pro forma

Design for AdvertisingDeveloping, producing and evaluating

Idea 1Designed to appeal to teenagers and young adults with a taste for the occult. Aimed at a younger crowd (about 15-20) who have more alternative tastes instead of enjoying mainstream things.More of a recreational drink than a sports recovery drink.Overall dark colour with shiny dots (stars) mixed in.Small highlights of colour, particularly in the logo to correspond each flavor.Regally styled Gothic logo that sets up a general theme and influence of a classic horror influence, werewolves.Wolf graphics that face the moon above the logo.Flavours:Lycan (Original)Blood Red (Cherry)Freerunner (Sugarfree)

Idea 2A drink marketed as a powerful recovery drink from strenuous tasks. Colour scheme of green and black for the original flavour, with the can’s colour changed according to the flavour.The can’s design is built up of lots of industrial elements, like bolted on panels and rust. These will show up as slightly shiny on the can.The logo is done with a very heavy and aggressive typeface and coloured black, with a grey stroke.Advertises with a lot of hard rock and metal bands to tie in with the heavy industrial theme. Flavours:Fury (Orange)Frenzy (Lemon)Fear (Apple)Full Throttle (Double Caffeine)

Idea 3A more relaxed drink marketed as organic and for an older crowd.Not aimed as a drink for sportsmen. Built up to be a recreational drink for summer.The name refers to the summer fruits used in the drink, like orange and blackcurrant.A white background with the writing and logo in a pinkish colour to tie in with the colour that is seen when closing your eyes in the sun, tying in further with the name.Can features a lot of smooth curvy lines to accent the design and also promote a free and unbound feeling.Advertises and promotes a lot of competitions to win holidays, outings and summer gear, promoting an outdoors lifestyle.

Initial Ideas

Idea 4A drink that is marketed mainly around motorsport and car-related hobbies. Marketed mainly towards young men with a firm interest in cars.Can is red in colour to signify extreme speeds. All of the logos, writing and decals are in white.Logo has a speedometer dial above it displaying the fastest speed possible.Advertising features partnerships with motorsport events and hobby magazines, and their websites also offers tips and tutorials for car care, modification and repair.Fonts used will try to signify speed, by being slightly curved or leaning to one side. They could also be slightly wavy to resemble a checkered flag.

Idea 5Drink marketed for general sports recovery and aims at people who do professional sports and look up to famous sportsmen and women.Has a mostly silver colour scheme with white highlights to look like a trophy of sorts. The logo and text is in black.Mostly done with quite a classic and smart theme as opposed to gritty and distressed. Heavily involved with professional sports and sponsors many teams around the world. Also organizes their own events

Initial Ideas

Mind map(s)

Mood board(s)

Copy/Script development

1. Darkstar / Full MoonHeavy connotations to the occult, werewolf mythos and links to the night,

as well as astral themes. Darkstar as a name refers to the nocturnal and astral themes of this drink.

- Shine Bright Tonight – Slogan used to interpret Darkstar as a drink that makes you light up or shine brighter as more energy is delivered than a regular energy drink. ‘Tonight’ links to the drink’s nocturnal theme.

- The Night Is Alive – ties into the drink being an energy/stimulation drink, delivering enough power to make the night feel alive.

- Energy To Compose – Ties into the artistic and refined aspect of this drink, giving creative minds more energy to create new works of art.

- For Your Nocturnal Side – Links to Darkstar’s alter ego theme (from the advert showing people transforming into wolves) and the theme of night.

Advert Dev: Mentions of a dark character who provides the protagonists with Darkstar, a reference to the drink’s mysterious nature that it is provided by spooky individuals.

Use this space to document your font and colour test.

There should be lots of variety here.

Ensure any font text are saved as images, otherwise I won’t be able to see the fonts you intended.

Font/Colour Scheme development

Product packaging development

The second design was a lot different as it ditched the astral theme for a distressed classical feeling complete with the coat of arms. I designed the logo to wrap around the can horizontally.

