MDMFA Thesis Project: Greener Day Toys
RESEARCH
Throughout the entire journey to completion of the Greener Day Toys brand, many sources of information were needed before any designs could be executed. With every design, whether it is for a physical reason or digital reason, needs a color palette. One of the major goals of Greener Day Toys is to leave a lasting first impression. Since it takes 1/10th of a second to form a first impression, the Greener Day Toys brand hits the consumers instantly with vibrant colors, emotions, and unique taglines that immerses the audience into the brand as a family member, not just a potential customer (Laja, 2019). To begin the design process, the color palette needed to come to life. It was important to research the psychology behind colors because the brand’s goal was to bring out emotions of happiness, nostalgic memories for parents and grandparents, and the joy in children around the world.
Color Palette
The Greener Day Toys brand needed a fun color palette that communicated the brand’s attributes, but also represented the necessary moods associated with color. So, research regarding color psychology was implemented. The color palette plays a big role in the communication of the Greener Day Toys brand because the brand focuses on fun, family, inclusivity, energy, and many other positive emotions. In the color palette there are greens, blues, yellows, orange, red, pink, and purple colors that represent energy, enthusiasm, laughter, optimism, creativity, and playfulness (Gremillion, 2020). These vibrant colors were important to incorporate in the brand to act as an attention-grabbing element that would influence the consumer to dive headfirst into the brand with the expectation of having a fun, energetic, creative time within the brand (Stecker, 2021). There was some hesitation on using so many colors due to the potential of chaos to form due to too many elements in one design, yet it all balanced out. In addition to the meanings behind the colors within the color palette, children needed to be attracted to the design, and children love bright, vibrant colors, so it was important to incorporate these vibrant, lively, colors that attracts and brings out the positivity in everything and everyone. Once the color palette was carefully constructed, it was time to pick the right imagery for the brand’s success.
Brand Imagery
Picking the right imagery for the Greener Day Toys brand was difficult. Not only did examples of the products sold by Greener Day Toys need to be showcased, but imagery that depicts the brand’s personality. The Greener Day Toys brand imagery was selected to bring a physical representation of the emotions that the Greener Day creates within all who embark on the Greener Day Toys adventure (Honor Creative, n.d). By adding images of children interacting with the brand, the photos provide a physical depiction of the fun Greener Day Toys provides to children, the intended users of the Greener Day Toys products, a sense of nostalgia to the parents and grandparents who are buying the toys for their children and grandchildren, and explains the brand’s tagline in a visual way. On the Greener Day Toys website, there is an array of vibrant colors in every aspect of the site. All that was needed after picking the color palette and brand images was the brand logo.
Brand Logo
When crafting the logo, the first step was to take inspiration from the brand profile supplied in the beginning phases of the Greener Day Toys brand development. Simplicity was the design approach for the Greener Day Toys brand logo so that the target audience would have a memory embedded in their brain of the message behind the brand (Inkbot Design, 2021). By keeping the Greener Day Toys logo simple in design, yet versatile in use, the Greener Day Toys logo can be used online within the store site, on bus posters, stationary, and advertisements (Ray, 2018). The first thought that came to mind was using a globe as the focal point of the design. A globe is a physical representation of the Earth. The Greener Day Toys logo needed to have a timeless and recognizable effect on the audience so it was important to make the colors simple, yet detailed with highlights and shadows so that the logo could create an instant memory when seen by the consumers and an instant smile on the faces of the consumers (Assemblo, 2021). The Greener Day Toys brand is an online toy store so that means that the brand can be interacted with around the entire world. The logo also contains clouds and a sun to represent the word “day” in Greener Day Toys. The brand’s logo was also crafted using the “Kawaii” art style. The Greener Day Toys logo has rosy, pink blush spots, a cute smile, and round eyes that were designed using inspiration from the Kawaii art style to bring personality to the logo, while also being a great conversation starter between the brand and the consumer (Jimenez, 2021). Just as the products and experiences that Greener Day Toys provides to the world. The art design element has finally been completed and now it was time to finally focus on the text portion of the Greener Day Toys brand. Research needed to be conducted to find the best font approach for the brand. The Greener Day Toys logo contains the brand’s name within the logo using a bold, large, all-caps, sans-serif font that is versatile in color and use, while also maintaining uniform without having a “traditional” approach to the logo (MasterClass, 2021). After thorough research was conducted, the Greener Day Toys brand found its top typographic choices.
Typography
Greener Day Toys needed a font that was as bold and attention grabbing as the color palette, imagery, and logo. The “Greener Day Toys” font is crafted from the “ToyBox” sans-serif font and works as a text element within the brand’s logo, provides an informal, friendly, approachable feeling and look to the Greener Day Toys brand logo and products, and serves as the header fonts for important sections of the brand website (Lavine, 2020).
The additional fonts that were chosen were “Bebas” for the subheaders, and “Aubrey” for the copy font. These three fonts worked together beautifully to grab the attention of the consumer and to organize the typographic hierarchy to what is most important, to what is least important. The “Toybox” font is a bold, all caps, rounded-corner font that is big and eye-catching. This font was used for the font portion within the Greener Day Toys logo and the headers on the Greener Day Toys Website. The “Bebas” font is a sleek-bold font that was also used on the Greener Day Toys site, as well as the brand playbook, and the brand vision board, as the “ToyBox” font was. The “Aubrey” font is a slightly script-like font that was used as the fine-print, as well as the body font. In addition to these fonts, there was also a cartoon font that was used as an accent design within various Greener Day Toys brand media assets called “Just Bubble”. This font is a rounded font that has a rubber effect to the actual typeface, and was used to bring some fun to the brand, as fun is a key value to the brand since it is an online toy store. Once the font was selected for the brand, it was time to use the font to form a tagline. Research on successful brand taglines, how to create a tagline for a brand was done to form a tagline that immersed the consumer in the brand, caught the eye of the consumer, and expressed the brand’s attributes effectively.
Taglines
At the end of the brand development phase, the final touch of personality that needed to be added was the tagline. The tagline for Greener Day Toys is “Old fashioned fun for modern day children”. This tagline was crafted based on the supplemental needs of a tagline. What makes “old fashioned fun for modern day children” a good tagline for the Greener Day Toys brand is it separates this online toy store from the rest, it uses terms that are associated with time, to be timeless, and overall, it strengthens the brand’s livelihood by clearly explaining the goal of the brand, while leaving the consumers with the imaginations of what the brand can bring to the table (Gendelman, 2014). Brands like McDonalds have the tagline “I’m lovin’ it”, Burger King has “Have it your way”, and Nike has “Just do it”. These are different brands, yet they have all solidified in the culture of today. With that in mind, the Greener Day Toys tagline was created to build a lifelong legacy, just as major corporations have done for years.
