OUGD403: Studio Brief 3 - Message and Delivery: Distribution.

Brief

You have developed a message/opinion in response to the previous brief. Produce a mail shot that distributes, disseminates and reinforces your message to an appropriate list of recipients. Your resolution should fit within the envelope provided* and be accompanied by a visually appropriate mailing list. You should consider the relation ship between the outside/inside of the envelope and its contents. * You can remake, modify or reproduce the envelope in any other media but the dimensions must remain the same.

Background / Considerations

What do you want to say and how do you want to say it? What language would be appropriate? What visual languages exist that relate to your message and how can you use them. Is the content communicated primarily through type or image? If it is both what is the relationship between the two? What does the mail shot aim to achieve. Does it direct you to a website, encourage you to attend an event, is it interactive or is it self-contained. A limited colour pallet (no more than 2 colours) will allow for the reproduction of your designs across arrange of media. The tone of voice should be appropriate to your message, the context in which it’s intended to be read and the audience to whom your work will be delivered.

For the Previous Brief I had designed 3 posters that communicated the Benefits of having a pet, in which I focused on cats and dogs.

 

Instead of sending out something thats ultimate purpose would be just to reiterate the Information I had already produced, I made the decision to use the mail shot as a way to aid what I had already produced. On the brief it was outlined that we could use it as an opportunity to encourage people to come to an event. I am going to use the mail shot to invite people to an event where they can adopt a pet, offering them a solution to my previous resolutions. 

In order to start brainstorming my ideas, I went onto Pinterest and looked into invite design. I found a lot of interesting designs with a range of visuals, however I pinned the ones in which were most relevant to my design.
http://pinterest.com/geeloveslola/message-and-delivery-distribution/

From the selection on here there were three in particular in which inspired by initial design. 

http://pinterest.com/pin/333547916121797199/

Using a photograph as a backdrop which would be relevant to my subject matter, and placing information in a shape over the top in order to create focus. 

http://pinterest.com/pin/333547916121797177/

Developing from the idea above I liked the circle shape used in this particular design in order to create a focal point in which text has been placed.

http://pinterest.com/pin/333547916121809775/

I have seen the ribbon motif used quite regularly in invite design, and I think its a prominent way of representing something special and celebration. 

Taking dimensions from the envelope, I wanted to create a publication in which would fit almost seem to seem lengthways and fold in half. I order for my mailshot to exhibit similarities in design to my posters I will follow the same design principles, using black and white photography and my original illustrations. At the start of this brief I said I would not use the mail shot to simply reiterate what I have said. I will however input the facts from my poster into my design, adding another, in order to remind my viewers/ readers of the health benefits of owning a pet.

I have noticed in many companies that advocate the adoption of animals that the sole focus is to convince their viewers of their intentions via provoking sympathy. This can be seen in commercial adverts by those such as the RSPCA. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsnOxmp7zbM&feature=relmfu

However for my project, I had different intentions, I wanted to convince people to adopt pets not only to improve their lives or health, but to also improve that of the pets they were to adopt. And so as the advert for the RSPCA focuses on the pets voice, I will do this via black and white photography, However also show the happier, lighthearted side through my previous illustrations, in order to resemble the pets and owners lives almost, before and after adoption. 

I am planning to use one photograph on the front of the invite and one on the back. I am also considering continuing the same theme on my envelope design in order for them to appear a set.

I have not done much photography and none with animals apart from taking pictures of my own cat Lola, of which I will use in this project in order to try and keep the design as original as possible.

On the left is the photo I have chosen of Lola, and on the right, i have turned the saturation all the way down, so the photo is solely black and white and added a warming filter in order to replicate the finish of photography from my posters.

 

Size has also been edited in order to fit the dimensions of the invite.

As I had done with the posters, I lowered the opacity and placed it onto a black background so that It was coherent with the posters I had designed previously. Adding bars above and below the photograph to further match this. 

I then began to design and add the circle motif in which would hold all of the necessary information about the event. I had to think of the style in which I would write the invite that would bring people in and make them want to adopt a pet. And so I tried to write my invite with the idea in mind that the strongest emotion that connects humans to humans or humans to anything is love. 

I liked in the design how the circle of information covered up the cats mouth, as it almost echoes the idea that animals don't have a voice, and we are in fact what speaks for them. When looking at my design so far I wanted it to link more so to my original posters and so I decided to us the font I had created to write 'Adopt a pet' which would be split and written above and below the circle.

For the final part of my design I will manipulate the previous illustrations (cat and dog) I have done and place them so that they are pointing upwards toward the information almost showcasing this. The use of illustration will also combat the idea of provoking too much sympathy, In result making the event also seem quite light hearted and making the invites concurrent with the posters.

I want to finish the invite design by adding the ribbon motif which I have seen on other invite designs in order to commemorate the idea of a special day and celebration. However, seeing that the layout is quite functional and symmetrical I don't particularly want to detract from this. One Idea I had was to arrange the ribbon so that it cut through the circle, highlighting the text inside appearing from the top edge of the invite. I will layer this on top in black and decrease the opacity to 35% in order to create a more transparent light grey colour. 

