OUGD501 | Design Boards

OUGD501 | CoP 3 Proposal

OUGD501 | Module Evaluation

OUGD501 has proven to be a very difficult module for me on the whole. I first struggled with trying to find a topic of discussion that I like enough to write 3000 words on. After talks with my friends about my likes and interests, we often would discuss how this could then be linked back to graphic design and what my practical would be. Although none of the ideas I initially talked about were my final one, or anywhere near my final one, they still helped as I was able to think about how my essay should inform me and my practical work.

The major difficulty for me was writing the essay. I have had some problems over the past few months which really affected my ability to just sit down and focus; this proved especially problematic when it came to writing 3000 words. Other than that, I found that what I wanted to talk about, in relation to my personal interests in the topic, weren't important to the question I was aiming to answer and I often found myself rambling on and not quite getting any points across. Using quotes definitely helped me find a point and expand and explain it, although I am weary that I used too many as a backup and didn't quite explore the issue enough myself.

Because of the personal difficulties that have been brought to light towards the end of the module, it made me wish that I had started my essay earlier rather than focusing on other modules. Although the problems were there at the start also, it would have been easier to spread the difficulty out over the whole module rather than towards the end. This is my own time management that I really need to improve and I know that it needs to be sorted for level 6 if I wish to do well.

In regards to my practical work, I am very happy with how it turned out. For a long time I thought I would be keeping ASOS' branding and applying it to different uses, but after a couple of crits with my peers it seemed that most people thought that I should rebrand ASOS is one way or another; whether that be completely or just certain elements of it. I feel I succeeded with redesigning ASOS for the better while also keeping just enough of the old branding so that it is clear that it is still ASOS.

OUGD501 | Essay & Practical

My essay informed my practical work quite a lot as I was able to learn from my research what it takes to design a brand.

I found in my research that you have to really consider what it is a consumer will relate to in regards to a brand, and the demographic that ASOS is aimed towards responds and connects more to a simple, modern brand a lot more than a very vibrant and bold brand, which often seems outdated.

OUGD501 | Development

OUGD501 | Essay

OUGD501 | ASOS Lookbook

OUGD501 | Branding Concepts & Reasonings

The concept behind the new logo and branding was to essentially make it more user-friendly and familiar, compared with the harsh, bold, striking elements of the previous (existing) branding.

To do this I first changed the logotype. The existing ASOS logotype uses a very bold and sharp-edged type with extremely close kerning to the point of touching. This has served well as it is now easy to recognise and it was able to be used in a lot of ways, but I felt that it was too heavy and harsh for what ASOS stood for. I changed the logotype by choosing a new typeface, Oscine Bold, and rather than having all the letters touching, they are evenly spaced out to create a well-balanced logo. The type is a sans-serif which indicates a modern feel, it has round edges which reflects the friendliness and familiarity of ASOS, and is a quite heavy font which represents their reliability.

The shape of the logo is very similar to that of the previous logo which I felt was important as there are already millions of existing customers familiar with the ASOS brand, so changing it completely would be counter-productive. The line at the end of the type represents the flashing cursor you may see when typing on a computer. This came fro ASOS being an online-only company and where all of their customers are from. I felt this was a nice way to incorporate ASOS' history into their new design and new company ventures (having a physical shop). As well as it representing the type cursor, it also acts as a separator between the type and a sub-title, so it has a purpose as well as a reason.

Colour wise I felt that ASOS needed to have a very modern and minimal colour palette because minimalism is not only very popular now, but it also makes for a better website and physical space regarding how much information and products they have. Due to this, dark grey, gold and white are the only colours used for the branding. Other colours will be used for posters and magazines and such, but in terms of ASOS' branding, it is very minimal.

