Project Evaluation

My work is arranged and ready for Submission! This feels strange as it is the Final Submission of my Degree and although it feels like I have been working on the same campaign for a long time, it has also gone very fast.

I feel my time management skills have been fairly competent throughout my time at University but have improved further in this project as the demands have felt more pressured (due to this being my Dissertation).

My people management skills have also improved through the collaboration with a Graphic Designer. I commissioned Andrew Cook to create some of the visual promotional methods for this campaign, as noted in earlier blog posts. This decision was taken by myself early on in the project, allowing me to research and communicate with various Designers and Companies about this Brief. Due to my skills lying within the research and development stages rather than the production of final outcomes, this collaboration enabled me to give all of the relevant research information to Andrew for him to create the outcomes with daily communication between ourselves to perfect the details.

In terms of Project Idea, I feel that the eventual outcome was for the best. At the start of the project, I went through a range of ideas (around 8) which turned out to be too limited or non-viable as a project. Due to this, I was getting worried that I was going to run short of time and not fulfil the campaign to my best ability. However, after some discussion with my Lecturer, I decided to go ahead with the final idea that I had. After this, I soon got stuck into organising my target audiences and then collecting my research.

The collation of Primary Research was fairly difficult as my campaign decision was the week before the February Half Term School Holidays. This left around 5 days to organise and undertake Interviews of Core Audience Teachers and Pupils in 3 Primary Schools. Otherwise, the research results would have been two weeks later, thus past the target/ideal time on the timetable given to us all by my Lecturer and critically delaying my campaign progression. I also sent an Online Survey to Primary Schools within the target districts of the 5 selected cities in which the Scheme would hypothetically take place. The responses of this were of an average uptake, around 20 responses and I emailed 200 Schools. I was expecting more responses, but people are busy and I am personally unknown to them.

The promotional methods that I chose to promote the campaign suited both target audiences (from their research responses and average daily timelines) and Disney as a brand. I was committed to reflecting the brand's tone and identity throughout as this is what would be wholly expected if Disney were to produce this scheme themselves.

The documenting of the research and development stages was easy for me as I am usually thorough in all that I do, recording every detail so the viewer/reader knows what is happening. The only part of development that I feel is lacking in comparison to what I usually produce is the 'step-by-step making' of the promotional items. This is wholly due to commissioning a Graphic Designer and them using their time to make the items and not usually do 'screen shots' of their progress. Such Designers and similar Professionals, create from scratch and finish at their final outcome with time to consider their decisions and visual changes rather than document them in 'screen shot' form. This has lead to me writing and blogging about the decisions more as I feel the need to 'show' the changes and progression. I do not see this as a negative but a difference and wholly due to collaborating with a person external to this experience.

I would like to feel that I have completed a 'package' of work, in terms of the elements of my submission all matching and emanating a similar aesthetic rooted from the brand and scheme's tone and core message of 'driving maths in a fun way'.

To conclude, I have enjoyed this project very much; as with all work, it has had its positive and negative times, with a few turmoils and stressful times along the way. I am pleased that I have had these times, as I would be worried that I was not working hard enough if I had not had them. I feel the project has developed me both professionally and personally, finalising this Degree to the best of my abilities.

Completion of the Research Folders

After reading through the project brief again and working through the Folders, I have completed them ready for submission.

Knowing me, I will look through them again, just to make sure there are no extra additions or alterations that I can make. I will do this extra check on Monday 21st (the submission date has been moved to Tuesday 22nd).

I have also checked through the other elements of the submission and I am content with these. Overall, I am very pleased with the work that I have produced and feel it is the best project that I have created so far. In a way, it is hard to imagine what I will do after this Submission as my life has revolved around 'Maths with Mickey' for the last 5 months... it is nerve racking to hand it over and then wait for the results!

Making a Tag for the Puzzle

Today I have printed my file dividers, stickers for each section, stickers to notify the viewer of this Time Log blog plus my Audio and Visual Research blog and started to read through the first two folders.

I feel it is important that the content runs similarly to how a Disney storybook is read.

I have also produced a Tag for the Puzzle that is a competition prize on the Pupils' Website. This Tag tells the viewer of the Puzzle's purpose on the stand in a very brief style. The design of the Tag was based on an earlier artwork development for the Poster. I ensured that I created the design using colours and imagery that have been used in the campaign to ensure the overall look of the Stand is coherent with the tone of the brand and scheme.

As an addition to the Primary Research section of Folder 2, I have burned the Primary Research Interview dialogues onto a specially designed CD and placed this inside.

A few research documents needed to be printed so I have also done this today and added them into the relevant sections of the folders.

Overall, this has been a very productive day and I am pleased with my progress. I feel confident that I will have plenty of time for last final touches before my Submission.

Research Folders

As planned yesterday, I have today transferred all of the research and development work into my new folders.

This took a while due to the amount of work, but I have planned my dividers and how I am going to present these.

I purchased my file dividers a while ago as I felt, and still do feel, that they suit the project as a whole. They are printable, so I can display the contents page of each folder professionally, while the coloured tabs are bright and bold, using colours from the campaign, reflecting Disney's brand tone of being colourful and enjoyable.

On the whole, I have completed the exterior view of the Folders and now need to finish the inside content for all.

Tomorrow's Plans:

• Print Dividers
• Make a Tag for the Puzzle
• Read through folder work to make sure folder work runs smoothly to the viewer

Ironing onto the Fabric Bags...

Today, I have spent most of the day ironing the Transfers onto my Fabric Bags. As a reminder, these Fabric Bags are going to hold my Research Folders on my Exhibition Stand.

I underestimated how much time this task would take. I initially thought it would take a couple of hours, due to doing a 'test' and getting the heat and application times right for the best presentation.

I bought 5 bags, as I knew I definitely needed 2 bags to hold the Folders with a third bag being used for any items which do not need a prominent position on my Exhibition Stand but may liked to be looked at if a viewer was to look underneath the table for example.

Overall, it took around 5 hours and a couple of failed attempts, but I have 3 bags which I am pleased with!

After this, I have inserted the Covers into my Research Folders and created some side border panels, displaying my logo, name, etc.

I have started to organise my plans for the Submission day next Monday, I think I am going to arrive into University around 11am. I do not yet know if we all have to be there at 4pm for the Submission Deadline so this may alter my plans in that I arrive later.

Tomorrow's Plans:

• Transfer my work into the new Research Folders
• Sort and Print my File Dividers
• Fill in any Gaps, printing, etc.

Friday's Plans:

• Make a Tag to be put onto the Puzzle
• Finish off the Research Folders
• Check through all the Submission

Over the Weekend:

• Finish all elements
• Prepare to take all of the work to University for the Final Submission

Update on Today's Progression

This morning I finalised my work and went to the Printers. I now have the Mini Report, Portfolio, Folder Covers, a Poster and Leaflets printed. I am very relieved that this is done and I am pleased with the finished articles.

I feel fine with my time management, as I have since organised my Portfolio, so this and the Mini Report are ready to submit now. I am happy with this as they are ready just under a week before the submission date. I am also a day ahead of my personal targets for each day.

In terms of what I need to do now:

• Iron my transfers onto the fabric bags
• Transfer my Research and Development work into new Folders.
• Sort and Print my File Dividers
• Fill in any gaps within the Folders, printing off documents, etc.
• Make a 'Tag' to display on the Puzzle that will be on my Exhibition Stand (This Puzzle can be won in a competition on the Pupils' Website) 
• Organise the transportation of my Submission next Monday

Iron On Transfers

After my blog post yesterday, I  prepared the 'Maths with Mickey' Logo for printing onto my Iron On Transfer paper. Along with this Logo, I would like to apply some Stars to the bags which have also been used on my Exhibition Stand, on the Folder Covers and in my Reports. This will make for a coherent overall appearance.

