EVALUATION - Champneys

I have worked with Steph in previous years, creating successful outcomes, and therefore we decided to undertake another brief this year. Mine and Steph's skill sets and interests differ quite drastically. She is used to working digitally with websites and apps and has quite a deep hatred for packaging, which is something that I love. However, we felt that this was in fact an ideal starting point, as it would also us to produce something varied - printed products supported by a website for example. I always learn new things when working with Steph. She is extremely competent on Photoshop, a programme that I had hardly used until now. She taught me a lot in terms of layout and shortcuts, and because of this, I have now been using it to produce the final boards for all of my briefs.

I also feel that I helped her strengthen her skills on Illustrator, working with digital scans and showing her how to add colour, using different brushes and tools. Whilst we were always together when working on this brief, we used our individual skill sets to produce something that we were really proud of. It gave us both the chance to work within areas that we wouldn't usually place ourselves, whilst also allowing us to show off our abilities, which is why I feel we work together extremely effectively and efficiently.

For the research side to this brief, I decided to undertake a large range of primary research, specifically focusing on packaging and existing Champney’s products. I felt that as I was most focused on this aspect of the design, I wanted to gain a strong understanding of what was needed to target a younger audience in order to inform my development and decisions. This also allowed me to see where improvements needed to be made to the Champney’s branding. From this, I was able to relay my findings to Steph and we could then collectively work on visuals. This research was paramount, as much more contemporary branding really stood out on the shelves, and certain aspects such as colour and illustration made it clear who the products were targeted at.

Pattern and packaging design was evidently my strong point during this brief, creating bold, fresh and exciting visuals that looked high end and unique but also affordable. I feel that the new packaging range was a really strong way to entice a younger market, whilst making them aware of the importance of staying healthy through the inclusion of informative leaflets.

In terms of weaknesses, I feel that the digital elements of the brief really let us down in terms of consistency. Although as a stand-alone outcome the blog and app are really effective ways of targeting a younger generation to engage with a brand, I feel that the design differs too much from the packaging, which really stands out. If we were to revisit this, I would want to try and incorporate more elements from the print based products into the digital outcomes.