Research and Inspiration #19

For this assignment, I have to make another logo and a business card. The companies that I have to choose from is Azul Salon and Spa, Ted's How Wings, and The Candy Shop. With two colors only, I choose The Candy Shop because of my sweet tooth!

I like all of these logos, authentic and fun. I kinda want it to scream "Old School Candy Store"! Like the ones you see in small towns that you visit, like Helen, GA, The Highlands, NC, or even Savannah, GA.

For a card, I want it to be horizontal, I don't get why people like it vertical. Small, pocket sized, but memorable enough so you know what it looks like. Maybe the background should be a bright color so it pops out anywhere, saying "Take Me".

Letterhead ideas:

 This one is okay, but a little too formal for a candy shop.

 Better....but a little to sparkly. Its a candy shop, but the viewers are going to be adults most likely. 

This is good. A little color, not too much, but still says "I am a company that you should trust in".

Envelope Ideas:

 I like this. Small graphics in the corner, some color, and emphasis on the faded logo.

 This is also good for a candy store, especially a small one that wants people to invest.

Yawn, there is nothing that makes me want to open this. What will make it pop and look unique from the rest of the junk mail?

Stationary Package

Stationary Package: the printed pieces that a company utilizes for communication purposes (letterhead, envelope, business cards, etc...)


*When establishing a business, it is important that all communications are well coordinated and that the message of the organization is presented consistently*


Basic stationary package includes:

• Business card
• Letterhead 
• Envelope

Business Card: When you hand someone your business card, they will form an immediate opinion about your company. It says something about your company--its mission, culture, and goals. 

-Everything from the COLORS, FONTS, the TEXTURE, SHADE, and GLOSS OF THE PAPER you print on says something about you.

Includes...

• Logo 
• Company name
• Employee name 
• Employee's title 
• Phone number 
• Email address 
• Company address 
• Web address 

*Visual hierarchy is very important!!*

Design tips:

• Must be 2" x 3.5" (fits in a wallet size)
• Margins about 1/4" (0.25) or 1/8" (0.125)
• Horizontal OR vertical orientation
• Check for accuracy
• Check for unity...continuity among other pieces

Letterhead- A printed piece of paper used to send letters, memos, etc.

• Generic to the company
• Make sure there is plenty of blank space for actual text! 2/3 to 3/4 of it~ (A watermark is okay to include in a large size)

Typically includes...

• logo BIG AND PROMINENT!
• company name
• company address
• phone number
• fax number
• web address

Design tips:

• In the United States, it must be 8.5 x 11
• Must be vertical/portrait orientation
• Must leave room to write the letter, memo, etc. Big empty space in the middle!
• Check for accuracy
• Check for unity...continuity among other pieces

Envelope- The packaging that contains the letter/form when being mailed

• Standard #10 envelope 
• Expensive to print all the way to the edges of an envelope

Typically includes...

• logo
• company name
• company address

Design Tips:

• Must be 9.5" x 4.125"
• Horizontal or vertical orientation
• Must leave room for recipient's address and stamp
• Check for accuracy
• Check for unity and continuity among other pieces

Visual Organization

Visual Organization: Directing the audience through a design.


IMPORTANT PARTS

1. Eye Movement: Controlling eye movement within the composition is a matter of directing the natural scanning tendency of the viewer's eye. The eye tends to gravitate towards areas of complexity first. In portraits, the eye typically goes to the face. Light areas of a composition will attract the eye, especially when adjacent to a dark area. Diagonal lines or edges will guide eye movement.
2. Optical Center: The spot where the eye tends to enter the page. It is slightly above the center to the left a little bit (human tendency). No matter how colorful everything else is, your eye will always fall on the optical center. It takes a compelling image to pull your sight away from the optical center.
3. Z Pattern: Our visual pattern makes a sweep of the page in a "Z" pattern. Effective page design maps a viewer's route through the information. The designer's objective is to lead the viewer's eye to the important elements or information.

The job of a graphic designer is to guide people throughout the work while making a visual statement.


FONT RULES

1. No more than 2 fonts total that complement each other in one composition
2. Don't use all upper caps
3. Chose the right font (fits theme & tone)
4. Don't over use fancy or over-complicated fonts. No need to confuse the audience.
5. Helpful site --> www.typography.com/email/2010-03/index.htm

VISUAL HIERARCHY

1. The designer's goal is to lead the viewers' eyes to the important information.
2. Visual hierarchy will establish focal points based on its importance.
3. Establish your order of elements to help the viewer absorb information provided by design.
4. What do you want your viewer to see first? Make sure the audience sees the name of the company, then what they are.

THE GRID 

1. A way of organizing content on a page, using any combination of margins, guide lines, rows, and columns. 
2. Instituted by modernism! Can assist the audience by breaking info into manageable chunks and establishing relationships between text and images. 
3. A grid consists of a distinct set of aligned-based relationships that act as guides for distributing elements across a format. Every design is different; therefore every design will require a different grid structure, one that addresses the particular elements within the design. 
4. A grid is used to help clarify the message being communicated messages and to unify the elements.