OUGD501 | Final Designs

OUGD501 | Brand Guidelines Research

Before I started rebranding ASOS, I thought that looking at existing brand guidelines would help me a lot. I researched the reasons behind brand guidelines and the usefulness of them in my essay, but now I have the chance to implement this knowledge into my design work.
http://www.creativebloq.com/branding/great-examples-design-style-guides-3132070

Skype:




Channel 4:

                

 

             

 



Adobe:

Firefox:

OUGD501 | ASOS Consumer Research

Taken from http://www.asosplc.com/how-we-do-it.aspx 

"Our core customer is the twenty-something fashion-lover: an avid consumer and communicator who is inspired by friends, celebrities and the media.

We are obsessive about understanding them so we can join their conversation and offer them the fashion they want."

"WHO THEY ARE
Setting trends or following them, most twenty-somethings are engaged with fashion.
For them, their clothing – and beyond that, their style – expresses their identity and helps them assert their individuality.

Twenty-something consumers lead digital lives: they have instant access to information, communicate constantly with friends and broadcast their daily lives and thoughts across the social networks. For them this level of communication and interaction is what they’ve grown up with.

And fashion matters to them: 67% of under-25s believe how they look is important with almost three quarters of all young women saying they enjoy shopping for clothes*.
That’s because fashion is also entertainment. These young consumers don’t just like to shop online. They follow and often comment on celebrity trends; they blog their own “fashion editorial”; they broadcast their thoughts on style in soundbites on social networks and via YouTube.

How do they like to shop?
Two thirds of those aged 19-25 shop online because it’s faster and easier**. And they are responding in different ways to the financial squeeze – for example, in the UK we’ve found that the 18-21-year-old group is the most likely to shop according to discounts compared to those in their mid or late twenties*."

OUGD501 | Current ASOS Branding

ASOS' current branding is very bold and striking. This is to appeal to a young and vibrant demographic in hopes that it will catch their eye and then develop into them buying something from their site. The logo has now become very recognisable due to the strong, tight, lettering, so much so that it is now recognisable by shape rather than type a lot of the time. 

OUGD501 | Crit & Feedback

Today we had a crit where we got the chance to ask three questions about our work and receive feedback from our peers. This was very useful as I was struggling with my practical work and where to start with it.

I asked;

1) Other than posters and signage, what else would you expect to see in a store that I could design?

2) How closely should I stick to ASOS' current online branding?

3) Does this idea link with my essay question enough?

I got some really great answers and feedback, a lot of which will inform where I go with this work.

One of the most important things I learned today is that most people think that I should rebrand ASOS in one way or another, rather than completely sticking to its current branding.

OUGD501 | Tutorial Feedback

After talking to Simon about my initial idea for my practical work, it's now clear that a publication might not be the best response for this work.

A publication doesn't really have anything to do with retail, fashion or branding so therefore it doesn't quite work as a way of communicating information in this circumstance.

A better idea is creating collateral for a brand and its shops such as signs, clothes labels, posters etc.

Maybe if I choose a brand that is exclusively online it will make more sense and also allow me to have more freedom in ideas than an existing shop. 

OGD501 | Crit Feedback Notes

1. Doing a big shop like ASOS might be better because there is more stuff to do and create compared to a small boutique.

If there are multiple brands in one shop that means extra signs to indicate that.
I imagine the ASOS shop would be rather big and similar to Topman, Debenhams, John Lewis.

2. Design a look-book that goes along with the design.

OUGD501 | Developed Practical Idea

Design the shop and everything that goes with it for an online company. This includes tags, signs, leaflets, gift cards and maybe window displays.

ASOS

LMDN

Fear of God

Off-White

Yeezy

Maybe just pop-up (temporary) shops.

A big shop like ASOS could be hard as there are lots of other brands involved. This could make it less refined when it comes to branding. 

Maybe some sort of blueprint for store layout.

