Visual Contrast

22nd October 2013

Variety through limitation is key

Contrast is a useful visual approach and can perform various vital functions:

VISUAL POWER - Attract, delight and seduce
VISUAL COMMUNICATION - Inform, Underpin and Explain
VISUAL INTEREST - Revive, refresh and sustain

Think variety:

Vertical V Horizontal
Colour V Mono
Matt V Gloss
Single V Multiple
Type V Image

Conceptual Contrast:

Male V Female
Narrative V Poetic
Lux V Grunge
Lateral V Literal

Contrast as a useful visual approach and can inform various key aspects:
-Narrative Focus
- Location Selection
- Model Casting
- Styling
- Prop Selection
- Composition
- Post Production
- Editing/Print

Brands Branching Out

23rd October 

Today in Topshop I picked up this card showing an effect that can be created using Topshop's make up. Topshop now selling makeup products and marketing themselves as a cosmetic brand means they are taking over other sectors of the market. Although this is good for them to increase sales and popularity for them it reduces the chance of customers going to other stores and may therefore affect sales of cosmetic brands as Topshop's products are being sold at relatively low prices. 

Positioning and Re-positioning

21st October 2013

Marks and Spencer:

2013 Campaign - LEADING LADIES

M&S are clearly trying to re-create the brand and show it in a new light to increase womenswear sales due to them decreasing over the last 3 years. The new strategy for its clothing is trying to reassert M&S in the market for its quality position and revive its sales.

Some people say that the sales decline of M&S is due to it failing to differentiate from other mid-market companies such as Next and Debenhams. However it is also facing trouble from low end brands such as Primark selling similar items at a much lower price. 

According to M&S the women share 'a strong sense of personal style and inspirational achievements which have propelled them to success'. However I think it is a confusing poorly thought out campaign. This is due to the difficult message they are trying to convey. All the women involved are so different and so it is confusing who the target consumer of the campaign is.

Shop Visit: White Stuff, Nottingham

20th October 2013

Today I visited one of White Stuff's flagship stores based in Nottingham. White stuff is a shop I have only previously seen in Milton Keynes and John Lewis however this store is a completely different experience. 

The store even had a 'Nottingham Picture House' which was a mini cinema with blankets and cuddly toys which is a good selling point for parents as their children are kept entertained while they can spend more money. 

Every aspect of the store seemed carefully considered with constant surprises throughout the store including vandalised classic images and paintings on the stairway leading from womenswear to upstairs. Another clever aspect were the sweets behind the shop counter - these were sold for charity which is something which would encourage customers to return and works as positive marketing for White Company as they are not seen to be all about profits for themselves.  

The changing rooms were a visual merchandising dream. Laid out as if part of an allotment; each individual changing room was laid out like a mini shed with spades, watering cans and aprons.

Visual Codes: Logo Analysis, Brand Analysis and Brand Equation

17th October 2013

Exploring brands

LUXURY:

Heritage - Louis Vuitton
Purity - Calvin Klein
Wit - Paul Smith
Sensuality - Dolce and Gabbana 

Heritage - Louis Vuitton
- Ancestry  - Tradition  - Progenitor  - Legacy  - Lineage  
- Provenance

LV is one of the oldest fashion houses established in 1854
Print is instantly recognisable
Famous for luxury travel goods - classic, traditional yet constantly modernising and contemporising e.g. the Steven Sprouse prints
LV continues to build its empire based on the heritage of the brand. 

Purity - Calvin Klein
- Simplicity  - Artistic  - Elegant  - Classical  - Graceful    
- Immaculacy

Calvin Klein is simple with letterforms as a logo that express a certain security for consumers - brand handwriting is that of purity.
Known best for underwear and has a visual resembelance to classical Greek gods
Uses celebrity endorsement in adverts although the photography speaks for itself.

