Collaboration Project: Branding

Urban Street Food Branding 

Aim : to explore and develop an understanding of identity design/branding.

I began this project by thinking about the type of food I would like to brand. After much thought I settled on Mexican food. I decided to rebrand Mexican food as it loved by many including myself. The downfall of it and the reason for my wanting to rebrand it is because of it's aesthetic which is quite tacky, cheesy and very unoriginal and watered down in non-Mexican countries. I intend to brand Mexican food based on three values: traditional, authentic and homemade. I decided to call my street food brand 'Viejo' which is spanish for old. I found this appropriate as it is a refection of my brand expression and aim which is to bring the Old Mexico to the streets of London. 

The branding workshop enabled me to realise that my starting point should have been on doing research into branding itself rather than jumping straight into looking at my own brand. Analysing Oliver Bonas as a brand highlighted the importance of a brand having an identity/ personality and being more than a logo. 

I found the Pop Art exhibition at the Barbican interesting as I gathered a better understanding of the concepts and purpose behind Pop Art. However, as I explored the exhibition space I started to feel the work wasn't directly relevant to my project until I saw samples of Mexican typography for a restaurant mural by Alexander Girard which really caught my eye and inspired my final logo in terms of typography and colour ways. 

Fig.1 Pop Art Exhibition poster (http://blog.solopress.com, 2013)

Visiting White cross street market was an insightful experience as I interacted with the visuals, branding etc with creating my own brand in mind which enabled me to be more critical as well as notice certain essential features I needed to consider for my brand. Fortunately, there was a Mexican food stall which allowed me to experience an example of Mexican branding. The most important thing I noted from this experience was the lack of branding and care with the packaging. My burrito was wrapped in tin foil which I understand was due to practical reasons but I felt this was inadequate. 

Fig.2 Mexican street food stand (authors own, 2013)

            

               Fig.3 Luardos logo (authors own, 2013)

Fig.4 Luardos menu (authors own, 2013)

Fig.5 My Burrito from Luardos (authors own, 2013)

In terms of my logo, I wanted it to be distinct yet have a Mexican feel to it in order for it to reflect my brand's personality therefore after extensive experimentation I decided to use a pastel pink and green. The intention behind this was to echo the colours featured in the Mexican flag, red and green as they are also tones which connote flavour. In addition to this they are bright yet subtle colour ways. In terms of my brand describing what "Viejo' (old) means I decided to incorporate a feel of rustic, old to reflect the worn out yet still beautiful which I feel captures the Mexico I want to portray. 

Overall, I think I  accomplished the aim to 'explore and develop and understanding of identity/branding'. The most difficult aspect of this week for me was my time management as I struggled to structure my ideas and develop them accordingly which led to me going back and forth to re address some issues.  In terms of how successful Viejo is as a brand I think it is quite successful and could work as an urban street food brand because Viejo is more than a logo. It is a brand as it works in each application, it's personality also reflects through the use of a symbol as a secondary branding tool. If I could change anything about my outcome in terms of the approach I took I would consider using an existing typeface for the name 'Viejo' alongside the pattern/ symbol as that may have worked better than hand drawn typography. 

Final outcomes

Fig.6 Viejo logo (authors own, 2013)

Fig.7 Viejo secondary logo (authors own, 2013)

Fig.8 Viejo apron (authors own, 2013)

Fig.9 Viejo t-shirt (authors own, 2013)

Fig.10 Viejo menu (authors own, 2013)

Fig.11 Viejo food stall/stand (authors own, 2013)

The Design Process: Week 2

Day 1: Using InDesign/ Photoshop 
Aim of the day: To produce a film poster for the movie, 'The 33' to be displayed in the London underground by manipulating existing imagery and type.

I found this day quite enlightening as although I am interested in the movie posters as they are vital in communicating the important factors of a movie, I have never actually considered the designing aspect of it. Looking at the treatments of different film posters provided a great deal of insight and helped inspire my own design. Fro my research I found the 'Argo' poster one of the best designed as all the graphic formal elements complimented each other well and I found that it captured the movie really well.

