Overall I am quite pleased with my final outcomes. Considering I was pushed for time as I had left the practical work until last minute I felt like the pressure worked to my advantage as I feel like the outcomes communicate and represent what I am trying to communicate through my brand. Sticking simple minimalistic theme throughout, reflects my brand that produces and sells clean organic locally grown products. As the packaging would be mainly tissue paper for the meat and bags for the fruit and veg I feel like it would stand out from the shelf with the contrasting white tissue paper and the different colour labels and stamps.  

The products themselves will be distributed and sold in local stores such as Tesco, Sainsbury's and the Co Operative. I found that these stores are already established in every almost every town and city in the UK therefore it would be beneficial to sell these products there. As the smaller supermarkets have taken a dent in their sales due to the rising supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl I think this would bring the businesses popularity again as people would be more willing to buy a product if they know it would be benefitting them and their community instead of buying a product where the profits will be going to a corporation and not the community around them.


Websites

Sarah Butler & Zoe Wood
18th November 2014
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/nov/18/uk-grocery-sales-decline-price-war-asda-sainsburys-morrisons-tesco
[Accessed 19th february]

Jane Denton
November 2014
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2825213/Experts-crown-Lidl-best-supermarket-wine-says-wotwine.html
[Accessed 19th february]

Amanda Cable
February 2010
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1248340/Ill-discount-Aldi-One-M-S-loyalist-swallows-pride-tries-shopping-Britains-budget-supermarkets.html
[Accessed 19th february]

Rosalind Ryan
December 2005
http://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/dec/01/food.foodanddrink
[Accessed 19th february]

Mark Gunther
Wednesday 4th december
http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/mcdonalds-fries-innate-potato-genetically-modified-food
[Accessed 19th february]


Sarah Butler 
29th September 2014
Felicity Laurance
23rd July 2014
Poultry:

Charles Passy
October 28th 2014
www.marketwatch.com/story/10-things-starbucks-wont-tell-you-2014-09-26?page4
[Accessed 18th May]

Chris Watt
Monday 28th February 2014
www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/starbucks-named-most-unethical-cafe-in-UK-1.1087515.
[Accessed 18th May]

Bruce Horovitz
April 10th 2015
www.dailyrecord.com/story/money/business/2015/04/10/starbucks-ethically-sourced-java/25591399
[Accessed 18th May]

Books

George Ritzer
The McDonalization of Society - Revised New Century Edition
Published: January 1st 1993

