Responsive- Design Process 2: Collaborative Brief Research

As part of the collaborative brief, we need to do some research into the brief so that we have a better understanding of who we are designing for. As part of the collaboration, we made a list of 4 main areas of research that we needed to do:

• The Brand 'Bear'
• Target Audience
• Other Competitors 
• Design Inspiration

Within the collaboration, we agreed upon myself doing research on the brand Bear and looking into other competitors within the children's cereal sector whereas Anna will be researching into the Target Audience and looking into some Design Inspirations.

The Brand 'Bear'

Bear Company Logo

Bear is a small, young company, started in January 2009 which focus on providing a healthy alternative to snacks. The do not see why you should have to compromise healthiness for taste. The company ethos is that they believe in sourcing all of their ingredients from natural sources and do not believe in adding extra sugar, flavourings and salt into their products. Their products are available to purchase from Waitrose, Sainsburys and Ocado.

The company name comes from an article that the founder read, stating the fact that animal bears grow up in the city and forage for food from bins, mainly those from behind fast food restaurants. This increased the fat of these foraging bears by 30% compared to forest bears.  This has a knock on effect into their activity and therefore their overall lifespan, whereas wild bears who had natural foods they foraged would live much longer. This was seen as a reflection of how humans feed as well and this theory was applied to our eating habits, thus the founders of Bear decided to do something about it.

In there 3 year history, they currently have 4 products on the market. They are Alphabites, Paws, YoYos and Nibbles:

Bear Alphabites Cereal

Alphabites are a multigrain cereal which has the cereal pieces in the shape of different letterforms. They are made from Wheat, Oats, Corn, Rice, Barley and Coconut, Blossom Nectar. You can get them in plain or chocolate flavours. The back of the cereal box packets usually have an illustrated image on the back based on the theme of a particular letter, making for an informative and interesting read for children.

Bear Paws Fruit Snacks

Paws are pieces of fruit which have been baked to become chewy snacks that have a similar consistency to sweets. They don't include any additives and sugar but it is part of 1 of your 5 a day. They are currently available in 3 flavours; Strawberry and Apple, Apple and Blackcurrent and Orange and Strawberry.

Bear Fruit Nibbles

Fruit Nibbles are just pieces of dried fruit which make up 2 of your 5 a day.  It is available in 2 flavours; Strawberry and Cherries and Mango and Pineapple.

Bear YoYos

The YoYo collection is the most extensive and developed of the snack ranges available at Bear with 6 available flavours. Its just pieces of fruit which are rolled up and are available in multipacks.

Current YoYo Promotion

There current promotion for YoYo multipacks is to find 80 different collectors cards and stickers where you collect a certain amount of barcodes from the packs which can be send off to collect a map and stickers. The first person to collect all of the stickers on the corresponding map can win a prize.

"BEAR wins a very Special Award"

(2013) "BEAR wins a very Special Award" [Internet] 14th June Available from http://www.bearnibbles.co.uk/cave-news (Accessed 7th February 2014)

Recently, the brand won The Grocer 'Food and Drink Brand of the Year 2013' due to their ethos and work towards making healthy food which is tasty and easy to include in everyday life. From this, the company aimed to sell and manufacture 60 million pieces of fruit by the end of 2013.

Information and Images found here: http://www.bearnibbles.co.uk

Other Competitors:

As part of the research, we felt it was important as a collaborative to understand the area we are designing for and how other competitors have reached out to the target audience. Bear has two main areas that it targets through its branding; children and healthy eating. In the area of snacks and cereals, there are a lot of other competitors in this market whose brands are focused on the ideal of providing healthy alternatives to children.

Organix 'Goodies' brand:

Organix 'Goodies' Range
Available from http://www.organix.com/our-baby-toddler-foods?field_ages_taxonomy_tid=92 (Accessed 7th February 2014)

Organix's 'Goodies' brand is targeted at children over the age of 12 months in order to encourage them to snack in a healthier manner. Using organic fruits and multi grains within its foods keeps parents happy whilst the illustrations of other children on the packaging encourages children through peer participation to eat the healthier options.

