Deadline
As the finishing date for my FMP comes round the corner and having evaluated every individual thing I have completed in previous blog posts (
Website,
Final Designs,
Advertisement Poster &
YouTube Banner) it is now time to do a more rounded evaluation of my whole journey and project from start to finish.
Beginning
So as the time for FMP came round I was more than ready to begin creating and getting my creative ideas down. We were given the brief for this year and that is where it all began. From day one I knew I wanted to create a product and digitally market it in some way. The reason for this being that my aim is to be able to get into university and study Digital & Social Media Marketing or undertake an apprenticeship in that field, therefore by creating a product and really looking into marketing strategies it is a key interest of mine and can also get my knowledge higher than it currently is!
So for me I wanted to produce some products and sell them in some way, sounds pretty easy and also fun. After much deliberation and many ideas I decided to create three makeup based products, produce a marketing campaign / advertisement for them, and I would do this through building a website, creating a YouTube advert, making a large poster to fit in something like a bus shelter, and also a business Instagram account.
Strengths
Upon reviewing my final products I decided to analyse them and my work and list 5 strengths and 5 weaknesses I can see in my final products!
- Strong in research - my in depth research can be clearly reflected in my final products, it is clear that I had my target audience in mind at all times and that is my priority throughout the whole of the project.
- Consistency - throughout all of my final designs and elements in my final major project you can see the theme is consistent, whether that be backgrounds, colour themes, or marketing techniques, I believe they are all easily recognisable to be linked together and this is really important when producing a brand.
- Quality - by only sticking to three individual products it allowed me to be creative but also keep the quality high. Three products means I could separate and designate my time to the individual products as opposed to rushing to get a whole collection done that I wouldn't be 100% proud of.
- Style - when reflecting on what my demographic gravitate towards and what their preferences are I believe that I produced products that have style, they aren't too intricate or give too much away, yet they still peak an interest to potential customers.
- Coherent understanding - this point I wanted to make is that throughout my journey to making my end results I have had a clear direction I wanted to head in. My experimentation, planning in pre production, production and post production and constant referral to my questionnaire results and focus groups has enabled me to constantly have a clear and coherent understanding of what women ages 18-25 that are interested in makeup specifically are looking for. The gap in the market was very narrow, but by collecting specific results and ensuring I stick to exactly what my audience required I was able to reflect all of this throughout my blog posts, screen casts, experimentations and finally in my three products and website!
Weaknesses
- Simplicity - although this is one of the main features my target market specifically gravitate toward and requested, personally when reflecting at my products and the amount I have done I feel as though it really is very 'bare' and considered 'simple'. Quality over quantity is something I strive to achieve and at the beginning of FMP I needed reminders, I had so many ideas floating around that I wanted to create but I also wanted to make really good quality ones I was proud of, so when it came to asking my target market what they thought of the products they chose the more simple ones, which opens my mind space to "perhaps create more content".
- Challenging enough? - I sometimes question the level I challenged myself this FMP, although research wise I over achieved and produced a large array of work I am very pleased with, I feel as though production wise I could have added some skills. I watched multiple tutorials (such as clipping mask creations etc) in order to create my products, however I wish I looked into making the 3D digital versions I discussed, if time hadn't run out.
- Detail - For me I think I didn't necessarily 'not go into enough detail' however in my planning on paper I talked about adding things onto my packaging such as 'use before' 'cruelty free', 'recyclable' and things of that nature. When it came to it I felt as though when I added some of those features my packaging became a bit 'tacky/unprofessional'. I couldn't find the right balance when it came to size, colour, font, image layout and thickness etc.
- Printing - one of my main weaknesses that I see in my overall FMP is the printing issues I came across. Initially I wanted to have my products printed professionally, including hot foil stamps, holographic material and more, but when it came to the quotations this become near on impossible. I then decided to overcome this massive hurdle and request free box samples from multiple business (to which they happily agreed) and unfortunately they weren't reliable as they still haven turned up and were ordered more than month ago. I wish I had come up with a higher quality solution sooner so that when it comes to the end of year show my products can be printed professionally as opposed to on average paper, as it doesn't give the final effect I wanted it too which was really disappointing for me.
