Initial Ideas
Now that I have completed research into the competitors and target audience, it is now time for me to start making plans to develop the Mimosa Grove brand. Next week I shall be in contact with the creator of the company; I shall be presenting my initial ideas to them and receiving feedback which will determine my course for the rest of the project.
So, to get my ideas forming and to put me in the right headspace to begin creating, I practiced in three different forms of Ideation. Firstly (the most popular form) MindMapping, a sure fire way to get ideas flowing quickly and efficiently. Here is mine for this project:
I broke it all down into four main aspects which would serve as the stepping stones of the production to a company, Imagery, Colours, Logo and Audience.
As you can see definite themes are already starting to be formed, though they all take into consideration the clients brief, each individual theme resonates closer to specific things that the client has asked for. These are as follows:
High Brow/ Sophisticated:
My personal favourite, this theme would be one of class and elegance. Mimosa Grove is a wonderful brand and I feel this arrangement and aesthetic would show it great justice, for the true majesty that the brand is.
Featuring a muted colour palette of pastel brows, pinks, Beiges etc, minimalist illustration, dainty decorative features and classic fonts I feel this would fit the request the brief expressed of:
“retro inspired with a touch of modernity”
It would be vintage within right as it shows themes of model fonts such as Times New Roman and other Serif fonts, along with its pastel browns which would be something reminiscent of that of Burberry's (founded in 1856- a classic brand).
But in the same way can be seen as inherently modern, as such aspects like muted colour palettes and Serif fonts are being seen more and more in the modern graphic design world, and are predicted to follow on into 2021.
See here:
Also in the brief it was stated that the occasions intended for the purchase of their products were times such as pregnancies, baby showers, birthdays etc, therefore I believe that buyers would be wanting to push the boat out further in order to impress, so they would be more likely to come to a high class boutique rather than any ordinary brand.
Patch Work / Hand Made:
To pay homage to the fact the company is very much so, hand crafted. With relayed patchwork patterns and/or a charming typeface developed as their logo to reflect that of a sewn together patchwork quilt, it'll make for an aesthetic full of quirks and character.
Since the intended audience would be imaginative, crafty moms aspects such as this will really draw them in, and appeal to their subconcious, knowing they have hobbies related to such things.
Nostalgic / Childlike :
Going for a more playful, lively approach here, this theme would be closer related to mainstream children's brands such as Fisher- Price, Little Bird Told Me and Taggies. Taking on a childlike design, all aspects of the brand are heavily inspired by the children themselves, for example fonts and illustration mimicking childrens writing and drawing. These are aspects I would be fond of inducting into my own brand, even possibly creating my own typeface using the brush tool in illustrator for a more personalised, perfectly-imperfect approach.
In this theme there would also be more of an experimentation with colours, going for bolder options such as yellows, blues, pinks, greens etc. Fun and exciting.
Earthy:
Simply put, I wanted to dedicate the design to the companies ongoing environmentally friendly ways, such as hand crafted garments, quality clothes etc. I would make this subtle in a way that it didn't overpower the intended purpose of the brand, only giving a nod to it. How I would go about this would be through a colour palette of earthy tones (greens, browns, aquas etc)and environmentally themed illustrations (leaves, flowers).
Now I had come up with four themes, I decided to develop these further with the next practice of Ideation- Crazy Eights. A task where you divide your page into eights, set a timer for eight minutes and jot as many ideas down as possible. Encourages quick thinking and improves creativity. Of course I did this task revolving around the continuation of my four themes- coming up with more ideas for them. Here is what I came up with :
FYI, yes, I am now aware that ‘Kiddy’ is not a word 😂.
Only very basic ideas- somethings to think about. I am happy with the ideas this practice has given me.
Finally to finish off my day of idea generating, I thought it would be best to remind myself of our target audience, reflecting on my work to see if it would appeal to them; would it suit their needs? I did this through my last Ideation practice- The Five W’s:
