Brigette Davitt, Corporate Identity

Design a logo/signature/tag line for a music festival created completely by you — you choose the genre, line up, location and dates!

Start by researching existing music festivals — identity three that you feel have a unique, successful and well designed branding system and analyze their campaigns. Include images of the logo in whatever various forms it’s been used, collateral materials, merchandise, tickets, VIP passes, environmental signage, websites, advertising/commercials etc.

Answer the following questions:
Festival Details: name, date(s), location, music genre, lineup
Demographic: who are the majority of people that attended this event? Age, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, income level, family size, occupation, education level and marital status are all potential factors in determining demographics.
Branding System: Evaluate the logo/signature/tagline for each festival. Is it image based, type-based or a combination? What makes is unique? What is the conceptual relations ship of the logo to the music genre? How doe sit appeal to the target demographic?
Style: What is the visual ‘look’ of the brand? What style is it designed in? Does it appropriate an existing style or informed by art/design history? How does it relate to the genre and/or location of the festival?
Typography: How many typefaces can you identify (use whatthefont). What is the classification of each font used and how does this relate to the festival?. Is there cohesion /unity? Variation in scale (point size) and/or style (bold, italics, uc vs. lc, etc.)?
Color Palette: How is color utilized in the logo and branding? Are the colors limited (3 or less) or full (CMYK/photographic/continuous tone). Are there b&W and color applications?
Collateral Materials: Create a comprehensive list of all other materials you are able to research/identify (both print and digital) associated with the festival. They may or may not feel aligned with the brand — list them all regardless! Analyze each one in relationship to the overall brand. Is there cohesion/consistency? …

Brigette Davitt, Packaging Design

A splurchase (splurge+purchase) is a term used for buying something frivolous, usually in the spur of the moment, that is completely unnecessary. Also referred to as an impulse buy.

Use the two dollars supplied in class to make a splurchase between now and our next class. When you find yourself in the heat of the moment, holding onto whatever item you plan to exchange your two dollars for at check out, get out your camera and start documenting the experience. If you go out looking for your splurchase, that’s ok — just make sure you don’t know what it is you’ll be buying in advance (make sure your splurchase is something physical, tangible and LEGAL).

EXPERIENTIAL RESEARCH

1. Photograph the item in its original location, the surrounding products, and the business where you are purchasing it from. …

Brigette Davitt

Your Physical portfolio must include three components:
(A) Portfolio Book in the form of a digital tablet and/or printed publication, (B) 3–5 physical samples to accompany your tablet/book portfolio, and © a carrying case designed to protect and perfectly house your book/tablet and physical samples.

[A] PORTFOLIO BOOK
Whether you choose the tablet or print option, the following requirements apply to each:

Rework current projects: We will continue reviewing and critiquing your projects for inclusion in your final portfolio throughout the term. You are responsible for reworking/rewriting/rebuilding and expanding these projects. I strongly recommend that you have at least 75% of your project revisions completed by the end of Spring Break. …

By Brigette Davitt

Great designers don’t only set out to succeed visually, they understand the power of words and how creative and appropriate copy can strengthen a project’s concept and effectiveness. Professional designers often work with copywriters, whose job is to write the words for advertisements, publications, websites etc. The opportunity to develop copy for self generated/school projects will better prepare you to work with or without a copywriter on staff once you graduate.

The Namestorming Process

The namestorming process for developing a title and/or tagline is a great exercise to build your creative copywriting skills. I’ll go through the process below (adopted from Mashable), using a student’s concept for a restaurant project as an example.

Restaurant Concept: Dinner with your dog

To start, we’ll braindump everything (there’s no wrong answer, write it all down!) that comes to mind in each particular category below:

1. LITERAL CONCEPTS

These should be words that directly relate to and describe the business, product, function, and/or service:

restaurant
food
service
dining
pets
pet care
meals
convenient
sharing
bond
inclusive
comfy
laid back
social
relaxing
dogs
dog food
outdoorsy
(Keep going, this is just a start!) …

Senior Projects

Your portfolio (physical and digital) is more than just images of your work, it is a record of your education, your experience, your interests and your design process. Including information about your projects is paramount when you are not showing a portfolio in person, and since 99% of positions require work submitted digitally as part of the application process, well written descriptions, credits and supporting information must also meet professional standards.

It’s best to have the project completed and documented before you begin writing, as the description is meant to set up the audience just enough to pique there interest, and also for them to reference if questions arise while they are viewing your work. Have someone that is unfamiliar with the project view the finished images and explain the project without a description — this will help you to know what they don’t see or understand that you want the viewer to take away. …

Senior Projects

What is a Style Tile?

The Style Tile is a brief, visual, one page overview of brand elements—usually the identity, color palette, typography and supporting visuals. They are most commonly used for web design, but are also excellent for providing a well rounded snapshot of the designer’s chosen visual brand direction. More specific than an idea board, but less precise than a mock up, the Style Tile sets the stage for decisions to come and provides both the WHY and the HOW before the design of tangible products (publications, websites, advertisements, etc.) begins.

Typical Style Tile Content
Logo + Variations
Color Palette
Typography — Heading, Subhead, Body Copy
Recommended that the example use company copy: mission statement, philosophy, about/history, etc.
Supporting Visuals — Textures, Patterns, Icons, Photography

Packaging Basics

uline.com shipping/packaging superstore

Bottles/Jars/Containers

specialtybottle.com glass, plastic and tin bottles & jars
homebrewing.org single wine bottles and by the case

Corks

The Essential Guide to Print Finishes

Want to know your die cutting from your foiling? Confused about the difference between embossing and debossing? This straightforward guide will introduce you to some of the most popular print finishes, and how you can adapt your digital artwork for them.

EMBOSSING

Heat Embossing

Embossing 101: How to Heat Emboss and Tools You’ll Need

FOILING

The Designer’s Guide to Foil

Everything you need to know to start using foil in your design projects and appear to know what the hell you’re doing. A quick introduction to commercial foiling methods with tips for proper file setup/artwork specifications for best results.

Laser Foiling with Heat Laminator (TRF — Toner Reactive Foils)

Pulsar Professional system that allows you to create foil AND full color laser transfers (all materials are available in our production lab in Doucette!). …