For me, this mainly involved competitor analysis, looking primarily at three brands: Pret A Manger, Bread & Truffle and Middle Child, chosen as they each serve a similar audience and style of food or, in the case of Bread & Truffle, as the client specifically stated they liked how they branded themselves. I also picked Middle Child as they used a radically different, more contemporary design style, setting themselves apart from most other food brands and winning an award for this in the process, showing this has largely been successful (Awwwards, 2021). The process of analysing these, and by looking generally at design trends used by food brands as a whole, revealed a number of insights into how colour, font, imagery, written communication and packaging is used, information which I felt would be useful in creating our own brand.

For example, across a significant number of food brands there is a trend towards the use of red, a colour with associations of warmth and excitement but which also attracts the attention of passers by (Karen Haller, 2011; Mubeen M. Aslam, 2005). Bread and Truffle, for instance, use a slightly desaturated red, which also gives the brand an artisanal and independent feel compared to the brightly saturated colours used by the larger brands. Likewise, there was also heavy use of green, such as used by Middle Child, a colour which additional research revealed, unsurprisingly, is associated with freshness, nature and health, qualities the client would like to be associated with given the food is meant to be a healthier alternative to other high street shops (Karen Haller, 2011).

In addition, the research helped guide me in how we could make use of fonts. For example, most brands use bold sans-serif fonts, ensuring a high level of legibility and allowing them to command more attention. However, some brands also use them to convey personality, such as Bread and Truffle who use a rounded sans-serif, giving the brand a more friendly feel. In contrast, Pret uses a mix of sans-serif and serif fonts, giving the brand a more traditional feel.

As well as this research, I also helped create the buyer’s persona, helping us better understand the client’s target audience. For example, 22-40 year olds who live fast-paced, busy lifestyles, who are able to afford a more moderately priced lunch option, are likely to be in the educated middle-class in terms of socio-economics, likely working regular 9 to 5 hours in a corporate environment. They would also likely be most active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, depending on their precise age. We therefore also understood this group worked long hours and would likely need a break and time to relax, something which the brand may be able to help with.

This therefore gave us a number of useful insights which we could use going forwards into the project. The next step was to work as a group to bring together our separate areas of research in a presentation, using the working name “FÜDE” for our brand.

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Awwwards. (2021). Middle Child. [online] Available at: www.awwwards.com/sites/middle-child [Accessed 13 February 2021].

Karen Haller. (2011). Why red & yellow is used by the fast food industry. [online] Available at: www.karenhaller.co.uk/blog/branding-why-red-yellow-is-used-by-the-fast-food-industry/ [Accessed 14 February 2021].

Mubeen M. Aslam. (2005). Are you selling the right colour? A cross-cultural review of colour as a marketing cue. [online] Available at: ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2092&=&context=commpapers [Accessed 14 February 2021]

As part of this, I created a number of experimental logos for Forkesto and Bona-Bite, two new names Bart had come up with in order to try to find a brand which may be more suitable for the client. However, while further feedback suggested this was an improvement, it still was not exactly what they were looking for. My Forkesto logos, for example, looked too much like they were for a formal restaurant rather than a delivery service.

As a result Bart and I began further researching Jordanian brands, life and culture to try and find an approach which may be more successful. For me, this included looking at restaurants serving similarly healthy food to the client in Amman and how they took orders and marketed themselves, such as through Facebook, a website which was found to be used by 73% of Jordanians compared to only 15% on YouTube and 10% on Twitter (StatCounter, 2021). I also looked at what major brands existed in Amman, such as McDonalds and PopEyes, and what types of food were served in the high street shops, such as pizzas, kebabs and burgers, revealing a high number of fast food shops, therefore showing room for a healthy alternative within the local market. The research also revealed crucial cultural information, such as how lunch is considered the most important meal of the day, showing we need to focus on lunchtime meals as more than just a short break (Lonely Planet, 2021). It also showed the average work week and hours for citizens of Jordan as similar to the UK, suggesting our customers may be tired from working when they order from us (Expat Arrivals, 2021).

With this complete, Bart and I brought our research together to brainstorm ideas for the brand. For example, Bart found the national flower of Jordan was the black Iris and therefore suggested we use “Iris” as the name of our brand. This worked well as it represents renewal, something we could link back to the idea of offering a relaxing and rejuvenating break from the long hours of work. It was also suggested we could use a colour scheme influenced by the colours of iris, that the packaging could be coloured in as a method of relaxing and that this could tie into an augmented reality feature in an app.

