Chapter Plan for Stage 2

1.     Introduction

2.     Recommendations from stage 1: what did we takeaway?

3.     Summary/ Our main focus- consumer are the emerging touchpoint

4.     Extended research:

o   Consumer Confidence (survey)

o   The new role of the interior designer

o   Sharing and being hyper-connected

5.     The Big Idea: introduction (mood board to visualise)

6.     The Big Creative idea: what are we doing and why?

· Mood board of key features of our big creative idea

· In order of priority; our creative outcomes

7.     The Brand

·      Brainstorms about what we want from our brand

·      Brainstorms on name

·      Mock-up of Curate Logo and curate me curate it etc.

·      Brand Essence/ brand recipe

·      Mission Statement

·      Competitor analysis

8.     The Website

·      Visualise the Flow Chart (the consumers journey)

·      What do we want to get out of the website (brainstorm)

·      Storyboard/sketches

·      Screen shots of development

·      Mood board of inspiration and aesthetic

·      The website in final: images and links

·      Interview with Bryony on navigation and design

9.     Communication Strategy

·      Integrated marketing strategy

·      What do we want to get out of our comms?

·      What are our objectives?

·      Mock ups

10. The Physical Book

·      Mood boards of inspiration

·      Key features of the book

·      What are the issues with the old pattern book and how are we going to challenge them?

·      Sketches for Josh

·      CAD prototype by Josh

·      CAD of delivery box (branding) (if we have time)

11. Press Release

·      Testing the water

·      Branded: letter and delivery, business cards etc.

12. The Look Book

·      Inspirational Mood board

·      Prototypes in digital format (issuu) (interactive links to websites)

13. Testing and Refining

·      Feedback from Web designer

·      Feedback from Press Release

·      Feedback from Target Consumers

·      SWOT

14. Long Term Goals

·        Competition

·        Collaboration

·        Up and Coming Designers

·        Interior Designer Webinar

·        Anything else from feedback

·        Timeline (if we have time)

15. Conclusion

16. List of references/images

17. Bibliography

18. Appendix

Script for Presentation stage 2

Key:       Georgina

                Catherine

                Beth

Script

Introduce.

Following on from our research from both stage 1 and stage 2, we decided that consumers are emerging touch-point in this sector. Therefore, they are our main focus for the implementation. The following factors were concluded:

Consumers of today ….

Shop Around- Our target consumers are not loyal to brands, they shop for both fashion and interiors in varying places each time.

They are not afraid of pattern and colour- shown through consumer interviews where stripes, geometrics and fuchsia pinks are favourites.

They look for reassurance- our research found our consumer preferred to look to family and friends for reassurance on their purchases. This gives them confidence.

They are Individual- Based on research using the rosette personality test, we found most of our consumers belong to group B; “They are decisive in rejecting anything that would threaten or restrict the individuality. Their desired lifestyle is individualistic and unique, and not infrequently “alternative”.

They are organised and considerate purchasers- our consumers like to research and plan before they buy.

They are online and offline- our consumers use both physical and digital platforms to categorize.

They seek expert opinion; research shows consumers like the advice of a professional as shown through our case studies outside of the sector; most notably in fashion where google hangouts collaborated with the fashion council to give consumers styling advice straight from the designers.

The want an active role in the creative process- this has been noted by interior designers as more are bringing in their own moodboard’s etc. They look for their own inspiration from a range of sources as shown in our consumer scenarios.

The Big Idea

Following this; our big idea is: Consumers as Curators.

Consumers are becoming more confident and are more involved in the creation of the outcome. They want a more personalised service.

The Big Creative Idea:

With this in mind, we have created a bespoke pattern book service that will operate across both physical and digital platforms. This fully meets the changing demands and expectations of the new consumer and is currently not available in the interiors sector.

Our Creative Outcomes:

Our creative include: branding, a website, a mock-up of a physical pattern book and a press pack.

The Branding

Firstly, it was vital to establish what it was we wanted to get out of our branding;

We wanted it to be:

·         Personable

·         Shareable

·         To reflect the tastes and expectations of our consumer

·         To convey the big idea

·         And to celebrate the industry and surface pattern

We wanted our name to reflect all of these; but in particular our big idea (consumers as curators) as this is our point of difference. After considering lots of different names around this area we decided on the name CURATE.

Following this, we developed the CURATE aesthetic; it is hand-drawn to make it personable and inclusive, and the masking tape and ripped paper suggest a scrapbook/moodboard feel.  In terms of our colour palette- the aim is to keep it simple as it is important not to draw attention away from the patterns as these are the core focus of our service. Therefore, we used neutral tones with linear elements.

