When the Kontor collection is complete, I wish to market it aesthetically and photographically in terms of the various platforms and features it will be on.

Here are some examples of branding design templates/ creative portfolios:

As you  can see, they all differ creatively and aesthetically. The branding design templates are useful as they offer continuity and enhances the brand name and image. Furthermore, they show consumers the variety of media the company cater for, therefore illustrating a more professional an accessible business. The creative portfolios offer similar attributes, however deliver less media in a more creative and unique way. The creative portfolios are not necessarily about each individual product the business offers, however, use aesthetically pleasing modern design techniques to catch the audience’s eye.

The branding design template above is the main inspiration and influence as to how I will present the Kontor brand to enhance recognition so the audience/ consumers will familiarise and therefore gain a wider interest in the products for the home office. It offers a classy yet professional outlook on the brand and advertises in an aesthetic design manor. The use of grids and spacing conveys the attractiveness of the brand and therefore enhances the professionalism and quality of the product of service. All the forms above (letters, business cards, pencils, phone, CD, tablet and notepad) are items that you would find in a home office, therefore it is plausible to use these products when creating my own branding design template. As well as populating the consumers with a strong brand image, is it also relating to the products Kontor offers.

Logos are a visual cornerstone of a companies brand. It is the businesses identity which is visually expressed towards the audience (Bubba, 2017). The logo is the ‘face’ of the company, and through colours, lots, images and graphics they provide essential information about a company that allows customers to identify with the company’s core brand (Gilikin, 2017).

A well designed logo is an essential part of any company’s overall marketing strategy, therefore I designed various logo’s with different design techniques to attract the customers eye:

Above are 6 logo designs I created with similarities and variations surrounding 2017 design trends.

In order to decide which logo will be the final design. I took to Facebook and asked the population which design they preferred, along with a short description of what the brand is for (furniture collection).

Below is the PNG file I uploaded to Facebook, and used the ‘like buttons’ so people could distinguish which design they preferred:

Below are the response and ‘likes’ that were the outcome of the post:

Bibliography

Bubba (2017) 25 Posts on Why a Good Logo is Essential to Your Business. Branding Beat. Available from https://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/blog/25-posts-on-why-a-good-logo-is-essential/ [accessed 27 November 2017].

Gilikin, J. (2017) Importance of Logos in Business. Chron. Available from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-logos-business-577.html [accessed 27 November 2017].

Branding is a business feature that communicates with the audience. Branding is where the business, product or service has a unique name and image which stays in the consumers mind, and is delivered through advertising and other marketing methods. Branding establishes a significant and differentiated presence in that market and is used to attract and retain loyal customers (Business Dictionary, 2017).

Branding is important as it goes beyond just a memorable logo. Good branding increase the value of the company, provides employees with direction and motivation, and further makes acquiring new customers easier (Deluxe, 2015).

Below are several ways branding can impact a business:

• Improves Recognition,
• Creates Trust,
• Supports Advertising,
• Build Financial Value,
• Inspires Employees,
• Generates New Customers.

The branding for Kontor is a vital part of this project, and will define whether the products outcome will be professional. Therefore, below is a list of what I shall create in order to produce good branding:

1. Logo
2. Branding Guidelines
   • Communication
   • Design (colour, font, etc.)
   • Behaviour
   • Language
   • Culture
3. Mission and Vision
4. Design
   • Print Advertisement
   • Web Advertisement
   • Banner Ad
   • Web Page Layout
   • Promotional Video

Below is a colour pallet designed in order to maintain the Kontor brand image and identity. These colours will be used in all marketing products such as: advertisements; letters; emails; promotional material and websites.

The use of the specific colour number tells people what specific colour they have to use when creating products. This means that the Kontor brand stays consistent and maintains its image in order for consumers to recognise them.

Kontor will be renowned for their good quality customer service. The behaviour when dealing with customers will be positive and polite, and furthermore help them with any query possibly. All these features come under marketing as the important factor Kontor is concerned with is developing strong relationships with customers and enhancing the Kontor image.

