Creating a brand identity.pdf
Transcript of Creating a brand identity.pdf
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22 Tutorial Creating a brand identity
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23Tutorial Creating a brand identity
When starting any company, your brand is of vital importance. Think of the worlds leading brands such as Nike or Apple you dont even have to see any words with the logo to know what the company is. While you may be way off achieving this kind of global status, you should still
envisage a logo that is recognisable, simple and re ects your company values. In this tutorial, Deep Creative shows you how to create an exciting original corporate identity, basing the nal logo on a well-informed, well-scrutinised process of experimentation and consultation.
The following tutorial will also be useful if youre designing a logo for a client. You must, for instance, know your clients needs, and the market they are competing in. You must also know your target demographic.
Its important to make sure the branding visually re ects the brand values it represents stick to these values and excite the target demographic with your mark. Finally, you must make your brand look the same everywhere in every size on every format. Its a tricky job, but after this tutorial, youll be heading in the right direction.
Expertise provided by Dominic James of Deep Creative. Deep Creative has recently celebrated its seventh anniversary and continues to provide brand solutions for companies all over the world. Contact Dom on [e] [email protected] or [w] www.deep.co.uk.
So, youve formed a new company and need an identity. Deep Creative shows you how to create one from concept to fi nal artwork
Creating a brand identity
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24 Tutorial Creating a brand identity
Part 1: Briefi ng and inspirationThe fi rst step in logo design is about coming up with ideas
1 The fi rst thing to do is think about what you want out of your logo. You must be confi dent
that you understand whats required. Make clear notes, ask lots of questions and type them up to present to your creative team (if you have one) while its all fresh in your mind.
2 Heres our list of must-haves: key words, brand values, brand history and knowledge, brand
goals, target market demographic, social responsibility implications, longevity of brand image (that is, is this logo to last more, or less, than fi ve years?).
3 Do your research. Although you have tight deadlines, allocating quality time for a
well-informed and broad range of research is fundamental to the success of the new brand in its marketplace. Its important to know this market visually, to be able to approach the project tactfully.
7 Gather all of the material together for review. Create mood boards, stick your ideas up on the
walls, constantly analysing new concepts. This stage should be active in order to generate creative, original successful solutions.
8 Review with your team. You should now have ideas of colours, textures, themes and word
plays which start to create a feel. How appropriate to the brand is that feel? Get early feedback from others. Listen and take action on their instincts. Collate and concentrate on the strongest ideas.
9 Experiment with some of the ideas youve had. Explore new methods anything that creates
unpredictable results. Look for inspiration everywhere and anywhere.
4 The internet is the most convenient and obvious method of research now. Visit
competitors websites and use Google to search any subject around your brand. Find strong and sometimes unusual links that can equip you with powerful, unique tools when it comes to generating new ideas.
5 Collate brochures, folders, industry magazines; visit exhibitions, shops; take pictures of your
target consumers to understand their values, habits and level of communication. Create a profi le that will help design the right feel for the brand.
6 Take notes and sketch ideas, word plays, shapes, colours any visual ideas that the
research initially triggers. Collate textures, colours, objects, and any other visuals that could be shared with peers, seniors and the client. These are the beginnings of your brand profi le.
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25Tutorial Creating a brand identity
Perfect curvesIts essential to check any curves
youve used are smooth. Turn your
view to outline in Illustrator.
Select the Pen tool (P), press the
Ctrl/Cmnd key and click on the
point you want to adjust. Change
your Pen tool to the Convert
Anchor Point tool by holding
down the Alt key and dragging
out the handles. This gives you a
smooth curve with handles that
are of an even length.
10 Spend time looking through typefaces, logo fonts and letterforms which may fulfi l your
requirements. There are many fonts for many purposes. Try websites, books and font utilities to source these.
11 Certain typographic elements, shapes, images, patterns and colours will start to work. Building
ideas in Illustrator with the Pen tools will help refi ne and make your marks more physically editable.
12 Combining these simple ideas with the mood boards, the client can get a feel for the
directions that you have created for them. There may be more than ten ideas at this stage that are all varied, experimental and sophisticated.
Part 2: Generating marksStart to play around with logo ideas in Illustrator
4 Remain active. Be aggressive with the results. Duplicate ideas, make them bolder/fi ner, apply
curves and extend ascenders. There are always ways to change your mark, but use your instinct to leave it when it reaches its strongest form (this may even be the fi rst edition).
