Mind Mapping for City Logos

In the second week of Defining Client Needs, we were assigned three cities:

• Reykjavík, Iceland
• Marrakesh, Morocco
• Kyoto, Japan

We learned how to use Mind Mapping to generate and connect ideas that could be used to create logos for each city. I created nine mind maps to cover each city’s geography, modern culture, and traditions.

Reykjavík

Marrakesh

Kyoto

In what ways did you connect and synthesize the research?

The Lonely Planet websites for each city were a good starting point, and other travel websites provided branches of research. I also looked at satellite maps and used image searches to find colors and motifs for each city. Using my collected notes, I created lists of keywords that I organized into the three categories for each city.

How did you employ multiple approaches to problem-solving through your research?

In addition to internet research, I also interviewed my mother, who has recently visited both Iceland and Morocco. Her impressions of Reykjavík and Marrakesh as a tourist helped inform my ideas of which attractions the cities would want to promote. Having no personal connection to Kyoto, I searched for online testimonials from recent visitors.

In what ways did you find unique, or innovative, ideas to work with by comparison to existing logos found through research that represent other cities?

I found that city logos often use basic elements like a mountain that can be very generic unless you focus on specific details. If you are going to use a mosque to represent Marrakesh or a shrine to represent Kyoto, what makes that mosque or shrine distinct from others in the region? A city logo should be an instantly recognizable image that represents the city identity.

What research competencies did you display through this work?

This week I focused on in-depth research to answer specific questions about each of the three cities. This research generated keywords that I organized by city and categories. I visually mind mapped each category for the cities, finding connections and brainstorming new words to fit the concepts.

What’s Next?

Our next step is to choose one of the cities and start sketching rough designs based on ideas discovered through the word maps.

Stay tuned for more…