Objects are often created to address the needs and desires of a specific group of people. This assignment requires you to consider the context in which others live, then use your observations to inform your design.
Choose a specific sub-culture or specific group of people as your target market. Your goal in this project is to design packaging for a product (or line of products) that appeals to your target market because of its attitude, style, and content.
For your target market, you may not choose a group that’s too large, too general, or to which you belong. For example, men over 20 or children under 12 are group that are too broad. Choose a small and very specific group. For example, you could choose extreme skateboarders and design a helmet package, or for trailer park housewives who claim to have had encounters with aliens you could design whiskey label packaging. You should choose a sub-culture that is associated with a strong visual attitude that you can build on through your design.
As part of your process, you will invent a hypothetical person to help you define and understand the people and culture you’re trying to reach through your design. Your hypothetical person should be a well-defined individual described through a bio. This bio will include a photo, name, address, and description of their lifestyle. Consider the context in which they live, what they spend time doing, what products they own, where they are located, what they do to earn money, what their passions are, whether they sleep in or wake up with the sunrise, what they eat, and any other factors that help describe their world. It may be helpful to visit a location where this person would spend time to gain further insights and inspiration.
You will also develop a mood board that helps describe the attitude and style that’s appropriate for the design based on your subject’s style and needs.
Success with this project will be based on how well you define your sub-culture or group and how well your design appeals to their sensibilities.
Project Schedule:
Monday, March 16th – bio, mood board, and thumbnails due (see Design Journal Entry #7)
Wednesday, March 18th – full-size hand comps of 5 potential products due; all comps need to be constructed in 3 dimensions
Monday, March 23 – workday
Wednesday, March 25 – critique of 3 digital (tight versions) of ideas
Monday, March 31 – final critique of final design
DUE: Monday, April 13th – the physical packaging is due; all work will be photographed during class for documentation and portfolios; bring your camera if you wish
Project Grading: 30 points possible
Process Work (12 pts)
thumbnails: 4 pts possible
hand comps: 4 pts possible
digital comps: 4 pts possible
Final Design (18 pts)
18–16 Excellent; the solution responds to the design brief with a creative, innovative solution; craft is impeccable
15.5–13 pts. Good; the solution mostly responds to and meets the design brief with a satisfactory solution to the problems; craft is good
12.5–11 pts. Average; the solution solves the design problem with predicable elements or ideas; craft has some problems
10.5–9 pts. Below average; the solution is weak and does not address the design brief; craft is poor
8.5 pts and below Work not deserving of credit that fails to respond to the design brief; poor craft