OUGD501 | Articles & Sites

http://www.debutart.com/studio/the-wilson-brothers/supreme-store-london#/project-portfolio

http://hypebeast.com/2016/3/supreme-paris-store-images

http://hypebeast.com/2015/12/the-architecture-of-design

http://hypebeast.com/2016/4/chanel-glass-amsterdam-flagship-store-by-mvrdv

http://hypebeast.com/2016/3/beijing-nikelab-dsm-pek

http://hypebeast.com/2015/12/apc-kyoto-flagship-store

http://www.designprinciplesftw.com/

OUGD501 | Books

OUGD501 | Initial Practical Idea

A publication displaying different and interesting retail shops around the world.


1) What were your initial aims?

Th show people how street fashion has changed from like grungey, skate aesthetics to a high end, expensive looking minimalist aesthetic.


2) What processes/strategies have you used and why?

I feel like a nice publication or a coffee table book would work well as it informs the reader but also makes it interesting and digestible through layout and colour etc.


3) What literature have you read that informs this work?

There a some books in the library on this kind of thing but there is a lot more information online.




What would be in the publication?

About
Talk about the brand. When they started, their brand views, why they started etc.

Where
Where they have physical shops - why that location?

Shop
Photos of the shop, analysis of store design (Who designed it, why, inspiration)

Products
The brands clothing and products to inform why the shops are designed the way they are.




Either at the start or the end talk about/conclude as to how the physical shop influences consumers.

In terms of design, it would very minimal and clean to reflect the new aesthetic of high fashion and streetwear.


Who would it be aimed towards?
Fashion forward people.
Anyone interested in good design.
People who like a particular set of brands that may be included in the book.


Where would they get it?
Oder online. - If it was a limited run this might make it more successful and allow it to be sold for more, making shipping costs less expensive.

Pick it up at selected retailers? - Shops that are included?

OUGD501 | Bibliography

Bibliography

Calver, G. (2001). Retail graphics. Crans-Près-Céligny: RotoVision.

Cuito, A. (2005). Store window design. New York: TeNeues Pub.

McKellar, S. and Sparke, P. (2004). Interior design and identity. Manchester [UK]: Manchester University Press.

Mesher, L. (2010). Retail design. Lausanne, Switzerland: AVA Pub.

Moreno, E. (2008). Small Shops. Barceloma: Monsa.

Retail therapy. (2007). Mulgrave, Vic.: Images.

Riewoldt, O. (2000). Retail design. New York, NY: Te Neues.

Willems, M., Schultz, S. and Bol, E. (2009). Powershop. Amsterdam: Frame Publishers.

OUGD501 | Final Essay

How does fashion retail design contribute to a company’s brand and help sell the brands products?

Aesthetics and design are important in all areas of life; from food presentation to gardening to one’s personal look, time is taken to make things look good. This practice is no different when it comes to retail design as it is a significant factor in the selling of a product; so much so that companies spend millions of dollars to create a visually appealing space and concept to entice potential consumers into the store and to buy their clothes. This body of writing will explore how companies can make a physical space part of their brand as well as the relationship between consumers and the store design.

Branding is essentially a company feeding off both consumerism, and the masses need to reflect their lifestyle through different products, such as jewellery, clothing and cars. No brand can appeal to everyone, so they are designed and created to appeal to a particular demographic in order to sell their products. A brand that does try to appeal to everyone risks putting a vast majority of people off the product and the brand, therefore losing business. This leaves brands with the choice of choosing a small but specific demographic, who will like the products, or a broad but ambiguous demographic, which is harder for the brands to convey their values and purpose.

As Mesher says in ‘Retail Design’, ‘A brand can be defined by analysing its core values through understanding the product, communicating it to the right consumer audience and understanding that audience’. [Mesher, L. (2010). Retail design. Lausanne, Switzerland: AVA Pub.] This statement rings true as a brand is more than what it seems on the surface. Take Nike for example; Nike’s goal is more than just selling shoes, it is to make the consumer feel like they are making their life better through sport and exercise, therefore making the customer associate Nike, to health and wellbeing. A brand like Nike that sticks to its values can stay in business for an extended amount of time, constantly battling competitors for the top of the market. ‘Brand values’ as Mesher explains are ‘what the organization’s morals and standards are and how they manifest themselves in the brand’. [Mesher, L. (2010). Retail design. Lausanne, Switzerland: AVA Pub.] This includes what the brand stands for; whether it be equality, healthier living or function, it all depends on how they are manifested into the brand, and how the brand implements them into their products and design. This comes under the principles of a brand, along with other aspects such as culture, essence, and image. Brand image is one of the most important elements when both creating and analysing a brand.

