PACKAGING AND MERCHANDISING / FINAL PROJECT

 

|  20/04/25-28/06/25
|| Sun Jia Yi / 0370449
|| Packaging and merchandising design / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
|| Final Project | Merchandise and Promotional Strategy

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Instructions

Exercises 

Feedback 

Reflection 

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INSTRUCTIONS

                                                      Module information Booklet(MIB)

FINAL PROJECT 

Timeframe: Week 08 – Week 14 (Deadline Week 14)

Creating the Merchandises

I looked through Pinterest to have a better idea of how the stuff is created before I started making it. 

Fig 1.1 Pinterest Inspiration, Week 6 

I started by designing four distinct products: a cat bowl, a cat collar, a cat can, and cat food.  My objective was to develop a line of goods that would accurately represent and market our brand.  I had planned to do something else, but after speaking with Mr. Shamsul, I discovered that the cat food and can were already in the box we created.

 Mr. Shamsul made the observation that our product has to be in line with the idea of saving stray cats.  As a result, we must manage our spending.  This response made me reevaluate my original decision because it was evident that it was inconsistent with our brand principles to promote the product in a way that would jeopardize its integrity.

Recognizing the need for a practical solution, I decided to eliminate cat can and cat food from our lineup and replace them with personal care items for cats and kittens: collars, leashes, shampoos, combs, and cat balls. These items not only fit the practical needs of our products, but they are also functional and aesthetically pleasing items that our customers use on a daily basis.And the color will be light blue, light pink and light yellow. 

Fig 1.2 Chosen color, Week 9 

* Cat Ball

1. Visually Appealing & Recognizable

   • A cat ball (like a yarn ball or interactive play ball) is an iconic, easily recognizable cat toy.

   • It creates instant associations with playful, happy, healthy cats.

2. Symbol of Personality & Playfulness

   • Since our goal is to make cats into digital influencers, showcasing them with toys like balls helps highlight their individual personalities — funny, active, curious, or even grumpy if they ignore it.

   • Makes for viral-friendly, relatable content for viewers and followers.

3. Interactive & Engaging Element for Users

   • Adds an interactive UI element that makes our platform more engaging — especially for fans or potential adopters who want to learn more about the cats.

4. Emotional Connection Tool

   • Seeing a stray cat happily playing helps change perceptions from “stray” to “adorable future pet.”

   • Sparks empathy and makes viewers emotionally invested in the cat’s story and adoption journey.

5. Branding Flexibility

   • It becomes part of the visual identity of Pawcat.

6. Low-Cost & High-Impact Photography Prop

   • Easy to include in real or mock-up photos/videos with cats.

   • Doesn’t need complex design work but instantly makes the scene dynamic and full of character.

   • 
   • Fig 1.2 Design Process, Week 9

                    

                         Fig 1.3 Mock Up Design Process, Week 9

* Shampoo

1.Symbol of Transformation

• Shampoo visually and symbolically represents the "before and after" journey of a stray cat.

• Stray cats are often seen as dirty or unkempt — showcasing shampoo implies cleanliness, care, and love.

• It helps break the stereotype and frames adoption as a glow-up story.

2. Promotes Wellness & Grooming

• Highlights that Pawcat doesn’t just rescue cats, but cares for their health and hygiene, making them adoption-ready.

• It reassures potential adopters that cats on your platform are well-groomed, healthy, and loved.

3. Perfect for Influencer Branding

• Adds relatability to our cat influencers and makes people fall in love with their personalities.

4. Product Tie-in & Monetization Potential

• Opens opportunities for partnerships with grooming brands, shelters, or vet clinics.

5. Aesthetic & Emotional Value in Mock-ups

• Shampoo packaging allows for beautiful, minimal mock-up design with:

  • Cute cat illustrations

  • Bright pastel colors

• Helps convey a sense of care and luxury, turning rescue into an act of love — not pity.

 

      

Fig 1.4 Bootle and packaging Design  Week 11

Fig 1.5 Design Process, Week 

Fig 1.6 Mock Up Design Process, Week 6 

* Cat Brush 

1. Symbol of Care, Love & Grooming

The brush visually represents the gentle care and transformation process stray cats go through once rescued.

It shifts the image from “stray” to “spoiled and adored,” showing how every cat deserves love and pampering.

2. Boosts Adoptability

Regular brushing is linked to healthy, shiny fur and better overall appearance — crucial for digital influencers!

A clean, well-groomed cat looks more appealing in photos/videos, making them more likely to get adopted or followed online.

4. Enhances Human-Cat Bond

Brushing is often a quiet bonding time between cat and human — showing this in your platform content makes adoption feel more emotionally rewarding.

Encourages potential adopters to visualize daily, loving interactions with the cat.

5. Branded Merch Opportunity

Like shampoo, a cat brush is a perfect mock-up for potential Pawcat-branded products or adoption starter kits.

Aesthetically designed brushes (soft colors, paw-shaped handles, minimalist branding) will align with the influencer lifestyle you’re promoting.

Fig 1.7 Brush design, Week 6 

* Cat Collar 

1. Symbol of Identity & Belonging

A collar instantly says: “This cat has a name, a home, and someone who loves them.”

For a stray cat, putting on a collar is a powerful symbol of transformation — from abandoned to adored.

It aligns beautifully with your objective of promoting adoption and giving stray cats a second chance.

2. Digital Influencer Branding

Just like influencers have a “look” or signature style, the collar becomes a fashion statement or branding piece for the cat.

