Time & Project Management

Me being organised(ish)

COP Practical: Branding the Campaign

Branding ISSUU

Lush Website/Aesthetic 

I started out looking at Lush's existing brand image, it's online presence and aesthetic. Although I am making a completely new campaign, it still has to be in keeping with Lush's brand image, as ultimately it is a way of promoting them.

Logo Experiments

Remaining with Lush's brand aesthetic, I made some logo experiments. I used the bold type that Lush use in their logo, however did not want to completely copy. I played with the idea of the black apron, as seen in stores/workers uniforms/behind the scenes, and found it really symbolic of something being crafted and 'made'. Despite thinking the apron was a really effective motif, the shape of the logo was really awkward so I decided against it. 

Authentic Arty Textures

These experiments were really a way of trying to incorporate some fun into my basic logo, and also make reference to creativity, digital art and craft. I used a range of Custom photoshop brushes to create different Art like textures, however I felt that I needed to make more of a link to DIGITAL art and not just art in general.

Illustrative Quality

This was one of my favourite outcomes from the experiments, and I think it looks the most effective. From the colours to the textural quality of the image behind, I think it's overall a beautiful logo/typeface for the campaign. 

HOWEVER 

The image that I added to the text was part of the authenticity experiment, and using it in my logo (to be printed, and reproduced throughout the campaign) would devalue the image and completely contradict the campaign, making it less authentic. 

Reference to Photoshop

In response to the previous reflection of the logo, I decided it would be more appropriate to keep it simple and blank(?), to mirror the concept of the artists adding the visual element. So I chose to go with the classic check pattern, that in photoshop indicates a blank canvas, to communicate digital art creation. 

 Final logo Designs

These logos are just a development from the previous, using reference to photoshop and digital creation, however I was told that the use of bold capital letters looks too 'clunky' and a bit aggressive, so I went with lowercase font which has a friendlier approach. 

Banner Designs

These were just a development from my logo, presenting ways that my logo could be applied. I really like the aesthetic of these banners and think that they communicate everything they need to. Also I like the way that the bright orange colour is quite different to the neutral pastel colours seen on the rest of Lush's website, which provides the contrast between hand-made cosmetics and digital art creation. 

COP: Branding Theory Research - Why is Authenticity so Important?

Why perceptions of brand integrity matter

The challenge of credible place branding

Brand authenticity

"consumers choose to buy or not buy based on how real they perceive an offering to be” (Gilmore & Pine ll, 2007, p. 1). Companies appears to have detected this consumer desire for the real and for the authentic, and have responded by using the word ”authentic” at random when they describe their own products and brands in advertising campaigns. “Authentic Mexican Food” (appendix 6), “Authentic Tools” (Appendix 7) etc. The word has invaded branding campaigns in close to every kind of B2C business in the market. But the fact that a company has to say it is authentic proves that it is in fact inauthentic (Gilmore & Pine ll, 2007), which reveals a lack, in some companies’, understanding of the meaning of the word, and consequently also in how brand authenticity can be rendered in the consumers’ perception.

http://pure.au.dk/portal-asb-student/files/69756266/Brand_Authenticity_f_rdig.pdf

"Authentic brands have a “powerful mystique or aura” (Beverland, 2009, p. 37) through which they connect with their customers in a deeper way compared to conventional brands."

"Mass-marketed objects are often perceived as inherently untrue, because they serve the commercial aims of the manufacturer, rather than pursuing higher and more universal values. In addition, products comply with economies of scale and thus are replicated to reach wide markets, while the authentic object is a unique piece that is almost artistic (Leigh, Peters, & Shelton, 2006)"

http://www.cluteinstitute.com/ojs/index.php/JABR/article/viewFile/9240/9279

Authenticity subverts Mass Production 

COP Practical: Video Experimentation

With this image I experimented with the explicit digital aesthetic, disregarding any custom brushes/attempts to look handmade;

 

Looks too rushed, however has the innocent quality seen in Hockney's iPad Art. This was purely an experiment to see, when accompanied by a video of the process, how value is created when every brush stroke is recorded and displayed.

