OUGD402 | Studio Brief 02 - Initial design experiments

My next step was to take some of my ideas into a digital format. To do this I scanned the sketches into one of the Macs. I then opened the scan in photoshop and cropped the image down to my chosen sketch. Next, I deleted all the details around the sketch. I then transferred this to illustrator and live traced this into a vector format so that the drawing has the versatility to be placed on to various graphics without loosing any quality. 

I began by working with one of my favourite hand written logos. I preferred this sketch as the type appeared neat and the most balanced overall, it appeared most professional but with a hand rendered feel which I desired. I started off experimenting with potential business cards as this will be a main product of my branding. I rounded the corners of these as I feel this represents my personality more, pointed edges felt harsh and sharp which I feel is the opposite to me. 

I have started working with a colour palette similar to the scheme in a branding from my research - dark green, pale grey, orange and pink. I felt that these colours represented me well as well as being visually appealing. Green I feel represents my interest in nature, also many of my clothes are green as this compliments my pale skin tone well. Grey represents my quieter side which can sometimes be unsocial, as well as functioning as a paler colour to place readable text on and offset the bolder colours. The orange is very bright and represents the happy and positive side to me this is also complimentary to the orange. Finally, a soft pink represents my girly, feminine side and also my loving personality - I do not want my designs to appear to feminine so the pink tones will not appear too prominent. 

The first typeface I chose to work with was Didot. This was because in one of our first study tasks we had to choose a font that we felt represented us. My chosen typeface was Bodoni and Didot comes from a similar family of typefaces. I selected Didot as I feel the letterforms are sleeker, thinner and come across as more sophisticated which is how I would like to present myself. My second typeface for experimentation was Bebas. I feel that this shows the modernist side of me and represents that I can achieve many styles of design. I like the bold, stand out of the crowd feel of the letter forms. I do not want to use more than two typefaces as to not overcomplicate my design. Less is more and I need my design to appear as professional as possible. 

To add to my branding, I carried out the same process on a flower sketch that I did one my hand written name. Once I had all my symbols, colour and type chosen, I began to experiment with composition. I tried the same logo on a variety of colours and shapes, this process was very quick as it is a matter of copying and pasting , then changing the colours on illustrator. I added a title "Sophie-Gracie Graphic Designer/illustrator" to my art board as if I was presenting my branding to others. I am unsure at this moment in time what skills I would like to promote, so I have left my tag line as "Graphic designer/illustrator" for now. Later I would like to come up with something more creative. 

First art board of branding experiments

During a tutorial, I showed my first art board of work. My tutor gave me some inspiration for more creative cards that would represent me and help others remember who I am. For example, if I was a tall person, I could have a very tall business card. This helped me to think more creatively and although I could not think of anything specific to visually represent me, I began to imagine my business cards as paper cuts which I felt was far more creative. I need to bare in mind with this the paths on illustrator and consider where the lazer cutter would cut the pattern if I was to do this. I may need to carry out some tests first before producing on a larger scale. 

I then continued my process of experimenting with my elements and composition of these. Some of the feedback I received was that the business cards looked like they were for a florist! I want to steer away from this as well as ensuring my branding does not come across as too feminine. I may need to reconsider whether a flower is appropriate for my branding. 

Because of the feedback, I then tried to experiment with sans-serif typefaces to achieve a more modern look. Some of the letters in my name slot nicely together to create a logo. However, when I placed these onto business cards in a variety of sizes and positions, the card appeared too simplistic. I tried the same style with a serif font but the result was too simplistic. 

Experimenting with arrangement of letters.
Diamond symbol rather than flower? 

I finally tried looking at the two halves of my name. I tried a circle symbol cut in half to represent this, however this looked unusual and out of place because it has a modern feel and does not fit with the serif typeface. I then tried to represent this through an ampersand symbol. As an experiment I tried a larger scale, however my initials did not fit comfortably within this composition, the design was not readable as the letters did not fit into the card space and overlapped each other. 

At this stage in time, I think it is best for me to organise a critique to get feedback for these designs. Then return to the drawing board, carry out some more research and sketches.