Final Project Analysis Post

ORIGINAL TIME-LINE:
revised

Week 1- Research: What magazines would I want to work for? What do I want to focus on? Search for content: recipes,stories, ect.  Research beverage packaging for ideas.
Research beverage packaging for ideas, look at favorite magazines for inspiration.

Week 2- Begin editing magazine content/establish rough comps for spreads. Decide on product to do package design for.
Decide on product to do package design for (kitchen utensils), research kitchen utensil packaging.

Week 3- Continue work on spreads. Incorporate images, color, typography.
Create Identity for my company (Garden Grown) Choose typeface, colors, and Eco-friendly ideas for packaging (chipboard with twine)

Week 4- Work on packaging design. Create theme, color scheme, look for new concept in packaging
Choose imagery for my packaging that works well with the name. Live trace images and work on finalizing the design. Start deciding on which utensils to use and what image would work best.

Week 5- Continue work on packaging.
Refine package design, purchase utensils from store (had to use some that I hadn’t planned on because they were the only ones that worked). Chose “Real Simple” to use for inspiration and re-design for my magazine, and bookmarked all the pages that I really liked.

Week 6- Begin finalizing spreads as well as packaging design.
Printed packaging, had to resize them to fit utensils, re-printed packaging.  Poked holes and used twine to hold utensil on packaging (completed package design.) Worked on cover design for magazine and began contents page.

Week 7-  Begin test printing on spreads and packaging and fix mistakes. Test packaging on live product.
Re-worked cover with new image and gave it my own style rather than going with the “Real Simple” look. Started writing content for contents page, and found stock images to go with the content. Started taking pictures of my packaging.

Week 8- Incorporate the packaging design and product into magazine spreads.
Re-work cover again with new image and typography. Finalize cover (magazine is now called “Garden Grown”, and is the magazine for the the garden grown company) and work on contents pages. Place photo of package design into contents page.

Week 9-  Re-print and finalize all aspects of project.
Finalize the contents portion of the magazine. Work on business card and letterhead to include in identity. Presented work to class and got feedback.

Week 10- Finals
Finalize the business card and letterhead and turn in!

I was super excited about this project when I began, and I still am, but I think that all the other things that have been going on have taken so much out of me that I haven’t really put enough time into this project. I have always been passionate about cooking and I thought why not combine something that I love to do with something that I love to look at and read ( Real Simple) and go from there. I remembered some spatula packaging that Paul Mazzucca had shown us in the fall term and I thought it looked like a fun challenge; so here we are!

I did a decent job of staying on track in the beginning, even though I began with the project I thought I would end with). Eventually the end of the term began to look so far away and the things that needed to be turned in right away in other classes began to take precedence. ( Just being honest :/ I know that if I had referred back to my timeline more often, I would have definitely been more on track. At the end of the day, I really did put a lot of time and effort into my two projects. I am really happy with the turnout and in the end, I know that it wasn’t realistic to create a whole story and design to put in the inside of the magazine, so I decided to create a business card and letterhead for the company instead.

Packaging & Magazine

1. 
   Original ideas, beginning images, ect.

2. 
   Final project images
3. Did you do everything you set out to do? I didn’t get to create my own story for the inside of the magazine, but I did do a business card and letterhead which was not in the original plan.
   
4. What were the challenges? The magazine was definitely a challenge. I really like the Real Simple style and in the beginning it was really hard to get away from it and make it my own. Coming up with my own copywriting was a challenge as well…
   
5. What went well? Not so well? I had a lot of fun doing the packaging, and not as much with the magazine, but in the end it was really hard to find utensils that fit my packaging and now I know to find those first and create packaging that fits those than vice versa.
   
6. What did you learn during the process? Same as #5. Some steps should have come before others and I need to think it all out better in the future.
   
7. What would you do differently? I would definitly spend more time on the magazine section of the project. I originally thought it would take me longer to do the packaging because I had never done any before, but I was wrong.
   
8. Compare your feelings/perceptions at the start of the project to how you feel, now that the project is completed? I was super excited in the beginning about designing the magazine, maybe even more than the packaging, but I like the end product of my packaging better than the magazine. This is probably because it’s more resolved, and I can hold it, whereas I never  did print any of the magazine.
   
9. What grade would you give the project? I would give myself a A-  Even though I didn’t complete what I had originally planned on, I tried to make up for it in another way that was realistic for the end of the term.
   

Mid-Term Status

Magazine Spread/Kitchen utensil packaging

Now:

At this point, I am finished with the package design. I designed some backing for the kitchen utensils to sit on and the only thing that I really need to do for this half of the project is to get it printed and take some photos with the live utensils on them.

I have decided to put this aside for now and get started on my magazine spreads. For my spreads I want to do one large story, maybe over 2-4 spreads for a magazine spread for REAL SIMPLE. I’m going to make the front and back cover design, the large story, and then I want to make a section where I can add in my packaging called “Gadget of the week” or something of the sort. I’ll write a small caption about how green it is and how cool my design is

Cover I'm working on

Timeline:

The original timeline I made for this project began with the mag spreads, then the packaging, and ended with tying the two together by putting the packaging design into the spread. I originally gave myself about 5 weeks to finalize the packaging and about 4 weeks for the spreads. However, I think that I need more time to work on the spreads. Time wise, I am pretty on track with my original timeline, but I think that I need to make modifications.