My first mockup kept Darkstar’s theme firmly rooted with space and stars. In the rightmost column would have been a space that informs consumers about Darkstar and what it sponsors.

Product packaging development

Another design similar to my second that is mocked up to celebrate Darkstar’s birthday. The large D in the centre column is highly reminiscent and inspired by the current Relentless logo.

Variant of the above design that instead includes a diagonal logo across the coat of arms.

Task 6: Advert DevelopmentI began my advert draft with a space-themed background to link to my chosen product name, Dark Star. I chose this particular image because I thought that the inclusion of the Earth at the bottom would make a nice footer and round off the image. Initially I had the name of the product and the tagline below the arrangement of the cans with my slogan, ‘Shine Bright Tonight’ above in a stylized font. I did this to replicate the look and feel of an old movie poster, where the font is similarly structured, which gave the advert quite a dramatic feel and also lead the viewer’s eyes onto the product’s name at the bottom after hyping them up using the tagline and background. With the cans in the middle, I arranged them so that the middle can (The original flavour) was in front of the others to represent its flagship status.Changes made in the second draft include swapping the positions of the tagline and brand name which allowed me to increase the size of both so that they became much more noticeable. An issue with the first draft was that the slogan was quite hard to make out, being a white font on a background with lots of white stars. I also managed to increase the size of the cans and add their respective names under each which raised brand awareness and allowed potential consumers to observe what flavours were sold before they purchased Dark Star. Finally, I added links to Dark Star’s official pages on both Facebook and Twitter which would be useful in spreading awareness about my drink and drawing in more consumers.

Task 6: Advert DevelopmentIn the next two advert drafts I went for a radically different design with a similar layout, this time adopting my auxiliary regal and medieval style for my energy drink. This theme included motifs such as the use of a large royal crest (taken from a dingbat collection) that served as the unofficial brand logo. I included this in the centre of the advert to show the most artistic aspect of the drink and entice customers thanks to its prominence and overly imposing appearance. I changed the slogan of the drink to, ‘The Official Drink of the Court’ which further connotates it to a royal theme and gave the impression that it was a high quality beverage suitable for upper class individuals.Further changes in the fourth draft included a shift in the font colour to a more distinctive purple in order to stand out from the background, as opposed to the previous dull grey. I also reintroduced my idea of having three cans placed in the middle of the advert in order to promote the brand’s range, this time with the logo appearing in the background as an effective backdrop. I added in the web address at the bottom from my previous drafts.

Task 6: Advert DevelopmentI then decided to start a new advert which didn’t follow my previous hierarchy of tagline, picture then name of the brand. In this new piece I tried to create an advert that properly connected to my drink’s brand name and philosophy as well as the thinking behind it, and I did this by creating a star that seemed to shine down on the three drinks at the bottom of the page. The changes also include the removal of the two social media links (Facebook and Twitter) but I have kept the website as I believe it is an important part of an advert if there are no other links to the brand’s pages, as a website contains everything there is to say about the drink.I kept this advert mostly minimal, as opposed to my previous designs being quite busy and not easy on the eyes. It features a simple and smooth background that is intend to soothe the viewer and not wear them out by having an extremely detailed and heavy background that obscures key details. They star and the light beam is the key element in this advert as it directly leads down to the display of the brands three flavours on offer, and the logo of the brand itself. I have kept the logo at the bottom for most of my drafts because I think it is important that the thing that sticks with viewers after they leave the page should be the name of the product itself, so when they are next in a shop they can remember that name and recall the advert, hopefully being persuaded to purchase the drink in the process.I produced a second draft of this particular advert that removed the tagline at the very top and added stars in its place, as I believed that the advert was more effective with the text contained at the bottom as the viewer can gradually lead down to it via the light ray.

