OUIL502: Life's a Pitch: A-Three Market Research

Working in smal groups (no more than 4) you will construct a business proposal for a creative studio, collective or collaborative practice and present it to your peers and tutors in an formatively assessed, oral presentation.

Four heads are better than one as long as they communicate. You will now have the luxury of four pairs of hands. How will you use them effectively? You will need to consider the following:

• What skills and services do you have to offer?
• Who is your target market?
• Who is your competition and how will you compete?
• What are your costs, charges and financial considerations?
• How will you structure your studio?
• Who will be responsible for what?
• How will you promote your services? To who? Using what media?

You must make reference to the module resources materials, books and web sites to demonstrate your understanding of basic marketing and business principles.

We live in a capitalist free market economy which means that ...

Regeneration areas are being made into cafes and galleries. 

The culture sector. 

We were thinking about how we could create a product with a USP - unique selling point. We decided that personalized products would be a great USP as everyone likes to feel special or make the person they buy the present for feel special. Things with names and photographs etc. We have skills in drawing and being creative so to mark ourselves out from the rest of the suppliers out there we must draw on these skills specifically.

PEST

Political factors

Economic factors

Social factors

Technological factors

4 P's

Place

Production

Price

Product

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities?

Threats? 

RESEARCH into STATIONARY
I decided to investigate stationary design and in particular creative and prize winning stationary design...

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gallery/2013/apr/23/the-best-stationery-in-pictures

My thoughts:

http://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/gadgets-tech/the-50-best-stationery-1861928.html?action=gallery&ino=10

My thoughts:

http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/home/traditional-stationery-gifts

My thoughts:

http://www.thejournalshop.com/

My thoughts:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Best-Sellers-Office-Products-Stationery-Supplies/zgbs/officeproduct/192413031

My thoughts:

http://www.shopikon.com/london/shopping-guide/other/stationery

My thoughts:

http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/personal-stationery

My thoughts:

http://www.vanityfair.com/style/carls-crush/2012/06/six-noteworthy-brands-stationery

My thoughts:

http://www.penandpaper.co.uk/

My thoughts:

http://www.vogue.com/872536/best-thank-you-stationery/

My thoughts:

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/shopping/best-stationery-stores-in-new-york-city

My thoughts:

http://www.paperchase.co.uk/stationery/notebooks

My thoughts:

http://blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/articles/40-must-see-stationery-designs-for-print-inspiration

My thoughts:

http://lovelystationery.com/

My thoughts:

http://monocle.com/shop/stationery/

My thoughts:

http://graphicdesignjunction.com/2014/02/branding-visual-identity-stationery-designs/

My thoughts: Branding will be a huge part of this task. A-Three as a brand needs to be perfectly designed towards our target audience and fulfill their needs. The branding in the examples above show how it can create a presence by making your stationary part of a set and this also helps to make more profit as people want a complete set, all matching.

IDEAS

• Could create personalised note books? Accessories etc

A few websites that I think link into the style we're going for with our company:

http://presentandcorrect.com/category.php?category_id=2

http://www.quilllondon.com/writing-pens-pencils.html

http://www.zarawood.com/thewoodyshop/all

http://shop.anorakmagazine.com/products

They all have that hand crafted quality and aesthetics are a huge part of the marketing of their products; they go for gift quality rather than just functional.

I will be SWOT analysing Paperblanks company.

Their website: http://www.paperblanks.com/us/en/product/5/full

'Keeping You On Schedule and In Style'

Aim: to work individually on my group proposal by looking at PEST analysis and the 4 P's;

look at how they link to proposal and competition. Identify my competition... what are their strengths/weaknesses? What opportunities have they taken? What threats do they face? Are they local/regional/national/international?

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

• Beautifully designed notebook/journals. 
• Individual and creative pattens. 
• Highly detailed and good quality materials - you get your moneys worth.
• A visually appealing functional gift.
• Contains: 
• National and international holidays & celebrations summary for 2015
• International dialling codes
• Clothing sizes, measurements, and temperature conversion tables
• World time zone chart
• Travel planning memo page
• Birthdays and important dates memo page
• Extra note pages
• Year planner for 2016
• Holidays & celebrations for 2016
• Convenient, removable address book insert
• Eco-Friendly 
• Philanthropy a core part of the company ethos.

Weaknesses

• Not a really easy purchase as it's cheaper to just get a plain notebook
• Won't appeal to all audiences: not many macho covers so may not appeal to the male demographic or for professional uses - may want more simple/subtle designs. 

Opportunities?

• 'Celebrate human artistry and craft' -Statement on their twitter page. They have taken up the opportunity in a digital age to appeal to the public who want something more personal and carefully made. This gives the appearance that it is a more quality product as it has taken more time and effort to make; the audience thinks they last longer. 
• Also the audience feels like they are supporting the arts and creativity in society by not going with the mass produced plain products of this type. 
• Less people buy stationary for function as the digital age means that more people are using their keypads to type up emails/work/letters etc. This means that more people are buying stationary as a gift product, Paperblanks have taken this opportunity to put care into making a product that will appeal to people buying gifts as it ticks both functional and visually beautiful/carefully made/quality product. 
• They have taken up the opportunity to make their company eco friendly during a period of time when buyers take into account their global footprint, often willing to pay more for a more eco friendly product as they feel like they are helping this global issue. - 'Philanthropy has always been a core part of the Paperblanks® company ethos. Every year, Paperblanks® and its publisher, Hartley & Marks, contribute to a diverse range of programs and agencies that each, in their own way, help improve our planet. In addition to financial support, we donate thousands of journals to dozens of causes and groups every year.'

