The brief was to create sticker designs which can be sent out in packs as an exclusive freebie to those who order directly through Autoglym's website, with the purpose to try and engage with a younger audience of consumers, as well as giving them impression of better value for money if buying straight from the site rather than external retailers. This will also act as an additional element of promotion for the company, in the hope that people will stick these onto their cars or toolboxes, etc, which will then be seen by others out in public.
Research Considerations:
The first step in this project was to conduct some market research, in order to see what is already out there and what people are currently using or like in terms of style. Some of these research considerations were:
- What does the Autoglym brand represent?
- Look at what people are currently using, and themes featured in these.
- Car features - could these stickers be made interactive in any way to work with certain car features, or simply play on the design of these features, e.g. headlights.
- Look at where such stickers are typically stuck / placement.
- Think about current Autoglym brand assets - could these be manipulated in any way? Don't worry about guidelines or potential restrictions in this stage, but work creatively.
- Relate to Autoglym and their products in an engaging way.
- Simple / creative?
Another thing to look at in this market research was existing car brands or people that Autoglym are affiliated with in some way in order to see what their audience likes, and search hashtags on Instagram, such as @brokeboysuk, @stancenation, autofinesse, #stance, #stancenation, #ultimate dubs, #builtnotbought, and others which may appear in similar posts.
Market Research:
Based on research, one of the things I found was that the most common placements for car stickers were on the back windscreen, bumpers and passenger windows, potentially so that these are easily seen and create some impact, as well as working more practically in their placement. The size of these, therefore, it was also found are typically formatted in rectangles or circles, again, to work practically with being able to see out of the back window for instance. However, there were some exceptions to the rule, whereby others liked larger stickers which created much more of an impact on their cars.
Another thing that was found was that a lot of people tend to like more typographic designs in order to communicate some sort of message. This is something which was also found to work with the typical placements of car stickers in their formats, etc. These typographic designs are usually quite playful, utilising a mixture of different font styles, whilst others remain fairly simple, utilising different font weights or simply a brand's logo.
This piece of research therefore got me thinking about different type styles and trends at the moment with the younger demographic. One of these styles was 'Vaporwave', which can be described as quite retro (a style which seems to be coming back into fashion) and focuses on themes such as consumer society. Due to this underlying theme, the typographic designs tend to communicate ideas of movement and a 'fast-paced' society. This sense of movement I thought, whilst the style itself relating to current style trends with the younger demographic, also relates to the Autoglym brand itself in that its related to cars which are 'fast-paced', as well as its new range of products which require a pressure washer to be able to use.
In contrast, one other thing I found through market research was that other members of the younger demographic also like cartoon style designs and themes which relate to popular culture, such as films, caricatures, etc.
Another thing that was found was that a lot of people tend to like more typographic designs in order to communicate some sort of message. This is something which was also found to work with the typical placements of car stickers in their formats, etc. These typographic designs are usually quite playful, utilising a mixture of different font styles, whilst others remain fairly simple, utilising different font weights or simply a brand's logo.
This piece of research therefore got me thinking about different type styles and trends at the moment with the younger demographic. One of these styles was 'Vaporwave', which can be described as quite retro (a style which seems to be coming back into fashion) and focuses on themes such as consumer society. Due to this underlying theme, the typographic designs tend to communicate ideas of movement and a 'fast-paced' society. This sense of movement I thought, whilst the style itself relating to current style trends with the younger demographic, also relates to the Autoglym brand itself in that its related to cars which are 'fast-paced', as well as its new range of products which require a pressure washer to be able to use.
In contrast, one other thing I found through market research was that other members of the younger demographic also like cartoon style designs and themes which relate to popular culture, such as films, caricatures, etc.
Ideas and Scamps:
Based on this market research, some initial ideas were formed and rough scamps were sketched out, attempting to better visualise some of these ideas. One of these ideas was based on an additional piece of market research, which found that people seem to like stickers which match the colours of their car. The idea based on this therefore was to create a simple design which features the Autoglym logo with a transparent background. This means that the colour of the person's car is able to show through and be in keep with the colours of their car. In addition this idea plays on Autoglym's product branding, whereby different product series has a different colour background featured in the logo, and so essentially making the consumer's car a part of Autoglym's brand.
