Looking at the Ted Baker okyo store and overall theme and vibe, it wouldn't have been too different to what I was going to propose (Not as good as mine though, obviously)
## Ted Baker Tokyo store ##
## initial designs ##
As you can see, I like how they've turned out aesthetically but in terms of appeal, it's not too different to how it is now. At it's core it is just Ted Baker applied to Japan, I think this will only look interesting to us in Britain as the Japanese letterforms look all exotic, but to them it's just the usual. It's as normal as a clothing advert is for us, here.
Originally I was considering routes such as spatial design, store design etc but as you can see the store is already pretty bang on, interior design isn't an area of my expertise and it's better to focus on areas I know I can produce strong work in. Instead I'm going to focus more on the advertising, promotional material and shopping experience in terms of packaging and other ephemera. I'm going to apply the concept I now have throughout.
## concept ##
The concept I have is to really latch onto being British and from London. I've took inspiration from ad campaigns such as those by Saatchi & Saatchi for Silk Cut cigarettes which are so simple but the imagery adds curiosity and interest - the ad campaign was wildly successful.
I want to take icons of Britain, in terms of food, icons, packaging, inventions, technology and kind of subvert them to be applicable to Ted Baker's shopping experience in Japan. For example, the first idea that kept springing into my mind was to have clothes wrapped up as you would wrap fish and chips, in wrapping paper and then slotted into a bag, or possibly even given to the customer wrapped. It's still probably just as functional as a shopping bag with no creases but it's distinctly British and a unique way to receive your clothes. Normally the staff fold up the garment on the counter, but this time they wrap it up in a traditional chip shop way.
I feel stores that go overseas, just try and blend in and almost say "here's what we have, buy it" and try and be Japanese, why not go all the way and really push on the idea of being British and proud but without being insulting. And also inviting shoppers to engage in the shopping experience. I know if I was a shopper, I'd be more tempted to go to a store if it really hit home that these clothes were made in another country, with the store almost being like stepping into another country.
To the Japanese we are 'Gaijin' - outsiders. It's important to know what they appreciate and what they find insulting or disrespectful.
So the concept for now is to apply Britishness to clothes packaging, shopping bags, billboards, store fonts, print material and also to the social media side of the experience as one of the core messages of the brief is to shop and share.
I took this concept and pitched it to the others in the workshop.
## feedback ##
Pitch grades (1= poor 5=excellent)
___1
Clarity of concept = 3
Breadth of ideas = 4
Appropriateness of response = 5
Contextual awareness = 4
Analysis / Understanding of Audience = 5
Level of innovation / Originality = 3
Quality / Clarity of Presentation = 4
Areas for improvement
- Obviously you have changes the concept so mock up some now and more British design
- I think that the Japanese would value our technological achievements over food and drink. James Bond DB5 with machine guns is like a British version of the Japanese transformer mech robots (Gundam Wing)
- Be careful that the design doesn't include anything that the Japanese could find "low culture" - like a fry up. Take into account your target audience of 25-35 year old stylish men and women.
Additional comments
- The Roman alphabet looks exotic to the Japanese in the same way their alphabet looks mental for us. So I would suggest making all the writing in English
**Some very good points here, especially with relating British stuff to something subconsciously familiar to the Japanese, such as the DB5 with machine guns being similar to the iconic Japanese Gundam Wing mech robot series.
Also about English being exotic to them, so unlike with my original concept, I'll focus on the effect of English on the Japanese more than the other way round. I need to have at least some Japanese on the material though, so as to not alienate a lot of people who can't read or understand english
___2
Clarity of concept: 5
Breadth of ideas: 4
Appropriateness of response: 4
Contextual awareness: 5
Analysis/Understanding of audience: 3
Level of innovation/originality: 4
Quality/Clarity of Presentation: 5
Areas for improvement:
- Less text on design boards
- Could research Ted Baker audience as its quite upmarket and Japanese customers may be put off with some things
- Typical Brit is a good idea - try to keep it up to date with typical things they wouldn't expect.
## action plan ##
- Look into interesting and subliminal advertising, such as the Silk Cut adverts which focus on imagery and subconscious manipulation
- Make mock-ups of billboards and investigate other material such as shopping package and Shopping bags
- Look into integrating physical campaign with digital campaign, idea of shopping and sharing - web, apps
- Research Japan in terms of culture, history and technology, so the campaign doesn't touch a nerve and is effective as possible, tapping into certain tastes and perceptions of Britain. Japan has had many notable and effecting episodes in it's history such as Hiroshima and the earthquake last year, amongst many more, I don't want to offend them.
- Ask people what they consider to be quintessentially "British" and research into it myself
Might even make Winston my official campaign model.
By this week, I want to have a better understanding of Japanese culture and history through my own research and existing documentaries. I want to have knocked up billboards and other material, and looked into colour schemes, design and layout.
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