Studio Brief 1 - Logotype part 10 (evaluation)

My final logo:

I have made my text stacked which makes the logo looking more modern and appealing to a younger audience. However I have altered the dated typeface to the same typeface as the rest of the logo - Futura - this gives the logo a better flow and again refreshes the look of the logo, appealing to a younger market. Removing the established date seen in previous logos helps with this also. Adjusting the stroke type of the bordering box to a 1pt dashed line with a 10pt gap gives the appearance of dots instead of dashes and makes my logo more unique. It also feels less enclosed and more free. Overall I feel my logo works really well as a logo for a young modern market and I can see it used across a range of media.

I have mocked up prototypes of labels and a paper bag (see previous post) but would ideally love to be able to print these paper bags in a proper scale. Additionally, creating a website/ app for the market would be perfect as the market is aimed at a younger audience/students - who interact more with the internet/mobile formats than they do with printed media as it is seen as more old fashioned.

My logo would look good used in advertising - presented in ways such as flyers, banners on websites and even on adverts on bus shelters. If I was to further expand this project I would design a range of advertisements - pairing my logo with relevant imagery such as clothes and fruit and veg/ produce, perhaps composed in a fresh, modern way to attract the eye of teens/ young adults.

Overall I think this project went quite well. If I were to redo the project I would focus more on getting more focused research, particularly primary research, maybe in the form of a questionnaire given to my peers/ market stall holders to obtain first hand opinions on what markets are lacking and where they are successful. I would also love to create more refined outcomes.

Studio Brief 1 - Logotype part 9 (Presenting my logo)

I wanted to create something physical to present my logo on so I mocked up a label, as well as a prototype of a paper bag. I felt these physical prototypes would present my logo better and more uniquely than a run of the mill mock up from the internet. 

Studio Brief 1 - Logotype part 8 (Final Crit and Resolved Logo)

Feedback from my final crit was extremely helpful. 

- needs to look different and independent to differentiate between other markets.

- the type 'markets' looks dated, try futura as well. rely on just one font.

- different line/box. 
The logo reminded people too much of a logo for a canal boat/ steam train. This wasn't ideal as the logo is supposed to be modern as opposed to vintage.

- add logo to mock ups (try website/ advertisements accompanied by images of markets. Imagery works well to draw the eye, especially with younger people.)

Taking away from the crit I have continued work on my final logo.
By taking the advice from the crit, I have altered my chosen logo and instead gone with this variation.

People's opinions were that this logo was far more modern than my original final logo, and that would it be more likely to appeal to a younger audience, especially once my final alterations were complete.

Here is my final logo.

I have kept the stacked text which keeps the logo looking more modern and appealing to a younger audience. However I have changed the dated typeface to the same typeface as the rest of the logo -Futura - this gives the logo a better flow and again refreshes the look of the logo, appealing to a younger market. Removing the established date helps with this also. Adjusting the stroke type of the bordering box to a 1pt dashed line with a 10pt gap gives the appearance of dots instead of dashes and makes my logo more unique. It also feels less enclosed and more free. 

Studio Brief 1 - Logotype part 7 (Further Development)

Following on from my last post, I have developed my logo further to create more variations. 

Here I have stepped away from my altered type used in my previous logos and instead experimented with the length of the letterform's legs. This is shown in the first and second pages below where I have extended one each of the A's legs and created a shape out of these by connecting them in various ways. I decided to step away from these logos as I did not feel they were successful and instead continued to extend the legs of the A'S and R, and the arm of the W. This I feel brings a modern look to the type.   

In these variations (on the left) I have attempted to simplify the logo somewhat. Barely altering the main type except from making the kerning loose makes the logo look more basic.

On the other hand (right page) the C and W here are conjoined with the top of the letter c flowing into the left arm of the W. 

Here are my final variations ready for the crit.

Logo 1

Logo 2

Logo 3

Logo 4

Logo 5

Studio Brief 1 - Logotype part 6 (Secondary crit)

fig 12

Following a day of creating and developing my chosen logo we had a secondary class crit (Monday 17/10/15). I presented the above logos (fig 12) as well as some development showing how I had reached these designs.

I had prepared 3 questions for the crit -

1. I have altered the font from Garamond to Futura as per the advice from Friday's crit. Do you think Futura is the right choice for my logo?

The group response to this was unanimous. In my class' opinion, the alteration to Futura adds more variety to my logo, as well as making it modern, exciting and refreshing. Ideal for the student market I was reaching for.

2. Do you think my logo so far works well as a logo for a market? If not are there any improvements I could make? 

Responses for this were on the whole positive, with most people saying they would like to shop at the market as it looks modern, welcoming and sophisticated. This also reinforces my idea of a market aimed at students - as my peers critiquing me are in fact students.

