Bag but Better
Liverpool John Moores University
Bag but Better is the newest Visual Language project I made after 2 years of focusing on developing the Ux/Ui array. When I returned to work on a project on visual language, I felt like I was sharpening my visual thinking and design thinking, it was really an important milestone on my career path.
“Bag but Better” - a powerful communication campaign by The Body Shop, aimed at mobilizing communities to raise awareness and take action against plastic pollution. Together, we can replace harmful plastic bags with reusable alternatives and make a real impact on climate change.
The campaign's mission is to unite not only The Body Shop customers but also everyone who shares our commitment to a greener future. By joining hands with the UK government, we can create a collective force to address the alarming daily discharge of plastic bags into our environment.
The Process
In the idea development process, the key is to create a compelling topic. To achieve this, I start with brand research to understand the vision and mission. Next, I conduct market research and analyze the target audience's preferences. By combining these insights, I can develop the most suitable and captivating solution.
After thorough research, I found that the government's "greener future" campaign fits perfectly with The Body Shop's mission to contribute to a beautiful planet. Excited by this synergy, I plan to incorporate the "greener future" theme into The Body Shop's new visual language. This will help me ensure the goal that was given by the brief is that the new Visual Language must have a pioneering spirit and be forward-thinking.
In my brainstorming for ideas, I discovered an eco-friendly material in my own kitchen – a water-soluble food bag made from rice flour. Excited by its potential, I added it to my sketchbook, as it conveys The Body Shop's commitment to sustainability and its mission to make a positive impact on the environment.
After sketching numerous ideas, I found Typography as the most suitable option for the new Visual Language. Its versatility and impact convinced me to proceed with developing digital versions of the concepts.
After testing previous ideas without desired results, I am focusing on further developing the pure typography concept. I digitally re-drew and arranged the letters to create a connected and harmonious design. By dedicating more attention to this idea, I am confident we can achieve a compelling and impactful visual language that conveys the campaign's message and captures the audience's attention.
In my test layout, I combined the tagline and product image with their respective names. However, I find the plain white background too faint. So in order to enhance the design's recognition and impression, I tested one more idea which is to strategically use typography as a background element, I wanted to create a visual layout. appealing to reinforce the campaign's sustainability theme. Through constant refinement, my goal was to deliver an engaging and memorable layout that effectively conveys The Body Shop's vision of a better world.
After decided stick to the typography concept, I expanded my testing to explore different ideas, visualizing them on models for better understanding. Feedback from teachers and friends helped me realize the need for improvement in the tone of voice and the weight of the letters. Continuing to think outside the box, I discovered that embracing a different approach reignited my creativity, leading to more exciting ideas and fresh perspectives.
The Outcome
As I shared above, experimenting with ideas outside of the box helps me discover a better direction for my ideas. I tried playing with images of the body shop products and getting them to interact with the message I wanted to convey. And wow it was more than I expected, the images of the products interact with the message making the product promotion and message delivery done well at the same time and creating a more interesting visual language. Since then, I have continued to make versions for other products in this campaign
This is a simulation when applying The Body Shop's new visual language to different media
