OUGD603: Revised Briefs

Based on the tutorial last week with Amber, I've changed and amended the briefs accordingly. There is now a total of nine briefs, rather than eight, as I've split up two briefs, for the sake of assessment. 

I've split up the SAC Ampleforth brief and the Coffee Culture briefs into two parts. The first part of which is the brand and identity design. Creating brand guidelines and proposing/creating collateral for the briefs and the second part is designing the website - as web design is a substantial brief within itself, especially for two medium sized businesses.

I've also added rough deadlines for the briefs. These will be subject to change, as I can't foresee how my time will be managed in 2015, as I will be doing D&AD and or YCN briefs along side. 

OUGD603 Briefs 03

OUGD603: Progress Tutorial

I had a quick twenty minute tutorial to see how I'm managing with my briefs, just to see if I'm on the right track with them - if the timescales are appropriate, the briefs work, feasible, and any other advice I might need - I could only benefit. 

I am Anthony White, I am a designer focusing on identity and web design. 

I talked Amber through all my briefs, and fortunately there wasn't a massive amount of negative feedback, just a few things to change, which shouldn't take me too long. I presented the briefs from an earlier post on this blog, which were at the time of the tutorial the briefs I was going to work on.

The first alteration I need to amend to all my briefs is adding a list of deliverables, just to make it easier to be assessed upon submission. It also makes it clear what I will be submitting.

Regarding an individual brief, SAC Ampleforth brief, it was suggested that I divide the brief up into two briefs. One for the overarching brand, the identity design and proposed/created collateral, and another for the web design - all of this together makes a substantial brief. It would be unlikely that I would finish it all in time for Christmas, when roughly half the module is to be assessed. 

This could also be done to the Coffee Culture brief. 

The 'Rebranding' brief is to be axed and moved to PPP, we have to rebrand ourselves as part of that module, it makes no sense doing it twice.

Smaller briefs, such as the branding for friends - such as the brief for Naoise O'shea could also be pushed together into one brief. If all I'm doing is designing logos and business cards, I could almost create a logofolio as the deliverable for this brief. 

All my briefs are ultimately based off something which does exist. Not all of them are live, as the client might not want a rebrand or a new website - however it would be beneficial to show it to them, explain what I'm doing and get some feedback - as though the brief was actually live. 

OUGD603: Brief 6 - Green Spot // Context

To get an idea of the product I will be replicating, I need to understand the context of the company who produces it, the product itself and any special features.

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"Green Spot is a single pot still Irish whiskey, produced specifically for Mitchell & Son of Dublin, by Irish Distillers at the Midleton Distillery, Cork, Ireland. It is one of the only remaining bonded Irish whiskeys, and is currently the only brand specifically produced for and sold by an independent wine merchant in Ireland."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Spot_(whiskey)

Green Spot was described by whiskey writer Jim Murray as "unquestionably one of the world's great whiskeys."

http://www.royalmilewhiskies.com/product.asp?pf_id=0010000012484

Green Spot is one of the few single pot still whiskey brands produced today(along with Irish Distillers' Redbreast and Yellow Spot). Note that all single malts are also purely from a pot still, but single pot still whiskeys use partially unmalted barley, so they cannot be technically called a single malt. Also, single malt whiskeys were generally distilled twice, whereas single pot still whiskeys were generally distilled three times.

http://whiskyscience.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/triple-distillation-in-scotland.html

Mitchell & Son wine merchants were established in 1805; however, it is uncertain exactly when Green Spot was first produced. It is known though, that by the 1920s Jameson's Bow Street Distillery was supplying Mitchell & Son with at least 100 sherry hogsheads of pot still distilled whiskey per annum.

Half of the casks used had previously held oloroso and other darker sherries, while the other half had held lighter finos. This was to prevent the wine from overpowering the whiskey. The whiskey was allowed to mature in the casks for five years, before being vatted and allowed to blend and mature for a further five years. It was then bottled and sold as a ten-year-old.

The blend was originally known as "Pat whiskey", and the labels carried the logo of a man on a green background.

The Mitchells sold a range of whiskeys under their ‘Spot’ brand name. This name originated from their practice of marking casks of different ages with a daub or spot of coloured paint. There was a Blue Spot, Red Spot and even a Yellow Spot, but Green Spot emerged as their most popular whiskey and is one of the few “whiskey bonder brands” to survive to modern day.

When Jameson moved production from Bow St. to Midleton, the make up of the whiskey altered for the first time in living memory. This, coupled with low stocks of maturing whiskey, led Mitchell & Son into an agreement with Irish Distillers whereby the whiskey would be matured by the distillery in their own casks, with Mitchell & Sons having sole rights to market, sell and develop the whiskey.

The current Green Spot is slightly younger than the original. It is a blend of 8-9 year old single pot still whiskey, 25% of which has matured in sherry casks.

500 cases (approximately 6000 bottles) are produced each year.Most of this is sold through Mitchell and Son's shop in Dublin. As a result, it is difficult to obtain outside of Ireland, except in specialist retailers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Spot_(whiskey)#cite_note-1

OUGD603: Brief 6 - Green Spot // Demographic Research

As part of this brief, I need to understand the demographic of whiskey drinkers and enthusiasts. I've conducted some research into who drinks whiskey in 2014. The common perception is that an older gentlemen would enjoy the taste, however surveys and studies have begun to suggest otherwise. 

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"No longer the reign of stuffy old men, premium whisky is finding an audience with young men and women.

While it may be coincidence, when the images of Mad Men’s charismatic Don Draper, Roger Sterling and Joan Holloway sipping single malt hit screens in 2007, more 25-34 year olds started drinking whisky.

The Roy Morgan survey found 25-34 year-olds were the most likely group to be whisky drinkers, followed by 18-24 year-olds (11.9 per cent), with 35-49, 50-64 and 65+ groups remaining comparatively steady.

Angela Smith from Roy Morgan Research said “metrotechs”, (otherwise known as young urban professionals), were also considerably over-represented in the premium whisky market."

http://thenewdaily.com.au/life/2014/01/21/why-we-are-mad-about-whisky/

"Scores of country songs praise whiskey-drinking women, but it’s only in the past few years that, as a demographic, women have embraced “brown” spirits like Scotch, rye, and bourbon.

“In the 1950s, women had a more open mind about whiskey,” Greene says. “That’s the beauty of nostalgic shows like Mad Men: We see strong women drinking hard spirits.” In fact, while Don Draper slugs back Canadian Club, it’s actress Christina Hendricks who in real life stumps as a brand ambassador for Johnnie Walker.

Another factor may come into play: Some women worry that ordering a single malt might be construed as too masculine. That perception is changing rapidly."

http://vegasmagazine.com/dining/articles/whiskey-women-drinks

OUGD603: Proposed Briefs

OUGD603 Briefs