3. Do you think I could take my logo in a more successful direction?

Answers for this question were helpful, with suggestions for me to play around with different colours, experiment with lower case letters, and alter the stroke width on the 'EST' part of the logo as it is hard to read. 

Other comments were very much in favour of the white logo placed onto a green background. In my peers opinion this made the logo look professional, with both modern elements, and traditional parts too, which added character. 

Studio Brief 1 - Logotype part 5 (developed logo)

My rework of a previous logo started out this way, using Futura as the primary typeface. I decided to adapt the letterforms slightly, by altering the body height and apex's and adding terminals to the 'A's and the 'W's. I was inspired by Wes Anderson's film posters, as he uses Futura in this way also.

I decided to keep the additional text, I think the 'markets' is needed as otherwise the logo is not clear otherwise. I also added the 'EST. 1852' to keep some historical feel to the logo, and as an extension of this, keep the history of the market.

After this point I came across my first major problem. I attempted to create a drop shadow for my 'Cartway' letters using a copy of the word, filled in black and placed behind and offset to the frontal type. I then blended this using a specified distance of .5mm and this worked whilst the logo was on a white background.

However when I took the logo across to try on top of a block colour, I could not make the logo a block colour as the fills were white, and if I removed them the acting shadow would show through the front letters.


After a good half an hour attempting to rectify the situation I managed to find an alternative solution which would give me the outcome I wanted.

I created another copy of the same type, and filled the front piece white with a black stroke. Then the piece of type sent to the back was filled with black, and offset to the bottom right. Following this, I used the pathfinder tool to divide the white type. I then used the minus front tool to remove the white fill from both the front and back type leaving a gap where the fill used to be. The final step was to unite all black shapes in the type, and adjust anchors to give me the dimensional drop shadow aesthetic I was reaching for.

In doing this I overcame a very frustrating dilemma that had me puzzled for a long time and I think the outcome is very successful.

The favourite of my peers was this logo.

The logo has a sense of balance to it, and the separation in the bordering box to include the date seemed to work very well. I will continue to develop this logo, experimenting with colour, stroke width and lowercase letters.

Studio Brief 1 - Logotype part 4 (Crit Feedback)

From my research into logos and the 6 basic typefaces on my previous post, I have chosen to create my logos in the typeface Garamond.
I chose Garamond as I felt it was the most fitting typeface to create a vintage feel to my logo, whilst still looking clean and fresh. I liked the interesting way the 'W' is presented in this typeface as well as how sleek the letters looked together.

fig 1

fig 2

fig 3

The 4 logos below are the logo ideas I presented in the class crit (Friday 14/10/16). I tried to produce a few varying ideas, including additional type, as well as altering the letterforms. 

fig 4

fig 5

fig 6

fig 7

During the crit I gained some valuable feedback from my peers and tutor. 

• Logo 1 (fig 4) works well with the additional type but perhaps a change of font. The two pieces of text would look good running in 2 lines instead of the broken up composition.
• Look at Spitalfields market, and Levenshulme market in Manchester
• Look at more contemporary markets as opposed to rustic/ old fashioned markets (hipster type of vibe??)
• Focus more on a student demographic, attempting to bring the market into modern times and attract new, younger customers to the market
• 
  

Instead of using Garamond as my primary typeface, I have now decided to use 'Futura' - as I felt this is the most modern typeface given to us, and if my aim is to attract younger students as opposed to elderly individuals, this will be the most appropriate.

Overall, my aim is to create a logo appealing to a wider audience, not just the niche of the population who already frequent markets. To get students involved and buying from markets would be a fantastic outcome.

Studio Brief 1 - Logotype part 3 (typeface research)

To create our logotypes, we are basing them on one of 6 basic typefaces. According to the Italian designer Massimo Vignelli - these are the only typefaces you need.


Vignelli wrote in the Vignelli Canon that he sees typography as a discipline to organize information in the most objective way possible. He do not like typography intended as an expression of the self, as a pretext for pictorial exercises, and as a modernist is of the opinion that desktop publishing is at fault for an abundance of unnecessary typefaces - or as Vignelli calls them - visual pollution.

To prove this, he hosted an exhibition displaying only the 6 basic typefaces.
These included:

Garamond was created by French Renaissance punch cutter Claude Garamond around 1530. 

 Century was created by Lynn Boyd Benton for Century magazine, to be a readable typeface. The stroke weights, character heights and spacing all made it legible.

 Times New Roman was created by Stanley Morrison for the Times Newspaper London, and adapted from Monotype Plantin 113.

