overall outcome

After returning to the printers on Monday evening I picked up the calendar. I also picked up the demo calendar which I had left with them to use as a reference on how to print and bind it. From first glance the calendar looked amazing. Before I was going to commit to them printing all of the calendars I wanted to fully scour the calendar and see whether there were any faults or anything that needed altering. I mentioned that if I was happy I would call up the following morning and ask for them to print the rest. 


After going through the calendar properly there were no faults with the printing and nothing that needed to be changed. The only query I had was that the hole punch was very close to the writing on one of my pages. 


I feel that because I showed my initiative and provided the printers with an calendar similar to the layout I was after they did not have any problems with printing and putting the publication together. 


I phoned them back up the next morning and confirmed that I would like another 10 copies of the calendar printed. I also mentioned about the hole punch being near to my writing and they mentioned that they would move the file up a couple of millimetres to ensure that they would not cut through the writing. I was very impressed with what they had done so far and what they were willing to do. They assured me that the prints would be done by Thursday, which set me back as I could not return to University for another few days, but it meant that I was able to get the prints which I wanted. 


I feel that I dealt with the printers on a professional level and communicated clearly what I wanted. Because of this I feel they have been able to achieve exactly what I was after. 


In the mean time I knew that I needed to be catching up with University work. As my Dad works at Aston University, he took me to work with him and let me work within the University. This way I could catch up with this blog and my other project. 


Friday 27th April:  I have now picked up the rest of the calendars and am extremely impressed with the prints and the service I received. On collection I realised that each calendar had been carefully individually wrapped which was a nice finishing touch. 

Overall I am very happy with the outcome of the calendar. It is what i envisioned and is the right size. I am pleased that I changed the layout and included the moodboards. I am also pleased that I changed the colour of the calendar to grey as it make the calendar look more refined and like there has been more thought put into it. I have realised the economies of scale, the more I ordered the price of the calendar came down. This would be an idea when putting in place in retailers. The more they buy the lower they would be able to price it at for consumers.


I feel that the best parts to my calendar are of course my images, I am pleased with all of them and think that they all fit together and link to its own trend and moodboard. I am also very pleased that I created the mood boards as I was going along. I was not intending on using them in the final outcome but I am pleased that I did as I feel it improves the calendar and makes it into more of a trend product


The only part where I am doubtful is with meeting the learning outcomes. When comparing my project to others, I feel it does not look as impressive. A book or a magazine looks very professional and it has made me doubt the calendar's outcome.


If I was to do anything differently I think I would incorporate more onto the months pages as they are very simple, whether this is a more detailed background or include more images I think it could add to the calendars look.


If I had longer to complete this project I would like to refer back to my tumblr account http://marie-hope.tumblr.com/ and continue to update it. I would put the link on the back of the calendar for consumers to continue their trend hunting and see how the trends created in the calendar can be achieved and branch out into other areas of their lives.


There has been many problems I have faced going through the project, from models dropping out last minute, to being unable to use the fashion dates within the calendar, from the main photographer not wanting to carry out the shoots my way to the printers cancelling on me last minute. Every problem occurred I have been able to resolve and continue with the making of this project. They may have set me back in time but I feel I have grown in confidence as a result. Luckily I feel I have been very organised and planned everything well for this project. There has been exceptions, when I have needed to re shoot an image, but as a whole I feel that the project has ran smoothly.


I feel that one of the biggest successes of this project was the trip to London. Without this trip I feel I would have really struggled with inspiration and ideas when creating my trend forecasts.


I am also very grateful and pleased with all of the feedback I have had from the project. Everyone's input has helped to improve and offer alternative ideas to the outcome of the project and I feel that as the work has been shown along the way this has meant there has not been a massive amount of changes that needed to be carried out at the end. Keeping on top of the project is one thing I am proud of. I feel I have timed every part of the project well and although it has resulted in a new time schedule, it has been effective.



