Collaborative // GAP: Initial and developed ideas

Initial ideas we came up with:

• illustrated clothing or shapes
• geometric shapes
• expressive contrasting with the clean cut helvetica
• use the '25%' feature and create imagery with segments cut out of it

We have decided that the idea of segments to represent a quarter/25% would be quite effective. Because this campaign will be running during Freshers week, we thought of the idea of being Fresh, which fits in well with Gaps identity as simple, clean, and casual. 

• Fresh = fresh fruit
• cut a quarter out of pieces of fruit and photoshoot them.

We liked this idea (that Alex came up with, which I then suggested relates to freshers), but when we came back to it later we thought using fruit to sell clothes might not fit and might not be obvious. We discussed it the day after the idea came about, and Johnny was quite against it and we discussed the ways in which it may not reflect a clothing brand. I was initially unhappy with this decision as we don't have much time left, but decided to go with it.

Following on from this we created some vector images of geometric shapes with segments cut out. Alex created these shapes quickly on illustrator to start off, which stems from a suggestion we got from a peer about playing with the segment idea.

The first stage is promising with exciting colours, but there are too many - it reminds me of things aimed at children. Also, Gap isn't known for being colourful at all.

At the next stage we toned down the colours and made the imagery more subtle with darker colours and small pops of colour. 

The linear segments add more detail and layers to the design, but we thought that it could possibly look like images from a maths textbook...

On my own I have tried out some images made up of small circles, again showing the 25% off. It ended up looking like the American flag, however that would relate to Gap as they say their attitude is "American optimism". That still doesn't justify it enough, and the images aren't strong enough and lack colour.

Me and Alex sat together and experimented with different combinations of colours on illustrator as seen above, taking away some shapes and spreading them out a little bit.

I suggested that the mustard and yellow colours clash horribly with the other colours, especially the pink. An effective combination is an array of grays, pink and the dark turquoise, because more than one bright colour wouldn't reflect Gap at all. We agreed on this.
Their colour palette is mostly creams, greys, and blues, with a little pink. However, one bright colour sets off the design, giving it character and making it bold.

We agreed to use the shapes seen in the last two designs in different mediums such as billboards, leaflets and posters.


Slogans

The phrase 'Make An Understatement This Term' is an initial idea to reflect Gap's identity a bit more. It derives from a caption I saw on their instagram that read "Make an understatement"... which is something I haven't heard before, as normally making a statement is something that people desire.
We thought that this makes Gap different from other brands, as they are saying their clothes are beautifully simple.

In discussing this phrase as a group, we came to the conclusion that understatement has negative connotations, especially amongst students who want to stand out and attract attention. It would be best to use something that suits Gap's "Dress Normal" campaign.

I individually brainstormed some possible alternatives, taking from their website and social media presence, picking up on adjectives they use.

• Normal is the new black (Alex's suggestion)
• Be confident in your style
• Be comfortable with yourself
• Casual confidence
• Classic. Clean. Confident.
• #DressNormal this term.
• Be classic, clean and confident this term.
• Simplicity wins.
• Be classic. Be timeless.
• Shop casual this term.

Me and Alex discussed which of these would be appropriate, and decided to go with '#DressNormal this term'.  mentioning the university 'term' makes it more clearly targeted towards students, and hopefully would make them consider renewing their wardrobe for their fresh start in a new place.

When sharing this idea with Johnny, he thought that it would benefit without the hashtag -
Dress normal this term.
Sometimes an overuse of hashtags comes across as irritating to a lot of people and trying too hard.