Threats? 

• Less people are buying stationary thanks to the digital programmes that allow us to type up our work etc. 
• Digital products can be made on mass much more easily and cheaply. 
• People will only buy these sorts of gifts on occasion. They are not necessary.

Competitions

church tapestry -http://www.allsaintskingston.co.uk/
http://www.whereenglandbegan.co.uk/


In the end I picked a few specific briefs that I thought would allow me to really push myself and make the most of my current skills and interests. I found these so helpful to experience working in a professional environment and focussing on providing the correct format etc for companies and audiences. Follow the links below for a short summery of each competition brief:

Exhibition: Colours May Vary

We started off our research for our exhibition by visiting Colours May Vary where we were planning to hold it. We wanted to get a grasp of the feel and interests of the space as well as working out how we could work with the staff to create something both parties are happy with. It was also a good chance to see how we could use the space to present our work. It is quite a small area so it was good we saw it before so that nobody went on to create large scale pieces of work. 

OUIL502: Product Audiences and Context

Food Packaging

1. The Saucy Fish Co.Paragon Print and Packaging.
   Beautifully simple, minimal, great branding with simple cut out design. Great shelf presence, the air tight vacuum seal also shows the product to its best advantage, the cord fitment is simple yet effective. Colour is vibrant and eye catching against the black and also complements the pink of the fish. A simple meal idea for the busy shopper; the adult shopping sees this for what it is, the kid may ask for it as it has a fish on it; this packaging hints at a busy parent looking for a simple and easy meal idea.
   
   
2. Anton Berg Chocolate Liqueurs Carton. Chesapeake Branded Packaging.
   Lovely use of embossing and matte and gloss spot varnish to give a premium pack. The cut out and the chocolates themselves are presented as alcoholic beverages; the audience a mature and sophisticated adult one; the dark case looks glamorous and luxurious signifying an evening/night time treat.
   
   
3. Gu Puds, Christmas 2011, Firstan Ltd.
   Draws the eye; use of bright colours against the foil is striking. Internal print is a bonus. A quality example of graphics and brand working well. Beautiful stand out design like nothing else in its category. I think these definitely have a female oriented audience, they have used bright lively colours; bright green and pink, mixed with the luxury of gold to portray the theme of a treat- something that will cheer you up. Not only do they use a girl on the front but one that looks like shes wearing a mask... or face mask; the product tempts women to let themselves off; relax, and treat yourself.
   
   
4.  Marks & Spencer "Ever So Posh" Hand Cooked Crisps - Interflex Group.
   The paper coating is just gorgeous - it takes the product out of commodity and into 'posh'. Beautifully printed and great design. It appeals to a 'posh' or middle class audience or an audience that wish to appear 'posh' because it appears good for you; home made, rustic, british/local! It also holds a nostalgic feel being old fashioned and rustic. The stereo-type of the middle class is that they care how their foods produced and where its come from...
   
   
5. Nestle Lion Bar Easter Egg Carton - Chesapeake Branded Packaging.
   Lovely design, good structure, minimal materials, great fun. Clever use of structural design to accurately represent the brand. Unique chocolate egg carton design, strong stand-out in a tough market. Excellent use of cardboard engineering. Aimed at a young audience, or their parents buying with them in mind, looking for fun and play along with their chocolate egg!
   
   
   

Portrait of my mum and grandad:

Portrait in honour of my grandads life. Rest in Peace <3

OUIL502: Study Task 1 - Who am I? Why am I here?

5 things I have learnt so far...

1. A range of line qualities add a lot to the depth and complexity of a piece.

2. Colour is crucial to add atmosphere and meaning to a piece.

3. Media needs to be chosen appropriately as it can totally change the way an illustration is interpreted.

4. Layout should be thought about and explored carefully; this too can add or take away effect from the illustration. 

5. For my work it is important I use filtered reference material to add realism to my work but to not allow myself to rely on this too heavily and explore my imagination more.

5 things I want to know more about...

1.  The different area specialities in the industry. 

2. Good internship/ work experience possibilities and how best to improve my chances of getting it.

3. Processes such as screen printing

4. Processes such as etching

5. Skills using paint such as oil painting

5 strengths...

1. Using detail in my work

2. Using colour

3.portraits 

4. Line work 

5.

5 things to improve on...

1. Concept

2.layout

3. Symbolism/imagery

4. Composition

5. Professional look

5 images that define professional illustration to me...

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6. 

Canal Mills: Live Art

They produced three images of owls linked to the edgy theme of Canal Mills. The three artists worked aside each other, all at difference paces and different tones of voice, which I though was great to see as it showed their different interpretations and creative expressions. 

The toilets also had cool illustrated designs on their walls, lots of repetitive patterns and hints of faces.