Task 6: Final Advert

In this final piece I have used a range of aesthetic and technical qualities to produce the final result that is when compared to previous results, much more linked to my brand as a whole and does a better job at promoting the drink. The technical qualities used in this image are mainly usage of shadows, blurring and glows, particularly on the stars, to give them an authentic and almost ethereal look. I used Gaussian blur on the rectangle that cuts diagonally across the page to give it the appearance of a light ray coming from the star and also added outer glows to the cans below to give the impression that they were being illuminated by said ray. The beam also ties in to an aesthetic aspect as it is also used to direct the viewer’s eyes down onto the cans and the logo. In terms of aesthetics I have been inspired by a number of different sources. My main inspiration an existing energy drinkis Relentless, which uses several similar styles and motifs to what I have included in my own work, particularly the usage of a old yet stylized font. I chose such a font because I wanted to aim my drink towards an alternative crowd and also try something different that didn’t necessarily coincide with today’s standards of logo design, like using sans serif and simple yet effective blocky shapes. However, instead of following the Relentless logo fully I decided to go for a much more refined look and used a simple medieval styled font, lacking any of the curly lines around the Relentless logo that makes it almost resemble street art and graffiti, further demonstrating it’s appeal to young people and teenagers. My ad also uses lots of dark colours which highlights it’s appeal to the alternative crowd of which I am aiming for with this product.

Task 6: Advert Evaluation

I have also attempted to go for a house style that consists of three main fonts for certain elements. The aforementioned medieval font (Old London) is used strictly for the brand name, Verdana for small text and taglines, and Zapfino for my slogan, Shine Bright Tonight. The usage of Verdana helps to distinguish that Darkstar is a modern brand instead of a years old drink. This choice of font is quite common on several other drinks I researched including Rockstar, Relentless and Monster, which all feature distorted logos but with a refined tagline underneath that usually says ‘Energy Drink’ to highlight what the product is. My choice of the astral theme and slogan is due to my idea of enlightenment – drinking Darkstar will help you focus and achieve your goals while also keeping you on your path. This is shown by my usage of the light ray to illuminate the drinks. Shine Bright Tonight gives consumers the idea that the drink is something that gives you an extra burst of energy, hence shining bright. Keeping with the dark and classically gothic theme my flavour names are also tied to this theme, with Dusk having links to the night-themed aspect (also linking to the slogan) and Sonata, as well as sounding quite refined and gothic, gives the drink an aspect that is similar again to Relentless, in that it helps with artistic endeavours. In terms of areas where I could further develop, I believe that this advert in particular could have used some more content in the upper areas, where aside from the stars it is quite empty. I experimented with several different slogans to put up there but in the end I decided that my slogan worked best when it was level to the cans at the bottom, where it was also able to sit nicely on the horizon of the background picture.



In terms of areas where I could further develop, I believe that this advert in particular could have used some more content in the upper areas, where aside from the stars it is quite empty. I experimented with several different slogans to put up there but in the end I decided that my slogan worked best when it was level to the cans at the bottom, where it was also able to sit nicely on the horizon of the background picture. I would also like to improve my usage of basic shape tools and beyond, as this piece uses some very simple geometric shapes for the star and the light beam. I would like to develop my skill in this primarily to create my own motifs for use in the media regarding the energy drink. An example of this would be the crest I use as the brand’s ‘official’ logo, which is simply a dingbat pulled from a free collection. If I were to develop myshape skills I could possibly create my own logo for use in this project, which would improve upon my push towards an independent brand (that does not use simple and placeholderlogos) and also improve my skill with Photoshop’s tools. To improve upon my skills I can study pictures of real life subjects that relate to mine and try to draw inspiration and draw them in Photoshop. A final point that I would like toImprove on is more connotation to my product. This is because a lot of my early drafts for the advert had no linksto the name or style of my energy drink and instead had a simple classical theme applied. To work around this in thefuture I could brainstorm much more thoroughly beforeI attempt my drafts which will hopefully lead to a muchmore refined product that has a direction and goal and knows what it will look like at the end of the project.

