Brand Studio : Week 15

In Class

Presentation to Otto, round 1


Project 5: Citizn Company

Short Synopsis: Citizn Company builds tools to help people and businesses understand contracts. 

Problem Statement: How can we develop a recognize-able brand that appeals to each of the unique target markets listed in the below Product Overview section? 

Deliverables:  A brand guide which clearly shows how to use the clear, powerful brand for this tech company.

  • Primary logo, and if applicable, secondary logos or variations

  • Certification mark

  • Certification text

  • Colors

  • Fonts

  • Vibe

  • Usage guidelines

    • Show how your certification mark/logo looks at small sizes, in the layout of other sites

  • Web home page and/or app

  • Letterhead for long docs

Additional: Advertisements (print/web), Chrome plugin design

 

Product overview:

  1. Product: B2C Content
    Description: Reviews of privacy policies and contracts that businesses post online, delivered in simple, succinct formats.
    Considerations: Needs to appeal to the masses and establish trust.
    Why would someone use this? We are signing these all the time – we need a way to know what we’re signing.
    Interesting analog brands: Rocket Lawyer, Legal Zoom, Legal Shield

  2. Product: B2B Reports
    Description: More sophisticated and robust reviews of contracts that businesses use to sell stuff to other businesses.
    Considerations: Needs to appeal to business owners, CEO’s and lawyers.  Should establish credibility and authority, quality.
    Why would someone use this? Businesses are currently sending this work to law firms, who charge an hourly rate. We can do it better, faster, and WAY cheaper than law firms.
    Interesting analog brands: Shoobx, Kira Systems

  3. Product: Certification
    Description: A way of certifying certain contracts or businesses as being “fair”, “reasonable”, or “best in class”.  Think USDA Organic certification, but for contracts.
    Considerations: Needs to communicate to a business’ customers that a credible third party has reviewed the contract (even if the customer doesn’t know who we are).
    Must be able to be placed on any third party business’s website, app, or marketing materials.
    Why would someone use this? This is a marketing tool for companies – a way of telling their customers that the business cares about them and has been careful to make their contract fair.
    Interesting analog brands: iab, Fair Trade (search “certification marks” for other examples)

Due Dates

Final Presentation: 4/30/19

For Next Week

  • Final presentation

  • 5-minute Keynote which clearly takes into consideration the feedback from this week.

  • For more information contact Otto Hanson: otto@citizncompany.com

  • + Journal about your process with the project.

Brand Studio 4: Week 14

In Class

Review your 3 concepts. Get feedback. Choose 2 options to refine for next week. 

Class discussion: archetypes


For next week

Prepare a slide deck to present to Citizn Company.

An outline of your slides could be:

  • Slide 1: Title page

  • Slide 2: Concept 1: Concept written out

  • Slide 3: Concept 1: Vibe = imagery, tone words

  • Slide 4: Concept 1: Primary logo

  • Slide 5: Concept 1: Secondary logos

  • Slide 5: Concept 1: Colors

  • Slide 6: Concept 1: Usage examples

  • Slide 7: Concept 2: Concept written out

  • Slide 8: Concept 2: Vibe = imagery, tone words

  • Slide 9: Concept 2: Primary logo

  • Slide 10: Concept 2: Secondary logos

  • Slide 11: Concept 2: Colors

  • Slide 12: Concept 2: Usage examples

+ Journal: Discuss your process with imagery

Brand Studio 4: Week 13

In Class

Presentations on project 4: Restaurant brand.


Project 5: Citizn Company

Short Synopsis: Citizn Company builds tools to help people and businesses understand contracts. 

Problem Statement: How can we develop a recognize-able brand that appeals to each of the unique target markets listed in the below Product Overview section? 

Deliverables:  A brand guide which clearly shows how to use the clear, powerful brand for this tech company.