You can design collars that reflect the cat’s personality or online persona:

Chic, minimalist, cute, colorful, quirky, punk, etc.

Can include tags with @username, QR code to the cat’s profile, or even little badges.

3. Creates Emotional Connection

Seeing a once-stray cat proudly wearing a collar helps potential adopters and followers emotionally connect with them.

A collar signals that the cat is loved, cared for, and ready to be part of someone’s life.

4. Practical Value for Adoption

Collars can have ID tags, tracking chips, or contact info, which are essential once a cat is adopted.

Including it in the mock-up shows that Pawcat cares about long-term safety and responsibility, not just adoption.

5. Visual Appeal in Branding & UI

The collar is a simple but powerful visual cue to use across your platform mock-ups:

On cat profile pictures (with styled collars)

As part of icons or UI elements (paw tag, collar silhouette)

cat getting a collar = "adoption success"

Fig 1.8 Collar design, Week 6 

* Cat Leash 

1. Symbol of a New Life & Exploration

A leash represents freedom with safety — a cat is no longer just a stray, but now loved, guided, and exploring the world confidently.

It’s a strong metaphor for a fresh start, where stray cats get to experience life, outdoors or indoors, as part of a family.

2. Content Creation & Influencer Journey

Cat leashes are increasingly used for adventure cats — cats who go on walks, hikes, café visits, etc.

These outdoor experiences create perfect content opportunities for Pawcast's influencer platform (photos, videos, reels).

Imagine “Pawcast of the Week” exploring a park or posing by city art — leash included!

3. Supports Safety and Responsibility Messaging

Featuring a leash shows that Pawcast promotes not just adoption, but also responsible pet ownership.

It suggests you're preparing adopters with tools to keep their cats safe and mentally stimulated, especially those transitioning from the streets.

4. Stylish Branding Opportunity

Leashes can be designed in your brand's colors, with cute patterns, reflective materials, or even digital tags that link to the cat’s online profile.

You can present a collar + leash set as part of a starter influencer kit, adding a fashionable and functional product line.

5. Empowers Human-Cat Bonding

Walking a cat on a leash promotes physical interaction and bonding between humans and their adopted cats.

Showing this in your mock-up helps adopters imagine a lifestyle of engagement, exploration, and connection — not just passive ownership.

Final Merchandise Designs 

FINAL MERCHANDISING SUBMISSION 

Fig 1.7 Final Cat Shampoo Mockup Design | JPEG 

Fig 1.8 Final Cat Ball Mockup Design | JPEG 

    

Fig 1.9 Final Cat Ball Mockup Design with Packaging | JPEG 

    

Fig 1.10 Final Cat Collar Mockup Design | JPEG 

     

Fig 1.11 Final Cat Brush Mockup Design | JPEG

Fig 1.12 Final Cat Leash Mockup Design | JPEG

For the part in this presentation, I have done the the mock up of the promotional strategy and also the overview for the brand, As for the promotional strategy, amber  have gotten some advises from lecturer that we should placed the location and also the reasons of putting them. As for the pawcast briefing that me and amber was gotten by the business school is they are quite more active in social media platform as they run their business online, and more to content marketing as to create the awareness of strays. 

For the first thing, Official platform is for the customers to get engaged with for adoption and also for a online selling medium for cats tools. The website will include all important adoption details,  everything about Pawcast, tips and tricks for taking of a cat.

As Pawcast is running more to adoption service, as their mission is they wanna to bring the strays home. So poster billboard is the way to increase the attention of people to get contact with and have the awareness form the pawcast, which is direct communicate to them while they pass by which increase the brand awareness as social media need to depend on luck while the people get to scroll to see it. 

Social media is also the way to get in touch with the followers, as it can update the news and information and have small interaction with the consumers. Social media platform also could create the community with the consumers to release the latest news. The info. in the social media could be a adoption news, fun fact about cat and a little joke on the cute cat's daily life. 

As to push the awareness of cats, poster with food bowl will be the strategy for the people to concerned about cats, as the stray cats can be stuffed with food without hunger, which is shown that pawcast do really care for the cats, As the poster will be placed around the stray cats area as to feed them.

Pawcast could collaborate with other pet stores as to spread the awareness of stray cats and also to convey the news about adoption. 

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY

                                           Fig 1.13 Promotional Strategy

FEEDBACK 

The design needs to be consistent, logical, and thematic.

REFLECTION

Experience 

This job offered me the chance to reconsider the design and make it more adaptable while adding features from the packaging, maybe because it was based on the work that had already been completed for the prior challenge.  Experimenting and figuring out what worked while pushing myself to be consistent was exciting.  With this method, I was able to combine my creativity with the fundamental components of the prior design, producing a product that was both creative and harmonious.

Observations 

Once again, a key component of this work has been observation. It was harder than I thought to translate the current design onto other media. Different considerations and cognitive processes were needed for each media. However, the existing references helped to lessen the difficulties. I gained a lot of knowledge about converting designs to various formats by examining a variety of designs. Seeing these examples gave me important insights that influenced my work and helped me grasp the subtleties of designing for a variety of media.

Findings 

I came to see how important it was to apply what I had learnt in the Brand Corporate Design module to this one.  Putting that expertise to use gave my work here a strong basis.  I was able to expand on preexisting ideas and deepen my comprehension by brainstorming and making connections between the two classes, which was really helpful.  I was able to experiment with several concepts and methods via brainstorming, which made sure that the designs I produced were both creative and based on the knowledge I had already gained.  This exchange of ideas enhanced my creative process and improved the coherence and polish of my work.