5 Each logo should be comparable by the same size and colour. They can then be judged on
there own strengths of form as a logo: spacing, weight, tactfulness. The overall feel and originality can be quickly assessed this way by your team members and yourself.
6 Constantly print out these ideas, because this is the best way to assess their physical success.
Look at them from a distance, stick them on the wall, show them to people this logo has a purpose which it should fulfi l.
1 Begin to generate logos from the feedback. You should now know the direction you need
to go in to satisfy your needs and achieve creative results. Take these ideas further. Start to create black logos in Illustrator. Keep them to a user-friendly size.
2 In Illustrator, create outlines of any fonts that youre using, and begin to make this a bespoke
typographic mark using the Pen tools. Tailor the fonts weight and curves so that a balanced individual strong mark is formed.
3 Use the rulers, guides and grid to create accurate curves and balanced spacing. Also
use the Transform tool to work on the mark using accurate dimensions.
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26 Tutorial Creating a brand identity
7 Group feedback enables you to critically assess what you have created, and how its
communicating. Stick all the logos up on the wall for everyone to see. Which ones stands out to the eye? Which is most legible? Which is most exciting? Memorable, individual, appropriate? Or is it back to the drawing board?
8 For the three most successful marks, take these on a stage further. They work, but how can
they represent a brand that is stronger/more friendly/more professional?
9 Colour is as important as the mark in many ways. Colour alone can represent a brand if
used in an original context. You should fi nd this is something that should be a natural progression whatever inspired and dictated the form should also inspire the colour.
1 Scrutinise your artwork. Thoroughly check any curves and shapes that are used. There should
be no stray points, uneven edges or imperfect curves. Use the preview (outline) in Illustrator to inspect the edges in detail. This will also show up any stray vectors.
2 Any line strokes that youve used should be converted to outlines so that this mark is
scalable. Any fonts should also be outlined so that this logo can be universally exported.
3 Use Illustrator to combine shapes using the Compound Paths command or the Pathfi nder
tool, which enables you to merge paths and have full control of one single area.
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10 Now collate these marks in Illustrator for a printed presentation. Use a colour version, a
large version and the standard size in black (at which it has been designed). Colours should be considered too. Because this is still about form, you may fi nd colours that work in one mark that can later be applied to other marks.
11 Ideally, you should show these ideas to others in your fi eld and/or company. This is
something you and they will look at everyday, possibly for years to come. How will they feel about this in the morning? How will they perceive these marks in their work surroundings?
12 Think about how you can optomise colour use. How do you now see the logo against
your competitors? Does it need to be bolder or more refi ned? These are two questions you may fi nd relevant.
Part 3: Robust logoPerfect your logo and prepare it for use on different formats
Brand consistencyMaintaining brand consistency is
fundamental for the strength and
effectiveness of the brand. You
have given a client a unique
brand identity a strict set of
corporate guidelines that are
almost as important as the mark
itself. Use Illustrator to measure
out grids that show acceptable
spatial relationships and use of
the logo. Create PDF documents
from this that can be sent to
every user of the logo via email.
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27Tutorial Creating a brand identity
Typographic awarenessIf youve discovered an intriguing
font in your research and would
like to nd out what it is to
reincarnate it for your branding,
you can scan it and fax/email it
to [w] www.fontshop.com. These
guys will search their enormous
databases and source it for you.
Finding the perfect typographic
solution is very important.
4 Print the logo as big as possible in black.Your eye will easily pick up any weaknesses or
imperfections with this proofi ng technique.
5 Show this fi nal version to anyone who is fresh to this mark. Do they see any problems
that you cant?
6 Now create fi nal colour versions. Create CMYK, Pantone and web versions for its
many different uses.
10 Consider how much space the logo needs around it to breathe. Set a distance around the
mark to maintain its identity so users cant penetrate this space.
11 How should this logo be used on black? On white? How is it used on imagery? Can it
be used over imagery? Ensure you have every situation covered.
12 After all your hard work, theres only one thing left to do: assess the fi nished identity
as successful! ca p
7 It may be necessary to create a small version (especially if fi ne strokes are used) which is as
legible as the designed format. A large version may also be necessary. But make sure these are used to make the logo look the same, because its very important to retain a high level of consistency with successful branding.
8 You might need a version thats just the emblem and one thats just the typographical
element, for use on different formats.
9 Begin creating a corporate guide, with all of the brands values incorporated. Strict guidelines
for colour and sizes should be set out here to retain brand consistency.
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