An Essence of Everything: uni

Tuesday, 7 June 2016

Wear // Life // Eats

Wear:

I have been so excited for summer, I have a lot planned and a lot to look forward to from festivals, holidays and my birthday. I do love winter for the reasons of big jumpers and fluffy socks but now the sun is making a regular appearance I have really been into wear shorts. In H&M early last week, i found a lovely frilly black pair which I thought could work with a lot of things. I paired them with a black crop top, oversized shirt and my Adidas trainers for a casual look as I headed out to hand in my first-year uni work, whoop whoop!

Life:

I have been super busy recently with uni work, travelling home, seeing friends and family and working. I prefer to be busy than bored, so I am not complaining. I am off to Parklife this weekend so I am busy thinking what to wear to that, then it is my birthday and then I am off on holiday so I have lots of organising to do and a lot of making myself go to the gym to urgently try and get into bikini shape.

Eats:

Well, I would love to say I have been healthy recently, but this may be a slight lie. With celebrating my deadlines I took it upon myself to get a Shakeaway milkshake...peanut and m&m's...o m g INSANE. It was also national doughnut day so of course I had to try the Nottingham Doughnut Company again INSANE. I made enchiladas the other night for dinner which was so good to have a good cooked meal! However, I am back on track now and eating clean to be ready for my holiday.

Reflective Journal for Creative Networks part 1

This module is about constructing a fragrance brand, opposite to the last module where I was to focus on deconstructing a brand and breaking down the main parts. Thinking about the FCP triangle, the consumer, packaging and selling a story for a product that really is only coloured liquid that smells nice.

This module focus’ more on primary research to help idea development, I have done this through questionnaires both online and asking people of Nottingham and London at home about what scents they like, preferences on fragrance packaging and what they feel is missing in the market. I have learnt the key elements of communicating a brand through narratives such as sensuality and indulgence and what message is being portrayed for the brand. Other contributes can be from colour palettes to the location that an advert is based. I have learnt the importance of collaborations and how they drive foot traffic and can strengthen the credibility of the brands for example Stella McCartney and Adidas. Collaborations can be between artists, brands, bloggers and retail, the opportunities are endless, anything that can open up a window for new product categories. There must always be a strategic purpose behind the collaboration or there becomes a risk of losing brand equity.

Our reading week looked further into the FCP process and the importance of thinking outside the box and the impact a good form of promotion can bring to a brand. The books given focused on creativity and the importance of story telling, something key for a fragrance brand. A question stated- Why is story telling so important to the creative process? “Well, its what we build our ideas around. It’s the very fabric of our thoughts. If the idea is the foundation of the creative process, then the story is the vehicle that delivers it, making it memorable”. Without a story, a brand cannot connect to their audience. We have been encouraged to begin a scrapbook, something I have always loved and helps me with understanding my progress, I can see what looks good and keep those key tear outs that inspired me or informed me on new concepts.

As part of a team we presented our primary and secondary research that has helped our idea development. We focused on three main macro trends, personalisation, eco/natural ingredients and relaxation. From here we looked into how scents have catered to these trends and what could we as a team contribute to the market. By looking at what’s happening in the world globally, we have decided to aim our brand to the working women. There has become an increased need to stand out in the fragrance industry but also as a customer, scent is personal to the individual, one does not fit all. Our feedback showed we need to step back from a product idea and continue to find more primary research around the idea concept to get more of an understanding of what our target audience really needs.

Protein pancakes to start off the first day of March

I'm not sure how we are in the month of March, where has the time gone!! For me it's been about juggling university work, cheerleading practice, going back and forth from home and part time work...but one thing I always have time for is a good breakfast to start the day off!

Here are my protein pancakes for you to try, they are fabulous and get me out of bed in the morning, well make it that little easier anyway!

My recipe is from the 'Lean in 15' cookbook by Joe Wicks...

1 banana, roughly chopped

1 scoop of protein powder, I use cookie and cream!

1 egg

25g rolled oats

2 tablespoons of almond milk (you don't have to do this bit, but I find it makes the pancake a little easier to cook)

MIX ALL OF THE ABOVE TOGETHER

Then add coconut oil to a pan and poor small little portions into the pan, then serve with honey, yogurt or berries...or all of them together!!

Enjoy!

Scent market research

With my uni project in full swing, I have been researching the fragrance market and seeing where the gaps lay. We have to build a fragrance brand that provides a scent but something new and put a twist on the market.

I have been out into London and Nottingham, looking into best selling perfumes and products that did not live up to expectation. I asked store experts on why products worked and why some didn't, customers behaviour and if people go straight to a branded perfume or are more experimental with their choices.

I am a lover of the store LUSH. A store full of colour and natural ingrdients, from bath bombs, body moisteriser, make up, soap and so much more!! Scents are everywhere, I just need to find a gap in the market for a specific audience where scent could work in a new context and product and promote

*Photos are primary research or from WGSN*

Denim report research...

A brand/retail promotion and visual analysis report on distressed denim // editorial report format...

Here is a little glimpse into my scrapbook and mood boards so far...

Memories and new beginnings

Two days into 2016, leap year, new resolutions, page 1 of 366, time to take every new adventure and opportunity with both hands!

We have all learnt from the year that has just flown by, we have our goals set for the year, storms will come and pass, a year will come and ago so its time to ensure you achieve as much as you can in that space, leave the negative people behind and move forward with those filled with positivity and who want the best for YOU...lets see what 2016 will really be like...

Here are some of my top memories from 2015,