Heinz Development of Ideas

Open publication - Free publishing

Open publication - Free publishing

After some time on the lightbox, the brief started to take some shape and flesh out a bit. The colours taken from the various ingredients seem to be working well, and the imagery fits within the brand without too much of a change,
This ensures that people discovering the brand for the first time can become instantly familar with the range of other products heinz has to offer.


Typeface used is Candara, as it looks as close as it can to the font heinz currently use. The real heinz font costs 40 pounds, which I cant afford and dont see the point sheling out for if I am only doing this brief for them and cannot see myself using the font in the near future.

Heinz Progress

Open publication - Free publishing - More design

MOUW Promotional Stickers

I picked some of the most desirable weapons based  upon the feedback from my peers and some gamers in my local community.
Mixed in with some of the visuals I am using for the adverts, this set of stickers would be a freebie in a magazine such as GamesMaster, OXm, nintendo magazine or other such related publications.

MOUW Promotional Adverts

These are the initial designs I came up with for the promotional material to accompany the MOUW brief. I accidentally selected a font, American Purpose, which turns out goes with the existing type I had selected for the project and looks damn good on a large scale.

So I chose to stick with it and personally I think it suits the brief also. Giving a contemporary feel to a rather extravagant subject, coupled with a young feeling typeface helps pull it together.

I recycled imagery I had used in the project since I wanted consistency, not to mention the fact the colours worked really well with what I had produced.

Although they may look good on screen, we shall see the results from the printers up here to determine if they are worth finalising.

The more developed selection demonstrates the use of existing imagery which I coupled with the niche 'gamer slang'/terminology;

+ PWND (powned) - Potentially owning/taking someone out mid-game, the 'potential' element is exclusive if the player manages to survive the onslaught from other players.

+ Bowser - Mythological being that exists in Mario games, aka the Mushroom Kingdom, similar to a dragon like turtle that can breathe fire. The evolutionary aspect rips into the fallacy of his existence.

+ Megaton - A place in Fallout 3 that you have responsibility for its existence, either you side with the elusive class and blow up the town, or you walk. Hence the 'weight' of the decision.

+ Toilet humour - This genuinely is a game (conker's bad fur day) where you take on what is literally a giant, opera singing feces. You destroy it by knocking out his sweetcorn teeth with toilet roll.

Minor Amendments

Just realised that the type and the logo were completely incorrect. I have made the relative amendments thus far, think I will be using a combination of colours that I  used on the t shirts for the sake of visual conformity.

Range of Flavours

So after I had done some more research into different "british" flavours, I started putting a list together of all the possible combinations that could be made in addition to the 'normal' taste of Salad Cream.

The first set of falvours I came up with are:

+ Mustard and Dandelion

+ Lime and Chutney/ Lime and Pickle

+ Horseradish and Carrot

+ Mustard and Juniper

+ Elderberry and Caramalised Onion

+ Onion and Aioli

+ Garlic and Basil

+ Red Wine and Juniper

I then started to cross reference a load of different recipes to confirm these were valid combinations that could be incorporated into the Salad Cream taste, while keeping in with a sense of britishism.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cranberry-Horseradish-Sauce-233274
http://www.apinchof.com/juniper1105.html
http://www.choosebritish.co.uk/ItTastesBetterBritish.html

After this bout of research, I have also found out that Leeks and asparagus are national favourites too.
Although I'm not sure if using these two flavours inclusively to my range would benefit the palette of the target audience. I do believe the following would be good combinations as well as profitable, since they are recognised as verifiable ingredients as well as being uniquely british.

+ Red Onion and Elderberry

+ Carrot and Cranberry

+ Garlic and Dandelion

Since they might not be appealing in context, I have produced an alternative set of flavours based entirely on the popularity of other products:

+ Lime and Chilli

+ Tomato and Basil

+Garlic and Soy

They all represent a sort of world cooking theme, which could work quite well, but I am not sure this is what they are after. I will assess after my crit today with Robyn, Nat, and Nick.

Heinz First Ideas

So this might be a good time to break down what direction this brief will be taking, as to make a start on it very soon considering the time constraints I have left til hand in.

The problems defined are:

Not enough people are buying salad cream; Why?

Because the brand has its roots in the past, hanging on to nostalgia is the only appeal the brand has.

Why is that so?

The majority of people who have these nostalgic preferences are of the age who have been around at the height of the brand's popularity: 80s and early 90s.

Here are some comments I got from peers on my course, as to gain some sort of insight into the flavour favouritism of the youth today. Seemed fitting since they are all the age of the target audience.

Hey man,

Salad cream, I never chose it as a condiment. I have tried it before, but it didn’t strike any chords.

Hope this helps,

Pav

Re: OPINIONS COUNT

by Jack Neville - Friday, 25 November 2011, 01:56 PM

  Salad cream is rank. It tastes cheap and goes with nothing.