'Clif Kids Z' brand:

"Cliff Kid Z Products"

Available from http://www.clifbar.com/food/products_clif_kid_zbar/ (Accessed 7th February 2014)

The idea behind the products is to act like an energy food for children with the nutritious element of the food aimed at active kids. The presentation of the brand tries to encourage children to get involved in more activities depicting activities like rock climbing, skateboarding and swinging. The fact that they make a chocolate treat which is nutritionally better for you shows how they don't want to stop kids having treats but just want to give them a healthier version of it.

'The Pack Tunch':

"The Pack Tunch"

Available from http://www.tunchfoods.com/bars/ourbars.asp (Available from 7th February 2014)

The idea behind Pack Tunch is to have a healthy and nutritious snack which is easy to carry around and can be put into a packed lunch or as a afternoon snack. The name 'Tunch' is a mixture of Lunch and Tea ands they come in 3 fruity flavours; Pineapple and Coconut, Apple and Cinnamon and Lemon and Lime. The unusual flavours is more of an advantage as it gives them an individual product and identity within the market. Even though it has quite a childish name, it has a more adult appearance so that it appeals to both audiences.

Nutra Organics 'Superkidz' brand:

"Superkidz Vitamins and Snack Bars"

Available from https://www.nutraorganics.com.au/superfoods-for-kidz/about-superfood-for-kidz (Accessed 7th February 2014)

Based on research findings that childhood obesity is on the rise in Australia, Nutra Organics decided to launch a range of healthier foods for children as well as a range of multivitamins which will encourage getting essential vitamins and minerals into their body.

Wheetabix 'Little Ones':

"Wheetabix Little Ones"

Available from http://www.weetabix.co.uk/products-for/little-ones (Accessed 7th February 2014)

Wheetabix is a traditional cereal which has just made of wheat which are condensed into busks which can be topped with fillings, such as fruit and milk. They are started to appeal to a children's market by adding a chocolate flavour to there tired and trusted cereal and making the portion sizes smaller so that they are easier to break down and eat. The slow release energy and filling breakfast will stop snacking during the middle of the day.

Ella's Kitchen:

"Ella's Kitchen"
Available from https://shop.ellaskitchen.co.uk (Accessed 11th February 2014)

This brand is centred around providing a wide range of organic foods for young children by focusing on their relationship with the food. This is shown by the naming of each product and the childish, illustrative style of the design. The brand focus on producing food without additives so as to prevent bad behaviour which is normally associated with additional additives within processed food.

What has surprised me the most from the research is the lack of healthy cereal alternatives that are directly for children or advertised at children. This shows that this is a very important piece of market which has not been successfully fulfilled and, by becoming a strong contender in this market, it can make for a successful product.

Primary Research:

As a collaborative, we felt that it was important to do some primary research for this brief in the form of trying the product itself out.

In the Supermarket

I had a look at the supermarket and found that the packs themselves were very bold and stood out on the shelf, making maximum visual impact yet the same couldn't be said for the cereals which was very plain due to the white box so it was difficult to spot on the shelf.

Despite this, the most important thing for us was to be able to try the cereal out for ourselves so that we would be able to feel confident on what we are producing work for.

Cereal Box

I managed to find the cereal in a supermarket but it was difficult to find on the shelf as it didn't really stand out from its competitors compared to the snack ranges. The stock used for the box is a nice matt stock which is smooth to the touch, giving the impression of being a high quality brand as it doesn't use cardboard. Also, this makes the information of the cereal box back easy to read due to the flat imagery used. 

Trying the Cereal

We felt that the cereal was ok but wasn't really creatively flavoured and perhaps doesn't promote the facts of healthier tasting better.  Its understandable how the letterform shapes of the cereal would be quite fun for children and it was edible which is always a good thing! What we did like as a collaborative was the ethical and moral intentions behind the brand as well as the fact that by eating it, we were making a conscious choice of picking a healthier option yet we don't know if this will come across with children.

Concept Research:

Based on the crit we had, we came up with an idea of having the BEAR in the logo of the company on the box which can be dressed up into different outfits. 

