Chuah Kwai Pin / 0348376
Brand Corporate Identity / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Task 2: Logo
INSTRUCTIONS
LECTURES
Lecture 4: Brand Ideals
A brand ideal is a higher purpose of a brand or organisation that
goes beyond the product or service they sell. The ideal is the brand's
inspirational reason for existing and how it aims to impact the
world.
Brand values deliver real engagement and direct the company
towards more powerful bonds with their target audience. For some
businesses, the core brand values remain fixed and steady as it is the
part that will truly transform the relationships a company builds with
their customers.
Every brand ideal is predicated to values. They have a solid foundation
of great values which allows them to head towards achieving their brand
ideals.
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| Fig. 1.1 Examples of brand Ideals |
1) Vision: It requires courage. Importance of having a visionary mindset to achieve big ideas. Hearing the vision face to face is critical to the identity process.
2) Meaning: Rarely immediate and evolved over time. Designers have
to transform meaning into unique visual form and expression so that it can
be understood, communicated and approved.
3) Authenticity: Refers to self-knowledge and making decisions
that are congruent with that self-knowledge. Customers are more likely to
identify with brands that are personal, memorable and authentic.
4) Differentiation: Brands are always competing with each other
within their business category. The visual difference that brands create
have to be distinct and unique.
5) Sustainabilty: The ability to last long in an environment in
constant change. Consumers are reassured by trademarks that are
recognisable and familiar. Sustainability if achieved through commitment
to a central idea over time.
6) Coherence: Brand must feel familiar to a customer and they should
have the desired effect. It is the quality that ensures all pieces hold
together so that it feels ideal to the customer and also builds trust and
loyalty between brand and customer.
7) Flexibility: Innovations requires brands to be flexible. Brands
that are open to change need to have flexible brand identity systems in
place. It is important for them to grasp new opportunities in the
marketplace.
8) Commitment: Ensure that people who engage with the brand have
motivation and dedication in order for it to succeed. A brand is an asset
that needs to be protected, preserved and nurtured. This can be achieved
through ongoing management, monitoring of standards and dynamic adherence to
the core idea.
9) Value: Measurable results need to be created so that it can
promote and sustain the brand. The quest for sustainability has expanded the
value conversation with consumers.
Brands that operate from a higher purpose are successful because:
- they equip their employees to explore and expand their imagination to
address the changing reality
- they create deep relationships with their customers who are yearning for
connection, community and for participation in something bigger than
themselves.
Lecture 5: Positioning
Brand positioning is the process of positioning your brand in the mind
of your customers. It is also often referred to as a positioning
strategy, brand strategy or brand positioning statement.
"Creating your brand strategy is like drawing out a map, and
positioning is determining your location and destination"
The goal is to create a unique impression in the customer's mind so
that they can associate the brand with something specific that stands
out from its competitors.
Types of Positioning Strategies
1) Arm wrestling
- Trying to take on the market leader and beat your competitors
- It takes lots of time and money
2) Big fish, smaller pond
- Focus is on a niche market within a larger market that is being
underserved.
3) Reframing the market
- Make the benefits highlighted by competitors irrelevant or
boring
- Works only if the products / services have innovative elements
4) Change the game
- Invent a new market
- Downside is people can copy you before there is a chance to establish
the brand.
In order to create position strategy, the brand's uniqueness must be
determined with these questions
- Who are you?
- What do you do?
- Why does it matter?
To effectively clarify the brand's position in the market place, the
7 key steps are:
- Determine how your brand is currently positioning itself
- Identify your direct competitors
- Understand how each competitor is positioning their brand
- Compare your positioning to your competitors to identify your uniquness
- Develop a distinct and value-based positioning idea
- Craft a brand positioning statement
- Test the efficacy of your brand positioning statement
How to create a brand positioning statement:
- Target customer: What is a concise summary of the attitudinal and demographic description of the target group of customers your brand is attempting to appeal to and attract?
- Market Definition: What category is your brand competing in and in what context does your brand have relevance to your customers?
- Brand Promise: What is the most compelling (emotional/rational) benefit to your target customers that your brand can own relative to your competition?
- Reason to believe: What is the most compelling evidence that your brand delivers on its brand promise?
With all 4 of these questions through out, the positioning
statement can be crafted like this:
For [target customers], [company name] is the [market definition]
that delivers [brand promise] because only [company name] is [reason
to believe].
TASKS
Task 2A: Logo Research & Analysis
For my 28 logos, I have gathered them from the things I have around me,
including my belongings, phone applications, shops and marts I have seen
in the past few weeks.
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| Fig 2.1 Screenshot of Logo Analysis Slides |
In the slides, I have provided a simple introduction for each of the
brands, as well as the type of logo, colour scheme, graphic elements
used and also the typographic style.
Fig. 2.2 Task 2A: Logo Research and Analysis Slides - PDF
Task 2B: Logo Design
To decide on our brand and business, we were instructed to think of 3
alternative career choices. Some of the questions that we have to answer
include:
1) Your career / business
2) What services / products are you providing?
3) How do you differentiate yourself from others (unique point)
4) Who will be interested with your products or services?
