Project One
Rebrand the Boring, Tired & Uncool
Design school is a fantastic place to learn beacuse you have so much control over your projects and assignments.
Many times as a practicing designer projects are assigned to you that aren’t as inherently fun or cool as things like a food truck or brewery. Designers often say that these projects only pay the bills or are “boring”. They are really neither of these things and are instead unique challenges with a different set of rules. For this assignment you will be assigned to rebrand a “boring” company and give it a new unique brand that turns on its head the ideas associated with that industry.
For this project you will be creating a logo and brand system for a organization / company. This list of your choices is below.
This project will involve quite a bit of research both to understand what your organization/company does, as well as the existing landscape of design.. You will also need to create an additonal group of applications extending the new brand you have created.
In addtion to an overall branding system you will create some specific applications to show how your brand system can be applied. For all of these think about what would be functional and useful for your sp;ecifc business.
1) Stationary System - Business card, letterhead, envelope, mailing label, invoice, etc?
2) Vehicle Branding/Uniform - Truck, car, larger vehicle, employee uniform, etc?
3) Poster Set - 3-4 Posters that showcase company values, specific projects, or other components of your brand.
4) (2) Additional applications specific to your brand / concept
BRAND CHOICES:
1. SubTropolis Storage (Cave Storage)
2. RH Fastener Supply (Fastner Supply Company)
3. Standard Battery, Inc (Auto Battery Wholesale / Retail)
4. Index Restaurant Supply (Industrial Restaurant Supply)
5. SOS Pest Control (Pest Control)
6. Economy Auto Salvage (Used Auro Parts / Pick & Pull)
7. City Scrap Metal (Scrap Metal / Recycling)
8. Westport Glass & Mirror (Glass and Mirror Supply)
9. Mickey's Surplus Store (Military Surplus)
10. Precision Lawn Care (Lawn Mowing / Lawn Care)
11. K&G Striping (Highway / Roadway Construction Marking)
12. KC Aquarium and Maintenance (Aquariums Cleaning and Supply)
13. Junk King Kansas City (Junk Removal)
14. Pool Guys (Pool Cleaning and Maintaince)
15. Southside Wood Co. (Firewood Supplier)
16. Midwest Shredding Service (Document Destruction / Shredding )
FINAL DELIVERABLES:
- 11” x 17” Brand Board (Logo,wordmark,combinations,icons,colors,typography) (Printed)
- 11" x 17" Board(s) of Applications (2 minimum) (Printed)
PDF of Above on Server (Digital) - (1) Digital Process Book
- (2) Images that showcase your brand system and appplications (1080 pixel width by 1920 pixel height)
- (1) Behance Post of your Project
SCHEDULE:
1 / 17 / 23
IN CLASS
Presentation of project. Choose your company/organization from the list above.
HOMEWORK
Start brainstorming your company and its history. Research your industry. You need to become an expert. Don't look up these companies if they exist the history is yours to make sure and has to relation to anything that exists. Have one paragraph summary of the history for next class.
1) Also include 3-5 taglines.
2) Create a word list and a concept map to help you narrow down your ideas.
3) Do a visual audit of brands / other companies in your space?
4) Create three seperate moodboards for directions of the brand, Push them in different directions. Pull inspiration from outside of your industry & think conceptually.
AVOID PULLING THINGS THAT ARE ALREADY DESIGNED!
Rerence the demo we did in class to help you when you do this. Don't do it all in one night. Give yourself time to explore / research / learn.
CONCEPT, CONCEPT, CONCEPT!
What is your concept and how do you manifest it visually? If your concept is about making you feel at home? How do you represent cozy or welcoming visually?
1 / 19 / 23
IN CLASS
Review visual audits, concept maps, and word
lists for your brand/company.
Review Moodboards
HOMEWORK
Begin sketching on the company/organization that you chose. (75) sketches. Use a pencil and paper here. Explore lots of different ideas. Refrence your moodboards and find things to be inspired by while sketching. But do not look at Pintrest, Behance, Dribbble, etc! Your sketches will be overly inspired by things you see. Focus on using your concept to build off while sketching.
Explore literal and abstract concepts for a wide variety of solutions.
Also think about monograms and characters / mascots.
Rember to explore ideas from all the moodboards. These are where your three concepts will come from.
