Cocktails & Wines // Emails

Following on from my email to Sam about brand guidelines etc, he emailed back.

This information has helped a lot, and its clear that he doesn't have any specific ideas and needs a lot of ideas generated for him. The images he referred to in the email:

 

I'm not sure what he means by each number meaning something different: each number is a logo or just a label on a product? This is uninspiring to me.

Logos like these are very effective and memorable. although it can be very difficult and a long process to come up with them.

One thing that has stuck out to me is the dullness of the name 'Cocktails and Wines'... so I brought it up.

I mentioned how the name isn't memorable or original enough: I wouldn't want to fully design something that may be unsuccessful or changed down the line. It also wouldn't look too great in my portfolio!

Asking for any similar brands means that I can see the kind of thing that needs to be created, or figure out how to stand out from these companies.

It seems now that the idea of the brand has changed to focus on bartending weddings.

This link has given me a better idea of what he is going for: sleek and sophisticated bar equipment.

These emails show that he has had to take a step backwards to figure out the plan. As this is a new business idea and he is a young student, this wasn't surprising.

Live brief // Cocktails & Wines

Live brief

For one of my live briefs I have offered to rebrand a new business that Sam, a friend of mine is starting up. I met him at my part-time job, which he has now left to pursue this brand alongside his degree.

Cocktails and Wines - an educational service which provides invaluable information into the world of alcohol through a series of videos and tutorials.

When I first saw the logo and the posts on the instagram page, I instantly offered to help as the designs are atrocious. (This is because on the internet he had sourced very low paid graphic designers in the Philippines to design his content.)

The logo doesn't even fit in the circular icon space, and the martini glass isn't even centred. Not to mention the images with overlaying text are pixellated and the worst things I've ever seen.

I was sent an email with a document detailing the company.

Business Overview

Cocktails and Wines is an educational service which provides invaluable information into the world of alcohol through a series of videos and tutorials. As alcohol is and continues to be a big problem in the UK with over 9 million people drinking over the recommended daily limit and almost 7,000 alcohol related deaths in 2012 alone. Through a series of educational videos on wine and tutorials on alcohol, cocktails and wines aims to at least reach those people who we would have otherwise not been able to reach. 

Research shows that an estimated 7.5 million people are unaware the damage their drinking is causing which might be due to the fact that alcohol is 61% more affordable than it was in the 1980's, we aim to raise more awareness through a fun and engaging way. 

The service we provide is information about alcohol by teaching our customers how to make cocktails and a deeper understanding on the subject of wine. The products we sell is our own branded cocktail and bar equipments which we use in these video productions, with the definite goal of breaking into the bar equipment supply industry. 

The videos will be released weekly on our website and linked to our different social media accounts and the products, as well as being sold on our website, will be sold on Amazon and on Ebay. 

Distribution will be handled by fulfilment by Amazon (FBA). FBA makes it possible to ship your inventory to the amazon fulfilment centres and for a small fee, they handle all our distribution needs including those not made on the amazon selling platform. This we will give us more time to focus on growing the company. 

The ultimate goal is to become the number one supplier of cocktail and bar equipments in the UK but first we need to develop our online presence. 

In a years time we will be trading with bars and restaurants around the UK. In three years we aim to become the supplier of bar equipments for majority of the bars in Yorkshire. In 5 years, we aim to be supplying bar equipments to majority of the bars in the UK. 

The way the industry is now is that most of my competition either focus just on cocktail masterclasses or on bar equipment supply. This business merges these two parts of the industry and offers it at a better value than is possible by just focusing on one. 

The cocktails and wine videos will be free and published on our different social media accounts to raise awareness and at the same time build reputation through branding; something none of my competition is doing at the moment. 

Products and Services 

Cocktails and Wines offer both service and product. This service we offer is unlimited free information into the world of wines, tutorials on how to make different types of cocktails and a free eBook to accompany it when any customer signs up. The product we offer come in two categories called the tripwire and the core sale which is described below. And after 6 months of building our reputation in the bar equipment supply industry, we will market our products to bars and restaurants around the UK.

The Tripwire - Cocktail Box 1. The contents of the first cocktail box (of which the box will be carefully manufactured to suit the contents on the box) include: 

• Company Branded Cocktail Shaker 

• 2 Sided-Jigger 

• Free Pourer

The Core Sale - Cocktail Box 2. The contents of the second cocktail box (of which the box will be carefully manufactured to suit the contents on the box) include: 

• Company Branded Cocktail Shaker 

• A Boston Glass with measuring scales in mL 

• A Customised Branded Boston Tin 

• 2 Sided-Jigger 

• Bar Spoon 

• Hawthorne Strainer 

• Muddler 

• Free Pourer

Dear Sophie 

This is the direction i want to take the company so you have a better understanding on how you will go about designing the logo. 

Everything we are doing now is a means to raise awareness of the brand. We intend to start suppling cocktail and bar equipments to bars and restaurants across the UK. 

Please let me know if there is anything else you need from me. 

Thanks 

Sam

-

From this I've realised that he needs a lot of guidance for how branding and logo design works, as I am in need of a lot more information and specific details... eg brand guidelines.

