Pro forma

Design for
Advertising
Developing, producing and evaluating

Initial Ideas
Idea 1
Designed to appeal to teenagers and young adults with a taste for the occult. Aimed at a younger crowd (about 15-20) who have
more alternative tastes instead of enjoying mainstream things.
More of a recreational drink than a sports recovery drink.
Overall dark colour with shiny dots (stars) mixed in.
Small highlights of colour, particularly in the logo to correspond each flavor.
Regally styled Gothic logo that sets up a general theme and influence of a classic horror influence, werewolves.
Wolf graphics that face the moon above the logo.
Flavours:
Lycan (Original)
Blood Red (Cherry)
Freerunner (Sugarfree)
Idea 2
A drink marketed as a powerful recovery drink from strenuous tasks.
Colour scheme of green and black for the original flavour, with the can’s colour changed according to the flavour.
The can’s design is built up of lots of industrial elements, like bolted on panels and rust. These will show up as slightly shiny on the
can.
The logo is done with a very heavy and aggressive typeface and coloured black, with a grey stroke.
Advertises with a lot of hard rock and metal bands to tie in with the heavy industrial theme.
Flavours:
Fury (Orange)
Frenzy (Lemon)
Fear (Apple)
Full Throttle (Double Caffeine)
Idea 3
A more relaxed drink marketed as organic and for an older crowd.
Not aimed as a drink for sportsmen. Built up to be a recreational drink for summer.
The name refers to the summer fruits used in the drink, like orange and blackcurrant.
A white background with the writing and logo in a pinkish colour to tie in with the colour that is seen when closing your eyes in the
sun, tying in further with the name.
Can features a lot of smooth curvy lines to accent the design and also promote a free and unbound feeling.
Advertises and promotes a lot of competitions to win holidays, outings and summer gear, promoting an outdoors lifestyle.

Initial Ideas
Idea 4
A drink that is marketed mainly around motorsport and car-related hobbies. Marketed mainly towards
young men with a firm interest in cars.
Can is red in colour to signify extreme speeds. All of the logos, writing and decals are in white.
Logo has a speedometer dial above it displaying the fastest speed possible.
Advertising features partnerships with motorsport events and hobby magazines, and their websites also
offers tips and tutorials for car care, modification and repair.
Fonts used will try to signify speed, by being slightly curved or leaning to one side. They could also be
slightly wavy to resemble a checkered flag.
Idea 5
Drink marketed for general sports recovery and aims at people who do professional sports and look up
to famous sportsmen and women.
Has a mostly silver colour scheme with white highlights to look like a trophy of sorts. The logo and text
is in black.
Mostly done with quite a classic and smart theme as opposed to gritty and distressed.
Heavily involved with professional sports and sponsors many teams around the world. Also organizes
their own events

Copy/Script development
1. Darkstar / Full Moon
Heavy connotations to the occult, werewolf mythos and links to the night,
as well as astral themes. Darkstar as a name refers to the nocturnal
and astral themes of this drink.
- Shine Bright Tonight – Slogan used to interpret Darkstar as a drink
that makes you light up or shine brighter as more energy is delivered
than a regular energy drink. ‘Tonight’ links to the drink’s nocturnal
theme.
- The Night Is Alive – ties into the drink being an energy/stimulation
drink, delivering enough power to make the night feel alive.
- Energy To Compose – Ties into the artistic and refined aspect of this
drink, giving creative minds more energy to create new works of art.
- For Your Nocturnal Side – Links to Darkstar’s alter ego theme (from
the advert showing people transforming into wolves) and the theme of
night.
Advert Dev: Mentions of a dark character who provides the protagonists
with Darkstar, a reference to the drink’s mysterious nature that it is
provided by spooky individuals.

Font/Colour Scheme development
Use this space to document your font and colour test.
There should be lots of variety here.
Ensure any font text are saved as images, otherwise I won’t be able to
see the fonts you intended.

