Mood boards - Colour Palette.

Colour Palette

 When creating some mood boards I knew I wanted to produce one based off of existing products, one colour palette and at least one of different styles of packaging. Firstly I decided to go onto Pinterest and look up colour palettes and inspirations for my FMP. I compiled a variety of different images, all inspired by the theme and direction in which I want to take my FMP. I put all of these images together in photoshop and produced the screenshot below: 

 As you can see there is a large variety of images in the collage, the reason for this being that when creating my colour palette I didn't just want a colour wheel of different blocks of colour, I wanted to show why I am inspired to use this colour, how it can look when effectively done and also these images above can be inspired when I produce my digital advertisement poster. For my poster I want to make a mock-up photoshoot (if able to have products professionally printed) or do it all digitally using my own images and sketches. I want to make it look like a mini campaign for my three products, using plants, chrome, dusty pink and hints of blue and rose gold throughout.

 Once I had produced this online I decided to print i out along with a couple of other images and make a visual collage in my sketchbook, using some gold ink and blue watercolour as my background as seen below:

  Producing this in my sketchbook was good because it allows me to experiment with placement of images and colouring. It visually shows the direction I want my FMP to go in, so that when I later produce sketches and other things you can look back to that page and see the inspirations behind my work. Colour palettes are really important in a project, specifically for me producing a makeup collection and packaging advertisements. From my questionnaire results (here), 11 out of 30 people said the colour palette of makeup packaging was the most important, along with minimalistic designs. After producing this secondary research on the type of aesthetic I aim to achieve it has inspired my designs for my makeup products and it's packaging. To reflect on this work I think this was crucial to complete because it shows the foundation in regards to designing and where I am creatively coming from. I think to build on this work and improve myself I can show my findings in sketches and show more of my progress creatively in my sketchbook.

Things I will apply from this to my final product...

• The colour palette I chose will reflect the collage above, I am certain now the theme and overall aesthetic that should be reflected in my final products and marketing advertisements.

Questionnaire Results.

Makeup Collection
As briefly discussed in my weekly reflective blog post (here) I had produced a questionnaire to aim at females ages 18-25 regarding their personal use of makeup and opinions on makeup. The reason for this being that I was able to gather some initial feedback and answers from those in my demographic, and it also meant that before I started sketching potential ideas for products, I would look at the brands and packaging they prefer, along with the most popular products and price rangers, as all of this will influence my packaging! Below I constructed an infographic displaying my results (higher quality here)

Once I had produced my questionnaire I sent it off on my snapchat story along with a post on Facebook that got starred by a blogger, giving me even more responses. I gathered a total of 30 responses before creating my infographic as I wanted a large variety of responses and thought that is a solid number to begin with. I received 42 views on snapchat over a 24 hour period, this is something I haven't done before as the last FMP I did I kept it on FaceBook and didn't experiment with social media outlets and using them to my advantage! 

 The type of questions I asked on my survey were those to gather information that would later help my development of the project. For example I needed to know the brands people like, so that I can specifically look into their packaging and advertisement techniques. In addition to this I looked into price ranges, again this will help me when it comes to packaging, for example those wanting to spend little will need more minimalistic packaging in order to keep costs down, but those willing to spend slightly more means I can add more colours, effects and really make the packaging pop. This initial survey was really useful for me, I can now produce collages in photoshop and in my sketchbook of existing packaging, along with beginning my sketches and advertisement techniques. Before I start my designs however, I will research into advertising techniques online and printed, this will help me as I can look at existing YouTube banners for example, and see what makes them effective!

 With my infographic displaying my results in a more visual fashion, I also made a spreadsheet that gave my questionnaire results in a more uniformed fashion as seen below of here for higher quality:

Something I couldn't go into much detail on in my infographic due to space was the brands people selected as their favourites. Much to my surprise people submitted a lot of 'other' options ranging from NYX, KIKO, ELF, Avon to Estee Lauder & Makeup Revolution. The most popular brand was MAC, the least popular being NARS, this will all inspire my work. 

Things I will apply from this to my final product...

• I need to keep my packaging minimalistic, and also need to really take into consideration the colour palette I chose to go with as these were the two most popular results.
• Prices should differ between cheap - mid end, I need to find a place in the middle for when I finally advertise my final products on my website.

