Imaginomics

1.0  Introduction

After receiving mixed reviews, this designer has been tasked with justifying the work put forth.

 1.1 In Defence

Upon the release of the designs, it had many in favour of their originality and many against it. Be that as it may, some clarity is needed. The vision explained.

When IBI approached our firm, they made it clear that their logo was not to be altered in any form lest it be what they themselves have provided. While to some, that aesthetic can be limiting, we saw in it, an opportunity to show how versatile, like the brand, that the logo truly is and how we can get everyone talking about the ‘Elevation’ series. And here we are.  

IBI as a company strives for luxury, as a luxury product company, they have certain expectations that are to be met. Luxury in this industry has often been synonymous with wealth and status. And that has remained unchanged. Until now.

During the development of this campaign, we looked carefully at what has come before, what luxury translates from it and how do we, dare I say elevate the product beyond that? By taking a different approach.

Our client gave us a challenge. A challenge to the old ways, a challenge to the established order. They have something to say. And, so do we.

                        1.2 Design

The first design (above) comes from an older perspective. The wood finish of this design is derived from the classical idea of wine being stored in wooden barrels, but with a modern take on it. If one were to pull upward on the red tab of the wooden cover, it slides up, revealing the champagne within. All the designs have so far maintained the motif of the falling branches.

In truth, it is the remnants of the old ways falling far down as we (represented as the wise owl) rises out of the brush, elevating itself to bigger and better things.

In design thinking, exists a solution-based method where five doctrines speak to creativity and finding some measure of resolve; Empathise (Personal understanding of the problem you are trying to solve), Define (Outline what are the challenges), Ideate (Generate new ideas/concepts), Prototype (Experiment with them), Test (Come up with a solution using all the gathered information.), (R.Dam & T.Siang, 2018).

 2.0 Customer Experience

As mentioned above, it was during these stages we got to define the concept, generate ideas, experiment and understood what our client wanted, we just had to come up with an idea of what it would all look like. Photoshop allowed us to mold the shapes we wanted and the packaging that would sit best with the concept we were trying to have the public engage with.

Sometimes the public does not know what they really want. (David Kelley, 2017) makes this point when talking about the customer. Our job as designers is to make decisions based on what a potential future customer would buy.

3.0 Technical

Through the use of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, we were able to apply these principles and arrived at the idea of the abandoning how a luxury brand should look and bringing a new understanding to the term. Each bottle is designed different enough to stand out, yet still retain some level of a mystery. Creative use of image manipulation techniques made use of the clone stamp, healing brush tool and blending options and gradients, crafting the unique packaging and radically different array of bottles and the drinks contained within that is available to the customer.

Above: Before and after using Photoshop to remove the label, crown branding in the glass and markings on the cover.

  4.0 Concept

Traditionally, as stated prior, luxury denotes a certain mindset, one that we challenged and by extension, Elevation does too. The slogan “Elevate yourself” invites consumers to do better, be better and to get there, Elevation is the way. Using the iconography of the owl and its almost universal connotation of being ‘wise’, the red tag at the same time promotes this other underlying theme. Boldly standing out and allowing the consumer when they walk past to ask themselves… have I made the wise choice? Why run with everyone else when you can break away from the pack and have others take flight and follow you? Eventually, Elevation will become their only choice. This is the new thinking behind Elevation: Effervescence Elevated. The non-standard design pops out for simply being itself. A new kind of Luxurious. Elevated. The ability to rise to the occasion and even above it. It is a wise choice to take flight and elevate the meaning of luxury. It is in this way the design avoids the cliché, by seeing what we have to work with and building sensibly from out of it with a simple approach of “noticing that the solution doesn’t arrive out of nowhere, but methodically out of sensible analysis of what is in front of you. “ (Dan Mayer, 2011)

5.0 Conclusion

The choice to go with vastly different designs for each bottle was borne out of a willingness to diversify and allow the consumer to see that the brand is beyond similar looking designs with interchangeable flavours and parts. The familiar logo across the varying bottle designs will of course remain to establish brand awareness. Each of the three products stand on their own. Running concurrently with this the red corner tab, which, if given time to flourish, can become just as synonymous with the brand and lends to many ideas within advertising. To be elevated means that there is no box, rather, you float unconstrained by its limitations.