Other ideas played on Vaporwave styles of typography. Various ideas based on this utilised the names and taglines for Autoglym's new product series, 'The Polar Series'. One of these products is called 'Polar Blast' which is a shampoo for your car which is described as 'snow foam'. One idea therefore was to typographically reproduce the name 'Polar Blast', with the word 'Polar' styled as if creating out of foam and contrasting this with the word 'Blast' in an italics font to represent the movement of a pressure washer needed to use this product. Another idea based on this was to utilised the name 'Polar Blast' in a simpler way, utilising Autoglym's typography and placing this on a Northern lights background used in their current campaign for this Polar Series.
Continuing to play on Vaporwave aesthetics of typography, a few other ideas were sketched playing on Autoglym's brand history. This took a section from their tagline "Passion For Perfection" and paired this with 'est. 1965', the year in which Autoglym was founded to produce the new tagline 'Perfection est. 1965'. This type would then also utilise varying font styles in order to communicate the idea of movement in an engaging, playing and 'trendy' way.
Further ideas looked at creating more illustrative designs. These explored creating characters which could be used to promote the Autoglym brand and new Polar product series, kind of acting as an ambassador for the brand. One idea was to utilise the image of a polar bear holding a product, and another utilising the image of a seal. In order to enhance the message, an additional idea was to pair these characters with playful taglines based on the different products within the Polar Series. For instance "Keep It Polar" paired with the polar bear, and "Always Seal In" paired with the seal to represent their Polar Seal product.
Other ideas played on Vaporwave styles of typography. Various ideas based on this utilised the names and taglines for Autoglym's new product series, 'The Polar Series'. One of these products is called 'Polar Blast' which is a shampoo for your car which is described as 'snow foam'. One idea therefore was to typographically reproduce the name 'Polar Blast', with the word 'Polar' styled as if creating out of foam and contrasting this with the word 'Blast' in an italics font to represent the movement of a pressure washer needed to use this product. Another idea based on this was to utilised the name 'Polar Blast' in a simpler way, utilising Autoglym's typography and placing this on a Northern lights background used in their current campaign for this Polar Series.
Continuing to play on Vaporwave aesthetics of typography, a few other ideas were sketched playing on Autoglym's brand history. This took a section from their tagline "Passion For Perfection" and paired this with 'est. 1965', the year in which Autoglym was founded to produce the new tagline 'Perfection est. 1965'. This type would then also utilise varying font styles in order to communicate the idea of movement in an engaging, playing and 'trendy' way.
Further ideas looked at creating more illustrative designs. These explored creating characters which could be used to promote the Autoglym brand and new Polar product series, kind of acting as an ambassador for the brand. One idea was to utilise the image of a polar bear holding a product, and another utilising the image of a seal. In order to enhance the message, an additional idea was to pair these characters with playful taglines based on the different products within the Polar Series. For instance "Keep It Polar" paired with the polar bear, and "Always Seal In" paired with the seal to represent their Polar Seal product.
Not necessarily an idea for this particular sticker range, but one additional idea I had for a sticker was to simply create a QR code. These are sometimes added to Autoglym's product packaging in order to get the consumer to engage more with the brand. For this idea therefore, it was thought that these QR codes could also be made into stickers, which could then be sent out to brand ambassadors to stick on their cars. Often these ambassadors take pride in their cars and take them to shows, etc. This idea would then aim to get the public to interact with their cars at these shows and therefore also engage with the Autoglym brand. This would therefore act as an additional element of brand promotion from their ambassadors.
Existing members of the design and marketing team also worked on additional ideas and scamps which looked at answering this brief.
Rachel's Scamps:
Similar to some of my ideas, a lot of Rachel's ideas looked at exploring the creation of characters which could potentially be used in a playful way to engage the younger demographic and act kind of like an additional ambassador to the brand. Other ideas of hers looked at playing on typography, particularly geometric designs, which she found through her own market research is a big trend at the moment, whilst others played on the brand's logo in a simple but playful way, such as creating this into a puddle under a crying sponge and overlaying this onto pattern.
Existing members of the design and marketing team also worked on additional ideas and scamps which looked at answering this brief.
Rachel's Scamps:
Similar to some of my ideas, a lot of Rachel's ideas looked at exploring the creation of characters which could potentially be used in a playful way to engage the younger demographic and act kind of like an additional ambassador to the brand. Other ideas of hers looked at playing on typography, particularly geometric designs, which she found through her own market research is a big trend at the moment, whilst others played on the brand's logo in a simple but playful way, such as creating this into a puddle under a crying sponge and overlaying this onto pattern.