Cosmetic Packaging To Order.

Ordering Cosmetic Packaging
 When it comes to the production of my packaging I wanted to explore the different options, which are...

• Making box net on Illustrate then import into InDesign 
• Print and stick to cardboard 
• Print on laser cutter 
• Produce visuals online & send off to professionally print
• Order plain boxes online, print and stick

The issues I have when it comes to printing at home or at college is that I won't be able to achieve the foils and inks that I wanted to print and having the more 3d effect when printed. I decided to research companies that produce custom made boxes, much like my last FMP researching places to get my magazine printed as I wanted a more professional look to it.
 So I googled UK online companies that sell and manufacture custom made boxes, however a hurdle I came across quite early on is that a lot of companies require high quantities to order, something I don't have the money or need for as it is just the packaging I need to have a final product. I came across three sites initially and got some quotations, one more specific and included pricing whilst the other two needed images and a lot more information that I don't yet have.
 Firstly I found 'Custom Boxes Co' (here), this website was full of a lot of information and things I need to consider, but hadn't really come across yet as the physical side to production hasn't come into place yet. The first thing I saw when I clicked on 'Lip Stick / Gloss Packaging' was this image that displayed the paper type, printing specifications, special effects and more:

 The next thing on their site was the shapes of boxes, which is of course something I had thought about, however not into such detail. Below is a small screenshot of the available box types, this is something that when it comes to sketching and illustrating I will look into deeply, however as it currently stands I don't want a window in my box!

 So what I decided to do was get a quotation, just to see a rough price guide line and below is the response I received.

When I have more specific dimensions and designs I will put in another quotation with the information that is more precise, however the screenshots below show me some of the printing options below which is what I want to experiment with!


 Next I looked into 'Go Custom Boxes' (here) that had a similar website to the first one, needing measurements and examples of printing.

The quotation I received for this company included exactly what I needed, prices. As seen in the screenshot below the quantities are too high and so are the prices, which is why I now need to re think my printing idea, or just keep searching online and perhaps locally in Southgate for potential options for printing. 

  Thirdly I found the site 'ABC Packaging' (here), they did similar packaging to the other two sites, however didn't specify in cosmetic boxing in the depth I would be looking for. However despite the lack of images and information I decided to still get a quotation to see what they had to offer, as the other two sites there was no mention of pricing what so ever. 

 This email alone shows me that I will not be pursing or continuing ahead with these websites, I don't need anywhere near 1000 units, nor can afford to fund them! When it comes to my final major project I really want to produce a physical product to show, however the whole idea is digitally advertising my brand and it's packaging so if I can't execute the physical packaging to the quality I aspire I don't want to be too disappointed. If I have prototypes, models, digital versions from all angles I think that would be more than enough. Saying this I will continue to search for website and potential places where I could print perhaps 10 units in total so I have a couple of each product to display.

Things I will apply from this to my final product...

• Professionally printing my cosmetic packaging may not be the easiest, best use of time and money, I will focus more so on the digital side of the project after receiving these quotes.
• I will consider the type of box itself, I now know that I do not want any type of 'window' in my box for example, I want to keep it simple and plain so that the key element is the design of the packaging and the way it is sold.

KIKO's Success.

Small Brand Big Money.
 This next piece of research I undertook was revolving around the makeup brand KIKO. Now I really wanted to include this as key part of my research because their brand is expanding everyday, however they aren't quite a high street brand, yet not high end either, so thereby exploring them and their statistics it allows me to see how they've achieved their success and apply some of their advertising to my own brand and products.

 So KIKO is adopting the principles that already have achieved great success, going by "fast fashion" like the clothing chains Zara and H&M where they are constantly changing the line up of products to encourage customers to regularly visit the branch. They respond quickly to the latest trends and also keep prices low, by achieving such success they inspire other brands in the same industry to "rethink their distribution model".
 Worldwide the cosmetics market -including skin creams/cleansers- grew by 3.6% to £181 billion in 2014 and is expected to double over the next 10-15 years. The makeup and cosmetic industry has been divided into two categories, as briefly spoken about in my FMP Presentation. The more expensive high end products tend to be sold in specialist beauty store chains / department stores where shoppers can try them and also gain beauty tips before buying. Then on the other hand the cheaper brands are sold in chemists' and supermarkets with little customer service. KIKO's chain of own label stores offers the two combined, cheaper prices plus makeup advice.