I then completed some further research into health conscious consumers to ensure we understood who we were targeting and what they value. For example, freshness, nutritional benefits, how locally the food was grown and how fun the food is, meaning they prefer a varied diet of, for example, nuts or avocados, not just diet foods (Forbes, 2015). Importantly, they are also likely to be more proactive, enthusiastic and willing to share knowledge, meaning emphasising the healthy aspect of the client’s food may quickly attract this audience to the brand (Forbes, 2015). 

Finally, to complete our research, Bart interviewed Rania, who lived in Jordan for 17 years, while I took notes. From this, we gained several useful pieces of information such as how traditional cooking is expected to be time consuming, something we can help the customer avoid, and how delivered food carries associations as being unhealthy and of poor quality, something we will need to combat. She also provided us with several pieces of potential inspiration for our designs, mosaics and sand art, both of which are culturally relevant to Jordan.

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Expat Arrivals. (2021). Working in Jordan. [online] Available at: www.expatarrivals.com/middle-east/jordan/working-jordan [Accessed 24 February 2021].

Forbes. (2015). Consumer Trends in Health and Wellness. [online] Available at: www.forbes.com/sites/thehartmangroup/2015/11/19/consumer-trends-in-health-and-wellness/ [Accessed 26 February 2021].

Lonely Planet. (2021). Eating In Jordan. [online] Available at: www.lonelyplanet.com/jordan/narratives/in-location/eating [Accessed 24 February 2021].

StatCounter. (2021). Social Media Stats Jordan. [online] Available at: gs.statcounter.com/social-media-stats/all/jordan [Accessed 24 February 2021].

The first area we tackled was the logo. Having had difficulty getting this right before, we all created several experimental logo designs in order to share our ideas with each other and so as to have a variety we could present to the client.

For my logos, I started by creating a mood board and sketching out as many rough ideas as I could. Then, taking inspiration for a suggestion received during a feedback session, I combined the image of a flower with that of a wrap, making use of the elements from my sketches which worked best. This gave me a rough logo design which I then refined and simplified over several versions, using symmetry to create as pleasing a design as I could. One issue with my design however, was that the flower was made to be more similar to a lily than an iris in order to make it the shape of a wrap. Therefore, while the logo would not depict the iris in our name, it still reflected it as a flower and continued to carry the messages of growth and rejuvenation.

I also started making progress on my area of the project, the interactive aspect, for which we decided that I would design an app with an augmented reality (AR) feature. Having researched existing food delivery apps, both in Jordan and the UK, I felt that by creating our own app we could offer an improved experience for both the customer and the client. For example, most food delivery brands are consolidated within just a few platforms such as Uber Eats or Just Eat in the UK or Tabalat or Facebook in Jordan. Within the confines of these platforms, brands have limited opportunities to express their personality, not only making it hard for us to create the relaxing and rejuvenating experience we aim for but also making it hard to stand out and compete against all the other identical looking food brands. In addition, these platforms are often uninteresting or overwhelming in their design making the experience unappealing to customers. Instead, by having our own app, we can compete directly on the home screen, making it far more likely people will see and order from us and giving us the control to create a more unique, expressive, rejuvenating and relaxing experience which makes it quicker and easier for customers to order their food. Meanwhile, the AR feature would be similar to the one discussed during the researching stage, encouraging customers to colour in design on a sticker or area on the packaging and then having this animated by viewing it through the AR page in app, a unique feature which nicely ties the packaging and app together and encourages customers to download our app. 

Therefore, to start with, I created a loose wireframe outline in Adobe Illustrator of how our app may be laid out, giving us a general idea of how the app may look and what other features it might include. I also created a simple flowchart displaying how the app might function, what decisions the user may be faced with and what screens I would need to design. This was all done in preparation for a feedback session, in order to ensure the app would be suitable for the client.

For our logo, the client picked out my design as the one they wanted us to move forward with but wanted several changes made to it, such as making it simpler and making it more in keeping with the other illustrations used elsewhere in the brand. As Bart had designed the other illustrations, we decided he would be best suited to take over the logo to ensure it met these criteria.