In terms of designing my version of the movie poster I set out to make mine as different as possible by putting my own style into it. I made the decision not to use images of the miners as I felt the focus should be on the the other elements of the story, such as the families of the miners and the fact that the news could only tell the world so much, our knowledge about what the miners actually felt was quite limited. This influenced my choice to use two images, one of a young buy and one of a birds eye view of the mine at night which are quite ambiguous. I edited these images on photoshop which was challenging in terms of having to make a decision on how I wanted to layout my images as this is a crucial element of the poster as the images tell a story. I also found trying to incorporate image and type on InDesign difficult; as I experimented with different layouts/ typefaces I found that it proved to be a lot harder than it looked. The placement of typography is an essential element of the poster as it is what communicates the content of the poster to the audience. 

Overall, I think my poster was successful as it clearly captured elements of the movie and also exhibited my ability to manipulate images on photoshop and to work with layout on InDesign. If I had more time to work on my poster I would have created a photo montage using more images as I think this technique is quite effective. 

Fig.1 The 33 film poster (authors own, 2013)

Day 2: Study zone research 
Aim of the day: To research a chosen topic within the field of graphic design and create a penguin book cover as well as a double page within the book with the information gathered. 

I chose to base my research on the topic of advertising as this is the area of graphics that I am interested in. I found this task interesting as I found a range of books that covered different areas of the topics which was beneficial to not only my research but also my book cover as it helped me form my ideas on what type of book I would like to have visually. The main problem I had with this task was my time management as I spent too much time researching rather than thinking of ideas for the cover of the book. After speaking with my tutor I decided it was best to keep my cover simple both visually and conceptually. I then deiced to use an image of one of my favourite print advertisements of recent and title the book 'The best of print ads 2013'. The purpose of this book is to feature the best print advertisements visually as well as conceptually. I chose to take this approach to the book as I felt featuring all times of adverts is too broad. I struggled to decide on the content (back and internal double page). This was due to the fact I hadn't really thought about the importance of what the book actually says. This led me to consider if the book should be predominantly text or image based. 

Overall, I think this task was beneficial as it enabled me to consider the use of image and text in a given context and the importance of communicating certain pieces of information rather than others. If I was able to improve on this design, I would have spent more time on developing the book cover and would have taken a different approach by creating my own series of adverts for example. 

Fig.2 Advertising, book cover (authors own, 2013)

Day 3: 3D/Laser cutter
Aim of the day: To gather an understanding of the equipment in the 3D room and put this into practice by using the laser cutter to produce a final piece.

I found this day interested as I enjoyed being able to use different materials. I feel as though with the majority of my projects I am limited to using specific materials such as paper for a poster. Being introduced to other materials broadened my horizon as I will be a lot more experimental with my work in future projects. For my piece using the laser cutter I was unsure what design I wanted to create. I therefore chose to keep it simple by referring to a quote I used earlier in week from a book (A fault in our stars) "My thoughts are starts I cannot fathom into constellations". Initially, I  wanted to make this quite an illustrative piece, however due to restrictions on time I settled for a simple treatment using type. I think my final outcome is successful, to an extent. It works as a graphic piece nonetheless it is very boring and underwhelming which isn't something I would want to represent me as a designer.

Fig.3 Laser cutter design (authors own, 2013)

As a whole, these past two weeks have been useful as it led me to consider the basic principles behind the work I create and to look at the processes from a different perspective. It also taught me the importance of the process as although the final outcome is important the process determines the outcome. 

The Design Process: Week 1

Day 1: Colour and Illustration

Aim: To gather an understanding of the use of colour and to demonstrate this by creating illustrations for pieces of text/poetry using specific colour ways. One illustration then has to be put into context.