What worked well with this advert was linking the colour scheme to both the font and the drink itself. I feel as if the the advert as a whole has a clear intended style that helps to tell audiences what the drink is aiming for and what kind of people is trying to appeal to, in this case the alternative crowd.On the other hand, I would have like to develop my visual elements more such as the star at the top and the cans themselves, which lack any sort of logo. Also, I think that the Darkstar logo itself could have worked much better if I had used a pattern as a clipping mask which would have enhanced depth and detail.Initially I was prepared to go with one of my second designs (the floral background with the coat of arms and ‘The official drink of the court’ slogan) as my final piece, but I pushed myself and decided to create another draft from scratch which scrapped this hierarchy that had appeared in all my other drafts and instead start building up a new style, having the logo at the very bottom and the main element of the advert being the dark star itself. This push allowed me to create an advert that was very visually distinctive and didn’t look like a carbon copy of my other designs, and also allowed me to link my theme to the advert with much greater success.


Task 7: Product Development‘Darkstar Original’

The first can draft is for Darkstar’s original flavour and is the most common can in the drinks range. I tried to achieve a house style using a combination of two bold colours and several small variations of these for accents and borders, in this case blue and gold (Originally white that become a pale gold through the use of a grunge texture) which gives the entire style quite an antiquated and classical theme that fits into Darkstar’s gothic style. What I like about this draft is the combination of colours used as they are unique and not seen on any current energy drinks, but at the same time are not too outlandish because of of that. I also like the cloudy sky backgrounds which while obscure gives the can a lot of depth and a dark, ominous flair. Couple with the grunge texture this makes the can look very antiquated and rustic.I included a shot of the can template without the grunge texture to show how much of a difference it makes and how the two are two very different styles that still tie into Darkstar’s theme.With the first design I tried to emulate the old design of Relentless with the vertically aligned text as I think this design makes the brand much more noticeable. However the second design is much more legible at first glance which increases the brand’s awareness as people can scan their eyes across the shelf, see the can and immediately know what the brand is called. I have tested design on a can template and the logo is partially obscured so that it cannot be seen completely from head on.

The right side of the can is used to document Darkstar and what it is, using the brand’s theme to describe the drink in a creative way that would entice consumers. The line ‘see you through to sunrise’ implies that the drink delivers enough energy for you to stay up all night or an equal amount of time which appeals to the audience of people that buy these types of drinks for their caffeine and other supplements that provide lots of energy. To further compliment this I added ‘Charged With Taurine’ around the neck of the can which increases the visibility of this message. Underneath ‘are you brave enough to join our ranks’ I included links to the brand’s site as well as their social media profiles which, paired with the line, increases brand awareness as it invites people to ‘join their ranks’ by becoming a fan, which leads to more people knowing about the drink.Because the draft here represents the Original flavour, I decided to colour the background a dark blue to symbolize the brand’s trademark colours. Because of this when people see the original can they can link it back to using the original colours, so when they see something else that is Darkstar related they can make connections based on the colours used.

Task 7: Product Development‘Darkstar 10 Year Anniversary Edition’

I created a silver and blue themed anniversary edition to go alongside my original flavour. What I like about this design is the choice of colours and the emphasis on the brand’s logo, with the full name of the drink at the side to give way to the motif and a paragraph explaining the occasion. In the second image I moved said motif into the top right so that the can resembles the original packaging a little more while still being very distinctive. I have created the special packaging by using a floral patter as the background which makes the drink look quite shiny and distinctive. The blue colour used is the same blue from the original flavour to keep consistency. I imagined that the floral pattern would have a frosted effect on a real can which would shine under light, and highlight the brand’s logo and text. Because this particular can does not have Darkstar’s signature dark background I have emphasised the logos more so than other cans, especially the D of Darkstar, which features on the main face. I placed the crest behind the D which gives it a very bold appearance. This is so anyone including people who are not fans of the drink can recognize it on a shelf. I prefer the first design because it allows the anniversary text and logo to be emphasised more and ties in to the main theme of this variety, as well as looking much more striking when printed on a can.