Think about your concept? How does that conept manifest itself visually? Typographically? Symobllically? Etc?
1 / 24 / 23
IN CLASS
Review sketches and concepts
HOMEWORK
Refine your sketches / concepts and begin to move into the computer.
Continue to avoid Dribbble / Pintrest / Behance / Etc.
Explore how things can lock up together. What is the system etc? What are the relationships between type and image? Color? Texuture? Etc?
Keep in mind what you make needs to be a reflection of your concept!
1 / 26 / 23
IN CLASS
Critique pencil computer explorations
and concepts
HOMEWORK
Begin to develop your three brand concepts. Use your history and research to make them feel different. Even within one moodboard you will have plenty of room to explore.
First steps are begin to move things into the computer. Get as much of the stuff you think is working into the computer. Start to create initial toolkits. The farther you push this week the easier the next steps will be. Nothing needs to be perfect, we still need a breadth of solutions / ideas.
Continue to avoid Dribbble / Pintrest / Behance / Etc.
Explore how things can lock up together. What is the system etc? What are the relationships between type and image? Color? Texuture? Etc?
Keep in mind what you make needs to be a reflection of your concept!
Bring a PDF we can click through of your studies.
1 / 31 / 23
IN CLASS
Review Concept Presentations
HOMEWORK
Refine all concepts based on the feedback you recieve in class today.
Make big strides and try different ideas / solutions. Really refine these into brand systems.
You are working towards building out (3) distinct concepts using different marks, colors, typography, and style. Think about primary, secondary, and different lock ups? Explore color, typography. Do several explorations of applications for eah concept. See how you can extend the brands you have created to test the elements.
Bring in (one) concept fully packed from illustrator. Perhaps choose a concept you are having trouble with or a concept you dont feel as confident in.
2 / 02 / 23
IN CLASS
Packaged File Activity
HOMEWORK
Be prepared to present like your would be presenting/pitching to a client. Be professional & prepared.
Build (3) distinct concepts using different marks, colors, typography, and style. Think about primary, secondary, and different lock ups? Explore color, typography. Do several explorations of applications for eah concept. See how you can extend the brands you have created.
Refine all concepts based on the feedback you recieve in class today.
Make big strides and try different ideas / solutions. Really refine these into brand systems.
You will be recieving a grade for this presentation and also getting feedback from your classmates.
2 / 07 / 23
IN CLASS
Concepts Presentations in Class
HOMEWORK
Pick a final direction(s) to refine based on your classmates feedback. Do MORE EXPLORATION around your now more solidified idea. MAKE LOTS OF STUFF!
Make refinements and continue to explore the differrent ways you can extend your brand.
How do things begin to lock up together? Do they combine into one mark or exist seperately? Even seperately how can they relate to one another. Typographically how can you create lock up's that can stand alone?
Begin to explore how your brand can extend to your applications. Don't just repeat the logo. Build a visual language for your brand.
2 / 09 / 23
IN CLASS
Critique Final Brand Concept / Exploration
HOMEWORK
Make refinements and continue to explore the differrent ways you can extend your brand.
How do things begin to lock up together? Do they combine into one mark or exist seperately? Even seperately how can they relate to one another. Typographically how can you create lock up's that can stand alone?
Sketches and Exploration for Stationary and Vehicle / Uniform Branding. (10) Business Cards (10 Letterhead) Minimum. (10) Vehcile or Uniform Studies. What can you do with both of these beyond just putting your logo on something?
BIG STRIDES OVER THE WEEKEND!
2 / 14 / 23
IN CLASS
Critique Applications
HOMEWORK
Refine your initial applications 2-3 concepts for each one. Do more if you are unsure! Think about typographic scale and make sure you are working at things full size.
10-15 computer explorations for each of your last two groups of applications. Think about what they would need and how you can create something ineteresting/ unique!
Begin to lay out your final brand boards. Think about the examples we showed in class and how you can make them dyanmic and interesting! Think about scale / layering / rule of thirds etc.
2 / 16 / 23
IN CLASS
Review Brand Boards / Applications
HOMEWORK
Project Due Next Class
Pay attention to deliverables above. Pay special attention to sizes and formats requested.
Keep process books under 100 MB.
2 / 21 / 23
IN CLASS
Project Due
HOMEWORK
Homework for Project 3