OUGD503 - Studio Brief 01 - Minor Brief #1 - Research

As the brief explains that the client's 'looking for the designs to be striking, modern and inspired by the countries that the cocoa originates from', an initial mind map was made when researching into the cocoa bean. Various aspects were researched into around the topic in order to try and spark some inspiration for initial ideas.

Background & Origin

Nearly 70% of the world crop today is grown in West Africa. The cacao tree is native to the Americas, originating in Central America, South America and parts of Mexico. Whilst it unknown as to where exactly the cocoa bean originated, it has been traced to the foothills of the Andes in the Amazon and Orinoco. Chemical analyses of residues extracted from pottery indicates that cocoa products were first consumed between 1400 and 1500 BC.

The Word 'Cocoa'

The Latin name for cocoa—Theobroma—literally means, “food of the gods.” This valuable crop played an important role in many ancient South American cultures.

Current State of Cocoa

Whilst it is important to understand the origin of the cocoa bean and its history, it is also vital to understand the current situation of cocoa beans in the world.

Ivory Coast is the world's leading cocoa producer. Despite the fact that the export of cocoa beans is economically great for the Ivory Coast, cocoa farmers are the biggest cause of deforestation in the country. 95% of rainforests have disappeared since 1960 due to the illegal farming of cocoa beans. This is one sustainability problem that really needs to be dealt with.

One recent study at the University of Campinas’s Biology Institute highlights how genetics is reviving Brazil's Cocoa industry. Brazil was once the world’s second-largest cocoa producer and now ranks sixth. After more than 20 years of exile from the global market, cocoa growers were able to resume exports of the commodity only in 2015 by tackling the fungus Moniliophthora perniciosa, which attacked the shoots, flowers and pods of cocoa trees. As the client has asked for designs to be based off of the countries that the cocoa originates from, Brazil could be the main focus of the packaging to celebrate its return to the industry.

Colour

Cocoa beans are brown; however, their pods are a bright yellow/red colour. When they're ripe, the cocoa pods turn a rich golden colour. As the majority of style examples given by the client are vibrant and very colourful, cocoa bean shells could be used to develop a colour scheme for the packaging. As they grow on trees in rainforests, the surrounding environments could also be used to inspire colours used.

Alongside briefly researching into cocoa, some further research was made into what physically makes brands appear luxurious. This is one aspect that needs to come across in the branding, as the briefs asks for designs to suit the 'luxury end of the food market'.

Ricardo Galbis, a New York-based creative specialising in direction, brand strategy, user experience and interface design, explains that:

"Good design doesn't get in the way; it distills the complex nature of a brand into something that is utterly simple and makes sense."

Alaina Johnson, art director at Killer Infographics, goes on to explain sophisticated design:

"Everything is well thought-out - not only the concept and execution, but also the materials used to present the information."

This means there's no one-size-fits-all solution for designs that radiate sophistication: Logos, intricate lines, subtle colour palettes and textures, a well designed website and custom typography do little to embody true sophistication when each element is examined in isolation. The cohesiveness of all these elements combined is what creates a seamless and elegant end-product. In this sense, every graphic element in the chocolate packaging must be carefully considered to ensure that it is luxurious, sophisticated and modern. 

A selection of luxurious chocolate bars were found online and analysed in comparison to some everyday, cheap chocolate bars. Some of the main points picked up on that differ between the two are as follows:

Scale - The designs on luxurious bars of chocolate are much smaller in size and much more subtle than those in the cheaper bars. The type in the luxury bars is also much smaller and cleaner overall, which makes the bars appear much more intriguing and less obvious.

Materials - Cheap bars of chocolate clearly have flat, plastic wrappers, with no added finishes. Luxurious bars, on the other hand, tend to be wrapped in higher-quality card/paper/plastic, with coloured foiling to accompany. This is one key aspect that divides the two - a bar of luxury chocolate should not only taste quality, but feel it too. 

Colour - The colour of luxurious chocolate bars tend to be much more muted and unique in comparison to cheap chocolate bars. Some, like the Green & Blacks chilli bar however, are on the other side of the scale, and are much more vibrant than cheap bars. Ultimately, cheap bars seem to have use medium contrasting colours, whilst luxurious bars are either low or very high.

Research into luxurious colours highlighted that younger audiences are naturally drawn to brighter hues, while older audiences prefer more subtle tones. An example of this is Apple's iPhones. Recently, Apple recently developed its rose-gold iPhone 6 specifically for the Chinese market, where the vibrant, positive colour with connotations of success, achievement and triumph plays well. The colorful 5C series, on the other hand, was produced to target a younger audience. This is one important aspect to consider when developing ideas, as the audience in this project is fairly young.

One colour that is very popular with luxury products is black. This is mainly because it is considered to be mysterious and powerful. Whilst this is true, the target audience must be considered to ensure that the product appeals to the right age. Black is quite a mature colour that would be aimed at an older age group.