Looking at my final design I felt like there was something not quite right, i felt like with the invite particularly that the use of a black backdrop took away from the photograph and Instead white would accentuate this feature more. I also though that there was too much black in reference to trying to create a more light hearted piece, and so I will change the bottom layer to white.

I think that using the white suits my intentions more, the black I felt accentuated the serious side of the piece too much, whereas using white plays with the more light hearted theme I was trying to portray.

On the back I wanted to play with the same elements I had on the front, again using black and white photography, illustrations with the same fonts and circle layout, however I wanted to put more of an emphasis on health, to justify the connection with my posters. I have decided to use the circle to highlight the facts which I wrote on my posters:

'Owning a cat reduces the chance of dying from heart disease and stroke'

'3O Minutes with your pet will make you feel less stressed'
I also chose to write another fact which I chose from the same info graphic as the above two as points are always more powerful when they are written in 3's.

'On average those who own a pet, live 2 years longer than those who don't'

(http://www.infographicsarchive.com/new-infographic/infographic-how-saving-a-pet-might-just-save-your-life/)

I will put these inside the signature white circle so that the design coheres with the front.

In terms of photography, I wanted to use an image of a dog, of which unfortunately I have none. I wanted to emphasise the idea of health further, and so went in search of a dog jumping in the air on a walk, As walking with a dog is one of the factors that makes those who own a cat or dog healthier than those who dont. To also reflect the idea of walking a dog and again balance out the photography I will include into the design the illustration I created for my poster of an owner walking their dog.

Here is the image I found of a dog jumping in the air on the left and it edited to match the previous images on the right.

 

      (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3319/3578048015_ccf8e25b89_o.jpg)

I want to finish the piece by adding the words 'for life' in the font I created which I used on the previous side. The use of 'for life' not only plays on the idea 'A dog is for life, not just for christmas' made famous by the Dogs trust, but I wanted it to represent that to adopt a dog or any pet, would be better for life. Pro life. I will place this above the circle in order to balance out the illustration underneath.

I have added the low opacity banner to further match the front.

Here are the final designs for both the front and back of the invite.

I had found the event to base my mail shot upon on www.petco.com. The event which takes place at the store itself, was a nationwide occasion, one therefore being held all over the country in different locations. I wanted to create something that would help visitors be directed to the event, however, sending the mail shot out all over the country Wouldn't have enough room/ it would be un functional to write down every address of every store. Instead I found the website for this pet shop had a store locator (http://www.petco.com/content/locator/Search.aspx) In which you are able to find the store nearest to your own home or location.

When thinking of how to design this small card, I knew I wanted to keep it simple with it being such a small space. Again I wanted to use some kind of image/ photography relevant to the subject matter. I thought of an idea of using Atlas maps however I wanted something more simple, yet with the same initial idea. Here I settled on the idea of using topography As my background.
Below Is an image of topography I found which I liked, and underneath are the colours inverted to cohere with the colours of the invite.

 

             Bradley Sykes: Huddersfield University.

I will use the same bars on the posters and invite of the mail shot to keep coherency.

I will also use the same circle design to hold the information needed to access the store locator, reversing the colour in order to create contrast from the background image. 

(Design ends around shape of card)

Information in circle needs to tell viewers:

1. The purpose - Where to find us?
2. To use the store locator.

3. Give Website.

Design also uses same ribbon motif with colour reversed.

In order to finish the front of the design, I wanted to again associate it more clearly with the rest of the mail shot, alike to the strategy used for the invite. The dog illustration displays the information on the invite with open arms, I want to use the same design and method on this piece.

Final Design: Front of where to find us card.

For the back of the design I wanted to keep the same simple, functional format. I wanted to use an image that those who saw the card, could use to identify with PetCo. I thought the most functional way to do this would be to place a photograph (clear indication) of the store on the back of the card. Using the same style (saturation and filters) as the photography on my other pieces.

(http://westchester-commons.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Petco.jpg)

Again Adding this to my familiar format (white background and black bars above and below image) I will add the same illustrations used on the front of my invite to portray coherency and again balance out the serious side with the playful and lighthearted.

The last item in my mail shot Is something more involving for the reader. The concept is to create a simple tag like product that can be tied around either a cat or a dogs neck to indicate that the recipient wants to adopt a certain pet. I want the design to be simple and functional, with a similar visual replication of an animal collar.

This piece will attempt to create more of a relationship between a potential owner and pet, detailing the name of the owner and the name they had given their pet. This will be written in first person in order to provoke personal voice and sympathy, a strategy popular within animal adoption. On the other side there will be a design to try persuade perspective owners to adopt. The tag that holds the information with use the same circle design as seen above adapted to this pieces intentions.

 

For the right aligned design, I had used a maximum of three Typefaces, two of which I have used previously in the mail shot. Myriad pro (centre) is the typeface I have used for all body copy and Tondu beta (below) is the base font I built upon for my originally designed typeface, used on my three posters and the invite.