The latter reflects the art and design industry- and was the preferred style of our consumer shown through their choice of font and their favourite brands during primary research. We also included pops of colour (fuchsia pink) as a visual contrast and be used as a highlight to draw attention to important details. Also, we replaced traditional black with a dark teal for fonts and lines to add warmth and compliment the aqua colours. Our logo here (point) also incorporated these hand-made aesthetics.

The CURATE tone of voice is shown through our mission statement which will be shown on the website and in promotion:

CURATE is a bespoke interior pattern books service that puts you at the heart of your creations. Here at CURATE, we believe you should not be limited to one fabric collection and instead have the opportunity to browse through hundreds of brands. We want you to be at the core of every step of the creative journey. You are curators.

The Website

The CURATE service will begin with the website and this is the landing page:

This page will feature emerging designers, competitions and any other promotional activity for the brand.

Once the user has entered the site, they are faced with the homepage which explains in a step by step guide how to use the service and allows users to sign up or log in instantly.

All users must sign up to use the CURATE service by filling in their details on this page.

Once this has been submitted they are taken to a filter system for their interior requirements which will help us to curate a bespoke service.

Once they have entered their requirements they are presented with a personalised swatch library.

Users are able to click on swatches to gain further information such as material and price. This page also shows popular samples and ‘liked’ swatches from other users. Once a user has clicked on a swatch they have the option to go straight to the designers website for further inspiration, but this also acts a source of revenue for us in terms of ‘click throughs’.

The user can select samples to add to their own digital pattern book.

Once the swatches have been chosen, the user can drag them onto CURATE’s pattern book template; they can also add annotation and tabs to make this an interactive and personal experience.

Once the user is happy with their book, they are presented with a digital preview. Some parts are greyed out for consumers who are not paying members of the community as they are presented with the option to upgrade. Those who are paying members are taken to this page where they have the option to buy a physical copy of their book.

If a member does choose to buy their book, they are presented with a standard payment page.

Paying members also have access to CURATEus, the CURATE community. This is a platform for users to share and get inspired through trending swatches, expert interior designer webinars and look books. All content within the community can be ‘liked’- storing inspiration for future reference in a user’s CURATEme area (their online profile).

The CURATEme area also acts as a bookshelf where all the users digital books are displayed.

The Physical Book

We mentioned earlier that paying members of the community could purchase a physical copy of their pattern book following feedback from consumers regarding the importance of ‘the need to touch’. We collaborated with an architecture student to create these mock ups to show you what the physical book would look like. The key features that we felt were vital to include following our research are:

·         An opening Spine to allow users to mix and match samples creatively.

·         Tabs (these would have been designed digitally) will categorize the samples chosen.

·         A surprise section- this is designed by CURATE and will feature recommended samples and inspiration that users may not have considered themselves and encouraging them to step out of their comfort zone.

The book is also incredibly environmentally friendly as it only features the samples the user wants- also any sample the consumer no longer wants can be sent back to CURATE in return for a discount off their next book.

Press Pack

To promote CURATE within the industry we have produced a press pack. This is an important step in launching CURATE as new service and it will create a conversation amongst press and media.

This includes:

·         A Press Release

·         Business Cards

·         And Postcards which display snapshots of the website

Opportunities (swot hand-out)

The following opportunities can act as CURATE’s long term goals in order to evolve in a changing environment- to future proof CURATE.

In 1-2 years, CURATE will establish competitions within the CURATE community; starting with a best book competition.

CURATE will also begin to showcase new talent as shown on our website landing page.

In 3-4 years, CURATE will have established a strong relationship with interior brands which will provide opportunity for collaboration; this could be in the form of advitorials or consumer competitions.

In 4-6 years, the CURATE service could extend beyond textiles and additionally offer soft furnishings and accessories to fully compliment the consumer’s creation.

Conclusion                                                                                                    

CURATE is a unique pattern book service that fully understands the changing needs and expectations of our target consumer. It offers a service that has been proven throughout our research to be in demand and currently not available in the interiors sector. The ‘curate’ trend is certainly something that is prominent and expanding with a huge potential for further growth.

Furthermore, CURATE addresses some of the key problems with the existing format of the pattern book. The ring spine decreases fabric wastage as individual fabrics can be removed easily, and the website allows consumers to fulfil their need for hyper-connectivity. Although, some consumers may be reluctant to test a new pattern book format; we believe this is the future of the sector.