5) Name of business and rationale
Fig. 3.1 3 Career Choices
Once we have consulted our lecturer and chosen our business, we had to
make 2 mindmaps. The first mind map is everything related to the business,
such as what it is selling, who is the target audience, what are the
possible brand colours, etc. Whereas for the second mind map, it is about
the brand name, where it is derived from and also other words relating to
it.
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Fig 3.2 First Mind Map- Business (Draft) |
In the first draft, I have included some simple information about the
business such as the possible locations, how the therapy sessions work,
the types of flowers being sold and their lifespan and also how
customers can choose to purchase their flowers.
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As for the second mind map about the brand name, I have included a few
possible keywords, colours, concepts and where the name was derived
from.
After consulting with our lecturer, I realised that most of the items
that I have included in my second mind map should be put into the first
mind map as it relates more to the business itself. As for the second
mind map, I should explore more about the different words I can think of
when I see the brand name itself.
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Fig. 3.6 Task 2B: Business and Brand Name Mind Maps - PDF
Week 3 Sketches:
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For my first 27 sketch ideas, I explored on the designs that I
could make for a wordmark logo. In most of my idea sketches, I
have introduced floral elements that relate to the nature of my
business. However, I did not feel strongly for any of the wordmark
designs as it looked too complicated for a therapy business.
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I decided to explore more on the graphical side of the logo and
came up with a few different styles that I think would suit my
business. I have included some framed logo variations, tried out
some simple lettermarks and also explored on the different type
of flowers I can illustrate.
After the feedback session on Week 3 where we discuss and choose
each other's designs in class, majority have picked out numbers
4, 10, 28, 29, 40, 42 and 43. All 5 of these sketches have a
frame surrounding the graphic elements and brand name. With
that, I proceeded to explore more on the frames that would look
interesting and complement the therapy business.
Week 4 Sketches:
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Fig 4.3 Week 4 Sketches (Refined) |
Based on the feedback given in Week 3, I have come up with more variations of the frame design. I have also tried to explore different types of flowers, some simple and some more complicated depending on the negative space in the logo. From this week's feedback, the sketches chosen were numbers 8, 9 ,10, 15, 16 and 18. These sketches showed interesting composition, although some of them do not reflect the therapy side of the business yet, it can be explored further during the digitalisation stages.
Week 5 Digitalisation:
After selecting the logo designs to move forward with for
digitalisation, I have constructed a few variations of the
logos on Adobe Illustrator. I have tried composing the logos
in different frames, angles and even choice of font just to
see which design complements the floral therapy business the
most.
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Fig 5.1 Week 5 Digital Logo Designs 1 (Refined) |
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Fig 5.2 Week 5 Digital Logo Designs 2 (Refined) |
After the feedback session on Week 5, I went ahead with D4 and E1 to do my grid work and space rationalisation.
Week 6 Finalising:
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Fig 6.1 Week 6 Logo Space Rationalisation (D4) |
I began reconstructing the flower petals and leaves so that the shape looks more rounded and the line quality is more unified. I also rearranged the light rays in a proper radial arrangement so that it looks like it emerges from the flower. I kept the jar in similar size and curved the edges more to fit the rounded nature of the flowers.
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| Fig 6.2 Week 6 Logo Space Rationalisation (E1) |
For this second logo E1, I used the same flower and light rays that I have reconstructed in D1. I also experimented on the spacing between each light ray since the logo is circular. Although this logo had potential to be the final, I still preferred the uniqueness of D1 as it takes the shape of a jar and looks like it is sheltering the flower inside.
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Fig 6.3 Week 6 Patterns derived from final logo |
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Fig 6.4 Week 6 Experimenting with colours |
I also tried out a few possible colour palettes that I thought would go well with my logo. From the feedback given, I was advised to keep the colours to a minimal so that it is not too complex and can work well with other secondary colours later on. I was also suggested to look into colours that bring out the therapy side of the business. After doing some visual research, I found that some of the common therapy colour combinations include blue & green, pink & purple and green & yellow. Out of these 3 choices, I felt that pink and purple suited my brand logo and business the most.
GIF (B&W Draft)
Fig. 6.5 Logo Gif (B&W Draft)
For my logo GIF, I wanted to go with something calm and simple.
Since the flower is sheltered by the jar, I had an idea of having
the flower grow to its size and let the light rays shine behind it.
The meaning behind this simple animation is to encourage growth and
new beginnings, which befits the main goal of the business.
GIF (Colour Final)
Fig. 6.6 Logo Gif (Colour Final)
After finalising the colours of my logo, I then went back to my
Adobe Illustrator file and changed the colour of each layer. This
logo GIF was done on Adobe After Effects and it was pretty
straightforward to animate as I toggled with the opacity, scale,
anchor point and position of the respective layers to achive my
final outcome.
