MY CHECKLIST

MY RETAIL GRAPHICS PROJECT CHECKLIST
Japanese sweets logosMoodboard 
MindMap 
4x Logo Analysis 
Initial Ideas: Logo - A1 sheet of mounted drawings
Logo Development: fineliner 
Logo Development: Illustrator
Logo Development: cross stitch 
Packaging nets 
Packaging Analysis 
Japanese packagingInitial packaging net
Christmas Homework 
Targets 
Packaging development
Swing tag developments
Final Packaging Net + annotation 
Final completed swing tag6 Examples of swing tags + annotation 
3 in depth analysis of swing tags 

RETAIL GRAPHICS PROJECT EVALUATION

For this project, I had to create and design some packaging, logo and swing tag for a my chosen fictional shop, which was a sweet shop with a Japanese theme. I decided to call this shop 'Okashi' meaning 'sweets' in Japanese. In order to gather ideas for this, I looked at numerous Japanese sweets and packages, and how the packages were constructed, as well as the typical surface designs.
At first, it started with deciding which type of retail we wanted to work on, on which I decided to do a Japanese sweet shop, then creating a logo, then creating a net for the packaging, which I changed overtime,due to it not looking very professional when constructed, so I ended up creating a totally different net. Also, parts of my original surface design had to be changed, such as the smiley faces, in order to be in the style of the 'kawai' Japanese smiley faces. This was only found out, when comparing my original surface design with those found on a Japanese package.
My inspiration for my  final outcomes came from different sweets packages such as Hi-Chew, Kinoko no Yama, and from swing tag companies such as Blossom graphic designers, from the use of bold and vibrant colours.
In my opinion, I think the fastener on top of the package came out well, as it fastens quite well, the design itself, also looks aesthetically pleasing, and I personally think it is a lot like a Japanese packaging. Also, the swing tag goes well with the bag, as it incorporates the same surface design, including the logo, as well as providing information of the shop, including the website.
However, there are some aspects which could have been improved. Firstly, the fastener could have been a little bit more secure, as there is a tiny gap. Also, the straps on the bag could have had a design on the inside, and they can get in the way of opening the fasteners.
In conclusion, I found this project quite challenging, but in a good way, as it pushed me into trying to make my packaging the best it could be, and also including the fastener, which took some time to work properly. And if given the opportunity, I would like to make some more packaging, but maybe for a different shop and theme.

FLUFF AND FUZZ ANALYSIS

                                                               Images from the Fluff and Fuzz website
These swing tags are made by an artist who goes under the name of Fluff and Fuzz. At a young age, the artist was taught how to knit, and later continued on with it later on in life, which may explain the reason for the choice of method. These swing tags are instead sewn rather than knitted, and may have been used for packaging or just made out of leisure, and were recently made in 2010.
As mentioned before, the artist behind these had sewn these tags, as she wanted to use an alternative to cardboard, and maybe because it was a part of her speciality. The scale may have been rather small, as they are meant to be smaller than the packaging itself. In addition, the artist uses different patterns in her work, which are mostly floral patterns, which may be to vary the style, however, the composition of the tags remain, which include her persona and her real name with a small illustration of a ball of yarn and a pair of knitting needles, the same in each tag she designs, almost like a house style. Also, she seems to use the same sewing pattern in each tag, so the pattern of the stitches remains the same. This may be to identify her work by the pattern, distinguishing her work from other artists.
I like Fluff and |Fuzz's tags, as she uses an alternative material, making it softer to touch and more distinguished from other swing tag manufacturers. Also, as they are made from a different material, it may convince someone not to get rid of them, as with many other swing tags. In my opinion, this is what makes the work valuable. To some degree, it is an inspiration, because of the distinguished style, however, because my target audience may be different to hers, the design of my swing tag may differ, and would involve more illustrations on the surface.

LEMON PIE SWING TAG ANALYSIS

                                Image found on the Blossom website
This is a swing tag, designed a for gift store named Lemon Pie. When it was designed is unknown, but it was made by a hang and swing tag company named Blossom, and it was possibly designed to be accompanied with packaging.
This swing tag may have been made by using specialist programs such as Adobe Illustrator, including the text and the graphics, possible by the use of techniques such as the Clipping Mask, although this remains unknown for sure. The artist behind this method may have chosen this in order to make the tag look professional and refined, as well as aesthetically pleasing. The scale of the tag may not be too big, as it may take away attention from the actual product, and the composition of the text and graphics seem to be structured in an organised way, and avoiding putting too much information on the tag, as the audience may not read all of it. In addition, the use of colour is quite limited, only using a hint of red for the ladybird and brown, and mostly cool colours such as light blue, green and hints of electric yellow. Also, most likely for decorative purposes, the tag includes lots of swirly lines and patterns, which does creates some sort of flowing movement.
 I do hold this swing tag design in high regard, as it is aesthetically pleasing, as well as having a professional   look and feel to it. The use of swirly lines and the patterns brings the piece together,making the design look elegant, and the butterfly and ladybird are a nice touch. Also, there isn't too much or too little in the swing tag, to avoid confusing or overwhelming the audience with too much information. To some extent, the design of this swing tag does serve as an inspiration to my own design of a swing tag. However, as my target audience and shop may differ from this one, so my design will include a lot more in it in terms of bold colours and more 'in your face' elements.