The anniversary edition contains a small paragraph underneath the enlarged logo which mentions how long the brand has been producing drinks, which helps veteran consumers of Darkstar to connect and relate. As well as this, I have placed the social media links under the paragraph so that any newcomers to the drink have a quick link to check out the drink’s website/social media page and educate themselves about the drink and its history. The line, ‘ten years of shining bright’ directly ties into the drink’s official slogan, ‘shine bright tonight’ so that anyone who is aware of the slogan will be able to make the connection.I decided to add the single D initial against an enlarged coat of arms to symbolize that this can was celebrating an achievement for Darkstar, as this logo gives the can a very bold and confident appearance. For easy recognition though I have kept the original vertical logo, although pushed to the right to make way for the specific anniversary text.

Task 7: Final Packaging

My final can design represents the original and most common flavour of Darkstar, and to link this to the design itself, I have used a combination of the brand’s typically used colours along with several other motifs. My reasoning behind using such colours was that because this flavour is considered the flagship of the brand, it would need to be easily recognizable on a shelf for consumers to see, and using the brand’s default colours would mean that people who have seen any other advertising material regarding Darkstar before would be able to instantly make the connection between that prior knowledge and the drink on the shelf. The motif below the logo itself that tells us what the flavour of the drink is, is on the front side and extremely visible for maximum exposure. The aesthetics in which I have done well in have been the colour choices and the positioning of all of the elements on the template.The aforementioned default colours (dark blue and a rustic gold) together create a very antiquated and worn appearance that gives the feeling of a drink from a bygone age. The group that I aimed towards, the steampunk and gothic subcultures are heavily involved with a retro themed styling that includes elements drawn from the Victorian era and before. I have tried to emulate this in my can’s packaging with the usage of the main font for my font for the logo that resembles Medieval text and not something that could be considered modern (as most fonts popular today are sans serif or minimalist typefaces.) Gold was a very important colour in the creation of this style as it is the most prevalent colour in steampunk culture, representing wealth and the upper class. These cultures that I have appealed to could also bedescribed as dark and underground and not necessarily jolly or cheerful, which is the reasoning for my choice of dull and weathered textures, achieved through the use of a grunge texture. The grunge represents the passage of times as these cultures draw on influences from real life cultures that existed hundreds of years ago. As well as these cultural connotations the grunge was used to add depth to my can design which features a cloudy blue sky background as the backdrop for the packaging which gives the entire packaging a dark and gloomy feeling.

Task 7: Packaging Evaluation

As well as these cultural inspirations I have also drawn upon several other energy drinks to create my own style. In particular, my main influence in this regard was Relentless, a similar energy drink in that it is marketed to an ‘underground’ audience, with the difference being that the drink is heavily linked to music and music events through advertising and sponsorship. The key elements I drew from their packaging included the vertical logo on the front of the packaging (Which I used to increase the visibility of the brand name) and the placing of the name of the flavour beneath said logo. Another key elements was Relentless’ use of a very detailed and obscure background which gives the can a lot of depth and detail when compared to a blank can. I tried to emulate something like this with my gloomy sky backdrop and accompanying grunge texture. In addition to this I have also drawn inspiration from their logo itself, particularly the use of a stylized, ‘classic’ font but have not included their use of many wave lines and accents which was intended to emulate street art of graffiti as this was not the culture I was aiming for. Finally, the new Relentless logo includes just the ‘R’ of the logo and I have included something like this for the side panel of my can above the introduction to the drink and against an enlarged ornament used as my emblem. This is a motif that was used to show that just the first initial of Darkstar can mean that it is recognized by consumers simply because of how prominent and unique the font is, as is the same with Relentless. I was also prepared to have my alternate flavours keep the style of the original can but with a different coloured background so that the cans when lined up would have a strong brand unity (seen in the first picture below.) One thing I did try to avoid influencing from Relentless and other brands was the sponsorship they do, as I wanted my drink to retain the same ‘underground’ and independent feeling of the cultures it markets towards.


