Project B Reflection

Project B has been fun and challenging. Fun because we got to develop, explore and decide on our own, and challenging because of group work and my own limitations. We quickly decided on a group, which consisted of Maria, Vanessa, Vivian, Andrea and me.  We initially had many ideas of businesses we wanted to go into, everything from eco-friendly travelling to consultancy. We ended up with a consultancy, named Blue Orchid. It was beneficial for us that we all wanted to go in the same direction, when deciding upon a business. We all wanted to do something more that just making profits. We wanted to aid and enhance the role of craftsmen around the world.

Back in the days the craftsman was a valued community role, due to the knowledge that he/she possessed. It was vital for the community’s wellbeing that the knowledge of material and craft was passed down through generations.  The craftsmen operated as a link from land via materials, through process via craft and to user via business. Then the industrial revolution brought about a shift in the craftsman’s role. The focus was on profits and mass production, and the value of the craftsman was suddenly not as important anymore. The focus was now on the design process, instead on the actual craftsman and his/her knowledge.

We wanted to bring back the focus on the craftsman, and shift the centre of attention from a mass-producing profit seeking focus, to a value and knowledge focus.  We did not want authentic and distinct knowledge and products to be stepped on by the big chains anymore. This would have to be done through consulting local craftsmen around the world. Aiding them in gaining brand awareness and increasing brand value through our expertise. Blue Orchid would act as a knowledge exchanger, where we provide up to date expertise in marketing, sales, design, distribution and management, in exchange for their crafts knowledge. It is a win-win equation, where both parties benefit from each other. Together we will be a stronger team, and it is our job to prove this to our clients. Blue Orchid is a London based company providing global expertise in creating holistic brand solutions for craftsmen in emerging markets. We want to help craftsmen realise how to fully maximize their opportunities of benefiting from increased tourism. Our service is made with local jewellers in mind, strengthening their commercial value through having us as partners. Our main focus will be on brand revival creating sustainable local enterprises, while satisfying the need of the cosmopolitan consumer.

We were lucky enough to have Vivian in our group, who explained about the local jewellers in the Seychelles, and the potential of developing a collaboration with them as a starting point. These local craftsmen are mainly concerned with producing their own jewellery, but they are not aware of current trends that could increase their sales. We saw this market as an excellent starting point and a feasible business opportunity.

I enjoyed this project, but as previously mentioned – it was challenging. We started of excellent, and we were all motivated and excited about our business plan. I personally fell of the wagon after the Easter break, and when thinking about it now it was probably because I am used to do smaller projects quickly and then hand them in. This project was more complex – both in duration and the actual process. When I would usually hand in a project, this project was not close to done. I got a bit restless and unmotivated, as I felt I had nothing more to give and would rather see this project finished sooner than later. I quickly realised that I had to put my business ways of doing things aside, and focus on the design process. When I managed to do that, I realised that we all had so much more to give, and that a project only gets better the more time you allow for it to grow. I realise now that we could have had even another more weeks, to develop our ideas even further. This is a new way of thinking for me, as I usually begin something only to end it. I work hard to see the final outcome, but through this project I realised that the process should be the main focus. The process is what creates a well-developed outcome.

All in all I am very pleased with our Project B process and outcome. I personally learned a lot, which I think in itself is the best accomplishment. The project made me think in new directions, and also made me develop an idea further than I have done in previous projects.  I learnt a lot about my own weaknesses and strengths when working in a group, and as we were a group of five people – how it was to work in such a large group. How to coordinate and reach decisions with five different opinions can be quite challenging, but when we finally reach a decision it is five times more exiting. I also believe five minds develop better ideas than one, and the idea is put through tests that only strengthens the final solution. 

Kreolor:Business Card & Brochure

Here is the template for the business cards we intend to produce for Kreolor. We have also designed a brochure which will be distributed in hotels and shops. The brochure sets our to describe and explain the value of the jewelry and is a celebration of the craftsmen. We also wanted each piece of jewelry to have a paper note attached to it explaining what materials the craft is made up by, where the materials are from, what the colors are called, how the craftsman made it, and if it symbolizes anything special such as relaxing, peace, love, energy, strength etc.