Most of the time, the first contact a viewer and potential consumer has with a brand is through image. Whether the image is the logo or a poster, an audience will make an assumption about the brand and what it promotes almost instantly. It is important for a brand to have a strong image associated with it, this often grows over time and is not an instant success. A vast majority of the most successful brand logos are from companies that have been around for years, sometimes decades, and have proved themselves as an important part of their particular market; some examples are Apple, Nike and Chanel. These brands are all well respected in their fields and all their logos are now instantly recognisable and considered a ‘successful logo’.

There are many reasons behind visual merchandising in fashion stores. A fundamental reason is to increase traffic into the shop, therefore, increasing the chances of a sale. Designing to attract customers takes a lot of research as the brand needs to cater to its target audience and dedicated consumer demographic, but also not limit itself by not appealing to anybody else in a different gender category, age group or ethnic origin for example. There are many ways a shop can attract customers but the most effective is how the exterior of the store looks. The exterior design includes things such as the overall architecture of the shop, window graphics, window displays and even the lighting that crosses from interior to exterior.

Window displays play a very important role in the sales of products as they are usually what draw the customers into the shop; the environments created in store windows ‘are designed to strengthen the material essence of the product’, making them seem more desirable to the consumers. [Cuito, A. (2005). Store window design. New York: TeNeues Pub] There are four main areas in window display design that need to be covered in order for it to really communicate to viewers and do its job; the first being colour. The colours that are chosen can either be the brand’s colour or a colour that reflects a certain mood or emotion; it is important to use colour correctly as ‘colours produce an immediate stimulus that really lasts and brings with it a lot of information for the observer and for the potential client’. [Cuito, A. (2005). Store window design. New York: TeNeues Pub] This tells us that depending on the colour or colours used, the viewer then takes the initial feeling into the store with them, then altering and affecting how they behave and interact with the products. Another area of window display design is the materials that have been chosen to present the items and clothing. These materials set how the product is perceived by outside consumers and how they can then imagine and implement these products into their own lives. This is touched upon in ‘Store Window Design’ by TeNeus Publishers, when they say that materials ‘make the products displayed become wished objects and provokes the observer’s feelings, binding them to wish upon the purchasing of the products’. [Cuito, A. (2005). Store window design. New York: TeNeues Pub]

When setting up a shop window display, the lighting that is used is another very important element that needs to be considered as it is ‘one of the most powerful tools in window designing’. [Cuito, A. (2005). Store window design. New York: TeNeues Pub]  If done right, and used collectively with colour, materials, and furniture; it sets the mood of the display which plays on the observer’s emotions and mood. This will dictate how they respond to the shop and the shop’s atmosphere, therefore determining whether or not the observer will enter the store and become a customer.

With window graphics and displays one method used to grab attention is to keep the graphics simple and use a scale rather complexity to make an impact. This technique is a lot easier for companies that have an established brand with an instantly recognisable individual colour, colour combination or logo. One example of this technique is Nike’s use of it on one of their New York stores; a large ‘Nike Swoosh’ logo was placed directly above the double doored entrance to the shop without any type or additional images. This quickly and efficiently communicated that it was a Nike shop due to the widely recognisable branding and ‘the consumer’s ability to focus on the familiar or preferred’. ‘People recognise brands that occupy a share of their mind’; so much so that they are able to ‘filter them out from all he visual and verbal clutter’ that may be surrounding the store. [Calver, G. (2001). Retail graphics. Crans-Près-Céligny: RotoVision]

