Market Research of Fragrance

We were given a task to conduct research around Nottingham on perfumes. We decided we wanted to create a home fragrance and aim it at the target audience of the male consumer. We found a few ideas that we thought would be good, such as it being a spray fragrance, maybe in the form of a 'paper weight' so that it is disguised. Maybe adding gadgets or humour into the product. We came to the conclusion that if we are working to make a product for straight males then it would be a good idea to work with an already existent brand i.e. Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren or an Interior company. If we are going for the gay males then we could create our own niche brand. We are however are going to create questionnaires to hand out to males to get there opinions. As we already know some male consumers we are aware that men do use fragrance and house fragrance things such as pot-pourri.

In Jo Malone they said that there most popular fragrance for men was the Citrus smells. Also most males packaging seems to be black, blue and red. The bottles seem to be square or rectangular. Also following themes of sport, army and exercise (energy).

Solange - Taste Maker

The other day we had a lecture on Taste Makers. Then given a task to choose our own and present them to the rest of the seminar group.

Solange Knowles
The Queen of clashing prints. She mixes colour and print to make the most perfect outfits. She is very unique and not afraid to experiment. She has recently become the new face of 'Madewell'. "No one pulls off a style mix quite like Solange" said the brand.

"When it comes to fashion everything Solange touches turns to Technicolour goodness". This quote is about her recent collaboration with Puma. She teamed with Puma to be their creative director on what is "Pumas best look-book to date".

Choosing a good/bad print example

In a recent seminar we were given a variety of publications from magazines to lookbooks and to students work. We were told to chose one that we thought was good and one that we though was bad. We was judging them on there layout, including size, font, paper, colour and the object response.

 The one that I chose that I liked was from Paul Smith. This is a Spring/Summer Lookbook from 2002. I said that I liked the use of negative space over a double page spread. As it was white it highlighted the vibrant colours used in the photography, which therefore means that your eye is drawn to each of these images. (As you can see below)

The example I have chosen which was bad is from Julie Goodwin, I thought that it was too complicated, the whole thing was large to open and hard to read. This type of print is likely to get damaged easily and as a reader you are unsure what to look at first.

I am looking at layout.

 

Our first project this term is to do a leaflet using Indesign and the photos we took whilst in New York. I have never used Indesign before so it will be good to get used to that programme. I was also very happy with the photos that I took whilst I was in New York and think they will look great in a leaflet. To start off I have been looking at layouts in magazines I like such as I-D, Vogue, Elle and Dazed and Confused. The magazines are so inspiring and I still favour print over digital. For the next couple of weeks I will be working on that project as well as having lectures and seminars on marketing. I am also buying the books on this terms reading list, ready to get them read.

It really is time for Module 2 - Creative Networks

The time has come to start Module 2 - Creative Networks. This will last for my second term at University. Once I have completed this module, I will have finished my first year here. I can't believe that! It really has gone by fast and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I am excited for this term as we get to create and launch our own perfume. We even get to collaborate with product design to bring our perfume to life. I have got my journal ready to get started and we will see where this journey takes me.

Marni - A Brand Zine

After a long time and hard work, I finally finished my brand zine, I am really proud of this piece of work as I put so much into it. I have published it on Issuu.com which is a publishing site. I also got it printed out and I am very happy with the way I got it printed, it's in the form of a booklet on semi-gloss paper, I wanted it to feel like a magazine but with more of a hand-made feel.

A link to my Brand Zine - Marni

A link to my final PDF file - Visual Awareness

Prowsed - The Future

I am looking forwards to working on my blog this year, and posting lots of new outfits! These are some of the outfits I have already posted this year! I am very happy with my blog and can't wait to do more with it!

New York Part 3

Thursday we spent the day in Williamsburg and Brooklyn, it was really lovely to see a different side of New York and I loved all of the graffiti and stickers. It was really nice to take a look around some vintage shops as these are the sorts of places you can't go to in another country as they are all so different. hen we went to the Brooklyn Museum to see the Jean Paul Gaultier Exhibition, which I have to say was truly the most beautiful and amazing Exhibition I have ever seen, it keeps you very interested and all the pieces of clothing and photography were just perfect.Some of the mannequins had faces projected on them, and they were interactive, some spoke, sang or just blinked, it was fascinating. If you get the chance to see this show you should definitely check it out, I heard that it is coming to London soonish? So you don't have to fly over to america to see it! We also headed to Soho again after this for a bit more shopping which included Bloomingdales and Topshop, where I actually met Lucy Hale, I was starstruck and she was so friendly. Then of course we went back to Times Square at night. It was another wonderful day. 