In a technical aspect, my product has used a range of techniques to achieve the final piece including colour overlays, opacity modifying, warping and image modification. The background in particular was achieved by taking a normal picture of the night sky and overlaying it with a grunge texture, and then altering the opacity of said texture to blend the two images together.

I went for this approach to avoid making the backdrop too much in focus and detracting from the other elements of the packaging, as well as creating a nice combined background that fits in with my drink’s style and creates the ominous atmosphere that it is known for. Usage of this grunge texture also allowed me to swap the text colour from a bright white to the weathered gold that is present on the final piece which avoided a lengthy process of using clipping masks for such a purpose. I also used the opacity tool to allow the ornaments behind the logos to blend in well and not obscure the logo while still remaining visible. The logo for Darkstar itself uses a combination of a drop shadow and the embosstool gives it more of a threedimensional look instead of appearing flat on the packaging.The box containing the name of the flavour uses two ornaments,one flipped to accents the sides ofIt and increase detail.


In terms of opportunities for further improvement and modification of my images, I would primarily like to start creating some of my own original motifs instead of using sets that are available for free online. Being able to accomplish this will move me further towards independence and will allow me to produce a piece of work that is up to professional standards.One of my attempts at an original logo (shown here) is built to directly tie into the regal and classy theme I have built up for my can and also resembles a logo that can easily take the place of my default coat of arms ornament that is used to compliment my logo. Again I have been influenced by Relentless slightly by using the initial of my brand name and stylizing it, albeit In a much different fashion when compared to the Relentless logo. When using the original ornament, I sheared off part of the bottom so that it would fit onto my can better and keep the symmetry with the rest of the elements.


The original ornament used.An original logo I

created to replace it.Relentless logo for

comparison

The sheared logo in my final design.

If I were to repeat this project I would likely create more original logos which vary in style and compare them for use in the final piece instead of keeping with a free and generic ornament available on the internet.

Another element I would like to improve on is my spacing and positioning of each elements and how I can vary them. My final design is very geometric – everything is aligned horizontally or vertically – and there is not much that could be consider this design flared or wavy. What I would like to try as an alternative design would be something that has the Darkstar logo aligned diagonally or otherwise. This would increase the design’s creative and technical appeal and also allow me to experiment with something that isn’t defined by straight lines and boxes.


While I do consider my ingredients list effective and fit for purpose I would have liked to have taken the time to create a unique recipe for Darkstar by choosing my own ingredients instead of lifting the ingredients and nutritional information directly from Monster. I would have liked to do this because I believe detail is very important and my work falls slightly short because of this.

When talking about the planning and development process of my can design I believe that where I succeeded was the combination of grunge and background which affected the design as a whole, bringing my theme to life and helping to distinguish it from a test draft. Although my layout has remained mostly the same the difference that can be made is how my final piece feels like it was made over a hundred years ago, which is the entire point of the theme and audience I have tried to appeal towards. The colour choices of my final design are also much more refined and the choice of two main colours means that the entire design works together and doesn’t feel mismatched thanks to loads of different colours.


Above is one of the test drafts and to the right is the final piece.

I have also been able to account for the space to the right that was left empty in the preliminary draft as I did not know how to fill it, and instead planned to include a history of the drink and a list of the available flavours in the range. In the final piece I scrapped this idea and used the space to briefly explain – albeit poetically – what Darkstar was about and concluded it with links to the brand’s social media pages and their official website. I chose to put the social media links here because the assumption was that if someone is willing to learn more about Darkstar and becomes curious, they will pick up the can and turn it around to this side where the links can be found, prompting them to indulge themselves further and visit Darkstar’s pages to learn more.

