Project Report

Presentation Boards

Finished Products/Photoshoot

With everything printed and assembled, I was ready to use the lighting kit to photograph my final products. I was quite nervous as it was the first time that I had set up and used the equipment by myself, but it was relatively successful.

The Setup!

Difficulties:

• I couldn't rent out a proper back drop, so I had to construct a makeshift one from multiple pieces of A2 photocopy paper (and edit out the overlap lines in photoshop)
• At first the lights didn't sync together, so one side of the photograph was really dark, but after a few adjustments it started to work properly
• I am TERRIBLE at focusing cameras. Some of my images came out slightly more blurry than expected but there were a few crisp ones there
• Looking at the final photos, the level and accuracy of lighting differs between some of the images. It may have helped to use a tripod to keep things consistent

Reflection

I am so pleased with the level of professionalism I have managed to achieve within my final products. Although I did plan to include more items such as an activity book and a poster, I believe that the postcards, stickers and books above work really well together and don't give off an 'overwhelming' impression with there being too much to digest. Despite there being some minor errors such as the black lines being left on the box and the backs of the postcards being mixed up, I am happy that I have been able to produce an illustrative based product that would help to serve an important purpose in helping young adults improve their mindset and wellbeing.

Finished Product: Positive Pack

Final Designs

I have finished my final designs ready to print tomorrow, I am so pleased with them! I would've developed additional products to go inside the box if I would have had more time, for example a poster and an activity book, although I am content with the existing items and believe that they work really effectively.

I decided to name my final product the 'Positive Pack', as alliteration always adds extra effect, and it is short, sweet and memorable.

Alongside printing the designs and constructing the products, I also aim to create mock-ups of a further range of products that could be developed outside of the positive pack. This could include tote bags, cushions, pin badges etc, although I am slightly apprehensive about this concept as I don't want the brand to become too 'commercialised' and for consumers to develop a sort of 'showy' attitude. Not that this would happen, but for example I would be upset if the purpose of 'self-care' was defeated by aspects of narcissism e.g. fishing for likes on instagram by taking a selfie with a low crop top and push up bra WITH the pattern I have designed on a phone case. That does sound a bit cliche and extreme but I have seen it happen before so many times. I wouldn't have a problem with people potentially sharing the products on social media, as long as the principle of self-care remained the main principle and aspect.

Anyway, here are my final designs

Final Crit

Unfortunately I didn't have a great deal to show at the final crit as my print slot is tomorrow and I haven't completed my design boards. However I almost have everything finalised and was able to gain some constructive feedback.

I'm really overwhelmed with all the positive comments I received! It gave me such a boost to hear people saying that they would want one of the packs for themselves. Someone suggested that I try out some embroidery techniques within this project which is is something that I hadn't really thought about before, but it could potentially work? However I wouldn't have time to complete anything before the deadline.

In the mini group presentation I was able to communicate clearly and effectively about the journey of my project and explain why and how I have got to the stage that I am. The ways in which my presentation could be improved are:

• Choosing a name! We thought about 'Chin-up', 'Positivity Pack' and a few others- I will need to decide ASAP
• The target audience is a bit foggy. I had to explain that I wanted it to be for people our age and for those slightly younger/older (mostly students in destress) 
• I could possibly look at having text on other products rather than just patterns

For tomorrow (print slot) I need to come up with a name for the pack, I'm thinking 'Positivity/Positive Pack' might be a suitable option. I also need to make the stickers and put the colouring pages into InDesign, which won't take too long.
At this stage, I have realised that creating an additional activity and poster for the pack isn't realistically achievable, however I am feeling confident about the contents of the box as it stands, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes well in the print dungeon tomorrow...