Evaluation...

The problem I identified was creating an identity for a specialist vintage shop that only sold fifties clothing and accessories for 18-30 year olds. My original brief stated that I would do the same concept, but also one for the sixties, seventies and eighties, this was an idea I came up with a tutor, however, after talking with peers, they soon pointed out, this would be a ridiculous amount of work. Therefore, I concentrated on the fifties idea.

I created the branding and identity for the 'shop', using a fifties style logo with a modern twist, I then used this logo to transfer it on to my other products, such as gift bags, wrapping paper, receipt envelopes, business card holders, business cards, invitations to the opening of the shop and stickers. I really wanted to print out some kind of lucky bags to be given away at the opening but again, with little time to print, I had to stick to the basics.
I did have some more products I wanted to print, such as boxes, as a means of larger, sturdier packaging than the giftbags which were only ideal for small and light items. A belly band for a jewellery box and some artwork I wanted to create for the shop. However, I missed my printing slot due to illness, and my tutor didn't email me back with advice on printing, so I am incredibly disappointed with my products and the presentation boards.

The presentation boards I created were also disappointing, but this was due to a knock on effect of the packaging. Without the packaging, I could not photograph them to create my boards, and so all of this was done on the deadline day, without a lot of consideration. Again, the quality wasn't fantastic but I can call this my learning curve.

The research was really interesting, as I didn't know a lot about the fifties, and I learnt about all aspects of this decade, which can be seen in the blog. I did begin to research the other decades in the first stages of my project when I was creating four identities, again this was interesting and I learnt an awful lot.
A more useful form of research to my product would be a survey to vintage shoppers, to find out information about preferred packaging, and all manner of shop related questions.

I have learnt a hell of a lot over the past few months in terms of printing processses, before, I would just click print and not give it a second thought, until the print came out and the colours were completely wrong. But with this foundation of knowledge I can begin to control how my work will look, and this will enable me to produce some high quality work.
The seminars about printing were really interesting, however the trip to Team Impression was incredible, and made the things in the seminar I was unclear on, crystal clear.
I have learnt a lot about packaging too, packaging is an area I always shy away from mainly due to the crafting element, at the start of doing the packaging I had a very short fuse with it, but after a lot of determination and the enjoyment of what I was doing, I did take a liking to it, although I am still impatient with folding!

Something I did notice about my work in comparison with others, I didn't exploit the print facilities, although, it boiled down to print what is quickest, I would have liked to really show off my knowledge of print and produce something sexy. Although, some of the techniques would not have been appropriate to my work, as I am creating something 'old' looking so shiny foil would not be appropriate, the name 'Simply Retro' I want to create a sense of simplicity yet elegant, so embossing would maybe not be as fine and detailed.

The things I would consider to help me next time, is a sketchbook. Although I hated doing sketchbooks, they kept me organised and I could keep track of what I was doing.