FLOWPRINT SWING TAGS ANALYSIS

                                       Images found on the Flowprint website
These swing tags were designed by a package design company named Flowprint. These tags were to be accompanied with food and toiletry gifts, in order to enhance the self-image, as well as carrying information about the product. However, when it was made is unknown.
 As with many sing tags, the composition of these tags is organised in such a way that avoids having too much text, and the use of colours vary from warm to cool. This may be because of the different products that they accompany. In order to design these, programs such as Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop may have been used, to clean up the appearances. Techniques such as the Clipping Mask and the Text on a Path may have been used to complete the design. although this is not for certain. The scale of these is most likely to be quite small, so as to not distract the audience from the product itself, and due to their target audience, which may be young children, as seen with the Little Fairy tag, the design has avoided having sharp edges, to prevent potential injuries. Among the designs, the use of colour is mainly that of cool colours, such as blue and green, with hints of yellow. This may be due to the target audience.
I like these designs as they seem to advertise their product or company, as well as having simple and effective designs, making them easier to understand for their target audience. The use of colour was chosen well, as they are colours that would attract to young children, such as the pink used in the Little Fairy swing tag. This serves as some inspiration to my final swing tag, as my intended audience may be the similar as these. 

SWING TAG EXAMPLES

                                        
One: Fluff and Kuzz Two: Flowprint  swing tags, Three: Made It swing tags Four: Young food heroes swing tag, Five: Paprika swing tag, Six: Sen.9 swing tag

FINAL COMPLETED SWING TAG

The star design in the centre is my final completed swing tag. The design on the left is the front, and on the right is the back of the swing tag. I incorporated the same design as seen on my net, so that they match, and the logo is also perfectly round and coloured in. The design above it will be used to instead of string, to make it more interesting and appealing. As mentioned before, I wanted to add a a page containing some text about the shop, instead of just having a front and a back. Underneath, there are the contents page, including text.

FINAL COMPLETED NET

This is my final completed net, with the corrections made. As mentioned before, I decided to change the colour of the writing behind the logo, keeping the logo the same colour. I also kept the same techniques from the previous experiments, using more than one technique on the net, such as using a collage from my other net design, and incorporating it with the typography, as seen in the centre of the net, as well as making repeated patterns and writing, as seen on the fasteners. This inspiration came from a Uniqlo bag, as the bags use bold, capital letters, as a part of the design, which may be repeated all around the bag. The use of bright colours was inspired from a 'Pocky' bag, as it also uses colours associated to sweets, such as pink and red, as well as using bold writing. The handles at the side of the net are longer and thinner, so as not to get in the way of the fasteners. The surface design relates to my chosen retail outlet, because there are bold and vibrant colours, colours that are usually associated with sweets, such as pink, yellow and green.

SWING TAG DEVELOPMENT

                                                                  
This was my first idea of a swing tag. Although the colours are bright and it goes very well with my packaging design, it was too overwhelming, due to too much text. So I would later go on to change the design,  by taking off the text and adding in the logo. After doing this, I incorporated the logo, however, the shape wasn't entirely perfect, as the lines were wobbly, so I re-created the logo in Adobe Illustrator, which would be used on the final net and the final swing tag. The third image is a part of my final swing tag, the re-created logo is featured on the front of the swing tag, which I intended to stick together. However, I decided that I wanted to have some text with my swing tag, and this would be used in the final swing tag. The pattern above the star shapes will be used instead of ordinary string to tie on to the packaging, to make it look more interesting.

DEVELOPMENTS OF NET

These are my net examples. The first one was my first net that I wanted to go with as a final completed design, but it decided that I didn't like the look of it and when it was put together and didn't look very professional. So I created the second one, with the same repeated star pattern, and a similar design, but just a different shape, and fasteners. Although, this was a good shape to go with, I wanted to develop the surface design even further. Also, the logo in the centre didn't look as nice as the other smiley faces, as the lines looked wobbly, the circle wasn't exactly perfect, so I would need to make the logo in  Adobe Illustrator, in order to correct this problem. So I went on to do this, in my final completed net. However, the writing in the centre of the net, placed behind the logo would blend in too much with the logo when printed out, as they were the same colour, and it would be difficult to distinguish the two. To correct this, I would either need to change the colour of the writing, or the colour of the logo. I decided to change the colour of the writing. 

TARGETS

My three new year's resolutions are:

• To do more experiments where necessary
• Make my presentations more aesthetically pleasing by laying out my work in different layouts
• Make sure my final outcome look more professional

1. Create my final net design
2. Create a swing tag
3. Create an animation

TASKS I NEED TO COMPLETE:

• An annotation of 6 examples of swing tags
• 3 in-depth analysis of swing tags
• Upload my final packaging net

MY NETS SURFACES

These are a few experiments with the surface of my net. I used different methods and different designs, which were inspired by artists such as Linda Kittmer, Sally Harmon and Clark Goolsby, Jim Stoten, Hennie Haworth and Jakob Runge. I used recycled paper by tearing them into thin strips, and sticking them over the other, making sure that they overlap. I also made some interesting shapes to go on the surface of the net. I used some watercolour paints and drew cute little characters to make it more interesting. I also used a typography design, writing the same word, but using two different typefaces. Another was a felt tip illustration, where I used bold and vibrant colours to make different patterns.