Evaluation

Looking back at the module I can confidently say I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience, unlike other modules where I had a negative outlook on my skills and future this module has really made me into the confident designer I am today. Within this module my confidence and enjoyment has grown as I have started to understand where I fit in to the creative industry and what it is I have to offer. This has definitely improved through studio visits, portfolio surgeries and interviews, things that at the start of the module I would have had no confidence to do at all. I am know very proud of the work I am creating and can see how much I have developed not just physical skills but my knowledge and understanding developed through thorough research and investigation into branding. It took some low points in the last module that really made me question myself and my place on this course to make me realise how much I enjoy it and why I am here. So the beginning of this module got off to quite a slow start due to this.

This module has been one of the most rewarding for me, I have gained 2 x 2 months paid work placements with Love – Manchester, Thompson Brand Partners, 2 weeks at Vast and Winning the Sh! Awards and a 6 month paid placement. It has really given me great confidence and the ability to see beyond this course and into my future. This has helped when selecting briefs as I know what I want in my portfolio, a strong branding portfolio fully covering all creative and interactive promotion and experience. Creating an ‘Experience’ for a brand has become the key to my work, story telling through graphic outlooks to communicate the philosophy of the brand to the consumer. I love looking at the detail in promotion, how consumers can engage with the brand and what it can offer them. This was picked up on in my portfolio when approaching companies and is a unique skill a have to offer. I found that I love working with ideas, campaigns and concepts anything thought provoking and highly creative that can break the boundries of the the standard promotion I want to be part of.

Within this module I have made full use of all the facilities in college which was part of my SOI, this wasn’t necessarily intentionally but was a way of creating professional pieces of design which I felt was lacking in my portfolio. Screenprinting, lasercutting, digital print and woodwork have all helped me explore promotion further and has meant my projects weren’t limited to printed media. I loved getting stuck into these workshops as they are so rewarding to see the finished design.

Working with Lauren Carande – Brief 2 Fashion Branding meant that I was in contact with printers, stockists etc which was a great opportunity for me to expand my knowledge on printing for large scale work which has put me in good stead for future work. It was really rewarding to see my branding designs on such an amazing collection of clothing, I feel privileged to have worked with Lauren as we have had a great working relationship.

Working with Jonny on the Crossover brief was excellent and definitely the best brief throughout my time here on the course. We worked exceptionally well together sharing all the work load and this resulted in a fully branded project covering all aspects.

The Waterstones brief was quite disappointing as I ran out of time to expand this futher but my pitch won the 2 month paid placement so it was definitely worth doing and documented my ideas well.

I have also fully branded myself as a designer and got my work out into the creative industry through my own website, Behance site, portfolio and contacting companies. Something I would have previously found extremely daunting but now love showing my work to people.   

I feel that my documentation through blogging has let me down within this module as I got so into the projects that I ran away with the production and lost track of my blogging. Apart from this my time management has improved a lot as I had placements and studio visits to fit in so I had to be very strict with my organisation which has paid off.

Although the last three years on this course has developed my skills and understanding it is this last module that has really shaped me and allowed me to create my own individual practice. I feel prepared and excited to step out into industry with a thoroughly creative portfolio, great advice from tutors, peers and designers and a positive outlook on my future.

DESIGN CONTEXT finished publications

My design context is split into 5 seperate lookbook style publications, each one based on a different fashion brand. The brands that I have chosen are Levi's, Ted Baker, Topshop, Nike & .... I have chosen these brands to show a range of fashion labels, showing the designers and creatives that are part of building their brand. Investigation stationary, packaging, store experience, lookbook publications, web and campaigns. This has been an ongoing investigation and has helped me understand how to design for different brands.

LEVI'S STRAUSS

Open publication - Free publishing

The Levi's lookbook was designed to look like a newspaper, A3 format on newsprint stock, double sided with a red stitch to match the Levi's stitch. I used a newsprint style to reflect the Levi's heritage and show the traditional values of the brand.

TOPSHOP

Open publication - Free publishing

Open publication - Free publishing - More dc

The Topshop publication was based on a contemporary design with an A5 publication of images and a smaller A6 publication that intertwines through the book with informattion relating to each page.