This workshop was focused on considering the importance of knowing how to manipulate colour in my work as it can be vital in areas such as illustration. To begin with, I thought the workshop was tedious in the sense that it was quite basic information. Nevertheless, I quickly discovered that I wasn't aware of a few elements concerning the use of colour such as some of the names of the variations of colours. The aim of the workshop was to illustrate pieces of text using each of the colour variations. I decided to take a different approach that I typically would by making my illustrations quite abstract and emotive. I found this interesting as I wasn't used to illustrating/communicating things without using literal text or image.  Overall, I enjoyed this workshop as it enabled be to be more thoughtful and expressive with my use of colour.

Fig.1 Book review illustration (authors own, 2013)

Day 2: Type Layout

Aim: To experiment with the layout of existing typography and to produce a CD cover demonstrating an understanding of typography.

I found this workshop useful as it made me return to basics and consider the graphic formal elements I tend to overlook whilst designing. Similarly to the colour and illustration task from the previous day I initially found it quite tedious and a bit restricting as I was limited to the use of 3 fonts: Helvetica, Gill Sans and Palatino. As I progressed with the task I later understood the lesson to be understood in the workshop as the point of it was to be able to successfully manipulate simple existing typefaces in order to go on to manipulate more complex type and drawn type created by me. 

For my final outcome of this workshop I chose to create an album cover for a band as I felt that it was better to create my own version of an already existing piece of work in order to have something to compare and contrast with. I chose the band Haim's cover for their album 'Days are gone' as I felt they would be interesting to work with due to their unique identity in regards to branding. 

Fig.2 CD cover (authors own, 2013)

Day 3: Poetry and Calligraphy

Aim: To experiment with calligraphy using text/poetry. To produce a wine label using a piece of calligraphy. 

Prior to doing this workshop I was really looking forward to it as I find the use of calligraphy quite effective aesthetically as it provides a certain finish. This is evident in the use of this style in several campaigns. I also liked the idea of using poetry with calligraphy as the two go quite well together. The problems I had with calligraphy as a medium was the control I had over the brush as compared to another medium like drawing, I didn't feel like i was completely able to incorporate my own style into what  I was designing. However, I feel to be able to accomplish this would take time as I will have to practice in order to feel confident. 

The set brief for the outcome of this workshop was to design a piece of calligraphy for a wine bottle. I decided to use the name 'Sacré' which is french for sacred as I wanted the name to blend with the style of my calligraphy in order to make it seem 'real'. In terms of the aesthetic I wanted to go for quite a different visual in terms of the conventional approach to the packaging of wine bottles by designing the external layer of the bottle to be blank and all the designs to be internal in order to create a more interesting effective and to encourage people to closer examine what they are consuming. This was however impractical with the given amount of time. I decided to not only create a wine label but to also stylise the wine bottle as well in order to create a complete aesthetic. I also chose to use all 3 colour variations to represent the versatile nature of the design as it can be used for all types on wine. 

Fig.3 Wine label (authors own, 2013)

What can you say?

Personal Manifesto

The aim of this project was to 'design a personal manifesto of information based on aspirations and experiences'. I initially interpreted the question 'What can you say?' literally by starting this project with research into manifesto itself, I then considered other factors like who I can influence, who I am and who influences me. This led me to look at some of the things that make me who I am. (my background, faith, environment, heritage, family and cultural history) I didn't find this research extremely beneficial as creating a manifesto based on the information gathered wouldn't be a personal one. 

In terms of research I looked at the graphic treatments by Hannah Viktorsson for her manifesto. This influenced the direction I took as it led me to consider how literal I want to be in terms of the content of my manifesto as well as how I want to present it visually. Conceptually, I decided that I wanted my manifesto to be a reflective and thought provoking one, not only for me but also for the audience. Rather than using statements I decided to use general questions as they reflect my character better. As an individual I spend a lot of time reflecting therefore I think this approach to writing my manifesto is the most suitable. 

