Convincing phone users to switch brands is not easy, especially when many users sleepwalk their way into annual upgrades. Knowing this is audience tend to trust people like themselves over traditional or influencers, Google handed iPhone users a pixel 2 to try for a week. Their unscripted stories form this collection of animated short films. Created by Google's in house creative team.
Style notes:
vectors with layers to create depth.
shadowing on some of the drawings.
doesn't particularly stick to one style, but you can tell they are about the same content because of their tone of voice.
All contain the same type of typography, the type of illustration is focused around the kind of personality google felt the storyteller had.
Vector Animation Style:
Key points:
Simplistic
Colourful
Need to discuss whether there should be a use of colour to differentiate or also include dark lines.
Should a colour scheme be set throughout the entire process or a different style with each animation?
Include individual features or use more ambiguous figures making them more relatable to a variety of person.
Colour Palettes:
Bold and colourful with the ability to be able to add variation, in order to add depth to vector imagery.
the possibility of grain and texture, which again can add depth, rather than the colour in some of the situations.
Include corals and pinks, take away the masculine connotations of having to be the one to have a condom, again tapping into the idea of carrying on 'the norm'.
TED Conferences LLC is a media organization that posts talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading." TED was conceived by Richard Saul Wurman in February 1984 as a conference which has been held annually since 1990
Logo Design Notes:
Bright colour that is distinctive when paired with the logotype.
Even and strong type, keeping the focus on the content of each talk rather than the brand as a whole.
Gives a visual representation of the equality of the importance of each of the talks that are given, they believe each of the ideas are worth spreading as much as any of the others.
Glug Creative Networking
GLUG describe themseleves as a 'notworking' event, in which they provide creative talks worldwide, in an informal manner, and use alcohol vouchers as participant encouragment, breaking the ice.
Based around a series of talks and informal networking, Glug has become one of the most exciting, credible and well-attended creative events around.
We started in 2007 as a handful of mates talking shop and showing their work and reels off in an East London pub. Nine years later and we're an international movement with events in many cities around the world.
We’ve had names such as Anthony Burrill, Brendan Dawes, Design Studio, Dixon Baxi, Facebook, Future Deluxe, IDEO, Google Creative Labs, I Love Dust, Jason Bruges Studio, ustwo, Social Chain, Animade, Noma Bar, Uber, Wolff Olins and many more.
Alongside our regular Glugs, we’ve also run events in conjunction with BIMA, D&AD, Adobe, WeTransfer, PickMeUp and charities such as Shelter. We like to have fun.
Logo Design Notes:
Colourful and bright design, reflecting the light hearted and fun nature of the event itself.
Exciting environments represented in a modern and simplistic design, keeping up with the changes in design and watch fresh and new content for their events.
Ladies, Wine and a bit of Design
Ladies, Wine Design was started by Jessica Walsh after this happened and she realized that sometimes women can be competitive or unsupportive of one another. Only a small percent of creative directors are women, and LW&D wants to help change this through mentorship circles, portfolio reviews, talks, and creative meet-ups. In less than two years of launching, we've spread to chapters in over 200 cities all over the world. If you’re a student or creative in NYC and would like to join, please do email us. If you want to join another city chapter's event, check out our city map.
The overall theme was simplistic and consisted of a red tone throughout, taking the images of the different guest speakers and creating a duotone over their imagery. The typograpy was simplistic and allowed for hierarchy in the way it was presented through the use of different weights, ensuring all of the speakers were kept present in all content, but the main information was bought to the forefront. This is a consideration that I would like to take into consideration with our design.
Althought the design works, I don't think it works alongside the imagery of the other posts within the instagram because of such contrasting visual styles. I believe the use of white, although highlights the colour scheme, makes the work seem empty and quite vast. This is something I will be taking into consideration as I want the visuals to seem fun and engaging reflecting the nature of the event itself.
In order to be able to get an understanding of the client and what they want from the brief, I decided to meet with both of the business partners who are setting up this new venture, located in Birmingham (where I also have a base) this is something I will intend to do each time I am within reach. Other than these meetings our communications will occur over Facetime and Whatsapp, through doing so I can instantly share work with both of the partners of the business and ensure that they can both contact me at any time and any decisions that require feedback can be received instantly. This project will need to be time managed well as there are so many deliverable elements, that need to be produced alongside the funding available from the client in order to be able to get the correct amount of work in to be able to fund the next step of the brand development.
Key points for discussion:
Time management aims
Deliverables
Key values of the brand
Key aims of the brand
Budget for advertising
Key demographic
Key competitors
USP
Nieche in the market
I believe, as previously researched in other briefs, gaining an understanding of these points will allow me to gauge a wider understanding of the type of brand they are visually trying to encapsulate, and therefore allow me to create the most appropriate design.