                                     

"Mr Benn Intro" 

WhosYourBuddy(2006) "Mr Benn Intro" [Youtube] 4th October Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVFcIJWe0zE (Accessed 13th February 2014)

This reminded us of the young children's television show Mr Benn, where the premise of the show is about a guy who goes into a shop and dresses up in a particular outfit for the episode, going on an adventure based on the profession. This is particularly highlighted in the opening credits of the show which showcases just some of the many outfits he wears. 

As a collaborative, we liked the way that he effortlessly changed from one outfit to the next, having a new identity whilst keeping himself and his own identity. We wanted this to be available to how we would produce the character, perhaps keeping him the same size and making the outfits to one net so that it is easily swappable or interchangeable.

After this, me and Anna had decided on 5 different character boxes we were going to produce and we decided to split up the research for each character. I got the Fireman, Astronaut and Cook. I need to remember that it needs to be information that is easy to understand and interesting for children so therefore I looked to get the information from specifically child-aimed sources.

Fireman:

• A firefighter is someone who puts there life in danger to save the lives of other people and building by putting out fires. 
• Firemen wear flame-resistant protective gear such as a helmet, gloves and jacket to protect themselves from the fire.
• Firemen use large hoses to put out the fire and will use axes to break down doors and windows to get to people trapped in buildings. 
• Firemen use to be called the 'Bucket Brigade'
• Firemen work in a Fire Station where they will get a call saying someone needs help. They will slide down a fireman's pole to get to the fire engine and drive the fire engine to get to the fire. The fire engine is where they keep all of their equipment to battle the fire.

Information found here: Available from http://kinooze.com/2012/10/04/the-firefighters/ (Accessed 14th February 2014)

Astronaut:

• An astronaut is someone who is trained to go up into space in a spaceship to travel and explore space.
• The first astronaut to land on the moon was American astronaut, Neil Armstrong
• He was on the moon for less than 3 hours and the first thing he said on the moon was 'One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind'
• Astonauts wear suits to make sure that they can breathe in space. It can even be fitted with a jetpack so that you can fly around in space.
• Astronauts are able to float to move around in space. This is because there is no gravity so they are weightless. 
• Food and Drink for astronauts are usual freeze-dried so that all they have to do to make a meal is add water. They have to kept contained and stored so that they cannot escape into the aircraft and float everywhere. 

Information found here: Available from http://www.spacekids.co.uk/learn/ (Accessed 14th February 2014)

Cook:

• Chefs make food for people to eat
• Chefs will prepare the food before making it
• They will work in kitchens in restaurants making food for diners
• Chefs will try and invent new recipes by making new foods 

Information found here: Available from http://www.showandtellideas.com.au/Results/Previews/Preview5_7.html (Accessed 14th February 2014)

Responsive- Design Process 2: D&AD National Trust Brief Research

After selecting the D&AD New Blood 2014 National Trust Brief for my Individual Practise, I felt that it was important to get some contextual research as to the brand of National Trust.

Areas which I felt would be integral to my research would be:

• General Information
• The History
• Types of Places 
• Future of National Trust
• The Current Brand Identity

Alongside this research is research in response to the given Study Tasks throughout the Responsive Module (See Design Practise Blog).

General Information:

The National Trust is a register charity and conservation organisation which specialises in protecting historic buildings and gardens. It is one of the largest land owners in Britain as it intends to allow members of the public access to these sites.

National Trust Logo from D&AD Brief Brand Guidelines

There aim is to protect the areas of land in England, Wales and Ireland, making them beautiful places for people to visit. They are completely independant of the government therefore they rely on sponsership and donations from members of the public. Overall, they have roughly 3.7 million members of the National Trust with 61,000 people who volunteer their time and services to the charity, whether that be as a re-enactor, receptionist or helped, for example. They have just over 350 different sites to visit, such as houses, castles, gardens or monuments, all over Britain and more than 17million people pay to visit the sites every year. Not only that but they serve approximately 3.5 million cups of tea a year to visitors.

History:

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest and Natural Beauty was formally constituted on the 12th January 1895 as an 'association not- for- profit' by three visionary pioneers; Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley. The idea of having a place which would conserve the nature and countryside of Britain was thought of ten years earlier but it was only at this point that it was put into fruition due to the inspiration created by the success of the Kyrle Society.