New Timeline:

Week 5:Choose main story for magazine spread. Come up with all content (images, copy) Begin design on spreads (paragraph styles, ect)

Week 6: Work on spreads. Get packaging printed out to make sure looks ok and get images of it.

Week 7: Incorporate packaging images into magazine. Post spreads for feedback.

Week 8: Finalize front and back cover of magazine and inside. Make all necessary changes to design from feedback. If time allows, make an ad also for the back cover of mag.

Week 9: Finish everything!

I think that the new schedule is really do-able. I haven’t been getting as much done as I could have been lately just because of being sick, on top of taking the class over the week-end with Chris and working full time. However, I think that I should be able to catch up this weekend and really get the ball rolling on this magazine. I can’t wait to see how things look printed and happy to be able to put this in my portfolio at the end of the term.

Packaging for kitchen utensils

I ended up starting at the end of my time line rather than at the beginning with the magazine spreads. I’m not sure how long this will take, but hopefully I can get the packaging printed and move on to the mag spreads.That way I can put my finished product in the magazine

My idea was to do something different, that was also a bit more green than the regular plastic backing with the plastic zip ties. And here’s what I came up with.

Logo Choices:

Packaging (minus the utensils)

Overall, things are going pretty well for not having ever done packaging design. I’m happy with how things look so far and with my logo. The next steps are to get the utensils and get them set up on the printed backgrounds to make sure that it will all look ok and that the dimensions are correct. I’m excited!

Editorial/Package Design Timeline:

Proposal/Project Idea:

I will be designing various spreads for a cooking/home decor or interior design magazine as well as create packaging for a kitchen appliance, or beverage. I can then incorporate the product into my magazine spreads. I think this can really work

ROUGH timeline:

Week 1- Research: What magazines would I want to work for? What do I want to focus on? Search for content: recipes,stories, ect.  Research beverage packaging for ideas.

Week 2- Begin editing magazine content/establish rough comps for spreads. Decide on product to do package design for.

Week 3- Continue work on spreads. Incorporate images, color, typography.

Week 4- Work on packaging design. Create theme, color scheme, look for new concept in packaging.

Week 5- Continue work on packaging.

Week 6- Begin finalizing spreads as well as packaging design.

Week 7-  Begin test printing on spreads and packaging and fix mistakes. Test packaging on live product.

Week 8- Incorporate the packaging design and product into magazine spreads.

Week 9-  Re-print and finalize all aspects of project.

Week 10- Finals

Ethiopia Book Project

Edited Fire Dept. logo

Fire Station Logo

Dragon in the works:

Updated Schedule

I would love some suggestions!…. anyone?

Art Center Schedule

valentine_sched

Informational Interview

Ray Burnham at Amplitude Media emailed me back on my informational Interview questions:

Did you start in the field right after school, and what was it like getting your first job?
No, I enrolled in additional schooling after high school

Where do you look for inspiration?
Most commonly I find design inspiration in other artists I admire. I also enjoy the outdoors.

Who or what do you find inspirational?
Music: Radiohead, Muse, Justice
Other Agencies Work and Wisdom
R/GA: http://www.rga.com
McFaul: http://mcfaulstudio.com/

What educational background do you have in Design?
I dont actually have any formal education in design. I was kind of a design nerd when I was younger and loved experimenting with photoshop and designing web sites. A friend had seen some of my design work and recommended I meet with a creative director he had known at an agency called Koopman Ostbo in the pearl district. The creative director liked my work and offered me an internship. So my formal education pretty much started on the job working with others who had much more knowledge of design than I. I was was really lucky to have some people who were very tolerant of my formal design ignorance and encouraged me to keep learning. To this day I’m very thankful for that opportunity to work with those talented people.

Do you ever get a creative block, and how do you get past it?
yes, often when working too long with out a proper break. Sometimes you have to relax and/or let yourself explore other environments or designers that will get you back in a creative, productive mindset.

What do you do in a typical day at work?
Often, my day starts out answering email, having any meetings with my design staff that are needed, preparing proposals and presenting ideas to clients.

Is it hard to do something the way you imagine it when your in a time crunch, and how does that kill your creativity/ideas?
Yes, time is always the big challenge. Less time offers a challenge to produce high quality work with less resources.
Having less time does not excuse us from presenting our best work to a client, it just means that we have to be more responsible with the time we do have at hand.
Sometimes, when an opportunity presents itself with a lack of proper time line, it can be more appropriate to turn down a project so that a client will not be disappointed with sub par work. This is often a difficult skill to approach.

What was the last project that you worked on, and what was the outcome?
The project I am currently working on is for a company named Dorman auto parts. The project is for an online parts finder tool that will be launched within their current web site. The project is still in progress.

Has a customer/client ever been unsatisfied/unhappy about your work and how would/do you handle it?
Yes, we have had past projects delivered past our expected deadline, which is very frustrating for everyone involved.
First, we apologize, deliver the finished project in excellent form, and then do anything within our means to repair any mistrust or deflated confidence.

What advice would you give me as I am compiling my portfolio and getting ready to graduate?
I would focus on presenting your very best work even if it means showing less. If you feel you are in need of additional pieces, ask someone at a company you know to produce some ideas for them, even if they will only be reviewing the work.

Is it what you thought it would be like? Have your expectations been met?
Yes, design has challenged me in many ways and continues to inspire me daily.