Meanwhile, I continued work on the app. I began by creating the basic layout and structure of the app in Adobe Illustrator, using my original wireframe mockup as a loose guide. For the basic navigational elements, such as the tab bar, I used Apple’s human interface guidelines as a reference to ensure my design would be in keeping with other apps, making it more intuitive and easy to use (Apple Developer, 2021). For other elements of the design, I initially took inspiration from my research into rival food delivery apps, such as Uber Eats and Just Eat, as well as designs created on Behance, using the elements I liked best as inspiration for my design. However, after experimenting with various ideas I established a unique design style which I felt worked. I was loosely inspired by the principles of atomic design, reusing and repeating elements wherever possible in order to create patterns within the design which help guide the user while also helping create the sense of a single cohesive design (Brad Frost, 2013). Throughout this process I gained feedback from my peers to establish which ideas worked and which needed revising.

Some examples of design decisions I made include the frequent use of rectangles and squares, shapes which are visually steady, adding a sense of stability and safety to the design, and rounded corners, helping convey a more fun feel to the app. In addition, I made use of contrasting colours to highlight any call-to-action or interactive elements, drawing attention to them, and negative space, creating a more calming atmosphere, reflecting the goal of creating a relaxing experience.

Other aspects of my design which received particular attention include my efforts to reduce the onboarding process to as few simple steps as possible, ensuring customers can quickly sign up while still gathering all the information we need to personalise the app for them. Similarly, I worked to streamline the app to allow customers to order in as little as 4 taps, making it incredibly quick and efficient, while also adding a favourites feature to raise the customer’s favourite options to the top of the menu, making it even easier for them to find their favourite meals. This is important not only as a slow and unintuitive app may cause customers to become frustrated and turn to a rival, but also as our mission focus is on saving the customer time so they can spend it relaxing and recharging. In addition, to retain customers, I added a digital loyalty card, offering a free smoothie on their 9th order, ensuring they keep using the app to get the drink and as deleting it would lose their progress.

I also continued updating the flowchart to map the various paths the user could go down. This ensured the app retained a logical structure for the user while also illustrating any additional screens which I would need to design as the app grew more complex.

Outside of the app, I worked on finalising our colour palette. During early development, we used a colour scheme Bart created using watercolours which worked well but was felt to be slightly too pink and desaturated. As a result I began a process of experimenting with various colour schemes to find one that would work best for our brand. For the most part, I did this by extracting colours from photos of iris using the colour picker tool, connecting the brand back to the flower. I then found it’s complementary colour for contrast and created a set of shades for use in different situations, for example, as a neutral background colour. I then tried the palette in both the app and on the logo in order to see if it would work. After experimenting with a number of different combinations, the one which was ultimately found to work best was a scheme similar to Bart’s original watercolour palette, confirming we had made a strong choice. Therefore, I took the new colours and made some additional adjustments, making them more saturated and slightly warmer, resulting in the final palette.

Similarly, I worked on finding the fonts we would use for the brand. The client liked our suggestion of a more hand drawn font, which we felt would work well for the headings and in the logo, giving us a more friendly and personal feel while also setting ourselves apart from other brands. Of a selection I found, the one we eventually settled on was “Hey Guys” which still managed to be highly legible despite being hand drawn. To contrast this I shortlisted a number of sans-serif fonts for use in other areas of the brand. The final chosen font was “Source Sans Variable”, a clean, highly legible font which comes in a wide range of weights making it suitable for use in a variety of situations.

With this, we started work on the second presentation, presenting our work and decisions so far for further feedback.

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Apple Developer. (2021). Human Interface Guidelines. [online] Available at: developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines [Accessed 25 April 2021].

Brad Frost. (2013). Atomic Design. [online] Available at: bradfrost.com/blog/post/atomic-web-design [Accessed 24 April 2021].

For me, this meant completing the app. I made a number of improvements such as adding a notification popup which prompts the customer to rate their food, allowing the rating system to function, changing how the address search box looked to make it cleaner and easier to understand and converting the ‘change address’ and ‘AR help’ pages into sheets (full screen popups) making it more obvious how they relate to their parent pages. As before, I followed Apple’s human interface guidelines to ensure that these elements were all used appropriately and were in keeping with how users would expect them to look and function (Apple Developer, 2021). The augmented reality (AR) screens also received several changes to accommodate a new feature allowing users to save their previous AR scans to their collection, encouraging them to continue ordering meals in order to collect them all, creating repeat customers. Finally, I went over and made any final adjustments, tweaks or corrections to ensure each page looked as good as possible, such as adjusting text to ensure everything is explained properly. 