New York Part 2

My last day in New York was like an attempt to fit everything else we wanted to do in one day, of course this meant we was rushing around everywhere and getting lost. We started off the day at a design studio in Soho, where we where told tips about the industry and of course we was showed the work of the graphic designers who work there, it was all wonderful and a great experience to see and actual studio in New York that would be amazing. Then we headed to the High Line, which was a really lovely walk. We then headed to Chelsea Market, which again was amazing, from little cupcake shops to delis, it was such a lovely place to see. Whilst we was on our way to the Upper East Side, we stopped at Grand Central Station which was one of my favourite things of the trip, it really was just like the films, and even more beautiful than I had ever thought. Then up to the Upper East Side we went. This was my attempt to pretend to be in Gossip Girl, but really it felt nothing like it, it was beautiful with designer shops though.As the Upper East Side is so close to Central Park, we headed there next, it was all snowy and foggy due to the weather, but it still looked like a dream, a winter wonderland, and even Alice was there. (That being the Alice In Wonderland statue).Last but not least we went to The Museum of Modern Art, which was free on a Friday night, the only problem with this was that I've never seen a Museum so full, I started getting claustrophobic, which I have never experienced before and it wasn't nice. Though once it died down a bit, I started to enjoy the art work, especially that of Andy Warhol.We also ate food at Chipolte which I love the food there, ever since I had it when I went to London. Our day was packed and we was so tired by the end. The next day we did actually get a little time to do things so we headed for pancakes for breakfast at Ruby Tuesday and then around Times Square to see it in the day, then back to the coach and a six hour flight home. Overall the experiences was amazing, I had the best time.

New York Part 1

So I arrived Monday and was so tired so we only had a quick walk around, it was so cold I can't actually believe it! The next day we woke up early and ready for the day ahead! We had a bit of time before going out on a group activity and so we headed up to Macy's and had a look round. It was a beautiful store and you can imagine how much money could be spent here. It was nice to see and I bought a Macy's oven glove. Then as our group activity we went to the Fashion Institute Of Technology, here we went to a 'sort of lecture' with a women from the Perfume course there, she taught us about different scents and basic information, it was very interesting to see the laboratory and to see their style of teaching, compared to ours. We also went to the museum there and saw the 'Trendology' exhibition, which was beautiful.Heading down to Fifth Avenue, this is full of designer shops, it's great to view all the visual merchandising and to have a little shop, Tiffany's was such a stunning shop, and of course there is the apple store completely made out of glass heading underground for the store.Next up was Empire State Building, Oh wow! This was a truly beautiful experience, and probably my favourite of the whole trip, if you ever visit New York, this should be at the top of your list. The view is incredible and it's basically just a wonderful thing to see! With Times Square being down the road from our hotel, it was only right we had to go here (every night). This is a wonderful place to go to shop and sightsee, I really don't think that any pictures give it justice, because you really need to be there, the coca cola sign was my favourite, and of course a trip to M&M world was on the map as well as Hard Rock Cafe and many more!Then we see the famous red steps, it was very cool walking to the top and having a look round to take some photos, it was such a perfect experience.We had dinner at Mcdonalds with the extra large portions and the day was a great success, I can't believe how much we got done in each day whilst we were there, it has to be the most tiring trip I have ever been on, but of course one of the best.

Prowsed

prowsed

I have been posting on my blog for almost two years now, and it's something that I enjoy very much. From the photography to the styling, I just feel its the most perfect place to express myself. At the end of the year I did a post called 'A Year In Outfits' were I put together my favorite outfits I had posted over the year, I can see an improvement in my blog and can't wait to continue it.

Brand Zine Inspirations

Before starting my brand zine, I wanted to look at other examples for inspirations. We had a seminar in which we looked at previous examples of work, I was amazed with how good they were, but also excited to start my own. I then researched around on Google images and Pinterest and found some other beautiful examples. I wanted to show the ones that inspired me the most.

