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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