Amy Blunden [ design journal ]

1. In what way does each mood board convey an appropriate “look and feel” for your campaign project? Provide direct quotes with in-text APA-style research citations from this weekʼs reading assignments and from outside sources to help substantiate your statements.

Each mood board I created captures a certain style of bliss- sophisticated, joyful and spiritual. While my Teavana campaign will include various amounts of each of these essences, each moldboard style focuses more directly on that particular aspect. The sophisticated mood board conveys a more upscale and minimal style, using two basic colors and relying on interesting line styles and texture to convey emotion. The joyful moldboard exhibits a more fun color scheme and vibrant imagery. The spiritual mood board depicts a very warm, glowing sense of bliss. This bliss style is more closely aligned with the spiritual, however is still very accessible to the younger demographic through an overall sunny feeling. These moodboards succeed in conveying the associated feelings, because they exhibit “inspirational tidbits to help establish a general look and feel direction prior to jumping head first into a full, precise design” (Osborne, 2008).

2. Which principles of design have you used to create 3 different directions in your mood boards? Provide direct quotes with in-text APA-style research citations from this weekʼs reading assignments and from outside sources to help substantiate your statements.

All of my mood boards rely heavily on contrast. These contrasts come in the form of colors, shapes, lines and texture. However, no matter which style I end up going with, including a combination, type is going to be a central consideration. Selecting the most appropriate type style helps “achieve not only the perfect contrast, but also proportion, dominance and priority (Vasile, 2011).

3. How will these mood boards speak to the target audience and help to create a zag for your company? Provide direct quotes with in-text APA-style research citations from this weekʼs reading assignments and from outside sources to help substantiate your statements.

These mood boards speak clearly to the large demographic of tea, from middle-aged women to young men. The imagery shows serene sophistication, exuberant job and warm glowing bliss. These images create zag by communicating “things that words cannot. A picture is worth a thousand words, and mood boards are a great tool to create that picture for your client” (Wagner, 2008).

References:
Osborne, T. (2008). Getting Moody: A Look at Inspiration and Style in Early Design Techniques. Viget. Retrieved May 3, 2013 from:

    http://viget.com/inspire/getting-moody

Wagner, M. (2008). Why Mood Boards Matter. Webdesigner Depot. Retrieved Retrieved May 3, 2013 from:
    http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2008/12/why-mood-boards-matter/

Campaign Theme:
The theme for my Teavana campaign project is bliss. Bliss will be facilitated through engaging customer touch-points, that will encourage relaxation, peace and bliss. The campaign will include a more engaging, human feeling logotype, revamped trademark symbol that will communicate clearly and a user-friendly web interface.

1. Explain how the choices you made are appropriate. Be concise and convincing. In what ways do the images you selected convey the “look and feel” of each example appropriate as a swipe file and the theme of your project? Provide direct quotes with in-text APA-style research citations from this weekʼs reading assignments and from outside sources to help substantiate your statements.

There are many different meanings of bliss, but the best description I can think of for my Teavana campaign would be serene elation. It’s a refined sense of elevation and joy, one which accompanies inner peace. It’s the type of bliss you experience, say, taking a walk on a gorgeously sunny day, and you look up at the sky and feel at peace with the world.

1. Tea Drinker in Red

This image is suitable for the Teavana campaign because it shows a blissed-out lady partaking in a delicious cup of tea, and she also would appeal to my demographic.

http://imageshack.us/a/img577/5935/thekindofhappinessonlya.jpg

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_kind_of_happiness_only_a_mug_of_tea_can_bring.jpg

2. Tea Plants

This image is suitable for the Teavana campaign because the tea leaves dominate the image with the color green, which is associated with peace and serenity, and it also stimulates the senses

http://imageshack.us/a/img593/1399/teestrauchdetail.jpg

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Teestrauch_Detail.jpg

3. Tea Set in Tea Shop

This image is suitable for the Teavana campaign because it shows a table set for tea inside a warm, inviting tea shop.

http://imageshack.us/a/img545/666/118400835311713.jpg

Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1184008

4. Rippled Water

This image is suitable for the Teavana campaign because it exudes serenity, because water is inherently relaxing, and the ripples also gives off a vibratory sort of feeling, like a peaceful hum.

http://imageshack.us/a/img545/6610/140300741358607.jpg

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1403007

5. Hands in the Air

This image is suitable for the Teavana campaign because it shows emotive imagery including birds, a rainbow and a blissful person with their hands in the air.

http://imageshack.us/a/img694/8135/coloursofhappiness3.jpg

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colours_of_Happiness_3.jpg

6. Red Tea

This image is suitable for the Teavana campaign because it shows a simple image of red tea, which is very symmetrical and stimulating, yet serene.