I emailed back:

Hey,
Yup, got it pretty clearly. Few questions and clarifications.
I see that you've completely changed from wanting to bar tend at parties to wanting to sell bar tending products, correct? Why's that? I'm guessing it's because you've talked to an accountant and the raffle method wasn't feasible.
Primary target audience?Apart from the obvious audience of people interested in cocktails and alcohol, is there a certain demographic you want to attract? (Age range, location, income... etc) It could be that you want to appeal to everyone, but a little more information in this area would be v. helpful.
Unique selling pointI gather from the overview that your unique selling point that differentiates you from competitors is the use of social media, and the merging of both tutorials and the selling of bar equipment.
Problem solvingYour business solves the problem of people not having proper knowledge on how to make cocktails. But I'm confused about your mention of alcohol related dangers, are you going to include this in your tutorials? How? Does that not go against what you're trying to market? I think this could be executed but in a playful way, as a reminder for customers to be careful. (Or is this a legal thing, like you need to include warnings?)
What keywords best describe how you would like your business to be portrayed?For example - traditional, corporate, professional, established, affordable, edgy, modern, stylish, fun, creative, trust, loyalty...
What's not working about your current brand/logo?I think the current logo and your social media posts are very basic and look very cheaply designed (I know, you know this too). Could you explain more if you feel you need to add to this?
Specifications

• Any specific elements you would like to see incorporated in your logo? (Icons, symbols, imagery, characters etc)

• Do you have a tag line or slogan that needs to be included? (there doesn't need to be)

• Any colour preferences or brand colours which must be adhered to? (we need to work on creating brand guidelines)

• Any restrictions on the design that I need to be aware of?

• Could you provide 5 businesses or logos that you like or feel work well if you can? Maybe some that you have been inspired by, or feel are successful and you like how they portray themselves. (why?)

• Where will the logo primarily be used and in which mediums? (Printed materials, website, social media, merchandise etc) 

• In any of these mediums, what are the restrictions?

So yeah, basically I need guidance, and I need you to outline any ideas you may have. If parts of above you can't answer fully, then ask for my input and I can give suggestions, before I move on to designing. 
THANKS! 

-
I used my own branding knowledge and some research on the internet to inform this email, which I sent so that I can get enough information to start designing.


30 minutes have been spent so far - I am trying to record how long I spend on this as he says he can hopefully pay me for my time (one day).

Collaboration // Sophie + Tamar

Developing ideas

After further discussion, we have decided to focus on developing the idea of an illustrative, plant based publication.

Directions we could go in:

• represent a small plant business, or market sellers
• health and creative benefits
• psychological
• pollution

As something that is relevant to us both in our fields, we feel that creating something based on the health and creative benefits of plants would be interesting and light-hearted, while being informative.

It also occurred to me that our Level 6 studio is very bare and just plain white... This could be an interesting factor in this project.

Plant and health research

We decided between us that I would plan out the publication and find the content and do some research into the subject.

From the information I have found on how plants are healthy, I discussed with Tamar that for our content we need to narrow it down to the health benefits of plants in the workplace, as there are a lot of pros in the areas of environment/urban/schools.

I came across a lot of websites that provide information but don't back it up, or it seems to be to help them sell a certain product. The website below seems trusted and there are listed sources for the information, that mostly comes from scientific studies.

http://ellisonchair.tamu.edu/health-and-well-being-benefits-of-plants/#.Vi0TJrTtmkp

A summary of the relevant points explained:

Concentration and MemoryFlowers Generate HappinessHealth and RecreationAccelerates Healing ProcessImproves Relationships/CompassionImproved Human Performance/EnergyLearningMedicinal PropertiesMental HealthReduce Stress

Another website with sources:
http://workdesign.com/2012/07/the-benefits-of-plants-in-the-workplace/

This article included some interesting information, including:

The analysis compared symptoms when plants were present and when they were absent. The results showed that:

• Neuropsychological symptoms were reduced by 23% when plants were present. Fatigue reduced the most – by 30%

• Mucous membrane symptoms were reduced by 24% overall when plants were present. Cough decreased by 37% and dry throat by 25%

• Dry or flushed skin was reduced by 23% with plants in the workspace

This is quite an astonishing find, as the percentages clearly prove how plants really do make a difference. However, only 60 office workers were monitored, which doesn't seem like enough.

http://www.ngia.com.au/Attachment?Action=Download&Attachment_id=1430

New University of Technology Sydney (UTS) research made possible by nursery levy voluntary contribution funding has found strong evidence supporting the benefits of office plants for reducing stress and negative mood states in office workers. Plants were found to promote wellbeing, and therefore, potentially performance. Staff who had plants placed in their offices showed reductions in stress levels and negative feelings of a magnitude of 30 to 60%, while those with no plants recorded increases in stress and negativity of 20 to 40%, over the 3-month test period. Importantly, just one office plant was enough to make all the difference.

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/47147-flower-power

Marlon Nieuwenhuis added: "Simply enriching a previously Spartan space with plants served to increase productivity by 15% - a figure that aligns closely with findings in previously conducted laboratory studies. This conclusion is at odds with the present economic and political zeitgeist as well as with modern 'lean' management techniques, yet it nevertheless identifies a pathway to a more enjoyable, more comfortable and a more profitable form of office-based working."

Research overview

I have found some interesting statistics that prove various ways in which plants can benefit us when we are working.

Content plan

From the research I have conducted, I have narrowed it down to certain areas to focus a double page on each:

• Introduction into plants and the benefits
• stress reduction
• improve air quality
• lower background noise
• improve concentration and memory
• flowers generate happiness
• improves compassion
• increases energy
• increases creativity