- I've decided to go with the packaging and branding project

- This will further develop my portfolio. expanding my skillset and demonstrating the ability to:

• Research

• Plan

• Thumbnail

• Prototype

• Test

- To create an innovative design

- Medical illustration wouldn't allow me to explore my creative practice in the same way, as it is continuing something that has already been done

- Medical illustration doesn't involve the same process of thumbnailing and thinking outside the box

After deciding the project area

The next step was to research and find a brand of packaging that I wanted to redesign.

- I started talking to different people about potential projects

- I learnt about the business idea my friends had to create an alcoholic beverage

- Their brand name is 'Companions'

- The background areas they specialise in are Law and Bio-Chemistry

- This covers the areas of making and selling the drink

- They need a third person for the packaging design and branding of the company

- This project would give me more flexibility to develop than an existing packaging design would

- This gives me the ability to interact with a client and work with them

Design process

- Having a good design process will help create a successful product

- First step = interview the client and come up with a design brief for the project

- This will outline my aims within the project and my final outcome

- Next: start planning, researching and thumbnailing bottle packaging designs

- The brief will help me focus my aims from a broad project which could include branding, product design, packaging design, advertising, logos, websites etc. into a more specific outcome

- Focus on the elements specific to my design practice

Bix, et al., Process diagram of steps needed to create a successful packaging design. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220012978_Packaging_Design_and_Development

Questions to ask the client include:

• The type of alcoholic beverage they plan to create

• The target audience of the drink

• Where the drink will be sold

• Why the name 'Companions'?

-The type of beverage will impact the type of packaging that will compliment it

-The quality of the alcohol and target audience will be a major factor in determining the colours, shapes and themes of the design

-key factors will include taste, flavours and the colour of the beverage.

• A fruity drink will most likely have bright, colourful imagery

• A traditional whiskey would have a darker, muted colour scheme

Melnikov, D. Most popular whiskey bottle designs. https://www.dreamstime.com/bottles-several-most-popular-whiskey-whisky-brands-st-petersburg-russia-april-dark-wooden-background-image198044905

Eads, L. Echo fall, fruity wine design. https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2014/05/echo-falls-unveils-fruity-wine-for-females/

- The type of audience and place where the drink is sold will impact the packaging design

- A drink sold in supermarkets will need to stand out off the shelf of its competitors

- A drink sold in a bar/restaurant/pub/club may need to be more recognisable by its logo or brand name on a menu

- The target market will change depending on the venue

- A traditional pub will sell different drinks to student bars/clubs

- I need to gain an understanding for the setting the drink is intended for

- A lot of drinks companies focus on the younger generation since there is a lot more options to experiment with different drink flavours

- The younger generation like to try different drink combinations

- The older generation tends to have one brand they stick with making it harder for other businesses to enter this market

- The packaging shape and design will play an important role in the presentation and selling of the beverage.

- The packaging is what the consumer will see and first base the taste on

- 90% of costs go into the beverages packaging

- "Multisensory nature of human perception"

- The colour of drinks packaging will have an impact on how it tastes

- Need to research the psychology of different colours and how these affect flavour

- Need the product to also be visually appealing

Kontominas, M. Food Packaging: Procedures, Management, and Trends.. https://web-p-ebscohost-com.proxy.library.lincoln.ac.uk/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzUzNTE5N19fQU41?sid=3c8c2040-dcd0-40cc-ad6f-0f60ffce2aad@redis&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1

Company name: 'Companions'

- Important to their brand identity

Companion Definition: 1. A person or animal with whom one spends a lot of time or with whom one travels. 2. Each of a pair of things intended to complement or match each other.’ (Oxford languages, 2023)

Companions synonyms include: friend, partner, mate and comrade.

This gives a sense of togetherness for people to enjoy a drink as a group.

There is a big difference between the drink being called 'Companion' and 'Companions'.

- The 's' implies the beverage should be consumed with others

- Without the 's' it could infer that the drink itself is the consumers 'friend'

- This is not something the brand is trying to promote

- The brand does not want to be seen as a comforting brand for those drinking alone

- This is something I will need to keep in mind throughout the project

- I will research how companionship can be shown within the branding and packaging designs.