http://imageshack.us/a/img7/431/126691040172199.jpg

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1266910

7. Tea Cups and Loose Tea

This image is suitable for the Teavana campaign because it shows a beautifully warm spectrum of brewed tea as well as samples of loose tea, which stimulate the senses.

http://imageshack.us/a/img703/8637/teaindifferentgradeoffe.jpg

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tea_in_different_grade_of_fermentation.jpg

8. Roses

This image is suitable for the Teavana campaign because roses are a common ingredient in many herbal tea blends, and flowers are generally thought of as celebratory, ceremonial, soft, sweet and sentimentality.

http://imageshack.us/a/img839/8226/136718111881761.jpg

Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1367181

9. Clear Tea Cup

This image is suitable for the Teavana campaign because it is very crisp, simple and has great contrast, and it gives a great, inviting view of tea that is warming.

http://imageshack.us/a/img811/7795/122138721472389.jpg

Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1221387

10. Sunny Girl

This image is suitable for the Teavana campaign because it shows a peaceful smile on a girl’s face, with warm, life-giving rays of sunshine in the background.

http://imageshack.us/a/img198/6448/113915574531335.jpg

Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1139155

11. Buddha Hands

This image is suitable for the Teavana campaign because it is a classic Buddhist statue, but focuses on the hands in meditative position and a lotus on top, which is all perfectly suited for show bliss.

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/4980/90386444402756.jpg

Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/903864

12. Happy Guys

This image is suitable for the Teavana campaign because has great contrast, elegance and shows two guys radiantly smiling and feeling bliss, and they will also speak to the demographic.

http://imageshack.us/a/img14/6161/bwhappiness.jpg

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:B%26W_Happiness.jpg

All of these images are associated with various aspects of bliss. It’s a serene style of elation and evolved euphoria. “Great photos help tell users who you are, what you do, and what you’re all about,” and images such as these will help tell Teavana’s story visually (Stephen, 2009).

2. Identify at least 3 examples of music that convey the look and feel of your campaign. Provide links to examples, if possible. In what ways is the music in the examples you chose appropriate for your project? Provide direct quotes with in-text APA-style research citations from this weekʼs reading assignments and from outside sources to help substantiate your statements.

1. “Balafia” by Cantoma  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqdfyWy3Zqo

This music would be appropriate for the Teavana campaign because it is soothing, yet upbeat, and has tribal undertones that make it earthy and slightly hypnotic.

2. “Lebanese Blonde” by Thievery Corporation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04bg9IC9N6w

This music would be appropriate for the Teavana campaign because it’s got some Eastern flavor interwoven into sweet, melodic feminine vocals against a catchy beat. It’s invigorating, calming and the horns add a bit of elegance.

3. “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaGUr6wzyT8

This music would be appropriate for the Teavana campaign because it’s simple and laid-back, but energizing, and the lyrics are the epitome of a blissful attitude- carefree, positive, appreciative and in harmony with nature. These happy, laid-back styles of audio aim to “appeal to a particular customer and put him or her in the mood to shop or revel in the experience” (Wheeler, 2009). That mood is bliss- who wouldn’t want to revel in that?

3. Post your pages from the 5.2.2 Project as JPEGS. How will your images and music selections help to create a zag for your company? Provide direct quotes with in-text APA- style research citations from this weekʼs reading assignments and from outside sources to help substantiate your statements.

http://imageshack.us/a/img198/2365/blundena522projectpage1.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img5/7752/blundena522projectpage2.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img23/4900/blundena522projectpage3.jpg

The style of images and audio I chose for my project will help Teavana create zag by manifesting an environment of bliss. The sights and sounds will both engage and relax the audience. These elements will coalesce into an overall feeling of bliss that will become synonymous Teavana. Choosing the right combination of audio and visuals will situate Teavana precisely “where good and different combine to create a successful zag” (Neumeier, 2007).


References:
Neumeier, M. (2007). ZAG: The #1 Strategy of High-Performance Brands. (pp. 34). Pearson Learning Solutions.  

Stephen, E. (2009). What You Need to Know about Selecting Photos for the Web. ISL Web Marketing & Development. Retrieved April 24, 2013 from:

    http://www.isl.ca/en/home/enewsletter/jul09importanceofphotoselection.aspx

Wheeler, A. (2009). Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team, 3rd Edition. (pp. 135). John Wiley & Sons P&T.

Campaign Theme:
The theme for my Teavana campaign project is bliss. Bliss will be facilitated through engaging customer touch-points, that will encourage relaxation, peace and bliss. The campaign will include a more engaging, human feeling logotype, revamped trademark symbol that will communicate clearly and a user-friendly web interface.

Kenji Tei by Vgrafiks (images 1 & 2)
http://identitydesigned.com/kenji-tei/

Mandy Ward by VERG (image 3)
http://www.verg.com.au/portfolio/mandy/

Maloman by Sergey Shapiro (image 4)
http://www.sergeyshapiro.com/


1. Explain how the choices you made are appropriate. In what way is the “look and feel” of each example appropriate as a swipe file for the theme of your project? Do they suggest a zag? Provide direct quotes with in-text APA-style research citations from this weekʼs reading assignments and from outside sources to help substantiate your statements.