TED BAKER

Open publication - Free publishing - More dc

NIKE


 

Making topshop book

Design for ted baker

Making Levi's book

Plans for 5 lookbook designs

Plans for each lookbook style

Research for DC publications

I started my research by searching through different brands to see how much research I could generate for each one.. The 5 with the most aslong as they made a range of brands would be the 5 brands to go ahead with. I wanted to collect a mixture of all types of design for each brand, store interior, interactive, app, web, packaging, stationary etc.

Planarama email- Ted Baker

From: Stephanie Oglesby [mailto:hello@stephanieoglesby.co.uk] 
Sent: 09 May 2012 22:36
To: Isobel Lees
Subject: QUESTIONS TO FORWARD TO NEIL

Hi there Neil,

Here are the interview questions for my research publication, they are mainly based on your work with Ted Baker but please add any additional info where you see necessary. Thankyou!

INTERVIEW:

Your designs for window displays work as the first point of contact with a customer, what key elements do you try to create in these spaces?
To create impact to get attention of customers. To be true to brand identity.

Compared with other brands what are the positive and negatives of working with Ted Baker?
(negatives- ie/ challenges, not negatives of the brand itself)

Ted Baker is a fun brand to work with, allowing lots of creative thinking and humour.
Challenges are launching and delivering the scheme at the same time around the world.

When designing displays for Ted Baker do you work closely with the brand to create the concept or is this down to Planarama to come up with the concept?


Which concept was the most interesting to work with and why?

All concepts present their own interest so all are interesting in their own way.

Which concept do you think was the most successful and why?

They are all successful.

What is the process you go through when designing for Ted Baker?


Compared with other brands, what is it that stands out to you about Ted Bakers promotional work?

Ted has managed to develop their own style and branding which is instantly recognisable by customers

Your work for Ted Baker is extremely creative and broad in the range of concepts, are there any rules/ guidelines that you need to work with when creating ideas?

No!

How important is it to be knowledgeable of other brands and the promotional concepts they are/ or have used?

It is always important to understand other brands

From initial concept to finalised design on average how long does it take to create a display for Ted Baker?



If you could also add a little information about the team at Planarama, what makes you guys tick?

It is important to have a team that gets on with one another and enjoys going to work each day.

Where does Planarama find it's inspiration?

Travel, research, galleries and street culture

Any advice you could give for working with brands such as Ted Baker as a new creative stepping out into industry?

Work hard and follow your dreams.

Thankyou so much for your input, I really appreciate it and I'm looking looking forward to your reply.
Answer as many questions as possible or where you see necessary,
I'll send you a finished copy of the publication when it's done.

Hope you're all well at Planarama, keep up the good work :),

Stephanie

www.stephanieoglesby.co.uk
hello@stephanieoglesby.co.uk
07792979245

Ana-Marie Email - Ted Baker

Hi Stephanie,

Thanks for getting in touch, very sweet of you!

Yes you are more than welcome to feature the work in your research but i just wanted to hi-light that you
will have to mention the company i was working for at the time when i worked on the Ted Baker project which is Jam Design.



-Where did you get your inspiration for the Ted Baker project?*

-What was the concept behind the hanging baskets?*

At the time i was working in a creative team of 7 but 2 of us were given the creative freedom to create what we
wanted as long as it was an abstract take on your modern day hanging basket.

Our main form of inspiration if i remember correctly was looking at the wonderful life stages of butterfly's. We were very much inspired by the cocoon stage which is why we created hanging pods for the Ted Baker project.   



-How did working with Ted Baker differ to working on personal projects?*

-What skills, knowledge or coverage did you gain from working with such a 
well known brand as Ted Baker?*

There is a big difference for me as I find it more challenging to work on personal projects.
Self discovery and  understanding your own individual style will forever be something that I find more rewarding.

Working with Ted Baker was really great as it was one of the first projects I was involved in after i finished university. In fact i remember thinking it was a huge deal at the time. It shaped me quite a lot as i discovered a love
for materials, which is something that i was always interested in but this gave us a platform which sometimes seems so out of reach.

I personally didn't get coverage but Jam Design the company which i worked for at the time did.


I hope the above helps and please let me know if you need any thing else.

Good luck with everything otherwise.

Love the work also!

Many Thanks

Ana-Maria

Emailing