We are a group of experts in the field and, as such, we have developed a site for public administration. This site has the objective of archiving Mediterranean craft knowledge, and making the contents available on the web with different levels of access (http://www.mediterraneancrafts archive.it/).
We have developed a data archiving back-end and a consultation front-end on weaving, which currently covers two regions (Italy and Morocco), although the search facility will soon be extended to other regions and other fields of knowledge.
The bibliographic and field search facility explores every field of knowledge on the basis of geographic and temporal dimensions, and the following sectors: production centre, handmade articles, materials, tools, decorative motifs, processing techniques and processing phases.
WHAT IS IT ?
In this step you will find information about the Brand Builder, who is asking you to propose a Solution for the challenge. He introduces himself (as a Brand of course :) The more you understand about the Brand, the more chances you have to create what is wanted.
IMPORTANT: There is a possibility that the Brand Builder prefers not to disclose who he is, usually for confidentiality reasons. Such Briefs will be published in an anonymous way. In this case the Brand Builder will say as much as he feels comfortable saying.
Here are two EXAMPLES
In case there is no problem with disclosing the identity (VISIBLE):
“NMN -No More Nicotine- is a Brand that promises to counteract the damages to the skin that can be caused by smoking. NMN is distributed in pharmacies and drugstores and its price positioning is middle-high; it is mainly promoted through professional endorsement and is not massively advertised.”
In case the Brand doesn’t want to disclose his identity (ANONYMOUS):
“Brand counteracting the damages to skin caused by smoking. Its products are distributed in pharmacies and drugstores with a middle-high price positioning; they are mainly promoted through professional endorsement and are not massively advertised.”
In summary: Who is your client (in a visible or “anonymous” way :)
!!!Update as of May 19!!!
After reviewing all Solutions submitted in response to our Pitch, we’ve drawn some important conclusions that we would like to share with you. The experience helped us get a better grasp of what is it that we’re truly looking for and we’ve understood how to fully describe the objective of the pitch. We apologize for any inconvenience that this might have cause you but we are confident that you will find the additional instructions extremely helpful for your next proposals.
Here are our observations and some new guidelines:
1. Very few of you have brought a real change for the color scheme. We would really appreciate new chromatics – we live it up to you to choose the color palette and we would like you to find inspiration in the content of the pages and the website overall. The pages themselves could have chromatic variations in function of their topic - we would truly like to see a real variation.
Please do not try to match or take as reference the colors of our current logo because we are considering changing or re-designing it.
2. One of the elements completely missing in all proposals was the human presence. We find appropriate the integration of a symbol or a sign recalling the craftperson as artisanship is by definition an art strongly dependent on its author.
All achieved techniques, development stages, handmade products and entities have a strong connection with the man, the artisan. Please bear in mind that the artisanal knowledge are a treasure inseparable from its owner.
3. Generally speaking, a website, created with the objective to document and archive, must keep a clean and aligned design, a minimalistic one better said. This is one of the specifications that we want you to keep in mind even in the second period of Solutions submission. However most of the Solutions we’ve received were pretty “cold” (impersonal). Gestural signs and rather “warm” elements justified by our craftsman-made content are very welcome.
4. Our current layout is the standard one including 3 text columns, header and footer. The website is very similar to the editorial style. The new proposals could have a different layout approach, the files we have attached are just for reference. The position of the grids and their proportions are just indicative, not compulsory.
5. The relationship between the images and the text is another important element. In our current attire, images have a reduced weight, especially in the pages of level 1, 2 and 3. For example when clicking COUNTRIES > ITALY> SARDEGNA images are very small. In order to achieve a higher human presence, very much like the one present in the first layers, we intend to purchase images for all sections similar to this one. Having said that we expect the new proposals to give more importance and allow more space to the images – we even recommend you to use a gallery for test purposes.
The following suggestions are not compulsory, but we would appreciate them a lot:
1. For association/suggestion purposes we would welcome a site intro composed by moving images or a short video in flash incorporating the first level menu (the main categories) present on the website.
2. We welcome any intuitive logo proposal, different from the current one which you will find attached. If you have ideas and you would like to submit them we might purchase it separately.
!!!The end of update!!!
We want creators to come up with matching graphic design for the front-end of the site.
Please refer to the enclosed documents for the technical specifications.
WHAT IS IT ?
This is the task the Brand Builder asks you to accomplish. If you don’t understand it, you are completely out of luck !
EXAMPLE
“We ask the Creators to develop a print advertising campaign in order to increase Brand’s visibility. It will be used in national magazines this spring.”
In summary: It’s the objective of the client, therefore your objective too !
Our users are looking for information on craft knowledge. They are looking for answers on the operation, evolution and relationships in play between various geographic regions in relation to a specific field of craft knowledge.
