A2 DESIGN CONCEPT, RATIONAL & CONCEPT
From the beginning, my project has centred on stepping into the role of graphic designer and creative director for one of my dream employers: the London-based fashion label Damson Madder. To achieve this, I have conducted extensive research into the online fashion community and analysed various competitors. This research has revealed a growing trend in the use of innovative graphic content and design assets on social media platforms. Such an approach not only enhances visual appeal but also fosters unique engagement with audiences, making it essential for modern brands.
My project specifically aims to create 18 distinct design assets that will enhance Damson Madder’s online presence – specifically in regards in Instagram. By carefully analysing the brand's unique aesthetic and aligning it with my own strengths and interests, I intend to develop engaging content that is both professional and user-friendly. Furthermore, I plan to incorporate current social media design trends, including dynamic moving images and GIFs, which capture attention and encourage interaction. Additionally, I will integrate tactile elements such as paper textures and grid layouts to create a visually rich experience. Ultimately, my goal is to produce compelling design assets that resonate with the brand's identity and engage its audience effectively.
PROJECT STATEMENT
As mentioned above, my project is to experiment with creating a series of innovative social media content for London based fashion label "Damson Madder". I am doing this as my project as it will be great to put into my personal portfolio as creative direction and graphic design in the fashion industry is where I want to go in my career - and a brand like Damson Madder is very aligned to the type of work I like to produce.
The key objectives of my project are to create captivating graphics and videos that go beyond what a static photograph can do alone, to also think outside of the box and be playful, and lastly to base my work on competitor and trend research.
Through initial ideation and play in A1 of this project, I will now be approaching this project in the following way; 1. Ideation (moodboard of inspo, saving content on IG, research, creative thinking etc). 2. Creating (going with whatever naturally comes to me, taking risks, hopefully happy mistakes and creating lots of stuff to work with). 3. Refining and Finalising (solidifying designs, thinking of their purpose to help create impact).
At the completion of my project I will have 18 individual deliverables. These will be presented all together and would form a content bank for the brand to use and mix in with their current content plan. I don't have an exact timeline for this project, rather I will create as it comes to me.
A major constraint is that I obviously don't have access to any of their existing commerce, ghosted or video content. So I will make use of what I can source from their website and go from there. I am not too worried about this however - but it is important to add as there are so many concept that would be great to further or even execute if I did have access to more content or had access to their product and studios.
RATIONALE & CONTEXT
Understanding Damson Madder as a company and where they sit with competitors was super important in providing a broader understanding of the purpose behind each design and action taken in the creative process. The research I did in A1 as well as my general knowledge of the company (as I've been following them for many years), kept my designs aligned and in the same aesthetic.
DECISION POINTS
A key decision I made during the connecting and experimenting phase was to not use AI to create. For one tile I did use AI to make a 3d ribbon font which is included in the finals, however from my research Damson Madder audience actually respond better to things that have a high human element. This discovery impacted my decision making with other assets, and inspired me to get of the computer also and use my hands.
CONSIDERATIONS
I had planned on creating more filmed video content myself but a major consideration was natural lighting which was limited in my current circumstance. I work full time 9-5 so I has limited time outside of my work to film during the day. However, the filming I did create I am very happy with, and the digital assets that made up the rest, I am also very pleased with.
DEPENDENCIES
As a result of each of the 18 assets being individual, I wasn't relying on anything being complete in a certain order, nor was I dependent on certain assets being made to then help me with another. It was great having a very fluent work flow with this project.
ALTERNATIVES
An alternative approach I thought about executing was to work with friends to create innovative video content with the cut outs of the clothing and graphic overlays. I had a few ideas written down but the ideas relied on me being able to collaborate and film others. I went elsewhere with these ideas and stuck to an approach where I didn't need to rely on using models so that I could independently get everything done.
CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS
A challenge I had was with the IGS gif-ing grid video. I had never attempted a complete sliced and moving grid like that before, so it took a lot of time and YouTube tutorials - but now I can confidently say I can roll out this graphic again. And I'm so pleased with the final result and now I have a great psd file for the next time I want to create something similar!
TOOLS AND RESOURCES
The software I used for this project was Adobe Photoshop, procreate, Adobe firefly and Adobe PremirePro (for the showreel). I also used my iPhone for photography content. Each of these tools enabled me to effectively layer stills, transform my ideas and digitalise my work in a 'ready to post' format.
RESULTS AND OUTCOMES
Below are my final 18 assets! I ended up with 8 moving images (videos/gif's) and 10 still content pieces. There is a range of mixed media, photography, graphic and illustration work.
VISUAL AIDS
USER FEEDBACK
I uploaded a couple of the content pieces to my personal Instagram design portfolio account and it got a great response, it work really well formatting wise and had good response from viewers. However, this is a smaller audience, it would be interesting to see in real life context how the assets would perform in their intended uses.
FUTURE CONSIDERATION
I really truly enjoyed this unit and it makes me super excited for where my career in design can go from here! For future iterations of this project and for future projects of a similar nature, I can only see how much my work can be furthered with access to professional studios, tangible product, further resources as well as collaboration with other creatives.
PROJECT SHOWREEL
References: All photography and iPhone videography taken directly from; Damson Madder. 2024. damsonmadder.com.au