Matthew Healey
What is Branding?
Published: 1st August 2010

Wally Ollins: The Brand handbook
Published: 2nd June 2008

Wayne Ellwood
The no-nonsense guide to globalization
Published: January 2011

Cara Acred - Consumerism
1st January 2015


Brand identity; the impact of ethical values within food corporations 

Branding has developed and evolved with the age of digital technology, its effectiveness can change the attitude towards global issues and communicate to a mass audience. You could also argue that it contributes to the national giant corporations getting their distinct brand embedded into the minds of the consumers in society. A brand is a simple identity of a company or product  in which the public can recognize and associate with, everything from the colour, image and type have been considered and designed to ensure the companies purpose and communication is not lost with the public. I will investigate how brands have made an impact on society and the ongoing battle with corporate chains are competing with their products and brands in the UK and how it has an impact on our society.              At first corporations used to stay in the background of their products, as noted by Wally Ollins (2008) “Manufactures either used their corporate name, such as Heinz or Kellog’s, to brand their products” this was because the corporations thought they only had one target audience; the final consumer. This enabled the manufacturers to put overlapping goods on the market, which may have not been very different in quality, but the price may have varied. With a selection of goods with lower quality branding and high quality branding it gave the consumer a choice whether they wanted to spend money on something more luxurious. As noted by Matthew Healey (2008) “Customers always believe a branded item is worth more than a generic one, even though the two may be similar.” This suggests there is a lot more involved than the aesthetic look of the brand, it provides trust to the consumer that time and money has been spent on the product, therefore it must be of a higher quality. It proves that consumers have a sense of loyalty with the brand the are investing their money into, the nicer quality branding of a product must be more luxurious, whereas a lower quality of branding for a product must mean the product itself is of a lower quality too.  
                 Wal-Mart for example is one of the leading global retailers in the world, however it causes many ethical and economic issues with mass production, distribution and waste Wally (2008) argues, “Wal-Mart represents branding at its most triumphalist, globalist, greedy and oppressive.” With giant malls/supermarkets dominating society it has a huge effect on small companies running them out of business with competing prices. Whilst in the Britain there is a ongoing competition between the large and small supermarkets who have a similar system to the giant supermarkets in America. As the larger supermarkets mainly import their goods from abroad, they sell their products cheaper which will eventually run smaller community businesses out of work as they will struggle to keep up with the competing prices. There are also prejudice views on the different supermarkets in the UK, Tesco and Asda for example despite their success are viewed very differently to their competitors such as Waitrose or M&S. Visually the branding for Tesco can be seen as tacky and unsightly, the bold harsh red and blue colours contrast with one and another. Asda also uses an illuminous green colour throughout their product branding, this makes them look of a lower quality as the colour contrasts with any other colour. These elements would indicate their products are more for the lower-middle and working classes. Whereas the branding for Waitrose and M&S is much more sophisticated and elegant. The smooth san serif typefaces give off a professional yet approachable feel to the consumers, which could promote that they are a well-established company and can be trusted with quality products. This ideally appeals more to the middle and upper classes in society who have more disposable income to buy more luxurious products.  
                  Sarah Butler (2014) noted in her article that for the first time in 20 years, grocery sales have gone into decline. She mentions that the reason for this is due to the raging price wars between supermarkets and the uprising of the smaller, cheaper supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl. This could have an impact on the way the public perceive branding for larger supermarkets. M&S with its stylish elegant branding and sexualized TV adverts was considered a well-trusted brand, with good quality commodities. Their stores has been designed to entice the consumer and make them have the most enjoyable shopping experience, this is intended to influence them into spending more money. From the stacked well lit shelves, to the fresh colourful fruit and vegetables they position at the entrance of the store, even the music they have chosen has been specifically decided to help the customer feel at ease and have a more enjoyable shopping experience. In comparison, Aldi have a different approach on their store layout and design strategy. The neatly stacked shelves are replaced with the stacking of the original boxing which the products are imported from, this is an efficient and a more environmental way to lower costs whilst ensuring the customer is still presented with exactly what they need. It saves time for the staff who would usually be neatly stacking the shelves and cuts down the waste produced by empty boxes.  
               With the likes of M&S lowering its prices to compete with the likes of the cheaper lower-income supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl, its actions lessen the effectiveness of the branding and undermine the many hard years of the customers loyalty. “At the heart of every branding effort there has to be a kernel of truth. The beauty of great branding lies in its ability to identify that truth, tell its story, make it look good, and build into a valuable, emotional bond between producer and customer” (Matthew, 2008, p.9), with that in mind the likes of Aldi’s branding is becoming more appreciated as people are becoming aware of the difference in prices and the similarities in food they find compared to their usual supermarket. Amanda (2010) an M&S loyalist argued that although Aldi’s shopping experience is different to the likes of M&S and Sainsbury’s where the well lit supermarkets have nicely designed banners and offers, Aldi cut her expenses from £120 to £45 a week with almost identical products to her previous shopping. This proves that the larger supermarkets were very successful in influencing the consumers with their brand that their products are the cheapest and best quality, when in fact the smaller supermarkets is really where the value is at. Elements of McDonalisation has been took into account when it comes to UK supermarkets. There are distinct similarities with the strategy to ensure the consumer can purchase their goods in a short amount of time in the most efficient and enjoyable way. Branding is one of the key elements in ensuring this process is successful.               Branding for the fast food industry has also had an impact on society. McDonald's, the leading fast food giant has had articles claiming they now have a restaurant in every country in the world, the brand itself is also one of the most recognisable brands and despite its reputation for producing and selling food that is unhealthy, advertisements still make their way to our televisions influencing consumers it’s a place of comfort, to socialise and eat good tasty food. The branding for McDonald’s is one of the most recognisable global brands. The golden arches represent efficiency and short term satisfaction as consumers with a busy lifestyle going from a to be need a quick bite to fulfil their needs, it can also represent the perfect form of bureaucracy and the dehumanizing effects of working for such a large corporation and other corporations that have similar work ethics.               McDonald’s has been successful in manipulating the public and entice people into an underpaid overworked system, as everyone knows, the food sold at McDonalds is unhealthy. The details of McDonald’s have all been considered and have a purpose; the very design of the interior and exterior is currently a neutral green and brown. This suggests that the soothing and relaxing colours is have been strategically decided to have an affect on the way we behave and think when around those colours. Adverts also suggest that it is a restaurant to go and socialize, relax with friends and eat good quality food and drink when in reality it’s a well-organized corporation that has a huge impact on society, it underpays its workers and exploits the public into purchasing its goods. Rosalind (2005) reported that the salads and more healthier options contain up to three times amount of salt in the food that the rest of the menu. Not only from McDonald’s but from other fast food chains such as KFC and Burger King. Mark (2013) also reported in an article that the US government regulation of genetically modified crops is inadequate. Again this shows that with effective branding and strategic marketing methods the negative side to McDonalds and its products are simply ignored. 