There will always be the need to touch, but in an increasingly technology driven world, it is vital for the pattern book to exist across both physical and digital platforms.

website sketches dropbox link

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/03n58aedijmrc6a/AAAYGc_udfHzmuFb8b9qtTnia

Conclusion

CURATE is a unique pattern book service that fully understands the changing needs and expectations of our target consumer. It offers a service that has been proven throughout our research to be in demand and currently not available in the interiors sector. The 'curate' trend is certainly something that is prominent and expanding with a huge potential for further growth. Furthermore, CURATE addresses some of the key problems with the existing format of the pattern book. The ring spine decreases fabric wastage as individual fabrics can be removed easily, and the website allows consumers to fulfil their need for hyper-connectivity. Although, some consumers may be reluctant to test a new pattern book format; we believe this is the future of the sector. There will always be the need to touch, but in an increasingly technology driven world, it is vital for the pattern book to exist across both physical and digital platforms.

Curate Aesthetic Moodboard

Final fonts

Website inspiration moodboard

Pattern book sketches (have 300dpi on hard drive)

Consumer Research Findings

Nottingham City Centre. Thursday 17th April, lunchtime. Weather: grey clouds, windy but dry

1. How often do you browse online/offline for interiors?

2. Where?

3. Fashion - favourite brands

4. TV - what you last watched

5. Colours and patterns you are drawn to

6. Favourite colour flower

7. Favourite font

8. Associations of curate, curateme and youcurate

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Consumer answers

Outside Debenhams- 1.25 to 1.55pm

1. Only when I am redecorating my house so once a year, Debenhams for fashion and interiors, Match of the Day, Orange, no associations with the words.

2. Only when I am redecorating my house so once a year, M&S and Next for both, Game of Thrones, Purple, reminds me of museum

3. Once a month to browse, everywhere - didn't get a brand,  New Look, Dorothy Perkins for fashion, Blues, Floral, Museum.

4. Once a month to browse, everywhere - didn't get a brand,  New Look, Dorothy Perkins for fashion, Pinks, Floral, Church because it sounds like a word similar!

Outside House of Fraser 2 to 2.30pm

5. Twice a year, maid.com and dwell, Zara for clothes, Stripes and checked, blue at the moment, because I follow trends.

6. Once every 6 months, Nash - a boutique in Nottingham, Hobbs.

7. Once a week, Hoff, Hobbs, Fuschia pink, Last watched Endeavour. 

8. Everyday, John Lewis, Next, BHS, For fashion - M&S, Next, Hoff, John Lewis, Blues and Greens, last watched Chicago Fire

9. Once a week, John Lewis, Hobbs and Laura Ashley for fashion, Black, last watched Undeniable.

10. Twice/3 times a week, Dunelm, John Lewis, for fashion - Wallis, John Lewis, Hoff, fuschia, pink.

11. Once a month, John Lewis for both, green and gold for interiors and clothes. 

Outside Flannels/ Ted Baker 1.25 to 1.55pm

12. once a month- depends if looking specifically as then it will increase, john lewis mainly- love that everything is there, Dress- M&S/cardigan- H&M/shoes- clarks, last week- casualty, soaps e.g. coronation street and emerdale, blues and geometric, associations- serious, thoughtful, me/you- more personal

13. most days- get out of the office and browse, M&S/Nash, Suit-Hobbs/Shoes-M&S, don't watch tv but watched a box set of vampire diaries, floral/magenta/peach/cream, reminds me of exhibitions. me= personal, you=inviting

14. 2/3 a month, boutique shops near where I live, head to toe Ted Baker, Catch up tv- MIC, lemon/pale pink but not really a pattern person, formal vs informal/chattier 

15. Once a month, specialist shoes- try to stay local e.g. Nash, hopewells, shoes-Dune/shirt-present/trousers-charity shop/ jacket-m&s, BBC news, red and polka dots, formal and not warmer vs warmer associations with me/you

16. When a room needs decorating, Homebase/B&Q/IKEA, shirt- river island/ cardigan and jacket- H&M/trousers-topshop, don't watch TV, grey with pops of neon for colour and stripes, making something, then me/you is me creating something specifically

17. Once a month, fabric shops for fabric/furniture shops for furniture, shoes- ecco/coat-debenhams (ages ago)/dress-m&s, Corry, neutral colours, creams etc., textures over patterns, exhibitions and gallery spaces- professional. me/you is warmer especially with handwritten font

Outside John Lewis 2 to 2.30pm

18. As and when needed, friends homes!, head to toe M&S,N/A, soft colours and patterns, serious and intimidating, me/you is easier