 This screen shot from KIKO's website shows the price varieties they offer in store and online. £1 for a concealer with a wand is extremely cheap, then two left of that product we see that there is a 'Universal Stick Concealer' retailing at £6.90 which is something I would expect to find in Superdrug among the 'cheaper brands'. Then the most expensive thing is the 'Colour Correct Concealer Palette' for £13.90 which could be considered slightly above price ranges for a high street brand. I searched there sight for foundation and eye shadow palettes too, to compare and contrast prices and they are all the same as the picture above. Some ranging form only £5 then jumping up to £18.90 for a foundation. 

KIKO's growth is having a 'domino' effect on other firms within the cosmetic industry, such as Benefit (which was rated number 1 for the top 10 beauty brands in the UK as seen here) as the higher end brands are putting more emphasis on their own outlets and less selling through retailers.
 So far the majority if KIKO's customers are women, however "men who moisturise are becoming less rare" and as male grooming continues to evolve, it would be "no problem for these stores to add in a few discreet lines of cosmetics for males"


From this internet article I was able to absorb the fact that this cosmetic and skincare brand, neither high end or high street, are able to have their own individual stores that offer these products, price ranging from cheap - affordable - higher scale, so successfully that is is having a knock one effect with the number one most popular cosmetic brand in the UK last year. To use this for my FMP means that I can look at the physical products they sell, does the simplicity of packaging effect the retail price? Does selling a large variety of one item, such as concealers, mean you can vary the price, labelling one cheaper than the other? and I can also look into the store itself, with one individual chain being in Southgate I can go and 'investigate ' this brand for myself, what is the service like? What advertisements are within the shops? (posters, videos...) and also what the packaging looks like, or is it all plain glossy black with the brand name front and centre.
 I think when it comes to inspirations for my FMP KIKO isn't a brand I physically think it 'pretty' or 'aesthetically pleasing', it isn't one of the brands that springs to mind for outstanding packaging or advertisement, but by undertaking this research I have seen the more theoretical side to branding and advertising within the cosmetic industry, where they are inspiring high end brands to change their ways.


SOURCES
1. https://www.economist.com/news/business/21679458-kiko-applying-fast-fashion-principles-cosmetics-business-shake-up-make-up
2. https://www.kikocosmetics.com/en-gb/

Weekly Reflection & Augmented Reality.

12th March
 Since exploring my ideas and presenting them (as seen in previous blogs) I have began my primary and secondary research. Although I had stated exactly what I wanted to explore in my presentation and my statement of intent, I decided to go ahead and produce separate Google Documents honing in on exactly what I wanted to create in order to gather the correct amount of research full of quality. This list I devised was more so of myself, so that I could highlight what I have done and what is in progress, so that I didn't go off track with distractions. Below I screenshot my secondary research ideas, as I began with my secondary first. 
 Once this had been produced and assignment one had been signed off I started to research internet articles on the most popular cosmetic brands in the UK. The reason I decided to begin with this was so that I had a clear vision of what people in the UK buy and rely on, I could then focus my questionnaires to people whom shop in those particular beauty shops.

   After producing this research I then created a Google Form that would be aimed at Females ages 18-25. In the survey I ensured to ask questions regarding current makeup brands (high end and high street), price ranges, qualities they look for in packaging and more. This was an initial, introductory survey that I thought I would create and from here I would be able to create more focused questionnaires on specific things when I produce visuals. For example the next questionnaire I will produce will include colour palettes, examples of packaging (heat foiling, metallic finishes) the physical product and the designs on the packaging and the product itself and more.

 Below are a few screenshots of selected questions:

Once I have received a large amount of responses I can then look into the most popular brands in my local area, where they purchase them (is there any need for a website for example) and the physical products they actually use so that when I produce my 3-5 products I create something everyone uses.