  • Primary logo, and if applicable, secondary logos or variations

  • Certification mark

  • Certification text

  • Colors

  • Fonts

  • Vibe

  • Usage guidelines

    • Show how your certification mark/logo looks at small sizes, in the layout of other sites

  • Web home page and/or app

  • Letterhead for long docs

Additional: Advertisements (print/web), Chrome plugin design

 

Product overview:

  1. Product: B2C Content
    Description: Reviews of privacy policies and contracts that businesses post online, delivered in simple, succinct formats.
    Considerations: Needs to appeal to the masses and establish trust.
    Why would someone use this? We are signing these all the time – we need a way to know what we’re signing.
    Interesting analog brands: Rocket Lawyer, Legal Zoom, Legal Shield

  2. Product: B2B Reports
    Description: More sophisticated and robust reviews of contracts that businesses use to sell stuff to other businesses.
    Considerations: Needs to appeal to business owners, CEO’s and lawyers.  Should establish credibility and authority, quality.
    Why would someone use this? Businesses are currently sending this work to law firms, who charge an hourly rate. We can do it better, faster, and WAY cheaper than law firms.
    Interesting analog brands: Shoobx, Kira Systems

  3. Product: Certification
    Description: A way of certifying certain contracts or businesses as being “fair”, “reasonable”, or “best in class”.  Think USDA Organic certification, but for contracts.
    Considerations: Needs to communicate to a business’ customers that a credible third party has reviewed the contract (even if the customer doesn’t know who we are).
    Must be able to be placed on any third party business’s website, app, or marketing materials.
    Why would someone use this? This is a marketing tool for companies – a way of telling their customers that the business cares about them and has been careful to make their contract fair.
    Interesting analog brands: iab, Fair Trade (search “certification marks” for other examples)

Due Dates

Pre-Presentation: 4/23/19
All branding nearly final, ready for feedback.
Everything besides the website/app/letterhead

Final Presentation: 4/30/19

For Next Week

  • Moodboards

  • Color exploration

  • 50 concept sketches

  • 3 brand options. Show each of 3 options with logo, logo variations, color palette.

  • For more information contact Otto Hanson: otto@citizncompany.com

  • + Journal

Brand Studio 4: Week 12

In Class:

In-class feeeback on project 4.

For Next Week:

Due: In-Class 4/9/19. 5 minute presentation.

Project 4: Brand Guide for a Food Venue

A popular restaurant group from New York City is extending into Boulder. They specialize in street food from around the world. Accessible, exotic tastes from around the globe. Every dish is in-season and true to a specific country of origin. They use only the freshest fruits and vegetables and their menu changes often.

Question: How can you make world cuisine appeal to Boulder teens?

Solution: Recommend either a food truck or restaurant, and show how they can bring their authentic street food concept to Boulder. There are many food trucks and eating establishments in Boulder. How can this one stand out from the rest? Show how this restaurant connect with its audience with strong branding. 

Create & Design: 

  • A brand guide which clearly shows how to use the clear, powerful brand for this food venue.

    • Name

    • Logo

    • Colors

    • Fonts

    • Vibe

    • Menu layout

    • Usage guidelines

  • Exterior signage or truck exterior

  • Web home page and/or app

Details: The menu features a rotating selection of 3 salads, 3 appetizers, 3 main dishes and 3 desserts. For example, these could be one or one from Indonesia, two from Thailand, two from India, etc. 

Extra Credit: Design the inside of the restaurant, uniforms, check presenters, business cards, promotional posters, print ads, web ads, social media pages.

Reference Style Guides: Logo Design Love

+ Journal: Find 3 style guides that you think are working very well. Reference them in your 500–1000 word online journal entry.

For Next Class, These are Suggestions

This is an opportunity to design a restaurant that has a clear, strong brand that stands for something. The more concise and evocative, the better. It's ok to exclude certain types of people, as long as you appeal to an audience of raving fans.

Bring in a presentation that you can get extremely clear feedback on. Whether that is a combination of print and digital is up to you.

Playlist: Create a playlist of at least 10 songs that evoke the mood of this place. Is it anti-establishment (Rage Against the Machine), is it feminine and powerful (Lorde), is it hippy (Grateful Dead)… yes I realize these are very lame examples. Listen to these songs and related songs as you design.

Tone Words: Do the tone word exercise, whittling down from 75 to 3 tone words.

Mood Boards: At least one board for each tone word, plus boards for restaurants, menus, color palette and target audiences.

Naming: This article is an overly simplified version of naming, but a good start. Come up with at least 60 names, from various categories. Here's an ugly but clear breakdown of name types. Find at least 10 from each category. Whittle it down to your 3 best, then choose one.

Logo: Sketch at least 100 logos in your notebook. Try different pens, pencils, calligraphy marker, sharpie; try it big, small, microscopic; consider texture. Find 3 best and refine on the computer. 