Design wise, there will always be room for interpretation and we are open to any suggestions to improve.

     Bibliography

(R.Dam  & T.Siang, 2018)-interactiondesignfoundation.org

D. Kelley –IDEO.org

1.0  Overview

For this project, the client requested a conceptual series of digital artwork (created through the use of photo manipulation) of 3 related pieces about one of three proposed concepts; Human Trafficking, Euthanasia or Xenophobia. Ultimately, Human Trafficking was chosen.

 1.1 Planning

Another point to note is that the assignment brief makes it clear that the process should be thoroughly documented as images (along with their online sources must be recorded to a reference list). This reference list must contain detailed specifications for every image utilized to create a workable end product.

1.2 Tools

During the development of this campaign, it became immediately evident that the Adobe Photoshop image manipulation programs (and minimally, to some extent, Adobe Illustrator) would best be suited to deliver the desired outcome.

 Adobe Photoshop, a pixel-based photo-editing software is often used by photographers and graphic designers that allows them to digitally manipulate, edit or enhance images. Adobe illustrator is a vector-based companion to Photoshop that utilizes vectors to create logos and graphics etc. For this assignment, high resolution images were used to bring about a cleaner, richer final product. Where that could not be avoided, Illustrator was used minimally to assist in “cleaning up” low resolution items that while they were too small and pixelated, were vital to the design when no alternate could be found.

Within the scope of the project, the various websites (pexels.com comes to mind) that acted as a library to locate the right high resolution imagery were tools in themselves.

 2.0 Criteria/Approach

For “Human trafficking” the aim was to depict a concept that no single photo could evoke, while at the same time, allowing the image to tell a story. Human trafficking, is a serious crime that involves, according to Article 3, paragraph (a) of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons-(2000) the exploitation of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of intimidation and abduction for commercial purposes. Showing the many facets of this serious crime was paramount.

A large selection of related images were gathered and slowly the concept began to take shape. Each piece is told from the perspective of a central ‘character’ and how they ‘interact’ with the viewing audience. This creative approach allows for the viewer to see a victim and in the case of the organ trade entry, the perpetrator and find some means by which to convey the seriousness of the injustices presented.

 3.0 Technical

The bulk of work was managed through trial and error and relying greatly on the layout to tell the story. Where one image seemed out of place, a layer could be switched off and two or three alternatives could be applied until the desired effect was achieved. Navigating the program was made easier through repeated use of keyboard shortcults eg. Ctrl + T to transform the size and orientation of the photos, ‘E’, ‘B’ or ‘S’ on the keyboard when the eraser, brush or clone stamp tool were needed. The program is versatile enough that you can alter the direction you’ve chosen to go with the artwork’s composition. One example of note began during the creation of the image for organ harvesting. The horizontal photo that now acts as a window to the gruesome sights in the room behind the figure was originally the main photo of the piece. With so much trial and error going into the photo initially, Photoshop’s capabilities allowed for a simple resizing and (later on) repurposing of the image instead of its complete removal in the early stages of development. Being able to turn off layers and experiment with what was on and off the board allowed for a more flexible approach, allowing the user to move multiple objects around freely to see what worked. This introduced depth to the narrative environment directly lead to its expansion for the organ trade piece.

 Because of these features and the freedom to explore different options without doubt contributed to the creation of the final product, personal style and approach to the subject matter during development.

Even more impressive was Photoshop’s ability to manage the sheer volume of experimental photos (the files would together total 290+ MB) that littered the file as the photomontage began to take shape. Along with the various files, webpages and folders that were open; its performance was a stark contrast and a testament to the leaps and bounds that the software has achieved with each passing year.

