Brief Analysis - Fever Tree

I went onto the YCN website to see what briefs that might interest me. I went into it with having my interests and skills in mind so I can choose a brief that I can (hopefully) excel in it. The one that caught my eye was fever tree, it's definitely aimed at illustrators and package design is something that I've always wanted to do. So I read the brief and took it apart:

THE BRIEF:

We want you to create a series of designs for our annual limited edition bottle campaign that will be eye catching on a busy retail shelf. You can approach this graphically, illustratively; or in any other visual style you see fit.

Audience - Existing costumers 35 - 65 age

The designs must be beautiful and sophisticated in style (not childish in any way) to achieve stand out and to connect with our premium target audience.

SPECIFICS

• Look premium, beautiful and visually engaging.
• Retain the clarity of the brand name (FEVER-TREE), product descriptor (INDIAN TONIC WATER), and key information (i.e. no artificial sweeteners, 500ml etc.)
• Fit around the existing label. The label should remain the same so the customer recognises the product even with the limited edition design.
• Ideally be instantly recognisable of the continent or country
• Create intrigue and interest amongst existing Fever-Tree consumers without alienating or confusing them.

• Entice new consumers to purchase Fever-Tree for the first time 

I think I might do this brief, as it means I can explore pattern design which I have dabbled in before but not extensively. This brief will give me a chance to see if I have the skills to do it, and see if I am versatile. 

About the Author - Print reflections

The print process of the module turned out to be a lot more stressful than I imaged it to be. It seems funny now that I thought I'd have them all done the first time round and they'd all be perfect, always have been the optimist. But, after something thinking, I realised that I needed to go wrong. I think it was almost impossible for me to be successful the first time round, especially as I didn't really know what I was doing. This has made me realise that mistakes are so important in the success of your work, which sounds silly but it's true. Now I know what to look out for when I screen print next time (which I definitely will because I've realised I'm not too bad at it).

I also think I made it harder for myself in terms of my design, because it has so many different elements that need to match up that it was very hard to do so. By the time I got it to match perfectly my screen would be dry so the print would be patchy - very frustrating. But when it did come out right it was so satisfying! And I do really like my design, the complexity and chaos just sums up Adams so well!

As I have done my prints quite early, I'm thinking of returning to the print room to do A4 versions of my Hitchhiker's print. This sounds silly giving myself more work, but I'm really proud of this design and I would really like to sell them. I think A4 would be quicker for me to generate loads, just far more manageable.

About the Author - The discovery of Handsome Frank

http://www.handsomefrank.com

Ben wrote down to look at Handsome Frank as I really struggle with finding artists, especially ones that I can relate to or are inspired by. As soon as I typed it in I knew this would be the place where I'd always be going to! I think the layout is really smart and is full of artists that I could look to for inspiration! I'm hoping that this is a turning point for me in terms of getting inspired by contemporary artists - I'm actually quite excited.

About the Author - Relevant artists

Some artists that Ben pushed me towards for inspiration for my work. I think one of my biggest fall backs is that I don't really look out for artists or link them into what I do, which I know is stupid. I really want to improve this though so got googling on some of these guys stuff to help me with my work.

MARTIN SHARP

Colour is a clear theme running throughout Sharp's work, bright bold and colourful seems to be key! I like how, differently to my work, he's used pattern work and imagery outside of the face instead of it making the face, which is something I never thought about. Sharp also uses the two tone colour scheme very similarly, maybe having too much of the red but I think it works for this piece. His use of repetitive pattern is great and now I also wish that I had this in my own work. I guess I kind of do with the bubbles and stars, but I didn't make it as much as a running theme as Sharp does. 

ANDREW FAIRCLOUD

This image that I found whilst looking at Handsome Frank reminded me of how I used the frame for my own work - having the head and then empty space outside of it in a square format. But I think this image is beautiful, the palette is so soft and the layering works so well as a composition. I think I want to look at something similar to this in other projects, really considering the frame - don't be a square.

JONATHAN BURTON - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 

Honestly, I'm not crazy about his artwork because it's just not really my style. But it's interesting to see how someone else has interpreted the book into their own understandings visually and how different our approaches have been. I do like how he uses composition so well, it's something I struggle with quite a lot so I stick with quite flat designs which is bad of me. I do really want to improve my composition skills, so Burton is definitely someone I want to look at in the future for improving on this!

About the Author - Print room day 3

After my tutorial I was looking forward to printing, as I had hope that these would be the ones. After spending quite a bit on paper and binder I was ready to go! I kept saying to myself, "In the words of Douglas Adams, DON'T PANIC!".

I kept trying to think about how I went wrong the first three times and tried to keep calm. I've got plenty of time. Don't rush. It'll look shit.

I felt that at this point I had learnt a fair bit about screen printing now, so I definitely felt more confident then I did the first time I printed, which is good! The technicians helped me learn certain tricks and how to react if something goes wrong like bleeding or the screen being dry. So when this happened to me this time, I didn't panic, I resolved the problem, carried on printing.

I'm a lot happier with how these prints came out. Yes, a lot of them still aren't perfect, but I think I've come a long way from not knowing how to expose a screen by myself to producing a successful looking screen print. I'm actually quite proud of myself!

About the Author - Tutorial

I already had finalised my final prints and happy with what I've chosen for my animation, so was a bit wary of this crit. If Ben turned to me and was like, 'yeah this is a terrible idea' I would have been pretty stuck. But it was useful, it gave me hope in myself that I wasn't producing rubbish and made me realise that I could actually sell these prints if done correctly (on nice paper and not wonky). This made me quite excited and I just wanted to run down to the print room and bosh loads of work out!
Ben also directed me to a couple of artists that I'm excited to look at in relation to my own work. This is something that I know I really struggle with and need to get into the routine of doing.

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