I will place this tag design on ribbon as ribbon is easy to manipulate and tie, it is secure when being worn by an animal, and it is also low cost. I was advised in my last crit to use colour and so I will use red ribbon - red as my second colour, as I find it is most impacting when used with black and white and it is also a neutral colour.

 

Finally I wanted to design the envelope to tie the whole mail shot together. Again following the same format on the front of the envelope I placed a black bar at the top and bottom of the layout in which between I will place a photo I found of a melancholy dog, which plays on the serious side of pet adoption. I will again edit this image in photoshop, reducing the saturation to O and adding a warming filter.  

(http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs8/i/2005/323/1/c/Sad_Dog_by_Lostdreamsofme.jpg)

I have also focused in on the dogs eye, as this is the most emotive and sympathy provoking focal point within the image. The opacity will be lowered in order to cohere with the rest if the mail shot.

I will put the Address inside the circle design I have used throughout this designing process. Which I will centre align in the middle of the envelope. 

I want to again balance out the serious with the light hearted and so I will add two of my original illustrations in order to improve the tone. I will make a new illustration of a dog, of which will peek around the top of the circle containing the address. The illustration will be of contrast to the photograph as I want to create a balance between the two tones. 

On the reverse of the envelope I will use one of the original illustrations. An owner holding hands with his dog. The lack of lead, and more of a human lead interaction, plays on the heartstrings of the views more as this kind of behaviour is what they understand and are adapted to, it almost recreates the idea of holding a child's hand.

In order to finish the design I want to add an emblem that will resonate the importance of the information enclosed. Instead of opting for something alike to an 'Important' stamp. I wanted to find a design more sympathetic to the overall theme and subject matter. To show my appreciation and consideration for the rest of the mail shot I added a belly bar with the same conventions of the ribbon on the rest of the pieces. Black, opacity at 35% same width, however extended to conform to the appropriate length needed for a belly bar. To further add special detail I wanted to add a paw print stamp that would overlap the closure/fastening of the envelope. I found that the way to display importance through this method was to design a stamp that would imitate that of traditional wax stamps. Using an image I found online as a template:

(http://www.psdgraphics.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/wax-seal-icon.jpg)

I created the stamp in illustrator designing within the colour requirements and adding tone through change and multiple opacity. layering strokes with a calibre of strokes and depth.

When considering printing and stock, I had found a great paper, and though it was quite expensive it was the most appropriate paper I had found to print invites on. The paper had a linen effect which breathed importance and elegance.

I printed the invite out on this specific paper shown below:

I then continued to print the envelopes out onto white card. It wasn't untill after I had done this that I realised we were to print all our resolutions on the same stock. Not being able to afford the A3 linen paper as the a4 pack was already £8, and not being able to throw away and reprint the invites I had already printed on white card due to the price I had paid for the linen paper, I had no choice but to find A3 paper that would as best as it could match the colour and texture of the linen paper. 

I printed on antique white paper, which had a similar texture, however Its colour was slightly darker, this at the time was the closest match I could find to the linen paper. After I had printed these I then saw another pupil printing on watercolour paper, the watercolour paper again had a similar texture however it was lighter and an almost match to the linen paper I had bought. However when I printed onto the watercolour paper, the colours became distorted with a different marking pattern and a green tinge to any grey hues. 

And so for the crit I will take my work printed on the antique white paper as it is my closest match. 

i have printed my where to find us tags and collar replicas onto the linen paper in order to stay within the lines of the brief. 

I also had to create a mailing list which further helped me to consider my audience and who would be the recipients of my mail shot. I wanted to send my mail shot to people who would then inform others and distribute my message further. For the mailing lists I had to think of 5 recipients, including college that would be the correct audience for my mail shot. 

My first address was obviously Leeda college of Art followed by The dogs trust whom I thought could distribute the message further as they already have a vital focus on the rehoming of dogs. I also added The Willows medical centre to the list ( a doctors in my home town) whom I thought would benefit form the mal shot as I am also promoting better health. I have provisionally sent it to a cat breeder, who again I thought could further promote the event. And then the RSPCA another organisation whom prides themselves on rehoming animals. 

Having to also presents the mailing list visually I began to think of ways in which I could tie it in with the rest of the project. I would again use photography, which I would apply filters to. Make use again of the bars above and below the image, and write the addresses in the circle format which has homed all of the information outputted across my mail shot. I will also add the low opacity ribbon for coherency. 

Below is the image of a postbox I found that worked well semantically with the idea of a mailing list.

And again the image with saturation decreased to zero and a warming filter.

(http://3dsc.facennafineart.com/ModoPosts/PillarBox/pillarbox.jpg)

Below are the 5 addresses inside the circle design applied to the image and original format.

Again I wanted to add an illustration that would balance out the photography. To inkeep with the theme of post I took inspiration for my original dog illustration. Changing the perspective as If I was viewing the dog from the back, I have drawn him with a sack of post reaching up to the pillar to post his letters (mail shot) on top of a mound of snow he has built in order to stand on. Which reflects the backdrop of the photograph.

Below are my final pieces of the mail shot.