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MY PRINTED PROMOTIONAL PACKAGE

This is my printed promotional pack, consisting of three business cards, two post cards, brand statement, a look book/press release and a poster advertising the opening event. These were all printed at Hobs, a stones throw away from our studio, using only FSC paper, and vegetable oil based inks. The environmentally aware ethos that Hobs have perfectly complimented our ethos, thus working with them seemed like the best idea.

The papers are good quality, as are the finishes that I chose. I wanted to ensure that the printed material showed the brands mid-high end position, and using quality materials was essential to show this.

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CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN COLE AND I

Cole and I decided to keep up to date with each other over facebook when we were not in sessions when we had new ideas or needed to catch up on work and what we had both done. This was, in my opinion, an easy and practical way to communicate. We were able to send pictures, and comunicate ideas to eachother and give instant feedback. Unfortunately, Cole deactivated her account in January, so I do not have much proof of correspondence during the first part of the module.

Cole has been amazing to work with, both our styles worked well together and I believe we were both confident enough to push each other out of our comfort zones. This project was something totally new for me, but I think that the bold/graphic style is true to my personal style, and Coles influence is evident throughout.

We both had active parts within eachothers ‘strand’ too, I helped design the skirt, and she helped me during the shoot, and was great at helping find a model whilst I was on an educational trip to Berlin.

We both were a little dormant during December-January due to other projects, but we were supportive, positive and driven enough to complete what we set out to do and create, what I think, is a unique concept for a sustainable fashion brand.

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FINAL BRANDING BOARD

I decided to make a board talking about promoting and advertising Blok Studio! I was going to do these on separate boards but they managed to fit onto one rather nicely and both link with each other.

This board and the two prior will be submitted digitally to reduce paper and ink usage.

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PROMOTING THE BRAND

Because Blok Studio is a brand based in Leeds, we understand the importance of promoting online, but choosing the right place/way to promote is key. We plan on approaching these three prestigious sustainable fashion blogs to include a short feature about our brand. To do this, we will send them a free garment, and let the blogger evaluate and describe the brand. This is the perfect way to reach our rather niche customer.

These blogs also have a contemporary outlook on eco conscious fashion, perfect for our brand.

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X2 BRANDING BOARDS 

Here I have designed two branding boards, one consisting of typography, colour palette and the use of the colour palette in the tags, the other consisting of digital media, showing web and app designs. These boards, although full, do not look cluttered or too busy. The short paragraphs/couple of sentences explain each image in enough detail. I plan on creating another 2-3 boards covering the rest of the guidelines.

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FINAL EDITED IMAGES

Here are all eight of the final edited images from the shoot. There is a consistent theme in each piece. The skirt is always the stand out feature of each image, and I have the model positioned in a range of ways to ensure the theme does not become monotonous. Cole helped with the shoot, and provided the vegan leather shoes, and came up with the idea of using the chair which, in my opinion, is the strongest image out of the set.

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PRESS RELEASE/LOOK BOOK HYBRID

After deciding to compile my look book and press release into one printed ‘zine like’ piece, I drafted a simple template in inDesign, and added in the text, images and logo. The final outcome is a simple but bold document, with a strong Blok Studio! appearance. This will be printed and bound at Hobs.

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FINAL BRAND STATEMENT

Unfortunately, Cole (my partner) gave me no feedback on the brand statement, so this is all of my written work.  I have formatted the text in a simple way, using the grid graphic to tie the document in with the rest of the branding pieces. This will be folded in a simple manner with two folds. The first impression will be of a ‘leaflet’ like printed piece (shown in the second image. This will be printed at Hobs.

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POSTCARDS

Here a created two A5 sized post cards in inDesign. I used photoshoot images, added the grid graphic and logo, and the outcome is a simple but visually striking reversible post card. These will be printed at Hobs.

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EVENT POSTER

I created a quick mock up poster that advertises the opening event of Blok Studio! at the Corn Exchange in Leeds. This  would be a perfect place to start the brand, as many of the shops there are independently run with an eco conscious ethos.

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FINAL WEBPAGE AND APP DESIGN

Using photoshop art-boards, I used two pre-set canvas in the screen size of an iPhone plus and a Macbook pro to draft my web and app designs. I followed a minimal aesthetic, similar to that of Clothsurgeon and Maxjenny! web designs, but executed them in a Blok Studio! manner, with grid patterns and bold images throughout.

Using photoshop, I then added these designs to an image of the device for a better visual, and these will be added to my branding boards

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BRANDING BOARD TEMPLATES AND INITIAL IDEA

I am using a template to ensure that my branding boards follow a consistent theme that is true to the brand's visual aesthetic. I am not going to print out my branding boards to save on ink and paper and be more ecological.

The grid design ensures that there is negative ‘thinking’ space on the board, as I plan to really fill the main canvas with imagery and information.

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BUSINESS CARDS

Here I have designed a cohesive set of business cards using a pre set on inDesign. I refrained from adding the grid like graphic to the front of the card and let the eye focus on the photoshoot images and logo. The graphic has, however, been added to the back of the card to ground the text and add some detail. 

I plan on getting these cards printed at Hobs. I have never printed business cards before so I may have created them in the wrong format, but I will see when I get to the reprographics team.

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PROMOTIONAL INSTAGRAM PAGE

I decided to create an Instagram page to promote Blok Studio!, give an insight into new collections, inspirations, projects, and lookbook images. I have used an app to make these images large and punchy, and give a different look compared to most company Instagram pages.

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WEB DESIGN RESEARCH

I have researched a range of sustainable fashion brand websites and the two that stood out, to me, were maxjenny! and clothsurgeon. both follow a minimal aesthetic with the entire focus being on a photo shoot image. I plan on applying a similar tactic when mocking up my web design.

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FURTHER PRESS RELEASE DEVELOPMENT

I have decided to combine my lookbook and press release into one magazine like printed piece. I will compose this on inDesign, and print it at Hobs. These printers use FSC paper and vegetable oil based inks, and all of their pieces are professional looking. Because the press release is going to be the initial impression, I need to make sure that it looks professional, thus using a professional, eco conscious reprographics company less than a mile away from our ‘hub’.

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PHOTOSHOOT

I stuck to my original plans for the shoot. The minimal aesthetic throughout ensures that the skirt is the stand out piece. The other garments work well with the skirt, and the shoes are vegan leather Doc Martens, eco-friendly. The yellow contrast stitch works well with the colour scheme, as does the red lip.

I have nine images that I edited. I toyed with the contrast, saturation, hue and lightness, and applied the same effect to each image to ensure they are a coherent set. I also edited the skin to make sure that the models face is flawless.

The final images are strong, but not too busy, ensuring that the skirt takes ‘center stage’. I will use these throughout my promotional pieces.