Tag: logos

Overview

Multi-platform Delivery, the ninth course in the Media Design MFA program from Full Sail University, continued the development of a brand identity for a fictional client: Boxpark Sushi, located in East Side Milwaukee.

My classmates and I used the design briefs and media delivery plans that we developed in the previous course to create final logos and media assets for the brand. Finally, we collected all the brand details and visual assets into a comprehensive brand guide.

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Connecting / Synthesizing / Transforming

This month I was reminded of the importance of proximity and space in graphic design. In an early draft of the Boxpark Sushi logo, the logotype suffered because it was three degrees away from stasis. In other words, the Boxpark and Sushi type were separated by distance as well as font and color differences.

To better understand the design principles of proximity and space, I read an article by Matt Smith on graphic design education website Edgee.net and chapters from the book The Elements of Graphic Design: Space, Unity, Page Architecture, and Type by Alex White.

As noted by Smith (2014), close proximity of design elements indicates a relationship or connection between the elements. Things that are unrelated are not grouped together. White (2011) agrees that the proximity of related elements adds unity to a design.

I applied this knowledge to revise the Boxpark Sushi logo. Although the fonts and colors are still different, I shortened the x-height of the Sushi type and overlapped the Boxpark type. Joining the type in this way strengthened the connection between the two elements to form an effective logotype.

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Problem Solving

Creating a logo that stood out from other sushi brands was a daunting design problem. Sushi rolls and chopsticks are ubiquitous in the category, so differentiation required thinking of other elements that visually represent the characteristics of Boxpark Sushi.

Having established the Sushi Sensei as the personality of the brand, I sketched many logo concepts based on Japanese martial arts or philosophy, such as the Yin-Yang symbol. I also sketched many versions of the Sushi Sensei as a brand mascot.

The solutions featuring a simplified Sushi Sensei were more successful because they literally put a face on the brand while also expressing the brand’s characteristics (Yalanska, 2019).

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Innovative Thinking

Restaurant mascots have become less illustrative over the years as designers recognize the importance of simplicity in logo design.

My own work on the Sushi Sensei mascot followed a similar arc as the design evolved from illustrative concept sketches to an iconified design where every shape serves a communicative purpose.

For example, the first rendered draft of the logo featured the sensei within a diamond shape that mirrored the headband diamonds. However, this design element was decorative rather than communicative, so it was removed. The bottom edge of the design now resembles an open book that reveals the sensei, expressing the brand’s educational aspect. The bowing expression with closed eyes was also changed to a friendly wink, expressing the brand’s fun side.

The final Sushi Sensei logo demonstrates innovative thinking by evolving quickly during the design process rather changing after years of public exposure. The simplified mascot also uses cool colors appropriate to sushi and wisdom rather that the bright red hues used by fast food brands to stimulate hunger.

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Acquiring Competencies

The following are concepts, skills, or new resources learned in the Multi-platform Delivery course. They are categorized as Academic (pertaining to schoolwork) or Occupational (pertaining to work in the Media Design field), and Technical (pertaining to software or other design skills) or Conceptual (new terminology, procedures, or ideas).

Brand mascots are a powerful way to connect with a target audience. Mascots provide emotional triggers while supporting the voice of the brand. [occupational, conceptual]

Designers must consider font personality when developing a brand’s typography. The shape, weight, and angles of letterforms all have psychological associations with characteristics like strength or compassion. [academic, conceptual]

A logomark is a simplified symbol that represents a brand but does not include the brand name or other written words. [occupational, conceptual]

A logotype (or word mark) is a brand name that has been visually styled to reflect the brand identity. [occupational, conceptual]

To deconstruct a design means to analyze its separate components in order to understand how it helps communicate a message. [academic, conceptual]

Visual space is used to connect and separate elements in a design. Space also creates hierarchy and improves legibility while conveying a variety of meanings. [occupational, conceptual]

Colors and other design elements have different cultural associations and meanings. When choosing design elements, it is important to research the target market and make appropriate cultural considerations. [occupational, conceptual]

Close proximity of design elements indicates a relationship or connection between the elements. Unrelated elements are space farther apart. [occupational, conceptual]

Carefully organized project file management makes it easier for designers to locate important files and maintain a catalogue of past work. [occupational, technical]

When using design mockups, it is important to consider transparency with clients, appropriateness and inclusivity of the image, and the usage rights. [occupational, conceptual]