I think this concept is interesting because it shows the journey that was undergone to reach the final stage, which helps the audience understand the work that has gone into the image, therefore adding value to a digitally created piece. And also I feel like THIS CREATES AURA.

In terms of promoting values of authenticity and craft, I feel that my final outcomes need to display work that has had a large amount of time go into it, despite it being digitally created. I am happy that I have been able to create a video however, as it will be a key component in the final window display, which creates a more honest view of the product created - what you see is what you get. 

Feedback

- I got some good feedback about this little exhibition I created and how it does create authenticity. 

- Things that look digital are taken for granted and just assumed that they are mass produced/reproduced images so the when it is an original makes you think.

- The video helps you to understand that the artist is making it, and the computer doesn't do all the work?

Mimesis - A threat to the message?

When experimenting digitally with drawing, I have been using custom brushes to create my images, that mimic the aesthetic of physical mediums, e.g Charcoal, Crayon or Pastel. 

Through my research I came across the term 'Mimesis'; 

"Mimesis is one of the oldest and most central terms in literary, art and media theory. The term mimesis (Greek: __ from __) is often translated in English as “imitation” or “representation.” The word has been used to describe the relation between an original object and a representation that attempts to imitate that original."

It is important to note that the custom brushes I am using, from Kyle T Webster, are very representative of this term. However It is argued that Mimicry especially in the context of aesthetic can appear false and dishonest. 

"Mimetic or Representational works of art are false representations"

- Plato's Symposium: A readers Guide by Thomas L. Cooksey

The concept of false/tacky looking aesthetics can be seen in a lot of Photoshop's functions;

A screencap from 

https://designshack.net/articles/graphics/5-former-design-trends-that-arent-cool-anymore-so-stop-using-them/

This has really got me thinking about the idea of mimicry and how it will be perceived, especially in my outcomes. As the essence of my project is based on creating authenticity and honesty within digital art, I feel that it may be threatening to the outcome of the work if I continue/allow artists to use the custom brushes? Would it have a more powerful message if they could only utilise the digital aesthetic of the digital and pixels, as seen in Hockney's iPad Art?

I am currently torn between creating aesthetically pleasing images using the brushes and images that convey meaning through medium. I will experiment with the techniques seen in Hockney's ipad drawings. 

COP Practical: How to create Aura?

As Walter Benjamin states in 'Work of Art In the Age of Mechanical Reproduction', that mechanically reproduced work, loses Aura as it is reproduced;

"The aura is an effect of a work of art being uniquely present in time and space. It is connected to the idea of authenticity. A reproduced artwork is never fully present. If there is no original, it is never fully present anywhere. Authenticity cannot be reproduced, and disappears when everything is reproduced. Benjamin thinks that even the original is depreciated, because it is no longer unique." 

https://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/walter-benjamin-art-aura-authenticity/

The idea behind my project focuses solely on challenging Benjamin's theory through exploring ways that a piece of art created digitally can be authentic and have 'aura'. In the modern age where design technology has become available, it is important to acknowledge the fact that to be successful(job wise), artists must be willing to adapt and utilise new technology, as seen in David Hockney's iPad Drawings; therefore it is essential to analyse ways that the key element of authenticity can be created through digital means + INNOVATION.

In my recent tutorial, I received some feedback on my digital experimentations with the empty frames I created previously. The reaction to the images were that they felt very direct and expressive, which in some ways communicated a sense of 'Aura'. The subject matter of this particular image also made the connection between the values I am trying to promote, and the labour force behind it which has made a really well informed image. Despite it being on screen, the image encapsulates everything that I am wanting to achieve with the project, and is something that I need to drive further. 

How to prove authenticity?

I came across the concept of a Certificate of Authenticity, something that validates and establishes the originality of an item. 

I feel that already I have implemented an idea of validation through the creation of my art form(below). However I feel that based on the information presented on the a certificate, I would like to develop it. 