HUB

Kreolor:Kreolux #2

We decided to keep the name of our first client. We believe it would be wrong of us to change the name of an already existing brand, as we are aiding them to enhance their own brand value, not to risk loosing it. So the new logo will look something like this:

Kreolor:Kreolux

We thought about altering our first clients name, from Kreolor to Kreolux. Kreolux sounds more luxurious and exiting, but we have not reached a decision yet. If the name change will take place, their new logo will look like this:

Logo

I think we will go with the 'Blue Orchid' logo, as we think it looks better and more businessish. It also gives of a calm and organized vibe.

Bompas & Parr

Bopas & Parr designs spectacular food experiences often working on an architectural scale with cutting edge technology. Projects explore how the taste of food is altered through synesthesia, performance and setting. Bompas & Parr also designs and manufacturers bespoke jelly moulds and kitchenalia; makes fine English jellies; provides full catering services; and provides food and design consultancy.  I would love to go to one of these events!

• DIRT BANQUET: A meal exploring the culinary implications of dirt. 
• TASTE O RAMA: Guests watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom while being able to enjoy key moment of the movie with their mouths.
• CELESTIAL BED: For Valentines Day 2011 Bompas & Parr recreated James Grahams notorious 1782 Celestial Bed. Visitors were invited to make love in the museum and drink a love philter which was made up by 23 secret ingredients.

 

Arts & Business: Rose Enright

Why link arts and luxury brands:

• Synergy - its a natural fit
• To do this differently
• Repositioning
• Good way to get PR
• Reach new audiences

A high level of creativity is valued in luxury brands. These brands are more progressive and daring - and linking the brand with arts may give huge brand rewards. One example is 'Made in Prada'. Prada does a lot of thing relating to culture, and one of these things is 'Made in Prada'. Each product in this range rewards the craftsmen behind the product. This range was hugely successful because it was a very honest and authentic project. It was the celebration of craftsmen from different parts of the world. 

Another successful campaign was the The Scottish malt whiskey society's collaboration with 26, a national organisation that champions the imaginative use of language in business. The project paired 26 writers with 26 designers to create the unique identities and labels for 26 Society malts. 26 Malts illustrates the power of words and images working creatively together, and maintains the long association of whisky with literature and language.

However, a campaign that did not work out as successfully was Louis Vuitton's ad campaign called 'the craftsmen'. As most of Louis Vuitton's products are made by machine, it is not authentic to produce an add that claims that there are craftsmen doing the work. Therefore the adds were banned, due to it not being authentic advertising.

A3 Poster

The Power of Words

Word Cloud:Orchid Consultants

Project Feedback

• Are you influencing the design of the jewellery? -Yes.
• Our business model can easily be replicated in other contexts.
• The main difficulty for craftsmen is to demonstrate the value of their crafts, but they are highly skilled and the work is authentic. 
• We should make the demographic/the clients understand why they should pay a premium. Make clients understand the value they are paying for. 
• Main challenge is marketing - How to tell the story honestly. Tell the story of the craftsmen. How many hours they spent on this work, how, why etc.
• Toursism - What is the market? Who is going to want these products?
• It is basically a trade of knowledge. We bring knowledge of tourism, marketing, finance etc. in exchange of crafts knowledge. It is a knowledge transfer!
• It is very important for us to prove that we will not take anything away from the craftsmen. 
• Synergy of culture. Synergy when bringing all parts of the business together. 

Project B: Process

In our group we all listed 4 values we believe our business should have. Then we grouped them, and linked them. The most common values were humour, respect and hard work.

Information Design

Information design is about communicating complex ideas. It was originally used to communicate to the masses quickly. An excellent example is the London Tubemap, which once understood, is easy to use to navigate through the complex underground. Or the signs outside toilets which easily communicates the male and female toilets. Information design is also used for accounting and finance, to present numbers effective and efficient. One example is the piechart, where information is easily presented. Visual communication design consists of photography, graphics, packaging, film, typography, magazines and web design. It is all about reaching out to people in the simplest way - to make people understand complex messages by only looking at a sign/chart/picture.