Re: OPINIONS COUNT

by Benjamin Mckean - Friday, 25 November 2011, 03:46 PM

  I would usually prefer mayonnaise to salad cream, however sometimes it can be a nice change. Don’t they use salad cream in Macdonalds burgers, I associate it with this and being quite sweet. 

In conclusion I would have it in a sandwich or burger if there was no mayo but I probably wouldn’t use it for dipping anything into. 

Ben

Re: OPINIONS COUNT

by Jane Denton - Friday, 25 November 2011, 04:29 PM

  salad cream is better than mayo for coleslaw making-can’t think of anything else it would/should be good for.

Re: OPINIONS COUNT

by William Skane-Davis - Friday, 25 November 2011, 04:52 PM

  Salad cream with cheese and tomato in sarnies is mad tasty. Other than that mayo/ketchup

Re: OPINIONS COUNT

by Niall Hargrave - Friday, 25 November 2011, 05:12 PM

  it’s ok

Re: OPINIONS COUNT

by Hazel Gage - Friday, 25 November 2011, 05:37 PM

 

Salad cream is just one of those things I don’t buy. I have this idea that it tastes like vinager!

Stephanie Oglesby so84290@students.leeds-art.ac.uk to me

show details 21:47 (16 hours ago)

Mayo is better than salad cream! Salad cream is too tangy :/

Ellie

Salad cream is not something I buy, I eat mayo with everything and feel Luke I am cheating on it any time I use any other sauce.

So it becomes incredibly clear that it is 50/50 in terms of the Mayo vs Salad Cream debate, although John Watters has found a facebook page for such a topic (What a surprise!) so I will finish the rest of my research after I have looked at the page. 

Another problem then is that Salad Cream just does not appeal as a condiment of choice, so I think the logical conclusion is that there needs to be more range, just so people are more encouraged to try the brand, even if they dont like Salad Cream, they may enjoy a different set of flavours.

My research thus far has also concluded that in certain culinary circles concerning the "taste of britain" is in decline.
Basically in my previous post, the National Trust have teamed up with crack culinary pioneers to try save the taste of britain, and have identified particular tastes/ flavours in response to the importing of goods in favour of sampling and cultivating our own particular tastes that are unique to our own culture.


So maybe a range of flavours that try to put emphasis on the Britishness of the Salad Cream brand as well as highlighting the great flavours of our nation; though designed/directed in a non-extremist way.


Flavours include:


Horseradish, Chervil, Cilantro, Chives, Parsley, Rosemary, Tarragon, Thyme, Coriander, Juniper, Nettle, Dandelion, Sorrel, Passum ,Elderberries, Leeks, and anything else with a unique Anglo-European origin behind it.

Games Aid Store

I had thought about designing a seperate website/store for the various products to be viewed and purchased on, but Robyn directed me to goodsie.com which is an online store that allows you to price, process and keep tabs on transactions.
The website building tool is incredibly easy to use and I managed to get everything online and updated in a day.
I wanted a instant online presence so that the audience have an instant point of reference and have ease of access to my designs.

Workshop/Presentation

Might as well start at the beginning, I attended the brief workshop ran by Fred that was meant to aid us in kick starting a brief as a result of scrupulous thread picking.


The first question we got asked was; why are we here? 
The answers from the group came up with:


- kickstarting the brief
- Iron out any issues
- Help organise ourselves
- Discussion in a group environment
- Decision regarding concepts.


We then came up with 10 reasons why we chose the brief, mine were:


1. I like Salad Cream
2. Chance to do a brief I would not normally do
3. Potentially applied to a range of media I am not accustomed to
4. The target audience works in my favour
5. Tend to avoid competition briefs in relation to: D&AD, YCN
6. Potentially quick turnaround
7. Demonstrate I can do work for commercial sector
8. Something new
9. Got a lot of rough ideas mentally
10. I like having some fun with a brief


Then there was a talk on laziness in practice, considering the balance between busy and productivity. How being busy can lead to repetition but if you are learning and being productive you can become far more progressive in terms of your work ethic.
Taking note of some of our studio habits such as picking up a brief and going straight to the designing rather than taking time to sit back and evaluate where you are/ what you can do with the brief.


We then got asked to write down we wanted to gain from the brief:


1. A good body of illustration in suitable, commercial sellable context. Enables chance to reach out to more profitable sector.


2. Work seen nationwide/exposed positively - good for PPD and will help destroy my paranoia barrier


3. Organisation Skills - cohesive body of work so near to the deadline. (What can be achieved in time we have left)


4. Explore screen-based processes and other media applications of deliverables. Not done packaging/screen based work opportunity to see work translates across media.


5. Upbeat outcome - brighten up portfolio, different from my own work ethic


6. Flex my wordsmithing abilities, using language to convey a message; no  body copy or regurgitated information. Demonstrate that Im a fluent articulated designer.


Extra notes at bottom of page: Heinz is an awesome brand that makes/allows people to celebrate/have fun with their food. Experimentation is essential; without the faucets of food  creativity this brand would sink.