As before, throughout the development process I was simultaneously using and updating the flowchart to ensure the user experience was intuitive and easy to follow. Therefore, with the app finalized, I finished the flowchart by ensuring it was laid out nicely and was easy to understand.

The final stage in designing the app was to create the AR demo, showing how the augmented reality feature may function. To achieve this I filmed a short video of a box which I then took into After Effects to track the camera motion and then attach the animated sticker. I initially estimated this would take around two weeks to complete as this is not something I have done before, however, by following along with a tutorial it only took several hours. 

This left us with just designing and animating the sticker itself. As Bart had created the other illustrations used throughout the project, he designed the sticker to ensure it looked consistent with the rest of the brand. I then took the Illustrator file and made several minor tweaks to the design while also subtly adjusting it to ensure it could be animated in a seamless loop. I then imported this into Adobe Animate where I animated the various elements. This included animating the rotation of the background as well as animating the camel blinking and bird opening and closing its beak, helping bring the design to life. I then brought this into the After Effects project, where I finished it off by overlaying the app interface, giving the appearance of it taking place within the app. This created the final AR demo.

While our demo shows a plain black and white sticker, it should be noted that our intention is for the customer to be able to colour in the sticker and for these colours to be animated along with the rest of the design.

This concluded my contributions to the project. Overall, I am very happy with what I achieved and with the project overall. I feel the app offers a unique, creative design with features that integrate well with other elements of the project and which helps set the brand apart from other food delivery companies, making it quick and easy for customers to order the food they want and to engage with the brand while also helping further our mission of creating a relaxing and rejuvenating experience.

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Apple Developer. (2021). Human Interface Guidelines. [online] Available at: developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines [Accessed 25 April 2021].

Based on our findings, we agreed to utilize soft, hand-drawn illustrations as the leading graphics for our brand to ensure we abide by the established tone of kindness and benevolence. The process began with assembling a mood-board of reference images to determine the potential aesthetics which varied in detail and complexity. Amongst the works assembled, the most influential projects included: "Illustration for La Prema fresh food cafe" by Alena Samorodova (fig. 1), "Smooth" by Becca Lam (fig. 2) and "Vegetables illustrations" by Julia Harahash (fig. 3). 

When determining the style of our illustrations I acknowledged the limitations of both time and skill hence avoided settling for graphics which would resemble the ones created by Alena Samorodova. If such complexity and detail were attempted, potential time would be wasted whilst a good quality of the execution could not be guaranteed. For this reason, I’ve opted to follow the style of Becca Lam, creating icons which would retain the hand-drawn appearance but utilize vey basic outlines accompanied by scarce lines to serve as shading.

References:
Becca Lam. (2020). Smooth. [online] Available at: www.behance.net/gallery/91466553/Smooth

Alena Samorodova. (2018). Illustration for La Prema fresh food cafe. [online] Available at: www.behance.net/gallery/62834251/illustration-for-La-Prema-fresh-food-cafe

Julia Harahash. (2021). Vegetables illustrations. [online] Available at: 
https://www.behance.net/gallery/116557207/Vegetables-illustrations

 In addition to the icons, I’ve intended to develop secondary graphics which could be associated with the brand. Due to the food illustrations comprising solely of lines, I've determined the appropriate course of action would be to also utilize these forms for the additional graphics. Wanting to connect each element with our previously established theme of renewal and rejuvenation, I’ve decided to convey the idea of mental and physical energy through the use of curved lines. This abstract approach was influenced by Timothy Samara’s “Graphic Elements” where in chapter titled “Complex Abstract Messages”, the author describes our unconscious response to certain forms and shapes. For myself, the justification of using curved lines was based on the organic and healthy nature of our brand. With this idea in mind, an initial sketch on paper was created (fig. 4, 5)

To retain as much of the pen’s distinguishable characteristics, I’ve attempted to transport the image into illustrator where I would then vectorize it. Unfortunately, using the image trace function caused the lines to become distorted and rough therefore I’ve determined it was necessary for me to retrace the graphics digitally (fig. 7) 

As an alternative to the illustration, I’ve tested an idea influenced by an article about an Amman graffiti-artist named  Suhaib Attar who claimed “Our city is beautiful but it needs to be brightened up”. Images found of Amman’s streets confirmed his opinion, proving that despite the natural beauty of the city, the buildings all shared similar beige and dull colours. To combat this aesthetic, Suhaib began to create murals around the city and myself inspired by his style and concept, I’ve attempted to use a graffiti-like style as an alternative to the abstract lines (fig. 6) Despite its potential, I’ve decided against the idea as I believed it would be too overwhelming and would oppose the soothing and calming atmosphere which we were trying to attain. 