 4.0 Past, Present and Reflection.

Something of note; is that within those passing years, according to Mark Hofer of Citejournal.com, “Concurrent with this increase in access to images on the Web comes an increase in photo manipulation” Also with advances in technology, it is only a matter of time before hours of meticulous work is broken down to mere minutes. With this improvement in technology, what one is able to accomplish with these tools nowadays, photo manipulation has become less costly and more effective. A far cry from the infamous historical account of Vladimir Lenin, at the height of his power in the 1920s Soviet Union, had Leon Trotsky effectively erased from photographical record. Soviet razor blades and airbrushes have certainly come a long way.(R. Lourie,1997)

 While the experience working with Photoshop before has made it so that working within its confines are familiar, there were a few times the specifications and staying within the guidelines posed a challenge. Another shortcoming was the amount of time spent on one project affected subsequent work on others and did not improve going forward. While the ability to experiment was welcomed, allowing the sheer vastness of the project to overwhelm the project lead to too much indecision to the point that time was not used efficiently. And on the topic of experimentation, it would assist in future graphic design endeavors to learn more techniques to apply in Photoshop that may assist in improving the abovementioned shortcomings.

  Bibliography

Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and  Punish Trafficking in Persons-United Nations Human Rights, Office of the High  Commissioner (2000)-ohchr.org

Hofer, M. –citejournal.org

Lourie,  R-NY Times

Footage Shot and Edited by Kern Salandy

As part of their “Staycation” campaign, the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Tourism sought to revamp and encourage Trinbagonians to rediscover their twin isle home in the form of eco and adventure tourism. Bamboo Cathedral, located in Chaguaramas, was chosen to highlight this poster. The copy reflects the idea that the popular destination has been given a sort of reverence in this moment. The copy reflects this, by boldly (and humorously ) pointing out to the viewer the unexpected ironic scenario.   

In its mission to revamp its “Staycation” campaign, the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Tourism sought to further encourage Trinbagonian locals to rediscover their twin isle home in the form of eco and adventure tourism. Macqueripe Bay, which lies on the north west peninsula of Chaguaramas, Trinidad was chosen to be the highlight of this poster. The copy reflects the recurring theme throughout this approach; the notion of escaping the trappings of one’s job, the usual ‘9 to 5′ and finding somewhere locally that you don’t have to leave your family, friends an/or loved ones behind to enjoy. The copy reflects this, giving locals the opportunity to accept the beauty and relaxation Macqueripe Bay offers as their new ‘9 to 5′. 

Journal Entry 005-Design Principles

I wanted to try tie dye and opportunity presented itself, I looked at a few creative videos online and found this one:

Taking inspiration from this, I incorporated the tie dye idea and reused the burlap and cardboard and old cloth around the house to make this idea of a clutch happen. My first attempt, while great was not perfect, but I found my groove the second time around. 

Old attempt

New

New

Little touch of class, for use by any Caribbean woman on the go.

And with that, I was complete!

Thank you for this opportunity!

Journal Entry 004-Design Principles

The devil is always in the details. limited time game me an idea. I tried to still remain be creative, think outside the “box” and create a cultural souvenir that anyone would purchase. It did not have to be red white and black (Lord knows). 

It made me think. 

And I looked at pop art and its influence on me and how it impacts the world. Carnival time brings a lot of the culture to the forefront and in that vein, I first thought about doing a doll, a carnival king or something in that vein, then I thought about blue devils. Now, many within the Caribbean region argue that the devils are really theirs or this or that, but in all honesty, its something that many west indian cultures share, so why not?

My idea was something of a plush toy (but small enough to fit on a key chain!)

I set off to create:

(Above is a polo t-shirt  recycled and sketched the outline of the devil on)I would soon learn however that I would have to try again because, you see, my intention was to hand sew the figure and easily turn it inside out to hide the seams. EASILY being the operative word, but as I would soon learn, I made the spaces for it’s ankles, neck and wrists too small, so I immediately encountered problems when I put the machine to it.

 So I tried again, along with seeing if my idea of using dye would work/what it would look like.

Almost made it, but tore his arm pulling it through!!!

The dye...

Nice shade, exactly how I pictured it! The texture of the polo t-shirt is giving it a grainy detail that I’m loving.

So of course, I had to try again. Oh yes. Third time’s the charm is what they say, right? To stuff it, I used the stuffing from an old pillow.

 And this was when I FINALLY understood “Form follows function” The literal form of this lil devil had to alter so much to accommodate turning it inside out, that its very look and design changed/evolved as it went along.

Learning that lesson over with the added hands on experience drove that point home. I tinkered with his details and broke a bead in half to make his eyes, added two drops of paint to each one to make his eyes come to life. I experimented with different versions of his mouth, I wondered if a smile would do until I saw a piece of the carrier case (from my earlier work on the burlap bag and decided to cut a scrap of it and do a little experiment with some white paint:

Fangs! I then used a sharpie to clean it up and then

Oh, that’s his first, much smaller mouth I tried earlier and decided against it. I imagined this as a satire of sorts that falls within the realm of pop art. Its exactly up my alley and a lot of the people my age (older and even younger) I know would actually use something like this. I may actually make another!

I enjoyed and learned from this one.

Journal Entry 003-Design Principles

The journey to get to this point has shown me what I need to pay attention to. Time in particular is at the top of that list. So my attention has now shifted back to a bag design I came up with incorporating the national colours and burlap:

So, much like our National flag, yeah? I like the idea that the national flag’s stripe form the side and base of the bag. SO I bought my burlap, it looked a lot like: 

But this is a google image, I forgot to get a pic of my burlap BEFORE I decided to DYE it red. Of course i could have just bought red, but I was looking for those old potato, I checked mini marts, shops and groceries and I’ve been told that they don’t send them in those sacks anymore. So I dyed mine:

FOUND MY BLACK MATERIAL! I’m going to recycle this (below) old beaten carrier case to contribute to my burlap bag design. 

Going on my design, (and with assistance from my girlfriend) and the bag slowly came together....

For the sake of structural integrity, I had to forsake the white lining, but came up with an alternative to the white in the red, white and black motif:

I did a stencil with Arabesque intentions, but ended up with Art Nouveau sensibilities instead. Either way, this is what that look like: 

Now its just to add velcro and away we go. Fun fact: I used parts of the original carrier case to also form the strap for the bag. I did not have time to get around to doing the trini smiley face to attach to it, I would admit that my intention to make the bag into the flag was lost a bit when looking back at the alteration that was made for the sake of the bag’s overall integrity, I should have still pushed forward with it as the dye looks nearer to orange in colour than the red it should be, an oversight on my part. 

Journal Entry 002-Design Principles

So I happened upon a thought. Could I use an orange peeler to get the plastic the size I want? I mean, its a bit crazy, I admit, but from the onset I know I would need a block of wood to keep the  bottle in place, like so:

I FEEL LIKE WILE E. COYOTE. This is insane.

That’s bag of bottles collected, 1 of 3!!

Sooo, I got myself an ORANGE PEELER!!!!!!

BUT...

You see those two pieces of wood in the picture too? Yeah, the one on top I could not get anyone to round it off more for me. The block at the bottom looks ideal, but the bottles are wayyy too small for it. After much going it over, to save time, I’m going to have to do it the old fashioned way. I’m burning up a lot of my limited time in research and development, I need to get something made!!

I got in touch with a friend of mine who I know does weaving. But I know they’ve never worked with plastic like this before.

I ask them to work on the base of the slippers where your feet would rest and this is what they came up with. PS. I added rubber to it for some traction and comfort...

So while that look a little promising, I have made little to no progress on any of my other projects. And the further I ventured into trying to get this made, I realised the limitations, time was a huge factor and finding someone who is able the material in a way I could be on board with, the results of putting it in my friend’s hands yielded unsatisfactory results to say the least: 

Journal Entry 001-Design Principles

And so it begins. A lot of ground to cover and very little time. This man won’t let up with the homework though. -_-”. Where my projects are concerned, I have a few ideas. 3 functional products. For a fictional souvenir line called “Trinbago Souvenirs”. As an added bonus too, we have to tie them into our some of the art movements eg. Bauhaus, Pop Art, Afro-Futurism, Arabesque, Art Nouveau. I have decided to give my best shot and try Afro-Futurism, Pop Art and Art Nouveau. 

My mind map looks like: 

So, I settled on Slippers made from recycled plastic, 

A board game and jewellery made from plastic. I’m really liking the slippers idea thoug! Butttt to pull it off the way I have in mind, I would need to detail it properly, so I sketched it out:

Journal Entry 008: Project Design and Implementation.

Final thoughts:

With the structure of my radio ad out of the way early on, I was able to know exactly what I was listening for. While I ultimately did not find the voice I had in my head to participate, the alternative has still made me happy with the outcome. While I am not absolutely happy with how it turned out, I have made not of some of my shortcomings.

 Notably, the voice actor’s pronunciation could have been clearer, slowed down in some parts, the message was in the spirit of what I would want it to be.  I go to turn in my projects in a few hours and it amazes me all the progress that’s been made so far. I learned to use Adobe Audition literally overnight and made sense of it only at the zenith of my frustration. Listening for what I wanted became something I went through 3 headphones to make sure I could hear every crackle and buzz coming out of the recording and trying my best to identify and address. Take after take, after take I kept listening for the right one. At the end of the day, I recorded upwards of 17 takes before landing on something remotely like what i wanted. Its truly something to admire, the hard work that people put into their craft that I am only dabbling in. This is their livelihood and I’m more than happy to have taken this journey.

-K. Salandy, 2017

Journal Entry 007:Project Design and Implementation

Aug. 26,27, 28

During the time I had to create the poster and press ad , I dealt with the facebook page. Initially, when Shannon used her original logo, she used it to great effect in her call cards: 

but it was obscured somewhat on her page:

Because of the shape of her logo, as you can see above, it is too large for the space it is contained within. With the redesign, I did not want her brand identity to fall into these kind of trappings again. The logo should be out there. Big enough to be visible and catch the eye. One thing she said that she liked about the new logo was that it was neater and had a more professional look to it. It is not too busy a logo so it stands front and centre in the rebrand along with added visibility now in the cover photo/banner of the page.

Out of respect for the client and her hard work to get to the point she is now at. If you look closely, I took the banner and peeled away piece of the design to reveal the old logo saying its last goodbye:

One idea I suggested to her was that each week she can inform of her services and perhaps even pursue the idea she mentioned earlir in the journal of wanting to do some videos where she takes a viewer on a day in the kitchen with her.. In the meantime, For this week and the week of September I aim to update her facebook page with even more content that truly illustrate the capabilities of my client. Once such endeavour, which I hope to make daily would be “Flavorful Facts” campaign like the one I did below: 

I would like to think, that given the daily nature of the uploads, coupled with the videos can lead to her having more of a discourse with her potential clients/page visitors. Leading social media expert influencer and entrepreneur, Gary Vaynerchuk speaks at length of the importance of content and networking. 

Holding that attention is key and with that understanding, we can continue to work on making it into a staple of her page.

Journal Entry 006-Project Design and Implementation.

Aug 25

The Press Ad.

I didn’t want to be lazy and as I found myself doing just that by taking apart the first advert and tweaking it to be the press ad, I stopped myself. This was an opportunity to do something new. A bit bold. But definitely challenge myself. With time creeping away, I got an idea. And I was determined to do it. For quite some time now I’ve wanted to try my hand at photo manipulation like a sci-fi artist I admire named Maciej Kuciara (http://www.kuciara.com/) Now while this was not a sci-fi project, his techniques have always stood out to me because of what he is able to create. 

Minimalist culture appeals to me along with what you can say in one distinct image, it allows the mind to travel a bit, allows the viewer to find their own interpretation upon first viewing without even looking at the words.

(image courtesy pinterest)

Potos like the one above exist in a section of art and design called photo manipulation (or manips for short) and the idea that a designer like myself too an existing picture and made this possible excited me. My idea was simple. A plate. The aftermath of a meal. And creating the atmosphere ad telling a story with pictures. Using elements I scavenged off of google searches, i found a lot of my necessary raw material.

marcenariaseither.com

This part needs some explaining! I took the crack from ths image of a car mirror and manipulated it to create the crack in the plate! The final produck actually consists of me getting a layer in the pattern of the wooden table, using that layer on top of the plate and inner shadow blending option to make it appear as thought the plate had been cracked.

Putting these elements together I was able to create the following: 

Journal Entry 005-Project Design and Implementation.