At the end of the brand development phase, the final touch of personality that needed to be added was the tagline. The tagline for Greener Day Toys is “Old fashioned fun for modern day children”. This tagline was crafted based on the supplemental needs of a tagline. What makes “old fashioned fun for modern day children” a good tagline for the Greener Day Toys brand is it separates this online toy store from the rest, it uses terms that are associated with time, to be timeless, and overall, it strengthens the brand’s livelihood by clearly explaining the goal of the brand, while leaving the consumers with the imaginations of what the brand can bring to the table (Gendelman, 2014). Brands like McDonalds have the tagline “I’m lovin’ it”, Burger King has “Have it your way”, and Nike has “Just do it”. These are different brands, yet they have all solidified in the culture of today. With that in mind, the Greener Day Toys tagline was created to build a lifelong legacy, just as major corporations have done for years.
Conclusion
Navigating through the crafting of the Greener Day Toys brand was an adventure. There was so much research conducted to ensure that the brand was successful and timeless. From the color palette to the tagline, substantial research needed to be conducted to ensure that the brand would have a lasting impression on the world. So many lessons were learned while conducting the research needed to create the brand and overall, build a family within the brand.
Navigating through the crafting of the Greener Day Toys brand was an adventure. There was so much research conducted to ensure that the brand was successful and timeless. From the color palette to the tagline, substantial research needed to be conducted to ensure that the brand would have a lasting impression on the world. So many lessons were learned while conducting the research needed to create the brand and overall, build a family within the brand.
SOLVING PROBLEMS
Based on the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20% of small business fail within their first year, so with that in mind, it was important for Greener Day Toys to find a solution to the problem of increasing brand awareness and finding new customers to avoid failure (Kolowich Cox, 2022). The solutions that were discovered to solve these problems was creating physical advertisement media such as brand stationary, bus posters, pole banners, and creating a brand website, and multiple social media platform profiles.
Onlyness Statement
To solve the problem of finding new customers and boosting brand awareness, the Greener Day Toys needed a strong statement that would differentiate the brand from the competition. The Greener Day Toys needed a statement that would explain the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the business, so the statement, “Greener Day Toys is the only online, independent toy store stationed in Madison, Wisconsin, that creates a nostalgic experience for parents who love to share moments & experiences with their children and the grandparents who want to provide the same types of toys and books from their younger years, that will help their children and grandchildren with their creativity and hand-eye coordination, while educating them for the future. Children who receive these toys can embark on an adventure that will not only educate them but entertain them for hours.” was created (Clark, 2022). By establishing this statement, the Greener Day Toys brand shun a light on itself that enhanced the brand from its competition. By doing this, potential customers will be able to identify the brand.
To solve the problem of finding new customers and boosting brand awareness, the Greener Day Toys needed a strong statement that would differentiate the brand from the competition. The Greener Day Toys needed a statement that would explain the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the business, so the statement, “Greener Day Toys is the only online, independent toy store stationed in Madison, Wisconsin, that creates a nostalgic experience for parents who love to share moments & experiences with their children and the grandparents who want to provide the same types of toys and books from their younger years, that will help their children and grandchildren with their creativity and hand-eye coordination, while educating them for the future. Children who receive these toys can embark on an adventure that will not only educate them but entertain them for hours.” was created (Clark, 2022). By establishing this statement, the Greener Day Toys brand shun a light on itself that enhanced the brand from its competition. By doing this, potential customers will be able to identify the brand.
Voice and Tone
Since the Greener Day Toys brand needed to solve the problem of increasing brand awareness and boosting brand awareness, one of the important concepts to establish was the brand’s voice and tone. The Greener Day Toys goal for communicating with the audience was to establish a fun, inclusive, inviting, educational, and nostalgia creating voice and tone so that the customers would remember the brand, relate to the brand, and create brand loyalty, which would result in increasing brand awareness and finding new customers (Forsey, 2021). By creating this voice and tone, the Greener Day toys brand sets itself apart of the competition, while also maintaining a consistent brand.
Look and Feel
Throughout the entire journey to completion of the Greener Day Toys brand, many sources of information were needed before any designs could be executed. With every design, whether it is for a physical reason or digital reason, needs a color palette. One of the major goals of Greener Day Toys is to leave a lasting first impression. Since it takes 1/10th of a second to form a first impression, the Greener Day Toys brand hits the consumers instantly with vibrant colors, emotions, and unique taglines that immerses the audience into the brand as a family member, not just a potential customer (Laja, 2019). To begin the design process, the color palette needed to come to life. It was important to research the psychology behind colors because the brand’s goal was to bring out emotions of happiness, nostalgic memories for parents and grandparents, and the joy in children around the world.
Vision Board
Before those advertisements and media assets could be created, a vision board was designed to provide a blueprint for how the brand should communicate with potential consumers. Essentially, the Greener Day Toys brand vision board was created by incorporating the brand’s voice and tone, as well as the look and feel, on one solid board. The Greener Day Toys brand vision board consisted of brand imagery, the color pattern, tagline, onlyness statement, typographic hierarchy, brand logo, and a scatter of words to express the voice and tone. Greener Day Toys utilized this tool so that the brand would know how to evoke emotions from the person interacting with them, so that the brand could create designs that enhances its awareness, while grabbing the attention of potential consumers (Primoprint, 2018).
Brand Logo
Brand logos play a major part in increasing brand awareness and attracting new customers. The Greener Day Toys logo is a simple, yet inviting logo that consists of a planet, clouds, a sun, the Greener Day Toys name between the cloud and planet, and a smile crafted using the “Kawaii” art style to provide the human emotion of happiness on the logo, to work as a communication tool that is effective, and to create a logo that instantly forms a bond with the brand and the consumer (Jimenez, 2021). The Greener Day Toys Logo is symbolic for the brand because Greener Day Toys has created an expectation for the consumer to immediately require as soon as they interact with the brand. Upon viewing the Greener Day Toys logo, the brand is immediately recognizable, just as popular brands such as Mcdonalds, Nike, and Apple (Decker, 2021). By establishing a brand logo that differentiates the brand from its competition, Greener Day Toys increases brand awareness and attracts new consumers.
Sketches
Before any solutions were solidified, multiple stages of design planning took place to ensure that the best solution would be picked to answer the problems of finding new customers and increasing brand awareness. To focus on finding new customers, the solutions for this problem was creating physical advertisement methods such as brand stationary, bus posters, and street pole banners. Solutions were sketched to ensure that the Greener Day Toys logo, color palette, and tagline would be established throughout each individual envelope, letterhead, business card, poster, and banner. For each stationary, street pole banner, bus stop poster, social media profile. and website sketch, three different approaches to the problem were drafted to see which approach would be best fit to avoid additional problems that may appear in the final design process and which solution would improve the user experience so that the business can flourish (Tufts, 2014). Throughout each sketch, cohesiveness was the focus within each media piece to ensure that the Greener Day Toys brand is understandable within the first few seconds of seeing the design elements such as the color palette, brand logo, and typography, while establishing a strong tone for the business (Carter, 2020). In the end, the best design solutions were selected and solved the problems.
