OUGD 504 - Studio Brief 1

Looking back at the task that we were asked to do, we got into groups and discussed what we had found about the six different categories.

• Formats - This is the method of delivery used and there are a wide range of formats that could be used, each one having its own considerations and differences. The array of formats consist of things such as magazines, newspapers, leaflets, books, posters, tags etc. Paper sizes, A and B, are also called formats; the change in scale having a direct impact on aspects such as the process and the production.

• Colour - There are two colour modes, CMYK and RGB but only CMYK is relevant and appropriate when designing for print. When wanting to print with different styles of colours such as metallic and neon, digital printing becomes much more restricted. This means that when choosing your colours you have to be simultaneously thinking about the processes you will want to use, and vice versa.

• Production - When thinking about production, there are 3 main categories: mass production, short-run and bespoke. Each category would have a direct impact on the design and the way in which things can be made and the processes that can be used. When dealing with mass production, it is much more appropriate to use digital printing, whereas when dealing with bespoke printing more hands-on processes such as screen printing are more available.

• Process - Process is the way in which something is printed or the way in which the design is transferred onto the chosen stock. There are numerous different types of processes such as screen printing, laser cutting, embossing, foiling etc.

• Finishing - This could be anything that completes a design or adds the final touches to a design. This could include things such as foiling, folding, latex overprint etc.

• Stock - Stock is the term used for the material and substrate that the design is printed or applied onto. When thinking about stock, aspects such as scale and cost have a direct impact on the choices that are made.

From talking through the different categories and having to debate which category certain elements fell into, we began to realise that they are all interlinked. Although they are all separate categories with distinct differences, when designing for print they all need to be considered as they all link together and being to blend together.

We then went around the class and spoke about what we had discussed as a group. We tried to summarise each category. This is what we came up with:

• Format - Scale + Size + Working within that
• Colour - Colour modes, Hues, Function etc.
• Production - 'The actual making of it'
• Process - The method
• Finishing - Production + Process
• Substrates for printing, consideration etc.

Again in our groups, we put everything into the middle of the desk. We were then asked to organise all of the items into the six categories, one at a time.

Format -

 
We noticed that in each group all of the items were around the same size and shape. Most business cards have very similar dimensions and those that didn't started to confuse us. One example was a business card shaped like a beer mat; we couldn't decide whether it should go with business cards or not. We came to the conclusion that although it was a beer mat its format was still business card.

Colour -

These groups made it very clear that the smaller format and less expensive items contained very few colours in comparison to the larger format items such as publications and posters. We decided that this would be mainly due to the quantity of the items that would have been produced and the cost that this would incur.

Production -

We had been given three categories for this section: Mass Production, Short-Run and Bespoke. We realised that we had many short-run items and slightly fewer mass production examples, whilst having no bespoke items.

Process -

We had many different groups for this category which I thought was very interesting. Often in the real world little things such as embossing and foiling can often go unnoticed, but having split them into groups it was interesting seeing how the different processes can be applied to such a wide range of formats and products.


Instead of organising the examples into 'stock' or 'finishing', we were asked to think about cost. We had to make a cost-line of the examples in relation to how much we think it would cost in order to make one unit of each. This is how we felt it would look:

 

Here we quickly realised that smaller formats and items that used a more limited colour palette were at the cheap end of the spectrum whereas larger formats such as magazines and books were on the other end. Items such as business cards need to be reasonably cheap to produce in order for them to be effectively distributed without costing too much. Magazines and books however are sold, some for upwards of £6.00, so more money can go into the actual production of them.

We also had a $1 bill. This was a slightly trickier example and caused some confusion at first. We came to the conclusion that in order to produce a single $1 bill it would cost quite a lot. This is due to the printing costs involved with money which is the reason that when money is printed, it is printed in huge bulk.

What we realised from this task was a pattern had emerged throughout the different categories. Similar things are starting to group up and stay together in each different category; things such as business cards as well as publications seemed to be together within format, process, colour, production and even cost. We were then asked to take our examples and re-arrange them into these categories: Branding and Identity, Packaging and Promotion, Publishing and Editorial and Information and Way-Finding.

