Initial Idea and Research

From the first lecture introducing the module, I was intrigued by competitions based on graphic design and illustration. With these being two of my highest skills, I felt that it was good for me to purse this idea, so I started researching competitions and their past winners and entries.

I started with the D&AD website and competition (https://www.dandad.org/), looking at branding and graphic design categories. I found a few interesting entries, but one that intrigued me the most was one titled 'The Flip' created by We Are Unlimited (https://www.dandad.org/awards/professional/2018/branding/26755/the-flip/).

"Six out of 10 managers in McDonald's restaurants in the US are women. To celebrate all things female, the brand did something symbolic.. It flipped its iconic 'M' upside down in 100 female-owned restaurant on International Women's Day, resulting in one billion impressions."

I liked this because not only did it highlight how something incredibly simple can create a symbol and change imagery, but it also celebrated achievement in a very current social situation.

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I then went to the Adobe Awards website (https://www.adobeawards.com/). Similar to the D&AD website, their were a few entries that I found interesting and relevant, but one caught my eye more than the others due to my own personal interest: 'MORTAL KOMBAT XI' by Joe Njenga (https://www.adobeawards.com/live/201812956). I am a big gaming fan and the idea of (re)branding a game excites me. 

The main concern with this type of project however is relating it to fan bases to include the idea of interactivity more. One idea I've had for this however, is to design other fanbase platforms along with the marketing material. Things such as a Reddit page, a website, competition entry forms...etc.

Sources:

ADOBE (2018) Adobe Awards [Online] Available at: https://www.adobeawards.com/ [Accessed 01 October 2018]

D&AD (2018) Design and Art Direction [Online] Available at: https://www.dandad.org/ [Accessed 01 October 2018]