Final BeeHaven Booklet Design

I am finally done with the booklet design – yay!

I have made all the revisions and added content which Ivan asked for, such as: adding a cut-away view of the hive, a section of how to catch a swarm of bees as well as some changes to the content of the honey and beeswax harvesting section.

The final PDF document has colour bars, crop marks and a 3mm bleed.

I will suggest to Ivan that he prints the booklets on 120gsm matt paper.

 

Progress Report

I have spend much of this last week working on the booklet design as well as the illustrations and content to accompany it.

I must say, I completely underestimated the amount of time and effort required to produce a design I am happy to present to my client.

So far I have established an acceptable illustration style and layout for the booklet, although I am second guessing my choices. I will continue with what I have and hopefully improve on the design as I go.

Initial Logo Designs

Worked on quite a few logo designs but none of them felt quite right and did not effectively depict Ivan’s hives or the overall feel of the brand.

I eventually chose to focus on what makes the BeeHaven hives unique… and so attempted to capture the look and feel of the hive designs in the logo.

Stylistic References

1. Killer Bees Playing Cards – Backbone Branding & Stephan Azaryan (https://www.behance.net/gallery/31413413/Killer-Bees-Playing-Cards)
2. BEELoved Honey – Tamara Mihajlovic & Njegos Lakic Tajsio (https://www.behance.net/gallery/7297839/BEEloved-honey)
3. 99U Conference Branding – R Brandon, JK Glei & M Corea (https://www.behance.net/gallery/99U-Conference-Branding-Collateral-2013/8906395)
4. Wild Honey Packaging – Yinsersi Gonzales (https://www.behance.net/gallery/31286521/Wild-Honey-Honey-Packaging)
5. Kyekyong Editorial – Eunsun Park (https://www.behance.net/gallery/17129207/Kyekyong-Editorial)

Who is the Target Audience?

While the hives are currently in the user testing phase, I have identified 4 distinctly different target audiences.

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1. Urban beekeepers – they do not have many resources, beekeeping could be a source of income for them once the hive is set up and producing honey. They may or may not have matriculated at school and could possible not afford expensive beekeeping equipment. But, they are keen enthusiasts, aspirant and entrepreneurial. They require affordable and easy-to-use solutions.
2. Hobbyists – they have the time and resources required to start keeping an apiary as a hobby. They are most likely retired people looking to occupy their time and possibly housewives/husbands who do not have to work daily.
3. Environmental Enthusiasts – people who are passionate about the environment and want to start beekeeping in order to help save the ever-decreasing bee population. They may or may not have may resources and will not necessarily stay in an urban, area but could reside in a rural area. They are concerned with practicalities rather than aesthetics.
4. Commercial beekeepers / Commercial Farmers – people who make a living cultivating beehives and either selling the bees as pollinators to farmers or to harvest and sell honey, beeswax etc. Farmers also fall into this category as we aim to promote beekeeping amongst farmers. The benefits are that they do not have to buy the bees and can cultivate the hives themselves and could harvest the bi-products and sell them as an added sources of income.  They require practical and affordable solutions which can be used on a large scale.

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The target audiences vary and require slightly different things from the product/brand. Taking this in to consideration, I have opted for a Modernist approach, choosing to create practical solutions, from a neutral perspective. In this way I can satisfy as many of the target audiences as possible using a single visual identity. I will be looking at modernist designs when creating the various deliverable.

Ivan’s Beegin Beehive Designs

My Main Man Ivan

Yesterday I met with my main stakeholder for this project; Ivan Brown, a Masters Industrial Design student at the University of Johannesburg. Ivan has developed two new beehive designs which will be used by Itumeleng and other beekeepers and bee-hobbyists in Johannesburg.

These designs are now in the user testing phase and will be refined and improved over the next year or so based on the recommendations of the urban beekeepers as well as a selection of professional beekeepers in and around Johannesburg.

The first hive design is constructed from cardboard with a waxy sealant and can be used to catch a swarm of honeybees in the spring, or as a starter hive. It has an approximate life span of 2 years. The second design is a concrete hive which is, in theory, highly durable, flame-resistant, badger proof and is stackable – Wow!

These are really exciting designs, and I look forward to working with Ivan in developing a more polished brand image and accompanying branded materials. In particularly I will be designing an infographic and an information booklet for the urban beekeepers who will be using/testing Ivan’s hives.

The booklet should contain easy to understand graphics with short explanations in multiple languages. Condensed information about beekeeping, bee health and how to set up a beekeeping site will be the main focus of the booklet.

Meeting with Itumeleng

Today I met with Itumeleng Pooe, a social entrepreneur who works with the Megatong Nursery  in Emmerentia and is a key figure in the ‘Bees in the City’ Project.

We had a great briefing session where we discussed the practicalities and necessity of urban beekeeping  in Johannesburg – although Itumeleng considers himself more of a bee hobbyist than a beekeeper.

Bees are vital to our survival and the survival of our planet & I am super excited to be working with ‘Bees in the City’ and Itumeleng on such an important issue.

My classmate is working directly with Bees in the City, below is the link to her blog – http://farmthiscitybeesinthecity.tumblr.com/