Another example where scale plays a huge part in exterior design is the Levi’s flagship store in San Francisco. The designers behind the client design were Checkland Kidleysides; they decided to go with a 100 x 35 display that showcases still-life and portraits during the day and digital work film work at night. Although this may not be directly representative of the brand and what people associate with the Levi’s, it grabs the attention of passers-by, enticing them into the store. Alternatively, the opposite of this can also be very effective if done correctly. The streetwear brand ‘Supreme’ goes in the opposite direction when it comes to impact; rather than going big and bold, it uses its existing brand qualities of small, quiet and limited for something less striking.

Supreme’s massive success has partly come from the fact that their products are extremely limited and hard to get a hold of. Due to the brand’s immensely dedicated fanbase that has been known to queue outside of stores for up to forty-eight hours, Supreme doesn’t need to advertise itself to the masses; this is reflected in their store design. With only a handful of stores around the globe, each one is almost entirely bare on the exterior using only a small sign with the infamous ‘box logo’ design. This simple design works well with the brand that Supreme has created, its quiet, subtle and not over the top - keeping to a minimal design inside and out.

In the case of Supreme and many other companies, the store itself often becomes part of the brand as the ‘store is often the only materialization of a brand’. [Willems, M., Schultz, S. and Bol, E. (2009). Powershop. Amsterdam: Frame Publishers] It is as important as the colour, the type or the logo. Brands are able to do this by making the shop a memorable experience for the customer, once the possible consumers have entered the store, the next challenge is to engage the customer enough to ‘convert interest into purchase’ through the means of displays, floor and wall graphics, and signage. [Calver, G. (2001). Retail graphics. Crans-Près-Céligny: RotoVision] Taking a brand’s essence and design and ‘turning it into a three-dimensional spatial experience is called brandscaping’; as described by Otto Riewoldt – ‘brandscaping transforms the brand itself into a location’. Supreme’s oldest store, in New York, was initially designed with a very open floor plan in order for there to be room for skateboarders to ride into the shop. This hasn’t changed, but more inspired the other stores around the world to follow suit in the simplistic design, keeping the products around the perimeter of the interior store. As explained previously, Supreme has now established its brand off how limited their products are, and this is reflected in the minimal layout of the stores. The artwork displayed in the stores is in-line with the brand and the demographic that it caters to, in the London store for example, the whole upstairs of the establishment is a gallery dedicated to skateboarding. The L.A store offers more of an ‘experience’ than any of the others with its full, double circle skate bowl that overlooks the front of the store. This adds to the atmosphere of the already iconic shop for the customers as they walk in and around the shop, able to hear the skateboarders – the very sport and people who started and influenced the brand in 1994.

The designers of the brand often set out guidelines in order for the store to correctly and accurately represent the brand in an effective manner; ‘guidelines often include logo information, colour references, typeface and imagery as well as examples of how to set out different types of signage and communication tools’. [Mesher, L. (2010). Retail design. Lausanne, Switzerland: AVA Pub.] These guidelines are made from ‘understanding the aspirations of the end-user and through analyzing the competition’ and ultimately deciding ‘how the graphic identity would impact on the space’. [Mesher, L. (2010). Retail design. Lausanne, Switzerland: AVA Pub.] A lot of the time the ‘flagship store’ plays a big role in how the rest of the stores are designed.

Flagship stores are there to ‘promote the brand in large, key retail sites around the globe’, by ‘influencing the brand choice made by the consumer through creating an exhibition-like experience’. [Mesher, L. (2010). Retail design. Lausanne, Switzerland: AVA Pub.] The concept and design in these stores are a lot bigger and more complex than those of the regular retail stores. By immersing the consumer in the brand with different experiences, artwork, and products, they are then invested into the brand; when they visit the store ‘they may or may not purchase goods, but by visiting, they buy into the brand’. The hope is that now the consumer is dedicated to this brand, they will go to a shop elsewhere and purchase products there. It is ‘a clever marketing tool’ that is very effective in ‘subconsciously stimulating the consumer into choosing a particular brand’. [Mesher, L. (2010). Retail design. Lausanne, Switzerland: AVA Pub.]