Meeting Notes:
Time management aims:
End of October - Logo and start-up social media
End of November - Start of website design, and business cards
End of December - Uniform and photography
End of January - Website complete, Van design complete, Flyers and print ads complete
Deliverables:
Agree on all deliverables, consider the possibility of adding in quote books and invoice sheets, initially to be printed in office, eventually sent off for print for a high-quality finish.
Consider what printed ads need to be used, considering the reach to their target demographic.
Key values of the brand:
Small business, supporting and working with the local community.
Superior quality over competitors in all aspects of completing the job.
Attention to detail.
The classy option, the visuals must reflect the superior service.
Go the extra mile to care for their customer.
Key aims of the brand:
Offer a type of professionalism that is next to none.
Visually stand out compared to their competitors, everything must look high end.
Exemplify how work can be done right, don't mistake young directors for lack of experience.
A budget for advertising:
Minimal at the beginning will mainly be relying on business cards and social media.
Look into social media campaigns.
As more work comes in, getting started funding will be set aside for advertising, this can be discussed at this point.
Key demographic:
30+ Adults who own their own property and have the money to be able to spend on garden maintenance such as tree surveys.
Business owners for people who require contracts for industrial sites.
Consider the mediums this type of person uses and will come into contact with the advertisements.
Local service that can subcontract and take on large scale contracts.
Offers a start to finish service that includes all elements of clean up and removal, leaving no trace of any work being done, other than the finished product.
Nieche in the market:
No visually upmarket companies that offer a quality service and dont look 'ameateur'
A website, which needs to be compatible with both desktop and mobile formats
Printed ad material, including flyers, and formats suitable for both magazines, and newspapers in different sizing as appropriate.
Uniform design
Van design
Business cards
Business collaterol - letterheads, e-mail signature etc.
Branding booklet
As the brand is starting out from afresh these are the requirements in order to get them started, further designs may be required as and when the situation arises.
Brand identity is the personality of the brand, it's what sets aside your brand from anyone else's, it must be representative of the brand's values but also appropriately fitting to the products/service that the brand is providing.
Just like your personal identity makes you uniquely you, your brand identity is the special sauce of your business that sets you apart from every other Tom, Dick and Harry, Inc. on the block. And your brand identity design? It’s what shapes your company. But what exactly is brand identity? What does it have to do with design? And how do you shape a strong brand identity that takes your business to the next level?
Brand is the perception of the company in the eyes of the world.
Branding involves the marketing practice of actively shaping a distinctive brand.
Brand identity is the collection of all brand elements that the company creates to portray the right image of itself to the consumer.
Your brand identity is what makes you instantly recognizable to your customers. Your audience will associate your brand identity with your product or service, and that identity is what forges the connection between you and your customers, builds customer loyalty, and determines how your customers will perceive your brand.
How to create a strong brand identity:
Before designs can begin to develop there needs to be considerations about the key elements the make up the brand -
Your mission... what is the brands 'Why?'
Your values... what are the beliefs that drive the company?
Brand personality... if the brand was a person, what kind of person would they have?
Your USP... how do you differ from the competition?
Your brand voice... if your brand was a person, how would they communicate?
Further Considerations:
Your design assets are the tangible elements that will determine how your brand is perceived. Things like your logo, your packaging, your web design, your social media graphics, your business cards and the uniforms your employees wear.
Developing your brand designTypography
Serif fonts (like Times New Roman or Garamond) have what look like an anchor (or to some people, little feet) on the end of each letter. This classic typography is great if you want your brand to appear trustworthy, traditional, and just a little old school.
If “serif” is the foot, “sans serif” is without the foot. Sans serif fonts (like Helvetica or Franklin Gothic) are letters that have smooth edges and lack the anchor or “feet” of their serif counterparts. Sans serif fonts give a more sleek, modern feel to brands.
Script typography emulates cursive handwriting (so much for all those cursive lessons in elementary school!). These fonts (like Allura or Pacifico) can be a great way to add a luxurious or feminine feel to your brand.
Display fonts are kind of in a league of their own. Each display font has a specialized element, whether it’s an unusual shape to the letters, outlines, shadowing, or a more artistic/hand-drawn edge (think Metallica’s lightning bolt font). Want to make a bold statement and create a brand identity people won’t soon forget? Display font is a great way to do it.
Colour Palette
Red: Red is the colour of passion and excitement. It’s a perfect choice if your brand identity is loud, youthful, and exciting.
