wrapping up an awesome semester of graphic design 2!

hello friends!

i have just finished my graphic standards manual, and am feelin' mighty fine. it took a lot of work to get to this point, and i'd like to talk a bit about the process in getting to the finished project.

i considered a couple of layout options: a single, very long page with strategically placed information, or a booklet-style format. in the end i decided to go with the latter, as it would be easier to decipher and more organized for each section of information.

i also struggled a bit with how to lay out each page. i was hesitant to utilize the 'bar' idea to separate the info from examples in each page, as i felt it would look too conservative for the brand. however, i feel i solved this by implementing my patterns, to break up the bars a bit. this also allowed for some clever organization, with chapters denoted by 'larks.' (hee!) one page in particular (the color palettes page, as seen below) gave me some trouble, as i didn't have room for the patterned info bar and all the elements i wanted to display. i decided this page didn't need the bar, especially since there was no accompanying text to annotate the images therein. i feel this page is still unified with the rest of the manual through the use of the lark organizer in the bottom right corner, text, and color palette.

the other part of the organization that was tricky was deciding what should stay and go; there was quite a bit of editing, with some concepts never making it into the manual, as i felt they were unimportant for someone designing for the lark brand. in the same vein, i feel that it is impossible to direct a designer in ALL aspects of their work on a larger project or brand; it is our job to know the rules, but it's equally important to know when to break them! each situation will have a unique circumstance, so i left a bit for the designer to decide, with their, of course, excellent judgment.

from here, everything sort of fell into place, and i feel that this is a very good sign. i knew the branding was strong because i automatically knew what to do in each situation, with a bit of finesse for new or unusual circumstances.

this manual was also a great way to flesh out my ideas for the brand in general. i had the chance to fully utilize the color palettes, typefaces, patterns, and ideas that were floating around in my head and had not been implemented in the projects we covered in class.

s'more branding

have you guys seen the gamestop bunny commercials? so adorable! but i also think gamestop has come up with a good system with that cute little bunny. they've put out several commercials with him in it, as well as used him in their advertising in banners outside stores, cutouts inside stores, on their website, etc.

their logo and wordmark are always the same, but buck the bunny (that's really his name!) appears and does all the work in the advertising. as someone who plays video games (way too much, actually), i think they hit their target audience really well. the commercials show buck playing through classic, side-scrolling style video games and doing very video game-y things, like collecting coins and jumping on enemies. it's exciting! it's adorable! it makes me really, really want a buck the bunny of my very own!

(in case you haven't seen the commercials, here's one)

(and another!)

and here is some imagery of our friend buck, as a cutout inside a gamestop store:

graphic standards manual, rough draft

hey all,

here's what i've been working on for my graphic standards manual! i'm pretty happy with the direction it's going in. i'm working on the copy and etc. still, but if anyone has suggestions for layout, color choice, or anything like that, please let me know.

one thing i'm not really sure about is the other larks. i applied patterns to them through illustrator because i felt like the main lark should stand out, but i'm also feeling that the patterns are too disparate or dull. feedback on those would be appreciated as well. these are still in the development phase, so i'm also considering making my own patterns for each if nothing else works.

also, how the heck do you upload a multiple page pdf (or any pdf, for that matter) into a blogger blogpost?!

but i've never felt this way about crocs before!

we all know about crocs. i think they're pretty ugly and this seems to be the general consensus. BUT! just look at what some good branding can do!

first of all, those little guys are adorable. just look at them running to the door when she walks in! this commercial has taken a type of shoe i despise and turned it into a friendly little creature that just wants to make me feel comfortable when i get home. i also noticed their message that these shoes are focused on comfort, and are preserved for being at home and in a more casual setting than at work. this places the shoe in a specific context, which everyone doesn't follow (and which may be why i hate crocs so very much when i see them out on the street).

also notice that the shoes the woman is wearing when she gets up after her foot massage are way, way, way cuter than any croc i've seen. they're thinking of some good ideas over at croc inc. if the commercial AND the shoes appeal to me (even if i won't rush out to by those or anything), they have also successfully expanded their target market beyond the little old ladies and sometimes misguided middle-aged ladies i previously associated with crocs. i think this commercial is extremely effective and shows just how powerful good branding can be.

graphics standards manual?!

i'm having a really hard time finding standards manuals for the things i'm interested in...but i did stumble across this article, which was pretty entertaining. his argument isn't all that strong (because "it's ugly" can only be used a certain number of times before i start to doubt his evidence), but it is a pretty controversial thing they made. ...comments?

it seems that the only graphics manuals i can find online are those of universities; therefore, i picked NYU. here you go.

logo, phase...4?

