Max - initial ideas/designs

- represent the traditional roots of his teaching and practice.
- mountains
- Max wants to use earthy colours to reflect traditionalism
- Illustration could reflect the environments he learnt in (?)
- has to be Max Walsh Yoga, Meditation and Shamanic Practices

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I experimented with different styles of drawing to incorporate within the logo. Whilst I personally prefer the simpler styles of drawing, I think that a more detailed logo featuring shading etc. would suit Max's brand more.

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I began to digitalise my sketches, starting with my favourite idea (fig 3). Throughout developing this logo I experimented with stroke (fig 6-7) as well as fill (fig 8 - 9). In this stage of development I also found a way to incorporate an eagle, which is an element Max mentioned during our initial meeting. The eagle was his "spirit guide" during his training so he wanted to see if I could incorporate it within my designs. Whilst this idea of the outline of a mountain range worked in sketches, however the overall shape began to remind me of a bat/vampire shape, instead of a mountain range. I decided to move away from this idea and began experimenting with another idea. 
Using the same mountain range, I moved onto a different style of logo. In these experiments I used a range of tones to create the logo, veering away from the stroke of the last idea. In these logos I also added another mountain in front of the existing range, as the expanse looked too plain and needed another feature. I also experimented with adding a "sun" into the background, again illuminating the mountain which is the main feature (fig 13). I then thought the logo looked a little flat so added gradients to each of the elements - this helped to add some dimension and shadow to the logo (fig 14- 15). Around the outside of the logo I added a stroke to encapsulate the scene (fig 16), however this made me realise that the logo looked more like a badge than it did a logo. I also tried the designs in colour (fig 17-18), but decided I would move onto something different.

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Food Revival - Pitch PDF

To submit the final logo, the brief calls for me to create a PDF pitch showing the final logo as well as it in context e.g on business cards, website. 

Max - shamanism

The client has recently ventured out into shamanism. I have limited knowledge of shamanism and what it entails so I need to research the subject so I can represent Max in the way he needs. 

Shamanism is a practice that involves a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to perceive and interact with what they believe to be a spirit world and channel these transcendental energies into this world. Shamans are said to treat ailments/illness by mending the soul. Alleviating traumas affecting the soul/spirit restores the physical body of the individual to balance and wholeness. Western medicine only looks at the physical symptoms of illness and disease whereas shamanism looks at the whole body, mind and spirit to understand what has caused the clients suffering. The nature of this work is deep and uncovers the root of the issues, it is helpful therefore to have the courage and commitment to the journey needed to heal.

I have asked Max what being a shaman entails - 

So from my understanding, shamanism is about healing the soul/spirit by reaching altered states of consciousness. The practice is very traditional and used in tribes, the shaman is responsible for the wellbeing of the community/family.
A traditional vibe for the logo would be perfect as Max's teachings were traditional and wants to convey the same aesthetic.

Max - existing brand research

Max wants to portray a traditional vibe in his branding and identity as his teachings were very traditional as is the entire practice of shamanism. As I need to portray Max as a yoga instructor as well as a shaman, I need to consider this requirement and manage to reflect this through the entire branding.

Existing yoga branding:

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Figure 1 shows an exisiting brand strategy and board for a yoga company. The colours are generally reflective of other brands - using pale earthy colours portrays the calmness and grounding purpose that yoga has. The links to nature within the colours as well as the tree logo is atypical of yoga branding as it works well to provide the brand with the right feel.
Figure 2 shows an example of a logo which is an abstract representation of a body in a yoga position. This concept, whilst executed well in this example, is overused within yoga branding so it is definitely something I want to avoid when branding Max. I like the placement of the logo onto a photographic background, as this provides the obvious link to nature and again has a calming and grounding affect. This same technique is used in figure 3, the logo of which is again an abstract representation of the lotus position - using a photographic background of green leaves. The logo for this is also placed on top of a coloured background in figure 4 which works well, I think the colour is the right tone of blue, which is a calming colour according to colour theory. In figure 5, a green is used as the background which is in a similar tone. This colour is perfect as it is again calming and provides that earthy feel with a link to nature. I particularly like the format of the logo designs in figure 5, the simplicity of the white type against the green background keeps the whole aesthetic pared back and portrays earthy and calming well.  

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This example (figure 6) is a good example of yoga branding tailored to a younger, hip audience. Bright colours like this pink are not usually used in yoga branding as the practice is very calming inherently, so the bright pink of this does not reflect the action of yoga well. The pink is used to make yoga seem modern and fresh. The logo also again uses the overused concept of a body in the lotus position - something that is heavily overused within logos. Bright colours are also used in the design of the logo in figure 7 but as the bright colours are only used for small features, the neutral background reduces the brash effect of bright colours that would otherwise happen. Figure 8 marries the concept of colours that are not typically earthy with the muted tones of traditional branding. I like the purple colour against the yellow of the logo - however, the design of the logo is not a concept I like - it looks too crowded with the labyrinth of lines.

Figure 9 is a different style to one that is typically used within branding. There is no icon, instead, the hand-drawn style type takes centre stage, and the colour palette uses white with the earthy green that seems to be popular within yoga branding. Whilst the logo looks good, it is too complicated for Max's branding - it is also very specific as his practice encompasses more than yoga, so cannot be entirely type based. The type in his logo needs to be a secondary element.

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Max mentioned during our initial meeting that most traditional practices such as shamanism have very traditional facing branding, such as Sanskrit type and tribal influences such as men wearing headdresses, such as figure 10. Max wants to avoid this in his identity which I agree with as it is very generic and overused. A lot of other shamanic practices do not have clear and consistent branding so it is difficult to find other examples.

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Food Revival - Logo Refining

Upon feedback on my previous logo (fig 1), I realised that the logo looked very American and possibly echoed a car/motorbike company logo. Whilst looking vintage, it didn't quite fit the brief so I decided to ditch the shape around the type and just look at type based logos. In the previous logos, I struggled with placing 'food' into the logo due to the ascenders in 'revival'. To combat this I initially arched the 'food' around the curve of the 'r' and 'i' in revival (fig 2), but this didn't look very clean so moved onto the next idea. Taking inspiration from placing 'food' in a box/banner in previous logo designs, I repeated this (see fig 3), and varied the size and placement of this box through figures 4 - 8. I added some additional detail in the form of 'screws' in fig 7, and wood detail in figure 8.

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In fig 9 and 10, I removed the border from 'revival' and added a background to see how the logo would fare against a background. I didn't like how the logo looked without the border I had just removed so reverted back to the previous design. In fig 11 I added a border to the 'food' box which makes the box look more like a sign - this is a positive association as I think it looks good with the script type. Figures 12 - 15 are in black and white to make sure that the logo works in monochrome. In these examples I have changed the typeface to something thicker, which furthers the appearance of the box being a 'sign'. With these experiments I also changed the style and placement of 'yorkshire'. In figure 16 - 19 I experimented with the angle and placement of the elements within the logo, and in 20 - 21 I finalised the size/placement of 'yorkshire' by altering the kerning to a wider setting.

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Final Logo:

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