Winter in Wagga Wagga A Project by the Wagga Wagga City Council
Date: 29 May 2011
Designer: Annabel Matthews
Client: Wagga Wagga City Council
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Research
3. Ideas and Medium
4. Resources
5. Issues
6. Feedback and Revision
6.1 Logo
6.2 Booklets to Posters
6.3 Benefits
7. Promotion
8. Conclusion
1. Introduction
The purpose of this report is to explain where and how the research for this project has been conducted, the design concept, and the stages of concept development including feedback and revisions.
The Wagga Wagga City Council wanted to attract the people of Wagga Wagga and surrounding areas to enjoy all the city had to offer during the winter. There are many places to escape to during the warmer months, and many people take to the mountains for the snow in winter, so the City Council wanted to offer an enticing and warmer alternative to the people for winter.
Firstly before any designing could be done, research had to be conducted to see what range of promotional materials were already out there and which ones had been the most successful in catching people’s attention.
Afterwards, an image (logo) had to be created to be identified with the Winter in Wagga Wagga programme, and then a way of advertising what the city had to offer, something that could be placed around the Sturt Mall and Market Place and other businesses around the city. It had to be eye-catching and it had to make want people to stop and read it, but most importantly, it had to make people interested enough to want to partake in the activities and events being displayed in the advertisement.
The most difficult part of the project is promoting the concept to the Council board members and convincing them to invest in the project. The ideas for these will be discussed in the ‘Promotion’ section of this report.
2. Research
Prior to deciding on the form in which the promotional piece would take, research into the range of promotional materials that had been used in the past, along with the ones that were already being used, had to be done. Fold out brochures, booklets, flyers and posters had all been done, which made things a little more difficult, because people like variety – seeing the same things over and over again causes lack of interest. Despite this, if they’re designed well and if they’re eye-catching enough, people will read them.
Before starting, the quickest and easiest way to research promotional material is using the internet. There are thousands of examples of flyers, booklets, brochures and posters available to you in seconds and you’re easily able to see what’s been done before, what works as a design and what doesn’t. Saving a copy of ones you really like and even ones you disliked serves as good inspiration.
Another effective way of researching material is visiting the places where you intend to place your promotional pieces and seeing what’s there already. Take samples home so you can look at and analyse them later.
Researching the information you’d like to put in your material is very important. There are a range of websites available that display information about upcoming events, and it helps you decide which sorts of events you’d like to promote. This also helps you decide who you’d like to target with the project.
3. Ideas and Medium
After researching, I decided that I would make a booklet with different sections or chapters dedicated to categories of events. These categories were: art, music, theatre, festivals, sports and rallies. I wanted to target people who enjoy the arts, yet not exclude those who may be interested in sports. I decided upon this because the arts don’t get a huge amount of attention or recognition, and Wagga Wagga has a lot to offer in the way of art, music and theatre, yet not a whole lot of people are aware of this. I decided making sections or chapters would be easy for people to navigate, and they could find what interested them the most quickly.
For the product itself, I wanted the brochure to be A5 in size (148mm x 210mm; an A4 page folded in half) because it’s smaller and could be something that could be placed in a range of places, such as counters or magazine stands. An A5 size would also be easy for people to put into their bags and take home to read. I wanted the brochure to be printed on glossy stock; something that was durable and couldn’t be torn easily. Flyers and brochures that are printed on glossy stock are attractive, and in comparison to a magazine that’s printed on semi-glossy, thin paper, they look a lot nicer.
4. Resources
Information for body copy
Photographer/photographs/stock images
Printer
Style guide
5. Issues
Factors that may impact on the selection and use of resources;
Lack of information; changing information; too much information for an A5 booklet.
Unable to source good images; low resolution images (lower than 300ppi – print resolution)
Unable to source a photographer
Cost of printers and additional if outsourcing photographer.
6. Feedback and Revision
The feedback I received for my final logo design was positive, and my initial idea to make booklets promoting the arts for Winter in Wagga Wagga was also received well. My logo went through many revisions, and I also changed my mind on the booklets – I decided posters would be a better approach to advertising the city and what it had to offer.
