OUGD504 - Design Production: Design For Print and Web: Inspirational Places Research

At the moment I am currently unsure as to how many different products I will end up with, it totally depends on the time I have to do it all. As long as I am able to create a successful logo that I can apply to everything though, it should be quite easy to do. At the moment I have a brief idea of what I would like to produce. When I imagine what I would like everything to look like, and how I want the pop up shop to feel, I instantly think of some of my favourite shops, or shops which closely relate to this brief. I have therefore decided to create this post as a reference for me to document my initial thought processes.

L'Occitane

L'Occitaine is a brand whose products and graphic design I absolutely love. Their branding is so unique and special and all of their packaging is luxurious and memorable. I most certainly want to adopt these traits when creating my own products. Also, because they are a French brand, this strongly represents what I would like to create for my Chateau de Versailles sub brand.

The Imaginarium

The Imaginarium is a shop in York I visited the other week. We weren't allowed to take photographs inside as a rule as they want the next visitor to find it just as magical as the first without it being spoilt beforehand. I did however manage to find some photographs online which illustrate what it looks like from the outside as well as the inside. However the atmosphere can't be put in to words. I love how magical it feels inside and this is something I want to create in my store through creating all of the products.

Yorkshire Soap Company

The Yorkshire Soap Company also own The Imaginarium and both shops are just as special as each other. The two men that own the shop made the soap themselves and they have designed all of their packaging and then handed it all over to a graphic designer to perfect and print for them. One thing that I love about this shop is the fact that the visitor's use a small tray to put all of their chosen soaps on, ready to take to the till at the end of the experience. I would love to adopt this idea and perhaps create some sort of hanging basket or wheelbarrow basket which could be used to carry all of the desired items to the counter.

Liz Earle

Liz Earle's branding is beautiful. I absolutely love her packaging for her perfumes as well as all of her other products. I have a lot of her products myself so I am able to look at the designs more closely which is ideal. The layout of her shop inside is ideal and I would certainly take inspiration from it. All of her products contain essential oils and they smell lovely. If I could create something with a similar level of class and sophistication but at a lower cost I would be extremely happy.

Jo Malone

I have always loved Jo Malone's branding and packaging and love how her different fragrances are used for perfume as well as candles, and many other products. By simply creating one scent she has been able to apply it to a variety of products and successfully create a range. If I could think of an appropriate scent to represent The Chateau de Versailles, or perhaps a set of fragrances, then I could easily apply them to a variety of different products.

Lavendar Farm Ormskirk

The Lavendar Farm is situated near to where I live at home. I have been a couple of times for treatments and to go to the cafe. It could do with updating slightly as everything is quite dated, however they must do quite well as they have been open for quite a long time now. I like how they have food, beauty products, essential oils as well as gifts and fresh produce. This is the kind of place I would like to propose for my products.

Neil's Yard Covent Garden

Neil's Yard in Covent Garden is stunning. All of their packaging is consistent throughout their products and they present themselves in a similar way to Liz Earle in my opinion. I would love to create a logo which is just as successful as well as I think it works really well and is very easily applicable to a wide range of products. 

Lavendar Farm in Jersey

I visited the Lavendar Farm in Jersey when I was much younger and can remember it vividly. The gardens were so beautifully kept and the cafe and shop were lovely. Looking through the photographs I have collected here it reminds me of how much I loved it when I visited. I am essentially bring a part of the Chateau de Versailles to the UK and to tourists or visitors who perhaps cannot afford to travel there or can't travel for other reasons. I therefore want to make their experience within my pop up shop a memorable one. I most certainly want to include plant inspired food and would absolutely love to use a truck similar to the one pictured below as a form of transportation from one pop up shop to the next. I would love to use the gypsy caravan as the store itself, however there is limited space inside which would mean that not many people would be able to fit in there at the same time.