YCN - GAP Collaborative Final idea refinement, scamps & digital development
Plastic kit scamps & development
I began generating the imagery and format for the plastic kit system, the theme for this "kit" was to contain useful objects that students could make used of. Student packs at freshers can often be full of random gimmicky rubish, we want to portray the idea of basic essentials that relate to the GAP range through the freshers pack so we agreed on including a beermat, a bottle opener and desk tidy into the kit.
The outcomes needed to portray this idea of essentials through the use of basic shapes which will resonate well and reflect the functionality of these items which works alongside the idea of basic essentials within the GAP range of clothing.
The pencil holder/desk tidy needed to carry on this idea of versatility so a few variations of holes was played around with to emulate this, I wanted to emulate movement within the alignment of the holes to subtlety reference the dress normal campaign and the movement and rotation of the typography and logo around the posters.
An idea was tried out based on two levels for the pencil/desk tidy, the pencils will acts as struts to hold the two levels up but this doesn't really suggest functionality.
To expand on this idea of functionality the pencil/desk tidy had an element of interactivity too it, the base had 2 sections that could be positioned in multiple variations on-top of the base, this ability to make unique varations of the pencil holder references a students unique mindset in a subtle way.
The final system used consistent proportions and sizing with the sections of the pencil holder been of a 25% ratio to keep with the theme of 25% discount.
Elliot added some type and I prepared it ready for lasercuting, the wordplay was stripped back to just focus in on the 25% off due to limited space on the images within the plastic kit and would be engraved rather than raster to remain detailed and legibility of type as good as possible.
I prepared the file on ethos pro adding an engrave around the sections that are to be snapped off so they snap a little easier, it took over 2 hours to cut this all out so in a commercial sense it wouldnt be very cost effective but as an advertising tool having items the students can use in there hands a lot of the time would work well for the campaign.
Typographic flyers & posters for 25% off focus
I designed the flyers, Elliot designed the posters, I fine tuned the layouts of Elliott's posters while fine tuning my own so everything works together as a consist set of collateral.
Within the initial scamps I was looking for clean and structured layouts that would express functionality and the idea of basic essentials within the GAP range, this clean aesthetic also references the dress normal campaign which was a key focus of the brief.
From this idea of structure and functionality I took forward the idea of 25% proportions and expanded it into an idea based on using spacial ranges of the page based on splitting it up into 25% sections both horizontally, vertically and into quarters. A consistent and versatile grid system set up in indesign would help maintain accuracy and versatility within the layout and positioning of content.
Vertical proportions using a 4 column grid, the logo feels a bit detached at this point but more body copy needs to be added.
When it came to the final column it has to go from left justified to right justified within the interaction of the GAP logo so this looses consistency and the idea of structure.
Horizontal positioning works better in terms of the logo and 25% header feeling like they belong together due to the orientation of the A5 page and the narrow width.
But when it came to the position of content on the bottom the spacial use looked a little out of balance, a little bottom heavy.
Using a variation of arrangement from vertical, horizontal and quarter positioning allowed more flexibility within the arrangement and positioning of content and the logo, we decided at this point to reference the dress normal campaign through the pastel colors used in the body copy and logos but kept the logo pantone 655 (Pantone blue), the alternative arrangement and positioning of the content also kept with the theme of movement used in the pencil holder and links with the rotation and movement within the dress normal campaign.
A few alterations of the position of the logo still using ideas of positioning in 25%, it felt out of place and unbalanced losing overall structure, everything needed to be locked together so it all rotated and moved around the page together.
The bright hues within the 25% header caused slight legibility issues with colors like pink due to the light tones and minimal contrast within the white background. To get around this we created a sort of color registration using pantone blue and colors taken from he dress normal campaign
Leading was minimized within the headers and the space between body copy and logo to bring everything closer together to make it feel structured and together so in terms of hierarchy all the information is communicated in order, they see the bold header then read the body copy explaining the social media campaign then the #7daysofGAP and Win £100 Everyday folio's frame everything up and are read last.
Quickly tried the idea of using % to expand on the focus of 25% off but it didn't suit the stripped back minimal style of the leaflets.
The versatile modular gird system allowed alternative layouts to be tried out quickly and efficiently and kept everything structured within the 25% proportions of the page, the extra body copy that suggests what could be purchased with the savings was also positioned within 25% proportions with the addition of color added to the savings on the flyers which for the students is an obvious focus point within the hierarchy of information.
Elliot printed them using digital print inkjet printers, they came out amazing quality and the colors used came out well and referenced the dress normal campaign while also putting the outcome into a more contemporary light.
Elliots posters, he created them in illustrator so to fit the the modular grid system that allows positioning based on quarters will be applied to Elliott's poster to keep things consistent through the use of indesign.
Originally we were going to go with Moon type family but to meet the needs of the brief and injecting GAP's tone of voice we decided to use the Helvetica Neue family. I suggested to Elliot that he adds the color squares used in the flyers to keep consistency between the range of promotional materials.
The posters will be printed out A3 so Elliot's addition of the dress normal colors on % marks draws more attention into the focus point on saving money, the bold large point 25 also draws attention in so in terms of communication of information Elliot did a good job here.
Alterations on indesign were made, not that there was anything wrong with the designs we just needed to use the same modular grid system to keep layouts consistent. The colored body copy was taken away and replaced with more legible black body copy with the same focus on the savings been brought in through colors from the dress normal campaign (Like seen in the flyers)
Sent off the pdf's ready for print for Elliot to print in the digital print suite.