Original Production schedule: 

Week Commencing:	Action:
16/01/11	Seek external assistance from a photographer and models. Start to research on the internet and around the city for the trend packages.
23/01/11	Visit another city for more in-depth research and continue with producing ideas and designs for trend package 1. Set up a Tumblr account and upload research. Finalise arrangements with photographer. Continue with searching for models. Book photo studios as well as lighting at the university.
30/01/11	Practise the looks in the studio in preparation for next week. Continue to update Tumblr. Finalise model list. Start designing ideas for trend package 2. Make arrangements to discuss the project with photographer.
06/02/11	Carry out two photo shoots. Continue designing ideas and testing out in the studio
13/02/11	Carry out two photo shoots. Continue designing ideas and testing out in the studio
20/02/11	Carry out two photo shoots. Check studio bookings are okay for next few weeks.
27/02/11	Carry out two photo shoots Continue designing ideas and testing out in the studio
05/03/11	Carry out two photo shoots. Continue designing ideas and testing out in the studio
12/03/11	Carry out two photo shoots
19/03/11	Edit photographs and arrange Inspirational Columns. Allowance for any photo shoots that need to be rescheduled or reshot. Check over with target audience to see whether all the aspects are to their taste and see if there are any amendments that need to be made.
26/03/11	Edit last few elements to the images in preparation to be uploaded to the internet.
02/04/11	Send off the overall images to a calendar publisher. Write up reflective journal.
09/04/11	Contact publishers to check they have received the images and publishing is going to plan.
16/04/11	Aim to receive batch of calendars. Check over to see if all is okay.
23/04/11	Unstructured week. Finalising elements to the project.
30/05/11	Unstructured week. Finish of the reflective writing on the Tumblr and complete evaluation ready for submission.

Actual Production schedule:

Week Commencing:	Action:
16/01/11	Set up Tumblr account and started documenting research. Found student photographer who was willing to collaborate.
23/01/11	Met up with photographer 1. Continued researching
30/01/11	Set up Model Mayhem account. Started a blog.
06/02/11	Trip to London. Constructed first trend forecast. Booked photography studio. Found a new photographer to shoot project. Started designing ideas and testing. Found models for January and February look. Testing. Documenting on both Tumblr and blog.
13/02/11	Carried out first photo shoot using two models- Christie and Meg. Continue designing ideas and testing. Continued documenting.
20/02/11	Came up with ideas for second trend forecast. Continued designing ideas and testing. Scouted models for the next shoot. Booked photography studio. Continued documenting.
27/02/11	Carried out photo shoot with Nyane. Reshot January look. Continued designing ideas and testing. Scouted model for next shoot. Booked photography studio. Continued documenting.
05/03/11	Carried out photo shoot with Toni. Continued designing ideas and testing Scouted models for the next shoot. Booked photography studio. Continued documenting.
12/03/11	Carried out photo shoot with Steph and Laura. Reshot January look again. Continued designing ideas and testing. Scouted model for next shoot. Booked photography studio.
19/03/11	Scouted models for shoot this week. Booked photography studio. Carried out two photo shoots. First photo shoot with Elizabeth and Marie. Designed third trend forecast. Continued designing ideas and testing. Second photo shoot with Katie and Elesha. Found another photographer.
26/03/11	Scouted models for last shoot. Carried out photo shoot with Elle and Lydia. Reshot May image.
02/04/11	Edited May image and constructed a design layout. Caught up on documenting.
09/04/11	Finalised design, made any last minute changes and went to printers.
16/04/11	Collected calendars and in the meantime wrote evaluation and 300 word summary.
23/04/11	Caught up on blog, shown written work and made adjustments.
30/05/11	Finished off blog.

The biggest change from my proposal would have to be the layout of the calendar. It has changed massively than what was originally planned. I believe that the test layouts have helped me come up with a strong design and as a result better suited to the high street.  I feel I have now created a product that is desirable to the fashion consumer. I have had feedback from a number of people and they commented that this is a really innovative idea and if they saw a product like this on the high street, that they would be interested in purchasing it. I think that the trend element of the project has really improved and created a unique product. Although the calendar was originally going to feature an inspiration coloumn I think this has still been addressed as it moulded into the use of the mood boards. By it being a trend product as well as a calendar means that the consumer can 'kill two birds with one stone' and as it is for the entire year they do not have to keep on checking up on what is the next trend as they will have the whole year planned for them in advance.  The trends can be interpreted in many different ways so although trends can be created from the forecasts, the consumers will not be clones of one another. It is there to help the consumer with ideas and offer inspiration when creating their own looks.


As there is very little, or nothing like this already on the market the competition is very varied. I would say it has two types of competition, the trend forecasters and the calendar publishers. But as this is a unique product it has no direct competition. I would also say that fashion magazines are a close competition as they offer ideas on how to style yourself as well as informing the consumer on the latest trends. However it is normally monthly and not yearly and does not provide future ideas.


I believe that the trend forecasts which have been created are very similar in style and professionalism to what would be produced in industry. There has been thorough research carried out to back what is being said and also a review of what is happening and been seen about now. I believe that I have learnt a lot from creating these forecasts and would be confident in creating one if I was to work in this type of industry.