Brand Stationary
The Greener Day Toys brand stationary consists of brand envelopes, a letterhead, and business cards. These physical designs are representations of the brand, and each piece contains the brand logo and the signature brand color palette rainbow so that the brand has an established image that communicates the brand to the consumer, while creating a lasting impression that promotes the brand to the highest level (Wilson, 2020). The goal of the brand stationary that was created for the Greener Day Toys brand was to emphasize the emotions that the brand’s toys provide, but within the stationary designs as well. Each business card, letter head, and envelop have three different concepts that went into each category of brand stationary.
Letterhead
The letterhead needed to have design that introduced potential clients to a strong glimpse of the Greener Day Toys brand, so it was important to use the Greener Day Toys color palette as the header and footer borders effectively, while using the brand logo in a way that was not confusing to the eye, and cluttering to the brain, so that the brand’s name, logo, and contact information could be communicated effectively with minimal distractions (Dawes, 2018). In the concept design phase of the letterhead, the concept that had the brand color palette across the bottom of the paper and the brand logo at the top utilized too much space and caused the mock information to be cluttered and confusing. The letterhead option that contains the brand logo in the top left and the kawaii smiley face was pleasing to the eye, yet it was a completely unusable. The selected concept was the design that consisted of the Greener Day Toys color palette rainbow going across the top of the paper, the bottom right corner accent of the color palette, and the brand logo in the top right because the design allows the information to correctly be presented to the public to attract customers online using certified documentation (Dawes, 2018). Once the strongest concept was selected, additional revisions were made. The biggest yet simplest revision made was the color palette representation. Although paper is made to have sharp corners and straight lines, to provide a fun feeling to the letterhead since Greener Day Toys values fun, the color palette gradient has rounded rectangles instead of sharp rectangles, to give off a playful, inviting feeling.
Brand Envelope
To reach the new customers and spread brand awareness, the letterhead documents must contain an envelope to be shipped in. Just as a letterhead can create a magnificent first impression, the designers at Greener Day Toys wanted to also enhance that first impression with a signature brand envelope. Although there are three concepts per each solution, since envelopes have a front and back, there are three concepts per side. The front of the envelope concepts all shared the same design, just in different locations on the envelope. In design, less is more. So, the envelope needed to express the brand fully, without taking too much space on the actual envelope. The concepts were good in appearance, but lacked substance so the envelope fronts were freehanded to scaled back on having too much on it. On the backs of the envelope, the sealing strip in two of the sketches contains the color palette gradient and one contains a color palette accent on the bottom right corner. On the selected design for the back of the envelope, the color palette is present on the sealing strip but there is also the signature smile from the brand logo on the back of the envelope to maintain a consistent brand appearance without reusing the brand logo on both sides. Since the Greener Day Toys brand needed to increase brand visibility while making a good first impression, the Greener Day Toys envelope hits the recipient with an instant welcome upon arrival (Martin, 2021). The front of the envelope has a thin Greener Day Toys accent line across the top of the envelope and as a divider between the brand logo and return address, while also a clear window for the recipients’ addresses, and the back has the color palette on the seal strip and the Greener Day Toys smile from the brand logo to maintain brand consistency on the logo, to spark potential customers’ curiosity by enhancing the receivers’ expectations, and correctly communicates the Greener Day Toys brand personality (Martin, 2021).
Business Cards
Finally, to spread awareness to the business and to increase the number of customers, the Greener Day Toys brand needed to create a successful business card that efficiently and effectively conveys the brand’s identity clearly, establishes a sense of professionalism and preparedness when encountering local and worldwide potential customers, and creates the opportunity for the brand to include customers who may live in rural areas or are limited in technology (Preston-Loeb, 2017). The front of the business card contains the brand color palette and the brand logo so that the consumer is instantly greeted with the name, logo, and vibrant colors. The potential concepts for the back of the business cards all had the same elements of incorporating the brand color palette, logo, and an area for information. Through careful analysis, the concepts were not strong enough to execute a solid answer to the problem. So, to keep a consistent approach to the problem, the final business card decision was to use elements from the brand envelope and to simply add the brand logo with a color palette divider. The back of the business card hits the consumer with signature Greener Day Toys fonts, social media handles, the brand phone number, and the brand website, so the consumer can have a quick scope of what the brand offers, without over-extensive, drawn-out information, while building a trusting, established, relationship with the brand to the future consumers (Jackson, 2019).
Bus Stop Poster
Greener Day Toys values the lives of everyday people, and the brand needed to showcase that to bring in new customers and spread brand awareness. The Greener Day Toys design team came up with the solution to create bus stop advertisements since they cannot be ignored, attract the passing audiences, and they are largely sized, which can result in the growth of customers and awareness (Robinson, 2019). The concepts for the bus stop posters were to incorporate the brand logo and the brand tagline. The Greener Day Toys bus stop poster solution that was selected was to use the color palette as the background, the brand logo in a whitespace circle to allow the logo to breathe, and the tagline to be conveyed using white space to form the tagline. Since bus stop posters cannot be ignored due to the size of them, Greener Day Toys utilizes this as an advantage to incorporate the strongest brand elements in an organized way, no matter the time of day because they never stop working (Robinson, 2019). Using this thought process, the brand can increase its customers and create widespread awareness.
Street Pole Banner
Although they are not the same, street pole banners work just as hard, if not harder, than bus stop posters. The Greener Day Toys team decided to go with this approach and created three different concepts that includes the brand logo, tagline, and/or a visual element. Since visibility is key and street pole advertisements draw attention to the brand to anyone driving or walking, the Greener Day Toys team used two street pole banners that consists of the brand logo and color palette on the left, and the color palette and tagline using whitespace on the right to attract new customers, create a presence within the area, and to establish brand loyalty through consistent design and message (Ace Advertising Signs, 2015). The concept that included the visual element on the right banner was not successful for these problems because it had no message or element of the brand. The other concept that incorporated using the brand logo on both banners lacked contrast in the design, which is not good because contrast attracts the eye and adds depth to the overall design (Pluralsight, 2014). By using this approach to solve the problems of finding new customers and spreading brand awareness, Greener Day Toys can produce mass advertisements in shopping malls, highways, restaurants, schools, and many other family focused areas throughout the world, boosting revenue, awareness, and customer growth.
Brand Website & Digital Presence
With the world currently living in the digital era, it was important for the Greener Day Toys brand to make a presence online to expand and establish brand awareness, while creating a digital gateway to interact and recruit new customers. Since approximately 5 billion people have internet access throughout the world, the Greener Day Toys team chose to increase brand awareness and customer interactions digitally by creating a brand website and marketing on social media (Solis, 2022). The Greener Day Toys website uses its design and content to express the brand’s products, origins, and personality. Multiple concepts were sketched out to see how the website’s layout should be, however, it was best to incorporate all the concepts to establish a strong website with depth. So, the first concept contains the brand logo, menu bar, and information area. This concept was used for the homepage. The next concept created for the brand website was having the logo in the middle and a call to action, and was used on the return policy page. Lastly, the “About Us” concept design was used for the about us page to provide the audience with a mission statement, core values, and the brand’s history to create the conversation for potential customers and to provide brand awareness on a personal level with the world (Chandra, 2017). By building the brand website, the Greener Day Toys brand established a digital presence that encourages customers to interact with the brand more efficiently, creates an opportunity for potential customers to research the brand, and tells an attention grabbing, unique story that almost humanizes the brand (Solis, 2022). In addition to the website, the Greener Day Toys brand utilized social media platforms to create awareness.