Once again we quickly realised from looking at our examples that in many cases these were linked. Often we would find that with one example, it could be put into two, sometimes even three, of the categories.

Throughout this session we have become aware of many things that we didn't know and raised many questions that we still don't know the answers to. We have each compiled a list of things that we have become aware that we don't know. Here is my list:

1. How much does it cost to print a single dollar bill, in comparison to printing dollar bills in bulk?
2. How do you make/print a stamp?
3. How do you print with white ink?
4. How do you print onto more obscure stock, such as plastics and foil?
5. What is die-cutting, and how does it compare to laser-cutting?

When people were reading out some of their questions, I made a note of the ones that I felt appealed to me and related to something that I wanted to know. Further questions that I want to find the answers to are:

1. How are paper bags produced, manually or by machine?
2. What are all the different costings of printing?
3. How are receipts printed?
4. How do you make your own inks?
5. Which printing methods are suited to which stock?
6. Colour theory - Refresher
7. How do you print luminous colours?

TASK: Find 5 examples of logo and branding:

For this task, I am going to use a mixture of books and internet sources to find the 5 that I think are most interesting to me. From using the websites Pinterest and StumbleUpon, I already have a few examples that I think are appropriate. From my StumbleUpon page, I have found these two websites containing many examples of good logo and branding design.

www.logobird.com

www.youandsaturation.com

From my Pinterest account, I found these:

1. Russian Tennis Academy

 

I like this logo as I think it is very clever and has a strong concept behind it. It is a tennis court, which is clearly shown through the use of the basic line illustration, but at the same time is a book. This is a very clear representation of the 'Tennis' aspect and the 'Academy' aspect. The use of the sans serif font fits the aesthetic of the logo perfectly and echoes the simplicity of it.

2. Wedding Photo/Video

 

This logo is for a wedding photography agency. At first glance the shape of a camera is clearly visible, and at slightly closer inspection so is the diamond ring in the center. Like the previous logo, these two aspect of the company are both very clearly represented through the clever use of imagery and basic lines. The colour gold has been used as it has connotations with wealth and high quality which is something that the agency obviously want to promote.

3. Peace Corps

 

I like this design for the Peace Corps as I think it very clearly whilst very subtly portrays their ethos. The contrast between the heavy stroke of the hand and the light stroke of the twig emphasises the way in which they delicately handle things. To me, it appears to be an olive branch that the hand is holding which has strong connotations to peace, echoing the idea of peace and love. A sans serif font has been used also, which is very thin and light, and this once again echoing the sense of delicate care and peace.

4. Lightning Jar Press

The logo for Lightning Jar Press is very much a visual representation of the name. It is a jar with a lightning bolt inside it; the whole image being made from a single line. There have been two typefaces used within this design, a hand-written style typeface as well as a serif typeface. The hand written font is representative of nature and a more natural side, like lightning, whereas the serif font is very aesthetically similar to that of a typewriter. 

I have also looked at the book 'Symbol' and found these logo designs that I find interesting:

1. Krefina Bank

This is a logo for a Swedish bank and I feel the use of a bee is very clever. The reason for this decision was the connotations that a bee has and the links that can be made between a bee hive and a bank; even though these links may not be super obvious. The bee represents a loyal, dedicated hard worker which is how the bank would like their employee's to be seen. It also represents the accumulation of wealth, much like the way in which bee accumulate honey.

2. Paul Rand - ABC

I like this logo as I think it is very bold and simple, yet obviously very effective. Designed in 1961 by Paul Rand, who is renown for his corporate logo design work, this logo has basically not changed since then. This show that this logo is clearly very timeless and effective, being bold whilst clearly representing 'ABC'. The use of circles has helped achieved this timeless logo, the circle being echoed throughout all of this design; the large black circle as well the each of the letter forms containing circular elements.

When thinking about logo design and corporate identities, the short clip 'Logorama' springs to mind. It is very interesting to see their take on the various different companies and the way in which they are perceived.