Color: Pull at least 3 different color palettes from your mood boards. Consider using color as the main branding element.

Menu: Mock up a menu. Is it long and skinny, printed on paper, written in chalk, is it vinyl on a wall? How can it be usable, yet unique? Better yet, try the menu in a few different formats to see what works.

Any other touch points that you want to mock up, please bring those to class. We will do a design review, and then you will refine for your final presentation.

Inspiration: 

Brand Studio 4: Week 10

In Class

Discuss good design.

Class work = feedback on your food branding.

For Next Week

Present:

5-min presentation of your food brand. Convince your investors (classmates) that yours is the best approach for expanding into the Boulder market. You will present to the class a complete, convincing vision of your brand. You will get peer feedback which will guide your refinements and final presentation due: 4/9

Read: 

  • Book: Ogilvy on Adertising: Chapter 10, 13, 19

Practice:

In Illustrator, create at least 20 different 5" squares, using only color and shape. Each square must display an expertise with color interaction. Use Josef Albers as your inspiration.

Write:

+ Journal entry: post a link on Slack to your journal. Write about something that inspires you about the life of a designer.

Brand Studio 4: Week 8

In Class

Peer Review: Refined versions of the cover for On the Road.

In Class Exercises:

  • 2 circles = unity, separation

  • 3 boxes = image caption headline, 3 things, 2 things

  • 25 dots = space, crowded, peace

  • 5 lines = tension, calm, clarity

  • 4 curved lines = balance, madness, joy

Heroes: Big Spaceship, Emigre, Cast Iron Design, Berger Fohr, TDA, Moxie Sozo, Crispin Porter Bogusky, Cactus Denver, Wolff Olins, Moving Brands

For next week

Refine one idea based on the feedback from class. Complete the book cover design, including the flaps, back cover and spine. Use InDesign to help streamline your workflow in the final assembly of the book cover.

Print out the book cover. Wrap your book cover around an existing book to simulate your cover being the actual cover on this reissue of On the Road. It should appear in every way to be an actual cover. This means including a publisher logo, bar code (these can be simulated in illustrator or downloaded). Photograph this book in a creative, professional manner. 

Presentation:

Be prepared with a 5-minute presentation which shows your progress from ideation, sketches, mood boards, iterative refinement and final design. Bring your book to class.

+ Weekly journal 

 

Brand Studio 4: Week 7

In Class

1:1 check-ins.

Review: sketches and mood boards. Choose 3 sketches to refine.

For Next Week

Bring 3 printed book front cover options for an in-class design critique centered around hierarchy, color, typography, and visual communication.

  • Refined into a nearly-final format

  • Printed at full size

  • In-color

+ Journal

Brand Studio 4: Week 6

In Class

Branding presentations for project 2.

Post your project 2 presentation and link to prototype in Slack channel.

Project 3: Book Cover Design

Design the dust jacket for a hard cover re-issue of On the Road by Jack Kerouac.

Create a book jacket design that incorporates the front and back cover, spine, and front and back inside flaps into a unified composition.

Start this project by producing hand-drawn thumbnail sketches and layouts to determine the best possible plan. Build a mock-up of the book jacket. The finished work will be wrapped around a hardcover book for presentation and it must include: publisher logo, inside flaps with text, back side must include peak interest summary, as well as barcode.

Any standard hardcover book dimension. Color.  Mock-up with all necessary items: bar code, publisher, etc.

Final project must be completed in InDesign. You will print a full-size version of your book cover, wrap it around an existing book, and photograph it at a professional level.

Process Part 1:

  1. Clearly define the brand of On the Road.

  2. Define the audience(s) for this quality re-issue of a classic book.

  3. Create mood boards for color, tone, illustration/photo style, etc.

  4. Research all previous covers.

  5. Pencil sketch at least 25 different concepts.

  6. Refine to 3 best concepts.

  7. Create those 3 concepts in the computer.

  8. Focus on typography. Find and pair appropriate typefaces. Try at least 25 different combos. Refine all the subtleties in the type: kerning, leading, heirarchy, color tones, etc.

  9. Refine at least one concept to completion: Front & back cover, flaps, spine.

Extra opportunities:

  • Design a logo and identity for the hypothetical book publisher.

  • Design the table of contents and chapter 1.

  • Design additional Jack Kerouac covers to make a book cover series.

