COLLABORATIVE DESIGN PRACTICE - TASK 1 DESIGN JOURNAL
COLLABORATIVE DESIGN PRACTICE - DESIGN JOURNAL
29TH AUG - TBA (WEEK 1 - WEEK 14)
NG VEYHAN (0349223) / BACHELORS OF DESIGN (HONS) IN CREATIVE MEDIA
COLLABORATIVE DESIGN PRACTICE
ASSIGNMENTS DOCUMENTATION
Instructions
Research
Much of what is required from our team in Task 1 is reminiscent of what was done previously for the minor project module, which has already been taken by some of our members. Porting over some templates from that module, we worked off what we already know. Starting off, we listed everything that came to mind first when it came to topics regarding ice cream.
(Fig 01, Empathy Map Template, 1/09/2023)
The problem statement is a continuation of the empathy map, where data gathered from research and empathy maps/personas can be condensed into a single sentence detailing the goal of our project.
(Fig 02, Problem Statement Template, 1/09/2023)
These personas were formed somewhere between developing the empathy map and problem statement. The initial personas were more stereotypical and similar to a caricature instead of an actual consumer. However with collection of additional data, these nuances in personality helps build a more believable persona.
(Fig 03, Persona Draft, 05/09/2023)
After we completed Task 1, we began to work on visualizing the different elements that we required for the deliverables. To find a direction that we wanted for our mascot, we put our mood board to a vote for the logo, packaging layout, website and mascot designs. By narrowing down our mood board, we manage to decide on a cartoonish design featuring solid outlining reminiscent of children's shows such as Adventure Time. It would also feature strong saturated colours which will contrast the more pale and pastel background colours.
(Fig 04, Defined Mood board, 12/9/2023)
Initially, our team had no idea what kind of character to use as our mascot, whether it be animal-based or item-based. Before putting the mood board to a vote and determining the most suitable option, we had considered humanoid figures leaning more towards an "anime" aesthetic but it proved to be unsuitable for a design language featuring simple shapes and solid colour blocks. The first sketches created when brainstorming a design largely used animals or humans as a mascot.
For example, I sketched a cat using design cues such as having an oat design for the patch of fur on its belly, and stripes on its back and tail to emulate the segmented nature of an unharvested oat grain. Despite incorporating ideas of oats into the design, after consultations we deemed it too far fetched to e used for the purpose of our mascot. Especially since we had variations for flavours that we had to consider, and have yet to receive a list of yet.
(Fig 05, First Mascot Sketch, 5/9/2023)
Some other ideas that were rejected did manage to find their way back into our final designs. For example, an idea that I had sketched involved having different mascots sporting different costumes that were representative of their respective flavors. By this time we had a list of three flavours: Honeycomb, Raspberry Basil and Pumpkin Spice.
The design for the honeycomb flavour featured accessories with a hexagonal silhouette being reminiscent of a honeycomb structure. For the raspberry basil variant, I felt that the shape of a raspberry was similar to a cute hat and it could be drawn as such. The pink-magenta colour of the raspberry also complemented the dark green representing the basil aspect of the flavour as well. Considering the pumpkin flavor was also described by the Business School students to have a slight seasonal Halloween feel, I felt it appropriate to have a pumpkin become a Jack o' Lantern, and to have a stereotypical farmers garb of overalls.
(Fig 06, Mascot Clothing Ideas, 13/9/2023)
One aspect that we had to take note of was the space available for our design within the confines of the packaging itself. When the idea of this ice cream was first proposed, we were told that the ice cream would probably be produced in tubs of one pint each. However, after some discussion between the different schools involved with this project, it was later deemed more suitable to produce this ice cream in 100ml cups. This greatly reduced the real estate that was available to add any extra designs.
