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
Monday, 28 October 2013
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Sunday, 20 October 2013
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
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
Saturday, 19 October 2013
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
Hue: Defining characteristics of a colour e.g. redValue: 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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)