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.
