Product Redesign
As of the end of 2019, Fan Creations had over 100 design styles. Each design is created for around 270 different licensees – this equals around 27,000 designs being created & maintained throughout the year, with a least 30 “styles” being added in each year, not even including exclusive designs for specific retailers, non-licensed designs & the concept work that doesn’t get past developmental. As of July 2020 an additional 20 design styles have already been added to our database.
When first looking at our assortment of products, one of my key responsibilities within my Art Director role was to take old design’s that were proven sellers & refresh their look.
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Several of my redesigns (example shown above) were simple, but still addressed key issues – specifically in branding concerns. Not only was the original design discolored, the logo was skewed & the source art used for texture was low resolution (and of unknown origin). In my redesign I kept the same feel of the worn logo but made it brighter & more appealing while keeping in line with the brand identity.
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Other redesigns (examples shown above) followed a similar simple approach, taking an idea & updating the look to be more inline with what was on the market. I specifically focused in on products that would target more female consumers & less on the “Man-Cave” aesthetic that has dominated the sports industry. While the more masculine look is still desired, I aimed to bring balance in variety within our design catalog. The “Mr & Mrs” sign is a great targeted example, this is the type of décor that the female buyer would buy for her home, or more likely be given as a gift to a newly married couple who are sports fans. By lightening the background & resampling the font choice, it now opens the door to more placement within the home & a larger mass appeal inside of our target audience
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Developing a variety of designs is the first step, the second being a sustainable method to efficiently produce each of these 27,000 designs. Products are already grouped by shape, so for example, we have 20 different 6x12 styles, which results in 5,400 products. With orders coming in from various retailers (both wholesale & direct to consumer) I established a standardized method for laying out the designs and a template to array them for easy loading & production.