I sought feedback from others to ensure the decisions to continue with the lines was supported by the team. Although the design was received with enthusiasm, Oliver prosed that it be combined with the previously created food icons which would visually inform the customer of the contents of the packaging. To do so, the lines needed to be simplified hence providing more space in between for the icons to be placed (fig. 8)

With the completion of this visual idea, it was time to test it upon the individual packaging elements. 

References:

 Agence France-Presse, “Jordanian graffiti artists brighten Amman's streets as reminder to all of their city's beauty”, 30 Dec, 2017, https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/news/global/article/3068684/jordanian-graffiti-artists-brighten-ammans-streets-reminder

As a source of inspiration, I have turned to Jordanian embroidery which utilizes geometric patterns and rich colour-pallets to produce engaging visual designs. These can be observed in traditional Thobes (long dresses) (fig.2) and Sajjādas (prayer mats) (fig. 3). It is worth mentioning that these patterns along with the products themselves are universally used through-out the Middle East rather than belonging solely to the Jordanian culture. The Sajjādas, although used in Jordan, in fact originates from Iran. 

Based on these findings I’ve began to experiment with basic geometric patterns which although simplified, would aim to resemble the reference images (fig. 4)
All of the patterns were created in Illustrator and simplified to ensure that the ideas could be tested before committing more time to the refining process. 

One of the potential applications of these graphics was to incorporate their coloured version alongside the transparent food icons. This idea was inspired by a packaging mock-up found on Freepik.com where certain illustrations utilize a monochromatic pallet while others are left transparent therefore creating an elegant aesthetic (fig. 5)  

I believed this approach would allow me to retain the simplicity by incorporating the transparent food icons whilst adding more visual appeal through the use of coloured patterns to overlay all else. 

During my experimentation I have struggled to incorporate the created graphics alongside the icons in a manner which I would consider effective (fig. 6). Prior to moving on, unwilling to waste too much time on this concept, I’ve decided to also test the two leading colours which we intended to utilize at the time.

I considered these drafts to be overwhelming due to the amount of visual elements. The patterns did not align with the food icons hence rather than merging together into something unified and cohesive, they appeared both to be occupying their own individual area hence diminishing any negative space which I deemed to be essential. Following the experimentation, I’ve decided to reserve the patterns for other elements such as food wrappers where they would be the sole element used hence ensuring they would not interfere with anything else.

Ultimately none of the created graphics were used.

References:
Sunshinegun TM, (2017), New Nando’s Global Visual Identity System, https://www.behance.net/gallery/34184719/New-Nandos-Global-Visual-Identity-System?tracking_source=search_projects_recommended%7Cnandos%20

[IMG] HeraCloset, Jordanian Thobe Baukis, https://heracloset.com/product/jordanian-thobe-baukis/

[IMG] Dallamy Oriental Rugs, Belouch Prayer, https://dallamyorientalrugs.com/product/baluch-prayer-6/

[IMG] Createvil, Freepik, https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/fine-quality-organic-bison_10338794.htm

The first mock-up was one of a sandwich box utilizing the standard triangular form. Ensuring to maintain a balance between positive and negative space to further reinforce a sense of calm and tranquillity, I have produced a design which I deemed elegant and suiting . The same idea was then tested upon the salad-box and a smoothie cup. 

I was satisfied with the outward appearance of the packaging, although I’ve concluded that utilizing mock-ups was ineffective. While searching for the above files, I’ve spent hours surfing through websites in an attempt to find resources which would match my vision whilst also ensuring that they were royalty free and available for use. In addition, the use of mock-ups also limited the amount of creative freedom provided by alternatively developing the physical structures of the packaging myself. All of the files could not be altered which in turn had an impact of potential consideration of functionality and innovation. For these reasons I’ve decided to model all of the packaging elements myself using the Maya software, allowing me not only to adjust the structures to my liking but also place in the designs with relative ease through UV mapping. 