Aug 21

Alright, this is the moment of truth...and I was having a bit of a rough time. Trouble rears its ugly head as I attempt to build on the concept I have for my client. The idea I had in mind was along the lines of giving the client a more refined but rooted (? I don’t know if thats the right word for it) kind of look. I spent the majority of Monday going over internet (google to be precise) searches for inspiration. After ONE WHOLE DAY of nothing, I tried again and finally found my groove. What helped was deciding how to get around the problem of colours potentially contrasting or fighting for attention when I started putting all my elements together. Finding that middle ground proved difficult, but when I tried beige as my background, it got rid of a lot of my worry. 

Her skin tone, hair colour and purple chef’s tunic. I found the best 3 colours that would go well with the photo and ultimately settled on the beige. It was softer on the image and not too jarring on the eyes.

EDIT 9/2: So I could not find the word for what I wanted to describe the style I was going for with the poster and I think “Rustic” is what I was searching for.

Combining these elements with the groundwork I implemented before, I created this:

So, $140TT later (o_o), I got it printed at 18″ x 24″

The quality of the paper on the 18 x 24 was kind of not what i wanted (even though the process is on the expensive side), but I still paid to get it printed on 12 x 19 (?) I think it was to get the glossy effect I wanted all along, I was told that the process to print glossy at that size, I would not be able to get it the same day, so I took the other option to at least meet the requirements and printed the smaler size to still illustrate the kind of quality it could be...I mean, it’s a $193.50 TT in total kind of day.(More on that to come)

Journal Entry 004: Project Design and Implementation.

Aug 13

So My client has an event today and I suggested that I could get some pictures of her and her food that I could use for the poster. After journeying to the top of a very steep hill Behind God’s Back, Arouca (Thank you designers and engineers of the world for crafting amazing tyres.) When I got there, I assisted in offloading some items from her vehicle and proceeded as soon as she got a chance, We (My sister is more proficient with taking photos than I am, so I brought her along to assist me in getting what I needed.)  Photos by Querine Salandy- Sibling plugggg!!

When I decided that I would use this picture as my main, and after Shannon told me that the knife in her hand was not a Chef’s knife, I looked for the right kind online and photoshopped it into her hand:

Knife: https://www.marttiini.fi/Keittioveitset

And took my time to cut her out of the background to use in the poster:

Journal Entry 003-Project Design and Implementation.

Aug 12

LOGO.

My first move was to establish my client’s identity. While her logo was simple, she designed it herself and admitted that an update would be necessary. But I did realise a bit of apprehension. This was her face. This was how she was going to be recognised in the sea of caterers, I could not mess with it too much. This was her logo:

 And although I understood the idea that I should not mess with it or impose my will, I took a gamble. I got an idea and ran with it. That was my mistake. No excuse for it other than wanting to just do my own thing. So, my first attempt looked something like this:

While I scribbled in the original colours (an attempt at ‘honoring the original’) but as I learned on my own the more I got into it, the more I could see her point. However, my client gave me the chance to see it through and asked if there was any way to see it in colour, because they were not feeling it. So, armed with my mouse, photoshop, a google search for spoons and photoshop, I turned my sketch into this and it became abundantly clear to me where I went wrong: 

Besides looking like my client was serving people green slop (!) It was too far removed to even be recognizable. The first thing I did was run in headstrong and try to challenge who my client was. Brand identity speaks volumes. No one knows the client better than they know themselves. With that faux pas behind me, I set out to do right by my client this time around: 

I sent her this rough and did the same quick treatment in photoshop to see if I was on the right track and the resulting logo looked like this:

This one still had true elements to it that I pulled from the original and was not too far removed to not look familiar to past clients. It was a new version of something familiar.The response to this one was greatly improved and I collaborated with Shannon to find out what should be inside the “O”. Taking her suggestions,some tweaking here and there, I cleaned it up proper. In the end we came up with this:

And one interesting little side note: while doing some searching one day I stumbled upon this information from (http://thespicyvenue.com/did-you-like-your-food/)

And decided to adjust the placement of the knife and fork to properly reflect it and subtly suggest to those in the know that what they’re about to eat is already ‘excellent’! Pretty cool and I learned something new while I was at it!