19. once  a year usually in summer, boutiques, boutiques, read instead of tv, all- but pink atm with squares, put together and personal

20. once a month, M&S do a good range, scarf-present/coat-a friends/top and skirt-old m&s, radio 4 listener over tv, all colours but orange and wacky colours, posh then it is made personified

21. when i need something, John Lewis for everything, various JL concessions, corry, cream and brown with subtle patterns, careful/craft/create me/you= inclusive

The Aaker Model: Curate

The Aaker Model: Curate

Brand as Product: Digital, Physical, Book, Website, Community, Webinars, Trend Guides

Brand as Experience:  Interactive, Creative, Sharing, Customised,

Brand as Symbol: Fabric, swatch, book, string, tape measure, scissors, pattern, hand crafted

Brand as Person: advisor, expert, welcoming, inclusive, unique, personable, reassuring.

Brand as Organisation: trustworthy, accessible, diverse, 

Justification of Colour Palette

Neutral Tones: It is important for the website aesthetic not to draw attention away from the fabrics- which are essentially the core essence of the service. Our website will serve as a blank canvas for design- allowing the sheer volume of pattern to breathe and not be too overwhelming for the user.

Linear: The hand drawn nature of our aesthetic reflects the art and design industry- it was the preferred style of our consumer shown through their choice of font and their favourite brands. 

Colour is replaced with Texture: The website will not be deemed minimalistic with its neutral colour tones as these will be enhanced with texture- i.e masking tape, ripped paper. These hints will not take attention away from the fabrics but work as a structure around them.

List of Moodboards

• Website inspiration
• Font development 
• Curate Aesthetic (masking tape, hand drawn, and colour palette etc). 
• Consumers as Curators (pinterest, instagram, their lifestyle, how they collect things)

The Curate Consumer Conclusions

The Curate Consumer

Conclusions:

·         They Shop Around- Our target consumers are not loyal to brands, they shop for both fashion and interiors in varying places each time.

·         They are not afraid of pattern and colour- shown through consumer interviews where stripes, geometrics and fuschia pinks are favourites.

·         They look for reassurance- our research found our consumer preferred to look to family and friend for reassurance on their purchases. This gives them confidence.

·         They are Individual and unique- Based on research using the rosette personality test, we found most of our consumers belong to group B; “They are decisive in rejecting anything that would threaten or restrict the individuality. Their desired lifestyle is individualistic and unique, and not infrequently “alternative”.

·         They are organised and considerate purchasers- our consumers like to research and plan before they buy- this was shown in the scenario’s we tested them on- cars and events.

·         They are online and offline- our consumers use both physical and digital platforms to categorize.

·         They seek expert opinion; research shows consumers like the advice of a professional e.g oral b and fashion council case studies. 

·         Active role- Consumers are looking to play a more active role in the creative process- this has been noted by interior designers as more are bringing in their own moodboards etc. 

rosette test

GROUP B: INTROVERTED

The need for inner tranquility and harmony as well as the possibility of being able to develop their own individuality, characterise this user group. As a result of their psychological make-up, they tend to both relate to their environment, while simultaneously defining themselves against it. Their characteristic attitudes and behaviour patterns are:

Pondering a great deal about themselves and others – Rejection of those who are merely superficial – They would rather stay at home than go to a boring party – Living alone on a deserted island for months or years on end would pose no problems for them – They are decisive in rejecting anything that would threaten or restrict the individuality. Their desired lifestyle is individualistic and unique, and not infrequently “alternative”.

http://www.faithful-to-nature.co.za/natural-organic-blog/63/natural-perfume/personality-types-perfumes/

SWOT

Strengths

• Interactive: Our research has shown, consumers are becoming increasingly hyperconnected- regardless of their confidence level, consumers still highly value the opinion of others (whether these be experts or just family and friends). The Curate website, and for paying members, the online community will provide this level of interaction.
• Accessible: The Curate service will be accessible to a wide audience; the filter system and website navigation in addition to expert help (e.g webinars) makes the entire process easy even for the novice. 
• Environmentally Friendly: Curate addresses one of the main concerns found in our research; the vast amount of fabric wastage in normal pattern books. Curate is different; its ring bind allows users to mix and match fabrics saving them buying ones they don't want/need in addition with the 'trade a swatch' service allowing them to trade in old swatches to be recycled for a 'money off' incentive. 
• Shareable: Our research concluded that consumers demand a certain  level of reassurance from their peers, especially when the purchase is expensive. The website will allow consumers to share their concepts through the community. 
• Brand Affiliation- affiliating curate with brands will serve as a source of revenue- click throughs to website etc. 