Clear space, also called free space or white space, is the minimum amount of space that a logo must have on each side. Without these guidelines, logo usage will be inconsistent and far less effective. [occupational, conceptual]

Adobe InDesign master pages keep layouts consistent across many pages in a publication. [occupational, technical]

A brand guide ensure that the successful brand identity solution continues to be used effectively and consistently in all all future designs and brand media. [occupational, conceptual]

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References:

Smith, M. (2014, September 15). The Principles of Graphic Design: How to Use Proximity Effectively. https://www.edgee.net/the-principles-of-graphic-design-how-to-use-proximity-effectively/

White, A. W. (2011). The Elements of Graphic Design: Space, Unity, Page Architecture, and Type. Allworth Press.

Yalanska, M. (2019, March 13). Design Me Live: The Power of Mascots in UI and Branding. https://blog.tubikstudio.com/design-me-live-the-power-of-mascots-in-ui-and-branding/

The final project for the Multi-Platform Delivery course was designing a brand guide for Boxpark Sushi, a fictional brand we’ve been developing for several months.

The top three concept sketches for the fictional Boxpark Sushi brand were developed into vector graphics in Adobe Illustrator.

Concept 2: Chalkboard Contrast

The Boxpark Sushi brand is educational but fun, with the personality of a wise and friendly Sushi Sensei. Logo concept sketch 2 is based on a logotype developed previously for the Boxpark Sushi static vision board. The Pill Gothic 300mg typeface was chosen for the “Boxpark” type because it is both strong and condensed. According to Kolenda (2016), condensed fonts convey tightness and precision, traits that are valued in sushi preparation. The combination of the font’s bold and thin weights implies a balance of power and sophistication.

The idea of balance in continued by using the script typeface Funkydori for the word “Sushi”. The gentle curves of this font reflect the organic nature of the product and provide a feminine balance to the straight lines and hard angles of Pill Gothic 300mg. This logo concept uses the idea of an old-fashioned school blackboard to frame the Boxpark type, representing the brand’s wise characteristic as well as recalling the rectangular shapes of Boxpark shipping containers and providing visual contrast to the logo.

This solution is the simplest of the three presented logos. As noted by Airey (2014), the simplest solution is often the most effective because it helps meet other requirements of iconic design like “think small” and “focus on one thing”. However, this logo is also the least distinctive of the three solutions.

Concept 3: Squared Yin-Yang

Research of other sushi brand logos confirmed that the most overused logo elements are chopsticks, sushi rolls, and Asian script fonts. Therefore, none of my concept sketches contains those elements. Instead, I focused on imagery inspired by Karate, a Japanese martial art whose teachers are called “sensei”. Several of the concept sketches were in inspired by the yin-yang symbol, which represents the balance of light and dark or feminine and masculine.

This solution is the simplest of yin-yang inspired concepts. The squared yin-yang logo is a fun, modern take on the traditionally round symbol. It visually represents the box aspect of Boxpark as well as the wisdom and balance associated with the symbol. The squared yin-yang can also be utilized for brand patterns used in marketing, merchandise, and in-store decoration.

The squared yin-yang solution incorporates tradition in a simple yet distinctive logomark that is easy to commit to memory and works even at small sizes. For these reasons, the logo meets many of the elements for iconic design (Airey, 2014). This solution is also more innovative and distinctive than the simple logotype of Concept 2. A Google image search for “square yin yang symbol” revealed nothing too similar, which means other brands are probably not using the same design.

Concept 10: Simplified Sushi Sensei Mascot

The Boxpark Sushi brand is built around the concept of a friendly Sushi Sensei who helps customers become a “sushi black belt”. This persona helped shape the fun and wise characteristics of the brand and was the inspiration for many Mascot style logo concepts.

Mascots are a strong way to transfer and support a brand’s voice and tone (Yalanska, 2019). Custom characters like the Sushi Sensei reflect the brand qualities while adding emotional appeal and more personalized interaction with customers. Mascots can be simple like the Twitter blue bird or more complex cartoon characters like Tony the Tiger, a mascot designed for Kellog’s Frosted Flakes in 1952.

Many variations of the Sushi Sensei mascot were sketched, including sensei-inspired emoji and more detailed renderings. Several simplified sensei were sketched, but the first stood out because it best captured the fun aspect of the brand. The character is smiling, and the visual balance of light and dark in the logo is reminiscent of the yin and yang symbolism.

