Brand Corporate Identity - Project 2

18/09/20 - 16/10/20 (Week 4 - Week 8)

Atiqah Farzana Binti Syalleh Karimyee (0336740)

Brand Corporate Identity

Project 2 - Logo

---

LECTURE NOTES

Week 4: Brand Ideals

Week 5: Positioning

---

INSTRUCTIONS

Module Information Booklet:

PROJECT

Logo: Research and Analysis

11/09/20 - 02/10/20 (Week 3 - Week 6)

Project 2 is divided into 2 tasks. The 1st task is to collect a total of 28 logos, 2 every day for 2 weeks. We then had to analyse these logos and identify their:

1. Type of logo
2. Is the logo descriptive, abstract, etc.
3. Identify and describe the graphic elements or base elements used in the logo construction
4. Identify the colour scheme (warm, cool, secondary, primary)
5. Describe the type choice

I documented my logo analysis in the Google Slide below:

Fig. 1.1 Logo Research and Analysis in Google Slides

Logo: Developing Logo

11/09/20 - 02/10/20 (Week 3 - Week 6)

The 2nd task is to develop a logo. Firstly, we had to select an occupation that we would be doing if we weren't graphic designers. Mr. Vinod taught us how to construct mind maps and come up with key words that will help us visualise a logo design. The logo sketches will then be digitised and turned into concepts.

After choosing our desired occupation, we had to answer 3 questions given by Mr. Vinod:

1. Who are you?
2. What do you do?
3. Why does it matter?

The questions will then be followed by a brief brand profile and our idea sketches/mindmaps.

Fig. 1.2 Brief Brand Profile

Through mindmaps, I started brainstorming for a brand name.

Fig. 1.3 Graphic Novelist - Mindmap 1

 

Fig. 1.4 Graphic Novelist Brand Names - Mindmap 2

After getting approval for 'Tell A Tale' as my brand name, I went and got started with sketching the logo. We had to fill 3 A3 sheets with logo sketches.

Fig. 1.5 Logo Sketches 1

Fig. 1.6 Logo Sketches 2

Fig. 1.7 Logo Sketches 3

Mr. Vinod said the sketches were a good start, but I should have focused more on the fantasy/fiction aspect instead of just having writing/book/pen elements as my logo.

I had to make another set of 3 A3 sheet sketches, this time my themes were focused on heart + book, mythical creatures, magic, speech/telling, and typography.

Fig. 1.8 Sketches 1: Heart + Book 

Fig. 1.9 Sketches 2: Mythical Creatures

Fig. 1.10 Sketches 3: Typography, Speech/Telling a Tale

I messaged Mr. Vinod for his feedback on which logo I should choose and these were his picks:

Fig. 1.11 Sketches 1: Chosen Logo

Fig. 1.12 Sketches 2: Chosen Logos

Fig. 1.13 Sketches 3: Chosen Logos

I digitised the ones that were chosen and made a few variations of each logo:

Fig. 1.14 Tell A Tale: Digitised Logos Attempt 1

Fig. 1.15 Tell A Tale: Digitised Logos Attempt 1 (Close Up)

Once again, I sent Mr. Vinod the digitised logos for his opinions. He chose a few logos and told me to continue working on them.

Fig. 1.15 Tell A Tale: Chosen Logos

Fig. 1.16 Tell A Tale: Digitised Logos Attempt 2

Fig. 1.17 Tell A Tale: Digitised Logos Attempt 3

Mr. Vinod said that these two logos (Fig. 1.18) have the most potential, but still needs to be worked on a bit more. He commented that he magic wand doesn't need a star on top, it should just be a stick with a tapered end. The book doesn't need 2 spreads, just the top pages are enough. The starts/sparkles also need to be placed in a better arrangement.

Fig. 1.18 Tell A Tale: Shortlisted Logos

Fig. 1.19 Tell A Tale: Progress

Fig. 1.20 Tell A Tale: Logo Attempt 4

Mr. Vinod's final comment is that all the corners have to be slightly rounded. Even if I want it to be pointed, it still needs to be curved every so slightly.

Fig. 1.21 Tell A Tale: Final Logo

Fig. 1.22 Tell A Tale: Final Logo with Brand Name

Fig. 1.23 Tell A Tale: Final Logo with Brand Name and Strapline

After completing the logo, we had to do the logo in these 9 items:

1. Logo in BW, reverse & colour
2. Logo space rationalisation
3. Logo with strapline
4. Logo with rationale (brand ideals)
5. Logo min. size
6. Primary & Secondary colours
7. Patterns derived from logo
8. Logo’s or brand’s typeface
9. Logo Animation (Gif)

Here is my first attempt of the logo compilation:

Fig. 1.24 Tell A Tale: Logo Compilation First Attempt

Fig. 1.25 Tell A Tale: Logo Compilation Final Attempt

Fig. 1.26 Tell A Tale: Logo, Reversed Logo

Fig. 1.27 Tell A Tale: Logo Space Rationalisation

Fig. 1.28 Tell A Tale: Logo Clear Space Rationalisation

Fig. 1.29 Tell A Tale: Logo Minimum Sizing

Fig. 1.30 Tell A Tale: Reversed Logo Minimum Sizing

Fig. 1.31 Tell A Tale: Logo and Reversed Logo Colours

Fig. 1.32 Tell A Tale: Logo and Reversed Logo Colour Palette

Fig. 1.33 Tell A Tale: Logo Rationale

Fig. 1.34 Tell A Tale: Logo Patterns

Fig. 1.35 Tell A Tale: Typefaces

Fig. 1.36 Tell A Tale: Logo GIF

---

FEEDBACK

Week 4:

General feedback: Absent.