Wit - Paul Smith
- Playfulness  - Adroitness  - Raillery  - Guile  - Repartee  
- Badinage

Logo drawn by a friend in the 1980's
Brand which has become an inherent part of our national identity
Modern twist on tailoring - instantly recognisable stripes
Stripe is versitile and applied to almost anything: cameras/furniture/wallets/footballs

Sensuality - Dolce and Gabanna
- Physically  -Passion  - Indulgence  - Seduction  
- Suggestiveness  - Decadence

D&G logo is simple with the initials of two surnames
Sex is never far away from the selling of the brand
Instantly recognisable - logo on most items e.g. hats
Strongly used palette of colours: always black, white and gold or dark red also signature animal prints such as zebra and leopard

Colour Theory

15th October 2013


Hue: Defining characteristics of a colour e.g. red



Value: Tonal value of a colour 










Primary Colours: Red, yellow, blue


















Secondary Colours: Primary colours with the colour between each. So red-orange-yellow-green-blue-purple












Tertiary Colours: The colour in between each secondary colour












Shade: Hue where black has been added


Tint: Hue where white has been added

 
Complementary Colours: To make a colour true/strong a colour is put with a complementary e.g. Tropicana orange juice - orange and blue. This is said by some as clashing but it can be pleasing to the eye.












Contrasting colours

Visual Critcic: Seminar Activity

14th October 2013

This seminar was led by Claire Ritchie someone who has lectured at many universities including the university of Northampton, the university of the creative arts and Nottingham Trent University.

Task: 1) Write for 1 minute about who I am
      2) Write for 3 minutes about the death of the highstreet            - imagine a world without shops
      3) Write for 5 minutes about the death of print - imagine a          world without fashion magazines

Consider:
- Formality
- How opinions are put forward - strongly opinionated?
- Conversational? Analytical?

Use the tone of voice of an article in a fashion magazine, think about tone of voice, style of writing and core demographic

Magazine: Cosmo on Campus

Core demographic - Girls ages 18-21/22 (General university age)
Style of writing - Conversational and informal due to the audience and style of magazine 
Tone of voice - Opinions stated but would never be controversial such as Dazed and Confused or put across in an aggressive way 

Task 3 in the style of Cosmo on campus

'Without fashion magazines even in the digital age I believe it would be difficult to become inspired. It would be hard to research everything online as it feels like a totally different experience physically holding a magazine as oppossed to viewing images/text on the internet. Although I feel soon due to the price of magazines (particularly fashion) more and more people will start viewing online as on a lot of sites some of the content is free. I have done this recently on vogue.com to read articles when I hadn't had the money to purchase the magazine'.

Written in 5 minutes - I found this task harder as I would normally analyse and go into more depth but due to the magazine this was for I had to keep sentences at a shorter length and not use complex language features. 

Visual Critic: Is it important to be obsessed with fashion?

14th October 2013

obsess

əbˈsɛs/

verb

past tense: obsessed; past participle: obsessed

1. 1.

   preoccupy or fill the mind of (someone) continually and to a troubling extent.
   
   

I have been thinking about my own thoughts and response to this question and I personally believe you should be. The dictionary defines the word 'obsess' as the above, but I believe that in the world of fashion being obsessed is not a negative thing - if anything it is natural and makes people more informed and knowledgable. 

I believe it is important to be obsessed with fashion as the fashion industry is like no other.If you worked in building for instance you would have to be well trained and well informed about the building world including being aware of any current affairs in the field but when you finished work for the day and so you would not need to be obsessed. By obsessed I mean constantly looking at social networking sites, magazines, TV programmes, going to exhibitions and analysing everything you see and hear to draw inspiration. Therefore I think to be successful in the fashion industry you have to be obsessed in the sense that it does not feel you are working as it is a pleasure, something which you love and is a natural thing as having a creative mind means you will naturally be inspired by that which is around you. 

Dictionary Definition: 
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=define%3A+obsessed&rlz=1C5ACMJ_enGB520GB525&oq=define%3A+obsessed&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i58.4044j0j7&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=91&ie=UTF-8

Shop visit: Cow Vintage

12th October 2013

I had heard many good reviews of this shop so decided to go and have a look for myself. I really liked the range of clothes in the store from classic lee and levi denim jackets to clothes that they had customised themselves such as denim levi shorts which had a checked bow sewn onto the back pockets. I liked the way they are bringing vintage up to date by adding a modern twist - with the checked fabric something in a lot of high street stores at the moment.

Cow vintage describe themselves as 'an affordable vintage clothing and accessories retailer, selling handpicked items that are sourced from around the world.' 