Weaknesses

• Extra Cost? Some consumers may feel buying a pattern book is a costly alternative to simply borrowing them from interior shops or buying the odd swatch. 
• Digital Concerns: Despite having an interest in pattern books and interiors, some consumers maybe lack the digital 'know how' to use the service. 
• Damaging to Designers? The concept of consumers as curators may lead to interior designers feeling increasingly 'defunct', this will be problematic when hiring experts for webinar's and advice articles in look book. 
• Something new: some consumers may feel uncomfortable trying a new service when the pattern book has been in the same format for so long. 

Opportunities

• Soft Furnishing Collaboration: The website could offer other accessories, such as curtain tassles, allowing the consumer create a full picture of what their new room will look like.4-6 years
• New Talent: It could be a platform for showcasing new textile designers.1-2 years
• Competition: consumers can enter their book into a competition- this will raise awareness about curate. 1+ ongoing 
• Branded Content; brands could create advitorials and can set consumer competitions. This raises the profiles of both the brand and curate. 3-4 years

Threats

• Technological: Some people find the website a great tool, but may want that personal interaction of going into a shop for advice. They may feel out of touch using a website on their own. 
• The Touch stigma; some consumers may feel that even in the early stages of choosing a fabric- you will always need to touch.
• Unique for a limited time? brands will soon catch on and curate will face competition in the market and will have to re-strategies in order to stay on top. 
• Unpredictable costs of Materials: prices of fabric could rise or fall over time
• Customisation Trend; the demand for this may change over time- its popular now, but in a few years it may just be something people expect and not a novelty. 

Consumer quote from WGSN article

And they like curating content:

Generation X internet users are as likely to use Pinterest as their Generation Y counterparts (19%) – and they are more likely to have a Pinterest account than a Twitter account. 

http://www.wgsn.com.ezproxy.ntu.ac.uk/content/report/Think_Tank/2013/June/generation_tech_genxpowerplayers.html

Another long term goal?

http://www.psfk.com/2014/04/project-tango-3d-scanning-tool.html#!DvHOt

Some curation examples

Examples - http://www.psfk.com/2013/07/socially-curated-discovery-future-of-entertainment.html#!BEVvr

How is curation, social based and algorithm based recommendations changing how people discover products?

Curation is a great way to separate the signal from the noise. It allows normal people to see what tastemakers/curators think is cool and interesting  but on the downside you are going to see what the curator is interested in which might not match up well with your current intent at any given point of time. On the other end of the spectrum, personalization (which tends to be based on an algorithm) sounds appealing but in reality recommendation algorithms aren’t very good expect for maybe books and movies. So for e-commerce personalization to be effective either the algorithms need to improve or sites/apps need a new set of signals. Recommendations from people (friends or strangers) tend to be best when there is no economic incentive and they are making a suggestion based on personal style/taste and you can judge their style/taste easily through their past suggestions.

http://www.psfk.com/2013/05/community-shopping-social-networks.html#!BEVDD

The frontier of online retail is curation - http://www.psfk.com/2013/04/online-retail-curation.html#!BEVGI

Critical Path for final term!!

14/04/14	21/04/14	28/04/14	05/05/14	12/05/14
Research · Initial drawings for website and book. (storyboards) · Re-analyse survey · Consumer profiles: look into how we can develop these further. · Continue branding: colour scheme, brand essence, mission statement. Tutorial	Research · Initial drawings for website and book. (storyboards) · Competitor analysis · Send press release/ mission statement to contacts/consumers to get feedback. · Study the buyers journey: how it changes from before to after. · Start collecting images for website. · Build brand recipe (mood board what our brand is about, how we have come to this conclusion, where our inspiration is from?) Mood board for big idea	Creative Outcomes ·      Initial drawings for website and book. (storyboards) ·      Sketches for CAD prototype of book. ·      SWOT ·      Refine idea/press release according to responses from contacts/consumers ·      Start individual portfolios Comms strategy(mock ups) Long Term Goals Final Tutorial	Product Development ·      Build website (screen shot the development stages). ·      Give sketches to Josh ·      Develop from feedback of final tutorial. Talk to bryony about navigation and web design. what is her opinion on our work ,Look Book	Presentation ·      Plan for presentation ·      Practice presentation ·      Plan boards and display of work. How can we make this look better and really show our work at its best. ·      Print boards and display.