FINAL POST: UPDATE
After not posting on here for the majority of the project, I am finally complete. Even though I have not documented my research on here my project took a big turn after my individual presentation where I received criticism that I had not accounted for the designers ethos, which I agreed with. Dream Easy was created and its identity and how I got there can be seen in the brand book and report I have created. Second year is officially over, I look forward to my third and last year.
BRAND NAME AND LOGO
A brand name and logo is important, it is what customers first hear and see and must be something that is instantly recognisable. With my stationery company I have decided to call it stitches, this name comes from the fact the stationery is handmade. I thought stitches helps give customers a feel for the brand and its personality. For the logo I wanted it to be a modern handwritten font, here are 2 ideas below;
The top logo is a modern handwritten font, I think the font is quirky with the mis-matched letters and this represents the fun personality of the brand. However, it is a similar font to a main competitor. The bottom logo supports a more traditional handwritten font which represents the traditional craftsmanship that goes into the two products. I am still unsure which logo I prefer, I will ask a number of friends and fellow students in order to get a second opinion.
STATIONERY MARKET, IS IT GROWING?
"The UK stationery market is worth £2.1billion in 2016, having grown by 3.2% in the past 5 years." (Competitormonitor.com, 2016) Sub-categories including paper and notepads were identified as slowing in terms of growth over the same period due to the ongoing digitalisation and the increased use of technology devices which has reduced the demand for stationery.
The growth of 3.2% means that people are still purchasing stationery, however, the challenge would be that with the digitalised world that we live in today, how do we get people writing again? I feel that this would be a challenge for my brand but is a vision I want them to aim for. If my brand focused on the right consumer trends e.g personalisation it could help them be successful in the stationery market.
INITIAL IDEAS
Ive had my products for a few days now and in this time I have had a multitude of ideas that I could create a strong, desirable brand from. I want to create a brand that now only fits with the designer but also a brand that I can be confident in.
1) A brand for the lucid dreamers
My designers products were based around the narrative of 'lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is where the dreamer may be able to exert some degree of control over the dream characters, narrative and environment. It can be seen as a way of escapism for many and is very spiritual for a lot of experimentalists. The products that I would focus on are the handmade journal, which I would market as a dream journal, and the copper dream coins which can be personalised around individuals dreams. The pro's of this idea are that it is very niche, taking this as a positive means that the brand would be unique and have very limited competitors. However, cons include; who would purchase the products? Is their a market for this? And finally, do I know enough around this topic to create a brand from it?
2) Handmade Journals
The journal/diary created is handmade from cork leather. Taking this one product as an initial product range, I would create a brand focused around the handmade and vegan qualities of the journal. The stationary market is very mass made where as the journal my designer has created was made with thought from materials that are environmentally friendly. Pros of this idea is that it would be easily marketable and has a great unique selling point. Cons would be the lack of imagery I have, I just have one product hasn't been developed further.
My two initial ideas are very different from one another, both would target completely different people and fit differently into the current market. I want to build a desirable brand that I can create a need for. Further research into both ideas is needed before finalising to one.
THE FIRST MEETING
The last project of second year started on the 20th, it is a collaboration with furniture and product design students where we are taking the role of a branding consultant. I met with the partner and he showed me his three products. Initially, I was overwhelmed as I had no idea how I would be able to sell these. He explained they were created for his own personal use and was also unsure how they would be able to be brought to market.
The three products he has created follow the narrative of 'dreams'. He has explored lucid dreaming which was a topic of interest for him. Through this research he created; a dream diary, dream coins and an oak bedside box. The dream diary is a vegan leather bound book, its function is to become a place for users to write their dreams. The coins are personalised to reflect the dreams written in the diary and the wooden box is simply a place to store the other two products.
I feel that the collection as a whole would be very difficult for me to brand, however, the dream diary is a product of interest for me. My initial thoughts are to focus on just the dream diary but this could change as I go on with my research, but for now, I am very unsure of how I am going to tackle this project.
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