Product packaging development
The second design was a lot
different as it ditched the astral
theme for a distressed classical
feeling complete with the coat of
arms. I designed the logo to
wrap around the can
horizontally.
My first mockup
kept Darkstar’s
theme firmly
rooted with space
and stars. In the
rightmost column
would have been a
space that informs
consumers about
Darkstar and what
it sponsors.

Product packaging development
Another design similar
to my second that is
mocked up to celebrate
Darkstar’s birthday. The
large D in the centre
column is highly
reminiscent and inspired
by the current Relentless
logo.
Variant of the above design
that instead includes a
diagonal logo across the coat
of arms.

Task 6: Advert Development
I began my advert draft with a space-themed
background to link to my chosen product name, Dark
Star. I chose this particular image because I thought that
the inclusion of the Earth at the bottom would make a
nice footer and round off the image. Initially I had the
name of the product and the tagline below the
arrangement of the cans with my slogan, ‘Shine Bright
Tonight’ above in a stylized font. I did this to replicate
the look and feel of an old movie poster, where the font
is similarly structured, which gave the advert quite a
dramatic feel and also lead the viewer’s eyes onto the
product’s name at the bottom after hyping them up
using the tagline and background. With the cans in the
middle, I arranged them so that the middle can (The
original flavour) was in front of the others to represent its
flagship status.
Changes made in the second draft include swapping the
positions of the tagline and brand name which allowed
me to increase the size of both so that they became
much more noticeable. An issue with the first draft was
that the slogan was quite hard to make out, being a
white font on a background with lots of white stars. I
also managed to increase the size of the cans and add
their respective names under each which raised brand
awareness and allowed potential consumers to observe
what flavours were sold before they purchased Dark
Star. Finally, I added links to Dark Star’s official pages
on both Facebook and Twitter which would be useful in
spreading awareness about my drink and drawing in
more consumers.

In the next two advert drafts I went for a radically
different design with a similar layout, this time
adopting my auxiliary regal and medieval style
for my energy drink. This theme included motifs
such as the use of a large royal crest (taken from
a dingbat collection) that served as the unofficial
brand logo. I included this in the centre of the
advert to show the most artistic aspect of the
drink and entice customers thanks to its
prominence and overly imposing appearance. I
changed the slogan of the drink to, ‘The Official
Drink of the Court’ which further connotates it to
a royal theme and gave the impression that it
was a high quality beverage suitable for upper
class individuals.
Further changes in the fourth draft included a
shift in the font colour to a more distinctive purple
in order to stand out from the background, as
opposed to the previous dull grey. I also
reintroduced my idea of having three cans
placed in the middle of the advert in order to
promote the brand’s range, this time with the
logo appearing in the background as an effective
backdrop. I added in the web address at the
bottom from my previous drafts.

I then decided to start a new advert which didn’t follow my
previous hierarchy of tagline, picture then name of the
brand. In this new piece I tried to create an advert that
properly connected to my drink’s brand name and
philosophy as well as the thinking behind it, and I did this by
creating a star that seemed to shine down on the three
drinks at the bottom of the page. The changes also include
the removal of the two social media links (Facebook and
Twitter) but I have kept the website as I believe it is an
important part of an advert if there are no other links to the
brand’s pages, as a website contains everything there is to
say about the drink.
I kept this advert mostly minimal, as opposed to my previous
designs being quite busy and not easy on the eyes. It
features a simple and smooth background that is intend to
soothe the viewer and not wear them out by having an
extremely detailed and heavy background that obscures key
details. They star and the light beam is the key element in
this advert as it directly leads down to the display of the
brands three flavours on offer, and the logo of the brand
itself. I have kept the logo at the bottom for most of my
drafts because I think it is important that the thing that sticks
with viewers after they leave the page should be the name
of the product itself, so when they are next in a shop they
can remember that name and recall the advert, hopefully
being persuaded to purchase the drink in the process.
I produced a second draft of this particular advert that
removed the tagline at the very top and added stars in its
place, as I believed that the advert was more effective with
the text contained at the bottom as the viewer can gradually
lead down to it via the light ray.