Orange: Orange is another high-energy colour and is great if you want to appear friendly and playful. It’s used less commonly than red, so will also make you stand out.
Yellow: Yellow, the colour of sunshine, is all about happiness. The cheerful vibe makes it a good choice if you want to feel fun, accessible and affordable.
Green: An incredibly versatile colour, green can be used for just about any brand. Culturally, though, when people see green, they think two things: money or nature. If your brand is tied to either of those things, green is an especially good choice.
Blue: The most universally appealing colour in the spectrum, blue can help your branding to appear more stable and trustworthy, so if you’re looking to appeal to a wide demographic—and get them to trust you in the process—go with blue.
Purple: Purple is the colour of royalty, so if you’re going for a luxurious feel in your branding, this a safe bet.
Pink: Right or wrong, pink is culturally tied to femininity, so if your brand is targeted towards women, pink should be a definite contender for your brand colour. It’s also a great colour for brands with a soft or luxurious identity.
Brown: Brown is perhaps the least use colour in all of the branding, but that could actually work to your advantage! Any time you do something different, it helps you stand out. Brown can also help people to view your brand as rugged or masculine.
Black: If you want to be viewed as modern or sophisticated, there’s nothing as classic and effective as black.
Form/Shape
Round shapes—like circles, ovals, and ellipses—are all about the warm and fuzzies. Brands that incorporate round shapes can create feelings of community, unity and love. The rounded edges can also be viewed as feminine.
Straight edged shapes—like squares, rectangles, and triangles—make people think strength and efficiency. The no-nonsense lines create a feeling of stability and trustworthiness, but you need to be careful: if the shapes aren’t balanced out with something fun, like dynamic colors, they can feel impersonal and fail to connect with your customers.
Straight lines also have their own implications: vertical lines suggest masculinity and strength while horizontal lines suggest tranquility and mellow vibes.
Designing your brand identity Logo
Clearly communicates who you are and what you value as a brand;
Is visually appealing: simple, clean and uncluttered goes a long way;
Is classic, not trendy: the last thing you want is for your logo to go out of style in 6 months;
Plays along with your industry’s standards—and if you veer off, do so deliberately;
Makes a lasting impression on your audience.
WebsiteProduct packaging Business cardsEmail designCreate a brand style guideA brand style guide is a must to preserve your brand identity.
In other words, nailing your design = nailing your brand identity = building a successful business that’s an accurate representation of who you are as a brand.
So, how exactly do you nail your design and build a brand identity that will take your business to the next level?
Before you start creating your design assets, you need to start from the ground up and lock in the basics of your design structure: the building blocks of your brand identity.
The building blocks you’ll want to determine before you create your design assets include:
The typography you choose will say a lot about your brand, so choose wisely.
Next up is colour. People—your potential customers included—have psychological ties to different colours, and using colours strategically in your brand colour palette can have a serious impact on how your brand is perceived by your audience.
Here are what the colours of the rainbow (plus a few extras) can do to help your brand identity:
When it comes to your designs, you also want to think about form and shape. This subtle but effective element that can be used to reinforce the desired reaction from your customers: so, for example, a logo that is all circles and soft edges will inspire a very different reaction from a logo that’s sharp and square.
Here’s how different forms can shape your brand identity (pun intended):
Once you’ve figured out the building blocks of your design, it’s time to work with a designer to bring your brand identity to life and translate who you are as a brand into tangible design assets you can use in your marketing. Your brand identity can be expressed in any number of elements. Depending on the nature of your business, one asset or another may be more or less important. For example, a restaurant should put a lot of thought into their menu and physical space. A digital marketing agency, however, needs to focus more on their website and social media pages.
Common elements of brand identity include:
Your logo is the cornerstone in your brand identity. When working with your designer, you want to aim for your logo to tick off the following boxes:
You also want to make sure that your design partner delivers your logo in multiple formats (like a black and white version or multiple sizes) to ensure you always have the logo you need—and that each is in line with your brand identity.
Your website is one of the most representative aspects of your brand identity. Especially if you’re running an online business or a digital product, your customers will definitely check your website out before deciding to do business with you. Your website is where your brand identity should come through in full force.
If your product is a physical one, then product packaging is key to attracting the right customers. Whether you’re thinking about the bottle of a cold-brew beverage, or the mail you’ll send to your customers who purchased clothes from your ecommerce business, don’t underestimate the value of good design in improving the experience – and driving both loyalty and repeat purchases. Packaging is an awesome opportunity for your design to shine.
