Research Project - Location Visits

The brief has given us the choice to either carry out an interview or do a location visit as part of our research. Firstly I assumed an interview would be more beneficial for me to ask the questions I need to investigate the topic in depth and discover how other individuals feel; after taking time to consider which type of research would be best for my project I decided that I would like to do a location visit. The location visit rounded up all of the research I have conducted, the books and articles made a massive impact of my overall decision of my final idea for my fmp however the location visit taught me the more practical side of the project.
 
Bath College have a range of creative courses that could have helped me so I looked on the website and luckily found a Product Design Level 3 course, I then went over to the art and design department and gave myself a lot of time to explore the building and look at some of the work that the students were particularly proud of. Although looking at their work inspired me, I wanted to find out how their work turned out the way it did and the step by step guide to how they managed it. My trip was successful because I managed to understand more about what topics the students study, such as, sustainable design, design history, model making and prototypes, materials technology and ergonomics. I admittedly don't have experience with these topics however it gave me the chance to understand more about the aspects of product design.

Before heading over to the art and design department I told myself that I needed to find explore potential ways of printing if I decide to make the shoebox cardboard. Speaking to a couple of students and lecturers allowed me to learn more about the print world.

Part two

One of my lecturers kindly brought in a shoebox that he had recently purchased. Asics is a sports brand therefore it was relevant to look . Overall the design is quite minimalistic, this complements with the simple logo that is shown on the package more than once, I noticed that each logo was a different colour in order to contrast with background which demonstrates a versatile aspect to the brand. Other than the logo, the overall packaging is quite plain and boring. Although there are two packages that the trainers come in, which is also the goal for my project, I believe that they are both lacking creativity. I am planning to come up with a brand that represents fitness as well as having the versatility to attract a range of customers, despite their gender or age.

The Clarks Village

Today I visited The Clarks Village in Street, it was the first time I had been and I can't believe I didn't know about it before. My lecturer told me about The Clarks Village because he mentioned that they had a shoe museum that could be helpful for me in terms of my research therefore I wanted to go there and see for myself. When I arrived I saw an Asics shop, I remembered that I had a look at the packaging that my lecturer lent to me so I decided to go into the shop to have more of an in depth look around. I was pleasantly surprised by the range of running trainers, they had different styles and colours which are suitable for all audiences. Looking at the Asics brand was useful for me because it was interesting to explore how the company is so successful with what they sell however when it came to looking at the packaging I was quite disappointed because it is simple, which is the opposite of what I will be doing for my fmp. 

Considering The Shoe Museum was the main reason for my trip to Street, I went there next. The museum displays more than 150 shoes from Roman times to modern day, also giving an in depth story of Clarks from when they started out in the early 19th Century. The galleries demonstrate the development of the Clarks footwear industry, the display shows shoe making machinery and tools, advertising materials and of course, the shoes.

The Museum was a really interesting way to see a physical timelime of a range of different shoes, I noticed how much shoes have transfigured since the Medieval times compared to the modern day. Looking at the shape of all of the shoes in the Museum I noticed that the majority of them still have undeniable similarities to the modern day shoe however it is just a case of a change in materials, the shoes we wear now are almost a modernised adaption of previous styles.

I have been asked about how this particular visit relates to my project and I explained that it was useful to recognise that there is a lot to think about when making any type of shoe and although I will not physically be creating my brand of trainer, it has made me realise that an important selling point for my brand would be the modernisation. When marketing a new product it is important to highlight the new and improved qualities and point out why the particular product is better than other competitors on the market. I believe this can make a major impact of the success of marketing, it can engage the audience.

Thankfully, the Museum gave examples of previous advertisements, the adverts would have been in the form of a poster. I noticed that different types of shoes had a different poster to relates to that specific shoe. When I market my brand I will also be relating the advert to the particular trainers so make the information specific and accurate.
 

 

As you can see, the adverts shown in the museum were all pysical due to the time period they were made. I had a look at the Clarks website so I could see the difference in their adversts since 1825. I would describe it as modern, simple and neutral which is a complete diffference to the original branding however it fits in with the present day. Updating the brand keeps the consumers interesting as well as gaining more of an audience.

The obvious difference I noticed was digital and print, currently digital advertisment is growing massively. It exsists on the internet, on a smart phone and hand-held media devices therefore I would like to use a platform such as social media to advertise my brand.