Task 6: Advert Evaluation
In this final piece I have used a range of aesthetic and technical qualities to produce
the final result that is when compared to previous results, much more linked to my
brand as a whole and does a better job at promoting the drink. The technical qualities
used in this image are mainly usage of shadows, blurring and glows, particularly on
the stars, to give them an authentic and almost ethereal look. I used Gaussian blur
on the rectangle that cuts diagonally across the page to give it the appearance of a
light ray coming from the star and also added outer glows to the cans below to give
the impression that they were being illuminated by said ray. The beam also ties in to
an aesthetic aspect as it is also used to direct the viewer’s eyes down onto the cans
and the logo.
In terms of aesthetics I have been inspired
by a number of different sources.
My main inspiration an existing energy drink
is Relentless, which uses several similar styles
and motifs to what I have included in my own work,
particularly the usage of a old yet stylized font. I chose such a font because I wanted
to aim my drink towards an alternative crowd and also try something different that
didn’t necessarily coincide with today’s standards of logo design, like using sans serif
and simple yet effective blocky shapes. However, instead of following the Relentless
logo fully I decided to go for a much more refined look and used a simple medieval
styled font, lacking any of the curly lines around the Relentless logo that makes it
almost resemble street art and graffiti, further demonstrating it’s appeal to young
people and teenagers. My ad also uses lots of dark colours which highlights it’s
appeal to the alternative crowd of which I am aiming for with this product.

I have also attempted to go for a house style that consists of three main fonts for
certain elements. The aforementioned medieval font (Old London) is used strictly for
the brand name, Verdana for small text and taglines, and Zapfino for my slogan,
Shine Bright Tonight. The usage of Verdana helps to distinguish that Darkstar is a
modern brand instead of a years old drink.
This choice of font is quite common on several
other drinks I researched including Rockstar,
Relentless and Monster, which all feature
distorted logos but with a refined tagline
underneath that usually says ‘Energy Drink’ to highlight what the product is. My
choice of the astral theme and slogan is due to my idea of enlightenment – drinking
Darkstar will help you focus and achieve your goals while also keeping you on your
path. This is shown by my usage of the light ray to illuminate the drinks. Shine Bright
Tonight gives consumers the idea that the drink is something that gives you an extra
burst of energy, hence shining bright. Keeping with the dark and classically gothic
theme my flavour names are also tied to this theme, with Dusk having links to the
night-themed aspect (also linking to the slogan) and Sonata, as well as sounding
quite refined and gothic, gives the drink an aspect that is similar again to Relentless,
in that it helps with artistic endeavours.
In terms of areas where I could further develop, I believe that this advert in particular
could have used some more content in the upper areas, where aside from the stars it
is quite empty. I experimented with several different slogans to put up there but in the
end I decided that my slogan worked best when it was level to the cans at the
bottom, where it was also able to sit nicely on the horizon of the background picture.

In terms of areas where I could further develop, I believe that this advert in particular
could have used some more content in the upper areas, where aside from the stars it is
quite empty. I experimented with several different slogans to put up there but in the end I
decided that my slogan worked best when it was level to the cans at the bottom, where it
was also able to sit nicely on the horizon of the background picture.
I would also like to improve my usage of basic shape tools and beyond, as this piece
uses some very simple geometric shapes for the star and the light beam. I would like to
develop my skill in this primarily to create my own motifs for use in the media regarding
the energy drink. An example of this would be the crest I use as the brand’s ‘official’ logo,
which is simply a dingbat pulled from a free collection. If I were to develop my
shape skills I could possibly create my own logo for use in
this project, which would improve upon my push towards an
independent brand (that does not use simple and placeholder
logos) and also improve my skill with Photoshop’s tools.
To improve upon my skills I can study pictures of real life
subjects that relate to mine and try to draw inspiration and
draw them in Photoshop. A final point that I would like to
Improve on is more connotation to my product. This is
because a lot of my early drafts for the advert had no links
to the name or style of my energy drink and instead had a
simple classical theme applied. To work around this in the
future I could brainstorm much more thoroughly before
I attempt my drafts which will hopefully lead to a much
more refined product that has a direction and goal and
knows what it will look like at the end of the project.