              George (2000) argues that Mcdonaldization is “the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as of the rest of the world.” He argues that McDonaldization does not only affect the fast food business but virtually every other aspect of society, he argues in detail about both the negative and positive affects from it. The positives being a much wider range of goods and services that are available to a larger portion of the public, the system offering comfort and familiarity to those living in our rapidly changing hostile world and commodities and services will be of a far more uniform quality and affordable to those who may not have been able to afford it before. However George (2000) does argue the negative affects of Mcdonaldisation and how it represents the irrationality of rationality. He mentions that although the system offers powerful advantages that benefit us it also has its downside. “Efficiency, predictability, calculability, and control through nonhuman technology can be thought of as the basic components of a rational system.” (George, 2000, p.16) he argues that eating and even working in a place such as McDonalds or Starbucks has dehumanizing affects on the way we behave as people. How the queue’s to be served and the way the food is prepared resemble an assembly line almost like cattle, Ronald Takaki (2000, p.27) characterizes rationalized settings as places in which the “self was placed in confinement, its emotions controlled, and its spirit subdued.” He also mentions that the demand for quantity over quality leads to large amounts of poor quality work, the limit on skills that are required whilst working there limits the abilities for the workers which also has dehumanizing effects, over time this system has infiltrated the majority of society, its something we cannot escape as it offers part-time and full time jobs to those who may be under qualified to work elsewhere, it also offers the quick fix from being hungry to full within a short amount of time 
           Another example a corporation that has took form from McDonaldlisation is Starbucks. Their leading brand is another identity that almost every person in western civilisation would recognise and relate to. Starbucks's logo and identity has had some changes over the past 40 years which itself has responded to the social changes in society. As the consumer has evolved the brand itself has also became more of a cultural icon for current generations, rather than the passion for coffee itself. Charles Passy (2014) mentions that in 2011 Starbucks dropped the word 'coffee' in their logo, he also mentions how Starbucks gets 26% of its revenue from products other than beverages, and in the beverage department a good portion of sales come from drinks other than coffee. The logo itself just containing the vectored illustration suggests that Starbucks is not just a coffee chain but somewhere that offers a various selection of goods to satisfy the consumer in a sociable relaxed environment.  
             Chris Watts (2011) mentioned that Ethical Consumer had ranked brands on 19 different and found that Starbucks was the worst do their behaviour on political activities and workers rights. He mentioned that they had blocked Ethiopia's attempt to improve the working and living quality of the coffee farmers, and also using genetically engineered milk full of hormones. This had a negative impact on the brands identity as we live in a society that is more ethically conscious for where goods are produced and the livelihood of the workers. With Starbucks competitors such as ATM coffee who were rated much higher in ethical reasons, Chris Watt (2011) mentions that ATM coffee were the first coffee shop in the UK to have their products completely Fair Trade and 100% organic milk, Starbucks needed to act on their ethical ways before their loyal customers swayed to other competitors. However in 2015 Bruce Horovitz (2015) stated that Starbucks are now 99% ethical and have spent more than $70 million on farm sustainability and the workers livelihood, he mentions that they are appealing towards a younger target audience who are more socially and environmentally conscious. This will boost the their brand identity back into the limelight and make people have a clear understanding of the ethical and moral values within a corporate chain.  To conclude I have investigated previous and current day issues with corporate branding and how it is affected by ethical and moral values. Corporate branding is the key essential element into making a business successful, getting a chains identity into exposed into the minds of society will not only bring it success but it will reveal hidden truths that corporations may prefer to keep a secret. McDonalds and Starbucks are strong examples of this, however have taken different approaches to meeting consumer demands. Both are very similar when it comes to their workers who work in their stores, the underpaid graveyard shifts and the cattle like assembly line in serving the products to the consumers, has dehumanizing affects on the way the public live in society. The branding itself for Starbucks has became more about the culture than the actual product, whereas McDonalds is a quick place to visit to get from hungry to full in a short amount of time. Allegations that McDonalds and Starbucks serves products that have been genetically modified can have an extremely harmful affect on the brands identity, it can leave the public feeling dismayed and loose trust with the chains themselves. However it has been reported recently that Starbucks has improved the livelihood of their growers and pumped millions of dollars into farm sustainability, with their target audience at a much younger age its clear we are entering a generation that are a lot more environmentally and ethically conscious and want to make a change. From the facts I have presented it shows that corporations can take notice of the publics demands and when they respond it brings them respect and success.  
              As for the UK supermarkets, again research has suggested that people are not falling for the well branded, more expensive goods anymore. The well established corporations such as M&S are taking a dent in their customer loyalty as competitors such as Aldi and Lidl are producing goods with similar qualities but for a much cheaper price. Although there are huge differences in the quality of branding and the interior of the stores, it appears that our economy has lead people into choosing price over the store the product was bought in. Aldi and M&S and in a way a comparison between Starbuck and McDonalds, they all have the same established assembly line system however the stores that have chosen the more environmental and ethical route are now gaining much more success. Overall there is a significance with good quality branding, if Aldi were to rebrand its logo to a more sophisticated quality then the store as a whole could be viewed as more of an honest higher standard. Brand identities such as McDonalds and Starbucks however have already exposed themselves to the global market, it would have to take a lot more work to completely change the reputations the brands withhold. They will constantly be criticised on their ethical and environmental issues unless they change the way they produce and sell their goods. 