6.1 Logo
I decided I wanted a logo that was simple but artistic. I had some sketches with a sharp, edgy typeface for the word ‘Winter’ and a simpler, sans serif type for ‘in Wagga Wagga’. I also added a circle around the ‘W’ to add some more shape to the logo. After trying to create a vector version, I decided that I needed to take a new approach and make it softer.
For the colour, I went with a sky blue and slate grey, as those are colours that people associate with winter and the cold. I used the display typeface ‘Anke Calligraphic FG’ as it’s flowing, graceful and a bit playful, too. I added some spots instead of a circle to represent falling snow and to make the logo have a fun feel. I know that it doesn’t snow in Wagga, but people do associate winter with the imagery of snow, and during the colder months, the last of the leaves fall off the trees.
After the first revision, it was decided that using the same typeface for both ‘Winter’ and ‘in Wagga Wagga’ was too much – having ‘in Wagga Wagga’ in Anke took away from ‘Winter’ and the spots. I changed ‘in Wagga Wagga’ to a simple and sophisticated sans serif called ‘Champagne and Limousines’. After playing around, I swapped the typefaces and used the sans serif for ‘Wagga’ and Anke for ‘in Wagga Wagga’. I also added a feather to the spots to make the logo softer still. When I presented the final logo to the client, they were pleased with the result.
6.2 Booklets to Posters
Whilst I was laying out the booklet and putting the information together, I thought that perhaps booklets may not catch people’s attention, and also if someone picks up the booklet, they may look at it once and then not look at it again, or they may not pick a booklet up at all. I changed my mind and decided to do a series of posters, because if posters are put up in the Sturt Mall and Market Place and in businesses around Wagga, including the Civic Theatre and Art Gallery where most of the arts events take place, people will see them more often and are more than likely to read them once or twice. Also on posters, there’s less information, so people will more than likely take the time to read the smaller amounts of information.
6.3 Benefits
The benefits of exposing the design’s you’re working on to quality checks and ongoing analysis is so that you are able to get the best result possible for your client and for yourself as a designer. Getting someone else’s opinion on your work is beneficial, too, because they can make you see your work from a different angle and can give you a new perspective on your work. Others may also pick up on errors you may have overlooked.
7. Promotion of Project
I believe these posters will assist in meeting the client’s intended outcome because posters can be printed in large quantities and at a large size so they’re easily noticeable and people will be more likely to stop and look at them, rather than having a booklet that people have to pick up and read through large amounts of information, whereas a poster has less information that’s easily absorbed.
To encourage the Council to allocate more in their budget for this project I would outline the benefits of having posters that promote what Wagga has to offer during the winter. These benefits are;
Promotion of Wagga Wagga through word of mouth: people who see the posters could tell their friends about the events happening in Wagga at the time, bringing more people in from regions further from Wagga;
Business opportunities: businesses can benefit from a larger amount of people visiting the city.
Boosts tourism
There are a few ways I could present the concept and final design to the client;
A slideshow, presenting the logo, the style guide for the logo and how my ideas have changed from booklet to poster, and then an image of the final design for the poster;
Have the final design printed and mounted on a black or dark coloured board with a large copy of the logo.
8. Conclusion
This report explains the needs of the Wagga Wagga City Council and how I have approached the project. It explains where and how the research for this project has been conducted, the design concept, and the stages of concept development including feedback and revisions. I believe that my concept for Winter in Wagga Wagga will be successful, and I hope that the client will consider my design for the project.
Printer’s Quotes
I’ve chosen a custom size for my posters (435mm x 600mm), so I’ve chosen the A2 size (420mm x 595mm) for reference;
CMYK Online
http://www.cmykonline.com.au
For 5000 copies of A2 full colour posters, printed single sided on premium 170gsm coated paper, the cost is $1,207.
Hero Print
http://www.heroprint.com.au
For 5000 copies of A2 full colour posters, single sided on 170gsm gloss paper, the cost is $1,611.
Both of these online printers are reasonably priced, but I would definitely choose to go with CMYK Online because that extra $400 could be used for something else to better the project.
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