Assignment 19: Research and Inspiration

What is a business card used for?
Typically a quick way to give the idea for your company, and some basic information

Spa Design Research

• I've found most designs are very flowy, lots of script utilized
• lots of cool colors, very sea like, 
• abstract human images often used

Color research- as in the last one, i plan on using cool colors again, as in a spa one is supposed to be in total relaxation, an cool colors have a calming effect.  I do want to use a little bit more bold colors though, to set this apart from other spas.

Visual Hierarchy

Stationary Package

-Printed pieces that a company uses for communication purposes-

• Basic Stationary Package is a Business Card, Letterhead, and envelope designs

Business Card:

• Should form an immediate opinion of company
• has information, but also shows mission, culture, and goals through colors fonts, texture etc.
• Includes, in this order: logo, company name, employee name, title, phone number, fax number, e-mail address, company address, web address
• MUST be 2 x 3.5 inches
• Horizontal or Vertical
• unity
• typical margin is a quarter inch

Letterhead:

• A printed piece of paper used to send letter, invoices, memos etc.
• Should include: logo, company name, company address, phone number, fax number, web address
• logo and company name should be the focus with
• other info less prominent
• must be 8.5x1,vertical orientation
•  leave mostly empty for body type

Envelope:

• The packaging that contains the letter/form 
• We will be creating a standard #10
• Typically includes just one logo, company name, and company address
• Must be 9.5x4.125, horizontal or vertical
• must leave room for recipient stamp and address

Assignment 18: Research and Inspiration

What is a wordmark?
A standardized, text only, visual representation of a company. It should be representative of the company.

What makes a good wordmark?
-Good wordmarks should be memorable. This can be achieved through emphasis and contrast.
-Simplicity.  The least you can do to the company's name, while sufficiently conveying an appropriate image, the better it will be.
-Memorable

Photography Industry Trends:
-Depending on the type of photography the company is taking, their wordmarks seem to be either very modern, or very conservative
-All are very very simple though, almost no out of the box flourishes

Color research: use cool colors, photographers should be personal, and cool colors are welcoming

Inspiration

I like this one because it breaks the mold of having no visuals on a wordmark, the small flash is still simple, but very effective

Ignoring the symbol on the left, this is a perfect example of a simple and modern wordmark, it also uses contrast perfectly

Assignment 17: Research and Inspiration

I've chosen to create a logo for Spin Records.

As music is always fresh, i've decided to create a more trendy logo. Through research i've found that this means:

• It should look modern
• It should be very, very simple
• For a more trendy look, I should use a color or two, most old record labels use only black
• Some symbol of music should be used
• circles are very commonly used 
• Bold colors are often used, to pop

This modern record player could be modeled, in contrast to the multitude of companies who just use records

I enjoy the simplicity of this logo

Nice figure groun in this picture

 

Logotypes

Definition- a mark or logo used by companies (mostly) to brand

What should they do?
-Be recognizable
-Convey the right image
-Simple

How did modernism affect logos?
-Logos became more clear and simple, opposed to the complex visuals before the 50s

5 Principles of effective logo design:

1. Simple- more effective for the quickness with which an audience looks at a logo
2. Timeless- will it be effective in 10 or 20 years? make sure it can
3. Versatile- your logo has to look good on any kind of media
4. Memorable- keeping simple and appropriate will make people remember it
5. Appropriate- design for your audience/client, not for yourself

Spot Color
-Method of specifying and printing colors, which each color is printed in its own ink
-Good for only up to three colors
-Uses Pantone Matching System to find colors

Choose Color Wisely
-Color plays an important role in logo design
-Color can illicit different feelings from your audience
-Different demos have different interpretations of colors
-Colors follow trends
-Keep to 2 or 3 colors, for complexity

Combination Mark
-Includes text and visual
-both are integrated

Iconic/ Symbolic
-Abstract
-Extremely simple
-Symbol for company, not what company does
-Visual only

Wordmark/ Lettermark
-Stylized company name
-Typography
-Utilizes only text