Tutorial Feedback

Alot of 'Goods' but mainly because my project isn't really finished. Some really good points about how to develop and link my arguments/synthesise. 

My organisation was a topic raised because of how I am working along side Uni which is having an effect on my time and management. 

Focus Group 3/12/12

To conduct some Primary Research I took part in a focus group of 10 people, in which various topics were discussed. My discussion was based on Authenticity, these are some of the responses I got:

What does Authenticity mean to you?

- wooden floors, traditional fireplaces
- honesty 
- authenticity is a good personality trait, trustworthy
- real life, first hand experience
- Unique and Original

Is Authenticity in Branding important to you as a consumer?

- Authentic aesthetic is really popular at the moment, its nostalgic
- "It's trendy which makes me want to buy it"
- Nothing to hide, no alterior motive 
- what you see is what you get?


If so, Why is it important?

- makes you trust the product and want to buy it
- Quality, made the way it should be 

Not massively helpful, but backs up my argument that brand authenticity is a key element. Some of the connotations of Authenticity were really interesting aswell, e.g wooden floors.

COP Practical: Experimentation

PURELY EXPERIMENTATION FOR WHAT THE FINAL POSTER COULD LOOK LIKE

On top of my blank poster layout that I created previously, I started to add some drawings based on the reference material I had gathered. To create the images I used custom brushes that had a feel of pastelly/chalk like medium, which added to the experimental expressiveness of the images. I think all these drawings are awful, but effective in terms of getting an idea of what some of my final outcome could look like. 

These images were all very quick and direct, mostly mark making on the page. However, to communicate the value of authenticity and craft having gone into something, I need to experiment with a style of drawing that takes alot more time and consideration, to truly convey the intended message.

This is a mockup of what my poster would be displayed like in order to communicate to the audience. I intend to use a screen next to my poster in order to display the drawing process and the journey that the image undertook to be where it is that the audience is seeing it. I think this whole process adds authenticity and helps the audience to understand the effort, and time that went into it (Marx Labour Theory of Value), in order to hopefully add value to a piece of digital work, which is ultimately what my project is all about. 

COP Practical: Reference Material

I'm starting to think about what kind of images the artists could create for the campaign. I think that a really appropriate topic would be to create an images based on the labour/workforce behind each product. Who makes them, how they are made, and what goes into them. I want to think about the message that images based on this theme will convey about the brand, what I was looking into previously. 

 

From this, I've also come to find that 'Behind the scenes'/'How its made' videos provide authenticity because it shows the whole process and makes the audience understand the work that goes into them, linking with marx's labour theory of value. This will be another of my techniques that I will employ in my campaign.

In response to the reference material, i did some quick expressive studies of ingredients used in the products. I really like the expressive quality as it feels alot more direct and authentic. I don't think the images are that effective and definitely in need of refinement, however I do like the slightly muted colour palette. To develop/test my ideas, I did a mockup poster for the campaign that my project could become. I like the simple layout of the poster and the textural quality in the background, and I think the colours look really effective. It still has the digital quality that I am trying to subtly avoid, but I think that is created through the use of the bold typeface.

'Brands Are Discovering Crowdfunding as a Marketing Tool' + Project Drive-In

To further reflect my decisions to create a campaign for an established brand, I looked into Branding, and how charities, raising awareness etc, are successful marketing tools. One of my goals for this project, was to create promotional material for a brand, which I feel I am achieving through this technique. 

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/brands-are-discovering-crowdfunding-marketing-tool-152600

“These campaigns let brands engage with their customers rather than just treating them as a transaction” 

“The customers feel like they’re working alongside the brand to make something happen.”

some insight into WHY a brand, perhaps Lush, would employ such marketing tools.