Resources: 
[Sandwich Mock-up] OriginalMockup, Freepik, Accessed April 2021, https://www.freepik.com/free-psd/sandwich-boxes-mockup-left-right-view_13562873.htm#page=1&query=Sandwich&position=1

[Smoothie Mock-up] EightOneSix, Freepik, Accessed April 2021, https://www.freepik.com/free-psd/smoothie-cup-mockup_13472720.htm#page=1&query=smoothie%20mockup&position=47

[Salad (top)] MockupBase, Accessed April 2021, https://mockupbase.com/mockups/salad-container-packaging-mockup/

In relation to the previously conducted research as well as the project specification provided, I’ve concluded that a box would best fulfil its intended purpose. Unlike a tub, the box could be squashed down due to the thinner layer of cardboard used hence easier to dispose of. Its rectangular shape, in certain cases, could be easier to transport within a bag, a briefcase or a backpack which the client may use to store the item upon collecting the goods from the locale. 

The creation of the digital box involved the use of Maya’s standard modelling techniques and once constructed, I then proceeded to adjust the UV mapping to ensure the placed textures are distributed evenly. For the graphics I’ve used the previously constructed combination of lines and icons encompassing the box within its lower half. 

Upon reflecting upon the design as well as receiving feedback from others, I’ve arrived at the conclusion that rather than attaining a sense of elegance and simplicity by avoiding the use of colour, the design instead appeared dull and even unfinished. This led me to further experimentation where a green hue was added to fill the lines.  

As we previously established, no highly saturated colours were to be used hence I’ve reduced the opacity of the hues used but nevertheless, this did not solve the apparent flatness and dullness of the design. Finally, I have decided to strengthen the tone of the colours and add a black stroke to all of the elements therefore making them bolder and more distinguishable. This late prototype also utilized the red hue associated with our brand hence adding more variation whilst still retaining a sense of simplicity due to the transparent icons. 

Aside from its outward appearance, I also had to consider where the required utensils would be included hence ensuring the customer would be supplied with everything he or she would require. Due to the intended use of cardboard, I would be unable to create an indentation for the utensils within the surface as can be observed with plastic lid structure which some brands utilize (fig. 7).

Instead, I've concluded a sufficient alternative would be to place the utensils inside of the box, although if wanting to do so, I needed to ensure the utensils do not come into direct contact with its contents which would otherwise result in food residue left upon the utensils prior to their use. To resolve this issue I've decided to include an additional compartment within the box which would provide a layer separating the food from the utensils. The box would also include dressing tubs to add to the salad.

In retrospection, I believe this design has fulfilled its intended purpose. It ensures the contents remain well protected whistling providing a sturdy surface hence allowing the customer to enjoy the meal in a clean and elegant manner regardless of the location. Nevertheless, there are certain issues with the design which are to be addressed. Perhaps the most significant flaw is the amount of cardboard to be used which opposes the simplicity and eco-friendly approach which we were striving for. The packaging could prove to be a burden to carry around due to its shape and size. In addition, when designing the package, I’ve intended it to be used with larger portions hence it would be unsuitable for smaller orders.

Lastly, if I was to redesign this element of our packaging collection, I would create something which closer resembled the Green House salad packaging design by Ashleigh Godsmark. This unconventional structure radiates with a unique and organic appeal. It is also a very functional design, easy to carry and easy to dispose of, whilst simultaneously reinforcing Green House’s values of environmentally friendly and sustainable products. Although providing less protection than our box, I believe this kind of an innovative approach would be better for our brand and enrich the design's overall functionality.

Reference:
[IMG] Kokoro Packaging, https://kokorouk.com/menu/

[IMG] CaterLine, https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/535998793134230882/

[IMG] CaterLine Packaing, https://br.pinterest.com/pin/558376053785017217/
Ashleigh Godsmark, (2019), Green House, https://www.behance.net/gallery/87919765/Green-House

Alongside Newberry's article, I have also examined various social-media concepts and projects on Behance out of which the one which drew me in was a poster by Luz Viera. An illustration with vibrant and warm colours and detailed, compelling graphics, it visually informs the audience of the ingredients which can be found within the illustrated Spiced Chai Latte. Each ingredients is accompanied by a title and a brief description of its health benefits. 