Curves in the mascot’s hair mimic the sushi type, while the black diamond framing and headband elements represent the box part of Boxpark. Although this logo is the least simple of the three solutions, it still works at small sizes and is very distinctive.

References:

Airey, D. (2014, August 20). Logo Design Love, Annotated and Expanded Edition, Second Edition. Peachpit Press.

Kolenda, N. (2016). The Psychology of Fonts. https://www.nickkolenda.com/font-psychology/

Yalanska, M. (2019, March 13). Design Me Live: The Power of Mascots in UI and Branding. https://blog.tubikstudio.com/design-me-live-the-power-of-mascots-in-ui-and-branding/

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The Efficacy of Brand Mascots

A study by Malik and Guptha (2014) indicates that brand mascots can represent a brand as efficiently as a celebrity with the added benefit of being more cost efficient and loyal to the brand. Mascots also have higher recall value and consistently represent the brand’s values. Furthermore, the study deduces that the attributes of a brand mascot that most influence a customer are:

1. Emotional touch
2. Attractiveness
3. Trustworthiness
4. Friendliness
5. Uniqueness

Yalanska (2019) agrees that emotional touch and appeal are large parts of the consumer decision-making process, and a mascot is a powerful method of providing emotional triggers and feedback to users. In addition, mascots are “a strong way to transfer and support the general tone and voice” of the brand (Yalanska, 2019).

Whether it is human-based, animal, or other, a mascot provides a human touch to a brand. It makes the brand more user-centered while presenting multiple avenues for visual marketing in branded merchandise and other media assets.

Font Psychology in Logo Design

Fonts have personalities, and it is important to consider the psychology behind that personality when using type for a brand logo. Does the typeface accurately represent the brand’s personality and voice? Fonts display certain characteristics because the human mind makes visual associations.

Oosterhout (2013) examined the perceptual characteristics of letter forms and the personality characteristics associated with them by study participants. The study found that uppercase letters are effective for brands that “convey qualities related to energy, courageousness, and focus”. Conversely, lowercase letters are appropriate for brands that promote compassion and altruism.

Fonts can also have associations with specific tastes. A study by the University of Oxford reports that soft, rounded typefaces are associated with sweet foods while angular typefaces are associated with bitter, salty, or sour foods (Velasco et al., 2015). These associations are especially useful when choosing fonts for food brands.

Combining Logomark and Logotype

Words and imagery can work hand-in-hand to communicate a brand identity. This is especially true with logos. A logomark is a simplified symbol that represents a brand but does not include the brand name or other written words. Logomarks can create a strong visual identity but usually work best for established brands (Murray, 2017).

A logotype (or word mark) is a brand name that has been visually styled to reflect the brand identity. Murray (2017) notes that a strong logotype helps new businesses introduce themselves to the public by putting the brand name out front. Osterer (2015) agrees that unique letterforms combined with bold colors create wordmarks that are memorable and soon become associated with the brand.

Combination marks use both a logomark and logotype to represent a brand, offering the best of both worlds. They offer an opportunity to establish the brand name in the public consciousness while allowing for the freedom to drop the logotype in the future once the brand identity is well established.

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References:

Malik, G., & Guptha, A. (2014). Impact of Celebrity Endorsements and Brand Mascots on Consumer Buying Behavior. Journal of Global Marketing, 27(2), 128–143. https://doi-org.oclc.fullsail.edu/10.1080/08911762.2013.864374

Murray, J. (2017, April 19). Logo, Logomark, Logotype – What’s the Difference and What Do You Need? https://blog.designcrowd.com/article/997/logo-logomark-logotype-whats-the-difference-and-what-do-you-need

Oosterhout, L. (2013) Word marks: a helpful tool to express your identity: an empirical study regarding fonts of word marks as a tool for transmitting an archetypal identity. http://purl.utwente.nl/essays/64348

Osterer, I. (2015). Logos and Wordmarks. Arts & Activities, 157(2), 23.

Velasco, C., Woods, A. T., Hyndman, S., & Spence, C. (2015). The Taste of Typeface. I-Perception. https://doi.org/10.1177/2041669515593040

Yalanska, M. (2019, March 13). Design Me Live: The Power of Mascots in UI and Branding. https://blog.tubikstudio.com/design-me-live-the-power-of-mascots-in-ui-and-branding/