little london visit.

Recently the university took us first years on a trip to London overnight to visit the Tate Modern and also the National Brand Museum. The trip was a great insight into how brands have developed over the years and also introduced us to a few photographers/artists relevant to the to visual side of the course.

The Museum of Brands in Notting Hill was fantastic, I didn't realise how established some brands were and the journey which they had taken to get where they are today. What I found really interesting was the way certain brands had a sell by date, it seemed that after a some time they slowly faded out of the market. This made me think about why this happens, after some consideration I decided that brands must keep on top of their game and their market- they have to think about new ways to ensure that they remain current and modern.

Museum of Brands Notting Hill

We also visited the William Klein exhibition at the Tate Modern. I was very impressed by the work on show; Klein is an American Photographer, painter, film-maker, documentation and graphic designer. His work has a urban edge and airs an combative energy experimenting in the worlds of fashion, boxing and politics. Klein was born in New York in 1928 and grew up in the city but spent 60 years of his life living in Paris.

His work relates strongly to our Visual and Cultural module where we are focusing on glamour: some of the images we found at the Tate exhibition display sixties silver screen glamour and Klein is becoming a great artistic influence to the work we are developing.

Glamour and Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau is a style of Art, Architecture and Applied Art, especially focusing on the decorative arts, most popular between 1890-1910. Art Nouveau literally means 'new art'.  A reaction to academic art of the 19th century, it was inspired by natural forms and structures, not only in flowers and plants but also in curved lines. Architects tried to harmonize with the natural environment. It is also considered a philosophy of design of furniture, which was designed according to the whole building and made part of ordinary life.

Art Nouveau was particularly popular in Europe, but it's influence global. Magazines such as Jugend helped to publise the style in Germany, especially as a graphic form. Art Nouveau was also a style of distinct individuals such as Gustav Klimt, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Alphonse Mucha, René Lalique, Antoni Gaudí and Louis Comfort Tiffany, each of whom interpreted it in their own manner.

When art nouveau was showcased first in Paris and then in London, there was outrage; people either loved it or loathed it. Within the style itself there are two distinct looks: curvy lines and the more austere, linear look of artists such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Some aspects of art nouveau were revived again in the 1960s.

Style
Sinuous, elongated, curvey lines
the whiplash line
vertical lines and height
stylised flowers, leaves, roots buds and seedpods
the female form- in a pre- Raphaelite pose with long, flowing hair
exotic woods, marquetry, iridescent glass, silver and semi precious stones

Audrey Beardsley

Audrey Beardsley was born in England in 1872 and from a young age his illustrations and drawings were published in school newspapers, after advice from several he decided to take it up as a career and attended classes at the Westminster school of art.

He travelled around Europe for inspiration. In Paris he discovered poster art of Henride de Toulouse Lautrec and the Parisian fashion for Japanese prints, both of which are major influences on his work. He co-founded the magazine The Yellow Book with American writer Henry Harland and he served as art editor for several renditions and designed the cover illustrations. Most of his images are in ink and feature large dark areas contrasted with large blank ones and areas of fine details, contrasted with none at all.

He was most controversial artist of the Art Nouveau area, renowned for his dark ad perverse images. His art work has erotic connotations. He produced extensive illustrations for books and magazines such as The studio and Savoy (which he was co-founder).

Beardsley was a public as well as private eccentric. He said, "I have one aim—the grotesque. If I am not grotesque I am nothing." Wilde said he had "a face like a silver hatchet, and grass green hair." Beardsley was meticulous about his attire: dove-grey suits, hats, ties; yellow gloves. He would appear at his publisher's in a morning coat and patent leather pumps.

Colour Samples

Example of colour sampling from S/S13 Ready To Wear Collection.

Mood Board S/S13 Glamour Inspired

S/S 13 inspired Mood Board, focusing on modern glamour, textures and colours.

Here is my second attempt at creating a mood board, images are from the Ready To Wear shows at the S/S 13 London Fashion Week. Images were taken from Style.com, and the designers featured include: Bottega Veneta, Valentino and Louis Vuitton. These styles particularly caught my attention due to the careful embellishing, sheer flowing gowns, draped materials and flawless shapes. I chose colours which are neutral and simple. However I think they link to the glamour theme in a contemporary and refreshing way, putting a new spin on the classic regal colour palette, but also in keeping with the traditional Hollywood silver screen styling of the 30's and 40's. 

