Tara’s Favorite Project of 2022/23: Advertising & Product Design!

Jul 25

This year, we developed a brand new class that focused on advertising and product design! My favorite project was Designing an Original Food Product, which I taught after school at the Packer Collegiate Institute with 2nd-4th graders.

Artists went through the entire design process, from brainstorming, to creating 3-D models, and finally, developing advertisements for their products. Being given the challenge to innovate inherently ignites students’ creativity and pushes them to think outside of what they know or have seen. Each student in the group was so inventive with their new food ideas. Students engaged in both 2-D and 3-D processes to realize their unique concepts. Bringing their personal products to “market” was highly motivating and the end results were some really cool foods that I wish I could try!

Here was the process, step-by-step:

THE BRAINSTORM: First, artists were tasked with brainstorming a new and innovative food product. We focused on the question: What characteristics will make your food item new and unique? We created sketches of our products where artists had to tap into their problem-solving skills to make design decisions.
SCHEMATICS: Next, we stepped into the role of a product designer and created schematic drawings of our chosen idea. We learned about perspective, contrast, and clarity in order to make compelling designs in order to present our foods to the public.
3-D MODELS: After inking and deciding on colors for our schematics, we began constructing 3-dimensional small-scale models using clay, wire, cardstock, and more. This was where artists were really able to bring their new product to life. We made sure to add small details and use vibrant colors to make our products stand out.
ADVERTISEMENTS: Once our models were complete, artists began work on designing striking and engaging advertisements to show off their original products. We learned about marketing and branding, and created taglines to entice potential audiences. We focused on typography, imagery, and composition to create captivating designs and bring our new products to the public!