- Physical - a weakness in my final products was mentally and physically a challenging, due to some circumstances my work load became increasingly harder to complete under my time scale, something not under my control, regardless I was just slightly disappointed in the fact I didn't get to for example go into some makeup shops and ask opinions on my products, or test print my poster and stick it to a bus shelter in town just to reflect upon. If I were given a second opportunity I think I would like to produce some more physical copies of my products, although on the other hand I did from the beginning state I wanted my whole project to be a digital 'thing' therefore I want to try not and be too disappointed in the outcome!
Main idea and influencers
In this section I wanted to briefly touch upon my idea as a whole and what inspired me throughout. For me the idea of making a makeup brand and products was really interesting, it peaked my interest and also acme something I could enjoy. So my influencers for my project are primarily existing brands such as MAC cosmetics, Anastasia beverly Hills and more. I have gone into depth about my inspirations in my blogs as well as sketchbook as a lot of my research consisted of current competitors and not only they way in which they package their products, but the way they advertise.
When it comes to artists and the physical packaging inspirations I would say a heavy influence would be a collection of people. The website Pinterest has been an open tab throughout my entire project, whether it comes to colour palettes and individual photographers, or inspiration for ideas. For example when it came to my photoshoot I came across the idea when looking for potential backgrounds to use, I then was able to reflect on my work last year with a photoshoot I had undertaken and work from that! When looking at this photoshoot last year with the smoke pellets I found that the time of day and camera settings weren't ideal, and with only a few seconds of smoke it was something that could have been prevented if for example a test shoot had taken place.
Experimentations
Another large part of my project has been experimentation with...
- Font
- Imagery
- Layout
- Colour
- Texture
- Photographs
- Designs
All of these elements I have experimented with have made my products what they are today. To go into a little bit more detail I spent a lot of time designing products, altering such small and minor details on them but also trying to include everything I wanted too. This process then was sent to my target audience to review and pick what they liked, didn't like, what they would change and more. I would then be able to take and absorb that feedback and apply it to my products.
When it came to photographs I didn't want to keep it to a studio, I thought that would be too boring, which is why I did a recce and found some woodland area. I chose the time just before sunset so that the warm sun would be in my photographs but not glaring. I also purchased some smoke bombs online to add some texture and depth into my images. The justification for this was that as I didn't produce something like clothing, I didn't have the physical product to show as making a lipstick isn't as easy as it would appear. So I needed to add another element into my pictures that would not distract, but appeal to my audience for being a little bit different and experimental. On the other hand I could have taken the printed products on paper that I had stuck together and brought them out on the shoot however my reasoning for not doing this was because I already had a large amount of photos and digital images of my products, I wanted this to be different!
Development
My development for my products was really inspired by all of my experimentation, it not only developed my products but it developed my creativity. My mind set was altered every time I was able to further develop and better my ideas, 'what if I added this' or 'what if I tried layering this' were questions I found myself asking every time I sat down at my desk. Every time I would create a layout, for example on my website, I would constantly be reflecting to existing websites, then back to my plan, then to my designs, and trying to fit them all together to make a smooth website that aesthetically was pleasing and fit my brand.
Some key areas of development for me where the website along with my designs. I could see myself developing them till they reached a point I thought looked professional and hit a personal target. Speaking of targets I was constantly referring to my time scale management plan I created at the beginning of the FMP to keep me on track. This was effective for me however I did fall slightly behind as i'm sure everyone did. For me this was down to waiting for minor things such as questionnaire results, not knowing what to start first (having such a large amount to complete), did I have enough pre production work done before production and more.
Comparing
For this section I wanted to give an example of media that already exists and compare it to my creation. Of course this doesn't have to be a literal comparison but I though it would be more interesting to compare and contrast these as opposed to a website of a brand that is actually real!
So the mage on the left is an example of the brand Kat Von D and it is an eye shadow palette. I decided to choose this one to compare mine to because it was one of the brands and palettes I used in my research as was also a big inspiration throughout my creation process. Of course this palette is printed and professionally created so in comparison mine looks more unprofessional. However something I can see is the colours and simplicity of the two products when placed side by side. I feel as though there is little text used on both which is something I really like and think is effective. A clear difference I can see is that the title on Kat Von D's palette is 3D and you can see the texture it has, where as mine it just printed and looks a little 2d and 'boring'.