References:
Chipp Kidd
Paul Sahre
Jessica Hische
Award-Winning Book Covers
Book Series Design

For Next Week

  • Research: history of On the Road (which means read it, or know it very well: anecdotes, important phrases, historical significance, symbolism, hidden meanings, etc.)

  • Mood boards: general tone, other book covers, type, color — at least 3 different boards with 8+ images per board

  • Sketches: 25 book cover sketches in pencil, half size, at least front cover

  • Read Ogilvy on Advertising pages 1–44

Ongoing

Refine your work from project 1 and 2 so they can become portfolio pieces.

+ Journal: Print out your new design hero 1-pager and bring 10 copies to class.

Brand Studio 4: Week 5

In Class

Speak to your audience: Presentation and classwork

 

For Next Week

    Prepare final presentation for project 2:

        A 5-minute presentation which includes:

  1. A Keynote presentation with your process and thinking:

    1. Audience

    2. Mood boards

    3. Sketches

    4. Iteration on your ideas

    5. App logo

    6. App pages

  2. Clickable prototype with at least 10 pages.

+ Journal
PRINT 9 Copies: 1-page 8.5” x 11” page report with images
Subject: Design Heroes
Choose a design hero and explore their impact and approach on design:
Massimo Vignelli, Charles & Ray Eames, Wolfgang Weingart, Paul Rand, Paula Scher, El Lissistsky, Johnathan Barnbrook, Saul Bass, Herb Lubalin, Erik Spiekerman, Milton Glaser, David Carson.

Book recommendation: Org Design for Design Orgs

Extra credit:

1. Create a promotional page for your app

Examples: Oak, PartyPlay, Affirm, Squareup

2. Animate your logo

There are many examples at Product Hunt

Brand Studio 4: Week 4

In Class

Project One: Travel Better Poster critique.

Review your project 2 progress with partners. Ask what is working, not working. Record feedback.

For Next Week

Design your app: minimum of 10 screens with 2 completely different styles. Change the feeling completely, using colors, fonts, copywriting, imagery, button styles, etc.

+ Journal (post a link to your journal each week in Slack)

Extra credit:

1. Create a promotional page for your app

Examples: Oak, Affirm, Squareup

2. Animate your logo

There are many examples at Product Hunt

Brand Studio 4: Week 3

In Class

Presentations for project 1: Travel Brand

Project 2 Brief: Craigslist Mobile

According to the Alexa rankings, Craigslist is the 99th most popular site in the world, 15th in the United States. However, their mid-90's HTML design aesthetic is becoming less relevant, and as a result, the site is beginning to lose credibility as a place to find quality listings.

Designers have long-debated ways to give Craigslist designs makeovers. However, a makeover must improve or maintain the information architecture (IA), enhance usability, and create a flow that users are not only comfortable with, but that they fall in love with.

Recently Bloomberg has arguably reverse-engineered their aesthetic to be more essential web-style, using bright blue as a link color, a clear grid, and Helvetica-looking fonts.

Your job: Design an unofficial Craigslist iPhone app which is positioned to a specific audience. (Look at that positioning link)

Richard Saul Wurman on Design Matters

  1. Define your audience

  2. Name your app

  3. Design the app icon

  4. Write the app description for the App Store

  5. Design at least 10 screens. Here are some examples:

    1. Onboarding flow

      1. Welcome screen

      2. Any informational screens

      3. Create an account

    2. Browsing

      1. Country/city overview

      2. Category view

      3. Browse: Product list

      4. Product detail view

    3. Create a posting

      1. Upload photos

      2. Write description

      3. Review posting

Notes:

  • Design and prototyping can be done in Sketch, Studio, Figma, or Adobe XD. If done in Sketch, use InVision to create your prototype.

  • Only one iPhone size is necessary. You choose. Alternately, you could choose the iPhone X and deal with the notch.

The final deliverables for this project are due Tue Feb 19 in class:

  1. A 5-minute presentation which includes:

    1. A Keynote presentation with your process and thinking:

      1. Audience

      2. Mood boards

      3. Archetype

      4. Sketches

        1. App logo

        2. App pages

      5. Iteration on your ideas

    2. Clickable prototype with at least 10 pages.

For next week

  • Moodboards

  • Audience

  • Positioning

  • Name

  • Logo sketches

    • 5 different options, then refine. Try to sketch 50 variations.