What worked well with this advert was linking the colour scheme to both the
font and the drink itself. I feel as if the the advert as a whole has a clear
intended style that helps to tell audiences what the drink is aiming for and
what kind of people is trying to appeal to, in this case the alternative crowd.
On the other hand, I would have like to develop my visual elements more
such as the star at the top and the cans themselves, which lack any sort of
logo. Also, I think that the Darkstar logo itself could have worked much
better if I had used a pattern as a clipping mask which would have
enhanced depth and detail.
Initially I was prepared to go
with one of my second designs
(the floral background with the
coat of arms and
‘The official drink of the court’ slogan)
as my final piece, but I pushed myself and decided to create another draft
from scratch which scrapped this hierarchy that had appeared in all my
other drafts and instead start building up a new style, having the logo at the
very bottom and the main element of the advert being the dark star itself.
This push allowed me to create an advert that was very visually distinctive
and didn’t look like a carbon copy of my other designs, and also allowed me
to link my theme to the advert with much greater success.

Task 7: Product Development
‘Darkstar Original’
The first can draft is for Darkstar’s original flavour and is the
most common can in the drinks range. I tried to achieve a
house style using a combination of two bold colours and
several small variations of these for accents and borders, in
this case blue and gold (Originally white that become a pale
gold through the use of a grunge texture) which gives the
entire style quite an antiquated and classical theme that fits
into Darkstar’s gothic style. What I like about this draft is the
combination of colours used as they are unique and not
seen on any current energy drinks, but at the same time are
not too outlandish because of of that. I also like the cloudy
sky backgrounds which while obscure gives the can a lot of
depth and a dark, ominous flair. Couple with the grunge
texture this makes the can look very antiquated and rustic.
I included a shot of the can template without the grunge
texture to show how much of a difference it makes and how
the two are two very different styles that still tie into
Darkstar’s theme.
With the first design I tried to emulate the old design of
Relentless with the vertically aligned text as I think this
design makes the brand much more noticeable. However
the second design is much more legible at first glance which
increases the brand’s awareness as people can scan their
eyes across the shelf, see the can and immediately know
what the brand is called. I have tested design on a can
template and the logo is partially obscured so that it cannot
be seen completely from head on.

The right side of the can is used to document Darkstar
and what it is, using the brand’s theme to describe
the drink in a creative way that would entice
consumers. The line ‘see you through to sunrise’
implies that the drink delivers enough energy for you
to stay up all night or an equal amount of time which
appeals to the audience of people that buy these
types of drinks for their caffeine and other
supplements that provide lots of energy. To further
compliment this I added ‘Charged With Taurine’
around the neck of the can which increases the
visibility of this message. Underneath ‘are you brave
enough to join our ranks’ I included links to the
brand’s site as well as their social media profiles
which, paired with the line, increases brand
awareness as it invites people to ‘join their ranks’ by
becoming a fan, which leads to more people
knowing about the drink.
Because the draft here represents the
Original flavour, I decided to colour the background a
dark blue to symbolize the brand’s trademark colours.
Because of this when people see the original can they
can link it back to using the original colours, so when
they see something else that is Darkstar related they
can make connections based on the colours used.

Task 7: Product Development
‘Darkstar 10 Year Anniversary Edition’
I created a silver and blue themed anniversary edition to
go alongside my original flavour. What I like about this
design is the choice of colours and the emphasis on the
brand’s logo, with the full name of the drink at the side
to give way to the motif and a paragraph explaining the
occasion. In the second image I moved said motif into
the top right so that the can resembles the original
packaging a little more while still being very distinctive. I
have created the special packaging by using a floral
patter as the background which makes the drink look
quite shiny and distinctive. The blue colour used is the
same blue from the original flavour to keep consistency.
I imagined that the floral pattern would have a frosted
effect on a real can which would shine under light, and
highlight the brand’s logo and text. Because this
particular can does not have Darkstar’s signature dark
background I have emphasised the logos more so than
other cans, especially the D of Darkstar, which features
on the main face. I placed the crest behind the D which
gives it a very bold appearance. This is so anyone
including people who are not fans of the drink can
recognize it on a shelf. I prefer the first design because
it allows the anniversary text and logo to be emphasised
more and ties in to the main theme of this variety, as
well as looking much more striking when printed on a
can.