while working on my logo in its last rendition, i attempted to incorporate elements of the text into the symbol of the lark. but something about that wing was bothering me! it just looked forced and it irritated me. so i worked on the logo a bit more (even though i wasn't really supposed to...) and came up with this:




now that i'm looking at it again, i think i might resize the speech bubble and logo to be equal in size to the bird, but overall, i like the effect of the point on the bubble that echos the birds beak and tail, and the negative space created between the two parts.

and now it's back to working on my communication system.

logo, phase 3.

hey all,

i've been sort of tunnel-vision-ing into one direction for my logo design, and all of my ideas were just expanding on the same concept. so, to get some new ideas going, i talked to ange, who pointed out another of my initial sketches that had potential: the idea of a cycle, or something morphing into something else. i thought, sketched, thought some more, and then came up with a new one that's conceptually pretty different than the first. i kind of like both, but i'd like to hear what you guys have to say.







the font i originally used for the second (newer) logo didn't transfer on my computer at home, but it wasn't set in stone or anything. any and all suggestions are welcome! which one do you guys feel has more potential? some main ideas of my brand are that it's clever, whimsical, humorous...i appreciate your comments.

checkin' the competition...know thine enemy!

i'm doing a little sleuth work today, probing into the deep recesses of the coffee distribution world. [that's so gross.] i found a great link on wikipedia that lists many instant coffee distributors, and i'm specifically investigating those who operate out of the united states, and are not large chains, such as starbucks or caribou. i would classify these mid-level coffee companies as my main competitors, while the larger companies and those outside of the u.s. could be classified as 'secondary' or 'tertiary.' at some point, i'd like to take my camera and check out what the coffee displays are like at a grocery store, or perhaps even a whole foods-type store; until then i will limit my investigation to the internet.

***

okay so by now, i am finding that most smaller to mid-level coffee distributors don't offer instant coffee. i'm not surprised; i've always bought into the stigma that instant coffee just isn't worth a hoot, and it was reserved for those big, corporate, 'sell-out' brands that an audience like mine doesn't value very much. but is this merely a stigma? is there some truth to this myth that the only coffee worth drinking takes up at least 10 minutes of your morning? meher is on the scene to find out.

"Although it has a long shelf life, instant coffee quickly spoils if it is not kept dry. Instant coffee differs in make-up and taste from ground coffee. In particular, the percentage of caffeine in instant coffee is less, and bitter flavor components are more evident. The lowest quality coffee beans are often used in the production of instant coffee (the best beans are usually kept to be sold whole) and sometimes other unwanted residues from the harvest are used in the production process. Some products, such as corn, are also used to make the coffee condense more quickly (some manufacturers practice this)."

-wikipedia.org

okay, so that answers some questions! yes, instant coffee sort of sucks, when the roaster skimps on quality. so this is a great niche for my brand! instant coffee that doesn't put corn in your brew. a small company that's focused on quality and taste is likely to fill in the gap that most large distributors of coffee, such as folger's, maxwell house, and nescafe, leave in their haste to make the big bucks. so while my product may be a bit more expensive, it will also be a bit more awesome. a smart chick who is low on time will probably be willing to pay more for a tasty and hasty way to get coffee, right?



this is from the brand diedrich coffee, and while i have no intention of making my brand anything like this one, i just wanted to point out how interesting their packaging is. as a critique, their 'system' of branding is a bit too disparate; i don't know if i would be able to identify a bag of coffee at a store as their's immediately, since they change the image and typography based on the origin of the beans. still, it's a cool idea, and someone intellectual who appreciates art and aesthetics might go for something like this.

until next time...

okay...this isn't really relevant. but it's still art.

i'm sorry, okay?! just enjoy it!


this is a link to the website with a blog entry with some more information on this poster. shepard fairey (the man who brought us the obama 'hope' poster and the 'obey' street art, for those not in the loop) designed this for bauhaus's latest album, go away white. how exciting!

stay tuned for a post that has something to do with the logo design of my coffee brand, lark.

hit the ground running

not only did i forget the web address for my blog, i forgot which hosting site i chose. thank goodness (and ange!) for the class list.

anyway, even though it's 12:45 a.m., i know some of you are still up. (admit it.) i found a neat little poster here, and then followed the designer to his website, here. i kind of wish he had more work like the 'france has the bomb' poster in his portfolio, but i thought his site might be useful as he has a section on logos in there! enjoy.

i've also been HARD at work, researching my product, which is coffee. the bean type. i came across this website today, which helped me understand the marketing of coffee a little better. it's also good for analyzing the competition for my (currently incubating) brand. while i don't expect my product to look anything like those shown on the site, i do like the sophisticated nature of their marketing. you can tell it's gourmet coffee right away! all good places to start.

and finally, since i am rediscovering the talking heads tonight, via speaking in tongues, i encourage you all to share in the glory of some cover art.





fanTAStic.

have a good night!