This was also one of the key factors that led to us adopting a more simple design language, not only for the mascot, but also for the packaging layout. In fact, some of the packaging layouts don't involve showing the entire model of the mascot, but rather only the head and torso. (or lack thereof)
(Fig 07, Proposed Packaging Layout, 13/9/2023)
Temporarily working individually for the mascot designs in order to churn out more ideas overall, my teammate Javin worked on creating these anime-styled characters that sported similar outfits. While his idea didn't gain too much traction for our product, it did help us define some rules for the mascot design. While the clothing differences for a mascot could be used to distinguish each of the different flavours. It was not distinct enough in the sense at first glance that these characters could be mistaken for one another, and their identity was not relevant enough to the product.
(Fig 08, Teammates Mascot Sketches, 20/9/2023)
When designing the mascots itself, Ms Lilian was quite fond of a little sketch that one of my teammates, Jia Yee, had doodled out. It's short and chubby stature was cute and marketable, the silhouette resembling an ice cream cone. This made the idea of this mascot quite suitable.
We developed this basic mascot according to the different variations of flavours, this time incorporating elements from the mascot clothing mentioned above, but also changing the mascots form entirely rather than just clothing.
(Fig 09, Teammates Mascot Sketches, 13/9/2023)
Some ideas and sketches came from our collaborators from the Business School as suggestions for the looks of the mascot. It involved a star shape mascot that would change clothing according to the flavours. After discussing the feasibility of this design, our team has found it unsuitable to be used in the final design. The star shape was not relevant to the product that we are trying to market, instead looking more appropriate for a Christmas setting. The clothing was also too ambiguous and was not representative of its intended flavour.
(Fig 12, Early Stage Storyboards, 8/10/2023)
Process
WEEK 1: Setting up a template for an empathy map and the structure of a problem statement, our group did a preliminary brainstorming session. Assessing ourselves from a position as consumers what we would expect and why would we consider our groups product as an option to existing brands of ice cream. We came up with a number of opinions from different viewpoints, as well as having received some references from students in The Business School.
WEEK 2: At this point, we only had the opinions of seven members of our group in regards to our research topic. In order to get a larger sample size in to which we would base our problem statement on, our group pieced together a questionnaire targeted towards different aspects of ice cream. We aimed to garner more information in regards to consumer preferences and habits, as well as industry trends. We've received a total of 76 responses by the cutoff date on the 10th of September.
WEEK 3: This week is the stage at which we presented our findings as well as our finalized problem statement to out partners on The Business School. As Task 1 is wrapped up, we began to focus our efforts on Task 2. Our group organized a meeting to gather a number of references and put our votes to different examples on the mood board to decide the art direction that is most suitable for the product. After that was completed, we began to make sketches based on the design language we've chosen. As me and my teammate Javin were in charge of creating a mascot, I began drafting some characters that were related and suitable for use in promoting our ice cream brand.
WEEK 4: Beginning Task 2, we would start working on developing the visuals that would be used in the marketing materials. The first few ideas for the packaging design layout and websites were sketched. For the mascot, many random ideas were referenced and sketched in order to find a character type that would be relevant to the branding of our product. One of the key factors of deciding whether a character is suitable is how easily it could be attached to the theme of "oats", with other factors being marketability to the targeted Gen Z audience, and appealing colour schemes. The initial logo ideas were created by using pre-made fonts that we decided on during the mood board phase.
WEEK 5: By this week, we already had a good idea of what we wanted for the mascot. Under Ms Lilians recommendation, we settled on having a mascot based on ice cream, with a short and chubby appearance. Earlier character designs had a simple colour palette swap to add variation for different flavours. Students from the TBS suggested having one mascot having different clothing options to indicate flavour, however us in the Design School felt that it was still too difficult to be visually distinct in terms of silhouette and colour scheme. Therefore, after more experimentation, I came up with a design incorporating ingredients from each flavour to the overall design of the mascot.
WEEK 6: After wrapping up Task 2, it was time to begin producing the different deliverables. For this week, I was put in charge of developing the storyboards to be used in the promotional videos of the product. One of the challenges that I realized while drafting the storyboards was that I was unsure of whether we would be able to obtain footage of the physical products to be used in the video, therefore I also had to plan the storyboards with the possibility of having no footage.
WEEK 7:
Feedback
WEEK 1: No feedback yet, due to the week being the first in the semester.
