Consumerism initial project ideas (OUGD401)

After doing quite a bit of research into consumerism and the different ways I could take this project I had an idea of the main parts I was interested in. 

Firstly I was interested in the idea advertising is creating a socially awkward society where people would rather be alone and surrounded by technology and products rather than other people. A good quote to reference this is "We are drowning in a media-fed fantasy. We are the first generation in human history to have our lives shaped - not by nature - but by the beguiling images of the electronic media. We spend more hours watching nature shows than experiencing the real thing; more time laughing at tv jokes than joking around ourselves; more evenings experiencing virtual sex than actually having sex ourselves. As we forgo the role of participant in the real world. We become spectators in the flickering of make believe."(see photo above) The quote was from an Adbusters book called Design Anarchy. The book was written by Kalle Lasn, published by ORO editions. This book has a ton of really good quotes that are also inspiring.

The next thing I was interested in is the idea of planned obsolescence. I found a quote as you can see in the photo above. This quote is making a very valid point, ancient Egyptians made things that would last not just a lifetime but through their afterlife too. Because of this passion to create lasting things we can still see products of theirs and architecture in amazing condition today. The contemporary things we make today are made the opposite and are designed to break after a certain amount of time, so we will be remembered for creating landfills filled with all our unwanted waste.

My next idea had come from a video I watched called Life lessons from an ad man by Rory Sutherland. He spoke about how in the 18th century Prussians had a really poor diet and Frederick the great wanted to improve this by getting people to eat potatoes. He tried making them compulsory to eat but it just wouldn't work. The problem being they didn't look very appealing. So he made the potato a royal vegetable and created a royal potato patch that had its own guards but the guards were instructed not to guard it very well. The peasants at this time figured if something was worth protecting it was worth stealing and soon they stole potatoes and began an underground potato growing and selling market. This essentially was Frederick the great rebranding the potato and creating a demand and desire for it by making it forbidden and only for rich and royal people.

So we had a cit presenting these initial ideas and everyone said the best route to go down would probably rebranding to create demand as it could be most closely linked to graphic design. There is an idea that through rebranding you can take a product, say a toaster and constantly change it as a way to continuously sell the exact same product over and over as people always want the new versions of things they already own to 'stay with the times'.

So continuing from this I have come up with the idea of taking possibly an item, food or current brand thats seen as cheap and unappealing and rebrand it in a way that makes the exact same product seem like it has a higher value. This would show how branding can completely change the amount of money people are willing to pay for things just because of their aesthetic.

To get some initial ideas for products I could rebrand I started by looking in the corner shop for things I personally see as unappealing and badly branded.

The first thing I found were Fray Bentos tinned pie, these are really outdated and personally I don't know anyone who eats these. These could be a challenge to rebrand as id have to decided whether to keep the tin or not but they definitely need a modern rebrand to make them seem more appealing as at the moment they make me think of old men going fishing and camping.

Spam was the next thing I saw. This could be a really good challenge as it would be quite hard to make mashed up meat look nice.

Tinned fish is another great one and I actually have seen expensive nicely branded tuna in Harvey Nichols before so its possible!

Next was pot noodle, they're not unappealing as such but it would be interesting to try make a posh and high class version with different branding and possibly some more sophisticated flavours. 

Lastly is my favourite idea so far. Rebranding cheap cider brands like Frosty jacks and 3 hammers. You already see high end ciders that are really popular and I believe if branded right these products could quite easily be sold for a much higher price.

 Here you can see 2 litres are sold for £3.09 and higher class ciders you can only get about 500cl or even less for this price. 

I also asked some of my classmates if they had any suggestions for other products and the image above shows some of the suggestions. Out of these hotdogs and prunes are definite contenders. I think the next place to look for inspiration will be looking at high class food products and the way they brand and advertise.

This is an example of some high end tinned tuna, it can be found in high end shops such as Harvey Nichols and is sold at around £5 per tin. The spanish writing makes it seem exotic which it isn't its just the same as regular tuna found in the supermarket just branded differently. The colours are really bright primary ones and instantly grab your attention. The vintage look to the design through the typeface used and illustration style gives it a desirable and reliable look in comparison to your usual tuna tin branding. The way that its not completely obvious at first sight makes it interesting too as you're drawn in by colour then have to work out what it is, that interaction with the customer is attractive.

When you search posh pot noodle in Google this image of Marks and Spencers take on it comes up. I think this is a definitely a more appealing and classy branding than pot noodle but I think you could go even more inventive with this idea to make it more high end.

This is another image that came up and obviously the glass would be too expensive to produce but the idea of a clear container and bright coloured veg makes it so much more appealing. Instead I could make a pot noodle contender that is high end and would be microwave noodles rather than hot water ones so I could have bright colours and softer noodles that would look attractive within this kind of packaging.

This is some branding for a pie company. I could for canned pie keep the tin and play on the idea of vintage branding that is so popular at the moment. Recreate a pastel coloured new vintage style that made it look more approachable and safe rather than outdated.

This is a great example of cider branding, the use of a glass bottle instantly adds class to the design. The simple and individual script style writing suggests a homemade quality which is something people find more comforting and reliable than large cheap alcohol brands. 

This is a great example of high class branding. This is cider placed in these wine style elongated bottles. The whole minimal branding and the use of the word premium screams high class and although it most likely tastes not so different to any other cider they can charge a much higher price for it and cleverly convinces the customer that this product is worth paying more for than the cheaper variations just because of its aesthetic.

I looked at other beer and cider branding and there are so many inspiring designs that show any brand of alcohol and be made upper class by simple changes in appearance. It would be amazing to take a brand like frosty jacks known for being a chosen drink by alcoholics and very lower class people and rebrand it into a high class drink seen in bars that sell draft beers etc. 

I even found out you can get blue beer bottles if I decided to keep that part of the branding as its certainly something that would make it stand out from other types of cider and it would still have elements of the old design.

Script and brush lettering is popular among high class alcohol branding and it adds an element of hand crafted ness to the products rather than mass produced which puts a lot of people off. Also once again bright colours here are really grabbing your attention and distinguishing between flavours. 

On the other hand you see really minimal branding like this. It says to me that it doesn't need to be flashy or extremely detailed to look appealing. This looks so perfect and composed you'd want to see if the taste of the drink was also as composed and elegant. People often say less is more, rich people are known for their minimal interior design and would almost definitely find a design like this appealing despite what cider was actually inside you could market and brand it in a way that would make them feel drinking it made them high class and worthy of beautiful things.