  • Sketches of 10 screens. At least two different concepts.

+ Journal (post link to Slack)

Brand Studio 4: Week 2

In Class

  • Present your chosen travel brand

  • Present your problem-solving travel brand

  • Brand vs Identity vs Logo

For next class

  • Touch points for presentation:

    • Your travel brand

      • Name

      • Mission: Problem that it solves

      • Singular Idea: 1 sentence

      • Look and feel: mood board, color palette

      • Sketch poster layout – at least 5 directions

      • Sketch logo – at least 5 directions

    • 3-ad poster campaign

      • Logo

      • Copy

      • Headline

      • Supporting message

      • Call to action

      • (Image)

  • + Weekly Journal


            

 

            

Brand Studio 4 : Week 1

Week 1

In Class

  • What is your why

  • Why are you here

  • Design thinking exercise: redefine the travel experience

  • Reflections on branding

For Week 2

1: Present an existing travel brand

You will deliver a brief standup on a travel brand. Show different aspects of the brand, the brand promise, audience, the problem that the brand solves, the brand personality, and show examples of how the brand portrays itself in various media. 

You may choose from these examples, or choose your own: 

  • Clear

  • Hipmunk

  • World Nomads

  • AirBnb

  • Couchsurfing

  • IFTTT

  • Duolingo

  • AirAsia

  • ExOfficio

  • Uniqlo

2: 5 min presentation of your brand

  • Clearly state the problem your brand solves

  • Show how your idea solves the problem

  • Position statement (why you’re different, in less than 1 sentence)

  • Keywords (3 main keywords)

  • Name (5 options)

  • Mood boards (5 images for each keyword)

  • Reference brands (5 comparable identities)

  • Define your audience

3: Process Book

Create an online forum to track your progress each week. Can be Squarespace, Wordpress, or other. This will eventually be whittled down to be your portfolio book, but for now, it will be your weekly process journal. 

Each week, create a post about your progress in this class with at least 300 words and 3 images. Recommended, do the same for each of your classes.

 

Type

Here are some hand-picked typeface recommendations from Adobe Typekit, by awesome Colorado designers.

 

SOS Media 

Gastromond – Super chunky, fun and elegant serif.

Lapture – A beautifully chiseled serif by JAF. The display bold italic is especially refined.

Trump – Condensed sans serif by Canada Type. Perfect for huge headlines.

Basic Sans – Great all-around sans serif for daily use, by Latinotype.

Ernestine – Highly legible slab serif with a funky personality. 

Quatro Slab – Robust, hinted slab serif with plenty of weights.

Good Apples

Eskapade – The blackletter weights are cool but not free.

Dapifer – The heavier stencil weights.

Sign Painter : House Slant – Classic

Robot Mono – Could be fun to play around with a monospace for some futuristic post-apocalyptic vibes

Azo Sans Uber – The chunky weights 

Nuvo – Humanist sans

Type Wolf

Ambroise – A high-contrast serif from French foundry Typofonderie (web only)

Maiola – A calligraphic serif from TypeTogether

Grad – A serif with some personality by Mark Simonson of Proxima Nova fame.

Cast Iron Design

Supria Sans – A friendly sans serif with a little personality from Hannes von Döhren

Acumin – A rational sans serif, well drawn, very extensive.

Aktiv Grotesk – Even more rational, by Dalton Maag.

Hobeaux Rococeaux – For funky display, by James Edmonson (OH no Type Co)

Fit – Just for fun, by David Jonathan Ross (DJR). 

Jeff Walters

Adobe Caslon – Perfect serif for typesetting a lot of copy and mixing the faces.

Museo Slab – Great slab for use on the web for headlines and good type mixing with a sans.

Futura PT – Sans serif. Useful for ads & marketing.

Resources

Grading Rubric

— TOTAL 100 POINTS

Each of the 5 class projects is worth 15 points.
5 points: Ideation, creative thinking
5 points: Aesthetics, compositional sophistication
5 points: Technical execution
Work is graded in you class presentation.
For late work, 1 point is removed per day.

Weekly journal is worth 10 points.
5 points: Keeping current with weekly updates
5 points: Effort, aesthetic, technical execution

Attendance is worth 15 points.
1 point for every day attended
If you need to miss a day, you must communicate ahead of time or have a verifiable extenuating circumstance.