Many Ways, Many Looks. The Keyring Has It All.

Keyfobs, or keyrings as you’ll also call it through colloquial usage, are great things really. Come in many shapes, sizes, materials. They are just awesome in a sense that one little thing can bring such joy when looking at it and gives a sense of identity to the owner. It can show their interests, where they have been, or basically raise a brand’s profile.

And from the continuation of information that I found on keyrings, there are different types made from different processes for different uses. The information below is what I didn’t include in my containment box, but it was research used initially to understand keyrings.

3D Die Cast Metal Keyrings Metal keyrings which reproduce eye-catching 3D features; character art, logos and messages, all stand out in relief and provide genuine quality. Enamel can also be applied, adding colour to any of the graphics given. They are manufactured from a very strong zinc alloy material which can be moulded into exact requirements. Electroplating the metal is the final process and is normally either nickel, matt silver or gilt finished.

Die Stamped Metal Enamel Keyrings These keyrings offer an effective means of giving a brand promotion an eye-catching profile. Brand colours can be accurately reproduced in enamel, allowing any of the text or graphics to be immediately recognised. This type of keyring can be produced in cold or hard enamel. Cold enamel, or soft enamel as it’s also known as, is used for promotional quality manufacture, combining good quality in a cost-effective form. Hard enamel is top of the range, used for premium quality products, therefore needing a finer finish. Enamel colours are reproduced using the internationally recognised Pantone Matching System (PMS), ensuring complete accuracy of the colour of the graphics.

Soft PVC Keyrings Vibrant, tactile and eye-catching, PVC keyrings allow all colours to be accurately matched by using the Pantone Matching System. The soft rubberised PVC can be moulded to a specific 3D design and is great for producing characters and objects.

Printed Keyrings These allow many colours to be applied without any loss in quality, allowing accurate reproductions of photographs, illustrations or graphics (that have subtle graduations in tone and colour) in a miniaturised format. It enables colours to be combined, blended or graduated (whereas enamel keyrings require metal lines to separate each colour. This allows for the reproduction of complex designs with accuracy and subtlety. The colours can be reproduced using industry standard, four-colour, CMYK process. For specific colour matching, the Pantone Colour Matching System is used.

Leather Keyfobs Available in a wide range of shapes such as the oblong and elliptical versions, it is produced in either real or synthetic leather which can then be attached to almost any kind of metal tag.

Liquid Filled Keyrings Bright, cheerful and eye-catching, it is produced from a tactile plastic and filled with a coloured liquid and floating graphics. The liquid can also contain floating glitter and the floating graphics would be either a 3D logo or a figure. These keyrings are available in any shape or size.

Foam Keyrings Produced from highly tactile, soft EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) foam, it is lightweight and can include multiple coloured layers, with the rubberised manufacturing enabling high qualities of print with vibrant and colourful finishes.

Sequentially Numbered Keyrings This is a popular choice for financial organisations and sponsoring charities. The keyring is engraved with a unique ID number, so if lost it can be returned to the owner quickly and securely.

Spinning Keyrings A Die Cast standard shaped keyrings (circular) which is manufactured with the central area mounted on a rivet to spin. The designs can be printed or enamelled on to either side of the keyring.

Encapsulated Keyrings A highly economic promotional product which is ideal for event give-aways. It is made from clear plastic and can be moulded into almost any shape. The graphics are printed on paper, which is placed inside a capsule within the keyring. Reproduction is accurate and clear, and can be printed on both sides of the paper. The colours are reproduced by using the industry standard, four-colour, CMYK process.

Sell Me That Product NOW!

99p Challenge

For this Assignment in the Ideas & Development module, we had to select a product that costs exactly 99p and create a form of advertising for it to be able to fly off the shelves. My product was a shop brand hand and nail cream. Now, I will explain how I came about my final outcome shown in the link above.

When I was looking for a product to buy for this assignment, I came across this particular hand cream amongst other big branded creams at the same price. The main reasons I bought it was for the fact there was more in the tube for the price given, and that the colour attracted me to it. When it came to class, we had to think of a way to ‘sell’ our product. I remembered seeing the tube surrounded with other products, which makes it impossible for it to be singled out and eye-catching. It also just stood on the shelf, with nothing to stabilise it so it does not get knocked over. That’s when I decided to design a point of sale display (PoSD) to attract the product to its buyers.

