PHASE ONE: RESEARCHYou will be expected to bring into class at least 3 different clients/companies whom you feel are worthy (and in need of) a total redesign/re-branding. The beauty and danger in choosing your own client is that you are ultimately taking the lead and the responsibility for this re-design experiment for the semester. The clients you choose must be independently owned. They can have multiple stores but cannot be owned by another source. These are commonly referred to as “mom and pop” companies.
Think about where you want to begin on how to choose a client to actually re-design.
Think about the location and the competitors to this particular client and their business.
Where you begin is crucial to the final outcome. Make your choices wisely.
It must be a client you can “grow” throughout the semester and not grow weary of working with until the completion of the project. This graphic design marathon begins the minute you choose your client and must continue without waiver until the very end. Every piece of the design must fit comfortably within the mission you will give to the re-design.
The minute you begin searching for a client, you should be keenly aware of the “elasticity” involved in how this client can be reformatted and re-designed into a new, more modern design. These “mom and pop” owned business means that there is usually one owner who has invested his/her own money into the facility. These are independent businesses that might have competitors in their profession but might have found a novel way to re-introduce their privately owned business to the public.
Maybe your choices will be in the areas of: barber shops, hairstylist, fish and tackle, taxidermy, skateboard shops, massage therapist, chiropractor, pet groomer, dance club, rock n’ roll club, restaurant, bistro, café, modeling agency, photography studio, niche hotel, bookstore, bed and breakfast, nail salon, etc.
PHASE TWO: MORE RESEARCHOnce you have chosen your top 3 clients, do more research to investigate what makes each client unique. Take photos of these clients if possible. Ask permission from the clients and enlighten them as to what your intentions are. Include them in on your process and tell them you are a designer and let them participate in your strategy for a new fresh design look. Some clients will become very interested in your project while other clients may ignore you. Don’t let any of that deter or influence your decisions. Remember you are re-branding this client for your own personal and academic gain.
Many students have in the past actually sold their ideas and work to the clients they choose to work on during the semester. Don’t let this be your only motivation, but it can certainly take your work to a whole new level with regards to the type of professionalism you give to your client.
You should familiarize yourself with these clients. Know their history and their reasons for starting this type of business. This type of conversation with the clients (if possible) will eventually manifest itself into some type of “creative brief or mission statement” that you will follow throughout the design process.
Interview your clients. Look at the business closely. Investigate the archives from previous logos of the client or images. Think about the name of your client and begin to examine how you might update this name in terms of designing a newer and more improved logo. Re-branding doesn’t mean “throwing out the baby with the bath wash” as it can simply mean using some of the old influence (as not to alienate the older customers of this client) and simply delivering a more modern and fresh feel for the client.
Ask the client how long they’ve been in business, what is their vision of their company, how many employees they have working there, what is the age range of their target audience. Ask those important questions and the answers will assist you in developing a new logo and a new branding experience.
Do not misrepresent your client.
Be ethically responsible to your client.
Arm yourself with a lot of information going into the actual design process and you will be surprised how much easier it is to be creative. Be careful not to always go for the obvious. For example, a company called “yellow bird pet shop” just might not have a yellow bird as its imagery. Perhaps, it is just a more nuanced image such as a feather or a cage or just using the color yellow in its logo.) Think outside the usual approach. Remember you are investing into your own success and portfolio. The choices you make at this stage of the design process could possibly prevent or allow you to gain entry into the graphic design program at the end of spring semester.
I encourage you to take your own photos, create your own imagery. If the client wants to use some of their older visuals such as photos or illustrations, you can certainly take that into account.
I’ll be there all along the way to assist and guide you through the process. I’ll test your ideas to see just how convicted you are to those so you can make sound decisions throughout the semester.
PHASE THREE: BUZZ WORDSOnce you have chosen your “ideal company” from the initial 3 businesses you brought to class, you can begin the process of re-branding that specific client.
Study, explore, brainstorm, formulate and investigate your chosen client to the max.
Make a list of attributes of your client and then distill them into single words that will become the buzz-words for your client. It will become the “mantra” of the client and for your design strategy.
REQUIRED: 5 Buzzwords that will become the backbone of your creative strategy and re-design.
For example:
Sam’s Bait and Tackle Shop
Friendly
Reliable
Utilitarian
Old School
Authentic
PHASE FOUR: ARCHIVING IMAGES and VISUAL REFERENCESCollect relevant images (tear sheets, extraneous materials such as collages, newspaper articles, old illustrations or artwork) or start creating your own sketches for the client as to broaden your understanding of the client you chose. You might find a magazine typeface you like or a color swatch at Home Depot or historical copyright free images. Hang of to these. Scan them and put them into your Blogsites for references. You might also start thinking of particular grids. Discover layouts or compositions that might also inspire your own re-design.
PHASE FIVE: THUMBNAIL SKETCHES
Start creating thumbnail sketches (put on your blogsites) where you begin to visually knock around and play with ideas for the client. Let it be an exercise in stream of consciousness design where you allow all images into your mind for final decisions at a later time. Open your mind to the “what if” possibilities of the client and your eventual marketing and advertising campaign for the client.
* Every student should have no less than 50 sketch ideas to begin this creative process. Students will show these in class.
This is a great time to begin looking at other companies that already exist in the particular genre of your own client. See what has already been done. Examine the competitors in your genre to see how you can possibly merge or create a more hybrid logo design. (aka Memory recall design)
Let these outside companies/competitors influence your own design. This is not plagiarism but inspiration.
Start asking questions about your design.
Will you use only a typeface or a certain font for your logo?
Will you use an illustrative icon infused with a unique typeface for your client?
You cannot change the name of your client’s business.
(example: Sam’s Bait and Tackle Shop. You cannot change it to Sam’s B&T)
Required:
You must develop the following for you client:
Type only logo
Image only logo
Type and Image logo
PHASE SIX: BLACK AND WHITE AND COLOR LOGO RENDITIONSExplore the communicative skills of a B/W and color logo. How do different colors express or influence your logo? How many colors will be included in your logo design? What is a duotone? What is a color screen? What is a halftone? What are Pantone colors?
What will be your clients color palette and how will that color palette work with your color logo?
How does your color choices relate to your client?
Do you have secondary color choices/palette?
Does your “hero mark” testify to the client and it’s color usage?
Does your logo ever change color or is it static?
How versatile are your color choices for your logo?
Think long range about your logo and the application of color.
Take your logo to the computer now and start the process of developing the layers and images you will need later on in the creative branding strategy process.
Legibility and Scale with your logo is important.
Simple is better at times. Too many pieces and part in a logo design can become visual clutter and confuse the audience. Always stay on message with your mission for this new client.
PHASE SEVEN: POINT OF NO RETURNAt some point during the creative process (and semester) you will have to make crucial decisions which means you cannot start over again. Second thinking your decisions will get you into trouble and also get you further behind in your creative process. If you have done all the steps listed previously in this syllabi you should be moving forward without too much stress. Build in some elasticity into your design so you
Can move freely from one place to another and yet still retain the sense of continuity and conformity to your client that you’ve already decided.
PHASE EIGHT: CREATIVE BRIEFEveryone should keep a “live creative brief” going until the very end of the project when the final creative brief will find its conclusion. We will go over all the creative briefs in class and discuss what they should include.
You will prepare your final presentation boards with you B/W and Color logos (with scale percentages included.)
Now the fun starts after you’ve found your logos for your client.
Now comes the application process of using your logo in various and creative situations to build the brand of the client.
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