Reflective Journal. #fcp

I found task two a challenging task due to the low word count however, this has now provided me with the skill to cut down sentences and just show the important facts. I found creating the mood boards for this test very exciting as I knew in my head the exact consumer profile so I knew the type of images I wanted to include in the board. Doing small drawings to include in the task 2 report has made me look at drawing in a whole knew way. I found that the most effective drawings are the simple sketches that only have a small amount of colour on them to make the outline pop. Also the less detail on the drawing the better to make it look more visually attractive. Creating the mood boards and visual consumer profiles widened my creativity skills as I had to think about the colour, the font, they type of images I wanted to use and the layout of the images which will help me in future products. My group have chosen to create a mist that can be worn in the sun as a perfume as when perfume is worn in the sun it can create very serious burns which can then lead to skin cancer. Not many women knew about this so we wanted to make it more known to protect the lifestyle of others. Our big idea is to prevent women from burning in the sun die to perfume. We know women like wearing perfume as much as possible to disguise their natural scent however, at this point perfume can’t be worn in intense sun as it increases the risk of sun burns and skin cancer by a huge amount according to doctors. I customer insight is ‘I want to feel protected in the sun while smelling great!’ this body mist will give women the confidence they need while staying away from burning skin. Our product insight would be fruity SPF mist that is natural, non alcoholic and protected against ultra violate. As an extra we were thinking of making the design of the bottle and the smell link to different cocktails to give the brand and product a summery, holiday feel. Creating task 2 has now prepared me for this next task as I know more facts about the perfume industry and also about the effects of wearing perfume in the sun. At this point I need to concentrate more on my writing as I feel as though sometimes I can write too much about one thing so it seems boring when I could just get to the point quicker and save myself the spare words. I also need to keep practicing with my drawings to make them stand out and relate to the product.

London Bound.

The other week I was lucky enough to visit one of my favourite places with my boyfriend. I love going to London and seeing all of the beautiful buildings and sights and exploring the culture. For anyone that is planning on going to London I definitely recommend going up the Shard. For Christmas my boyfriend and I got a gift certificate to go up the Shard and I can honestly say it was one of the best experiences I have had. The view of London on that sunny day was incredible. Being able to see all of the buildings and sights that you had only seen in movies was breathtaking. They also had a 'where's Wally' game for the children to play, where the characters from the book were painted onto some of the buildings below the Shard, and you had to find all of them to then win a prize, which I was so tempted to play until I saw that everyone who was playing was about 10 years old! 

As well as shopping of course, after spending some time up the Shard and taking some beautiful pictures we went sight seeing to Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament and Big ben. How could you not go and see them while you're in London! I have to say, eating a van bought waffle outside of Buckingham Palace was definitely one of my favourite moments as well as watching a street dance show outside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. 

I can't wait to go back to London and see all of those beautiful places again and eat all of the amazing food!

Shelby xxx

Design In a Nutshell.

For anyone who has any interest in the major design movements, I really recommend you watch these short animated videos to widen your knowledge.

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/06/11/design-in-a-nutshell-open-university/

There are six short videos including one on Gothic Revival, The Arts and Crafts, Bauhaus, Modernism, American Industrial Design and Postmodernism. 

The video that I found the most interesting was Modernism, as it showed me how history is interpreted today. Modernists looked at film, music, art, graphic design ect, to find ways on how they could improve it. Artists such as Picasso, started to look as his world differently and portrayed his thoughts in his art. Monet, who was an impressionist, started trying to paint light. Architecture’s were finding more modern materials to build with such as glass and steel as the modernists thought that they could design a better society. 

Please watch these videos which are found on the link above as they really do make you think differently about the world of design in the past, present and future.

Shelby xxx