Journal: Week 9
You know your logo really stinks when you dedicated a web page to justifying it.
NTS - Logo: http://www.nutri-tech.com.au/logo.htm
CREATIVE BRIEF
Adapted from http://www.bbc.co.uk/blast/fivesteps/realitycheck/art_brief.shtml Based on New Logo Design for Nutri-Tech Inc: http://www.it-globalized.com/project_page.aspx?ProjectID=118
What is the purpose of the project?: Redesign Nutri-Tech Solutions’ current logo. Client’s guidelines include retaining the current color scheme of a forest green and to include the symbolic dolphin.
What are your main aims and objectives for creating the piece?: A logo that can convey Nutri-Tech Solutions’ philosophy and promote immediate identification and recall of the organisation.
What’s the theme?: Vibrant, intelligent but with a macho streak.
What you are trying to say?: Nutri-Tech Solutions taps into the abundant resources of the ocean to bring you what the land cannot offer.
How does this project fit into a bigger picture?: The logo is a part of the package that builds brand identity for an organization. It needs to leave a positive and memorable impression on the target market.
Who are your audience?: The “macho rural sector”. This target audience tends to be distantly located from the ocean. To them, the ocean likely seems like an almost mythical place that offers untapped opportunities.
Where is this piece or art or performance going to be seen?: The logo will be used on Nutri-Tech Solutions’ business card, stationery, website and a blown up version would replace the current one in front of their warehouse.
Which art form, medium, technique, materials are you going to use?: Initial sketches will be done on paper, then scanned into the computer for tracing and colored. To give it that macho look, visual elements will consist of hard corners and straight edges and minimal use of curves.
What is the budget?: $100 - 500
Who will be involved? Any collaboration?: The designer will handle all art work related tasks. Standard approval procedures by the client apply.
Will you need any special equipment?: No.
What are the other possible constraints e.g. permission, health and safety issues, copyright and accessibility?: Nothing at the current stage.
What’s the deadline?: If you don’t have a deadline set yourself an imaginary one.
Sent draft ideas by 15th May.
MOCK UPS
Nutri-Tech Solutions’ logo design
Evaluation: There is no immediate connection between the logo and healthy supplements or soil nutrients. I think this is a case where replacing the dolphin with a voluptuous mermaid would have just done the trick.
Visual: Capsule pill with dolphin on one half and the tree of life on the other half.
Evaluation: I’ve decided to make this one simpler and more to the point since the last few attempts offered no immediate recognition of the type of business. I didn’t have any high expectations for it, but I think with some more tweaking it could potentially depict perfectly what Nutri-Tech Solutions is all about, even to those not in the target audience.
MOCK UPS
Round 2!
Visual: The sea goddess riding a wave heading towards land with her minions behind her.
Evaluation: Tsunami = bad. It’s going to be a pretty complex logo with quite a few things going on. Whilst the dolphins are still present in the logo they play a much minor role compared to the first.
PREPARING FOR SPEECH
Everything a creative director should be.
There was a list of what a creative director should come across as in the lecture notes. I decided to use it to prepare for the presentation component of the final assessment, so let’s see how I can demonstrate all of these criteria in the coming presentation.
Energy, excitement: Smile, lots, and don’t stand there like a tree - move a little.
Innovation: Refer to what other or previous campaigns are like, and how this one is different.
Intellectual capacity, knowledge, experience: Say, “this is what we know…†and not “this is what we think…†and refer to the target market and market competitors (and find some research data).
Commitment to the concept: When the client says, “I don’t like it,†nod and ask if it is one particular concern or multiple things instead of asking “Well, what do you want then?â€. Don’t over-defend the concept.
Confidence in oneself and the concept: Must refrain from pointing out any mistakes in the mock up ads that would probably be glossed over (really have to ditch that habit).
Rapport (establish with the client): Incorporate some business speak early on. Or attempt at a joke.
Trustworthiness: Must refrain from saying anything that I can’t guarantee.
MULTI-CHANNEL CAMPAIGN
300
As no one in the group was feeling particularly passionate about any roles, we just randomly assigned roles. I was assigned the role of copywriter, and if I recall correctly everyone got assigned to a role they had no background in.
Most of the group was trying to grasp the plot of the movie whilst trying to come up with concepts. So some initial ideas were less than spectacular – for example “Let’s show some clips from the movie on TV.â€
There weren’t too many creative differences in the group since we were all struggling to come up with ideas as it were. The only disruption that arose was choosing a representative to pitch our ideas, which we managed to solve again by random selection.
WEB
The first idea that popped into everyone’s head when they hear ‘web’ must have been, “Let’s make a website, with free AIM icons, and some sort of game.†The problem of course is when big budget movies get released, they are usually accompanied by a video game release as well. For example, Spiderman, Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings (which has way too many spin offs).
So if the game was to be the star attraction of the web campaign, the solution the creative team delivers had better be really innovative to be able compete with the big boys. Obviously the creative team wouldn’t have the budget/time/expertise to develop anything that even comes close to the grand scale of video games and even a simple web game with high immersion that gets people hooked for a while isn’t really innovative or original.
The alternative here, is to release ‘300’ MODs for pre-existing games. For MMORPGs I’m thinking World of Warcraft and offline ones maybe Age of Mythology or The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (trying to piggy back on the ‘hell’ factor). I have a feeling this implementation will just kill the budget and there would be a lot of legal and copyright issues that needs to be addressed.
I think another suggestion that came up was to tap into the ‘world of mouth’ of online communities and produce spoof images (see above) and have them circulate around the internet to promote interest. This was probably the best approach, as it’s simple, easy to implement and relatively cheap compared to the game idea above.
Concept: Showing off buff men.
Target Market: Females
Publication: Lifestyle publications such as Cleo and Women’s Day.
Concept: Print a page of the movie story board. “See what happens next. 300 [insert release date]â€
Target Market: Males.
Publication: Hobby magazines such as White Dwarf and Dungeon.
TV
Concept: A flip book kind of visual through the story board then cut to scenes from the movie.
Runtime: Late night audience, because of the R rating.
AFTER THOUGHTS
It was brought up in one of the classes early in the semester that to succeed in the industry you have to be a bit of a ‘Jack of all trades’. (and I suspect the ‘Master of none’ part was left out). This week’s lecture demonstrated this by listing some of the ‘trades’, for example the Creative Director has to be able to speak to the print, new media, broadcast media in their language and be the delegate for creative conflicts (which again requires interpersonal skills and charisma).
To the best of my understanding, you need either talent or charisma to get your foot in the door, and it’s the talent that helps you move up the ladder. As you work your way up to the top (this is where you interact with other departments and learn their language), the kind of work you do becomes less creative and more managerial (which is also where the money lies).