On the other hand, the areas of development where I could have developed more would have to be the variation in my designs and the elements involved. When comparing one of my initial drafts to the final product it is easy to see that almost everything is in the same place and orientation. I would have liked to experiment more with different layouts, particularly ones that have elements that are not aligned horizontally or vertically, instead being on a diagonal alignment to create an interesting layout. This was something I experimented with on one of my preliminary designs and I would like to implement this if I repeated this project.Also, I would have liked to have experimented with severaldifferent background choices for my design. I did have twodistinct choices when drafting the can, an astral theme and a more upper class style that incorporated a patternedbackground and more lighter colours, which was used for my anniversary can. In the future I would like to try out morestyles so that I have a bigger choice when preparing to makemy final piece.


Task 8: Web Banner Development

With the leaderboard banner I started with a simple design that primarily intended to pull people in with the dramatic ‘it’s here…’ tagline, that is announcing a new flavour in the Darkstar range. I later used colour overlay to change the colour of the cans to match the background used in this banner, and added a contour effect to the tagline to make it look more 3D. I have also used a grunge texture to give the gradient background a rougher and more detailed edge. Later I tried a more centred logo that still promoted the same drink but with a different and more fitting slogan, as well a custom logo. I experimented with positioning of the logo on the right.

Task 8: Web Banner Development

I created several other web banners that were a little larger and thus allowed me to experiment more. The first draft was akin to my very first drafts for my magazine advert, following a very similar layout but this time having Darkstar’s now default colours and grungy styling. I like this design for the colours and the feeling of it but dislike it for following the same formula as previous attempts.

I then decided to use the astral theme of my drink to a greater extent and used a similar element to my finaladvert, as well as a star background that greatly enhances the image’s detailand allows viewers to knowwhat the theme of the drinkIs.

Task 8: Web Banner DevelopmentI developed my previous banner idea by animating it, showing the rays of the star gradually lighting up both of the cans and having the logo slowly appear. I improved on this by adding a second frame that had the opacity at 25% to allow for a smoother transition. To the right, I went for a square advert that I kept simple in hierarchy but I think that it is still very effective with the large star situated behind the row of cans. This time I have included the Darkstar initial so that the brand is much more represented then previous attempts. This banner is also much more dominating in appearance thanks to the size of the star and the cans helping to make it stand out more.

Task 8: Final Web Banner

I chose this web banner as my final piece because I believe that it is the most striking and appealing of all my experiments in this section. I say this particularly for the inclusion of the large moon that is placed behind the cans which acts as a backdrop against the stars and pulls in viewers thanks to its position and size. Because Darkstar is related in name and in theme to stars this will allow consumers to make the connection between the advert and brand instantly. This is also supported by the inclusion of the Darkstar initial in the centre of the star. In terms of the aesthetic quality, I tried to position the cans so that it resembled figures looking out towards the moon on a hill, which adds a sense of scale to the image and ties it in to my theme of enlightenment. My inspiration for this particular image was the common pose of standing in front of a moon, creating a very distinctive silhouette. I didn’t place my cans directly in front of the star, my reasoning being to give the illusion that the cans were ground and the star was shining above them. I added the night sky in the background and used the opacity tool to lighten it so that it wasn’t too dominating and created a nice backdrop which fit the theme the banner was putting across.I used a row of all the available flavours of Darkstar so that anyone who is new to the brand instantly knows what is on offer and whether or not the flavours appeal to them.

