The Big Picture

Today we live in a branded world, were brands are more than logos and marketing jargon. They are icons of our society, reflecting our personal preferences, values and lifestyles. Many of us view our self identity through the brands we support and buy. Whether it’s a car, computer, wine, or even where we do our banking, we create brand relationships with what feels good, and what helps define us to others.

A lot of men and even women feel strongly about being a prisoner to expensive brands. Corporate Brands feel they can get away with labeling an expensive price tag on a plain white t-shirt that has a small logo printed at the bottom of the t-shirt. I feel that you never really get what you pay for when you buy an expensive branded t-shirt and for this reason I have decided to change the way men feel about purchasing a branded t-shirt, and that is getting their value for money.
For my final major project I will create my own t-shirt brand, which will have a unique selling point that gives value for money e.g. it could be ‘Reversible’ (t-shirt that is printed on both sides). The t-shirt will be priced along side other brand competitors e.g. Diesel T-shirts cost from £35 to £50 depending on the print and fabric. These will be aimed towards a younger market of men interested in fashion. The t-shirt designs will be controversial with a hint of subtle humour which will tie in with the target market.
My final major project development will be updated weekly in my research journal which will be in the form of an online blog. But this time the blog will be accessible for every one to leave feed back on my progress through out the project; this will help me make decisions and corrections.

As a starting point for my research journal, I will produce a mini audit for the brand by using Mintel to research into the current market for menswear retailing. I will also produce my proposed market plan which will involve an SWOT analysis and four P’s using the research I have gained from using Mintel and other key sources.
I will be researching into branding and product development to gain knowledge of creating a name and logo for the brand, as well as looking at existing brand names and logos to get an idea of how to design my own that is original and recognisable. The brand name will tie in with the controversial approach of the designs for the t-shirts.

I will create a capsule collection of different t-shirt designs for the brand which will graphically represent the brands controversial theme. I will have to research into printing costs and the costs for plain t-shirts to get an idea on what prices to retail them in stores.
I will create a creative promotional booklet that will display the capsule collection of t-shirts and the style of the booklet will reflect the brands reversible style and controversial theme. The promotional booklet will be distributed to outlets to display the range on offer or to be displayed next to the t-shirt in shops. I will use my knowledge in Photoshop and Illustrator to create these designs.