Today's plan:

• To finalise the Portfolio boards ready for print.
• To hopefully print out the Mini Report, Portfolio content and the Folder Covers, plus a Poster and Leaflets.
• If the above two tasks are completed, I can organise my Portfolio ready for submission and start working on the research folders (dividing sections, noting this blog address etc).

Extra visual methods

Since my last blog post, I have achieved the aims/tasks that I set myself; to finish the mini report ready for print, to create the layout of the visuals within the portfolio and make some fabric bag designs.
I have also burned the Primary Research Interviews onto a CD to include in the Portfolio.
The Research Folder and Portfolio covers have been finalised ready for print.
Also, due to having some time, I have been looking through the promotional methods of the campaign to see if any of these can be enhanced. I decided that two of the methods, the Leaflet advertising the Pupils website and the Browser App Game could have visual elements made.
Therefore, I have made the Leaflet and I am hoping to have a few versions printed to include in my Portfolio and on the Exhibition Stand.
In terms of the Help Mickey! Browser App game, I have produced a Logo which reflects Mickey and the greenery of the Amazon Rainforest. Again, this includes inspiration from primary and secondary research.

Fabric Bags to hold my Research Folders

After my blog post yesterday, I spent my time creating the covers for my Research Folders and Portfolio (which I will finish in the next couple of days), researching companies to print onto Fabric Bags and printing companies to create a Poster to place within the Portfolio.

The covers of the Folders and Portfolio are in keeping with the overall look of the visual campaign and the Graphic Stand as the brand logo and Folder Title is placed on a plain white background with the same stars to be printed on the Graphic Stand. This aims to make the identity of the campaign look coherent and professional.

In terms of the Fabric Bags...I have decided that I want to transport to and position my folders within the Exhibition in some sort of bag. These will match the overall look, as the 'Maths with Mickey' logo will feature on them, plus, the possibility of some stars. Again, this look will match the Graphic Stand and the covers of the Folders and Portfolio. I was looking into getting these printed by the company in which I researched the bags, however I have decided to purchase the bags plus some iron-on transfer paper to 'print' the bags myself. This is due to the lead time and delivery estimation for the company to print them. It will be quicker for me to produce myself and I am fairly confident as I have created similar articles in the past.

I ordered the bags and transfer paper yesterday afternoon and they have arrived this morning. So I am pleased with the efficient service! I am tempted to place the logos onto these as soon as possible, so at least I know that these are ready...

As for the Poster, I am going to wait until I print the Mini Report and the Portfolio content and get the same company to print a Poster for me. This ensures the same ink is being used and thus will match the rest of the visuals.

My plans for Today:

• To finish the creation of the Mini report and prepare for printing.
• Layout the Visual Promotional Methods onto A3 sheets for the Portfolio and prepare for printing.
• Think about some print designs for the Fabric Bags.

Graphic Stand Submission

I have today driven up to University and submitted my Graphic Stand Layout early, the submission is tomorrow (Thursday 10th May).

My Lecturer was able to open, check and re-save my work fairly quickly, so the file sizes should be fine for the Printing Equipment to handle also.

I am very relieved that I have now submitted this, meaning the main part of my Exhibition will be present.

The next plans - 

Research Folders:

• To go through my Folders and fill in any gaps by printing work off, etc.

Creating:

• Dividers for my Research Folders.
• Recording the blog addresses in my Folders.
• Making Cover Inserts for my Portfolio and Research Folders.
• Creating the layout for the Visual methods in my Portfolio.
• Finishing the layout of the Mini Report.
• A way of taking and displaying the Folders to and within the Exhibition - some sort of bag?

Printing:

• Ordering an A3 copy Poster to put in my Portfolio?
• Printing my Research and Development Boards.
• Printing the sheets of Visuals for inside the Portfolio.
• Printing the Mini Report.

The tasks which I will tackle first are those will the longest lead times, for example, ordering a Poster print, making bags for my Folders.

Once the layouts of the Visual methods and the Mini Report are finalised, I can get these printed also.

Computer Room Session

Today, I have been into University to save my graphic stand files after my Lecturer has seen the changes I have made.

I have had problems saving due to these being such large file sizes. An I/O error message kept appearing which means one of two things, either not enough memory (hard drive space) or file corruption. So I decided to return home and re-make the whole document, luckily this did not take as long as I anticipated and I was able to save a selection of files on CDs, a USB and an External hard drive.

Due to doing this by the end of tonight, I am going to drive up to University tomorrow morning for my Lecturer to open the files and I will hopefully be able to submit the work.

Graphic Stand layout content

I have been adding the final touches to my layout of the Graphic Stand but have a little confusion with the saving settings when converting to PDF.

Therefore, I am travelling to University tomorrow morning for a booked session in a computer room, allocated for us to create our layouts. This will allow me to save my work under instruction from my Lecturer.

I will decide what work to do when I return home in the afternoon depending on the content of the morning.

Graduate Fashion Week stand content

Today, as mentioned in the last post, I have selected a few images to hand in as my contribution to the 'Ebook' that is being created by the University department.

In addition, I created a 'personal page' which gives a paragraph of my aspirations, my CV and a photograph of myself. A short description of 'Maths with Mickey' is also given.

I have burned the content onto a CD to hand in on Tuesday 8th May.

My Stickers also arrived today, which I am fairly happy with. I feel the alignment of printing and cutting could be improved by MOO though as it appears unequal roundness in comparison to the proofing which I used before placing the order.

Developing the Graphic Stand

Today, I have been working on the suggested changes for the layout of my Graphic Stand. I scheduled most of the day for this as I wanted to near complete this task.

I have emailed a few 'print screen' images to my Lecturer and we both agree on one of the layouts being the strongest from the selection. So I have decided to add some other touches and finalise the widths and alignment.

I have also tested the file size, these being around 60MB for the PDF (such a huge difference to before!) but the Illustrator file is around 500MB still. I do not really understand the big difference in size between the two so I will look into this before I prepare the files for submission.

After this, I started to sort the images and what I want to produce as my contribution to the Graduate Fashion Week Stand. As Final Year Students, we have been asked to submit a 'page' about ourselves and a selection of images of our work. For each Student, these will be showcased on iPads at the annual event. A great opportunity to display our creations to the public in London!

I handed in a CD of my work to another Lecturer yesterday who is making the Degree Book (I have mentioned this in an earlier post), I feel making the most of these opportunities is the best way of giving myself a chance to try and immerse in the industry that I want to work in.

Tomorrow's Plans:

• To complete the work to be showcased at Graduate Fashion Week.
• Start looking through my research folders and write a list for printing.

Graphic Stand Tutorial

Last night I made some changes to my Research and Development Boards, making them very nearly complete.

Today, I have travelled to and from University for a Tutorial with my Lecturer about the layout of my Graphic Stand. The meeting was productive in that my Lecturer gave me advice and his opinion on the layout that I had created visually and the outlined plans.

The main points are to keep widths equal between promotional methods, grouping items together and laying out the orientations of landscape and portrait.

In terms of the huge file size, I was advised to give both an Illustrator and PDF file of my layout. This enables my Lecturer to give the smallest of these two files to the Printers.

I have become quite unwell over the last few days so this afternoon I travelled home and rested. After a visit to the Doctors tomorrow, I will hopefully be able to focus on my work in which I will edit my Graphic Stand layout accordingly.

I will print screen my developments and email a few of the images to my Lecturer (as suggested by him) to make sure I am on track for the submission of the layout due next Thursday (10th May). If I am finished with the development and my Lecturer feels it is a strong submission, then I may hand the files in on Tuesday (8th May). This saves me waiting till Thursday, giving me a day at home to work through the other work to be submitted later.

Visualising the Graphic Stand

So far Today, I have been compiling a Visual Idea for my graphic Stand to take with me to my Tutorial tomorrow.