If you’re doing any sort of business development (and who isn’t), you’ll want to stock up on business cards. A well-designed card offers the chance to reinforce a positive opinion of yourself in the eyes of potential clients or customers. When it comes to business card design, keep it simple: your company logo on one side of the card and your key personal details on the other side should suffice.
Email is a great way to engage your customers and drive business. But most people are at inbox overload, so if you want to grow your business via email, you need the right design strategy to set yourself apart from the clutter. Think about the purpose of the email. Are you trying to make a personal connection? Then keep it short, sweet, and simple. Are you trying to educate? Then format it well so it’s easily readable and scannable and add a few images to make it pop. Are you trying to tell your customers about a new clothing line you launched? Make a few stunning product images the focus.
Once you’ve got your design assets, you want to make sure they’re used in the right way, which is why you’ll definitely want to create a brand style guide. This document—which outlines your design assets, when and how to use them, as well as any design do’s and dont’s for your brand—will ensure that any future design is in line with your brand identity and generates the right perception with your audience.
In order to grasp a good idea of the amount of design work that would be part of this project, I decided to create a listed plan, analysing the brief itself and considering what extra collateral design would be needed; in order to create a rounded professional finished brand.
In the deliverables alone I decided that I wanted to provide the company with more than just a logo, giving them the opportunity to see how the entire brand would come together as a whole and the way in which my designs would work if chosen to benefit the business. I believe that when working with a client to create an identity it should encapsulate the brief but offer an entire visual identity that pushes beyond the basic requirements.
Printed Deliverables:
Packaging
B2B Documents
Business Cards
Shipment Packaging
Digital Deliverables:
Web Design
Social Media
E-Mail Templates
Hero banners for the site
Branding Identity:
Logo
Typefaces
Design System
Photography
Illustrations
Iconography
Data Visualisation
When considering these features I will also be narrowing down what is a priority and focus on such, in order to give the most professional polished outcome to the client. Yet I need to consider that each point must be trialled in order to give an example of how the branding could work.
In order to offer over my work in a professional manner, I will be producing a branding guide booklet, that features each element of the new branding creations. As this is protocol in the industry and the way in which I have presented branding to clients in my freelance capacity.
Within the first meeting, Ally and I analysed the brief to be able to get an understanding of the requirements that we needed to consider. Key challenge points:
The highest rate of STI's is between 16-25-year-olds.
Must shock and excite the audience, but in a way that isn't focused around innuendo.
Make carrying a condom the normal
'Holding you back from having the sex you deserve'
Who are we talking to?
16-24-year-olds
Carrying a condom needs to become normal, not just the idea of using one.
What are the norms for this group of people, tap into what they already know to be able to make something 'taboo' the normal?
Steer clear from innuendo, but it still needs to be shocking and exciting to the audience, of this generation the way to do so is normally through the use of innuendo.
Possible solutions:
Printed advertisements to be placed in areas where the target audience spend most of their time.
Short animations that could be related to tv or social media ads; they would need to be short snippets.
Adverts within dating/hookup apps.
Chosen Solution: Animation for the type of message we felt would work best as it is the most transitional form of media which means we would be able to put it out to the audience in many different formats and be able to reach the target audience through social media and other formats. Content Brainstorms:
Different situations and scenes that you would traditionally need to use a condom in, or would need to use a condom for. i.e. Club scene, Tinder date etc. any situations that a person within that target audience would find themselves in.
Stories from people who use Durex, or didn't have a condom on them when they wish they did.
Possibly bring into the story the idea of the use of dating apps and 'hookup apps' such as 'Pure' and 'Grindr'.
Pure Hookup App:
Pure is an app aimed towards 18-30-year-olds that are based around getting hookups with other people nearby, the app is based purely around sex can give us a lot of insight into what the industry related to sex for that age group could want. In terms of design style and also the following of their social media content, by reviewing their social media content we were able to see the kind of content that the target audience finds engaging. As the concept is based on sex, with Durex this is an area that we wanted to focus in on. Also by researching into digital developments and the way that the activity of such is affecting our sex lives, is a direct reflection on what is becoming the norm for the target audience, and therefore should translate into our campaign. Not giving the audience a chance to disregard the concept but build on it in a way that is already familiar to them, and therefore increase the way it engages with the target audience.
Pure App Social Media:
Part of their social media is getting their members to tell their stories of their experience with the app this allows for other members to feel more relaxed about the use of the app for its purpose, which some people may find a sensitive situation; meaning more openness towards the use of the app and making sex, not such a 'taboo' subject. This is something that relates again to the Durex's values within the brand - to be open and free of judgment in people's sexual activity. Something which again tells us to be looking at these type of applications for inspiration into what the audience finds engaging when it comes to talking about sex.