Specific feedback: Absent.

Week 5:

General feedback: Logo designing should be fast and immediate. Keep your drawings small, just the size of a 50 sen coin.

Specific feedback: "Tell A Tale" is a nice and suitable name, and I should change my occupation to a graphic novelist instead of just a novelist. The 3 sheets are okay as a start, but develop them more to come up with stronger ideas.

Week 6: 

General feedback: Once we get our logo approved we can start doing the 9 items listed in fb.

Specific feedback: The forms still look rudimentary in nature. the line / graphics lack sophistication. Pls compare and contrast your forms with other existing marks. As an example Dondo's mark has a certain finished and well crafted quality to it. You need to develop the 3 above, and hopefully craft them in a manner that looks strong, elegant and memorable. Take a look at work done by Pentagram and compare and contrast. (2nd round of sketches) They are almost the same. The white thin lines are not legible, same with the black thin lines. Again, I would suggest analysing like-type logos in the pentagram www and compare, contrast, analyse, evaluate, and apply.

Week 7: 

General feedback: Logos should be geometrically correct and aligned with purpose. This gives a better overall look and makes it more professional.

Specific feedback: Mr. Vinod helped me fix up my logo and made it more minimal. I had to remove the star from the wand to make it just a stick. The stars coming out of the book can be diagonal with the wand so it looks like an 'x'. All corners should be slightly rounded, they shouldn't be pointed.

Week 8:

General feedback: [Self-learning week, no feedback]

Specific feedback: [Self-learning week, no feedback]

---

REFLECTION

Experience: Week 4 (18/09/20); Absent. Week 5 (25/09/20); I find myself always very tired during classes especially if its a long one like this module. Week 6 (02/10/20); Making a good logo is harder than I imagined and I think my work kept getting rejected. Week 7 (09/10/20); I felt very relieved after my logo was approved, however, I knew that there's still a lot more work to come. Week 8 (16/10/20); [Self-learning week]

Observation: Week 4 (18/09/20); Absent. Week 5 (25/09/20); I think everyone is starting to feel the weight of this semester by now. Week 6 (02/10/20); I noticed that almost all my classmates are struggling to construct a good logo so we're all in the same boat. Week 7 (09/10/20); After seeing how Mr. Vinod fixed my logo, I realised that logo design should be simple, and any unnecessary elements should be removed. Week 8 (16/10/20); [Self-learning week]

Findings: Week 4 (18/09/20); Absent. Week 5 (25/09/20); I think this module is the heaviest out of all my modules this sem, so I definitely have to work a bit harder to meet deadlines. Week 6 (02/10/20); I think that this module is especially difficult because I never had experience with making or designing a logo. Week 7 (09/10/20); I had quite a hard time doing the clear space rationalisation because I wasn't that clear on it, thus I kept going back to it and trying to fix/change it. Week 8 (16/10/20); [Self-learning week]

---

FURTHER READING

From Concept to Reality - A Guide to Logo Development by Tidjane Tall

18/09/20 - 16/10/20 (Week 4 - Week 8)

The key to making a good logo design is by following the five principles of the S.M.A.R.T system. Following this allows your logo to stand out in the design market and potentially form lasting audience connections.

•     Simple: Make it easy to understand and identify

•     Memorable: A good logo should be distinctive enough to be memorable

•     Ageless: The best logos are timeless and survive changing trends

•     Reliable: Flexible and scalability are key to using a logo across different platforms, mediums,                      and sizes.

•     Thoughtful: Every detail of a logo should be considered and honed to effectively symbolise                               the quality and usefulness of a brand.

List of online resources for logo design research:

• LogoLounge is a logo-centric showcase sits for browsing logos from designers around the world

• Dribbble is a highly influential design platform where designers religiously upload their latest and greatest work.

• Muzli is a website that aggregates the most popular design work from across the web.

Tutorials that explain some of Illustrator's most useful logo design tools:

• Basic shapes: Learn to use the geometry of circles, rectangles, triangles and squares to create more complex shapes and designs.

• Align tool: Save time and prevent headaches by understanding how to efficiently align objects with precision

• Pathfinder: Use intersecting shapes t create new shapes and symbols quickly.

• Shape builder: The pathfinder has its limits. Luckily, the shape builder is more than ready to pick up the slack.

• Pen tool: It can be a tricky tool to learn, but be bold. There is power in the pen!

Online resources for colour inspiration/colour palettes:

• Ctrl+Paint: Concept artist Matt Kohr presents a series of quick and simple video tutorials that explain colour selection and mixing from a digital painting perspective. These are great for designer looking to better understand the "why" and "how" of colour combination choices.

• Adobe Colour CC: Allows users to create colour schemes with a sophisticated colour wheel or browse thousands of colour combinations from the Adobe community.

• COLOURlovers: A creative community where artists and designers from around the world create and share colour schemes.

• Pinterest: A large variety of ready-made colour schemes, and it's a great place to observe colour trends as they evolve over the course of a year.