The anniversary edition contains a small
paragraph underneath the enlarged logo
which mentions how long the brand has
been producing drinks, which helps
veteran consumers of Darkstar to connect
and relate. As well as this, I have placed
the social media links under the paragraph
so that any newcomers to the drink have a
quick link to check out the drink’s
website/social media page and educate
themselves about the drink and its history.
The line, ‘ten years of shining bright’
directly ties into the drink’s official slogan,
‘shine bright tonight’ so that anyone who
is aware of the slogan will be able to make
the connection.
I decided to add the single D initial against
an enlarged coat of arms to symbolize that
this can was celebrating an achievement
for Darkstar, as this logo gives the can a
very bold and confident appearance. For
easy recognition though I have kept the
original vertical logo, although pushed to
the right to make way for the specific
anniversary text.

Task 7: Packaging Evaluation
My final can design represents the original and most common flavour of Darkstar, and to link this
to the design itself, I have used a combination of the brand’s typically used colours along with
several other motifs. My reasoning behind using such colours was that because this flavour is
considered the flagship of the brand, it would need to be easily recognizable on a shelf for
consumers to see, and using the brand’s default colours would mean that people who have seen
any other advertising material regarding Darkstar before would be able to instantly make the
connection between that prior knowledge and the drink on the shelf. The motif below the logo
itself that tells us what the flavour of the drink is, is on the front side and extremely visible for
maximum exposure.
The aesthetics in which I have done well in have been the colour
choices and the positioning of all of the elements on the template.
The aforementioned default colours (dark blue and a rustic gold)
together create a very antiquated and worn appearance that gives
the feeling of a drink from a bygone age. The group that I aimed towards, the steampunk and
gothic subcultures are heavily involved with a retro themed styling that includes elements drawn
from the Victorian era and before. I have tried to emulate this in my can’s packaging with the
usage of the main font for my font for the logo that resembles Medieval text and not something
that could be considered modern (as most fonts popular today are sans serif or minimalist
typefaces.) Gold was a very important colour in the creation of this style as it is the most prevalent
colour in steampunk culture, representing wealth and the upper class. These cultures that I have
appealed to could also be
described as dark and underground and not necessarily jolly or
cheerful, which is the reasoning for my choice of dull and
weathered textures, achieved through the use of a grunge texture. The grunge represents the
passage of times as these cultures draw on influences from real life cultures that existed
hundreds of years ago. As well as these cultural connotations the grunge was used to add depth
to my can design which features a cloudy blue sky background as the backdrop for the packaging
which gives the entire packaging a dark and gloomy feeling.

As well as these cultural inspirations I have also drawn upon several other energy drinks to create
my own style. In particular, my main influence in this regard was Relentless, a similar energy
drink in that it is marketed to an ‘underground’ audience, with the difference being that the drink is
heavily linked to music and music events through advertising and sponsorship. The key elements
I drew from their packaging included the vertical logo on the front of the packaging (Which I used
to increase the visibility of the brand name) and the placing of the name of the flavour beneath
said logo. Another key elements was Relentless’ use of a very detailed and obscure background
which gives the can a lot of depth and detail when compared to a blank can. I tried to emulate
something like this with my gloomy sky backdrop and accompanying grunge texture. In addition to
this I have also drawn inspiration from their logo itself, particularly the use of a stylized, ‘classic’
font but have not included their use of many wave lines and accents which was intended to
emulate street art of graffiti as this was not the culture I was aiming for. Finally, the new
Relentless logo includes just the ‘R’ of the logo and I have included something like this for the
side panel of my can above the introduction to the drink and against an enlarged ornament used
as my emblem. This is a motif that was used to show that just the first initial of Darkstar can mean
that it is recognized by consumers simply because of how prominent and unique the font is, as is
the same with Relentless. I was also prepared to have my alternate flavours keep the style of the
original can but with a different coloured background so that the cans when lined up would have a
strong brand unity (seen in the first picture below.) One thing I did try to avoid influencing from
Relentless and other brands was the sponsorship they do, as I wanted my drink to retain the
same ‘underground’ and independent feeling of the cultures it markets towards.