I have prepared my images to what I believe they need to be, including going through every visual and outlining the fonts so they will print properly. The images are embedded also.

But a problem is....the saved PDF of my idea is 501MB and my Lecturer wants files no larger than 350MB. I will need to speak to him tomorrow about this, as my file sizes are A4 and below at 300dpi and therefore cannot be made any smaller without looking too small and pixilated. Hopefully, my Lecturer will suggest some options in order to get the PDF size down! A normal Illustrator would unlikely be such a large size, I am guessing it is the PDF conversion which is making the file much larger.

Most of today has been taken up by the outlining of the fonts and resizing of the visuals. This has taken much longer than I anticipated and have therefore not got round to editing the visual content of the mini report which I have aimed to do today. Time is set aside for this after the submission of the PDF for the Graphic Stand so the latter has more importance at the moment.

I am going to get ready for tomorrow's commute up to University and for my Tutorial.

If I have time after this, I am likely to make the visual changes to my Research and Development boards rather than the Mini Report.

Finishing of the Visual adaptations and Starting Layout Ideas for the Graphic Stand

Today I have finished converting and changing my Visuals and started doing the 'Mock Ups' for my Graphic Stand.

I have some outlined plans to take to my Lecturer on Thursday. As well as this, I am going to make a 'visual' version tomorrow, showing the promotional methods rather than just outlined boxes, to give a truer interpretation of the finished result.

Tomorrow, I also want to adapt the mini report since I have changed the Pupils' Website. I have decided to include less of the promotional methods 'visually' in this, as they will be shown on the Graphic Stand and within the Portfolio, so seems to be a repetitive for them to feature in every element of the submission.

Alterations to Visuals

Today, as planned, I have been converting my visual promotional methods from RGB to CMYK, thankfully not many colours needed to be changed to print near enough to the original versions.

One big change has been the Pupils' website. This was going to be changed anyway as after some reflection, I was not happy with the outcome that had been made, colour-wise. In addition to this, the green tones that the Pupils' website featured were printing much darker than I wanted and the stars in the background were not fully visible. This meant that the other promotional methods and especially the Teachers' Website (as a relative comparison) were much more attractive than the Website to be used by the Children, which does not make sense as Disney is such a child-orientated brand.

This afternoon was spent adapting the colour changes to the Pupils' website which is now bright Yellow featuring Green stars. This takes a lot of visual inspiration from again Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse, Topic Box and BBC Bitesize websites. The chosen tones of Yellow and Green feature in the target audience profile for the Pupils taken from an average day timeline - their hobbies, food and drink and brand interaction.

Tomorrow, more conversion and adaptations will occur leading to the 'mock-ups' and layout ideas of my Graphic Stand.

Completed the Facebook 'Timeline'

I mentioned yesterday that I was close to finishing the new Facebook page that I have been working on. I have completed this today, taking longer than I thought it would but I am pleased with the result considering I drew it from scratch and starting only yesterday.

Due to working this weekend as normal, I will write up my aims for next week.

Monday and Tuesday - Make alterations to the Visuals (as noted in Tutorial and from personal observation within my folders) and change all to CMYK.

Tuesday/Wednesday - Mock up some ideas for the Graphic Stand, ready to take to University.

Thursday - Have a Tutorial (11.15am) with my Lecturer to discuss the layout of my Graphic Stand and any other issues.  Buy Mountboards for my Portfolio. Do an A3 Test Print of my Poster (if this has no pixilation I will order a Poster Print for my Portfolio). Due to my commute, I will arrive home around 5pm. I will make any adaptations to the layout of the Graphic Stand relating to the information received within the Tutorial.

Friday - Make changes to my Research and Development Boards. Start composing the layout of the Graphic Stand using Illustrator.

Saturday and Sunday - Carry on composing the layout of the Graphic Stand until completion. Remembering to OUTLINE fonts and EMBED images. Read through my Research Folders and check for gaps, making a list of what is needed to be printed etc, as I go through.

Update

As aimed yesterday, I compiled some information last night to give to the University for inclusion into the Degree Book. I wrote a short synopsis of my Final Promotional Campaign and included some imagery to support this. I have burnt this onto a CD ready to take next week.

Today, I have made a lot of progress on creating an updated Facebook page, this is due to Disney having the older style profile layout when my original was created by Andrew but have since changed to the new 'Timeline' layout, thus, my Lecturer suggested that I make the adjustment also. This is understandable as the older Facebook page would make my Portfolio look dated already!

I was apprehensive about having enough time or the skill to do this justice, but I am pleased with myself as I have almost completed it today. This just leaves a few more things to do to the document tomorrow and it will be finished.

I have also ordered my stickers today, using Moo.com, which will hopefully be put onto my Exhibition Stand as a Promotional Item. In addition to this, I am considering printing a Poster at A2 size (in which they would be sent to the Primary Schools) to not 'hang up' or display but to put in my Portfolio to show I have considered the finished article on Poster Paper rather than just on a A3 sheet or mount board.

If I was to print a Poster, I would use Poster Pigeon as I quoted this company's printing services and paper quality within my broken down costings/budget of the campaign. Their lead time is fairly quick too.

The next stages:

• Finish the new Facebook Page
• Make the adjustments to the visuals (as noted in most recent Tutorial)
• Convert the visuals to CMYK
• 'Mock Up' some layout options for the Graphic Stand ready to take next Thursday

Degree Show Book

We have received an email from a Lecturer at the University asking us for some imagery and a short description of our final promotion campaign to include in a Graduate book.

This book is made by the University and printed for the Degree Show, Open Days and Graduate Fashion Week.

So inclusion into this book is great publicity.

I obviously want my work to be shown in this so this afternoon I am going to compile the content ready to take next Thursday when I am in University.

Lecture and Tutorial

Today's lecture went well, we received the layout and production infornation for the printing of the main graphic stand/board.

This is obviously useful but it feels a very daunting prospect at the moment.

More dates have been given regarding submissions and the booking of a computer room for us to have guidance whilst sorting the layout.

In my Tutorial, I went through my visual promotion methods and boards with my Lecturer. He has suggested some changes, these are fairly minor, however, he has stated that I need to change the Facebook page that has been made as it features the older layout rather than the newly recent 'Timeline' format.

I feel making the new Facebook page will be time consuming and hopefully not too difficult. I plan to start on this as soon as possible, as the sooner it is completed the more time I have for the layout of the boards.

In terms of changing the visuals from RGB to CMYK, I have asked my Lecturer about the print profile of the Printers producing the boards and he is unsure which they use. He has suggested to choose the most suitable setting which produces the brightest colours.

I also need to start this testing and changing process as soon as possible.

Development Boards

I have completed the tasks that I set myself for Today. These were to complete the Development Boards and to print out all the Visual Promotional Methods to take with me tomorrow for the Lecture and Tutorial.

I believe the Lecture tomorrow is going to be informing about the rest of the module in which is there is under 3 weeks left! Hopefully, a checklist will be given and any extra information which is going to help the production of my final project.

All going to plan, I am really hoping that I am on track in the Lecturer's eyes and that there will be minimal changes to my visual promotional methods. I am afraid if there are a lot of changes I may start to panic about the remaining time left. I feel I am on track and have time for some changes, bearing in mind that I would like all of the work to be printed a few days before the submission, due to any printing or display problems, plus travelling up to Preston.

I will blog tomorrow about the updated 'To-Do' list!

Today's Tasks

I aimed to complete the research boards today, I have successfully done this. I am now going to do some folder work, which has had minimal input recently due to producing the boards and smaller report.

I feel on track and not under pressure. I have been sent an Email by my Lecturer informing us all of the content of our next Lecture on Thursday. I have also booked a Tutorial to go through the visual promotional methods with my Lecturer, to highlight any changes which need to be made.

