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Objective

To develop conceptual thinking skills. To communicate ideas visually and verbally. To explore illustration and photography styles. To apply design principles to real-world visual communication problems.

 

Secondary objectives

To utilize Adobe Illustrator as layout and production tool.

 

Description

The food industry and its unsustainable practices is destroying the soil as well as our health. Fortunately, you can make a difference by buying local and organic. Learn more about this and other issues at Take Part and/or watch the movie Food Inc. (available in the Parkland Library).

To promote the sales of healthier foods, redesign the box of an existing organic food product (hint: choose a poorly designed box). Make improvements in any of the following areas: layout, logo, photography, illustration, typography, copywriting, marketing objectives. Keep in mind who the target audience is.

Your design must show an understanding of unity, emphasis, balance and color theory. When appropriate, utilize rhythm and depth as well.

Note: High resolution stock photos and illustrations are available from Photospin. Contact your instructor for more information.

 

Procedure

1. RESEARCH FOR INSPIRATION: Research existing award-winning food package design. Be sure to review books, annuals, trade publications (Print, How, Communication Arts). Also explore local specialty food stores such Common Ground Food Co-op, Strawberry Fields, World Harvest, Natural Gourmet, etc. Look specifically for creative concepts and creative use of typography, photography or illustration. Publish your research on your personal Process Page for critique (be sure to caption each image and cite the source). Be prepared to explain why these examples are successful.

2. MARKETING RESEARCH: Find an organic food product box you want to redesign. Research your client. What is their target audience? What is unique about their product? What does the competition look like? Analyze your research and write a written statement of objectives in the form of a memo (see sample brief). Be sure to include descriptive adjectives in the "character" paragraph (see vocabulary wheel ). Have your brief reviewed by the Writing Lab, then email your brief as a shared Google Doc or an attached Word file to pyoung.parkland.edu@gmail.com.

3. INCUBATION: Absorb the information you have gathered and sleep on it. Allow your unconscious mind to make connections for you.

4. DEVELOP THE CONCEPT: In your sketchbook begin to conceptualize ideas for this project (see examples of sketches). Make at least 10 sketches of all possible directions you might take this project. Edit your concepts down to your best three ideas and redraw them on 8.5 x 11 white paper using a felt tip pen. Scan (scale/crop in Photoshop: no wider than 800 pixels) and publish your concepts on your personal Process Page for critique along with scans of your client's current box. Be prepared to discuss how your design fulfills the client's marketing objectives. Also print your sketches for your Process Book.

5. PROOF: Based on the critique of the above, use the computer to execute at least two versions of your best idea (present at least one proof with an alternate font choice). Generate web-ready JPEGs (no wider than 800px) and publish your design on your personal Process Page for critique. Be prepared to talk about what design principles are utilized in your design. Also print a high-quality color proof for your Process Book.

6. FINAL CRITIQUE: Based on the critique of the above, revise your design (if needed). Produce a fully conceived "comp" of the finished designs. Add revised JPEGs of your designs to your personal personal Process Page for final critique (do not delete older versions). Prepare a presentation to "sell" your design to the client during final critique. Be prepared to justify your design decisions and talk about how your solution fulfills the marketing objectives outlined in your brief.

7. GRADING: Submit two fully conceived "comps" with your name on the back for grading. One proof will be returned to you after grading. File the graded proof in your Process Book for individual review along with all the preliminary work you did for the project (research, brief, sketches, preliminary proofs, final proof). You will not receive credit for this project if any of the above elements are missing.

8. PORTFOLIO PREPARATION: If you are happy with the results of this project, consider including it in your portfolio. If necessary, continue to make refinements until you are 100% satisfied with the project. Be sure to save all your files for future editing.

9. EXTRA CREDIT: Submit your project into next year's student show by printing an art gallery quality proof and mounting it on foam board. Also prepare an archival quality JPEG (800px wide, no larger than 200K) and submit your project using the online entry form at gds.parkland.edu/show. Your project may win a cash prize and be published in a showcase of student work on Parkland's website.