Project Drive-In

Featured in the previous article, was this example of Charitable Marketing(kind of), displaying the concept of raising awareness to a cause. Well known car manufacturer Honda have created a campaign in order to 'save the drive-in cinema', targeting cinemas around America that are in danger of losing business. The idea of the drive-in is one that is quite nostalgic and romantic, which I feel reflects alot about the brand. The focus on such a heartwarming, memory-inducing cause provides the idea that the brand is very family orientated "its a great way to spend time with your family"(=family friendly cars?) and the concept of the drive-in is something that is traditional and established, which could create the impression of Quality, and in some cases Authenticity. 

http://projectdrivein.tumblr.com/

Blog about the drive-thrus that have been saved, so that the contributors can see where there donations are going. 

Reflection

Finally I have found what genre of marketing my campaign fits into. Within this example of charitable marketing, I have identified that it is an excellent marketing tool, which, dependent on the cause that is chosen, can convey a message about the brand's values. I intend to take inspiration from this process through my own campaign, raising awareness for digital artists and how they should be treated as equal to traditional. 

I feel that the focus on creating Authenticity within Art, conveys that Lush's values are heavily based on Authenticity. 

COP Practical: Intentions for the Project

The main aim for this project is to explore ways in which Authenticity can be created within digitally created artwork, avoiding all traditional analog methods, taking inspiration from the honest quality seen within Hockney's iPad drawings. I intend to create a set of processes(?) and rules for my campaign that will challenge the artist, and hopefully create an outcome that is truly authentic. also in order to promote the brand. I will be looking into why Authenticity is important to the development of the brand (Brand Theory) and how this is created. 

A list of the outcomes I'm intending to create for the project:

•  'Made For You' Campaign - I intend to create a campaign for Lush Cosmetics that promotes their brand values of authenticity through the medium of digital Illustration. 
• The campaign will include Branding/promotional material that will remain in keeping with Lush's brand aesthetic.
• Short Video/Documentary recording each partaking artist's creative journey - The purpose behind this will be to accompany a piece of artwork, in order to help the audience to understand the time/value behind creating it, therefore adding value to it. 
• Shop window display including the final responses from me(an artist also taking part in the campaign).  

COP Practical: Writing a Brief

I've been really struggling to write explain to other people what my brief is in a clear and concise way. In my head it makes sense but helping other people to understand is proving to be a lot more difficult. 

- A campaign that targets local digital artists to raise awareness of the """injustice"""" that they suffer - (How digital art is devalued)
- Using Digital medium, drawing with a Wacom tablet, the artists will create images to be used on a promotional poster/shop window display for Lush Cosmetics, which will promote the values of authenticity, and the idea of something being made specifically for you. 

- Challenge the view that digital art is linked to mechanical reproduction (Walter Benjamin's theory).

- How can I create value and authenticity through a digital art piece?

How will I create authenticity?

1. Through expressive quality of drawing, mimicking analog methods.
2. A documentary style video to accompany the artwork, that shows the work being made and creative process. 
*** I also want to have emphasis on not using the 'undo' button. (so a video of the work being created will convey that, and create more of a link between the art and the artist). Leading to a bigger campaign? Different digital artists for each Lush store around the world?
3. Signed original prints, date created. 
4. Deletion of original file to validate the authenticity of the work, so it cannot be reproduced. 

The Brief:

Create promotional campaign for Lush Cosmetics that promotes their values of authenticity, highlighting the process of something being made specifically for the audience, in the form of a digitally created, original print.

Practical: Design Boards

I really struggled to make these boards as I'm not sure what it is I'm actually going to create yet. Also the hypothetical nature of my project so far isn't leaving much room for creativity. I need to think of ways to develop my ideas more. 

Lush: Brand Research

Audience

- "LUSH thrives on its niche selling of organic cosmetics and social responsible behaviour, which is the core aspect of the company."
- The main target audience of the company is working women aged 18-45
- However people who place importance on values/ethics of a company
- Fans of the handmade/Authentic products

Values

Screenshot from their 'Values' section on website

From these few sentences, it is clear that Lush utilise and value the concept of authorship within their brand, conveyed through everything including their furniture in store. 