Tomorrow's plans are:

• To complete the development boards
• Print out all the Visual Promotional Methods to take to my Tutorial and generally prepare for travelling to Uni and the Lecture.

Small Report

Today I have completed the making of the smaller report, copy and pasting the creative elements and adding the cut down wording.

I have completed the aim for Today and will carry on with the 'To Do' list that I set for myself in the previous blog post.

Finished the report editing (written content)

This afternoon I finished cutting down the word limit before I went to work....the count stands at 2,496. I am glad I allocated time for this as I knew it would be difficult and time consuming.

I am pleased that the word count is finished. I am at work tomorrow (Sunday) all day, so I am going to carry on making the creative element of the smaller report on Monday.

Plans for the week ahead:

Monday - creative element of the smaller report and possibly book a Tutorial for Thursday.
Tuesday -  Research boards (edit board 1 and make board 2)
Wednesday - Development boards (make both from plans) and print progress so far of these boards and visuals to take to University tomorrow.
Thursday - Lecture and possible Tutorial, travel to and from University. Receive the 'checklist' for smaller report?
Friday, Saturday and Sunday - any editing of boards, visuals and carry on completing the smaller report (mainly informed by Thursday's Lecture/Tutorial).

Cutting down the word count...

As I wrote in my last blog post, I want to complete the smaller report as soon as possible so I can focus on editing any of the visuals, creating the research and development boards and printing all of the work. 

Therefore, I have today started cutting down the word count of the full marketing report for the smaller report to be submitted. I knew this would be difficult and it is proving so. 

To start, I copy and pasted all of the relevant sections needed for the smaller report and averaged out a word limit for these sections, giving a greater proportion to the 6P's.

By the end of working tonight, I have cut down the word count to 4,600. Obviously, around 2,100 more words need to be edited out.... I will continue working on this tomorrow. By tomorrow afternoon, I want this editing to be finished so I can start with the creative element on Monday.

I have not worked on any folder work for a couple of days as no new content has been produced. 

Tutorial

Today, I met with my Lecturer to discuss my progress and ask him some questions regarding my work.

I now know what needs to be in the smaller report so I can start editing the original down to an amount of 2,500 words. I know this is going to be difficult, so I want to make a start on this as soon as possible. Once the editing is down, I will return to compiling the report creatively (some parts will be copy and pasted from the full Marketing Report, other parts altered).

I also know what stage I should be at and in regards to this, I am on track. Personally, I want to finish the smaller report and get this printed but I am going to wait a little longer as my Lecturer is going to hand out a 'checklist' for us to work to. Once this is done and all the elements are 'checked' I am going to print it as this will be another element completed.

I want to have my research and development boards done (unedited) by the end of next week, ideally, to take print outs of them to show my Lecturer on Thursday 26th. Again, once these are completed I want to print these.

My Lecturer has suggested longer tutorials in which I take print outs of my promotional methods, boards, etc for him to look through and annotate changes for me to make. This will assure me that I am producing work to industry standard.

The 6P's Report

Yesterday afternoon after my blog post, I started editing the wording of the full Marketing Report ready to start creating the smaller 6P's report. After this,I returned to my folder work and printed some work which I placed inside.

This morning I started creating the smaller report by copy and pasting the main elements to be included. After reaching doubts of the content, I decided to leave this and started creating the research boards from the plans that I had made for them.

I have completed the first research board and started the second, however I am sure that the first will still need a little editing. The main importance for me is to include visuals where I can, otherwise I tend to make my boards quite text heavy!

Tomorrow, I have a Tutorial with my Lecturer so I will ask him some questions to direct my work. Due to the timing of the tutorial and travelling to and from Preston I will have little time for much practical work, however, I aim to work on my second research board or the smaller report tomorrow evening.

Getting back into the folder work!

Due to the last couple of weeks consisting of making the creative format and printing the Marketing Report, I have not really been 'hands on' with the development folder work.

I had plenty of work and print outs that needed to be annotated and placed into the folders so today I have completed this, organised my Tutorial for Thursday (12.30pm), re-read the brief, written my 'To Do' list and made the personal deadlines for my diary. These may change after having my tutorial but they are a guide for me at the moment.

My next step is to start composing the written element of the smaller report. Many of the visual and written parts can be copy and pasted from the main Marketing Report apart from any visuals that are going to altered slightly plus the text needs to be changed to suit the style of the smaller Report.

Submission Day!

This morning I arrived in Preston very early, this was due to me not wanting to get stuck in any traffic when driving into the city and possibly missing the submission. I ventured to the University and submitted my Marketing Report at around 9.15am.

I then did a few errands and arrived home at around 6pm.

Tomorrow's Plans:

• Re-read the briefing for the final module and write a 'To Do' list for me to work from.
• Using this list, write personal deadlines within my Diary to keep me on track.
• Finalise a Tutorial time with my Lecturer for Thursday 19th.
• Work through the development folder work.
• Start composing the smaller Report which will be positioned on the Exhibition Stand.

Ideally, I have decided that I want to compose the smaller Report before the boards, as I will personally feel more confident once this is completed. Either I will do one task before the other or complete them in parallel as they will be printed at the same time anyway.

The night before the Marketing report submission...

During the day I have been working and I am shortly going to drive up to Lancashire and stay over ready for the submission of the Report at 10am tomorrow.

Due to having finished the project on Friday and re-checked that the two CDs included are working on different computers, I feel relaxed about the work being handed in. I am very pleased with the outcome and would not change anything. Tonight, I am going to relax ready for the submission tomorrow and then make my way home afterwards.

Final presentation

Today, I have found a solution for the final presentation and have finished the other elements for the submission. This means that I have completed this module and I am ready to submit it on Monday.

My plans are to drive and stay over in Lancashire on Sunday night to ensure I am much nearer to University on Monday morning.

I have sorted my stickers but not yet ordered them in case I need to change the colours slightly due to the RGB/CMYK scenario.

My plans are to start the research and development boards as soon as possible to give me plenty of time between this submission and the next...

Final printed report!

So the report has been printed and bound today, I am really pleased with the final result.

I have not yet found a solution for the final presentation, such as a box, but I am going to explore some ideas tonight and visit some places tomorrow.

The other elements to the project which need completing will be done by the end of Friday.

Due to finishing a few days before the submission, I want to start working on the research and development boards for the visual module, plus, order the stickers to be placed on my exhibition stand.

Final edits

Today I have done the final edits and the report is ready to be printed tomorrow!

I am nervous about the printing, but I am fairly confident that the production of the report should not cause any problems. I will see tomorrow and obviously any changes will need to be resolved as soon as possible.

I have been thinking about the final presentation of the report, like a box of some sort to protect the final article, but any idea will need to match the aesthetic of the rationale and whole campaign.

Nearing the finish of the report

Over the last few days, I have worked solidly on completing the report and I am pleased to say that I can almost see the finish!

I have got some CDs printed with my own designs, one to put a digital version of my report and another to put the audio primary research on.

I have also found another printing place which I am now going to use, this is due to me being happier with the print quality that they provide and the ease of printing the document as a whole.

I am planning to have finished by the end of tonight, leaving tomorrow as a day of doing final touches and editing and then printing the report on Wednesday!

Printing

I have sought some advice and found a possibility of printing fairly locally. I have tested some visuals there and the print quality is very similar to the colours which are seen on screen so this has reassured me.

The development of the creative report is coming along well and I am pleased with the pace. I am putting in plenty of hours, usually 14 a day to get the book completed as soon as possible but with the standard that I want. I have completed around a quarter of the report so far.

The next few days will be just be the same process, working through the report. So rather than being repetitive on this blog, I will post again in a few days.

Colour Problems

Now that I have started designing the creative report, it has been noted that the visuals have been made using RGB rather than CMYK. This may cause problems with printing as all screen visuals at RGB appear much brighter whereas printers use CMYK and therefore when the visuals are printed there may be a difference in colour brightness.

