Class 7: Project 3

Corporate Identity

Project: CMCI Studio

 

What: STUDiO is a cutting edge, cool, nationally-renowned school with a reputation which rivals and exceeds SVA, The New School, and Stanford's D-School.

The problem: Being part of a university, STUDiO needs to differentiate itself as a stand-alone school.

Values: A collective of thinkers and doers. We innovate at the crossroads of collective creativity, technology and design.

Theme: Start Here. Change Everything.

Position: STUDiO against university.

Solution: Create a set of branding materials that STUDIO and it's sub-brands can use across all media.

Motivational notes

  • "It takes a STUDIO"
  • "It's not a lecture hall, it's STUDiO. It's not class. It's STUDiO."
  • "Innovation is a mutation."
  • "REDESIGN YOUR FUTURE."
  • Studio-Based Learning

 

Project Deliverables

Logo: For STUDiO & Sub-brands

Brand Manual / Style Guide: Typefaces, colors, usage guides (details below)

Templates: Email, Print Posters, Web home

Environmental opportunities: how could our studio utilize this new branding?

  • TV/Video screen background
  • Studio walls/floors/ceiling
  • Vinyl
  • Social Media
  • 3-D elements (wood, 3-D printer, etc)
  • Animation
  • VR/AR
  • STUDIO Presents: Film/Project promos
  • Get creative!

Brand & Sub Brands

Screenshot 2018-02-28 08.58.14.png

Brand Manual 

  • Brand description & values
  • Usage of mark in all formats, sizes, color ways, print/web
  • Do's and don'ts
  • Tone words and don'ts
  • Colors
  • Typography
  • Example use cases
    • Event email
    • Event poster
    • Website home page
    • Etc

For Next Week

Research

  1. Visit and listen to all sites above

Content & Tone

  1. Create a list of word list of at least 50 words or phrases that represent the tone you think your project should communicate. Underline a selection of words that you think have potential.

  2. Choose at least 3 words from the underlined words in Step 1 and create a list of at least 25 words for each of the words (minimum 75 additional words). Underline the best words from the three new lists.

  3. Finally, choose 3–4 of your strongest underlined words for your key tone words. Aim for variety and don’t be afraid of contradiction (e.g. Explosive, Soothing, Collaborative). Avoid a grouping of tone words that are too similar (e.g. Clean, Simple, Minimal).

Mood Board

  1. Create a multi-page mood board that visually represents your tone words. Do this by creating a series of tabloid-sized artboards (landscape orientation) and placing 20–50 images (aim for about 6–12 images per page) of typography / design / art / photography / architecture / people / movies / cars / etc. that represent the words to you. These images will further clarify your intended visual tone, serving as inspiration for how you use colors, type, and layout to create your design. It is extremely important to avoid imitation when including images of graphic design. Your design should feel like an average of your mood boards and not look like any one piece in it.

  2. Create a pdf from your document

Sketches

  1. Create at least 100 pencil sketches of the logo. Test every solution you can, to plan your design and layout for two different solutions.
     
  2. Bring two solutions into the computer and refine.

Color Palette

  1. Create at least 10 color palettes options. Each one should have 1–2 primary colors and 3–5 secondary colors. 

Present

  1. Submit a PDF document to Slack before class starts. PDF Should contain:
  • Cover page
  • Tone words. Show all on one page, then a second page with only chosen ones.
  • Mood boards
  • A page showing photos of sketches
  • A page of color palettes, then a second page of two chosen palettes
  • At least two refined sketches, one concept per page. Multiple versions of each refined sketch are fine. Be sure to show how the brand works with and without the sub-brand elements.

Print

Print two 11" x 17" pages in color. One page for each of your two solutions. On each page, be sure to show the solution, the sub-brands, and color palette. We will put these up and have a blind critique.