Shaun's Scamps:
Similarly, again, some of Shaun's ideas looked at creating a character, which he paired with the playful tagline "Kick The Bucket" in order to communicate the idea of the new Polar product series avoiding the need for a two-bucket wash, since the products have been designed to work with a pressure washer. His idea therefore was to visualise this character doing different tasks, however each time reinstating the message that she is getting rid of the bucket, working interestingly with the tagline he produced to go alongside in in "Kick The Bucket".
Other ideas of his looked at playing on the properties of the products. Their snow foam product has been designed to cling to your car for at least 10 minutes in order to loosen any dirt. Through this, Shaun created another character designed to look like a bundle of foam with another playful tagline "My Snow Foam Is Clingy... Like My Ex" in order to try and make this funny and relatable to both real life and the Autoglym product in question.
Similarly, again, some of Shaun's ideas looked at creating a character, which he paired with the playful tagline "Kick The Bucket" in order to communicate the idea of the new Polar product series avoiding the need for a two-bucket wash, since the products have been designed to work with a pressure washer. His idea therefore was to visualise this character doing different tasks, however each time reinstating the message that she is getting rid of the bucket, working interestingly with the tagline he produced to go alongside in in "Kick The Bucket".
Other ideas of his looked at playing on the properties of the products. Their snow foam product has been designed to cling to your car for at least 10 minutes in order to loosen any dirt. Through this, Shaun created another character designed to look like a bundle of foam with another playful tagline "My Snow Foam Is Clingy... Like My Ex" in order to try and make this funny and relatable to both real life and the Autoglym product in question.
Final Ideas to Mock-Up:
At the end of the day all members of the marketing and design team held a meeting to liaise and present each others ideas. Based on this we created a list of those ideas which we felt were strongest and wanted to take forward to mock-up digitally. These included:
- Autoglym logo - full transparent and transparent text in a variety of colours.
- "Perfection est. 1965" in Vaporwave style.
- Polar bear with "Keep It Polar" tagline.
- Autoglym love hands with Polar series logo underneath.
- Super Resin Man.
- Leopard Autoglym logo and other pattern ideas.
- Car care explosion / floral art.
- Cartoon resin polish character.
- Kick The Bucket character.
- Rectangular pattern ideas as background image with type overlayed - one line Autoglym logo or polar blast vaporwave / foam style type.
It was also considered that some of these ideas would work better as GIFs. This something which Shaun found from market research on Instagram whereby people can add GIFs and digital stickers to their story posts. It was thought that a pack of these could therefore also be created which Instagram brand ambassadors or members of the public could use on their Instagram stories if promoting the Autoglym brand, which others would then see and can interact with. Those ideas which we thought could be turned into GIFs were:
- "Perfection est. 1965" in Vaporwave style - could have a simple shine move across the type, or make it seem as if a part of the type is moving to give the impression of action and movement.
- Polar bear with pressure washer - washing his igloo or bear turning around and looking as if covered in snow foam product.
- Super Resin Man - keep figure static, make cape move as if blowing in the wind.
- Clingy snowfoam - have the snowfoam character slide down the screen slowly and keep eye contact the whole time.
Approval and Production:
After the meeting, Shaun explained the process of production for this brief. Once mocked-up, each of these ideas would be presented to a person of the higher management team for approval for production. This person will assess the ideas and discuss whether or not they are deemed appropriate or reflect the brand in the best light. For this reason, once digitally produced, these ideas would be mocked-up onto images of cars as an additional way to convince the management team for approval in showing the designs in context and a more professional way.
Unfortunately during my time at Autoglym, there was not enough time for me to put any of my ideas into digital production, however I have been given the opportunity to continue with this brief in my own time and send over any designs I want to eventually see go into production.
After the meeting, Shaun explained the process of production for this brief. Once mocked-up, each of these ideas would be presented to a person of the higher management team for approval for production. This person will assess the ideas and discuss whether or not they are deemed appropriate or reflect the brand in the best light. For this reason, once digitally produced, these ideas would be mocked-up onto images of cars as an additional way to convince the management team for approval in showing the designs in context and a more professional way.
Unfortunately during my time at Autoglym, there was not enough time for me to put any of my ideas into digital production, however I have been given the opportunity to continue with this brief in my own time and send over any designs I want to eventually see go into production.
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