Through experimentation, some of the visuals are printing fine, whilst a couple are printing darker than desired.

As imagined, this is causing a great deal of worry and needs to be resolved as soon as possible.

Tomorrow I am going to ask some advice at a local graphic designers office and going to visit some prospective places to get the report printed.

Last final edits to the written content

Today I read through the report again and made some small changes. I wanted to make sure I was completely happy with the written content before starting the creative layout.

I have started the creative layout this afternoon. I have decided to use Illustrator CS5 after looking at a few options and due to me being most proficient with this programme.

My plans now are to work through creating the report and finishing this before going back to my development folders, this is due to the report being worth more marks and needing a lot of time being spent on it before it is nearing its production.

The finishing of the Marketing Report...

Today, I completed the aims that I set myself yesterday, meaning that I have now completed my written marketing report.


Tomorrow morning I want to read through the report again and do any editing. Then after this, I want to start making the creative format! This means I have the 11 days that I have left to complete this, leaving time for the printing and binding, plus travelling up to Lancashire for the submission.


I will keep posting about my progress with the creative format.

Report nearing completion!

So since the last blog post, I have been working through the sections, completed the Promotion section, breaking down of the costs and related this to the budget and the Persuasion Section. The People section was already written at a similar time to the Vectors.

This leaves just the conclusion to write, in which I will create a SWOT Analysis to include in the report.

The word count currently allows for a strong conclusion without worrying about going over the word limit. However, I will obviously check this again whilst writing it and afterwards.

I wrote in a post last week about wanting to complete the written aspect to the report by the end of the week/early nest week, so I will meet this target tomorrow. This leaves 11 consecutive days to complete the visual content and format of the report. I feel this will be fine as long as I do not attempt anything too complicated or challenging and stick to making everything look coherent with the visuals that have been made. Everything needs to look like it forms a visual, coherent package, to make the campaign look professional and as if it has been created by Disney themselves.

Tomorrow's Plans:

• To complete the conclusion section of the report.
• Plus, complete the Literature review and Bibliography.

The completed Visuals!

So, I have picked up the visual promotional methods from Andrew today (this is the Graphic Designer that I have collaborated with) and I am really pleased with the finished results!


I was pleased anyway, but now that everything is finished, I am relieved! The new page layout for the Downloadable Lessons on the Teacher's Website is now much more modern and clearer for the viewer, this was a suggestion from my Lecturer (to make the page more suitable for viewing on different devices and Smartphones, as obviously technology and lifestyles have moved this way). 


I have added and changed a few little things, as all the files from Andrew are editable. Therefore, I have spent my evening doing this rather than nearly finishing the Promotion section. I have done a lot today, but not finished the section!


So the plan's until the next blog post:

• To continue working through the sections of the report.
• Carry on developing ideas for the creative format of the report (I have been in contact with staff at Disney for images of their reports, brochures, booklets, etc, to give me more visual inspiration which is very relevant to Disney's usual written productions).

Report, Report...

Today, I have met the aims of yesterdays blog post. I have started the promotion section of the report and made the Disney Interactive Lesson feedback survey. This can be 'screen shot' and included as an appendix in my report. I have not yet drafted the Persuasion section as although I know the direction of the content I feel I want to complete sections before I move onto the next. 


Tomorrow's Plans:

• I am picking up all the completed visuals from Andrew tomorrow. These should all be fine and not need any further work or major changes.
• I will print the final versions for my development folder and also this will make it much easier to write the promotion section due to having all the visual methods to hand.
• I want to almost finish the promotion section.
• Start on breaking down the costing of the scheme and relating this to the budget.

Report writing

In a recent post, I wrote that I needed to 'write a full contents list of my report with all the visuals included' and 'continue my report writing', I have done both of these over the weekend. 


My plans for until I receive the updated visuals on Wednesday are to continue with the report writing. My plans are to finish the writing of the report by the end of this week/early next week. This will give me around 11 days to create the visual aspect to the report and format it fully ready for printing and saving on a CD for the submission.


Today I have completed the Vectors (edited these a lot) written the People section of my report and planned the Promotion section.


Tomorrow's Plans:

• To start the Promotion section of the report.
• Make the Disney Feedback survey (this would show after each interactive lesson for each Teacher to fill in).
• Write or at least draft the Promotion section of the report.

Visual Changes

Today, I went to visit Andrew and give him a list of changes to be made to the visual promotions.


He has said they are fine and can be done by next Wednesday, which is going to be fine for the timing for creating the visual report.


So, fingers crossed, no other editing will be needed and they will be ready to fit into the report.

Progress Check

Today, I have had a progress check timeslot in which my lecturer asked me a series of questions to send the answers to the external examiner.


My main aim was to make sure that my Lecturer saw the visuals and promotional methods that have been created to make sure they were on the right track.


I am really pleased with the outcome as my Lecturer noted that they were of high quality and suited Disney's usual aesthetic.


Some changes have been suggested, which I was expecting but they are not drastic and can hopefully be done fairly easily.


Overall, I feel very relieved! I have been nervous the last few days thinking that I do not feel like I have progressed that much but I also had not had any professional feedback, just casual reflection from friends and family. So I am pleased!


My next steps:


 - To meet with Andrew to make the visual changes.


 - Write a full contents list of my report with all the visuals included.


 - Continue my report writing.


 - Start the designing of my creative report.


 - Change my boards so that they match with the report and the promotional methods. All of these need to match so a complete package of work has been created for the one module.

Campaign and Media Plans

Today, I have completed the tasks that I set for myself yesterday.


I have completed the Market Competitors sub section and taken a look over my Vectors. I want to edit the latter a little.


I am aware that I am going to be over the word limit at the pace that I am going at the moment. So, I need to cut down by constantly editing what I have written.


I then moved onto editing my campaign plan and making a media plan. This took longer than expected but as long as it is clear and works fully then I will be happy.


I have sorted what I am taking with me to my tutorial tomorrow. I have 4 folders so far, admittedly making it difficult to commute 160 miles with all this. Therefore, I am taking the two most recent folders plus another folder to show my competitors. I do not want to leave any important information or work behind which will make the tutorial difficult to do.

Visuals and SMART Objectives

This morning I started with printing and displaying the development of the visual work in my folders.


Andrew has said it is fine for me to meet with him on Friday to make changes to the visuals.


This took me into the afternoon in which I worked through the content of my report so far, editing accordingly. I also re wrote my Smart Objectives and they are now more focused on my rationale, outcome and the measuring of achievements.


Tomorrow's plan:


continue with the report - do the market competitors section and look at the Vectors.


Edit my campaign plan and make a media plan.


Sort which work I am taking with me to my tutorial on Thursday.

A 'Visual' Day!

As noted in my last post, my first aim of today was to my 'To Do' list, once this was completing I got started with sorting out the handouts and things that I collated at The Education Show, I displayed these in my folder along with annotations. I also printed my photographs and noted down some comments for these. 


I picked up a few ideas of promotional methods too (even though I have chosen these for the campaign, little add-ins may be useful to tie it all together...).


I was able to get the CD's of work yesterday from Andrew Cook (the Graphic Designer that I have outsourced to complete the visuals). I had planned to go through it all and make sure it was all there. This task took much longer than expected, actually 5 hours...! 


I have noted down some changes which I feel are important, and I have asked to meet with Andrew on Friday so we can run through them together and make the changes there and then. We have not worked like this so far, but to save time and 'transporting' some very large files between our working environments is going to be very difficult without doing this. I want all the visuals completed by this weekend as they need to be completely finished before putting them in my report. As soon as my report is printed and bound, I want to make sure this is submitted and then I will order the printing of my visuals.