Once the potential consumer has entered the store, it is important that they are able to make sense of everything and that their experience is as easy as possible. This is helped by the signage used within the shop to help direct and inform the customer of the products. The signage needs to be clear and legible enough for customers to be able to glance around and know the layout, but it also needs to stay in line with the store’s branding. The first thing to know is that by ‘understanding that customers don’t always behave in a logical, rational fashion affects the way interior signage is designed’. [Calver, G. (2001). Retail graphics. Crans-Près-Céligny: RotoVision] This means that a customer won’t always walk into a shop at point A, and walk round to point B, and so on. They are often in a rush, or have other things on their minds or want to purchase a particular item and leave promptly. This ‘places great emphasis on the need to simplify information, to make it immediate and meaningful and to make it impactful’. When it comes to keeping with the brand guidelines, there are an array of options that are available; a certain typeface or colour could be used, or maybe the brand has an existing identifiable layout that could be applied.

It is important for the customer to feel that they are making up their mind as to where to shop in the store and for them not to feel like they are being pushed round a certain way. This would only ruin their experience as they wouldn’t be interacting with the shop and making up their own minds. At the same time, they do need some guidance and information, this is the importance of signage within stores.

The in-store display of products also takes a lot of consideration when it comes to how to display them, where to display them and why to display them in a certain manner.

‘Only by understanding a retailer’s core customers can one hope to create an environment conducive to them. Only by understanding a retailer’s core proposition, its values and personality can one hope to create a store that reflects these, and which is sufficiently different and attractive for consumers to try it and prefer it. Only by connecting with their customers can retailers hope to engender interest and loyalty.’ [Calver, G. (2001). Retail graphics. Crans-Près-Céligny: RotoVision]

This statement made by Calver suggests that the only way a company can design and create a successful embodiment of its brand is to fully understand the values at the center of the brand, its customers and how the customers interact with those values. If a brand was to design a store based purely from function, this would feel sterile and boring if it didn’t fit with what the brand has already promoted itself as. There needs to be the right amount of balance between function and branding. As you walk into a shop it needs t obe clear that this store is the physical space belonging to this certain brand, while also being easy to navigate and enjoy. ‘Mums with pushcairs will hardly struggle up to the third floor to get their babies’ new nappies if there is a store on the same street selling them on the ground floor for the same price.’ [Calver, G. (2001). Retail graphics. Crans-Près-Céligny: RotoVision] This highlights the importance of physical product placement within stores and how all customers need to be considered and understood. By looking closely  at different stores it then becomes apparent how the brand has analysed their consumers and then made the connection to how the shop should be designed.

The shop design does affect the customers’ loyalty to the brand – something very important and something that brands go to great lengths to establish. A primary goal is to get a customer to return to a store, this can be done with other techniques such as flagship stores, which as been established, but the most efficient and effective is how their experience was in their ‘local’ store. A customer may return because of ‘the service or the range of products, but equally, it may be because the environment is right’. [Willems, M., Schultz, S. and Bol, E. (2009). Powershop. Amsterdam: Frame Publishers] Depending on the design and layout of the store, the customer may just feel at ease shopping there due to the atmosphere, the design and how it connects with them, this is the ideal customer for brands.

Companies use branding in order to establish a connection with consumers in order to get sales. Their stores are usually the only three-dimensional and physical aspects that portray their brand values, this is why so much effort goes into making sure the customer realises this and the stores are then used to their full potential. They are there to draw customers in closer to products, bringing the sales closer and bringing the money closer. Depending on how the store is designed this will determine which type of customer returns to buy more. It is clear that all different elements of branding and store design are put in place in order for the consumer to connect to a brand and dedicate their time, money and loyalty to a brand.