to instil shock and deliver uncomfortable, but factual messages that are generally avoided topics of discussion in everyday life. Whilst the client is open to ideas in terms of design, format etc, they also have a clear message they are wanting to share and to whom it should be targeted to, which makes a starting point easier to gauge. I find that I had the least questions for this client. See below.

Questions for the client:

• What are they expecting to see in terms of colours, mood etc?
• How will they judge a successful outcome?
• Who will provide imagery / logo’s etc?
• When is the deadline?
• Where will the final product be distributed?

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My choice based on the above conclusion – Brief 3.

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Project: Researching & Developing Ideas