Hallmark Research

Thematic Research: 

I had a young audience in mind for this brief so i tailored my research this way and looked into existing card designs and characters which were aimed at children. 

These two cards are really cute but also very generic. I like the contrast of colours on the numbered card and the more neutral colours of the second card which makes it suitable for girls and boys. 

 This card is much more illustrative which i really like and the dinosaur character on the other card is cute, even if it does need just a bit more character.

 Forever Friends is a well known and established brand. The character is easily applied to many different occasioned cards and different products. I really like the illustrated cards (jungle and pirate theme) and the interactive element they bring. These feel much more contemporary than some of the other cards from Hallmark.

 I really like the hand drawn text on the monster card and the character itself is really cool, i think it could easily be applied to other products.

This card i chose because i really like the style of illustration. Again, it feels very contemporary and i also think that although it is obviously aimed at children, more people would buy this card because of the quality of illustrations on it. I would buy this for one of my friends! 

Creative Research: 

This brings me nicely to creative research whereby i looked into illustrators i admire but i also looked into some of the artists that are featured on the hallmark creative blog and the hallmark creative newsletter which i subscribe to. 

Children's books: 

 I really love the soft watercolours and strong accent colours in these books.

 This may be the cutest cactus i have ever seen.

Illustration:

 Gorgeous colours in these examples and lovely linework too.

 I really like the sense of narrative in these images.

 I really like how these illustrators have tackled the borders/outlines of the images.

3D:

These were on the Hallmark blog and something about them drew me in...i love making small 3D models and the characterisation of these is really great and sets them apart from other toys/models.

Trends:

 Really love the colours and the patterns on this. I really like these types of posts on the hallmark blog, breaking down the colours into their pantones really helps to see what colours go together well.

 I saw this cosy knit trend on the halmark blog and i really liked the range of products on their. I tried to think about a way to apply this to my design and made my character appear to be knitted.