We then got asked to write questions on the brief, picking out any possible issues:


1. Are Heinz worried that the new mayo campaign sells more than Salad Cream? Is this an issue?


2. What sort of people frequently eat with Salad Cream


3. What are the most popular food combos?


4. What do people think about Salad Cream?


5. Is it a "zing" it adds to food?


6. Is it the preferred alternative condiment?


7. When people think of Heinz: just soup?


8. Is it 50% lower in fat than standard mayo market leader?


9. Are new flavours any good?


10. What sort of parent eats Salad Cream?


11. How is the brand quirky?


These questions are to be answered in conjunction with the presentation.




Then we were asked to identify problems that came up in analysing the brief:


1. Salad cream is not selling so well


2. Heinz dont know how to propagate campaign


3. They dont really know what they want


4. Heinz is lacking modernity in the brand


5. Not enough young people are "tasting the difference" between mayo and salad cream


6. The brand needs a makeover that is responsive to todays fast moving, media endowed reality.


7. Salad cream is not at the forefront of young people's minds




The wefty task ahead putting alot on hold is WHAT I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE SUBJECT.


50 facts 
50 stats
50 quotes
50 opinions


This will form the basis of the presentation.




Presentation Requirements:


What am I doing?
Why am I doing it?
Answers to 10 questions
Informed delivery
Examples of HIGH QUALITY standard of design that will demonstrate a clear idea of how I will move forward with the brief.
Organised.
Treat it as a pitch


Visualise


- 10 possible outcomes for brief that are mandatory deliverables. Take into account of what we want to produce and what is needed to fulfil criteria. Full specs, treat it professionally; colours, type, pages, leaves etc


For each possible outcome:


10 variations that include:


+ colour
+ format 
+ type
+ content
+ composition
+ Dimension?/Scale?






So to clarify, the presentation format is as follows:


- Why I have chosen the brief in relation to my rationale


- What I know about the subject


+50 facts
+50 stats
+50 opinions
+50 quotes


- Answer the 10 questions 


- Identify problems
+ How I intend to address them
+ examples (10)


- Ideas
+ present

Final Layouts. NO more.

Fonts: 


Headings - United Federation Starfleet 42nd hull Division
Body copy - Freeway gothic


The choice of fonts was partly based on the aesthetic but moreso on the comparison to gaming culture and nerd affiliated ephemera. Basically, the sans serif typefaces work well with the publication, but the choice of the specific fonts was based on what I had been looking at on my context blog.

MOUW Progress

Partly due to time management, but mainly due to the looming crit, I wanted to get a grid format that could be easily and efficiently applied to all categories, yet still have some visual appeal.


The conventional grid used I though best utilised the information I had as well as maximising the overall look of the various booklets within the manual.

Final Posters for GA

These are the final poster designs for submission until I can get some more events organised. I decided to knock down the brightness of the original design as it caused some headaches.
I used one colour with tints for the other two as to not make the startling combination of both bright green and pink a strenous exercise when processing the information. I used the colour palette  because it is the company logo colours.

MOUW: Review

Basically, I printed a few pages from the spreads, and my inaccurate estimates for the document's measurements became incredibly clear. The margin was way too small, giving it full bleed was a pretty stupid idea since now the grid just looks much too bloated and not like a good decision. Since this mistake has been made, I will double the margin size and tamper with the grid to make it fit. I also wanted to include a mini key at the start of each manual since I will be using it as a reference for the stats I will be applying to each weapon, since I did not give myself enough time to get it done for last week's crit.
This PDF demonstrates the change of type as well since courier was a bad choice on print, it just didnt have the same relationship with the layout and type decisions I had made on screen. 
So I settled for Freeway Gothic. It fits in much better with the rest of the design and also ties in well with the Federation Starfleet font used.


I would probably use foiling as a proces on the logo and type, since it would reflect the full spectrum of colour, which would include the categories and maximise its overall aesthetic and improve its sellability.

Post Crit Deliverables Outlined.

After a night "off", it gave me a chance to clarify exactly what I will be doing/producing in response to my briefs. Also I am starting to over develop my ideas and thus over complicating things for myself and as a result they need to be completed by wednesday. Four weeks left and I still have to have some more briefs under my belt.


GamesAid:


-3 Different Keyrings
-3 Different T-shirts
-3 Mugs


All designs to be cohesive out of the range. Silk screen printed except for the keyring and mug which will have to be paid for respectively since I do not have the resource to print onto mugs and the keyrings are just printed on paper then inserted into the frame.


MOUW:


-Finalise layouts
-PoS
-Promotional Poster for shop front.


Need to play with the layouts I currently have, also looking at the various possibilities available, but ultimately deciding on it soon so I dont hinder its progress.

Brief 1,2 and 3

Open publication - Free publishing

Open publication - Free publishing

Open publication - Free publishing