15/02/2021
Branding is the name, logo or symbol associated with a brand. It contains a unique set of values that defines the character of the company and delivers the idea that the consumer is buying into a good quality item or service. Branding includes the physical set of attributes such as brand name, brand identity and a strapline. Branding acts as the differentiation of a product or service from other competitors. A lot goes into the branding of a company, research is the main factor into creating a accurate and best representation of the service or item to deliver a unique look and competitive advantage over other providers.
For this project we have been split into groups to act as a design consultancy for a city that is bidding to be the city of culture in 2025. We have been asked to produce a brand identity for the city of York. At the end, we will have produced a competitive pitch for our city in an effort to win the award of grillust’s city of culture!
I have been given the task to research York's geography, here's what I found.
For this project we have been split into groups to act as a design consultancy for a city that is bidding to be the city of culture in 2025. We have been asked to produce a brand identity for the city of York. At the end, we will have produced a competitive pitch for our city in an effort to win the award of grillust’s city of culture!
I have been given the task to research York's geography, here's what I found.
- Yorkshire is in the North-Central part of the country between the Mennines and the North sea and is Englands largest historical County.
- York lies in the vale of York, which is a flat area of fertile arable land bordered by the pennines (A mountain rainge in England, often to be said is the ‘Backbone of England) , the North York Moors and the Yorkshire wolds. The city was built at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss on a terminal moraine left by the last ice age.
- The River Foss – Is an improved river in North Yorkshire and a tributary of the River Ouse.
- During the Roman age, the land surrounding the rivers was marshy, which made the site easy to defend against invaders.
- The city is prone to flooding. In October and November York experienced the worst flooding in 375 years and more than 300 homes were flooded.
- York is prone to frosts, fog and cold winds due to its lowland location.
- York’s centre is enclosed by the city medieval walls, which is a very popular walk. These defences are the most complete in England and have retained all their principal gateways.
- York is bounded by a green belt area, which more rigorously manages development around the rural area of the district and portions of surrounding districts, primarily to preserve the setting and historic character of York. The belt covers nearly all of the city district including all its outer villages, and extends into the surrounding North Yorkshire districts of Hambleton, Harrogate, Ryedale, and Selby.
York Powerpoint
Once we had gathered the information we needed, the group began to draw thumbnails to do with the assigned aspect of York we were given. we wanted to cover all areas of York to gain full potential when it comes to representing York in the best possible way.
we focused on:
When it came to representing the minister into a logo, I had to look at various aspects of the building. there was the exterior and its architecture, including the tall spiked at the very top of the building. I felt this was very iconic of the York Minister as its extremely historic in its history. I also focused on its stained glass and rose window. I took a very illustraitve approach when designing logos etc, which I now understand it okay to start off with, as long as you're able to simplify it and make it more usable across the board.
We were also set with a task of gathering up some typefaces we could potentially use that would compliment the city of York. We all did this task and came up with some similar outcomes! I picked typefaces that were to do with a viking style of typeface and also some gothic ones.
we focused on:
- The minister
- Rountree chocolate
- Vikings
- Clifford Castle
When it came to representing the minister into a logo, I had to look at various aspects of the building. there was the exterior and its architecture, including the tall spiked at the very top of the building. I felt this was very iconic of the York Minister as its extremely historic in its history. I also focused on its stained glass and rose window. I took a very illustraitve approach when designing logos etc, which I now understand it okay to start off with, as long as you're able to simplify it and make it more usable across the board.
We were also set with a task of gathering up some typefaces we could potentially use that would compliment the city of York. We all did this task and came up with some similar outcomes! I picked typefaces that were to do with a viking style of typeface and also some gothic ones.
My thumbnails
Once I had drawn out my designs, I then went into photoshop to create the illustrations in a more simple way, I picked out the drawings I thought had more potential. I created the minister but found it looked a little scary, it also had to many aspects in the design for it to be used across all pieces of work so I left that and focused on something else, I particularly liked the rose I created with aspects of the stained glass window and felt like that had a lot more potential than the rest. I also tried it with the Typeface to see how to position and decide which one looked the best!
My Designs
Group Designs
We all went into Illustrator and had a go at creating our thumbnails! we all had great ideas that were in reference to our given subject. After our feedback, we decided to go with the rose idea, but we had to simplify it, so we all had a go at simplifying the rose in order for it to be used better. We then decided that Stuarts would be the best to use as it included diamond shapes inside the rose which best represented the minister.
We also decided on what approach we wanted to take, we figured that because York was famous for their chocolate we would include some chocolate related designs to promote the city of culture!
We also decided on what approach we wanted to take, we figured that because York was famous for their chocolate we would include some chocolate related designs to promote the city of culture!
Design Rules
Once we decided on the logo, we had to decide on the typefaces we would use. We had to pick a main and complimentary typeface to use in our designs. We decided on using Helvetica for out main and Garamond to use for our body font. We also tried different colour ways when deciding on colours. I personally liked the yellow and blue! once we decided on our logo, typeface and colours, we all separated the jobs:
- Merchandise (tote bags, pens, coasters, buttons)
- Famous inhabitant posters
- Projections
- Train posters
- Chocolate fest and chocolate designs
My designs
Feedback
After we had our feedback session we were encouraged to change the typefaces we were using to something else, as our tutor felt we had more potential to use something a little more interesting. We found that we were using aspects from the logo as part of a pattern or decoration. We then came together as a group and decided to change the Typeface to 'Lemon Milk' and the complimentary typeface 'Californian FB'. The lemon milk font best represents the minister due to its pointedness which we feel will work well! we also re picked the colours we wanted to use as well to make everyones work more consistent. We also decided that the images we used would be in a duo tone effect using the darker blue as the shadowing and white as the highlight.
After we had our feedback session we were encouraged to change the typefaces we were using to something else, as our tutor felt we had more potential to use something a little more interesting. We found that we were using aspects from the logo as part of a pattern or decoration. We then came together as a group and decided to change the Typeface to 'Lemon Milk' and the complimentary typeface 'Californian FB'. The lemon milk font best represents the minister due to its pointedness which we feel will work well! we also re picked the colours we wanted to use as well to make everyones work more consistent. We also decided that the images we used would be in a duo tone effect using the darker blue as the shadowing and white as the highlight.
After we confirmed everything, I then got to work on creating some of the designs. I was asked to do the natural inhabitants and Merchandise! I found that their was a 'Devised music festival' in York so I ran with that and began to create posters for that!
After our feedback tutorial, we found that a lot of our designs weren't consistent throughout everyones work, which can be easily fixed! We found that using the diamond shapes as a pattern and editing our images in a specific way looked really effective. I adjusted and added a few aspects to my work such as using the diamond shapes as a pattern and incorporating it into my work to make our pieces more coherent.