Making Connections:
Summarise the session discussing what you have learned about 'deconstruction' and 'pastiche' The emphasis of this task is making connections between theory and practice therefore your written summary should emphasise how theories can relate to graphic design practice.
Establishing a research question:
Consider the following questions in regard to your CoP2 project and establish a working title/question/theme for your project. E-mail me if you have any issues with this.
WHAT IS THE GENERAL THEME? (EDITORIAL, PRINTMAKING, TYPOGRAPHY, ETC.)
WHAT ARE THE CURRENT/ CONTEXTUAL/HISTORICAL ISSUES OF THE GENERAL THEME •MIND MAPS• LISTS
!HAT DO I WANT TO KNOW OR BE ABLE TO DO IN REGARD TO THIS THEME? FORM THIS INTO A QUESTION THAT IMPLIES A CONCLUSION... “WHAT” “HOW” “TO WHAT EXTENT”
HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO MY [INCREASINGLY SPECIALIST] PRACTICE?! 

Theme:
The theme for my essay I have chosen to focus around branding. I feel branding has such an impact on our modern society and can be one of the most influencing elements to fuel consumerism at its finest. In fashion many people value expensive brands very highly, it can often mislead people into feeling superior and above those who do not buy expensive branding too. One of the leading causes for this is clever market strategies and well designed branding which offers quality and trust to the public and leaves them in want for things they do not need. When it comes to supermarkets and commodities that we need to live, branding is still very dominant and have an impact on where we shop and what we buy. 
I would need to investigate and research further into supermarket branding, why there is such a war going on currently in the UK between its most popular and unpopular supermarkets. How branding can have such an impact on society and the mistrust people feel when the product is not up to standard like the branding itself. I will be reading articles and books to get a good understanding of where branding came from, why its so important and how we can make our world a little bit better with designers who have good ethic's and morals when it comes to branding. I want to find out whats behind corporate branding, why corporations depend on good branding to benefit themselves and the effect this has on our society.
My first idea for a research question:
How far branding can push consumerism and the social, ethical and economical effects it has on our society.
However when I had a tutorial with my tutor he explained it is too much of a big question and not specific enough. He advised that I focus my research and essay question on fewer topics to ensure I make a thorough analysis and argument on. I decided to knuckle down on my question and try to focus more on what I wanted research on instead of choosing too many topics and talking briefly about them all.
New research question:
Brand identity; the impact of ethical values within food corporations 


What do I want to communicate?
I want to communicate to the public and educate them on the difference between locally grown goods compared to goods imported from abroad. I want to show how the people themselves can no longer feel helpless in the fast ever-growing global market, but by making small choices in what they buy could be beneficial not only to themselves but to their local community too. 

