I come offering a product catered towards the gamer, nerdy and hipster market. I offer zombie-gone body the perfect alternative to the many assaults one would receive during a zombie invasion. It works like all other body sprays like Axe, Tag, Old Spice and Playboy however this spray fends off zombies while attracting the opposite sex. First I needed to research the target market that this product may interest. After research was accumulated I needed to brainstorm some ideas.
When people think of zombies they think of many things such as: Living Dead, Horror Films, Video Games, Radiation, Disease, Graves, Brains, Flesh, Shotguns, Chainsaws, First Aid, Blood and Death. So I started getting ideas revolving around First Aid, Decomposing, Radiation and body parts. I even tried sketching a footer graphic for the can with roaming zombies and gravestones. However this may seem like a cliche, almost halloweeny sort of idea. The fans take their zombies seriously and don’t wan’t their favourite interests to be a mockery. However I then started drawing cans to get some surface graphic ideas laid out.
After sketching out several cans I needed to incorporate surface graphics and selected logos. I found that the logo with the two first aid crosses on the side of a simple wordmark that simply says Zombie-Gone. I want this package to have a medical treatment sort of look. Zombie fans can relate to this from their zombie video games when their are in times of trouble and they are in desperate need for a medical supply or a first aid kit. This connects with the gamers. Typeface for the logo will either be a nice clean cut Helvetica typeface or a grungy typeface like Hatcheck. The direction for the logo isn’t yet set in stone but is open for change. The illustration for the zombies and survivalists will be silhouettes to provide a dark, erie and mysterious look to the package. For the lid of the package there will either be a red cross or a logo with a silhouette. There will be four different types of scents for the package CHAINSAW, GRENADE, SHOTGUN and MOLOTOV. All associated with things used against zombies. It would’nt make sense to name the scents “BRAINS” because that is something that attracts zombies and that is not what the product condones. I also had an idea to have zombie related phrases on the lid of the body spray however I feel that this method can be to distracting from the product. So a simple red lid will do. There will be a simple information box to describe what the product stands for with a silhouette of a zombie survivalist standing triumphantly and proudly holding his weapon of choice. The man has attracted a woman with his heroic actions this may help attract the market because the target market isn’t exactly sucsessful at attracting the opposite sex in the slightest.
I then took some photographs of a couple of classmates who gladly modeled for a couple of shots however I ended up being the zombie. Photo of myself is credited to Jonathan Dumrique and the models Kate Venpin and Peter Wiley were great sports about the whole thing. I told them it would only be in silhouette form so it did’nt really matter if they were laughing or not taking it seriously with their facial expressions. The beauty of illustrator and photoshop is that these things can be fixed. Once the photo of Peter and Kate was imported into illustrator I then drew a vector shotgun for the hero to hold. I then needed the actual metal can for the package to be designed for. I needed to spraypaint an old body spray can which was a whole new experience for me. I have never used spraypaint before and have learned so much with this assignment. I needed to coat the can in a metallic silver spraypaint.
I then started designing each and every surface graphic for the can. The scents for the can will be in a lowered opacity red Helvetica Bold set typeface. The presentable can will be the chainsaw scent. I then measured the lid of the can so I can make a red wraparound label for the can. The Description box is as good as finished and the image of the hero and his lady are placed beside the type. The warnings are both humorous and informative. They warn you that the can is flammable and explosive and also suggests that you can use to your advantag against zombie attackers. Lines such as “Container is highly explosive. throw immediately” bring some amount of laughter to the consumer. For the lid I designed two different variations. A red cross and the silhouette zombie walking out of the logo. I find that the red cross makes the can too boring and unappealing to any consumer. The logo on the top proves most effective. For the logo itself I tried two directions a grungy and clean look. The clean like by far looks more efficient.
After creating each individual element of the design I composed it onto a final label to get it ready for print. It proved most tedious to type all the french translation from the english warnings. This type was the final part of the assignment for me to finish and or made me feel very tired. After all of the typing I had finally completed my dieline and could proudly say it was ready for print.
Once the labels were printed I carefully labeled them onto the silver spraypainted can to get it ready for the final critique. I admittedly was very nervous to go about this presentation however I was very proud of my work. When you are proud of your work and have been putting countless days into your work then you will know exactly what to say to a group of people.
The group seemed to enjoy this product and openly said that they would buy this product if it actually existed. Other designers designed pretty cool packages for things like “Suglasses for Jedi”, “Mussels for Hamsters” and “a clothing line for an angry mob”. I can say proudly that along with theirs mine proves to be one of the most interesting an original of the batch. However as a huge Star Wars fan I can admit that I won’t beat sunglasses for jedi.
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