Marni Images

As I showed the pictures I loved from my Ted Baker research, I also wanted to show the pictures from my Marni research. I have to admit I have found a new love with Marni, everything about the brand is just beautiful and amazing. Everything I found out about them I was impressed, and their use of imagery is just perfect. I also included some that are not from the brand but represent the brand.

Ted Baker Images and Moodboard

Whilst I completed my Ted Baker research, I came across some beautiful imagery that I wanted to share in my journal. I also worked with one of my parters to make 'The Then' moodboard, which was to show the British heritage of the brand and it's roots with menswear.

Marni Research

This page shows some of my Marni Research.

Ted Baker Research

This page was just to show the some of the research that I had done for Ted Baker. I was great to do in-depth research into a brand as I had never done it before. I will be sure to do this in the future, even if it isn't for a project. 

Ted Baker Poster/Leaflets

As part of our Ted Baker presentation I had to create a promotional poster and a leaflet to be given out at the event. These are what I came up with. I feel they represent the Ted Baker brand perfectly as well as fitting into the theme of our new concept of the make-up line and launch. I was proud of these and had them printed out for the final presentation, we gave out the leaflets and held up the poster. We also gave the lecturers gift bags which would be given out at the event as well. Overall I feel the presentation went very well, and each member of my group was very proud of the work we had produced.

Burberry

Greg Stogden - The Senior Vice President Of Creative Media at Burberry did a guest lecture at our University. In these pages I wanted to show the notes of what I had learnt as everything he said and showed was so inspiring. It made me wish I had his job and looked like he was living the dream live, going to all these fashion shows and organising media. There is so much more I would love to know, so I went on to research my own information of the shows and events he told us about. They were so beautiful that I had to have pages showing the beautiful imagery.

Marni Store Research

Whilst I was in London, I didn't get the chance to visit the Marni store, due to the fact that I was still deciding which brand I wanted to focus my zine on. After much research and consideration I decided to go with Marni. I wanted to do a brand that I was not familiar with, so that everything I found out was new to me and to help me gain more fashion knowledge. I started off my research by looking at the store and concessions in London, which are truly beautiful. Then I went on to look at the rest of the stores around the world. Doing this meant that I was able to see the consistency of there stores and that from London to Hong Kong, all the stores are very brand aware.

Club To Catwalk

Also, whilst in London, we had the chance to visit other places. It was suggested that we went to the 'Club To The Catwalk' exhibition at the V&As. I found it very interesting and the clothing was so beautiful. Sometimes it makes me wish that I was able to visit these clubs and wear these clothes when they were first produced and also feel the atmosphere of the 1980s.

Ted Baker Store Research

When we went on our trip to London with University, we have to do research in the brand we had chosen for our brand presentation. As our group chose Ted Baker, we went to the store and visited some of the concessions. We found that the Visual Merchandising was the main attraction of the store and everything was kept clean and all in the right places. The concessions were not as serious in their standards as the flagship store, however they all seemed to follow the same sort of theme around all of the Ted Baker stores.

Pal Hansen

A wonderful photographer named Pal Hansen, came to do a guest lecture at my university. Therefore I decided to do a page on what he spoke about and include some of his work. I was amazed with how many celebrities he had had the chance to work with and also that he actually went to Nottingham Trent University. It gave me real courage for my future and I started to believe that I can achieve the things that I thrive for in life. It was great to see his body of work, as I love photography it was nice to see his thoughts behind each of his projects.

Moodboard Developments

For this page I wanted to show my developments of my moodboard's, I tried various different styles. In the end I went with the large picture of Natalie Portman, this is because I feel the picture represents the brand very well. With her being a powerful figure and looking luxury and supporting the heritage of the brand, I thought it was ideal. My feedback was to add more pictures that were associated with the brand but not from the brand itself, therefore for my final submission piece, I will include these types of images.

The Then and The Now of Bottega Veneta

This page shows my research from The Then and The Now, we had to express both of these elements in our moodboard. I used this information whilst presenting my moodboard. I also found it very interesting looking into the past of a brand I had not previously heard of.