Good is...? Concept development

As we are required to devise 4 A2 concept boards, I decided to explore what can be presented on each to then refine and research in more depth.

x 1 Concept/statement - why is it good?

1) A study by Wildschut and colleagues, found that people who reported feeling nostalgic also experienced increased social bonding and increased positive self-regard.

2) Experiences that may have seemed bad at the time can be reconstructed in our minds to seem better than they were, because they represent periods in our life that are now gone forever.

3) Childhood memories represent times when we were free from the responsibilities and anxieties of adulthood

4) It simply makes you happy

5) It is seen as a natural anti-depressant

6) It has been proven that remembering past times improves self-esteem, mood, strengthens social bonds and imbues life with meaning

7) It provides comfort and familiarity

8) Accesible anywhere

9) Can learn from past experiences

10) Feel more connected to others

11) People turn to nostalgia in situations that cause negative mood and loneliness


x 1 Contextual references

As posted throughout my design practice and context blog, one prominent idea was to package nostalgia as a typical medicinal product using existing conventions such as dosage instructions, warnings, instructions, ingredients etc. However, I want to create a positive twist - to provoke thought and humour.

Some links:

http://j-warburton1013-dc.blogspot.com/2011/09/nostalgia-old-medicine-bottles.html
http://j-warburton1013-dc.blogspot.com/2011/09/nostalgia-existing-medicine-packaging.html

I hope to use the following as a big inspiration to my final designs although I still want to retain originality and make sure the positive, psychological associations with nostalgia are communicated.

http://j-warburton1013-dc.blogspot.com/2011/09/novelty-packaging.html


x 2 Initial ideas, format, stock, colour etc

The bottle packaging I created in the packaging workshop last week will possibly be a major starting point for my designs. I received positive feedback regarding the text displayed on the bottle (here), from  the group critiquing my work and others in the class which gives the impression it may be an effective idea to explore and develop.

Colour: grey, orange, green
Where: independent shops, online, GPs etc