They are interested in “emotional” aspects (tourists, lovers of traditions and craft), linked to the history of the knowledge and its development, and practical aspects (i.e. people working in the sector).
WHAT IS IT?
People that the Brand Builder wants you to entertain and persuade to think, feel or do something using your creation. Usually you will read about their age, sex, social level and behaviors. You should always keep that information in mind while creating, as the target audience is the final recipient of what you create.
EXAMPLE
“Smoking girls and women who would like to quit smoking but can’t. Usually health-conscious adults who care about their looks. They feel guilty about smoking because they know it is harmful. They read books about it. This is a real problem for them: it’s like “My brain wants something, but my body acts of its own accord”. They don’t relate to my brand, they are just waiting for a trustworthy “helping hand”.
In summary: Get under their skin !
We want to encourage users to explore and then come back to the site, constantly providing them with new stimulating links and exciting “journeys”. We also want to teach them about the region covered by their research, using its "craft knowledge" as an aid.
We want to convey an idea of a multitude and plurality of places, people and knowledge.
WHAT IS IT?
The thing that the Brand Builder wants to make the target audience think/feel/do because of your creation.
Here are some very concrete examples:
∞ Some things people can think/feel:
- There is a new Brand (or product or idea or...) out there
- This Brand is better than the alternatives or than it used to be
- This Brand is worth paying more for
∞ Some things people can do:
- Start buying the Brand’s products
- Buy the Brand more often
- Stock more products of the Brand in their outlets
The above written examples are very concrete whilst often the proposition of the Brief is emotional. That’s even better as it can be more inspiring!
EXAMPLE
“We’d like to encourage smokers to use NMN in order to minimize the damage to their health while they are keeping giving up smoking (especially if they’ve already tried and failed before).”
In summary: Get inside their brain !
Craft knowledge needs to be put into context in order to be preserved and handed down, and to prevent it from being lost.
The site will include technical information, but this information needs to be made accessible by taking a simple, attractive, exciting and dynamic approach.
WHAT IS IT?
This is the key to achieving the objective. It is what supports the proposition and makes it believable. Usually it is a rational statement.
EXAMPLE
“Every cigarette you smoke is causing damage to your appearance. A recent study took several pairs of identical twins where one twin was a lifelong smoker and the other had never smoked. The smokers’ skin was a quarter thinner than that of non-smokers, and in some cases there were differences of up to 40%. NMN contains thinning-blocking anti-oxidants which counteract the effect of nicotine on the skin.”
In summary: You are looking for arguments? You’ll find them here!
Exciting, scientific, competent and enthusiastic.
WHAT IS IT?
It’s who the Brand is. Yes... who!
Treat the Brand as a human being, as it has its own personality. To know the personality of the “client” is fundamental in order to provide a tailor-made job. So, read carefully the listed adjectives...
EXAMPLE
“Scientific, trustworthy, result-oriented, ‘a party’ to achieve your goals.”
In summary: Imagine the live person !
The website will be advertised on the corporate portals of the region heading the project.
Moreover, it is built on a CMS that permits good site indexing and makes the keywords contained in the text easy to find when using search engines. A thorough SEO study for all the site content is currently underway.
WHAT IS IT?
A list of places (or media, or things) where the target audience will see the outcome of your creation. In this step sometimes the Brand will also acknowledge you how much he plans to invest into production. This information will give you an insight whether to create a BIG project or make it small... :)
EXAMPLE
“This campaign is going to appear in lifestyle- and health-focused women magazines of New Zealand, during the spring of 2009. We plan to invest 500,000 USD, which means approximately buying 100 single pages.”
In summary: Consider the medium !
The required presentation formats are JPG, PDF or PPS.
The winner will be asked to present a file for each section of the site in .PSD or .AI format.
If included, these files should also feature the fonts, which must have an open license.
It is very important to ensure that the proposals can be transferred to the site using XHTML and CSS code, and to consider that the site CMS manages the following content types: production centre, handmade articles, materials, tools, decorative motifs, processing techniques and processing phases, which comprise the individual detail forms uploaded to the system by the operators.
List of attached files:
Zip folder homesaperi | Structure/graphic scheme of the individual pages to be developed
Zip folder screen –shot saperi | Current graphic and logo
File sitemap_saperi_artigianali | website sitemap
If the Brand has preferences or technical requirements that your Solution has to match, you will find them here.
Here are some items that you may find in this section:
∞ Guidelines or mandatory inclusions (do’s and/or don’ts)
∞ Business objectives
∞ Market and competitors overview
∞ Good and bad samples
Depending on the Brief, you may also find some files attached with a logo, pictures of product(s), a template that you should use in order to submit your ideas, or any other file that the Brand wants to share with you. So, study the attachments before starting creating.
In summary: Anything else you need to know (not written in the 7 steps before) !
