A branding, UX/UI, and packaging project that utilized research and experiences of film photographers to introduce a new product into the market.

project overview

The film photography community is one that values experimentation, quality, and the nature of an analog format. This community is global and extremely passionate about the craft.

Recently the biggest barrier for film photographers has been the dramatic increase in price across all brands and products. This dissuades long-time hobbyists and professionals from buying film and creates a higher hurdle for people learning about film for the first time. Additionally, the scarcity of finding high-quality film stocks has increased, causing professionals to move towards digital photography.

the Problem

Solution

I created a new film manufacturing company called ORE that:

1. Introduces a visual design that contrasts the legacy companies within the market which is appealing and in-line with other modern-day brand identities.

2. Implements a visual ergonomic design, focused on the user being able to reference information necessary to them about the film product they’re using.

3. Integrates a complimentary digital interface component to a physical product that enhances their long-term experience with the film.

design process

The brand identity was crafted first. The wordmark for ORE was built on a 2x3 grid which is the same aspect ratio of an image on a roll of 35mm film. The package design was created next and following that was testing printing methods. Finally, the first screens for the mobile app companion were created.

Package Designs

35mm, 120, and Darkroom Printing Paper Boxes

screen mockups

FInal thoughts

Once the brand identity was created, everything else kind of starting clicking for me and allowed me to push it extremely far.

This project felt like creating a campaign for a new film company even though that wasn’t necessarily the task. Through my research, I found that film photographers can be very loyal to their tried-and-true film stocks and are often hesitant to new kids on the block.

A new film brand can get lost in the sea of other new brands, so in order to stand out, they need to bring something else to the table. That’s why I created a new interactive digital companion to the analog film. I found that a lot of film shooters try to be organized with digitizing their photos, but that task can easily accrue a large backlog. The app provides a centralized area to store film scans once they’re developed and digitized. Users will have access to their data displayed in interactive ways. The app also provides a storefront and acts as a hub for communities across the globe to organize events like photo walks, speakers, or anything else.

In the near future, the digital companion will be built out further and be accompanied by a clickable prototype.