Again the quality of these came out amazing, we discussed after these were printed that laser print would be a more justified choice on a commercial sense to save on print costs as the requirements of the brief is to achieve recognition within students so lots of these would need to be printed to position around universities around the country. The £100 prize money from this social media campaign will draw students in as Freshers is all about socializing and this money would come in very useful.
Bags, Signage & Window displays
I was in charge of designing the layouts for the freshers bag elliot was tasked with digitally mocking up similar style window displays to keep consistency in the aesthetics and idea of the 25% focus and the idea of proportions within use of space.
Upon discussion we decided due to the use of a clear bag there was no need for any image or type on the front of the bag, the back just had a stripped back percentage discount which could use different dress normal colors.
The idea of using a clear bag and future experimentation with acetate enhances the idea deriving from GAP clothing been essential-wear, to emulate this we decided that using neutral tones (stock and ink) and minimal use of color would visualize functionality and versatility relevant to this idea. Clear material would also suggest honesty as nothing is been hidden, something that the GAP brand thrive on. They are what they are and thrive on it through all there promotions and brand identity.
Taking the layout from the posters with a slight variation and addition of the color bar to reference the dress normal campaign worked perfectly this splash of color combined with the bold large scale 25% draws attention in to the shops and the colors used in the color bars could be carried out across multiple store fronts which again works with the variation in the posters & flyers.
Aesthetic poster for students dorm's
To work alongside the structured, neutral aesthetic and ideas to express the essentials of GAP clothing I began creating some plans and scamps on more aesthetic posters to express the students unique personality's and to enhance the current un cool image of GAP.
These were to be completely separate from the rest of the campaign in terms of aesthetic, reference to gap would be made through more abstract use of the dress normal campaign color scheme.
I was explorative within the scamps, playing around with shapes a lot as this could draw a lot, rotations to reference the dress normal campaign in subtle ways, repetition, texture, grids and block color all with a focus of giving opportunity for contemporary, high impact imagery that students would be happy to put up in there room to reflect there bold and unique personalities.
The final 2 main ideas I want to develop reference the dress normal campaign a little more, taking the squares into cuboid formats that would carry the dress normal campaign colors. The idea of the positioning of the content again will be based on 25% proportions but with an expansion of the physical shape taking up 25% of the volume/area of the page.
Interacting with these cubes are potential grid systems that are based on the idea of repetition of the squares used to represent the dress normal campaign colors, or a random analogue squiggle that would be applied after the digital print process to suggest interactivity, freedom and individualism due to the marks made will all be unique.
This resonates with a students individual personality.
Interactivity reflects socializing within freshers week.
Freedom is a tone of voice gap want injecting into there new campaign to improve there current brand image.
The more trend driven aesthetic should hopefully give the brand a more "cool" appearance, something the brief requires, swaying away from the bland dress normal campaign into something a little quirky and abstract but with reference to there past aesthetics through color and the use of squares reference the posters and flyers we have already made to maintain a little consistency.
The process was quite in-depth using illustrator, indesign and photoshop to sort out image editing, vector shapes and type layout. I will be responsible for printing these while elliot sorts the digital inkjet printing I will try out acetate prints on the laser printer.
Small or large grids will be tried out to see what has better aesthetics and allow better use of layout and space when the shapes are added.
Again the page is split int proportions to extend on the 25% proportions and positioning idea.
Flat cuboid shapes and more 3D shapes with detail lines were tried out, the 3D shape has a more tactile feel too it and the 3D depth sways away from the flatness of the current flyers and posters which was a personal requirement of mine and Elliot's.
Additions and reference to the dress normal campaign was added with the consistent use of the color bar to link all the collateral together, and the front face of the cuboid taking on the dress normal campaign colors with darker tones on the sides of the cuboid to support the 3D depth of the design.
The more tighter grid works better, it allows us to position the shapes in a more structured and accurate way positioning them flush with the grid lines.
The idea of opacity was expanded with the addition of trend driven gradients to place the design into a more contemporary tone of voice. More abstract shapes were tried out at this stage to see how they would work but they look a little like paper cut outs, this crafty theme doesn't fit with a fashion brand.
The rest of the dress normal campaign colors were added to the shapes, the tonal differences really aids the presentation of 3D depth.
A grainy texture was added in photoshop using 10% uniform noise, a slight textural addition to aid the tactile 3D depth of the shapes.
To enhance the quirky abstract aesthetic which references a students personality quite well a few warps of the grid system were tried out, the first one added an addition of depth and tactility while the other was just plain confusing and looked awful due to the contrast of curves/waves and angles within the 3D cuboid.
As mentioned the idea expands on the previous posters, still positioning in 25% proportions seen here taking up all 3 quarters of the page and the top horizontal section of the page but now with an addition of scaling of the shapes.
How this works is the first shape takes up a quarter section, the other shapes then reduce in 25% increments and are alternatively positioned in unique layouts, this emulates the feeling of freedom GAP want to inject into there campaigns tone of voice.
Reflections and rotations of these shapes give a better sense of movement and tactility.
At this point I was working between indesign, illusrator and photoshop, putting it all together in indesign but quality was lost this way due to file compressions.
So unfortunately the posters had to be made in Photoshop, not ideal for layout opportunities but the positioning of type was more fluid, using rotations and movement to create unique posters through the positioning of shapes and type.
The printing on acetate offers opportunity of interaction through layering, this idea of interaction reflects the whole freshers experience and socializing in a quirky and abstract way. The idea of clarity, functionality and honesty is expended through the use of clear stock/acetate.
The laser print aids the grainy aesthetic with how the toner sites on top of the surface.
