The product that I helped to create and advertise was the Cool Cap. My group and I tried to think of a common problem that could easily be solved with a new, unique invention. One struggle that we seem to face sometimes is the act of eliminating headaches without the hassle of tending an ice pack while attempting to carry out our daily tasks. As a solution to this, we developed a hat that held a series of ice packs inside of it.
What was your process?
What did you learn along the way?
In advertising the product, we primarily wanted to use humor to obtain the attention of the general public, as many humorous commercials catch the eye and the memory of their viewers. By appealing to an audience who craves comedy, we hoped to instill the ideals and statistics of our team and of our product. We also attempted to create an intriguing piece of media that explained the product. Using inspiration from other commercials we watched together, my group helped me to write a short commercial that we could easily create. This was a large part of our teamwork, as we began communicating even the most ridiculous ideas.
Most of my contribution to the project was my involvement in the video. After helping create a general storyboard with my group, I wrote a short script which we then revised to properly fit our product and goals of advertisement. We then scoured the halls for locations, and I began directing the team. This was fun and very useful, as it helped me gain more skills as a leader. We all had a blast in making the video, and I believe my direction aided the overall commercial's success.
The video was, of course, the last thing we made. We started the journey of the Cool Cap Crew with animation, brainstorming silly ideas of what might make this imaginary hat better. Sam, Peyton, and I all made prototypes of possible hats in Google Sketchup while Makenna assembled an environment to display several hats, as shown in the screenshot of the animation. I helped the three of them to pick out pre-made hats in the program, and then attempted to build my own. I created a sort of beanie, the hat that is sitting directly behind our famed fedora. Making this in SketchUp definitely added to my understanding of the vast and complex program. This small project also helped to bring my team much closer together, transforming us from strangers to close friends.
After we had established the basis of our product, we went into graphic design with plenty of ideas. We knew that our logo must be calm and accepting, and represent the ideals of both our company and our product. To do this we chose very serene shades of blue and green and put them against a white background, so that the viewer's eyes would not feel attacked by any bright or unnerving colors. The logo can be seen at the top of the coupon.
The coupon was our next objective, directly after the logo. We had a team meeting to decide who must do what. I was happily assigned the coupon, while Makenna was sent to design the website, Peyton was given the task of an advertisement, and Sam gladly built the web banner. The coupon was very fun for me to make, as I am very interested in graphic design. I had originally wanted to compose a more structured and filling design, but ultimately decided to create a coupon similar to the logo.
What would you do differently next time? Why?
I don't think I would really do much differently if asked to do this again, as I believe my team and I worked monumentally well together and created the best product possible.
What would you do the same? Why?
What will you draw from this experience to enhance your next project?
I would generally do everything the same, as I am pleased with the final product. My team and I communicated ideas in a very mature and professional manner which helped us create not only a great video, website, and advertisement, but also to create a good environment to work in. I will certainly attempt to recreate this environment in the future, and always make sure each individual present has his or her voice heard.