I decided to target my product for teenage girls and young women (20’s) who are into health and beauty, especially hand and nail care. The reason for this was because of the pink colour of the tube, which is directly a stereotypical colour associated with females. I needed to make the point of sale display attractive but simple, and when seen can instantly tell what and who the product is for.

I first did a brainstorm highlighting the main issues needed to be tackled in order to produce designs for a PoSD. The main aspects I found when doing this brainstorm was the colour (pink/white – on hand cream tube) and the fact it had to be appealing and show what the product is for. But the one element I felt was the most important one was the logo of a hand print with a heart in the middle. I wanted to focus on this aspect and reflect it on the point of sale display.

The ideas were then sketched out and blocked with colour to communicate to the viewer. Design One is very simple, which didn’t give much attraction to customers. It also caused the logo not to become the main focus, making the PoSD dull. Design Two was an interesting shape, allowing the tubes to take in the form of the hand print logo. However, customers would not be able to see the shape of it or it may cause a lack of clarity when viewed. Design Three I found was quite a good idea, making the 3D handprints the main focus of the display and giving a ‘grabbing’ feeling of having the product. But due to the position of the hands being at the front, it may cause the target audience to not buy it as they are ‘blocked‘ by the two hands. For Design Four, I redesigned three and placed the hands at the back, attaching it to card/mount board to make it stable. Even though it was a good idea, this design caused excess material to be used and it not being very cost-effective. The hands were also very static, giving no ’emotion’ to it.  Design Five was the idea I felt met the criteria of what I wanted, using springs at the back attached to the hands which enables it to move or ‘wave’ at the customers, making it friendly and jokey, as well as appealing to the young female customers. It also shows the hand print logo clearly and what it is selling.

Finalised, I redrew an enlarged version of the design, placing the product on it, and visualising what the point of sale display would look like if it was in the retail shop.

Assignment Galore!

It’s been over a week since I have done a post here. The whole bustle with projects took my mind elsewhere.

Illustration involved two projects as one Assignment. Both were self-portraits, with (a) being an illustration of how you portray yourself without looking in the mirror or photos of yourself, therefore using only your memory, whilst (b) was to do a self-portrait using only objects and no self images. Although I did the first one two weeks before, I started putting together my idea for the second one and finished it last week, only to find out after that they are due on week 7 (now being week 5). Got me a bit annoyed but was happy that I can put it to one side and concentrate on other works.

For the first part of the assignment, I was thinking to myself that I don’t really have an alter ego or anything and that in all honesty, I just wanted to portray myself as who I am. May be a bit boring, clothing-wise  and all, but I thought that since I use make-up, I’ll ‘paint’ my portrait using make-up. It was unique, and I never really experimented with many untraditional mediums so it would be quite an interesting experiment. If it didn’t work out like it did, though, I have no idea what I would have done.

What I used and what for:

• Face + body – Foundation powder, blusher
• Eye area – Eyeliner, lipstick (for eye colour), eyeshadow 
• Eyebrows – Eyeliner
• Hair – Mascara
• Lips – Lipstick
• Glasses – Lip liner
• Top – Nail Varnish/paint
• Trousers/Shoes – Paint

Final outcome

Part (b) I used a make-up box to place personal items such as photos, letters etc which are a part of me and my life.

For Packaging & Branding, the Assignment was called Containment. We had to make a box from a template given by our tutor and select an object that will fit into the box. With that object, you have to investigate: history, materials it is made from, production processes, what it is (e.g. definition), mythology (if it has one), use, and memory. With the information found, we had to place it inside the box with the item, and on the outside of the box, place a representation (photograph), an abstract (drawing) or a symbol (simplest form), of our chosen object.

My chosen object was a keyring/keyfob, with the outside of the box showing an abstract form of the keyring. I experimented on doing all three but felt that the photo or symbol did not give enough impact or communicate what it is to the person who may be looking at it. The information was folded and glued into the box, with the keyring on top of it.

Containment Assignment Outcome

Information on Keyring

There was more information found about keyrings/keyfobs, but I’ll add it onto another blog I’ll post in the next upcoming days.