In a technical aspect, my product has used a range of techniques to achieve the final piece
including colour overlays, opacity modifying, warping and image modification. The background in
particular was achieved by taking a normal picture of the night sky and overlaying it with a grunge
texture, and then altering the opacity of said texture to blend the two images together.
I went for this approach to avoid making the backdrop too much in focus and detracting from the
other elements of the packaging, as well as creating a nice combined background that fits in with
my drink’s style and creates the ominous atmosphere that it is known for. Usage of this grunge
texture also allowed me to swap the text colour from a bright white to the weathered gold that is
present on the final piece which avoided a lengthy process of using clipping masks for such a
purpose. I also used the opacity tool to allow the ornaments behind the logos to blend in well and
not obscure the logo while still remaining visible. The logo for Darkstar itself uses a combination
of a drop shadow and the emboss
tool gives it more of a three
dimensional look instead of
appearing flat on the packaging.
The box containing the name of
the flavour uses two ornaments,
one flipped to accents the sides of
It and increase detail.

In terms of opportunities for further improvement and modification of my images, I would primarily
like to start creating some of my own original motifs instead of using sets that are available for
free online. Being able to accomplish this will move me further towards independence and will
allow me to produce a piece of work that is up to professional standards.
One of my attempts at an original logo (shown here) is built to directly tie into the regal and classy
theme I have built up for my can and also resembles a logo that can easily take the place of my
default coat of arms ornament that is used to compliment my logo. Again I have been influenced
by Relentless slightly by using the initial of my brand name and stylizing it, albeit In a much
different fashion when compared to the Relentless logo. When using the original ornament, I
sheared off part of the bottom so that it would fit onto my can better and keep the symmetry with
the rest of the elements.
The original ornament used.
An original logo I
created to replace it.
Relentless logo for
comparison
The sheared logo in my final
design.
If I were to repeat this project I would likely create more original logos which
vary in style and compare them for use in the final piece instead of keeping
with a free and generic ornament available on the internet.

Another element I would like to improve on is my spacing and positioning of each elements and
how I can vary them. My final design is very geometric – everything is aligned horizontally or
vertically – and there is not much that could be consider this design flared or wavy. What I would
like to try as an alternative design would be something that has the Darkstar logo aligned
diagonally or otherwise. This would increase the design’s creative and technical appeal and also
allow me to experiment with something that isn’t defined by straight lines and boxes.
While I do consider my ingredients
list effective and fit for purpose I
would have liked to have taken the
time to create a unique recipe for
Darkstar by choosing my own
ingredients instead of lifting the
ingredients and nutritional
information directly from Monster. I
would have liked to do this because I
believe detail is very important and
my work falls slightly short because
of this.

When talking about the planning and development process of my can design I believe that where
I succeeded was the combination of grunge and background which affected the design as a
whole, bringing my theme to life and helping to distinguish it from a test draft. Although my layout
has remained mostly the same the difference that can be made is how my final piece feels like it
was made over a hundred years ago, which is the entire point of the theme and audience I have
tried to appeal towards. The colour choices of my final design are also much more refined and the
choice of two main colours means that the entire design works together and doesn’t feel
mismatched thanks to loads of different colours.
Above is
one of the
test drafts
and to the
right is
the final
piece.
I have also been able to account for the space to the right that
was left empty in the preliminary draft as I did not know how
to fill it, and instead planned to include a history of the drink
and a list of the available flavours in the range. In the final
piece I scrapped this idea and used the space to briefly explain
– albeit poetically – what Darkstar was about and concluded it
with links to the brand’s social media pages and their official
website. I chose to put the social media links here because the
assumption was that if someone is willing to learn more about
Darkstar and becomes curious, they will pick up the can and
turn it around to this side where the links can be found,
prompting them to indulge themselves further and visit
Darkstar’s pages to learn more.

