COLLABORATION
Design Element Feedback
Feedback: “Consider using an alternate to a car/roadway, which are not particularly "nature friendly" images for your strongly nature-themed brand.”
The feedback got interpreted that the toy car and the roadway the toy car was riding on did not keep with Greener Day Toys values of preserving mother earth. Information from the feedback was valuable and appropriate in that it pointed out the issue of using a wooden car and roadway were not in line with the brand vision and the design required changes. The aspect of the feedback and self-assessment applied was to replace the toy car with a pulled wooden toy mother duck has two ducklings following her. Since a mother duck symbolizes nurturance and trust, ducks got chosen over several other animals. A mother duck will nurture and bond with the ducklings until they are able to go on their own (Duck symbolism, 2022). The roadway redone into rolling hills in order to embrace the nature that Greener Day Toys wants to preserve. Taking this feedback into consideration and changes made because of it.
Background Element Feedback
Feedback:“The brand vision board has some great elements to work with - having a subtle background image as "texture" will be a strength.”
This feedback was talking about the tree image used as the backdrop in the vision board was left out of the playbooks first draft. An image of a maple tree farm backdrops the playbook since Greener Day Toys utilizes maple trees to create the wooden toys. By incorporating this feedback, the transparent image of a maple tree farm brought nature and texture to the playbook.
Font Feedback
Feedback said “Consider replacing the old-timey, formal calligraphic font which does not seem relevant to your natural brand direction.”
When creating the look and feel for the decorative font selected was the cursive font Monotype Corsiva. At first, it appeared that the cursive font, Monotype Corsiva, would work but when it came down to it, the font was harder to read, too formal, and did not keep with Greener Day Toys' natural look. After some research, the selected font is Super Dream for its bubblier freer flowing look.
Element Self-Assessment
Self-assessment: Changing toy car to a pull dog toy. Is this the correct animal to represent Greener Day Toys.
When deciding on what animal to use there were several considerations and items created. The first design choice was a pull wooden dog but a dog symbolizes friendship and loyalty (Baba, 2023). Another design choice discarded was a pull wooden horse but due to its symbolism is freedom and independence (Horse symbolism, 2022). Neither of these choices were in keeping with Greener Day Toys values of growth and nurturing.
Logo Self-Assessment
Self-assessment: Square around the logo give a stiff appearance.
Upon further investigation, squares represent order and rigidedness, while a circle is warm and comforting and considered movement (Bradley, 2022). The circle symbolizes mother earth that Greener Day Toys wants to care for.
Vision Board Self-Assessment
Self-assessment: Original vision board aesthetics appear rigid with boxes and the roads connecting the circles with images.
Removing the boxes at the top of the vision board allowed more of the natural background to show through. Lines connecting the circles required curvature to resemble hills versus roads. The result of the changes is a cleaner, more calming vision board. This revised vision board is in keeping with Greener Day Toys values.
Design Element Feedback
Feedback: Incorporate circles like the one in the logo with photos. Changing some of the images to circles broke up the boring sameness of pictures, and the boxy shape they provide. The circles also ties the images back to the logo and the company. By following this feedback and creating some pictures in a circle, the social media photo area is a friendlier area.
Design Element Feedback
Feedback: Part of design element goes across the playbook fold.
The feed back was because the corner of the green and brown palette example went over the fold of the playbook. To keep the pages neat the the color palette examples will be adjusted to keep the entire example on the same page.
Playbook Design Element Self-Assessment
Self-Assessment: Upon review the playbook was barren looking.
A self-assessment of the playbook reveled that even with the background there was a lack of warmth. The grass and ducks brought a piece of nature to the book but there was to much white space. A vector tree desgined and added to the book. The tree tops became places to display images that relate to Greener Day Toys.
Radio Ad Write Feedback
Feedback: When writing a radio do not tell a consumer what to do.
The feedback was that the initial ad was to forceful and demanding on the consumer. The ad was rewritten several times to ensure that tone given off was not that of an authoritarian. By saying words like must some consumers will be alienated. It is best to make the ad so in the end the consumer will feel and believe it was a decision they made.
Playbook Design Element Self-Assessment
Self-Assessment: Upon review the playbook did not contain any of the words that described the company.
Upon reviewing the playbook it was noticed that the key descriptive words were missing from inside the book. The words explaining who Greener Day Toys are such as growth, earth-friendly, imaginative, and nurturing. The words were added to the playbook after the oversight was noticed.
Business Card Feedback
Feedback: The first business card created fro Greener Day Toys focused on the employee and not the company.
The feedback given explained how the business card created had the employees name larger than any other element on the card (front or back). This placed the focus on the employee and not the company. The card had the rolling hill instead of a roadway but still had the wooden car on it. The revised card replaced the car with the duck but also focused more on the company. The company's name was not the largest element on the card.
References
Duck symbolism: 17 spiritual meanings of duck. American Tarantula & Animals. (2022, September 13).
https://www.atshq.org/duck-symbolism/
Bradley, S. (2022, November 4). The meaning of shapes: Developing visual grammar. Vanseo Design.
https://vanseodesign.com/web-design/visual-grammar-shapes/
Horse symbolism: 20 spiritual meanings of horse. American Tarantula & Animals. (2022, September 13).
https://www.atshq.org/horse-symbolism/
Baba, E. (2023, August 16). Animal symbolism and their spiritual meaning. Life Family Fun.