Research and Inspiration #18

We have to make wordmarks for fake companies (St. Henri Hotel, In Focus Photography, or Mimi's Flower Shoppe).

 I like this one not just because I like the car (well I do). I like the simplicity and the color suggests a sporty off-roading car like the Wrangler. 

 I like the swirly lettering, although the coloring won't be good for the fake companies that I have to choose from.

 I am allowed two colors, but I like how popular this is. Too bad I can't copy it but that won't be good for serious companies and audiences.

 I like the  background coloring and then the white. I don't really like the "F" but it might be a good idea for this assignment.

As much as I like the coloring and simplicity on this, I am not allowed to use black and two other colors. Plus this is a little too... sporty for say a flower shop. But either way...yay terps!

Research and Inspiration #17

I need to make a logo for a fake company, Dr. Gleam Dentistry. I don't know who my audience is so...everyone!
White might not count as a color (only 2 are allowed).

Color Ideas:

1. Variations of blue seem to be trendy for dentists, it looks cleaner. A light blue or a sky blue will work very well. Maybe a royal blue too.
2. Defiantly not black or brown
3. A minty green

Image And Typography Ideas:

1. I want a smiling tooth, it looks more friendly to most audiences because very few like going to the dentist (maybe thats just me)...
2. "DR. GLEAM" underneath or above a tooth
3. "DR. GLEAM" inside the tooth
4. The tooth could have something related to a doctor and have Dr. Gleam on it, but that might be too small for someone to see while driving on the highway...

 This seems a little too childish. It looks like the smiley face is on laughing gas and its for a kid's dentist because it says "your friendly...". It doesn't matter it has "stomatologist" on it, I'm looking for something slightly more....mature?

 I like this one. Its a happy looking tooth, but the font shows a little sobriety so it doesn't look like a kid's dentistry.

This logo seems too serious, but I like the colors and the name somewhat in the tooth. Its a little more mature than I previously wanted...but thats why I sketch.

Logotypes

Logotypes

• A logotype is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations, and to individuals to aid and promote public recognition. Also called a logo.
• Logographic languages, coats of arms, watermarks and printing technology contributed to the contemporary logo.
• A boom in advertisement during the Industrial Revolution integrated typography and imagery together on the page. Typography itself was undergoing a revolution of form and expression that expanded beyond regular texts.
• Logos and other arts were expanding from storytelling to a differentiation of brands and products that the growing middle classes were consuming. As the commercial arts were growing, the US had 800 lithographic printing firms and employed more than 8,000 at 1890.
• Children's books, newspapers, and other periodicals were developing their own visual and editorial styles.
• Victorian decorative arts lead to an expansion of typographic styles and methods of representing business.
• By the 1950s, the visual simplicity and conceptual clarity that were hallmarks of Modernism as an artistic movement formed a powerful toolset for a new generation of graphic designers.
• Modernist-inspried logos proved successful in the era of mass visual communication ushered in by television, improvements in printing, and digital innovations. Modernization made logos simple.
• Logo design is an important area of graphic design, and one of the most difficult to perfect because logos are meant to represent companies' brands or corporate identities and foster their immediate customer recognition.
• Less is more! --> real people don't stare at and analyze logos, so it is important to make sure teh audience with immediately recognize the logo of the company.
• A logo has to be simple but has enough personality to stand out in a crowd.

5 Principles of Effective Logo Design

1. Simple--> Real people don't want to stop and stare at a complicated logo. Simplicity makes logos recognizable.
2. Memorable--> Keep it simple and appropriate enough that its memorable, people recognize it.
3. Timeless--> Make sure it works for many generations. Will it work in 10 to 50 years? Don't make it trendy because trends fade.
4. Versatile--> Make sure the logo will look good on a t-shirt, television, billboard and business cards. It has to be adaptable to size and medium.
5. Appropriate--> If a logo is for a toy store, make it fun for kids to recognize it. If it is for a law firm, make it serious and recognizable for a mature audience.

Ask yourself...

Is your logo look good in reverse colors and recognizable in different sizes? Will it work well for your intended audience? MAKING LOGOS IS NOT WHAT YOU WANT, BUT YOUR AUDIENCE AND CLIENT!

Color!!

Four Color Process
-technique for printing with full color
-CMYK

Spot Color
- a method of specifying and printing color in which each color is printed with its own ink
- cost effective when the printed matter only contains 1-3 colors, becomes expensive with more colors
- Pantone Matching System

Color selection should be based on audience.
Pay attention to color trends, trends come and go, but if it is for fashion...GO TRENDY.
Use 2-3 colors

Types of Logos

1. Combination Mark--> includes text and an image. (ex. McDonald's, Starbucks, AT&T, etc."
2. Iconic or Symbolic --> Compelling yet uncomplicated images that are emblematic of a particular 
company or product.
3. Wordmark--> just using characters.
4. Lettermark--> initials of company name.