Since the Greener Day Toys brand has the problem of increasing brand awareness and finding new customers, it is obvious that revenue is also a problem. As a solution, the Greener Day Toys brand needed to establish a strong profile on multiple social media sites. So, the Greener Day Toys team carefully sketched out concepts for potential profile pictures and cover/header photos. Every concept for the profile picture was consistent in design and contained the Greener Day Toys logo with the color palette serving as a rounded border around the logo. In addition to that, the cover and header photos are also the brand color palette with the tagline being created from the use of whitespace. The consistent imagery throughout each social media profile helps the Greener Day Toys brand to successfully communicate the goal of the brand to the public digitally, saves the company money by creating digital advertisements as well as physical advertisements, and helps to reach out to new customers around the world, while promoting brand exposure (Storm, 2021).
Conclusion
Every business must have a starting point, whether it is online or in-person. Greener Day Toys is no different. The biggest problems that Greener Day Toys were facing was finding new customers and increasing brand awareness. The Greener Day Toys team successfully answered these problems by creating brand stationary, bus stop posters, and street pole banners to grasp the attention of everyday people, while also spreading the message of the brand through the tagline to all bystanders, and by creating a digital presence through the use of social media and a brand website to reach potential clients and to broadcast the brand’s attributes worldwide.
Every business must have a starting point, whether it is online or in-person. Greener Day Toys is no different. The biggest problems that Greener Day Toys were facing was finding new customers and increasing brand awareness. The Greener Day Toys team successfully answered these problems by creating brand stationary, bus stop posters, and street pole banners to grasp the attention of everyday people, while also spreading the message of the brand through the tagline to all bystanders, and by creating a digital presence through the use of social media and a brand website to reach potential clients and to broadcast the brand’s attributes worldwide.
COLLABORATION
In design, whether it is personal or professional, every element needs to be critiqued so that the brand can flourish in the marketing world. Design critiques help a brand evaluate a design to see if it focuses on the business objectives and user needs, so with that in mind, it was important to value and assess each piece of feedback so that the Greener Day Toys brand can minimize the threats and potential mishaps within the brand, target audience, and design elements (Brito, 2018). Each critique was valued and used to solidify the Greener Day Toys brand to the fullest potential.
Voice & Tone Feedback
When forming a brand, here are multiple elements that work together to form the brand’s voice and tone. The elements that shape the Greener Day Toys voice and tone are the onlyness statement, tagline, and the explanation of what the brand is or isn’t. Each element needed intense feedback and revisions so that the Greener Day Toys brand could be as strong as it needed to be.
Onlyness Statement Feedback
Originally the Greener Day Toys onlyness statement was “Greener Day Toys is the only online, independent toy store stationed in Madison, Wisconsin, that creates a nostalgic experience for parents and grandparents who want to purchase Eco-friendly, wooden toys and books that help their children and grandchildren with their creativity and hand-eye coordination. Instead of electronics and video games, Greener Day Toys uses old fashioned toys to create learning experiences and entertainment for modern-day children”. The instructor from this course specified that the original onlyness statement was a good base, however it did not contain enough information to explain the benefits of the brand, how the features and benefits support the audience’s needs, and it did nothing to strengthen the relationship between the brand and the target audience (Hayden, 2021). After understanding and analyzing the critique from the professor, the onlyness statement was reorganized and revised. The final onlyness statement is “Greener Day Toys is the only online, independent toy store stationed in Madison, Wisconsin, that creates a nostalgic experience for parents who love to share moments experiences with their children and the grandparents who want to provide the same types of toys and books from their younger years, that will help their children and grandchildren with their creativity and hand-eye coordination, while educating them for the future. Children who receive these toys can embark on an adventure that will not only educate them but entertain them for hours”. The modified version of the onlyness statement for the Greener Day Toys brand fits better because it provides the benefits of the brand, while also explaining the brand’s values and morals, while also explaining the fun side of the brand.
Originally the Greener Day Toys onlyness statement was “Greener Day Toys is the only online, independent toy store stationed in Madison, Wisconsin, that creates a nostalgic experience for parents and grandparents who want to purchase Eco-friendly, wooden toys and books that help their children and grandchildren with their creativity and hand-eye coordination. Instead of electronics and video games, Greener Day Toys uses old fashioned toys to create learning experiences and entertainment for modern-day children”. The instructor from this course specified that the original onlyness statement was a good base, however it did not contain enough information to explain the benefits of the brand, how the features and benefits support the audience’s needs, and it did nothing to strengthen the relationship between the brand and the target audience (Hayden, 2021). After understanding and analyzing the critique from the professor, the onlyness statement was reorganized and revised. The final onlyness statement is “Greener Day Toys is the only online, independent toy store stationed in Madison, Wisconsin, that creates a nostalgic experience for parents who love to share moments experiences with their children and the grandparents who want to provide the same types of toys and books from their younger years, that will help their children and grandchildren with their creativity and hand-eye coordination, while educating them for the future. Children who receive these toys can embark on an adventure that will not only educate them but entertain them for hours”. The modified version of the onlyness statement for the Greener Day Toys brand fits better because it provides the benefits of the brand, while also explaining the brand’s values and morals, while also explaining the fun side of the brand.
Tagline Feedback
Initially, Greener Day Toys had three different taglines to choose from. The taglines were “old fashioned fun for modern day children”, “make your day a little greener”, and “expensive in education and excitement, not in cost”. The course instructor selected two of the weakest taglines, “make your day a little greener” and “expensive in education and excitement, not in cost”. The reason behind the critique of the tagline, “make your day a little greener”, was the sentence had zero substance and didn’t create a memorable experience with the professor. The critique behind the tagline, “expensive in education and excitement, not in cost”, was based on the professor’s direction of not discussing costs within the tagline because it does not explain the brand’s attributes. In the end, the tagline “old fashioned fun for modern day children” was deemed the best option, by the professor, for the brand approach that was being provided due to it summarizing the brand’s onlyness statement in a concise sentence.
Initially, Greener Day Toys had three different taglines to choose from. The taglines were “old fashioned fun for modern day children”, “make your day a little greener”, and “expensive in education and excitement, not in cost”. The course instructor selected two of the weakest taglines, “make your day a little greener” and “expensive in education and excitement, not in cost”. The reason behind the critique of the tagline, “make your day a little greener”, was the sentence had zero substance and didn’t create a memorable experience with the professor. The critique behind the tagline, “expensive in education and excitement, not in cost”, was based on the professor’s direction of not discussing costs within the tagline because it does not explain the brand’s attributes. In the end, the tagline “old fashioned fun for modern day children” was deemed the best option, by the professor, for the brand approach that was being provided due to it summarizing the brand’s onlyness statement in a concise sentence.