On the other hand, the areas of development where I could have developed more would have to
be the variation in my designs and the elements involved. When comparing one of my initial drafts
to the final product it is easy to see that almost everything is in the same place and orientation. I
would have liked to experiment more with different layouts, particularly ones that have elements
that are not aligned horizontally or vertically, instead being on a diagonal alignment to create an
interesting layout. This was something I experimented with on one of my preliminary designs and
I would like to implement this if I repeated this project.
Also, I would have liked to have experimented with several
different background choices for my design. I did have two
distinct choices when drafting the can, an astral theme
and a more upper class style that incorporated a patterned
background and more lighter colours, which was used for
my anniversary can. In the future I would like to try out more
styles so that I have a bigger choice when preparing to make
my final piece.

Task 8: Web Banner Development
With the leaderboard banner I
started with a simple design that
primarily intended to pull people
in with the dramatic ‘it’s here…’
tagline, that is announcing a new
flavour in the Darkstar range. I
later used colour overlay to
change the colour of the cans to
match the background used in
this banner, and added a contour
effect to the tagline to make it
look more 3D. I have also used a
grunge texture to give the
gradient background a rougher
and more detailed edge. Later I
tried a more centred logo that still
promoted the same drink but with
a different and more fitting
slogan, as well a custom logo. I
experimented with positioning of
the logo on the right.

I created several other web banners that
were a little larger and thus allowed me to
experiment more. The first draft was akin to
my very first drafts for my magazine advert,
following a very similar layout but this time
having Darkstar’s now default colours and
grungy styling. I like this design for the
colours and the feeling of it but dislike it for
following the same formula as previous
attempts.
I then decided to use the
astral theme of my drink to
a greater extent and used
a similar element to my final
advert, as well as a star
background that greatly
enhances the image’s detail
and allows viewers to know
what the theme of the drink
Is.

I developed my previous banner idea by animating it,
showing the rays of the star gradually lighting up both of the
cans and having the logo slowly appear. I improved on this
by adding a second frame that had the opacity at 25% to
allow for a smoother transition. To the right, I went for a
square advert that I kept simple in hierarchy but I think that
it is still very effective with the large star situated behind the
row of cans. This time I have included the Darkstar initial so
that the brand is much more represented then previous
attempts. This banner is also much more dominating in
appearance thanks to the size of the star and the cans
helping to make it stand out more.

Task 8: Web Banner Evaluation
I chose this web banner as my final piece because I believe that it is the most striking
and appealing of all my experiments in this section. I say this particularly for the
inclusion of the large moon that is placed behind the cans which acts as a backdrop
against the stars and pulls in viewers thanks to its position and size. Because
Darkstar is related in name and in theme to stars this will allow consumers to make
the connection between the advert and brand instantly. This is also supported by the
inclusion of the Darkstar initial in the centre of the star. In terms of the aesthetic
quality, I tried to position the cans so that it resembled figures looking out towards the
moon on a hill, which adds a sense of scale to the image and ties it in to my theme of
enlightenment. My inspiration for this particular image was the common pose of
standing in front of a moon, creating a very distinctive silhouette. I didn’t place my
cans directly in front of the star, my reasoning being to give the illusion that the cans
were ground and the star was shining above them. I added the night sky in the
background and used the opacity tool to lighten it so that it wasn’t too dominating and
created a nice backdrop which fit the theme the banner was putting across.
I used a row of all the available flavours of Darkstar so that anyone who is new to the
brand instantly knows what is on offer and whether or not the flavours appeal to
them.