Showcasing
When it came to having my final products completed it was almost a huge sigh of relief. Then to collect and gather some feedback from peers/friends/family was really nice as they got to see the end results and what I have been working towards. Producing a brand and products to sell within that brand took a lot more work and research than I think I anticipated, much like the website creation. I think I knew the amount of work I was getting myself into but not the large amount of detail and time they individually take, so by having a finished result and being able to show people it was really effective.
Changes and improvements
This segment of the blog I wanted to consist of things I would change and things that have changed since the beginning. Firstly I want to reflect on my FMP pitch at the beginning of this project and seeing where I am now with my completed products. As I have briefly discussed here and in multiple blog posts I really aimed high at the beginning because I had some many potential ideas. For example something I was really keen on creating was an interactive app onto of everything I have created, in theory it sounded really interesting and would be really effective, however given my skills set and the time frame it would have been impossible. However in discussion with my lecturer at the time we discussed the amount of work I wanted to complete and what would be achievable, therefore reflecting there isn't too much that has changed since the beginning.
The one thing I did talk about after realising an interactive / augmented reality app wouldn't be possible within the given time scale, was a mock up for this. In my blog post reflecting my presentation I ended up decided to make a mock up app and mock up website, then upon refection and undertaking my research I decided to make a proper functioning website and ditch the app idea as after all it would have been very similar to the website! I think for me a big thing I firstly focussed on was including interactivity between my brand and my target audience and I thought I would achieve this through an app on a mobile device. Something I didn't think too much of or consider was the accessibility of this app, I initially thought of a mobile app but then when I really looked into detail with the website I found that having the website on a desktop and mobile device was a lot easier.
changes...
I think this is also something I have most defiantly discussed in my weekly reflections and other posts but if I could change anything about my products what would it be? Well firstly I would have them printed professionally, so that the textures and background come into full effect. The whole holographic theme my brand has is somewhat ironic, the holo material is a material that is all about looks, reflecting and bouncing off light, but not being able to actually find anywhere that prints this for under £300 was impossible. I would alter my idea and perhaps colour theme if it meant being able to professionally print my products!
In addition to this I would maybe look into the actual production of makeup, although this opens up a whole new kettle of fish and would rise cost, time and relevance... so perhaps not!
Statement Of Intent Review
My statement of intent was actually really interesting to look back on as I seemed to be really focused on the app and augmented reality side to my project as I quoted " by producing an app and website for my brand I am able to incorporate interactivity as well as a highly respectable looking collection of products that are desirable to the target audience"
Changes that have already been mentioned above are of course the app. Not only this but I added in the Youtube advertisement along with the Bus shelter poster idea, which I didn't actually realise weren't in my statement of intent and were therefore added shortly after completing it. This was interesting for me to look back on as from my current point of view it seems as though having my products and app was all that I wanted to create, however when looking at my pitch and in my sketchbook/blog posts I mention a wide variety of other potential ideas.
Conclusion
To conclude this evaluation blog post I thought I was conclude my project and thoughts overall. At the beginning of FMP I was very inspired and motivated then as the research portion was coming to an end I felt a wave of disinterest. This was something that didn't really happen when it came to my last FMP, at least not to this level. I needed to push through this and continue with finishing off my research and begin my production portion. I felt at though if I had done some more work closer together it would have been more beneficial as opposed to having to take chunks of days off working on it. Although in the end everything was completed a day before the deadline I did plan to have everything completed properly around the last week of April, therefore was behind in my own terms.
The outcome of this project is that I have an array of digital products I am pleased with that showcase my skills and understanding to complete a digitally published piece of work to a high standard. I think if I had a larger budget and a couple more weeks I would have been able to produce a professionally printed group of products that would be ideal for the end of year show. Reflecting on this I think my project has been a success and I am happy with what I have produced, there are a number of elements in which I think I have thoroughly analysed in my blogs and my screencasts that justify my designs and the processes I have undertaken.
I think this showcase was a really good way of ending the year, not only for us students creating the work and reflecting on it, but also the up and coming students/ those int heir first year at college in a similar course! I spoke to a couple of people in their first year and they all seemed very interested in my sketchbook work along with my online work, I think it was inspiring for them to reflect upon as it gives them ideas and inspiration to continue with their study! In addition to this it was really nice for parents to see the work we have done all combined into one evening!