I believed implementing the same concept would give us an opportunity to reinforce the illustration-based style but also to establish our specific tone of communication through the text intended to accompany the visual elements. In addition, the infographic would aim to inform the customers of the ingredients used, hence providing more transparency to the brand, strengthening customer trust and increasing potential product awareness. 

The idea began as a sketch which allowed me to determine the placement of all elements. As something intended for social-media use, I also wanted to develop a name which could be used and shared using a hashtag. The initial name was “#what’s in it” although upon reflection, we didn't consider it memorable hence it was later changed to “#lookinside”. For the leading graphics I’ve decided to focus on a sandwich which would be a safe option considering the nature of the brand. The sandwich would be “deconstructed” and each ingredient would be accompanied by a short paragraph outlining its health benefits. The paragraphs would be written in a casual and funny tone as we were initially instructed. 

After creating the sketch, I have scanned it in and transported it into photoshop where the elements were retraced. To vectorize everything and ensure the stroke has a smoother appearance, I have transported the layers into Illustrator where the image trace function was used. Upon vectorizing each element, I then proceeded to add colour and shading. 

Illustrator allowed me to create the graphics with relative ease but wanting to add more depth and detail, I’ve decided to transport everything back into Photoshop once more where I've had the ability  to experiment with shading, textures and shadows. I believed to do so, I would have to first finish the design in Illustrator, certain that Photoshop would merge all layers into one flat graphic but fortunately, I’ve discovered an export option which allowed me to transform all illustrator layers into a PSD file  therefore allowing me to adjust each individual element. One of the initial changes was the background which I have replaced with the beige colour as seen through-out our packaging design. In addition, the background line spanning across the design vertically was given a red hue which I believed was visually better suited for a meat-based sandwich such as the one presented. Next, further wanting to enrich the illustration, I’ve reused the lines which were used for our box packaging. The opacity of the layer has been reduced to prevent visual clutter within the design. Lastly, I wanted to incorporate texture to provide a more organic aesthetic. For this I have utilized a basic paper image which I have overlaid over all the other elements.  

After further experimentation I have arrived at a result with which I was satisfied with although one which was not free of faults. I believe the design incorporates multitude of elements which do not necessarily match one another. This results in a visual discrepancy, therefore negatively impacting the overall composition. I believe an aspect which could be improved would be the integration of text with the graphics. Perhaps adjusting the scale or the position would be sufficient for the two to exist in harmony. 

References:
Christina Newberry, Evan LePage, “How to Create a Social Media Strategy in 8 Easy Steps”, May 14, 2021, https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-create-a-social-media-marketing-plan/

Resources:
[Paper Texture] texturefabrik, Oct 27th 2020, https://texturefabrik.com/2020/10/27/8-kraft-recycled-paper-textures-vol-1/

References:
Braveen Kumar, (2020), How to Start Your Own Brand From Scratch in 7 Steps, https://www.shopify.co.uk/blog/how-to-build-a-brand

[IMG] TheLogoCompany, Color Emotion Guide, https://thelogocompany.net/psychology-of-color-in-logo-design/

[IMG] LivingInJordanAsExpat, Jordanian Rugs, https://livinginjordanasexpat.com/2020/04/20/souvenirs-art-gift-from-jordan/

[IMG] tobago77, View through a rock arch in the desert of Wadi Rum, https://stock.adobe.com/uk//61771583/

Sunshinegun TM, “New Nando’s Global Visual Identity System” ,https://www.behance.net/gallery/34184719/New-Nandos-Global-Visual-Identity-System?tracking_source=search_projects_recommended%7Cnandos%20nando%27s
 

Our brand kitchen is based in Jordan and offers a non-traditional option; going against the conventional diet that is strongly integrated within indigenous Jordanian culture. 

Once we received the brief, it was my responsibility to kickstart the ideas of what our kitchen should be called and what kind of logo we would want to pursue. Names such as ‘Fude’, ‘Bona-Bite’ and ‘Forkesto’ arose from our brainstorming of ideas. The names chosen were based on healthy eating, as well as friendly-toned words that would help build a welcoming relationship with our potential customers. My exploration of the logo ideas varied between what kind of font we would use, as well as if we would prefer to use a word mark or symbol. The significance of choosing the right name is essential to the brand personality of the kitchen, as it will determine if the customer gravitates towards the kitchen or not

I visioned the food to be served in a minimal fashion, integrating packaging that would be the most eco-friendly; whilst creating the least amount of mess. This would mean removing unnecessary pamphlets and promotional paperwork which supports the brand vision of being health conscious which ties in with the foundations of human wellbeing. 