Bibliography

Business Dictionary (2017) Definition of Branding. BD Dictionary. Available from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/branding.html [accessed 27 November 2017].

Deluxe (2017) 6 Reasons Why a Strong Brand is Important for Your Small Business. Small Business Resource Center. Available from https://www.deluxe.com/blog/six-reasons-why-strong-brand-important-small-business/ [accessed 27 November 2017].

Strategy (2017) Why is Branding Important? Marketing and Technology Solutions. Available from https://strategynewmedia.com/why-is-branding-important/ [accessed 27 November 2017].

Lighting is said to be one of the most important factors when 3D modelling, and making a product or scene look realistic. If the lighting isn’t correct, the model will look ‘flat’ and ‘lifeless’, however, if a good model is lit correctly, it may look like the real deal. Lighting in real life is just given, there is sunrise, sunset and unnatural light such as lightbulbs and lamps (Slick, 2017). Therefore, it is vital to mimic and reflect the most accurate lighting in ‘The Scene’ as possible, as the outcome will be aesthetically pleasing and will look professional.

Looking at YouTube tutorials, I found one by Rob Tuytel, who goes through how to create an interior scene, then at the end, talking about lighting it. Below is the video:

I followed the lighting section in this tutorial to see how it would look in my work:

Below is the rendered image including the lighting. As you can see, there are still some ‘fireflies’ which I believe may be coming from the outside light (HDRI) as where the heavy light it, the ‘fireflies’ are:

The next video I watched consist of using HDRI images (interior and exterior) in order to create a mixed lighting for an interior scene:

Once a HDRI exterior light had been placed, ‘The Scene’ looked more realistic, but still quite dark:

Bibliography

Slick, J. (2017) Guide to 3D Lighting Techniques for Digital Animation. Lifewire. Available from https://www.lifewire.com/3d-lighting-techniques-2090 [accessed 27 November 2017].

UV mapping in Blender is the process of putting a 2D image texture onto a 3D model. ‘U’ and ‘V’ are the axes left as ‘X’, ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ are used in modelling. You can UV unwrap your model by making ‘cuts’ in the model as to where the product will be split open in order for the model to turn flat ready for the image, or, there is a smart UV unwrapping tool whereby blender generates the cuts for you and unwraps it without you doing any work.

In order to learn how to unwrap a model in Blender, I watched several YouTube tutorials. Below are some of the ones I found useful:

These videos were extremely useful to watch, however, after discussions with a tutor, I realised that I was able to wrap a texture round some of my products without going through the process of actually UV unwrapping them. Below is a video demonstrating that process:

Wrapping a Texture on a Model Without UV Unwrapping it.

The products that I could texture without unwrapping them include:

• Desk Storage Box
• Small Desk Standing Vase
• Large Floor Standing Vase
• Wallpaper
• Bookshelf
• Desk
• Plant pot
• Floor

Below are some screenshots of the progress of adding textures to my products without UV unwrapping them:

However, in order to get the correct textures for the picture frame and plant, I will have to UV unwrap the products, then export to photoshop and learn how to paint and re-inport into Blender.

The best video I watched to help me understand how to export the UV unwrapped mesh into photoshop to paint, then back into blender to apply to the mesh was one by Darrin Line. See below for video:

Here is the progress to texturing the picture frame:

From the import back into blender, I realised that from simply painting the picture frame, the outcome in the promotional video and advertisement won’t stand as a professional and aesthetically pleasing as other products. Therefore, I decided that I wanted a wooden frame, which could be boxed wrapped, and then a texture imported form illustrator (as I prefer this to photoshop when it comes to small illustrations). This meant that I had to completely re-model the picture frame so that the two elements were separate, and the re-imported the picture frame into ‘the scene’ to be wrapped.

Below is a rendered image of ‘the scene’, with all textures applied: