Julia Moran: Process Documentation
Corporate Identity, Fall 2017
Table of Contents:
Project 6: Identify System 2
Project 5: Identity System and Folder
Project 4: Restaurant Logo
Project 3: Museum Logo
Project 2: Olympic Bid Logo
Project 1: We Stand Together
Project 5: Identity System
11/2/17: Process work
10/26/17: Crit Notes+ Read and Respond
Crit Notes:
What I heard:
letterheads:
the red one with a vertical design, Make logo simpler with just v and m, Maybe add pins to them, Bring black and white simplified character to red design, Add eyes back in voodoo maybe, Add black, Blue and red overlay, Play with hierarchy in text on letterhead, Stagger the text more, Add council
Envelope:
Flap in read, Flap puts implied guy on back with website,
Business cards:
Try overlay for it (blue and red), Relate type to letterhead more, Try New Orleans historic in the same type, Try vertical card also
What I think: I have to relate all three designs together and unify them a lot more, go forward with the blue and red design, simplify and deconstruct more
What I’m going to do: Make all three designs relate together so they look like a set, go forward with my vertical designs, deconstruct the logo more, simplify it, add in pins, more hierarchy with the text, add more color, play with placements of text, bring them all together as a whole
Read+Respond:
Choose one you redesign you think is successful and one you have issue with. Talk about why.
One redesign I thought was successful was Netlife. It is successful because they made the design simpler, made it down to one line, changed the typeface, and made the N in Netlife relate to wires. They also changed the color to black which relates to the company more than the light green that they had before.
One redesign that I thought was unsuccessful was redcross. This is so because I thought the original resign was easier to read at a smaller scale and could be used more in branding. The second design does not have anything special in my opinion. I think the text and logo could be set up in a much more interesting way and big bigger.
Choose a third that has a strong identity system (business card, letterhead, envelope). What elements do you find most interesting? How do they relate to the logo, the design concept?
I think eharmony would have a strong identity system. I think that one could use the different colors from the heart to really deconstruct it and play with it a lot. I find the heart the most interesting thing about the logo. These relate to the text because the same blue is still shown in the text, and the heart relates to show that there are many different kinds of people falling in love through this website.
Correlational Items:
Brochure that has pictures of exhibits, stickers with variations of the logo, bags from the giftshop
Project 4: Restaurant Logo
11/9/17: Illustrator variations
What I heard: liked the fruit one with sun and orange best, make it more for kids, like all uppercase, need bold, try outlines, too vertical, more geometric, draw in crayon or marker maybe, research on branding for kids, blueberry, banana, banana in orange to make sun and moon, maybe add another o, smile underneath maybe
What I think: I’m going to go forward with the idea where the fruit is the two o’s.
What I’m going to do:
11/7/17:
What I heard:
What I think:
What i’m going to do:
11/7/17: refined sketches
10/29/17: sketches
10/24/17:
What I heard: the name Smoottheezz works well, make it more marketed toward kids, find imagery that portrays both healthy smoothies and kids
What I think: That I need to more effectively show my ideas through my logo
What I’m going to do: Make a list of words that correlate so I can come up with some imagery, show that it is FOR KIDS, come up with 75 sketches for this
10/24/17: Read and Respond:
Choose two examples you are excited by and write a paragraph on what is successful about each. Examine and comment on color, typography (hierarchy!), logo, paper/materials, special processes, etc — all in relation to the restaurant concept! How does analyzing these case studies inform your own restaurant concept/logo sketching?
10/24/17: Restaurant Concepts
The name I chose out of all of the choices is Smootheezz and the tagline is sip right, future bright.
My restaurant is an all organic, self-serve, smoothie and juice shop that is dedicated to kids. It will help kids realize that eating healthy could be fun and they will love the concept of making the drinks themselves.
Possible Names:
Smootheaze
Super-Simple Smoothies
Smoothiez
smoothiezzz
Smooth-eaze
Smoooooootheeeeeeezzzzzzz
smootheezz
sip right, future bright
Very Berry
Super Duper Smoothies
Jump for Juice
Sunshine Smoothies
Possible Taglines:
Kid-Friendly
Just for Kids
Every fruity flavor under the sun
Healthy and nutritious can be delicious
Eat right, future bright
sip right, future bright
A future of endless possibilities awaits you
Healthy never tasted this good!
10/19/17
Idea 1: all vegan fast food with a modern simplistic look located in Portland, OR with the audience of health enthusiasts and hipsters
Idea 2: a donut and coffee food truck with a rustic and hand-drawn type look, located in NYC with the audience of business men and women, and people on the go
Idea 3: a self-serve cupcake shop with a 80’s themed look located in Pittsburgh, PA with the audience of teenagers, family, and millennials
Project 3: Museum Logo
10/19/17: Final Museum Logos
Notes: make sure the fonts are exactly the same, add color into the horizontal layout, scale down the doll even more, bold the font more,
10/17/17: Crit notes
What I heard: doll too big, the type needs to relate more, make a horizontal better, make details bigger for smaller scale, scale up tag line.
What I think: the doll is too big, there is an awkward shape made from the doll and type relation, the colors and details can be tweaked a little more, play with the type a lot to see where it fits best.
What I’m going to do: Scale down the doll, play a lot more with the type, play with the pale color a little more, make type relate to image more, try the head just by itself.
10/16/17: Logo Finals
10/15/17: Revised Logo
Some revisions based on what I took from critique and the tagline I chose is take a stab at us.
10/12/17: Crit Notes
What I heard: lighter skin tone is most liked, play with type a lot, thicker details, balance objects better, separate elements
What I think: I’m going to go forward with the lighter skin toned, I need to play with the type a lot, and add the rest of the name, make smaller details more prominent inside the image and balance them.
What I’m going to do: Balance the skin-toned colored so it is pleasing, play with the type a lot and do various trials, make the objects inside the doll bigger, and have them balance out from an artistic stand-point.
10/7/17: 24 Colored Variations+Taglines
10 Possible Tag Lines:
Time to make voodoo.
It’s a voodoo adventure.
Get the voodoo out.
We don’t make voodoo, we make voodoo better.
*What can voodoo do for you?
Is Voodoo in you?
Don’t get mad, get voodoo.
Come see the softer side of voodoo.
What’s in your voodoo?
Prepare for voodoo.
*Try voodoo, you’ll like it.
From the heart of New Orleans.
*Take a stab at us
Crit Notes:
I’m going to go forward with this design. I think it portrays the museum the best. It is simpler than the others, and very dynamic with it’s shapes. The type/picture relation is very strong also. The only thing I need to change is the font at the bottom because there is no hierarchy present in that font compared to the font in the logo. Therefore, I will use the thinner font that I tried out in some of my other variations.
Writing a Tag Line
• What does the company want to say to their audience?
The new orleans voodoo museum wants to inform the audience of the history of voodoo and all the things that go along with it such as voodoo dolls, spells, and witchcraft.
• What value does the company bring to their audience?
It brings a collection of many different items relating to voodoo that are ancient and modern day.
• What benefits do they offer above the competitors? How are they different from the others in their field?
They have the most historical artifacts of voodoo material in the country and are located in the voodoo capital of the country.
9/28/17: Crit Notes
What I heard:
maybe remove circle above V, one on the top right was most liked, make eyes letter stitches maybe, fill in V and M, negative stitches and patches, bleeds in edge, try closed letters, bottom right design is out, try filling in black with white pins, more circular pins, refine the sketches more, try vertical stack for text
What i think:
I’m going to go forward with the top right design. I think it is reading the best out of all of them and I like how the text is combined with imagery.
What I’m going to do:
Refine the sketch more, try negative trial of form, try letter forms stacked vertically, take out the circle of the head and see how that looks, add text below, maybe add pins inside of the design, make it simplier
9/23/17: Refined Sketches
9/14/17: Museum Process: Voodoo Museum
Project 3: 9/7/17: Museum Logo
- What was your initial reaction to the Whitney identity system after reading the first article?
My initial reaction was that they needed a rebranding badly, and that the new branding was a good thing for them. I really love the element of the zig zag. I also loved how the W and M were versatile and could mean the name of the museum or a membership card. All in all, I thought the rebranding of this museum went well with trying to show what it is.
2. In your own words, describe what responsive design is. What are the pros and cons of applying responsive design to an identity system?
Responsive design is a variety of different layouts, images and style sheets. Responsive design is view as retro and simple, but it can fix a lot of the problems in more modern graphic design. The pros are having a lot of different variations of the same design and having it simple and easy to read. The cons are the design not being able to get the message across(because of simplicity) and it not having a bold identity for being retro.
3. The new Whitney identity has been criticized as boring and duplicitous due its simplistic, open-ended design. Do you agree or disagree — why? Are boring and simple one in the same?
I agree that it is too simplistic for the branding of the museum. It looks nice, but I don’t believe it gets the brand and the message of the museum across because it is so simple. Boring and simple are not one in the same. Very intricate designs can be boring, and simple designs can be very interesting. In my eyes, they are two very different things.
Project 2: Olympic Logo
10/15/17: Revised Final Logo+Rationale
10/12/17: Crit Notes
What I Heard: text is not readable, could not see yellow in the one circle.
What I Think: outlining of making font bigger would help the readability, and I need to show the yellow circle off more.
What I’m going to do: I’m going to try to increase the font size and point size. This will make the name of the city easier to read from a far. Then, I’m either going to make the yellow circle bigger or swap it with another circle so the color is also seen from a far.
10/6/17: Final Olympic Logos
10/3/17: Reading response
What additional tweaking/editing/revisions you could apply to your Olympic logo to elevate craft and/or communication of the intended concept/message?
First off, I am going to make sure my logo is a more minimal and flat design. This will make it more recognizable to the audience and help it to read easy. Next, I’m going to limit my use of gradients. This is so because gradients take away from the logo and make it not read as well. I might still use some, but I’m going to make their use more subtle than before.
How can you avoid revisions/additions that may unintentionally become decoration, a passé trend, or compromise readability?
I can avoid this problem by limiting my color more. The logo still looks good and reads with color, but too much could not make it read as well. Next, I’m going to make sure it is more of a flat design. I’m doing this so it is easier to read and it will be easier to read on websites and phones.
Final Crit Notes:
What I heard: scale the type up a bit, see if the type needs more of an outline, keep it simple with no gradients, very first design was most successful, very good use of color placement for the rings
What I think: the type is too small when scaled down to the 1 inch logo, so I will make it bigger so it is easier to read at small scale. I also think the 5 colored ring design that I put below is the most successful out of all of my colored variations.
What I’m going to do: Scale up the type so it is more readable at a smaller scale and move forward with the design most liked in class.
9/28/17: Colored Variations
9/26/17: Article Response
- According to the article, 81% of logos are one or two colors max. Why?
It’s all color psychology. More than two colors can send conflicting messages sometimes. One color complemented by another is simple and let’s the colors speak to the consumer with a direct message of what kind of company it is, with the two colors.
2. Other than simply applying the Olympic ring color palette, what color combinations can support visual aesthetics and deepen your Olympic Bid Logo concept, especially in regard to your city?
I feel as though the color of the Olympic rings, and the colors of the three medals can be sued in my logo. I have 5 circles in my design to represent the five rings, and 3 triangles to represent both the boating aspect of Minneapolis and the three medals. I can apply these colors to symbolize the Olympics more in my logo. Also, MNPS is known for the color blue because of all of the lakes and rivers that run through it. I can try out different combinations of blues to symbolize the town more in my logo.
9/26/17: Crit Response
What I heard:
- make type bigger
- seperate lines more
- maybe seperate the 2032 from the first line
- keep similar font
- play with leading
What I think:
I think that the two lines are too close together. I need to play with the leading and see what looks best.
What I’m going to do:
I’m going to try 3 lines of text and see how that looks.
Try separating the two.
Keep the different weights to emphasize Minneapolis 2032.
Make the type bigger and move it to where it is best fit.
9/24/17: 25 Variations
9/20/17: Refined Sketches
9/18/17: Crit Notes
This is what I heard:
Add more rings to 3rd design
Add more triangle
Bottom two working better
More triangular abstract sail shapes
Add more overlaying shapes
Choose a good typeface
Think about placement and scales
Take out rings and add circle
Move forward with this icon
This is what I think:
I think that I am going to move forward with the bottom right one because it is working the best with the meaning of the boats and medals behind it. There is also a very good positive negative space relationship that I can push move.
This is what I’m going to do:
I’m going to add another circle so there will be 5 to represent the Olympic Rings. Then, I’m going to play around with all of the placements of the abstract objects to find what visually looks the best. Next, I’m also going to find a good font that relates both to the dynamic shapes, and Minneapolis.
- Understand your competition
What will set my logo aside from the various other cities, and what will make it interesting the the viewer looking at the bid
2. Ask the right questions
What makes my logo stand out from others, does it portray the MNPS well, how can I relate the type to the image
3. Stay flexible during the process
I’m going to continue with the 3 logos I have now and do variations of each until I find the best fitting one.
4. Respect a brand’s heritage
The use of the boats show MNPS’s heritage
5. Remember: a logo is just one ingredient
I have to keep in mind the whole brand of MNPS and make it not just work for only the logo, but for anything I would brand it with.
6. Choose your typeface carefully
All of my logos are abstract, so I will use more of an abstract typeface.
7. Tweak and refine to add personality
Add more dynamics to my abstract shapes.
8. Consider illustrated, fully-bespoke (custom-made) type
This would give it more of a real feel than the perfect illustrator shapes.
9. Explore serendipitous letter combinations
I’ll explore more with the MNPS letters.
10. Take ownership of an entire typeface
I want to hand draw my abstract typeface and make it my own.
11. Strip it back to basics
Try simpler methods of logos and type. More minimalistic.
12. Understand shape psychology
What shapes can trigger the mind to read them like words?
13. Master grids and structure
Make sure I have alignments and geometry built into my logos.
14. Employ negative space
Charge it with the use of color!
15. Make use of wit and humor
Some of my abstract shapes might be able to portray humor.
16. Understand the color wheel
Use a color scheme that relates to the city/olympics
17. Manage color schemes carefully
Make sure nothing clashes, and it gets the message across. Maybe use blue and yellow bc MNPS flag is that color.
18. Use color to control mood
Don’t use too much color, but use enough that shows the brand.
19. Research sector-specific color trends
Find a color trend that is in right now, that would also relate to MNPS, and the olympics
20. Don’t forget black and white
Use black and white effectively to charge each other.
21. Always get a second opinion (from a professional!)
I shall ask what looks good when I do more variations from my professor.
22. Develop the rest of the brand world
Realize that this logo is going to be used on a huge scale and around the world.
23. Consider how to bring it alive
How it would look at the olympics, on tv screens, computer screens. Use gifs and motion graphics of it.
9/12/17: Logo Process
The three logos I picked to continue as my sharpie 3 are :
- the abstract boat shapes with red sharpie on the first sketch page
- The boats in red on the second page that portray 2032 in the boats.
- The abstract shapes in the bottom left corner of the first page of sketches.
Project 1: Stand Together Process
8/29/17
Chosen Theme: Racial equality
Synonyms: prejudice, discrimination, unfairness, one-sidedness, bias, race discrimination
Antonyms: fairness, equality, tolerance, civil rights, rationality, truth, justice, honor, goodness, balanced
Idioms: “all else being equal,” “To live anywhere in the world today and be against equality because of race or color is like living in Alaska and being against snow,” “we’re all the same inside,” “Equality may perhaps be a right, but no power on earth can ever turn it into a fact,” “Virtue can only flourish among equals,” “restore equilibrium,” “strike a balance,” “equally balanced.”
Quotes: “Do not call for black power or green power. Call for brain power,” “Equality is not in regarding different things similarly, equality is in regarding different things differently,” “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character,” “Virtue can only flourish among equals,”
- Reflect on a time when you copied an idea — what did you learn from that experience? Would you do it again? Was there a way to solve the problem without copying?
I remember a few times back in high school looking at drawing artists for ideas, and I made my drawings very similar. I learned from this that if someone was using my work and ideas without credit, I would be upset. I also learned that I would much rather come up with an original idea on my own so that I can take all the credit for the work and get recognized for it. I would not copy work again and I think there are a few ways to solve this. For example, you can look to other artists for inspiration, but you should make the work your own and not copy their exact idea.
2. Were you ever the one that was stolen or ‘copied’ from? What was your reaction to that? How did you deal with it?
I have had work stolen from me before. I do a lot of photography and I have seen other people post my pictures and claim that it was their work, when it was clearly my photographs. My reaction was that I was angry and is disbelief. I dealt with this by messaging them politely and asking them to take my work down, which they did eventually.
3. Is anything original anymore?
There are original ideas out there, you can be original and do something someone has never done before if you try hard enough.
My strongest piece:
I believe that my strongest logo is the all type logo reading human and equal. I feel like I charged the negative space well, used the colors or red, white, and blue to show that racial equality is still a big issue in the USA today, and used the word “human” and “equal” to portray that all human beings are equal no matter what race. All in all, I feel that this piece also gets my message across to the audience the best.