I have arranged to meet Andrew on Friday and not before as I have a tutorial with my Lecturer on Thursday and changes are likely to be made, I am really hoping not big changes. I feel my visuals are strong and I will be relieved when I can sign them off as complete and ready for print! I am sure Andrew will be pleased also. He has commented that he is proud of the work but he also has other jobs lined up for other people so a cut off point is needed soon. I have personally arranged this for Friday, but I feel, knowing his style of work and character, he will be happy to complete by the weekend for me.


All in all, I have spent 12 hours today on the above, due to technical difficulties with computers!


So quite a frustrating day as I have not looked at my report and my 'To Do' list is ever increasing, as I find more changes to complete, as I want everything to tie in perfectly.


Currently, I am spending much more time on my visuals than my written report. I think this is partly due to the fact that I do not find writing difficult and I know I can write confidently. However, I am still worried about the designing of the creative report. I am going to speak to Andrew about this on Friday. 


BUT I have 3 weeks to totally complete the report, get this printed and bound at the place I want to use and travel up to Preston with it. The latter point may not sound a big issue to the impartial reader, however, the idea of missing a deadline (especially your main dissertation deadline and due to traffic) is just awful!! Therefore, I will travel up to Lancashire the day before and stay over the night before the submission.


Tomorrow, I must write some of my report, this is crucial!

Over the weekend - background reading

Since my last blog post, I have been reading to continue my background research and marketing of my project for the written report.


My next plans are to sort out all the leaflets and information that I picked up at the Education Show on Friday and display these within my research folders in the relevant sections, along with printing and annotating the photographs that I took whilst I was there. 


My folders also need a bit of a re-jig as they are starting to burst at the seams, another one may be needed shortly!


My first mission is to right an updated 'To do' list for this week.

The Education Show

Today, I have been to The Education Show at The NEC, Birmingham. I was a bit hesitant about going, due to wanting to spend the time on my report and the final touches of the visuals. But seeing as the visuals are finished (Andrew has finished making them and he will soon give me all the files in an editable format allowing me to make some changes where necessary over the next few weeks) I felt a day away from my research files, books and the report will do me good.

Similarly to the primary research of visiting schools and interviewing Teachers and Pupils, there is nothing better than immersing yourself in the environment in which you are targeting and speaking to your target audience (in this case, Teachers). It is very easy to work at home and research everything on Google, but it is often a bit blasé, biased and blinkered. Seeing the Teachers, Advertisers, Companies, Products and Resources all under one roof was brilliant and as all of the market segment and competitor research has been done, this simply added to the amount that I now have.

I am glad I went! I felt the day was very worthwhile, as I went to a seminar (I had already pre-booked this) about using Maths creatively in the classroom. The point of the seminar was to sell a product, (slightly different to the products of my scheme) but the information given was insightful and with fellow Primary School Teachers, opinions and further information was given to me.

I was also able to visit the stands of the companies that I have researched on the Internet and from what Teachers have informed me about. These were quite helpful, one giving me a pricing list of what they charge, which is useful for the competitors section of my report, others were able to offer verbal information and lots of leaflets.

I have 3 bags full of leaflets, written information and goodies about the competitors I have looked at and some others which I have not heard or seen about before. I gathered some promotional ideas too, (even though this element is a bit late now that my main methods have been made) I could maybe add a couple to solely write about in my report if they are going to be very relevant and much needed.

The sorting of the information to put in my folders is going to difficult because I want to put a lot of it in, I will have to be very selective! As understandably, no one wants to see loads of leaflets, when I already have a lot of secondary research print outs.

I was at the show around 4 hours, walking around and talking to lots of people about the projects, resources and schemes that they are involved in/trying to sell. Amusingly, everyone thought I was a student Teacher looking for a job. Alas, I told all of them about the 'Maths with Mickey' scheme and they seemed interested, which in itself felt like positive feedback!

An enjoyable and worthwhile day!

Campaign Plan and Tutorial

Today, I have been into University for the Media and Campaign Timelines powerpoint.

This showed us not only what needs to be included on the timelines but how the different sections of the project/report all culminate to develop and inform each other.

My Lecturer also gave me some feedback on the campaign plan that I have made and informed me that I do now need to make a media plan. This is due to not having Above the Line promotional methods but I do have promotional methods that outside agencies would create rather than in-house and therefore will be paid for.
This will affect my budget also.

Therefore, I will edit my campaign plan and make a media plan. I want to do this as soon as possible so that this is completed and ready to include in my report.

I have also booked my Tutorial/Presentation slot for next Thursday at 11am. This will give me 3 weeks in order to make any changes to my project before my report submission.

Tomorrow, I am planning on visiting The Education Show at The NEC in Birmingham. I am debating whether to go or not as I feel the time could be well spent on my report as I feel my research is strong.

However, I feel a day away from my normal working environment will be beneficial for me and I will be able to see how the Education segment is first hand and see the brands and products that I have researched using the Internet.

If I do go, I will take photographs and document the day as part of my ongoing research.

Progress

Since Monday, I have completed the aims that I set myself in the last but one blog post.


These were to complete my customer profile boards, my campaign plan, continue my report writing and background reading.


I am taking my Campaign plan with me to my lecture tomorrow due to this being about Media and Campaign Timelines. I am going to ask my Lecturer for his feedback on this and for any changes that need making.


I have now received my feedback on my report introduction, a cutting back of some quotes is needed, otherwise it is fine! So I am happy about this.


The Pupils website is nearly complete, however a few changes have been made to the colour scheme and layout.

Report Writing

The 'next steps' that I wrote in my last blog post, were a list of four jobs that I wanted to have completed.


However, due to a family incident and being unwell, I have worked on two of the jobs, these being the continuation of my report and background reading.


I am yet to receive the feedback from my Lecturer concerning my report introduction, once this arrives, I can edit it accordingly and change my writing style if needed. However, I am fairly confident that my writing style will be fine as my review report was well received.


I feel this report is going well, but I am concerned about the creative layout of it. As already mentioned, I have used a few online tutorials for InDesign but I am still not wholly confident. I may look at some other options and/or start as early as I can on the report layout with InDesign.

Pupil's website

After my last blog post, the Teachers' website has been finished. I am really pleased with the outcome! There have been a couple of tweaks that I gave as feedback and these have been fixed by Andrew accordingly. These were very small and concerned the layout rather than content, as with all of the promotional methods so far.


Looking again at the Teachers website I may ask for Andrew to add some white into the composition as this would match the inspiration more clearly, rather than look just similar as it does at the moment. I will think about this.


Since Wednesday and due to Andrew finishing the Teachers website, I have been planning the Pupil's website...designing the layouts and content from inspirational websites that both children have told me they use (within the primary research interviews) and Disney's Mickey's Clubhouse microsite which has the clearest resemblance (through Disney) to my scheme, as Disney Educational Productions do not have a website for its Pupils, just the main website for Educators to buy products and resources from.


The planning took more time than I expected due to the inclusion of a Browser App. I have decided this will be provided by Google Chrome and will allow Teachers to view their class's performance on any device as well as the Performance section of the Teachers website and will allow children to play a game on the App also. This can be downloaded for free from Google Chrome (to stay in keeping with the core values of the scheme). However, this does mean that children who are not undertaking the scheme can play the game also (which defers from the idea of targeting selected areas within England) but having an App is market relevant and technology and gaming is moving in this direction. 


Overall, I have sent all the information to Andrew so he can get started as soon as possible on the Pupil's website. This is the last promotional method to be made, so Andrew and I are on track and the visuals will be given to me about 4 days before the presentations to industry. 


It is an exciting time!


For the rest of today, I am going to work through my annotations that need doing, as I am currently printing and making mental notes, however these need to be written down for the examiners to know my directions! I am also going to develop my report a little and do some background reading.