*********Raising Awareness/Ethical Campaigns*******

Lush are really well known for their ethical campaigns that raise awareness of issues around the world. This is is a really good platform for me to use in order to challenge the problems of devaluation of digital art (as to me it is unfair). This is where I could see my campaign developing in a real life context, which I feel is really appropriate. 

Practical: Getting started

 

This was my initial idea. To have a graphic poster like a black board (which links with the stores aesthetic). So I feel like I want to use this as a kind of template, to which I/someone will add value through time applied and craft of imagery. I'm a bit stuck on what to draw though, because my idea is more about the process than what's on it, however I would like it to look aesthetically effective. I really like the format of the boxed sheet(right) because I think it has a really basic form/draw in this box kind of feel, which will almost separate the format from the image being drawn, aswell as framing it. I think that the the simplicity of the (left) image has a really throwaway/photocopied feel, which slightly relates to the way Hockney's iPad drawings were exhibited???

I've also reached the conclusion that digitally created works could be devalued because of the use of the 'undo' button. The mistakes that make us human cannot be undone, so conveying these through my work will be vital to the communication of authenticity - Screen record the process of making the poster, proof of no undo. This shall be another experiment towards my final outcome. 

Inside a typical Lush store

Thought?

making my campaign about the mistakes in life that make us human? perhaps not the best message to promote a brand, but I think there's something really romantic and honest about the idea which the audience for the hand made/lush customers would appreciate. The element of honesty I feel provides trust, and makes the brand seem humble. 

communicate the honest quality that's seen in Hockney's ipad drawings??? With this whole project I'm taking alot of inspiration from the honest and direct quality seen in Hockney's ipad drawings.

Practical: Application Of Theory + Thoughts (SYNTHESIS?)

Theorists + Inspirational Quotes

Walter Benjamin - Loss of aura and authorship within mechanically reproduced work. 

I want to challenge this idea by creating an original/authentic piece of digitally created art. Delete the original file so it cannot be reproduced? more authentic? 

Karl Marx - Labour Theory of Value draws comparison from digitally created art to Mass Production.
Because a computer does some of the work for us, the outcome is not as valuable as it would be if it were created completely by hand, because of the time taken to create it. (According to Marx)

I want to challenge the idea of devalued digital artwork, adding value through time spent creating and authorship. This will be displayed through the creation of a video/documentary of the creative process of the final image, a screen recording that will show the amount of time taken - trying to stamp out the belief that the computer does the work for you. 

Made You Look - “People don't want to go to Ikea and buy a digital print, they want to go and buy something that is hand made and is signed and is original artwork”
Why is this an attitude? people value things more that are made specifically for them?

Brendan Dawes - "I love all the cool things that digital media has give  us; i'm just saying that these tea stains, bent corners, and smudges from the physical world are really important to us - they help mark who we are as human beings, and they tell a story."
- Not using the undo button? creates that unpredictable direct quality that is seen within traditional physical work.

Thoughts

I want to explore ways that authenticity in art is conveyed, through mistakes/ bent corners/scratches ("the small things that make us human")
How to convey the concept of an original piece? Signed at the bottom (edition 1 of 1)
Convey lush's brand values of authenticity and hand made quality through a digitally created piece of artwork.

Authenticity lies within authorship - how can I create authorship through digital means?
Make my own digital brushes, in order to create an image? Experiment incorporating textures into work?

Who are the audience for the poster?
Lush customers, fans of the hand made, 'hipsters'.

Peter York's Hipster Handbook

- United by love for buying special/real things

- Making things in an artisanal way, Pale Ale

- Shoreditch London - Contemporary Art, clever developers, constant theme park based around hipster lifestyle 

- Post post-modern 

- Hipster is relative concept, defined by different people with different agendas

- Being a hipster involves removing yourself from social conforms

- "I'm outside of mass conformist shopping centre looks"

- Authentic - real? not fake?