Visually, I didn't want to simply create a poster as I felt that was too predictable. I decided to try something new and be more experimental which led me to choose to use a mirror for my final outcome. Initially I wanted to use handwriting for the text but as I began experimenting with different styles of type that the best outcome was to use an existing font and rather than create my own type I decided to use an existing typeface (Haettenschweiler) and scratch/etch it unto the mirror. This decision was also influenced by the feedback I received in my critique. In order to capture my manifesto and put it into context I decided to photograph myself looking into the mirror. 

Fig.1 Manifesto feature (authors own, 2013)

Fig.2 Manifesto feature (authors own, 2013)

Fig.3 Manifesto feature (authors own, 2013)

Fig.4 Manifesto feature (authors own, 2013)

Fig.5 my personal manifesto (authors own, 2013)

Overall I am pleased with the outcome of my personal manifesto nonetheless, I feel that it lacks clarity as a graphic piece as it fails to communicate visually that it is my personal manifesto in its own, without further explanation. In addition to this my time management was quite poor as I wasn't able to finish it in the set amount of time. This is due to my slow thought process in considering the possible outcomes. In order to avoid this problem in future projects I need to be quicker and experiment as I think of ideas as this is a skill necessary as a graphic designer. 

Manifesto readdressed*

Fig.6 Personal manifesto (authors own, 2014)

What does the group say?

Group film

The task for this week long project was to produce a film on a given word. My group's word was 'Ambidextrous' this is defined as 'the ability to use both hands with equal capability". Although I was fully aware some people are capable of using both hands with ease, this was the first time I had come across the term 'ambidextrous'. My initial thoughts in regards to the treatment of this subject was to explore the reasons as to why some people are Ambidextrous as only 1% of people are naturally ambidextrous. This led me to consider the cultural issues behind the left hand and the stigma attached to it. It occurred to me that some people are naturally left handed but are then forced to write with their alternative hand.

As this was a group task we had to brainstorm together in order to come up with a final, shared vision for our film. We decided that the purpose for the film was for it to be an educational one on the word ambidextrous and the target audience was to be young children. A part of the brief was to incorporate typography into the film therefore we decided to do this via several different techniques by drawing on paper and hands, as well as cut out computer generated type to create a more playful effect that appeals and intrigues our target audience.

Overall, I think our film response to the word 'ambidextrous' was successful because it treated the word in a manner which was predictable but at the same time unpredictable.  Although a big emphasis was placed on the literal definition of the word, the film was also purpose driven as it prompted the audience to try something different. If I was able to rework the film or to do something completely different, I think I would have looked into adding depth to the subject by researching into why there is stigma attached to being left- handed. I found group work in general beneficial as I think the ideas we generated were stronger as a whole rather than as individuals. This experience also allowed me to see things from the perspective of others as each member of the group brought something different to the table

Ambidextrous- a visual documentary 

Individual poster 

Fig.1 graphic film poster (authors own, 2013) 

My aim for my individual poster was to create something that had elements from the film in it but to put my own personal twist on it. I decided to take the fact: 'Only 1% of people are Ambidextrous' because it is quite ambiguous and would prompt someone who has unfamiliar with the word to search it up. In support of this I added hints to the meaning of the word by incorporating the hand writing of one individual (myself) which looks like it was done by two people as one half was done with my left hand and the other with my right to suggest the meaning behind the word. I also added the text at the bottom of fig.1, '*Unfortunately, I'm not one of them, it would be handy if I was' which is a pun in order to make the poster more fun/humorous. I think this was a successful treatment as it is a similar approach to that taken in the film done as a group but in this instance I am able to add my style into my design.