The first Kenji Tei image is an appropriate choice for the look and feel of the Teavana campaign, because it has elegance, simplicity, a handwritten and personable logotype as well as minimal elements and lots of white space. It feels welcoming, open, clean, friendly and peaceful. The logotype is more influenced by Asian brush calligraphy than the Teavana logo will be, but the Teavana brand will still utilize some Asian-inspired design elements. I also chose this image, because it’s of the actual storefront, and I felt that represented the potential of the Teavana store, the large glass windows being a great touch.

The second Kenji Tei image is a layout for Kenji Tei’s brand story. The brand story layout is an excellent example of a pleasing, inviting and blissful reading experience, because it uses clean, readable type across the board, including the impeccable use of thin caps, which helps it remain elegant, while still bold. The use of imagery would obviously be different than this, but I like that the image choices have great texture and contrast. The black and white is also highly emotive.

The third image, Mandy Ward, is a great example of something that is sleek, sophisticated and simple. It’s elegant, inviting, classy and the information on the card is well organized. The texture on the card also appears to be pleasing-to-the-touch.

My fourth image choice, the Maloman logo, is a great example of a type style that is both welcoming and classy, but not too feminine, keeping in mind the demographic includes young men. I want to take the style from the Maloman logo and combine it with some Asian flavor and perhaps just a bit more sophistication. These elements combined will definitely suggest a zag for Teavana. While most of these images are black and white, in the Teavana trademark symbol, I’m going to use some color, which will really make it pop. In this campaign, bliss will be facilitated through media that exudes the look and feel I’ve described. Teavana’s peaceful, simple, elegant and welcoming campaign will achieve an “overall look that resonates in the mind of the customer and rises above the clutter of a visual environment. (Wheeler, 2009)

2. In what ways is the typography in the examples you chose appropriate for your project? Provide direct quotes with in-text APA-style research citations from this weekʼs reading assignments and from outside sources to help substantiate your statements.

I really like the authenticity of the Kenji Tei logotype, because it represents Asian culture, while remaining modern and inviting. While I think this particular brush style is too Asian for Teavana, I do like the calligraphic feeling and want to include some of its essence. In the Kenji Tei brand story layout, the typography is impeccable. They utilized all caps in a thin, gray font, which keeps the image soothing and classy, while still being bold.

They also chose a very readable, sans serif font for the body copy and applied generous leading to it, which gives it plenty of room to breathe and makes it ever-so-easy on the eyes. The Mandy Ward logotype is very appropriate for the Teavana project, because it embodies elegance and sophistication with just a bit of edginess. The crisp, decisive lines in the logotype really make an impact, and that’s what I intend to do for Teavana- give them an elegant, handwritten logotype that carries with it just a touch of Asian flavor and edginess. I think that edginess will really help the brand image stay on the modern side of elegant, opposed to traditional elegance.

The Maloman logotype is appropriate for Teavana’s look and feel, because it uses fluid cursive that is still quite readable, and not overly feminine. I couldn’t quite locate one example that precisely matched my vision for Teavana’s logotype, however, I feel that could be a good thing and lead to substantial zag. Typography is always at the forefront of my mind, and throughout this campaign I will “consider the attributes of each letterform, as well as the relationships between letterforms. In the best logotypes, letterforms may be redrawn, modified, and manipulated in order to express the appropriate personality and positioning of the company. (Wheeler, 2009) As I said, I wasn’t able to find a handwriting style that completely suited Teavana’s needs, so I’ll be exploring the relationships between the letters, redrawing them and manipulating the logotype until it exquisitely communicates Teavana’s essence.

3. In what ways are the colors and textures in the examples you chose appropriate for your project? Provide direct quotes with in-text APA-style research citations from this weekʼs reading assignments and from outside sources to help substantiate your statements.

The color schemes used in all my examples are quite appropriate for the Teavana campaign, because they are all two or three colors and very stark in contrast. All of the images I chose used black and white as central colors, with occasional accents. The accents are either bold or muted, which help show dominant imagery in relation to background imagery. These simple, yet striking, color combinations are very much aligned with my plans for the Teavana campaign, because they are striking, yet not loud, and simple, but not boring. Simple color palates and plenty of white space will help achieve an open, free and clean feeling upon viewing. “Color is used to evoke emotion and express personality,” and these striking, yet simple, color palettes effectively communicate serenity, calm and bliss. (Wheeler, 2009)

References:
Wheeler, A. (2009). Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team, 3rd Edition. (pp. 66, 126, 128). John Wiley & Sons P&T.