My plans for the weekend:

1. Finish the customer profile boards!
2. Make my campaign plan - (I keep adding little promotional methods, so I need to sit down with lots of Post It notes and plan it out properly! and then re-create on a board)
3. Develop my report
4. Continue background reading

Marketing Report

Today, I have been working on my Marketing Report and Andrew is adding the final touches to the Teachers website.


The stage I am at now:
Written the Abstract, Methodology, Introduction, Half of my Market Segmentation, SMART Objectives, Product, Price, Place and Vectors.


My Smart Objectives and Vectors need tweaking slightly, just to emphasise the core values of the scheme and how they are being promoted and delivered to the users.


The Product, Price and Place sections also need editing as I wrote these fairly early on and the scheme has obviously developed since with time and lots of research.


My aim is to finish the report as early as I can but also as comprehensively as I can. As a perfectionist, I will want two days to go through all the written content a few times and make little changes. I have done this method in past projects and it appears to work well for me.


Having time to create and complete the creative output of the report is very important to me, as it is a crucial 30% of a double module but also as this report is the first of the two submissions for the whole campaign, the report will set the grounding for the whole scheme and will hopefully anticipate the viewers to see all the promotional visuals in full.

InDesign and Browser Apps

Today, I spent most of the morning trying to get to grips with InDesign by refreshing my skills. At first, I was trying to do this myself but after some frustrations I decided to watch some tutorials, which I viewed, paused and then tried myself on my InDesign document....I now have a very rough draft of a layout (which I showed and discussed with my Lecturer yesterday).


I am still not wholly confident with using InDesign. So, I have been looking at other options. iBooks Author seemed to be  a good solution, almost like a drag and drop facility which would suit me! But when trying to download, I need the Lion package on my iMac rather than my existing Leopard setup. I do not want to change my whole package on my iMac at this stage in case I lose any of my work!


Another idea is to use Illustrator (I am not using facing pages in my report, just right hand single sided) so this is an option, although most processes have to be done manually, for example, the page numbers! Whereas, these are done automatically in InDesign.


Again, Microsoft Word is an option as previously mentioned by my Lecturer, I just feel being a design student that I should not be using Word! But the layouts of creative presentation have improved in the later versions, it is a versatile program, letting me insert imagery with a variety of file types. 


Whichever programme I decide to use, the outcome needs to be a PDF. This will do two jobs in one; allow for easy printing (as nothing should move once the PDF has been created) and a digital version is automatically made, which I can put on a CD or upload onto an appropriate sharing site, like Issuu.


Anyway, after some experimenting, I have looked into Browser Apps. I have not considered these before but my Lecturer did yesterday. The most appropriate 'provider' to choose seems likely to be Google Chrome or Mac App Store. Both other lots of opportunity, usability and coverage.


I have also been in communication with Andrew, the graphic designer, as he has started making my website for the Teachers today. He has sent an initial screenshot of its homepage via email in which I replied with some changes, and he has since sent back another image with the adjustments. I am pleased with the progress of this, as the aesthetic is what I wanted and in terms of timing, Andrew has said he is likely to be able to finish the Teacher website by the end of this week, and  the Children's website by next Wednesday (the deadline that I have given him). I chose this day as this gives me 4 days to prepare my presentation to industry in time for the first of the 4 days of presentations. So, plenty of time!


After this presentation, I can make changes that are suggested and send off to print! All of the visuals can then be slotted into my report.

Marketing Report Format

Today, I have been into University to discuss my plans for the designing of my marketing report, as well as talking to my Lecturer generally regarding the progress of the whole project.
I am pleased with the stage I am at, however I would like a lot more of written report done by the end of the week.
I have also sourced some places where I can print my report and get this bound. However, since discussing with my lecturer, I am going to source a couple of other places which bind with a metal spiral bind rather than plastic. A very good quality paper is also needed to complete the aesthetic that I want.
Since my last blog post, I have:
- edited my customer profile boards (still need some final touches).
- continued reading for my research and report.
- edited my list of promotional methods.
- researched creative reports and layouts.
- and planned the style of the report and front cover layout.
My next steps:
- Research Pearson Publishers. These are publishers of childrens' books which my Lecturer has mentioned.
- Show the development of design ideas for my report, including online and print solutions.
- Create my campaign plan.
- Email my report introduction to my Lecturer so he can feedback asap.
- Write more of my marketing report!!
- Continue reading for written support.
I have discussed an idea of a Browser App which could link from my websites and be found within one or a range of selected browsers...
I am going to research into these and talk with Andrew, the graphic designer who is making my visual promotions, on this idea. If time is running short I can write about the App rather than making it visually.

Research Folders

I have been trying to find and purchase some Disney (Mickey Mouse) lever arch files in which to hold and present my research for my submission.

It turns out that Disney have not created such files for a few years so those that are available to purchase on the Internet are outdated and will not be visually coherent with the graphics being made to suit the current Mickey Mouse aesthetic.

Therefore, I have been thinking of how to make my own files! This production will ensure that my graphics match throughout.

I have been to see Kath from the Textiles and Printing Department within the Victoria Building at University. A couple of ideas were:

1. To print onto thick card set to the measurements of a standard lever arch file and score this in the relevant places to bend it into place and attach a metal lever arch attachment to complete the file.

OR

2. Measure the front, side and back of an existing folder and create an Illustrator file with the desired graphics to fit. This file will then be printed onto white or clear vinyl (my choice) with a matte or gloss finish. This is sticky backed so can then be peeled off and stuck onto each folder.

the latter option is the one that I am most likely to choose. Therefore, I will get some of the graphics and create this file. Kath said the lead time is almost instant but nearer the deadline could take a couple of days. This would be perfect for me as I can drop the files to her on a Monday and collect on a Thursday (the days that I have lectures).

I just feel this would be an effective finishing touch to make sure all my promotional methods and the presentation of them are all visually coherent which gives a professional outcome.

Completed Visuals so far...

This is a list of the visuals that have been completed so far:

1. Email (base design plus mocks on hotmail and mac)
2. Facebook Page
3. Logo (both type face one and the one with Mickey's face on it)
4. Posters (Advertisement ones plus the thumbnail ones)
5. Stickers (have four designs)
6. Interactive Lesson (shows an example of the start page, and two examples of the opening of a question, the selection of the mathematical answer and the congratulating of getting the answer right).
7. Lesson on an Interactive Whiteboard (4 different examples)

I am very happy with the progress so far and delighted with the visuals. I can easily say that if I was making the visuals my self I would not be at this stage and definately not with the quality of graphics and production.

Although I am sending a lot of the initial layouts by hand drawings and I am writing the written material for Andrew to copy and paste into the relevant sections, I would not be at this stage with my visuals and marketing report without this collaboration.

The next visuals to be made are the:

1. Teacher's website (main layout and key pages)
2. Pupil's website (main layout and key pages)
3. Possibly a Youtube page... (but I am wary as I want the scheme to retain some exclusivity and a Facebook page already gives social media presence)

I have discussed the posssibility of an App for both the Primary school Teachers and the Pupil's parents to use to access and measure the results and performance of the pupils in each Interactive lesson. But I feel this is going to be better as a section on each website respectively, so this gives more content and interaction with the websites, plus the parents of the pupils may not have Smartphones due to the limited disposable income in the areas that I have selected to pilot this scheme.

Seeing the Interactive Lesson

I have returned home today from the family event and I am catching up with the visual campaign progression. I am very pleased with the image attachments on the emails that Andrew has been sending me!!

In my opinion, the key pages of the Interactive Lesson 'Mickey cares for the Planet' are excellent! The graphics, layout and  colours are brilliant. As a promotional method it is coherent with the other promotions and is likely to be attractive to both the Primary school Teachers and Pupils, due to the creativity, interaction, ease of use and presentation.