Quentin Blake Illustration of Octavia HillQuentin Blake "Octavia Hill Illustration" [Internet] Available from http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/what-we-do/who-we-are/ (Accessed 13th November 2013) 

Hill was a radical who was convinced for the need for there to be open spaces available for the urban masses and the Trust came from her desire for the poor to have a fundamentally equal culture like the rich had but it was important that the poor had to put some effort into having it, which is where the point of having volunteers came in.

Alfriston Clergy House
John Miller "Alfriston Clergy House" [Internet] Available from http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/alfriston-clergy-house/ (Accessed 13th November  2013)

The first property to be saved under the Trust was Alfriston Clergy House in Polegate which has a carving that gave inspiration to the sprig of oak logo of the National Trust. It was bought for the price of £10 which was quite a lot in the 19th Century. The first natural reserve for the Trust was Wicken Fen, in Wicken Cambridgeshire, whereas the first archeological monument was White Barrow, a large mount of earth in Wiltshire. The Trust would come into establishments through properties being left to them in their owners wills after death or if private owners of the properties couldn't afford to keep them on due to the cost of housing upkeep.

The society started to gain media and press attention in the 1920's and larger names, like Beatrix Potter, started to show their support and gain some publicity for the Trust. Due to the fact that they are a charity, they rely on donations from beneficiaries. One of the most well-known organisations for this was the 'Ferguson Gang', a group of philanthropists who would hide their true identity by using fake names and masks when donating large lumps of money in sacks to the sites. Their unusual circumstances managed to garner a lot of public attention in regards to the plight of urbanisation of our countrysides.

The National Trust was given statutory powers through the National Trust Act 1907 which made it turn from a non-for-profit organisation to an independent act of government. This governance is held by 12 active members of a board of trustees who appoint and oversee all decisions made for the  Trust. This legal position allows for the National Trust to do things which other charities couldn't, such as restoring the buildings properly.

Types of Places:

The types of places that the National Trust looks after is mainly historical architectural structures or buildings of significant cultural importance. Alongside this is the natural aspect, such as stretches of coastline, acres of countryside as well as paintings and sculptures.

"National Trust Annual Report 2012/13 Visiting Figures"

National Trust (2013) "National Trust Annual Report 2012/13" [Internet] Available from http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/document-1355804150050/ (Accessed 13th November 2013) 

To put into perspective the range of different places that people visit, the National Trust complies a list of the most visited heritage sites of that year and the most popular range from a coastline to mansions:

"Stourhead" 

Sarah Holmes/ Sourhead "Stourhead" [Internet] Available from http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stourhead/ (Accessed 21st January 2014) 

Stourhead is a popular mansion and landscape garden that has a rich historical tapestry that is surrounded by ancient woods and farmland which you are free to wander around and explore. 

Wakehurst Place
RBG Kew "Wakehurst Place" [Internet] Available from https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/wakehurst-place/ (Accessed 13th November 2013) 

Wakehurst Place is a country estate surrounded by the Royal Botanical Gardens which house the largest seed conservation project. It has surrounding natural woodland with large lakes and formal gardens with beautiful tree collections that makes it have one of the most significant landscapes in England.

Giants Causeway
John Millar "Giants Causeway" [Internet] Available from https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/giants-causeway/ (Accessed 13th November 2013) 

Giants Causeway is a coastal range of cliff tops and mountains that can be found on the edge of the North Atlantic ocean which houses the basalt columns that call the Causeway there home. The landscape is breathtaking and highlights the natural wonders of the ocean.

Corfe Castle

National Trust "Corfe Castle" [Internet] Available from http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/corfe-castle/ (Accessed 13th November 2013)  

Corfe Castle is a historical structure from the English Civil War that resides at the top of a hill. The ruins themselves are dilapidated and untouched from the battles it has fought which gives a touchingly bleak yet graphic reminder of the violence they have found here.

What the range of places highlights is how the National Trust has to cater for a wide-range of audiences who value different aspects of our natural existence but this also shows how nature is such a strong part of our cultural make up.