What makes a brand?

On Friday we were lucky enough to have guest lecturer Joe Baker come in and spend a couple of hours with us, the basis of the lecture was to talk about what makes a brand. It was so helpful to have Joe talking to us about the industry which he has and works in today.

The main points that he mentioned were:
Logo- Levi, individual
Ownership- No other brands or name similar.. Apple Mac/ Mackintosh rain coats
Colour- Heinz, teal colour is identifyed with Heinz, stands out on the shelf
Graphic Style- Font, Coca Cola is very recognisable just be the font
Shape- Cars: Audi, BMW- what defines it?
Smell- Abercrombie & Fitch, Starbucks. Tailoring for the customers needs
Touch- Materials used, quality,
Taste- Food, better quality?
Sound
Location- Where is it on the high street?
Association
Look- Dyson, different, innovative design
Uniqueness- What makes it stand out?

We were also asked to look at brand which we feel represents itself well, I chose to look at Levi Strauss & Co. The key brand characteristic's which stood out for me were:

Levi Logo- Recognisable, red square is it's identity:

Vintage Clothing- Rise in popularity, accessible in vintage stores such as COW, or online on sites such as eBay.
International Brand- Recognised in many countries, Founded 1853, with 16200 staff employed worldwide in 470 stores.
Eco Friendly- promotion of Levis being eco friendly is huge, 'Wash Cold, Line Dry', they also have launched the Water Less range which is extremely environmentally friendly.

Accessible/Interactive- Online store which has a section called curve ID, which lets you try on jeans interactively and find the 'perfect' fit without having to go into a store.
Online Store- Expanding this point e-commerce, well designed website.
Strong Advertising- Go Forth campaign, TV ads and magazine ads

Collaborations- Levi have recently teamed up with Nike to create a skateboarding range
Durable- Renown for their quality and value

I'm pleased that I picked up on several of the same/similar points which Joe has identified, I've realised that I I am able to analyse and recognise good points about the brand and which maintain and show that they can deliver to their consumers. Looking at faults of a brand and instances where they have not performed as well definitely increases my knowledge on analysing key characteristics of brands.

First SWOT Analysis

Last week our group completed a SWOT analysis on the brand Maybelline, we will be working very closely with this brand over the next couple of months and decided to find out what basic information we already had. To our surprise we had various points which we thought we could analyse to kick start the research on what it represents and it's products.

signature brand identity

Strengths
It's reliable
It is in all retailers- Superdrug, Boots
International
Catchy Slogan: 'maybe she's born with it, maybe it's maybelline'
Strong advertising and celeb endorsement with catwalk models
Established
Offers on products

Weaknesses
Brand positioning
It has so much competition- Rimmel, Borjouis, L'Oreal
Doesn't stand out
Lack of advertising at the correct market?
Packaging- Mascaras pre-packaged. Consumers then can't touch the products
Lack of retail presence
No consumer experience
Confusion as to who it is marketed at
E Commerce, Online presence?

Opportunities
Make it accessible
Stand out: re brand packaging
Blogging, testers and online market
Engage teenage girls
Lowering price to suit target audience?
Focus on a signature product
Skincare range to stretch out to new audiences
Free gifts?

Threats
Environmentally friendly?
Not having a strong online presence
The danger of not doing anything to resolve it's issues

Next stages for us to continue research: Look to America, is it successful there? Compare sales.

Visual & Cultural Influences: Mood boards

In my seminar today we were introduced to Photoshop, I have previously used it before and therefore had some background knowledge on the programme. Our seminar tutor, Millie, wanted us to begin to understand how to layer, merge, shape, re-size and crop a collection of images to form simple but graphically effective mood boards. I learnt how to use rulers and grid lines to set a series of structures to help place images in an appealing way.

Below is my first attempt, the images were provided by Millie.

Mood board, Seminar 2: Visual & Cultural Influences