The technical qualities of my work included use of the blur tool, the outer glow tool
and saturation modifying to achieve my final result. The cans are all derived from my
original can but have been made to look like other flavours by altering the hue of the
image, resulting in a row of different flavours that keep the same design. For the star,
I used a simple ellipse and gave it a large outer glow that gave the impression of
luminosity, typical with large stars.
I used a combination of Gaussian blur and opacity to achieve the background used in
this banner. First beginning with a gradient I then added the background of stars over
it and toned the opacity down, before using Gaussian blur to make the two images
blend together. I did this so that the stars were not too dominating in the image and
that I wanted them to stay in the background, hence making them visible but not
standing out too much.
The ways I could improve this image in a technical sense would be to create some
more complicated shapes instead of taking them from the internet. For example, I
could have added some light rays to illuminate each can, or I could have added a
solid terrain for the cans to stand on instead of floating beneath the star.

Considering where I can develop my web banner, I would like to try creating
some unique hierarchy instead of following the simple can and title that has
been a staple of most of my advertisements. My theme is a bit difficult to
adapt for something other than having the star positioned high but if I was
to repeat this project I would try and experiment with having the star further
down and creating the advert around it, which would lead to some more
interesting layouts and untimely a better product at the end. I would also
like to experiment with combining both my astral theme and classical theme
into one advert, experimenting with different motifs and layouts to ensure a
much better end product. In the planning aspect of this task I feel as if going
back and trying lots of different styles worked well, by beginning with simple
leaderboard shaped banners and progressing onto rectangular adverts.
This allowed me to explore a lot of different techniques and ideas and lead
me on to find what I believed was my preferred style in the end. What didn’t
work as well during planning however was relegating myself to the same
hierarchy from my magazine advert in the final piece when I could have
tried something more stylish and experimental. If I was to repeat this task I
would try out a lot of new styles and layouts to ensure that I end up with a
striking and unique final piece that does not feel like a carbon copy of my
other attempts.

Task 9: Storyboard Development
My first draft utilizes a heroic theme with the wolf jumping the crevasse. This was done to
emphasize the power that Darkstar supposedly holds and make it appealing to a crowd that
wants a drink with a lot of energy delivery. The boy turning into a wolf also connotates to
Darkstar’s social media campaign, ‘are you brave enough to join our ranks?’

The second attempt, which has the same premise, takes on a more mystical theme with the wolves
circling the fountain, an element that ties into Darkstar’s mystery and gloomy-centric advertising. In
the right image I improved my final frame to include more detail about how the advert ends. It went
through several revisions such as changing the Darkstar logo to glow yellow and having the wolves
turn to face the viewer at the very end, before it cut out. This was replaced with the more subtle
eyes glowing in the background. I am using this one as my final piece.

My third storyboard has the same transformation concept that involves someone
drinking Darkstar and becoming a wolf of the night. This time it involves a man
defending his home from a zombie attack. It doesn’t involve any blood or gore to
avoid troubles with the ASA but does feature a some cartoon violence, and a very
ominous and scary atmosphere that would make it unsuitable for young viewers.
This storyboard retains the third and sixth panels from the first draft and features
a similar setting, a house in the middle of a dark, stormy forest. I feel as if this
advert is more climatic than the other two drafts as it has more of a perilous
situation that is solved by drinking Darkstar.

Task 9: Storyboard Evaluation
My final piece features a transformation story that links into one of
Darkstar’s main slogans, ‘For Your Nocturnal Side’ which links to the drink’s
night theme and how it urges you to join their ranks in some of the
advertising. I chose the transformed animal to be a wolf so that it fits in with
the traditional werewolf myth, replacing the full moon with a can of Darkstar.
What I feel went well with my storyboard development was the use of most
of Darkstar’s themes to create a coherent story, such as the night,
werewolves and the aforementioned transformation. Because of this I
believe that my final storyboard is fit for purpose, however I believe that I
could improve it by connotating more with Darkstar’s colours and styles in
the imagery.

Task 9: Storyboard Evaluation
You should evaluate your final piece.
Are there opportunities for further development of your work?
Are your final pieces are fit for purpose?
What areas of planning and development worked well?
What areas of planning and development could have done with more work?
What effect did you think your development stages had on the final
product?
You should present your evaluation using a mixture of text and images.
You should use images of existing products for comparison.

Pro forma

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