 Along side my Top 10 Brand analysis blog post (here) and my questionnaire (here) I have also been keeping and eye out on my social media, things have been popping up that have relevance to my project that I thought I would insert here. For example the first thing I saw was on Instagram Stories, posted by Kendall Jenner was:

 This is a screenshot of what she ha been sent by Adidas, it shows a box which I assume shoes come in, however when she's getting up her iPhone camera (with what looks like to be an app) the shoe in side appears above it, using Augmented Reality. This is the exact thing I wanted to experiment with as I think this would be really interesting to use with makeup! I then tried to find what Adidas where doing with this product /AR and couldn't find any related articles, however I found a very similar one with Nike and how they decided to introduce AR to purchase shoes and try to eliminate robots buying these limited shoes and selling them on, this can be found here. 

 The next thing I came across was an advert for me on Facebook where it showed ASOS advertising the fact MAC is coming to their site soon, which sparked interest to me because as mentioned previously, a part of my secondary research does consist of looking at website and partners that distribute certain makeup brands, such as Mac Cosmetics. Does this mean ASOS is the site that people use to regularly and rely on it so heavily that MAC have partnered up with them to sell even more products than now? This is something I will certainly get back to later on in my research.

Brief research...

 Once all of the above had been research I decided before finding another internet article regarding current competitors, or producing my infographic I would look into purchasing and ordering cosmetic boxes online. When discussing the practicality of my idea with my lecturer we spoke about printing and producing the actual product. I wanted to do it similar to my last FMP where I design everything on Adobe illustration / indesign / photoshop, then send it off to be physically made. Information regarding this process can be found in this blog here

Conclusion

 To conclude, this week I have managed to produce one internet article research document on the top 10 beauty products in the UK, produced a questionnaire and also briefly looked into purchasing and ordering cosmetic boxes. This has been a good start to my research and I hope to continue to push myself to get the best product done.

Top 10 Beauty Brands UK.

Secondary Research
 For my first section of secondary research I decided to produce a case study on the top 10 beauty brands in the uk, and find out WHAT ranks them, and why they have made the list. I decided to begin with this piece of research because it gives me a current point of view of the brands and makeup that is currently selling in our nation, this will then later allow me to hone in on the specific brands and research further into them when I produce some more research. I have found an article online which describes how the U.K beauty market is increasingly becoming digitally competitive, with "online beauty sales rising by 22% last year". This website has ranked the beauty brands on a 'Digital IQ' scale, along with an explantation of how the brand has achieved their place on the list and why.


       "New and upcoming brands are utilising digital channels to accelerate growth and sales" 

Top 10:

1. Benefit Cosmetic
2. MAC
3. Rimmel London
4. Bobbi Brown
5. L'oreal 
6. The Body Shop
7. Maybelline
8. Clarins
9. Estee Lauder
10. Clinique 

Benefit Cosmetics

 Benefit is the number one most popular brand in the u.k as of last year with a Digital IQ of 142, going from second place the previous year to now number one. The reason for this being that Benefit's website is sophisticated, product pages lead to a rich ecosystem of connected content that include videos as well as UGC ( User Generated Content ). In addition to this Benefit "clearly displays the strongest social media performance among all beauty E.U brands"

Benefit Website Homepage

MAC

Colour Column 

 When it comes to MAC their main strength are in the mobile app. Their app and website offers a visual selection finder and filter that helps customers narrow in on shades and finishes, along with live chat and FAQ's. MAC is also a "clear leader in SEO as it appears in 63% of organic searches for Colour Cosmetics terms". They received a Digital IQ of 142.









Rimmel London
 Rimmel London gained a Digital IQ of 140, they are the best-in-class e-tailer investments across the U.Ks biggest three e-tailers. They maintain strong merchandising and search for visibilities on sites such as Amazon and Boots, as well as a branded storefront on FeelUnique.com. In addition to all of this they also launch campaigns such as a competition for vloggers to become brand ambassadors

Cara Delevingne ambassador on official website

Bobbi Brown 
Bobbi Brown along with MAC boasts one of the strongest mile sites, their mobile optimised tutorials and videos are cut into short segments which makes them easy to watch on the go. In addition to this they also use UGC meaning shoppers get personalised relevant content by selecting models of different skin tones. As well as all of this each tutorial has a written step-by-step- guide below the video as well as the relevant products that can be added easily to the basket. This enhances the customers experience as they can easily purchase items and encourages them to do so as a tutorial then shows them exactly how the product should be used, getting them a Digital IQ of 139.
 *app screenshot*

L'oreal
 L'oreal have received a digital IQ of 136, they have an aggressive paid social strategy that ensures visibility for L'oreal Paris across different platforms. Much like Rimmel London they also have a wide variety of brand ambassadors, coming together with the Prince's Trust to form the 'All Worth It' campaign.