FINAL OUTCOMES
Task 2A: Logo Research & Analysis
Fig. 7.1 Task 2A: Logo Research & Analysis (PDF)
Task 2B: Logo Design
Fig. 7.2 Task 2B: Logo Design (PDF)
Fig. 7.3 Task 2B: Logo GIF (mp4)
FEEDBACK
Week 1
Amongst the 3 alternative career choices, the second idea looks the most
doable as the idea is interesting and the business has a strong unique
selling point. For the next week, come up with 2 mindmaps. First mind map
should be about the business itself, and second mind map is about the
brand name.
Week 2
Most of the contents in the second mind map about brand name should be
moved into mind map one as it related more to the business. Try to expand
more in the second mind map with words and visuals that you can think of
when you see your brand name.
Week 3
The sketches to be further explored are 4, 10, 28, 29, 40, 42 and 43. Try
to explore more on the frame ideas since they look more interesting and
reflects the floral side of the business well. However, do also consider
the therapy side of the business as the current ideas do not suggest much
about therapy.
Week 4
Start working on the digital version of the logos. From the sketches this
week, the ones that are to be digitalised are 8, 9, 10, 15, 16 and 18.
Simplify the flowers in 10, 15 & 16 so that they look less complex
when digitalised. Use Adobe Illustrator when it comes to digital
exploration and try to come up with as many variations for each logo idea
as possible.
Week 5
Proceed with ideas D4 and E1 for gridwork. Explore on idea F9 to see if
it can include the light rays to bring out the therapy side of the
business. Start working on the GIF, colour palette, patterns, logo
clearspace, etc. for next week.
Week 6
Experiment further on the colour palettes. Try to keep it to 1-2 colours
so that it is easier to match other secondary colours later on. Look into
the secondary colours and also brand typeface that might be useful for
business collaterals. Reminder to submit Task 2A: Logo Research and
Analysis, Task 2B: Logo Design and Task 2B: Logo GIF in the drive.
REFLECTION
Experience
Throughout the process of doing Task 2B, I have learned a lot from not
only lecturer's feedback but also classmate's feedbacks as well. I really
enjoyed looking at everyone's logo design in class because I could get so
many inspirations and it helped me spark more ideas too from their
comments. During the digitalisation process, I had a lot of doubts because
I was afraid that the form of my sketches would look totally different
from my initial ideas. However, I was quite satisfied with the results and
seeing all of my sketches being digitalised made me feel like I was really
starting a business. It was definitely not easy to complete as the amount
of work sounds really time-consuming, but I think I managed my time well
and I could get everything done at my own pace.
Observations
While studying all of my design ideas, I realised how different
compositions and font choice can completely change the look and feel of
the logo. It was fascinating to me how certain fonts can only look good
on a few suitable designs. I was looking for a font that would go well
with all of my design ideas, but some of them looked out of place and
just completely changes the vibe of the logo.
Findings
Before I started working on the gridwork and logo space
rationalisation, I was wondering why it is necessary to have that
properly done for the logo to be finalised. When I first digitised my
ideas, it felt like some of them were ready to be used as the brand
logo. However, after I have reconstructed my logo using proper shapes
and also following the grid, I realised that it looks a lot more
professional and complete. When comparing the before and after, I was
more attracted to the digital logo that had gone through all the
proper reconstruction and gridwork because it was visually pleasing to
see how unified the whole logo is.
FURTHER READING
While doing my Task 2A: Logo Research and Analysis, I struggled to
determine the type of logo in some of the brands that I have gathered.
To clear up my confusion, I decided to research and read more about the
different types of logos and how to classify them.
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| Fig. 8.1 Article about the 7 types of logos |
From this article, I have learned the 7 types of logos and how to differentiate them:
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| Fig. 8.2 Lettermark- NASA's logo |
1) Monogram (or lettermark) logos
- Usually consists of letters that are brand initials
- Typography-based logo
- Short and easier to pronounce and remember
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Fig. 8.3 Wordmark- Coca Cola's logo |
- Font-based logo that focuses on business' name
- Works well when a company has a distinct name
- As catchy as it sounds, when combined with strong typography it
becomes memorable
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Fig. 8.4 Pictorial Mark- Apple's logo |
3) Pictorial Marks (or logo symbols)
- A graphic-based logo
- The image that comes to mind and is instantly recognisable
- Useful for companies with strong brand recognition
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4) Abstract Logo Marks
- A specific type of pictorial logo focusing on abstract geometric
form
- A unique form that represents your brand
- Able to relay what your company does in a symbolic manner
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Fig. 8.6 Mascot- KFC's logo |
5) Mascots
- Involves an illustrated character
- Usually colourful and friendly-looking
- Suitable for companies appealing to younger audience
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Fig. 8.7 Combination Mark- Doritos' logo |
6) Combination Mark
- Combined wordmark / lettermark and a pictorial mark / abstract mark
or mascot
- Picture and text either laid out side-by-side, stacked on top of each
other or integrated together
- May be able to rely only on the pictorial logo without the brand name
in the future
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7) Emblems
- Consists of font inside a symbol or icon (e.g. badges, seals and
crests)
- Usually less versatile than other types of logos
- Not easy incorporate an intricate emblem design across all
branding.A
References:
Morr, K. (2023, February). The 7 types of logos (and how to use
them).
99designs. https://99designs.com/blog/tips/types-of-logos/
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