Task 8: Web Banner Evaluation

The technical qualities of my work included use of the blur tool, the outer glow tool and saturation modifying to achieve my final result. The cans are all derived from my original can but have been made to look like other flavours by altering the hue of the image, resulting in a row of different flavours that keep the same design. For the star, I used a simple ellipse and gave it a large outer glow that gave the impression of luminosity, typical with large stars.I used a combination of Gaussian blur and opacity to achieve the background used in this banner. First beginning with a gradient I then added the background of stars over it and toned the opacity down, before using Gaussian blur to make the two images blend together. I did this so that the stars were not too dominating in the image and that I wanted them to stay in the background, hence making them visible but not standing out too much.The ways I could improve this image in a technical sense would be to create some more complicated shapes instead of taking them from the internet. For example, I could have added some light rays to illuminate each can, or I could have added a solid terrain for the cans to stand on instead of floating beneath the star.


Considering where I can develop my web banner, I would like to try creating some unique hierarchy instead of following the simple can and title that has been a staple of most of my advertisements. My theme is a bit difficult to adapt for something other than having the star positioned high but if I was to repeat this project I would try and experiment with having the star further down and creating the advert around it, which would lead to some more interesting layouts and untimely a better product at the end. I would also like to experiment with combining both my astral theme and classical theme into one advert, experimenting with different motifs and layouts to ensure a much better end product. In the planning aspect of this task I feel as if going back and trying lots of different styles worked well, by beginning with simple leaderboard shaped banners and progressing onto rectangular adverts. This allowed me to explore a lot of different techniques and ideas and lead me on to find what I believed was my preferred style in the end. What didn’t work as well during planning however was relegating myself to the same hierarchy from my magazine advert in the final piece when I could have tried something more stylish and experimental. If I was to repeat this task I would try out a lot of new styles and layouts to ensure that I end up with a striking and unique final piece that does not feel like a carbon copy of my other attempts.


Task 9: Storyboard Development

My first draft utilizes a heroic theme with the wolf jumping the crevasse. This was done to emphasize the power that Darkstar supposedly holds and make it appealing to a crowd that wants a drink with a lot of energy delivery. The boy turning into a wolf also connotates to Darkstar’s social media campaign, ‘are you brave enough to join our ranks?’

Task 9: Storyboard Development

The second attempt, which has the same premise, takes on a more mystical theme with the wolves circling the fountain, an element that ties into Darkstar’s mystery and gloomy-centric advertising. In the right image I improved my final frame to include more detail about how the advert ends. It went through several revisions such as changing the Darkstar logo to glow yellow and having the wolves turn to face the viewer at the very end, before it cut out. This was replaced with the more subtle eyes glowing in the background. I am using this one as my final piece.

Task 9: Storyboard DevelopmentMy third storyboard has the same transformation concept that involves someone drinking Darkstar and becoming a wolf of the night. This time it involves a man defending his home from a zombie attack. It doesn’t involve any blood or gore to avoid troubles with the ASA but does feature a some cartoon violence, and a very ominous and scary atmosphere that would make it unsuitable for young viewers. This storyboard retains the third and sixth panels from the first draft and features a similar setting, a house in the middle of a dark, stormy forest. I feel as if this advert is more climatic than the other two drafts as it has more of a perilous situation that is solved by drinking Darkstar.

My final piece features a transformation story that links into one of Darkstar’s main slogans, ‘For Your Nocturnal Side’ which links to the drink’s night theme and how it urges you to join their ranks in some of the advertising. I chose the transformed animal to be a wolf so that it fits in with the traditional werewolf myth, replacing the full moon with a can of Darkstar.What I feel went well with my storyboard development was the use of most of Darkstar’s themes to create a coherent story, such as the night, werewolves and the aforementioned transformation. Because of this I believe that my final storyboard is fit for purpose, however I believe that I could improve it by connotating more with Darkstar’s colours and styles in the imagery.

Task 9: Storyboard Evaluation

You should evaluate your final piece.

Are there opportunities for further development of your work?Are your final pieces are fit for purpose?What areas of planning and development worked well? What areas of planning and development could have done with more work? What effect did you think your development stages had on the final product?

You should present your evaluation using a mixture of text and images. You should use images of existing products for comparison.

Task 9: Storyboard Evaluation

pro forma

Business