Brand Personality: Is/Isn't Feedback
To correctly identify what the Greener Day Toys personality should be, the professor suggested defining what the brand is and isn’t. The “is/isn’t” statements are Greener Day Toys is educational and isn’t complicated, is eco-friendly and isn’t electronics based, and is family focused and isn’t harmful. The professor focused on the statement of Greener Day Toys being “eco-friendly” and not “electronics based”. The professor critiqued these specific statements because “eco-friendly” and “electronics based” did not relate to the onlyness statement or personality, instead it only related to the materials that the brand provides. Initially, the thought process behind selecting these two words was because of the impact electric products have on the world from using electricity to power devices that negatively impact nature, and relating it to how the Greener Day Toys brand prides itself on selling products that use environmentally cautious materials, to convey that the brand cares about the environment (Environmental Protection Agency, 2019). As the brand continues to develop, the brand’s personality is still being revised so that it can be pushed further.
To correctly identify what the Greener Day Toys personality should be, the professor suggested defining what the brand is and isn’t. The “is/isn’t” statements are Greener Day Toys is educational and isn’t complicated, is eco-friendly and isn’t electronics based, and is family focused and isn’t harmful. The professor focused on the statement of Greener Day Toys being “eco-friendly” and not “electronics based”. The professor critiqued these specific statements because “eco-friendly” and “electronics based” did not relate to the onlyness statement or personality, instead it only related to the materials that the brand provides. Initially, the thought process behind selecting these two words was because of the impact electric products have on the world from using electricity to power devices that negatively impact nature, and relating it to how the Greener Day Toys brand prides itself on selling products that use environmentally cautious materials, to convey that the brand cares about the environment (Environmental Protection Agency, 2019). As the brand continues to develop, the brand’s personality is still being revised so that it can be pushed further.
Color Palette Self-Assessment
Although the professor’s critiques thus far have been positive throughout the brand look and feel, the color palette did not match the intended emotions the design process was supposed to convey. Initially, the color palette contained dull and pale colors like grassy greens, a rooster red, pumpkin orange, and two different shades of brand that ultimately gave a thanksgiving feeling, instead of a fun feeling (Ciotti, 2020). So, after studying color psychology and vibrant colors that provided fun, eye catching, and exciting colors to invite the target audience into the brand, vibrant greens, yellows, orange, red, pink, blue, and purple. Now, the color palette has vibrant colors that almost resemble candy!
Although the professor’s critiques thus far have been positive throughout the brand look and feel, the color palette did not match the intended emotions the design process was supposed to convey. Initially, the color palette contained dull and pale colors like grassy greens, a rooster red, pumpkin orange, and two different shades of brand that ultimately gave a thanksgiving feeling, instead of a fun feeling (Ciotti, 2020). So, after studying color psychology and vibrant colors that provided fun, eye catching, and exciting colors to invite the target audience into the brand, vibrant greens, yellows, orange, red, pink, blue, and purple. Now, the color palette has vibrant colors that almost resemble candy!
Imagery Self-Assessment
To ensure that the voice and tone would be visually depicted correctly, it was important to find the proper imagery that would complete that job. Initially there was imagery that included children in a room playing with toys. Although these pictures strongly depicted the brand’s attributes, did not catch the eye as the color palette did. So, instead of using pictures of children enjoying toys in their rooms, and after performing many self-evaluation tactics, pictures depicting children in front of a vibrant colored background were used instead. The emotions of the children in the newly chosen images create a great first impression to the brand, while providing a visual promise of what the brand provides (Thimothy, 2022).
To ensure that the voice and tone would be visually depicted correctly, it was important to find the proper imagery that would complete that job. Initially there was imagery that included children in a room playing with toys. Although these pictures strongly depicted the brand’s attributes, did not catch the eye as the color palette did. So, instead of using pictures of children enjoying toys in their rooms, and after performing many self-evaluation tactics, pictures depicting children in front of a vibrant colored background were used instead. The emotions of the children in the newly chosen images create a great first impression to the brand, while providing a visual promise of what the brand provides (Thimothy, 2022).
Typographic Choices Feedback
The initial typographic choices that the Greener Day Toys brand used in the design elements were Arial and a sans-serif font called “Bebas”. The professor of this course noted that using only these two fonts, would result in a lack of typographic hierarchy because there are not enough options to correctly identify the headers, subheaders, and body texts and organizes the viewers’ eyes to what is important within the brand (Chapman, 2019). Taking this information in, additional typefaces were added. The typefaces that were added are “Impact” as the headers, “Bebas” as the subheaders, “arial” as the body copy, and “Rise of the Geisha” as an accent font. These fonts pleased the professor and added to the initial look and feel of the Greener Day Toys brand, however they did not fit the vibrant and upbeat version of the brand.
The initial typographic choices that the Greener Day Toys brand used in the design elements were Arial and a sans-serif font called “Bebas”. The professor of this course noted that using only these two fonts, would result in a lack of typographic hierarchy because there are not enough options to correctly identify the headers, subheaders, and body texts and organizes the viewers’ eyes to what is important within the brand (Chapman, 2019). Taking this information in, additional typefaces were added. The typefaces that were added are “Impact” as the headers, “Bebas” as the subheaders, “arial” as the body copy, and “Rise of the Geisha” as an accent font. These fonts pleased the professor and added to the initial look and feel of the Greener Day Toys brand, however they did not fit the vibrant and upbeat version of the brand.
Typographic Choices Self-Assessment
Although the critique of the professor was valued and executed, the decisions made based on the professor’s feedback were not followed. In fact, the initial typographic choices before the self-assessment were just as dull as the previous color palette that was selected. So, to liven up the text aspect of the brand, a huge, rounded, bold font titled “Toybox” was selected for the headers, “Bebas” continued to be used for the subheaders, the body copy font was changed from “Arial” to “Aubrey”, and the accent font was changed to “Just Bubble” due to its rounded appearance and shiny design to provide a sense of creativity while also expressing the brand’s attributes to the fullest since they are all sans-serif fonts (Lavine, 2020).
Although the critique of the professor was valued and executed, the decisions made based on the professor’s feedback were not followed. In fact, the initial typographic choices before the self-assessment were just as dull as the previous color palette that was selected. So, to liven up the text aspect of the brand, a huge, rounded, bold font titled “Toybox” was selected for the headers, “Bebas” continued to be used for the subheaders, the body copy font was changed from “Arial” to “Aubrey”, and the accent font was changed to “Just Bubble” due to its rounded appearance and shiny design to provide a sense of creativity while also expressing the brand’s attributes to the fullest since they are all sans-serif fonts (Lavine, 2020).
Theme Self-Assessment
The theme of the Greener Day Toys brand has undergone few changes since its beginning phases of design. Initially the theme of the brand was to focus on nature in June since June is considered the “greenest” time of year due to the days being longer while the flowers are also blooming (Hootman, 2015). This idea seemed great at first, however it did not set the brand apart from the competition. So, after conducting a brief self-assessment, the theme was changed to an environmentally friendly, “Candyland” theme due to the vibrant color palette and fun, whacky, and decorative font choices that helped to identify the brand’s attributes.
The theme of the Greener Day Toys brand has undergone few changes since its beginning phases of design. Initially the theme of the brand was to focus on nature in June since June is considered the “greenest” time of year due to the days being longer while the flowers are also blooming (Hootman, 2015). This idea seemed great at first, however it did not set the brand apart from the competition. So, after conducting a brief self-assessment, the theme was changed to an environmentally friendly, “Candyland” theme due to the vibrant color palette and fun, whacky, and decorative font choices that helped to identify the brand’s attributes.
Vision Board Feedback
The Greener Day Toys brand vision board initially consisted of the dull color palette, typography choices, the onlyness statement, and a few images. Multiple professors pointed out that the brand vision board lacked brand imagery, the dullness of elements were almost an eyesore as they were not “fun” like intended, and that the vision board was designed from an art perspective, rather than a design perspective. After receiving this critique, it was decided that elements needed to be scaled different so that the elements could breathe, and the brand’s look and feel could be correctly established.
The Greener Day Toys brand vision board initially consisted of the dull color palette, typography choices, the onlyness statement, and a few images. Multiple professors pointed out that the brand vision board lacked brand imagery, the dullness of elements were almost an eyesore as they were not “fun” like intended, and that the vision board was designed from an art perspective, rather than a design perspective. After receiving this critique, it was decided that elements needed to be scaled different so that the elements could breathe, and the brand’s look and feel could be correctly established.
Vision Board Self-Assessment
After taking into consideration the feedback that was received from the professors, the vision board still didn’t seem fun enough, nor was the color palette, updated brand logo, and font choices updated to fit the current vision of the brand. Self-evaluation was needed because the brand did not uphold the attributes. So, it was decided that the color palette would be updated to the current one, the updated font choices were applied, brand imagery was depicted to explain the brand’s attributes, and each element worked together while individually shining.
After taking into consideration the feedback that was received from the professors, the vision board still didn’t seem fun enough, nor was the color palette, updated brand logo, and font choices updated to fit the current vision of the brand. Self-evaluation was needed because the brand did not uphold the attributes. So, it was decided that the color palette would be updated to the current one, the updated font choices were applied, brand imagery was depicted to explain the brand’s attributes, and each element worked together while individually shining.
Brand Logo Feedback #1
After establishing the Greener Day Toys tone, voice, look, and feel, the brand logo needed to be created. 30 sketches were completed to find the best. The professor of a Design Integration course evaluated the sketches and evaluated each sketch. The professor identified sketch 30 as the strongest concept for the Greener Day Toys logo due to it providing a childlike appearance and feel. That was the initial thought behind each concept that was sketched. Following the advice, the Greener Day Toys brand logo concept was selected.
After establishing the Greener Day Toys tone, voice, look, and feel, the brand logo needed to be created. 30 sketches were completed to find the best. The professor of a Design Integration course evaluated the sketches and evaluated each sketch. The professor identified sketch 30 as the strongest concept for the Greener Day Toys logo due to it providing a childlike appearance and feel. That was the initial thought behind each concept that was sketched. Following the advice, the Greener Day Toys brand logo concept was selected.
Brand Logo Self-Assessment
After the professor selected the best concept for the Greener Day Toys logo, a self-assessment was conducted. During the self-assessment, the concept that was initially selected, was taken, and revamped into a newer logo. This revision was done due to the initial concept having measurement issues which would result in the brand logo not being able to be used successfully on physical and digital advertisements, the brand logo not being able to be recognized, and the brand having little to no longevity in the marketing field (Tungate, n.d). In the end, the second concept was chosen because it could be centered while having the elements remain equal, the logo design is simple yet creative, and the concept derived from the initial logo, but elements were added to enhance the showcase the brand in its fullest potential.
After the professor selected the best concept for the Greener Day Toys logo, a self-assessment was conducted. During the self-assessment, the concept that was initially selected, was taken, and revamped into a newer logo. This revision was done due to the initial concept having measurement issues which would result in the brand logo not being able to be used successfully on physical and digital advertisements, the brand logo not being able to be recognized, and the brand having little to no longevity in the marketing field (Tungate, n.d). In the end, the second concept was chosen because it could be centered while having the elements remain equal, the logo design is simple yet creative, and the concept derived from the initial logo, but elements were added to enhance the showcase the brand in its fullest potential.
Brand Logo Feedback #2
The Greener Day Toys brand logo went through a series of development phases from sketches to media asset testing that helped to find the best option for the Greener Day Toys logo. The professor in a Multi-Platform Delivery course critiqued the brand logo and focused on selecting the best logo out of the two options and correcting the font spacing within the logo so that the logo could be used at any size, while still maintaining its legibility (Hiyo Design, 2021). With this feedback, the second logo was chosen, and the font color was changed to a simple black font, instead of a yellow font so that the font of the logo could be seen, no matter the size, just as the picture elements of the logo can.
The Greener Day Toys brand logo went through a series of development phases from sketches to media asset testing that helped to find the best option for the Greener Day Toys logo. The professor in a Multi-Platform Delivery course critiqued the brand logo and focused on selecting the best logo out of the two options and correcting the font spacing within the logo so that the logo could be used at any size, while still maintaining its legibility (Hiyo Design, 2021). With this feedback, the second logo was chosen, and the font color was changed to a simple black font, instead of a yellow font so that the font of the logo could be seen, no matter the size, just as the picture elements of the logo can.
Conclusion
Although these 13 pieces of self-assessments and professor feedback were focused on in this PLO, these were not the only pieces of feedback. These were just the most constructive ones that provided a clear understanding of what is to be expected from a successful brand. The items that were critiqued are some of the most basic elements within the Greener Day Toys brand, yet they work together to shape and express the brand in its brightest light. The onlyness statement, tagline, brand personality, brand vision board, typography, imagery, color palette, and theme critiques were selected because they these simple revisions provided a guiding light in successfully completing the Greener Day Toys online toy store.
Although these 13 pieces of self-assessments and professor feedback were focused on in this PLO, these were not the only pieces of feedback. These were just the most constructive ones that provided a clear understanding of what is to be expected from a successful brand. The items that were critiqued are some of the most basic elements within the Greener Day Toys brand, yet they work together to shape and express the brand in its brightest light. The onlyness statement, tagline, brand personality, brand vision board, typography, imagery, color palette, and theme critiques were selected because they these simple revisions provided a guiding light in successfully completing the Greener Day Toys online toy store.
ACQUIRING COMPETENCIES
Every professional designer had to learn the basics before achieving mastery. Usually, mastery is just an effective use of the basics to reach the fullest potential of a person. The Greener Day Toys brand has successfully utilized the basics of design to form a fully functional, strong, unique business that continues to provide old fashioned fun for modern day children.
Elements of Visual Design
Understanding the elements of visual design was important for me to learn. Studying lines, shapes, white space, value, color, texture, and volume enhanced my creativity, as well as my abilities to design effective pieces. Essentially, the elements of visual design are the building blocks for the designer. By learning this, I was able to avoid creating designs that had a low impact, as well as avoiding unusable designs. In the future, I will continue to analyze the elements of design before I create any designs so that I can plan out each element, which will result in having an effective piece that solves the design problem. On the bottom is a personal project of mine that I created after learning how to effectively use the elements of design.
Understanding the elements of visual design was important for me to learn. Studying lines, shapes, white space, value, color, texture, and volume enhanced my creativity, as well as my abilities to design effective pieces. Essentially, the elements of visual design are the building blocks for the designer. By learning this, I was able to avoid creating designs that had a low impact, as well as avoiding unusable designs. In the future, I will continue to analyze the elements of design before I create any designs so that I can plan out each element, which will result in having an effective piece that solves the design problem. On the bottom is a personal project of mine that I created after learning how to effectively use the elements of design.
Principles of Design
When first learning about the principles of design, I was a bit apprehensive about this competency. Learning about balance, unity, contrast, emphasis, repetition, pattern, rhythm, movement, proportion, variety, and harmony seemed like an overload of information, however, it resulted in my designs coming out excellent. I am a self-taught artist who dove into the media design educational field instantly. I was unaware of the structure, principles, and rules in design at this stage. So, learning about developing research questions and explaining the findings and challenges of a design before designing was a lot to take in, but necessary. In the future, the principles of design will help my career because it will guide my design decisions effectively. On the bottom, this was an assignment from the Design Research class. The assignment was to create a composition for the Earth Day assignments we previously completed. The goal was to create a balanced composition that united different elements into one full composition.
When first learning about the principles of design, I was a bit apprehensive about this competency. Learning about balance, unity, contrast, emphasis, repetition, pattern, rhythm, movement, proportion, variety, and harmony seemed like an overload of information, however, it resulted in my designs coming out excellent. I am a self-taught artist who dove into the media design educational field instantly. I was unaware of the structure, principles, and rules in design at this stage. So, learning about developing research questions and explaining the findings and challenges of a design before designing was a lot to take in, but necessary. In the future, the principles of design will help my career because it will guide my design decisions effectively. On the bottom, this was an assignment from the Design Research class. The assignment was to create a composition for the Earth Day assignments we previously completed. The goal was to create a balanced composition that united different elements into one full composition.
Line & Color
In the beginning of the program, I knew how to create art, however I didn’t know the elements that went into design. I was aware of line and color due to previous high school and college classes but never understood the importance of line and color. I was able to master the line skill by creating art pieces in Adobe Illustrator. This skill played a major part in crafting the Greener Day Toys brand logo. The brand logo consisted of straight and curved lines to form a half-earth and cloud shapes for the logo in Adobe Illustrator. Usually, I just design freely, but since learning the importance of the use of line in design, I have more uniformity and structure in my portfolio. On the bottom is an example of the line work that we were instructed to complete on Adobe Illustrator.
In the beginning of the program, I knew how to create art, however I didn’t know the elements that went into design. I was aware of line and color due to previous high school and college classes but never understood the importance of line and color. I was able to master the line skill by creating art pieces in Adobe Illustrator. This skill played a major part in crafting the Greener Day Toys brand logo. The brand logo consisted of straight and curved lines to form a half-earth and cloud shapes for the logo in Adobe Illustrator. Usually, I just design freely, but since learning the importance of the use of line in design, I have more uniformity and structure in my portfolio. On the bottom is an example of the line work that we were instructed to complete on Adobe Illustrator.
Defining Client Needs
Defining client needs was a skill that I never thought I would use. Defining client needs was an important competency to acquire because I do have dreams of working in the media design field. Before completing this program, I knew about clientele and how to build it, but I never understood the process behind maintaining clientele. When I acquired this competency, I learned how carefully listening to the client to get the client’s perspective, is the way to maintain that client’s relationship to you as a designer, while also building your clientele up. In the future, this competency will be used in my profession with every interaction, so that I can have a prosperous career as a media designer. On the bottom is an example of the coursework from the Defining Client Needs course. This assignment taught me how to use the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator, as well as how to convert a "client's" physical design, into a digital design.
Defining client needs was a skill that I never thought I would use. Defining client needs was an important competency to acquire because I do have dreams of working in the media design field. Before completing this program, I knew about clientele and how to build it, but I never understood the process behind maintaining clientele. When I acquired this competency, I learned how carefully listening to the client to get the client’s perspective, is the way to maintain that client’s relationship to you as a designer, while also building your clientele up. In the future, this competency will be used in my profession with every interaction, so that I can have a prosperous career as a media designer. On the bottom is an example of the coursework from the Defining Client Needs course. This assignment taught me how to use the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator, as well as how to convert a "client's" physical design, into a digital design.
Branding for Attention
As a person, I am extremely introverted. This entire journey has made me much more introverted. As a designer, I needed to express that in my art and learning the importance of branding for attention, helped that. Branding for attention was an important competency to acquire as it taught me, as a designer, to create designs that catch the eye of the audience, resulting in my designs standing out from competition. Learning how to effectively design to stand out has opened new avenues in designing for me as I am no longer fearful of thinking out the box when it comes to my art. On the bottom is my take on the Greener Day Toys brand logo. This design was crafted to showcase the brand in a fun light, rather than focusing on the "green" aspect of the brand.
As a person, I am extremely introverted. This entire journey has made me much more introverted. As a designer, I needed to express that in my art and learning the importance of branding for attention, helped that. Branding for attention was an important competency to acquire as it taught me, as a designer, to create designs that catch the eye of the audience, resulting in my designs standing out from competition. Learning how to effectively design to stand out has opened new avenues in designing for me as I am no longer fearful of thinking out the box when it comes to my art. On the bottom is my take on the Greener Day Toys brand logo. This design was crafted to showcase the brand in a fun light, rather than focusing on the "green" aspect of the brand.
