Tutorial

Tutorial with Damian Chapman
How am I doing?
Based on advice from Damian, discussions with group members and visual inspirations, I created three alternatives of advertising, shopping bags, brand identity and package designs for a fragrance. I introduced Japanese patterns for each graphic design. I understood Japanese images for introducing in the UK though group discussions and tutor’s help.


Why am I doing this?
To improve my idea skills for creating graphic design.
To help Uniqlo’s rebranding as a simulation.

What am I going to do?
I am going to make a package design for fragrance such as yuzu, cherry blossoms and green tea.

Tutorial

Tutorial with Damian Chapman
How am I doing?
Last time, I showed PowerPoint slides to Damian. Based on his advice, I organized each slide. I tried to think about a flow and make the contents simple.
I collected Japanese wood print images for advertising to express Japaneseness from the westerner’s point of view. I asked some classmates if the image is Japanese. I have had some ideas to create advertising. To finish my study on time, I set up a timeline schedule.

Why am I doing this?
To express my idea by graphic design properly.
To create professional PowerPoint slide and it would be helpful when I work for a branding company.

What am I going to do?
I am going to create new advertising expressed woodprint with modern images by the next tutorials and try to make alternative design as well.

Timeline schedules:

Tutorial

Tutorial with Damian Chapman

How am I doing?
I discussed with Damian about three different alternatives of advertising and shopping bags.
1. Japanese pictures with modern colour images,

2. Japanese modern cartoon characters,

3. Japanese calligraphy and symbols such as family emblem.
I researched Japanese patterns, colours and so forth to get inspirations.
I tried to make Japanese oriented visual images for advertising and a shopping bag, but it was hard to express properly because Japan is somehow westernized. I did not know what Japanese images looked from the westerner’s point of view.
I also created Powerpoint slides for a presentation, and put all the information in each slide. It was not well organized.

Why am I doing this?
To understand the effective graphic design styles for a project.
To prepare for presentation.

What am I going to do?
As Damian recommended, I am going to recreate the PowerPoint slides.
An Important note:
1. Scope of Project: A big picture.
2. Focus of Project
3. Issues
4. Strategy
5. Project Ideas
6. Possible Visions

I created the following bags and advertising to express Japanese character's images, but after discussing with my tutor and group members, I realized that they were westernized Japanese characters.
I should not say that some of arts and designs in Japan are NOT original Japanese works. I need to think about how I can create original Japanese characters through inspirations.

Uniqlo's identity

I got an idea of Uniqlo's identity through Google identity for celebrations.
Uniqlo has a variety of clothing, but I felt they focus on selling T-shirts. Uniqlo's T-shirts were in the special plastic boxes for appealing to the Uniqlo's customers.

As a result, I decided to create new identities with T-shirts for this campaign period.

Example:





I need to change the T-shirts designs because some of them could be Chinese design as we use some Chinese characters in Japan. I will do further research of Japanese original images.

Tutorial with Jackie Perkins and Damian Chapman (2)

Tutorial with Jackie Perkins
How am I doing?
I talked about my project outline, strategy, advertising and a research process to Jackie Perkins.
According to Jackie, my project sounded interesting. Based on a comparison of stores and company’s background, I analyzed the best brand personality and originality for Uniqlo.
Based on inspirations from art and design, I created a concept of advertising. I will create advertising later.

Why am I doing this?
To gain strategic and graphic design skills.

What am I going to do?
I am going to read a case study of Muji as Jackie recommended.
I am going to make more graphic designs including a package design for fragrance.
I am going to add a timeline schedule and update a blog.

Tutorial with Damian Chapman
How am I doing?
I was supposed to do an eco campaign; however, based on Uniqlo’s store research, I realized that Uniqlo does not have high brand recognition. Rebranding Uniqlo is important than making an eco campaign because they need to create a basic brand image in consumer’s mind first. I set up the project schedule. From the website, I collected information about visual images such as japonism, set up a target audience, decided what kind of advertising images I was going to use for Uniqlo and planned to make a package design for a fragrance. I think research was very important to understand if the company has an inviting image to customers.

A definition of "Japonism"
Japonism, or Japonisme, the original French term, which is also used in English, is a term for the influence of the arts of Japan on those of the West. The word was first used by Jules Claretie in his book L'Art Francais en 1872 published in that year.Works arising from the direct transfer of principles of Japanese art on Western, especially by French artists, are called japonesque.From the 1860s, ukiyo-e, Japanese wood-block prints, became a source of inspiration for many European impressionist painters in France and the rest of the West, and eventually for Art Nouveau and Cubism. Artists were especially affected by the lack of perspective and shadow, the flat areas of strong colour, the compositional freedom in placing the subject off-centre, with mostly low diagonal axes to the background." (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japonism)






WEDNESDAY, 7 APRIL 2008
Why am I doing this?
To see if I am able to carry out this campaign successfully both with strategy and graphic design.

What am I going to do?
I am going to think about the best strategy for rebranding Uniqlo.
I am going to create brand personality and Uniqlo’s originality to win against its competitors.
I am going to create graphic design.

Recommended books: 
Attention! by Ken Sancharin

No logo by Naomi Klein

Illumination by Walter Benjamin 

Zag by Marty Neumeier



Tutorial

I talked about Uniqlo rebranding project. It is going to be a three weeks promotions.
-Research result: Uniqlo is not a successful brand in the UK as most people don't know about the brand.
Collections about inspirations (Japonism)
-Target audience: young people (17 to 24 years old) Straight and Gay people (I may shift about gay project to the next semester).
-Senses: Use fragrance (Scent of Japanese stuff, such as Yuzu, tatami and so forth)
-Graphic Design: Shopping bag, Advertising, Identity and package design for fragrance
-Place: Target is young people therefore, I will advertise at University souvenir store, London night bus, Tube station nearby campus.

Since many English people don't know about Uniqlo, I need to rebrand the company first. I realized that important things for rebrand is awareness to the target audience and differentiation from competitors.
What's the different between Uniqlo and competitors?
What kind of uniqueness does Uniqlo need to do?

As a result, I set up
-brand personality
-designed Japanese images on design
-fragrance

Uniqlo is going to keep the brand personality, design, and fragrance if the campaign is successful.

Advice: It is better to look for more Japanese images such as Japanese colours, manga and so on.
What is the uniqueness of Japan? What's the british design?
Japaneseness, economy place of market and style.

I promised to make more designs based on advice by next Monday.

These are an idea of advertising to express Japanese images. I think the colours are not Japanese colours.
I tried to express Japanese by the Japanese flowers and other patterns, but I couldn't express them as Japanese successfully.
I need to think more attractive Japanese art and design by learning from inspirations from books and other information.