Typically; customers who prefer to eat nutrition heavy meals would deter from the wastage of resources from something such as packaging. These consumer traits allow us to tailor the brand aesthetic towards the niche customer we plan to serve. 

Bart’s research in Jordanian culture resulted in breaking down the brand to the core values we wanted to represent. We chose a ‘ Black Iris ‘ as our leveraged symbol to create a relationship between the nutritional food and the Jordanian people. Black Iris’ represent growth, renewal and change, which we thought accurately represented our brand value and what we would like to provide.

My inspiration for the logo development came from Deliveroo, which is a delivery service which specialises in making peoples favourite restaurants and food available from just a click away. This resonated with me because I believed that IRIS kitchen needed a modern, clean and compact look; similar to Deliveroo. The convenience of delivering any restaurant's food allowed me to think of our brand IRIS as a direct path to fast, deliverable and nutritious food. This resulted in making Iris’ unique selling point because that nutritional healthy food is now just a click away. 

As I am a frequent user of the existing service Deliveroo, I had experienced first hand the app experience as well as the aesthetics used within the marketing campaigns and branding kit as a whole. This insight allowed me to accumulate ideas of how the logo should sit with text, as well as what kind of iconography integrates well in the digital landscape. Deliveroo consistently uses their blue themed colour in order to keep a level of consistency throughout the app experience. This allows them to build a sense of familiarity within their ordering customer community; which helped me think of what colour I would like to pursue for the branding kit of Iris.

References: 

Design.studio. 2021. Deliveroo. [online] Available at: <https://design.studio/work/deliveroo> [Accessed 25 April 2021].

As a development of the Iris flower implementation, I created alternative designs for the logo which incorporated an Iris in a flowerpot, accompanied by a sandwich. This iconography was a strong, thick stroked and heavy weighted design; however this did not capture the healthy alternative brand personality that I wanted to go for. Adding the sandwich to the design, resembled more towards a burger. This added to the complication of the logo design, which we thought would not thrive as well as other options.  

I used the colour purple for the background of the logo as it is known to physically affect humans by calming and stimulating our bodies. It is known to be cheerful and friendly, whilst the colour resonates with wealth, magic and spiritualism. I thought this would be a good fit for our brand, as we want our target audience to feel calm and relaxed when using IRIS. Upon feedback, this colour did not sit well as it is also known to be the colour that represents the opposite of spring. Spring represents growing, therefore I believe choosing purple would set us back for the branding kit development.

Smith, K. (n.d.). Meaning Of Purple: Color Psychology And Symbolism | Sensational Color. [online] https://www.sensationalcolor.com/. Available at: https://www.sensationalcolor.com/meaning-of-purple/.

One way I have successfully done this is by implementing Guerilla Marketing styled giveaways on a social media platform such as Instagram. This platform has a comments section and tagging option which will allow customers to tag three of their friends to win Iris socks. The idea of selling unrelated items to the brand is an engaging idea as they would never expect a nutritional brand like IRIS to give away socks. Below you will find the design of the sock, created by me and advertised as ‘ 1 of  1 exclusive IRIS socks ‘ which cannot be obtained anywhere else. This creates a stable reward system for customers as they will be encouraged to participate in the giveaway. The user tagging their friends is most likely already a follower of the page; therefore this will only increase the amount in followers and engagement with other posts on the page. 

Hayes, A. (2020). Guerrilla Marketing. [online] Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/guerrilla-marketing.asp.

I took inspiration from Uber Eats, as they ran a simple and successful delivery campaign with simple sans serif text accompanied with photography of food. We can take elements such as the photograph of the food and implement this in our own campaign. This will entice users into seeing what they are missing out on or could have within minutes. 

Think with Google. (n.d.). Uber Eats delivers timely, contextual creative to hungry Australians. [online] Available at: https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-apac/marketing-strategies/programmatic/uber-eats-delivers-timely-contextual-creative-hungry-australians/ [Accessed 3 May 2021].