Vision Boards
Being an organized designer was a foreign concept to me as I like to turn chaos into beauty within my art. Brand vision boards provide a layout to the design decisions a designer makes. Learning to use a vision board for all my art pieces, not just branding, is a newfound tool that will help my career develop as a media designer. Since learning the effectiveness of crafting vision boards, I have been using vision boards to plan out my future projects, so that I can have a clear representation of how my designs should come out. On the bottom is the brand vision board I created for the Greener Day Toys brand. This board played a major role in the structure of the brand. The Greener Day Toys brand vision board guided my design decisions when creating the different elements for the Greener Day Toys brand
Being an organized designer was a foreign concept to me as I like to turn chaos into beauty within my art. Brand vision boards provide a layout to the design decisions a designer makes. Learning to use a vision board for all my art pieces, not just branding, is a newfound tool that will help my career develop as a media designer. Since learning the effectiveness of crafting vision boards, I have been using vision boards to plan out my future projects, so that I can have a clear representation of how my designs should come out. On the bottom is the brand vision board I created for the Greener Day Toys brand. This board played a major role in the structure of the brand. The Greener Day Toys brand vision board guided my design decisions when creating the different elements for the Greener Day Toys brand
Benefits VS. Features
One of the most difficult competencies for me to grasp in the beginning was learning the difference between features and benefits. Although I do not create traditional designs, I needed to understand how to explain the benefits of picking my designs, while also detailing the features that come with my designs. Initially, I always thought benefits and features were the same, however, I learned the differences and applied them to my designs. Benefits are the results that come from the design, while features are the elements that make up the design and explain what the design can do. Once I understood how to differentiate the two and how to explain them efficiently, I began designing on a higher level. In the future, I will take this knowledge and apply it to designs that I or others create to full showcase the impact that design can have. On the bottom is a mock advertisement video I created for the fictional organization, Lucky Dog Rescue Orlando. The video discusses the benefits of saving dogs in Orlando, as well as the features of the organization.
One of the most difficult competencies for me to grasp in the beginning was learning the difference between features and benefits. Although I do not create traditional designs, I needed to understand how to explain the benefits of picking my designs, while also detailing the features that come with my designs. Initially, I always thought benefits and features were the same, however, I learned the differences and applied them to my designs. Benefits are the results that come from the design, while features are the elements that make up the design and explain what the design can do. Once I understood how to differentiate the two and how to explain them efficiently, I began designing on a higher level. In the future, I will take this knowledge and apply it to designs that I or others create to full showcase the impact that design can have. On the bottom is a mock advertisement video I created for the fictional organization, Lucky Dog Rescue Orlando. The video discusses the benefits of saving dogs in Orlando, as well as the features of the organization.
Art VS. Design
Being an organized designer was a foreign concept to me as I like to turn chaos into beauty within my art. Brand vision boards provide a layout to the design decisions a designer makes. Learning to use a vision board for all my art pieces, not just branding, is a newfound tool that will help my career develop as a media designer. Since learning the effectiveness of crafting vision boards, I have been using vision boards to plan out my future projects, so that I can have a clear representation of how my designs should come out. On the bottom is the brand vision board I created for the Greener Day Toys brand. This board played a major role in the structure of the brand. The Greener Day Toys brand vision board guided my design decisions when creating the different elements for the Greener Day Toys brand. On the bottom is another approach to the Earth Day assignment that was given to us months prior. This design was created to celebrate Earth Day, however this design was focused around NASA.
Being an organized designer was a foreign concept to me as I like to turn chaos into beauty within my art. Brand vision boards provide a layout to the design decisions a designer makes. Learning to use a vision board for all my art pieces, not just branding, is a newfound tool that will help my career develop as a media designer. Since learning the effectiveness of crafting vision boards, I have been using vision boards to plan out my future projects, so that I can have a clear representation of how my designs should come out. On the bottom is the brand vision board I created for the Greener Day Toys brand. This board played a major role in the structure of the brand. The Greener Day Toys brand vision board guided my design decisions when creating the different elements for the Greener Day Toys brand. On the bottom is another approach to the Earth Day assignment that was given to us months prior. This design was created to celebrate Earth Day, however this design was focused around NASA.
Time Management
Time management was something I was good at, but I needed some work on that. One of the biggest tools learned in this program was to create self-check schedules that would organize my tasks for the week, each day. This is something that was needed in my professional life because I would try to finish my assignments within a 2-day maximum, which resulted in in some health issues due to lack of rest and energy. I hope to use this knowledge outside of my career as well. In the future, I will instill schedules for each design I make, so that I can efficiently and effectively create designs that are thoroughly planned, executed, revised, and implemented in companies everywhere. On the bottom is a production schedule that was created to regulate how much time I would spend on each design task during the course.
Time management was something I was good at, but I needed some work on that. One of the biggest tools learned in this program was to create self-check schedules that would organize my tasks for the week, each day. This is something that was needed in my professional life because I would try to finish my assignments within a 2-day maximum, which resulted in in some health issues due to lack of rest and energy. I hope to use this knowledge outside of my career as well. In the future, I will instill schedules for each design I make, so that I can efficiently and effectively create designs that are thoroughly planned, executed, revised, and implemented in companies everywhere. On the bottom is a production schedule that was created to regulate how much time I would spend on each design task during the course.
Keeping it Simple
This was the easiest competency for me to learn, yet the hardest to execute. Naturally, I am an over-the-top artist, meaning I like to add a lot of elements that form a huge picture. In fact, simple was something I avoided with my art. While completing my MFA I learned that simple designs have longevity and convey the design’s message more effectively than a design that is visually complicated. As I continue to design, I keep the saying “less is more” in the back of my head, so that I do not forget that my designs need to serve a purpose. On the bottom is a simple advertisement design for the fictional organization, "Lucky Dog Rescue Orlando". The advertisement was crafted using a woman and her dog smiling to show how adopting a pet can bring joy to the animal and the human. The design is simple, yet effective.
This was the easiest competency for me to learn, yet the hardest to execute. Naturally, I am an over-the-top artist, meaning I like to add a lot of elements that form a huge picture. In fact, simple was something I avoided with my art. While completing my MFA I learned that simple designs have longevity and convey the design’s message more effectively than a design that is visually complicated. As I continue to design, I keep the saying “less is more” in the back of my head, so that I do not forget that my designs need to serve a purpose. On the bottom is a simple advertisement design for the fictional organization, "Lucky Dog Rescue Orlando". The advertisement was crafted using a woman and her dog smiling to show how adopting a pet can bring joy to the animal and the human. The design is simple, yet effective.
Conclusion
Although these 13 pieces of self-assessments and professor feedback were focused on in this PLO, these were not the only pieces of feedback. These were just the most constructive ones that provided a clear understanding of what is to be expected from a successful brand. The items that were critiqued are some of the most basic elements within the Greener Day Toys brand, yet they work together to shape and express the brand in its brightest light. The onlyness statement, tagline, brand personality, brand vision board, typography, imagery, color palette, and theme critiques were selected because they these simple revisions provided a guiding light in successfully completing the Greener Day Toys online toy store.
Although these 13 pieces of self-assessments and professor feedback were focused on in this PLO, these were not the only pieces of feedback. These were just the most constructive ones that provided a clear understanding of what is to be expected from a successful brand. The items that were critiqued are some of the most basic elements within the Greener Day Toys brand, yet they work together to shape and express the brand in its brightest light. The onlyness statement, tagline, brand personality, brand vision board, typography, imagery, color palette, and theme critiques were selected because they these simple revisions provided a guiding light in successfully completing the Greener Day Toys online toy store.
Above is the content from the presentation site for final thesis for the Greener day Toys brand. Throughout the process, it was important to provide visual representations that thoroughly enhanced the information I provided. My thesis presentation focuses on solving the problem of increasing brand awareness and bringing in new customers.