The stories are displayed in different animated cartoonist styles, depending on the content of the story. As well as this making the content more of a conversational style, in a visual manner, by instantly making the content seem more relaxed; it also allows for a higher ability to relate to the stories themselves. The cartoons aren't depictive of any individual features themselves, and the locations are depicted with loose silhouette style objects, to the point where the people themselves do not depict colour and in some cases a blurred definition of gender; allows a lot of people to be able to see the pieces and relate it to a sexual experience of their own, further freeing up their mind when it comes to the act of sex and relaxing the taboo of it.
Each of the stories themselves also depicts a variation of types of person, all sizes, shapes, genders and sexualities. Once again this is a technique that could be translated into many peoples lives and makes the conversation around sex as a whole much more open and relatable. This again links back to the core values of Durex.
Story 1:
Story 2:
Story 3:
Ideation about our campaign:
Within our campaign, we want to be focusing on stories from real people about the stories they have regarding times they were caught short with no condom, or times where it was perfect to have one on them in an unexpected moment. For example in unusual places, or unusual circumstances. We are coming up with ideas of how to collect this information, currently considering an anonymous survey within university and societies around, as this is the target audience.
In order to think of some of these stories, to begin with, we considered the places that 16-24-year-olds spend most of their time:
travelling
hostel
library
university
club
home
cinema
gym
From this, we began considering and exploring the situations that could arise within these places, for example, plane toilet 'mile high club', or university library 'late-night study', a gay club - but possibly a straight couple.
It is important to both of us that whatever we produce is open to all types of people including gay straight bi and trans, as all of which should are relevant to the use of condoms, and should be included in carrying a condom being made the norm. This is something that can be seen in other companies promotions.
Moving forward:
Look into design styles
Colour palettes, for the age group
Type
Keep away from statistics
Look up stories
Initial Sketches
We have scheduled in to meet up next Wednesday and discuss our development so far, we each left the session with a plan of the research that needed doing during that period.
I will be collaborating with Ally Horton, an artist from animation; who specialises in illustration and animation with a bold colour. I believe our styles will complement each other in a way that suits the visual demands of the brief and the company itself.
Before analysing the current brand, to be able to gain an understanding of what their current brand values are and say about them as a business and also what whether their website reflects that... Key Values:
Premium products that supply to a b2b market.
Remains independant and family run.
Quality and tradition.
Joined supplying for the coffee shop revolution.
Prides themselves in artisanal creations.
Current Website The current website shows the products are the forefront of their design, when opening the landing page features the products themselves as well as the options for the website map. Yet the design itself is not representative visually of their key values and aims each page features a dark, brown translucent banner, this then contrasts again the red and green of the logo. The colours dont particularly give a representative of premium, luxury or artisianal. They add images of their staff and historical images of the factory to be able to exemplify the history that their consumer is buying into, trying to visually represent the heritage of the brand; and the fact that it is still and independant family run business. Although all the images are taken in different styles, and there is no place that brings them together. Through doing so the website is not exemplifying the fact theyre the same but highlighting their changes, and therefore going against their previous statements of what their business means to them.
They are launching a new brand that will sell indulgent, premium hand-finished products to independents and wholesalers.
COMMISSION They are looking for a brand design to complement their new venture and would like the following key branding elements: • New brand name • Logo • Identity • Collateral design (how the brand might be used across different formats)
The new brand will primarily be used for business-to-business sales, visible online (website, social media, etc.) as well as in print (packaging, promotional materials, official documentation, etc.) and, as such, should be professional yet eye-catching and recognisable. You can see the Cherrytree Bakery’s existing website and branding here: http://cherrytreebakery.co.uk/welcome-to-cherrytree-bakery Please note, this new brand will be in addition to Cherrytree Bakery and not in place of.
REGULATIONS
You must be a student of Leeds Arts University to enter;
Entries must be submitted by Monday 29 October 2018 to be considered. Neither the client nor Leeds Arts University can be held responsible for entries not received by this time;
Entrants must submit a PDF or low-resolution JPEG concept, by email, to careers@leeds-art.ac.uk;
The image rights of the work will become the clients on receipt of payment;
Entrants accept that the client may request amendments to their initial concept, if they are chosen. This is included within the payment terms;
Payment of £1000 is fixed unless terms of the brief change, in which case a payment may be negotiated.
The decision of the client is final. From reading through the brief the next step was to assess what the brands key values are, as the brand will be existing alongside the new brand these are elements that I will to represent in the new brand design and take into consideration with the construction of the name and the design elements of each of the steps.