The Future of the National Trust:

"Our Strategy of Improvement"
National Trust 2012/13 Annual Report  "Our Strategy of Improvement" [Internet] Available from http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/document-1355804150050/ (Accessed 26th November 2013)

• What the Trust intends to do is focus on the strong tourist community that Britain brings in and encourage visitors to visit the heritage sites as part of a trip to Britain. 
• They want to increase the amount of volunteers who work for the Trust and better there experience whilst working for the Trust
• The National Trust wants to improve the visitors enjoyment by improving the standard of presentation and customer service
• To improve the Trust longevity in this society, they want to better there digital marketing campaign and integrate technology within the heritage sites as a way of improving the customers visits.

Information from: National Trust "Future Plans: Annual Report" [Internet] Available from http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/article-1356392257433/ (Accessed 13th November 2013)

Current Brand Identity:

The current brand identity that is being used for the National Trust is by the design duo LukeCharles during their time at Wolff Olins. They were approached to create an identity that had to be flexible enough for each different heritage site to communicate its individual identity whilst still being able to talk to a range of ages.

Current Brand Identity

The first aspect of change was the main brand identity with a redraw of the logo design which makes it smoother and less bulky. The choice of the co-created typeface is bespoke to the National Trust and was inspired by the 1748 inscription at Stourhead, one of the Trust Heritage sites. It is produced in 4 different weights which allows for a recognisable voice regardless of the tone being presented. It was integral for the typeface to become synonymous with the logo and was technically drawn so as to save space within literature, making publications smaller thus saving on printing. One different area of the brand identity is using illustration, which they have experimented with using silhouetted illustrations to give more of a softer aesthetic to the brand.

'1000 Places under One Roof' Campaign

The '1000 Places under One Roof' membership campaign uses digital collage techniques to be able to put into place lots of different heritage sites and integrate them all together. This is to encourage people to take out a membership with the Trust so that they can visit all of these places under the National Trust banner, creating the image of an atmospheric and exotic set of locations to visit.

'All Yours All Year' Campaign

The 'All Yours All Year' membership campaign focuses on the members ownership of the National Trust, trying to make it inclusive and encourage people to visit at any time of the year. It is trying to give the message that the outdoors is collectively ours and we need to take ownership of the outdoors.  The different typefaces for the compass highlights the varying approaches and directions that everyone takes but ultimately leads to a love of the outdoors.

Current Membership Pack

As part of the campaign is that they have produced a new membership pack which comes in a folded card bag-style package that includes a handbook with lots of factual information about every heritage site for visitors to use. It is separated into the areas of the UK that they can be found in alongside being alphabetical which makes it easy to navigate information. Included in the membership pack is a map, leaflets, car arming sticker and membership card (See Design Practise Blog for my Primary Research on this).

National Trust Packaging

The packaging produced for the Identity is plain yet in keeping with the ideals of the brand as it sticks to being a sustainable brand which sells natural products that is made from the outdoors. The use of the sticker to keep the package together is simple yet effective and the information is clear. 

Collateral

Each guidebook is updated regularly to be able to make sure that all people within the membership are fully notified of any changes, with leaflets and desktop templates which can keep the membership informed as well.

"National Trust" by LukeCharles
LukeCharles "National Trust" [Internet] Available from http://lukecharles.com/national-trust/ (Accessed 26th November 2013)

The last range is of poster which are to represent and publicise particular heritage sites specifically. These were produced as a way of getting people who attend these sites to show for themselves what it means to them. A competition was set up for members of the public to send in photographs and images that they had taken and these are shown and used within the advertisements alongside the poster style.

Ultimately what this brand identity is trying to achieve is a sense of unity and shared experience for everyone involved, from the volunteers to the visitors thereby making something everyone can be proud of. The main aim of the brand identity is to make it contemporary and they manage to achieve this in a sense, however, they had achieved this whilst being very confined within what they could do with the brand- it still comes across as being old fashioned and traditional. What it also manages to achieve is a lack of connection for younger people or families as it looks like holiday brochure style you would see for older couples going for a no-child allowed holiday park.