How will I communicate this?
I will create a brand which will be featured in stores across the country. It will be an independent brand that will only sell goods from British or local farmers, these foods will be fresh and organic and will be priced at a standard price to ensure its cheaper than its surrounding competition. I want to produce the packaging for different types of goods such as meat, fish, bread, vegetables, dairy and fruit. The branding should be clean and minimal to reflect how the goods themselves have not been tampered with but present themselves as they are.

Where will this be communicated?
This will be communicated in local shops Tesco, Sainsbury's and the Co Operative. I chose these three supermarkets because they are already established and have many stores throughout the UK. My research has revealed these companies are currently suffering from the impact of the emerging popularity of Aldi and Lidl therefore need something new with potential to build up the trust and loyalty from the public again. It could influence the public to shop at these stores if they believe they are making a small impact on local farms and communities.


I started off by trying to draw various animals in Illustrator keeping that minimalistic theme. At first I found it difficult and thought the animals had too much detail, I then redrew the animals is a much more cleaner and simpler way which i thought had more of an impact. I didn't want the animals looking too realistic as some members of the public may find it distracting and off putting. Keeping the design minimal and simple makes them more appealing and informal.



The typeface I chose was called Arvo. I found this was more suitable to what I was trying to achieve as it resembles the typeface you would find on a typewriter giving it that more down to earth feel. It has the formality of a serif font however the brackets on the typeface make it more playful and trusting. No fancy embellishments or different thicknesses within a letter, it presents itself clear and to the point which is what I am trying to communicate within the products I will be branding. 

An idea I had was to use brackets within the branding as it could represent that there is no hidden ingredients, chemicals etc but only what is presented on the packaging. However I decided to scrap this idea after doing some research on existing branding products and finding it had been done before.



After finalising my drawings of the animals I then positioned them with type inside a box. I thought the very aesthetic of the design worked well as it was simple yet effective. I chose to name is 'British Beef' etc to keep the message clear and easily understandable to any age. The box around the design brings the concept together and presents it how it is, it focuses your attention to the content of the boxes which is the most important part.


I then added colour to the designs which I thought suited the product it was selling. Fish usually being blue as its from the sea or rivers, the chicken as the main colour that represents chicken is usually a mixture of orange and yellow. Finally the beef is pretty obvious because the colour of the meat is red and thats what people associate the meat with. I tried to keep it simple and use the products connotations to my advantage.


I then began by trying to illustrate the other products that will be featured in my brand. Again I tried to keep a consistent theme of using the products connotations to help me decide what colour would be best. The illustrations are simple and effective however I think with more time they could have been improved to replicate the products themselves in a stronger way. As I was pushed for time to get the designs done I feel the milk and fruit illustrations could be improved. The milk I stuck to using a glass of milk which I thought would be a safer route to take than illustration udders of some sort which may be off putting to the public. The fruit I think could have been better represented than just a plain apple but overall I am pleased with the way the illustrations turned out. The meat and fish illustrations I focused on more because they were the main products I wanted to promote to the public as they are usually more expensive.





I decided that the tagline British Beef was too boring and not exciting enough. I jotted down a few ideas which is where I decided for the line "ITS ONLY BEEF". I think its communicates a less serious message but is informative at the same time. No chemicals, no hormones, no hassle, just beef.




Here are the labels finished, they will be stuck onto the packaging and as they are only one colour this will cut costs on manufacturing and distribution. 

I then designed the back of the labels to show that the food had not been tampered with but come as they are. I tried to keep a consistent minimal theme throughout which will make it understandable to all ages as you find the majority of labels are full of information which can be distracting and confusing.






I quickly mocked up some posters I had created in response to the my product branding. I tried to keep a consistent theme throughout the posters so people can recognise the branding and be more aware of the products presence in shops. The one thing which I have accidentally left off on my designs is where to find the products, this s vital information for the posters to do what their supposed to do so I am going to make some alterations to make it clear to the public on where to find these products. 


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