- "If you have to ask what it means to be hip, you're not hip" 

"hipness is a way of resisting the mass society"

"the fake versus the authentic"

"the scientific versus the imaginary"

Relevant in order to help identify the audience for the hand made. 

COP: Orchestrating Synthesis

Whilst writing, I admittedly didn't have alot of my arguments triangulated, so I felt the need to create this exercise and just map out on a piece of paper what my arguments were and how they link. 

Although it was difficult to recall my thought process as I was creating the map, it was good for knowing which elements linked. 

New York Times Goes Digital

New York Times International Edition

- Grown a huge audience within States
- They had never focused on building a wider audience,  without trying they were starting to grow an international audience. But noticed that In the digital era, the new york times online gained such a large audience online, people knew what it was online, however not in print era. 
- Digitisation of newspaper opened it up to new audiences. 
- New generation of readers
- Print revenue is in long term decline 'I think print is going to be around for a long long time'
- Print advertising revenue declining, print circulation revenue is fine
- Digital subscription and Digital Advertising revenue is on the rise
- Newsroom of 1300
- 

COP: Tutorial

Practical

- Practical adding value through print – one offs for lush – the audience of the product.
- How do you make a one off? How is something unique?
- Mistakes – non-reproducible
- Niche culture – requires authenticity – uniqueness
- Theorists about subcultures – the audiences for the hand made is.
- Limited edition - bespoke

Essay

- Historical backdrop could be too much
- Linking historical technological development with industrial change – reception of these changes by society
- Need social theories related to behaviour and technology and creativity – the arts how does technology impact the arts. Handmade and digital (BBC Four Hipsters) 
- William Morris Arts and Crafts movement reaction to the industrial /parallel with todays resurgence of screen print (even in graphic design). 
- Phil Taylor Alchemy of the analogue.
- John berger – Milton Glaser – Walter Benjamin – reproduction the status of the image
- Mixture of historical precedence contemporary comment / theories.
- Books / ebooks – printed newspapers / online newspapers
- Hipster culture BBC Four marketing
- New york times recently went digital – interview with editor on radio 4  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07zxgty
- case studies – illustrators work across those platforms
- compare other digital / handmade platforms products
- considering pros and cons of these differing platforms
- link back to your theorists
- perception of digital and mass production that might exist
- Lawrence Zeegan – creative review where is the comment / where is the content?
- Its worth noting that print was a process of mass production.

START WITH TRIANGULATED THEORY – LITERATURE REVIEW – USE THE HISTORICAL EXAMPLES IN AMONGST.

Student Action

Practical

- Look into audience, target market for your niche Campaign
- hipster culture, who are the audience for the hand made?
- Methods of production
- What are you going to draw? do research into Lush, brand ethos, visit stores 
- MAKE SOMETHING

Essay

- More theorists
- make more comparisons between digital and analog products 
- More perceptions of mass production and digital art that exist?

Experiential Marketing Research

In order to gain an understanding of what already exists within this field, I am researching into Experiential Marketing. 

"Engagement marketing, sometimes called "experiential marketing," "eventmarketing," "on-ground marketing," "live marketing," or "participation marketing," is a marketing strategy that directly engages consumers and invites and encourages them to participate in the evolution of a brand."

From looking into Experiential Marketing, I have come to find that it is advertising that offers something extra, an extra way to engage with it's audience. More often than not, promotional material that falls under the 'experiential' term, won't be print based - I want to focus on advertisements that perhaps use their medium as a way of communicating. 

Carlsberg created a billboard, with an actual working bar tap that allowed people to try the product. This idea and the use of language 'probably the best', creates a relatable down to earth aspect that not only engages the customer, but helps them build a relationship with the brand. This is quite relevant to what I intend to create because ultimately the advert is heavily print based, with something that makes it feel designed and personal to the customer. 

Reflection

I don't think that Experiential marketing is where my project fits in, in all honesty. I want my project to encompass more than just a billboard/poster but I don't think that it will interact with it's audience as personally as this example.