Looking at different brands: expensive, mid-market and cheap

11th October 2014

Expensive Brand:

Burberry

Product

Trench Coat, Checked pattern

Price

Very high end - but price comparisons/range throughout the brand

Place

Flagship store in London, Bond Street

500 stores in over 50 countries

Also sold in large department stores such as Selfridges and Harrods

Promotion

Celebrity endorsement

Live streamed catwalk show during LFW

Social media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

People

Celebrity endorsement – trying to get rid of ‘chav’ image

E.g. Emma Watson, Rosie Huntingdon-Whitley, Jordan Dunn, Agyness Deyn, Kate Moss, Romeo Beckham (there to show children’s clothes but appeals to parents due to the positive message/influence of his parents)

All British so represent brand through them – ambassadors to the brand

Process

Customer service – good customer service makes people return

Physical Evidence

Store is an experience – both sophisticated and modern

Gives you an extra service: makes it seem more worth the money

Clothes can be held up to screens to view them on the catwalk – new technology

Brand Image/Identity (Desired & actual)

Improving gradually – was very chavvy with fake hats/bags being sold so wrong people representing brand, overcoming it gradually with celebrity endorsement

Target Consumer

Twenties plus (not much under due to price) aimed mainly at women – although sell to women, men and children

Competitors

- Prada - Polo Ralph Lauren – Gucci - Armani – Coach

Mid-Market:

Topshop

Product

New items in constantly – column on website dedicated to new items in each week

High fashion (recent) items – not many basics

Some items made in Britain­ – most abroad

Price

Low end designer/high end of high street

Range of prices within store: Jersey/Topshop Unique/Boutique

Sale after every season

Got more expensive over the years – possibly due to catwalk influence

Place

Flagship store: Oxford Street, London

Cakes/sweets/hair salon/nail/eat cafe – encourages you to stay by providing experience

Promotion

Celebrity endorsement – Kate Moss: stopped for a while possibly due to being a badbassador?

J.W. Anderson

People

Celebrity endorsement  

Celebrities wearing their clothes – sometimes given to them

Process

Some clothes made in Britain

Physical Evidence

Catwalk show at LFW making it more like a designer rather than regular high street shop

Branching out into cosmetics – make-up/nail varnish

Brand Image/Identity (Desired & actual)

Due to them being on the catwalk – consider themselves as designer brand (possibly explains reason for prices rising)

Target Consumer

Girls - aged 15+ - petite/tall/maternity

Competitors

River Island

Urban Outfitters

Cheap:

New Look

Product

Basics and fashion items

Copies of items in more expensive stores e.g. Topshop and ideas/colours/patterns from catwalk shows

Different ranges:

Generation (ages 9-15)

-         Maternity

-         Kids and Mens

-         Plus size (sizes 18-32)

Price

Low price: people expect to pay the prices they pay there due to where it is positioned in the market

Concessions within the store – also low price

Place

High street stores – not much spent on the interiors generally quite messy/dirty

People there for value for money rather than shopping experience

Promotion

Customers generally have low expectations

Incentives for students with 10% off

People

Celebrity endorsement – Kelly Brook has a range of underwear/swimwear

Employees tend to be in their mid twenties upwards

Process

Average customer service – no extra services

Try to get customers to repeat coming back

Physical Evidence

Customers go there knowing what experience they are going to receive

Brand Image/Identity (Desired & actual)

Desired: Bit more high end that they are – Kelly Brook working with them

Actual: Safe high street brand -

Target Consumer

10 years onwards (range from 9-15)

Competitors

- Primark - H & M - Forever 21

My moodboard

10th October 2013

Our mood board task had to be based on our favourite designer or brand. I decided to go with Zara as I like the way the store represents itself as a brand being clean cut and chic but at cheap high street prices. I used a colour palette of blacks whites and pops of bright colours such as orange and pink. As a lot of Zara’s clothes are that which would be suitable for work but just as suitable for someone to wear on a normal day. I went into the store in Nottingham to make sure I had the right idea about the shop. After going there I added some images of patterns such as the floral print as at the moment the store has a lot of black and white basics and trousers and tops that are printed or coloured.