Campaign Theme:
The theme for my Teavana campaign project is bliss. Bliss will be facilitated through engaging customer touch-points, that will encourage relaxation, peace and bliss. The campaign will include a more engaging, human feeling logotype, revamped trademark symbol that will communicate clearly and a user-friendly web interface.

1. If every companyʼs product or brand has a theme, how specifically will the theme for your campaign project help to differentiate your companyʼs brand from the
3 competitors that you identified in your earlier courses? Provide direct quotes with in-text APA-style research citations to substantiate your statements.

My blissful campaign theme will help differentiate Teavana from its competitors by creating blissful, pleasing interactions will all their media, as well as their store. Their rebranded image will help facilitate a more human, welcoming feeling. However, it is going to be just as essential to avoid any design pitfalls that could downgrade the experience for the user. The designs need to look and feeling soothing, avoid any confusion and communicate bliss. In doing this, I’ll be using Teavana’s bliss theme as a “guide that will influence every design decision we make from the initial concept to the final composition.” (Curtis, 2011)

2. How will the theme of your campaign be used to help drive decisions later in the process of selecting design elements (color, typography, images, and sound) for your project? Provide direct quotes with in-text APA-style research citations to help substantiate your statements.

Since the goal is communicating bliss, I think  a question to ask throughout the design process is, “is it blissful?” For instance, choosing the right paper materials that are visually stimulating as well as pleasing to touch are important considerations. I think keeping these designs clean, simple and soothing will help achieve bliss in every interaction.

Again, in this way bliss is manifested not only through the design choices, but through the design avoidances, i.e. a cluttered website and easy-to-ready type. In fact, readability is so critical that for “for 99% of the designs out there, typography and white space are going to be your underlying foundation. So if you can’t get them right, then the rest of your design has nothing to stand on” (Scrivens, 2012).

As far as color goes, energizing shades of blue, and perhaps some purple, will trigger relaxation and calming in the audience, because “blue is also associated with peace, and has spiritual and religious connotations in many cultures and traditions” (Chapman, 2010)

3. Make an initial survey of the current brand identity of each of the 4 companies. Note the similarities and differences in color, typography, and images. In looking at the 4 companiesʼ brand images, does your company have a “zag” to differentiate it in a way that seems effective or does it have a similar, “me-too” identity? Why is this relevant? Provide direct quotes from your reading materials or outside research with in-text APA-style research citations to substantiate your statements.

While there are some general similarities between the competition, I think that each of these brands has a unique zag. What they all seem to have in common is a certain warm and inviting feeling, however it is manifested in different ways. The typography choices vary, using both serif and sans serif type, but the overall type is very readable across the board. Numi and The Republic of Tea both rely on warm color schemes and have a more earthy feeling than what Teavana’s aims to. Harney & Sons has a very respectable, traditional motif, which works very well for their image, but doesn’t come anywhere close to Teavana’s zag.

The most similar competitor is Tazo, however their image is more associated with a whimsical, childlike feeling of adventure and exhilaration, rather than a serene adult sense of bliss. I think Tazo also does the best as far as simplicity, white space, readable typography and intuitive, easy-to-understand navigation. The photography on these websites is one area where all the competition shines, however I think that’s more of a technological, professional standard than a core brand element.

Next to the competition, I think Teavana definitely has a unique zag, and I believe that my rebranding choices will help communicate that zag to their audience. Because Teavana’s current logotype is quite strong and imposing, I think using a handwritten style would really help it communicate an authentic, emotive and welcoming feeling. Handwriting, because it is unique, “has a tremendous expressive power a standard lettering isn’t able to achieve” (Friedman, 2008). While the Numi and The Republic of Tea logos use fonts that appear to have a handwritten feeling, the logotype for Teavana is going to be more fluid and cursive, therefore maintaining its zag.

References:
Chapman, C. (2010). Color Theory for Designers, Part 1: The Meaning of Color. Smashing Magazine. Retrieved March 30, 2013 from:
    http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/01/28/color-theory-for-designers-part-1-the-meaning-of-color/

Curtis, H.  (2011). MTIV: Process, Inspiration and Practice for the New Media Designer, 1/e Vitalsource eBook for Full Sail University. Pearson Learning Solutions.

Friedman, V. (2008). Beautiful Handwriting, Lettering and Calligraphy. Smashing Magazine. Retrieved March 30, 2013 from:
    http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/04/07/beautiful-handwriting-lettering-and-calligraphy/

Scrivens, P. (2012). One More Time: Typography Is The Foundation Of Web Design. Smashing Magazine. Retrieved March 27, 2013 from:
    http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2012/07/24/one-more-time-typography-is-the-foundation-of-web-design/

[ Testimonial Ad ]

This is a concept for a potential celebrity testimonial ad for my thesis project. The concept, copy and celebrity are cohesive, but the design would be more developed for a final print.