The manipulations of showing the lesson on an example Interactive whiteboard are also great, Andrew has given me a selection of 4 to choose from. To be honest, I am likely to print all 4 as I think they give different scenarios and likely to influence and inspire the teachers that this would be a great scheme for their Pupils as well as showing a variety of imagery within my portfolio on my final exhibition stand.

So, as I feel the Key Pages of the Interactive Lesson and the example Interactive Whiteboard images are complete, I have liaised with Andrew and have sent him the next information for the Teacher's Website.

He will be working on this from now until next Tuesday, and if there is a delay for any reason then we have plenty of time to complete this plus the children's website for a deadline that I have set for Andrew. This deadline is a 5 days before the first presentations to my lecturer and possibly industry which show the completed visuals as well as my report information and its design layout. This presentation aims to be an interim check to make sure we are on track with the time given and the time which is left before our respective submissions.These presentations run over two weeks, so I am hoping to ask for a slot within the first week, to give me the second week for any alterations to the visuals before they go to print.

My next steps are:

• Research design layouts for my written report.
• Finish updating my customer and brand profile boards.
• Update my promotional methods now that I have altered from the Television programmes to Viral videos on my Pupil's website.
• Create my Campaign Timeline.
• Write down my budget (research prices of all promotional methods).
• Edit my Vectors and SMART Objectives (suggestions were given in my Tutorial).
• Write my 'Promotion' section of my 6P's more in depth.
• Write my Market Segmentation section of the report.
• Read lecture notes from Thursday's lecture which I missed due to being away (SMART Objs lecture).
• Carry on reading to support my marketing report.

Visuals via E-mail

As previously mentioned, I have had to visit a family event and therefore I am away from my home and usual study environment! But alas, this has not stopped me from working. 

Andrew, the graphic designer that I have commissioned, has been working tremendously hard on the key pages of one of the Interactive lessons and manipulating one of these key pages in Photoshop to look as if it is being used on an Interactive Whiteboard (I went into a local Primary School last week to take some photographs of various Interactive Whiteboards and classes being taught with them).

As I am away, I am able to receive my emails but I am only able to see one of the many image attachments that Andrew has sent me. But this looks great so I am not worried at all.

Due to being away from home for only a couple of days, I have decided to do lots of my reading and note taking, rather than report writing, this has saved me taking all my folders and information with me.

I am home tomorrow, so I will be able to look at all the visuals that have been created in the last couple of days and feed back to Andrew with any alterations. 

Tomorrow, I also need to design a layout for my Teacher's website, draw some key pages and write the information that will be within the website. I will send all of this to Andrew to enable him to create the Teacher's website. He is envisaging to finish this by Tuesday next week (6th March).

Tutorial and Campaign Plan Seminar

Today, I have been into University for a tutorial and lecture. In the tutorial, I gave my Lecturer a printout of my Vectors and Smart objs to read and he gave me some editing to do.

This gave me some direction and not much editing needs to be done, which shows I must have a pretty good idea on what content is needed.

Overall, the tutorial was productive as a few of my questions were answered and I have some more research points to follow. I also spoke about changing one of my promotional methods, the Television programmes, as I do not feel they will suit my target audience and campaign objectives, therefore this will change to having viral videos on the school pupils website instead, as shortened versions of Television lessons and revision.

The seminar was very useful for me as we focused on my project to create an example campaign and time line. This has given me a basis to create my own from. Other ideas of promotional methods were also suggested, such as an App, which parents and teachers can use to see their child/pupils progress. I am thinking about having these sections on the respective websites, but an App may be a good idea. So I need to update my list of promotional methods accordingly and update my graphic designer. He may create the key pages of an App rather than the TV advert.

In terms of the visuals, the key pages of one lesson are being made at the moment.

I have returned some books to the library and have more to read. Gathering the references and ideas!

I have a family event that I need to attend over the next couple of days so I have informed my Lecturer that I will not be in on Thursday, the next lecture, so he is kindly emailing me the notes.

My graphic designer is going to carry on working with the visuals and will continue to email me with updates. This will be good as the progress will still carry on. I am also taking my written work with me to do when I can. I am very conscious on not slipping behind, even though I feel on track and confident about my position in terms of workload at the moment.

Written report update

Today, I have collated together the content that I have done for my report. So far this is, Abstract, Methodology, Introduction, Smart objectives, Product, Place and Price plus the Vectors.

These will still need editing throughout due to new found research etc. But it is important to me to have started the initial draft.

I am pleased with the progress of the report so far. My next step is to write the market segmentation section and speak to my lecturer about my Vectors and Smart objectives.

Poster complete

I am very happy with the visual work that is being produced by Andrew Cook, the graphic designer who I have commissioned. I believe the visuals will appeal to my target audiences respectively and show the core values of the 'Maths with Mickey' scheme as well as being reflective of Disney's usual and current aesthetic.

So far, the logo, Facebook page, email and poster have been created, as well as the thumbnail images for the six interactive lessons.

I have sent rough drawings to Andrew for the key pages of one of the interactive lessons so he is currently making these.

I have made arrangements and been to re-visit one of the local primary schools that I used for my primary research; this was to take my own photographs of some interactive whiteboards both in on going classes (to show teachers using the boards for lessons to their pupils) and in empty classes. One of these photographs will be chosen to show how one of the interactive lessons will look on an interactive whiteboard in a classroom. Andrew is going to manipulate this using Photoshop.

I have continued writing my report, have been reading lots and been in regular contact with Andrew, giving feedback and suggestions.

I have decided which television channel I am going to use. This is Disney channel due to Disney already owning this and will not need to pay any networks for showing their own programmes. This channel also has the correct target audience to suit my core child consumer and features one Mickey Mouse programme daily anyway.

So far, I have my abstract, methodology, introduction and Smart objectives written. I wanted to have my market segmentation and Product done by now.... But I have written my 6P's and Vectors in draft format...so these just need editing and expanding on and will then place these into my report.

I want to send my Smart objectives and Vectors to my Lecturer asap so he can look through to see if I have the correct idea!

I have also correctly formatted my references, these were very nearly correct anyway and my past format has been more than fine in my last assignments. But I want everything perfect this time!

Tommorrow's plan:

- To edit my vectors and send these to my Lecturer with my smart objectives.

- Update my customer and brand profiles with new found research and to be aesthetically coherent with my other visual work.

- Continue reading.

- Visual layout inspiration for my marketing report.

Visuals, report writing and reading.

Update on the designers work: The logo is complete, the email is almost complete and he aims to start designing the lesson thumbnails and presentation of these today and tomorrow, this will lead on to the inclusion of these into the email sent to the teachers plus the creation of the poster for the staff room. The stickers for the pupils may also be made in the next couple of days, depending on the progress of the lesson themes and the poster. His aim is to have a week each for the teacher and children websites to make sure these are aesthetically very strong. These methods have the most content and thus will take the most time to create.

We are communicating very often through email and he is sending me screenshots to make sure we are both on the same wavelength, I can print the screeenshots to put into my research/development folder and for me to give more direction very quickly as to not slow down his progress.

I am writing my report, mainly developing parts already written and obviously adding new research. I am reading lots, annotating the visual development and catching up with this blog! 

My next steps:

• To carry on reading lots!
• To continue with the report until I get to a stage that I feel at a comfortable stage to go and find and order my other promotional materials (like the Mickey Mouse plush toy) and order some Mickey Mouse lever arch folders for me to submit my research and development work in. These latter objects are hard to find as Disney have not made such style folders for a few years, so I may need to design my own and order on the Internet. The earlier the better to enable long lead times! 
• Research and complete my SMART Objectives and VECTORS so I can sent to my Lecturer after his return from Berlin. (There has been a University trip there this week). I want these checking so I can make sure they are on the right track and this will enable me to improve them.
• Need to write my written information for the poster and websites to give to Andrew, as well as drawn layouts inspired by those of my competitors and existing Disney websites. I have sent the network plans for both websites to him already.