WEEK 2: Ms. Lilian gave us some feedback for our work-in-progress empathy map and problem statement.
Currently, the personas that we have provided seemed to skew towards an older audience, instead of our intended audience from Gen Z.
The train of logic we are using in order to define our problem statement seems appropriate for Task 1. Overall, our team seems to be on track to completing our Task 1 in a timely manner. The little work that we have done in preparation for Task 2 was also appreciated.
WEEK 3: The reception to our presentation from our partnered students and Ms. Lilian was overall quite positive.
There were some mistakes such as improper arrangement of the sequence of the slides.
Some of the slides were also a little crowded and elements were arranged in a manner difficult for the reader to follow.
On the other hand, our provided problem statement was deemed clear and concise.
The questionnaire also provided much new insight to not only ourselves at the Design School, but those in the Business School as well. Aspects such as the target demographics priorities for purchasing ice creams as well as consumer habits were highlighted as useful new information.
WEEK 4: The logo design was still in its early stages and our team should do more exploration regarding the different typefaces available for use and reference. For the mascot design, there is still some work to be done in terms of developing its look as there is not a specific form for it yet. The packaging design ideas were interesting and novel, however the feasibility of the design remains to be seen from the perspective of the Business School and from the Social Media team.
WEEK 5: We had a meeting with students from The Business School prior to the lecture meeting. Some of their feedback were as follows:
- There is a possible production cost issue with incorporating a transparent material into the packaging.
- We should continue developing the logo idea with an emphasis on the "Oat" segment of Oatlicious.
- Heading text is recommended to follow a design reference provided by them.
- For the design for the mascots, there should be a main mascot that is not representative of any particular flavor, but for the brand as a whole.
WEEK 6: For the presentation slides that we showed on the lecture, the slides themselves were well organized and thought out. However, there is an overall lack of cohesion when it came to our design as a whole, as it seemed to look like all the different elements were worked on individually than as one whole. The logo for the brand was also a little underdeveloped and could use more work before assembling the elements in the different deliverables. We were noted to be progressing at an appropriate pace and we should continue developing the deliverables.
WEEK 7:
Next Course of Action
WEEK 1: Ideally, we would have constructed a few persona profiles. This would aid us in further narrowing down the specifics of the problem statement so it would be easier to visualize the final product. By the end of week 2 we would have a completed problem statement.
WEEK 2: We've set the cutoff date for our survey on Sunday, in order to give us ample time to begin compiling and analyzing our collected data. With this data, we can finalize the problem statement for our Task 1. We should also be finishing up the presentation slides that we will use to present this information to our peers, as well as completing the project document for Task 1 for submission. We'll also need to arrange for our members to present a portion of the presentation that they are most familiar with.
WEEK 3: This week is where we begin to focus completely on Task 2, which includes the ideation of the final art direction we would use to market our product. On this area, we have to establish a more solid base for our references, which means we have to look for examples for our moodboard. Once that is decided, we have to begin brainstorming sketches and create some preliminary ideas for aspects such as fonts, color palettes and mascot designs.
WEEK 4: Our team has to begin working on the first drafts for all the different aspects of the project. We would begin by prototyping the layout design for the packaging. For the logo, we would brainstorm many different sketches and consult Ms Lilian to decide an appropriate design. The mascot design would be decided by taking elements that were favourable from different designs and combining them. The website design would be drafted in its early stages.
WEEK 5: Contact The Business School students and consult them on our current progression. Finalizing and clean up the look of the mascot. We will further develop the packaging layout and logo designs that are chosen by us and the Business School. Create the slides that would be used in the presentation, as well as work on the Project Document for submission.
WEEK 6: Request for specific assets to be used for branding/advertising from The Business School. Our team are continuing to refine the packaging layout design and the logo design. Mascot designs are to be digitized in Adobe Illustrator this week. I am in charge of the storyboards for the promotional video and I would complete these by the weekend. If possible, I would also like to explore more compositions and framings for the different shots of the video. I would also have to inquire if I could get specific product shots to be used in the promo video.
WEEK 7:
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