The Body Shop
The body shop failed to distribute on local e-tailers, as well as this a significant grey market problem that occurred on Amazon pushed The Body Shop down the list being rated from Genius to Gifted. For this they received a Digital IQ of 136, matching with L'oreal, however in my opinion I feel as though socially L'oreal seem to be more recognised and I tend to see ambassadors all over the place advertising products, where I when it comes to The Body Shop I was surprised it even made the list as I wasn't aware of their beauty range being so popular, this is something I could further research.

Promoting healthy products on their website

Maybelline
 When it comes to Maybelline their official distribution on Amazon as well as investments on Boots & FeelUnique ensue high performance and visibility across the e-tailers. Maybelline benefit from being part of L'oreal's Consumer Products Division, this brings with it strong content integration and a focused distribution strategy, all qualities in which help the brand rise in the list, getting them a Digital IQ of 134.


Clarins
When it comes to Clarins their website rarely poses challenges for customers all thanks to a large variety of features that include advanced features for things such as product reviews and user accounts. They also offer a loyalty program that is well coordinated, it sends emails that notifies members when products are back in stock, and also offer reward points with every purchase, much like Superdrug, the high street chemist/beauty shop. Digital IQ sits at 133.

Estee Lauder
Estee Lauder received a Digital IQ of 133, the same as Clarins, so looking at their social media Estee Lauder emphasises product focused posts on Facebook that maintains a strong link between content and commerce. Their organic search results link you to a store locater that encourages customers to continue through with the purchase.



Clinique 
 Lastly on the list is Clinique, the brands site features a large array of content and strong product page features. In addition to this Clinique is one of the top 10 brands in terms of search visibility on Boots.com, where 2/3 of the top 10 brands distribute their products to! They received a Digital IQ of 132 on this list.

Conclusion

 To conclude, by researching the Top 10 UK used and loved brands I was able to hone in on specific brands and what ranks them on the list. A lot of the information I gathered from this internet article was based on their use of advertising as opposed to the physical product which wasn't what I was necessarily expecting however it was more useful than I initially thought! By seeing their social media, ways of advertising and how their website differ it has allowed me to open up with my creativity for my products and the website mock up I will make, as I can now revise the top 5 websites and what makes them useful and unique, applying them to my own work.



SOURCES

https://www.l2inc.com/daily-insights/top-10-beauty-brands-in-the-u-k


https://www.l2inc.com/research/beauty-u-k

https://www.retaildive.com/ex/mobilecommercedaily/mac-cosmetics-new-members-only-app-includes-tiered-loyalty-levels-offers

Presentation Reflection.

Presentation
 When producing my presentation I needed to ensure that I included:

• Key Dates
• Deliverables
• Process to making project
• Demand
• Audience

 After presenting my FMP and showing my ideas, aims, and proposed dates I was given some feedback regarding my idea. Nick and I discussed the idea afterwards and collectively decided that by aiming to produce 3-5 products, a website, an interactive app including augmented reality, an advertisement poster and digital adverts as well as the physical printed products would be way too much to produce, which I completely agree with. So I've decided to produce the website but not have it to be a finished product, but experiment with templates on WIX. This way I can show my creativity and experimentation and the pathway I would want to take if this project lasted longer.
 In regards to the interactive app, again I think I will create some mock up visuals of what it would look like as I think experimenting with the likes of augmented reality would be really interesting to learn. Below are some screen shots of my presentation:

My idea was vaguely described, as well as the reasoning for wanted to produce the makeup collection. 

I decided to also discuss the demand for new makeup and how with the use of social media it is an ever growing industry.

 After discussing the practicality of my idea's we then discussed the time frame I created myself, I was told that it seems a bit vague, however I couldn't include my larger spreadsheet that includes weekly dates and what I was going to produce in those weeks as discussed here. After gathering my feedback it has backed my confidence in my idea and the practicality of it. It is easily doable and hopefully to a high standard, and it is also something I have interest in therefore it will push me to produce the products to the best standard it can, all of which will be backed up by the research i've undertaken.

Link to presentation