Project 1: Introduction to Graphics

Introductory task

Fig.1 Poster (authors own, 2013)

Initially, I found this task quite liberating as I had the creative freedom to do anything I wanted to do. This was good in theory, however in practice it left me in an indecisive state as I didn't want to create something that just demonstrated my interest within graphics. I wanted to create a piece of art work that represented me as an individual. I came to the decision to create my own response to ELLE Magazine's brief sent to advertising companies to rebrand feminism after researching on Advertising and looking at different/ current ad campaigns. I chose to design my own response as I felt this particular campaign was purpose driven as it would make the reader actually think rather than simply interacting with the magazine in a typical shallow manner. 

I am pleased with my outcome as I feel I produced an original design both conceptually and visually. Overall, the feedback I've received from members of my group have been positive. My created art work was successful mainly because it is a real brief which gives the audience a wider context. It also looks quite professional due to the use of a logo and the detail in the use of hash tags which are the same as the ones featured in ELLE and the other responses from Advertising agencies. 

Exploratory Stage: Reflective summary

Upon entering the exploratory stage, I began with an open mind, willing to try and experience new things. I think having this approach was very important as it was the only way I was truly able to enjoy myself and to be more experimental by purposely trying out things I hadn't previously done. Out of the four pathways, I was most familiar/comfortable with graphics which I why I was surprised that I enjoyed the Fashion and Textiles week the most. This was because the Fashion area was very exciting as the possibilities were endless in terms of what approach I could take in my work and it was also something i had never done before.  This experience is in contrast to the Lens Based Media area where I felt too restricted in terms of what I could create. Having limitations annoyed me but was nonetheless beneficial to the outcomes I produced. The area I think I was the weakest in was 3D because I felt I was continuously missing the point and executing ideas/designs  as successfully as I could have done.

This experience was worthwhile in my opinion because although I am choosing to pick the graphics pathway which is what I thought I would pick prior to beginning the cause, trying other things at least made me reconsider what exactly it was I wanted to do. I now know that although I may go on to do  a degree in Graphics I am still able to work/ dabble in other areas of art and design I found interesting such as fashion illustration, sound and product design. 

Overall, I enjoyed the past six weeks as I have learnt to be more experimental and less scared of making mistakes/failing. I believe trying out all the different art and design disciplines has enabled me to aspire to be more versatile as I develop as a designer. 

3D Design: 3D Triathlon (3)

Building spanning structures 

        (bridges)            

The brief was to create bridges that span from one page to another, I explored weaving and joining the paper in between the two pages. I liked the effect of this however I found that the sides were not as symmetrical as I aimed for them to be as I couldn't duplicate what I did on one side to the other. A sense of symmetry as a recurring element would've greatly improved that specific bridge in particular. I terms of the second bridge, I decided to explore doing something more continuos. I found that this worked better than the other bridge as it looked more interesting aesthetically.

Fig.1 Spanning Bridges (authors own, 2013)

Fig.2 Spanning Bridges (authors own, 2013)

Fig.3 Spanning Bridges (authors own, 2013)

Fig.4 Complete spanning bridges (authors own, 2013)

The next step of the brief was to create a bigger spanning structure made out of bamboo sticks and cardboard which the specific requirements of spanning from one table, over a folded table and unto another table. This was also a group activity therefore we all had to throw ideas around together and work together to achieve a common goal. The desired outcome was for a remote controlled car to be able to make its way over the bridge. 

After much deliberation on what approach to take as a group, we decided to attempt to create our bridge based on the concept of a see-saw. We planned for this to include a base in the centre in a prism like form for the lane which the car will drive up to balance on. The most successful aspect of our bridge in my opinion was the base made out of bamboo as it was the sturdiest. However, the most unsuccessful aspect was that the concept of the see-saw was a fail. I think It didn't work because although we thought it through we were too optimistic and didn't consider the weight of the car whilst making. 