Futura was inspired by the Russian Contsructivist movement and the Bauhaus mantra 'form follows function'. It was created by Paul Renner.

Helvetica was created in the 1950's by Max Miedinger and Edouard Hoffman as an improvement of the typeface Akzidenz Grotesk. It is the most predominant typeface following the International Typographic Style/ Swiss Style.

 Bodoni was created by Giambattista Bodoni. It is usually used as display type, as opposed to text type. 

Studio Brief 1 - Logotype part 2 (company rebrand)

To rebrand is to change the corporate identity of a company or organisation. 

London agency Design Studio launched a successful rebrand of Airbnb back in 2014 and it was desperately needed.

The original logo (above) - a blue and white logotype was designed without the meaning of the company in mind. It falls flat and is unapproachable.

The finished rebrand works a lot more successfully than the original.

The stylised A is meant to be a universal symbol for belonging. Using the outline of a capital a as well as the shape for a location cleverly encompasses major features of the brand.

Design Studio took into account the purpose of Airbnb, as well as being inspired by the idea of people, places, and the 'A' in Airbnb.

The new colour - a pinky red better emits a sense of love and emotion as opposed to the cool blue of the previous logo. This makes the brand more approachable and customers are more likely to interact with the brand.

I personally am a huge fan of this rebrand. The simplicity and striking nature of this design appeals to me.

Studio Brief 1 - Logotype Part 1 (Research)

Studio Brief: 

Produce a series of logotypes for a rebrand of your given company. Using only type, experiment with scale, stroke, spacing, contrast and alignment to interpret your company. You should consider the following:

Who is the company?

What do they do?

Who is the target audience? Where will the logo appear?

We would begin developing the logotype by picking from a box of given words. I randomly selected the word Cartway. I did some initial research into the word and the definition is rather uninspiring - a way or road for carts.

fig 1

fig 2

I began to brainstorm using a mind map, which gave me a few directions to explore.

fig 3

From the mindmap I came up with company ideas including

• vintage store (selling clothes, books, vinyls)

I particularly like the idea of following a vintage theme as carts (how people commonly picture them, see fig 1) are not used in modern times to sell from. I think that the vintage theme could fit nicely with my word and company.

• a jewellers (stemming from carts used in diamond mines)
• a car company (renting/buying)
• driving instructor
• travel agents
• a supermarket
• a clothes stall
• a food stall (both of these at markets/ festivals)
• a market in general
• a street food van 

Leaning more towards the market ideas, I visited Kirkgate markets in Leeds to take pictures of the stalls they have there, ranging from cafe stalls, to fruit/ veg, and clothes.

             

                fig 4

fig 5 

From the markets I found that the logotypes used were clear, often in sans serif fonts and in bold to ensure people would be able to read the company name. Most of the stalls inside had signs showing the company name, whereas the stalls outside lacked any logotypes. However this was not the case for all stalls (see fig 5). This got me to thinking that instead I should create a logotype for a generalised market - one that sold clothes, food, merchandise, books etc.
In order to create a successful logotype for my market I need to research competition/ other similar brands, to see what works well with their logos and what I should avoiding trying in my own logo.

fig 6

The Kirkgate Market logo is comprised of both a sans serif, decorative typeface and a simple serif font in a light stroke. The contrast of the two typefaces works well together and placing the name in a bordered box really makes it stand out.
The composition of the logo brings the markets an air of sophistication - added to by the image of a tudor rose and the serif font.
The decorative font makes the logo seem modern, in my opinion attempting to appeal the markets to a younger audience. However the serif font hints at an older element - perhaps linking to the history and reputation of the market. 
As the meaning behind my given word has a historical context I am leaning more towards a serif font to reflect this.

fig 7

I also decided to analyse some more logos I found online.

This logo, designed by Tony Godzik, puts a modern twist on a traditional event. The sans 
serif typeface and contrast of bold and light type accompanied by the stylized illustration works well to bring the farmers market into the 21st century.

fig 8

The type in this logo, designed by Genevieve Olivia uses script as the predominant typeface, the secondary being serif.
The logotype appears less composed and arguably more fitting towards the rustic feel of a farmers market.
The earthy colours reflect the premise of a market well.

fig 9

Levenshulme Market, based in Manchester has a very modern vibe to it, using a bold sans serif typeface placed in an arc alongside an illustration of a skyscape.

The Spitalfields market logo is a sans serif typeface which provides a more traditional feel - this compliments the age of the 
markets. The addition of an outlined 'e1', representing the postcode of the area the markets are in gives the logo an edgy, more urban feel.