Fig.4 Planning (authors own, 2013)

Fig.5 Bamboo sticks (authors own, 2013)

Fig.6 Creating base (authors own, 2013)

Fig.7 Making hexagons for base (authors own, 2013)

Fig.8 Trying to balance the base (authors own, 2013)

Fig. 9 Making the road/lane (authors own, 2013)

Fig.10 Making tunnel features (authors own, 2013)

Fig.11 Completed lane (authors own, 2013)

Fig.12 Completed base (authors own, 2013) 

Fig.13 Finished bridge (authors own, 2013)

Overall, the spanning structure was a success as it held up on it's own and the car was able to drive up and over it which met the requirements of the brief. If I was able to do this task again I would focus more on the design of the bridge by utilising the cardboard better.

3D Design: 3D Triathlon (2)

Practical design and making

The brief set was to create something out of 20 sticks of spaghetti that was capable of holding 3 balls without them touching each other. I initially began this task by doing brief sketches/ideas of what I wanted it to look like. This was helpful, however only to an extent as most of my ideas worked in theory and not in practice. 

Fig.1 Trial & error (authors own, 2013)

Fig.2 Trial & error (authors own, 2013)

Fig.3 Trial & error (authors own, 2013)

Fig.4 Trial & error (authors own, 2013)

Fig.5 Trial & error (authors own, 2013)

After several failed attempts at trying to replicate some of my sketches I decided not to restrict myself to trying to copy drawings as I already acknowledged that they work in theory and not in practice. I then decided to use them only as a guideline and just create something. I found this method easier as I still managed to achieve the objectives outlined in the brief.

Fig.6 In the process (authors own, 2013)

Fig.7 Testing with balls (authors own, 2013)

Fig.8 Testing with balls (authors own, 2013)

Fig.9 Final structure (authors own, 2013)

Fig.10 Final structure (authors own, 2013)

Fig.11 Final structure (authors own, 2013)

Fig.12 Balls placed on structure  (authors own, 2013)

Fig.13 Balls placed on structure (authors own, 2013)

Fig.14 Balls placed on structure (authors own, 2013)

Fig.15 Balls placed on structure (authors own, 2013)

Fig.16 Pens placed on structure (authors own, 2013)

Fig.17 Pens placed on structure (authors own, 2013)   

Fig.18 Pens placed on structure (authors own, 2013)

Fig.19 Pens placed on structure (authors own, 2013)

Fig.20 Pens placed on structure (authors own, 2013)

Fig.21 Structures made by rest of group (authors own, 2013)

I thought I was successful in meeting the brief as my piece held more than 3 balls, nevertheless I think it could've been improved if it had more structure to it. If I had the opportunity to to change elements of structure I would give it more of a direction and make it less abstract aesthetically. On a positive note, I liked that the piece is versatile and could be used not only to hold balls but to store pens which is more purposeful. 

The next requirement was to protect my structure from harms way as it was going to be tested- with force. Initially I was sceptical about doing this as I felt it was pointless because the spaghetti sticks are so fragile that any attempts to 'test' them wouldn't fail. Nonetheless I proceeded by using the tactic of layering scrunched up paper to intwine between the structure for added padding. In addition to this I decided to use rolled up columns of paper to place in between the spaghetti with the hope that they'll act in the same way pillars/ bases dotted around buildings act as a support mechanism. I finished these details off by using a piece of card to wrap around one side of the structure which I planned to be the side that would face the most force. 

Fig. 22 Protecting the structure (authors own, 2013)

Fig. 23 Protecting the structure (authors own, 2013)

Fig. 24 Protected structure (authors own, 2013)

Fig. 25 Protected structure (authors own, 2013)

Testing

Fig. 26 Basketball (authors own, 2013)

+

Fig. 27 Structures waiting to be tested (authors own, 2013)

=

Fig. 28 Broken spaghetti structure (authors own, 2013)

My structure was tested by the force of a basketball being bounced on top of it. As i predicted, my structure was unable to withstand the force. Nevertheless it didn't shatter as I thought it would have. I could easily have pieced it back together. Overall, this was an interesting experience as it required a lot of thought and trial and error.