Taking my current creative research and applying the term ‘movement’ can be interpreted in a number of ways. The way I am choosing to apply this prompt is in the notion of movement in brand identity.

Designers will often design logos and think about them statically, mostly taking into consideration legibility, scale, and simplicity. These three things are critical to designing a great logo, however, it leaves a lot of logos and therefore their entire brand rather static. This is probably due to the time before displays could be found everywhere, and logos would only ever be seen as static icons. But as screens are now incredibly prevalent in everyday life, designers should always be thinking about how the logos they are designing may work when introducing movement.

As my own project is creating a brand, I too will need to keep in mind movement when eventually designing the logo. Although my idea and concept generation for the logo starts off on paper, then moving to a digital format, I must keep in mind the eventual formats the logo could be placed in, such as a motion ident. The process of including the word ‘movement’ into my creative research would simply be to apply it to the logo as well as throughout the brand itself. This does ultimately come down to the suitable and available mediums. For example, the brand may need a strong online presence, meaning movement could be applied to create videos, GIFs, and graphics. With saying this, I’m sure there are multiple over suitable mediums which will be uncovered by relevant case studies.

The outcomes would be the creation of a number of motion graphics, which would be aiming to establish the brand using a range of unique mediums, only movement can fully and appropriately explore. The outcomes themselves will successfully bring motion to the brand and give life to its identity.

At the beginning of the year a new brand was proposed for Middlesbrough, making my project even more relevant. Just the logo and tagline where met with fierce backlash from locals and has since went under review by Middlesbrough’s independent councillors. I thought this was a good way to give my own project context and learn from this proposal, and find out why the logo and tagline has been lamented.

“That new logo looks amateur. It will look really drab littered on buildings and signs across the town.
And so much for the faith in “can do people” in Middesbrough that they have used a design company in London!”

Comment From Local Resident

It seems as if people simply do not like the logo and are insulted by the tagline. I feel as if “Can do people, can do place” is painting a picture of Middlesbrough locals do not see for themselves. This leads to the feeling of the council being disingenuous, and catering for potential visitors and investments instead of residents.

From this case study I believe creating a city/place brand should be in the attempt to capture what is already in the location, and not propose what isn’t. I think when as I design my branding, I will design it with the local person in mind, as this will lead to an accurate and true brand identity.

This proves that more research into the place that is being branded is needed, and a conventional tagline and logo only irritate residents.

Reference:

https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/this-brand-middlesbrough-not-stationary-15631347

Following my logo design, I went on to create the brand around it. This had me ask myself, how do you build a brand from a logo? And are you supposed to design the logo with the rest of the brand in mind? I set out to answer these questions to help me through the design process.

I discovered that having a clear and concise vision and goal for what the brand as a whole should represent helps build the logo and the rest of the brand. I did this by writing down and mind mapping the desired labels and aesthetics.

This helped focus the design work, as with every decision I was attempting to fulfil the desired visuals. I tried to use elements of the logo such as the shape and colour to always connect the brand to it.

The image on the left is an example of how a brand element such as a pattern can be created from the logo itself.

In conclusion, I don’t think one should design a logo with the rest of the brand in mind. I think this as I believe it may restrict the design process and the development stage of logo design. Logos don’t always have to be similar to the rest of the brand visuals, but the overall tone of the visuals need to be similar.

As my project for ‘Practice 1: Art and Design’ is to brand a place, I naturally had to design a logo which I could then build the rest of the brand and visual identity/language around. This exercise gave me the chance to analyse my own methodology when it comes to logo design, which I have developed over the time I have studied Graphic Design.

Research

The first step of my process always seems to research. I first list word associations with the desired aim and attributes I wish my logo and brand to represent. This helps me focus my research, and allows me to collect imagery related to the chosen attributes.

Idea Generation

Following the research stage, I sketch my initial ideas and concepts. This allows me to quickly and efficiently produce my ideas and means I can make as many iterations and variations as I want, fast. I make sure to experiment with symbols, letter marks, and wordmarks during this step.

Digital Rendition

I then usually scan in a selected sketch and digitalise it. This means I can create even more iterations and variate such things as style and colours. I will then finalise the digital rendition which concludes my process.

Reflecting on my logo design process, I can appreciate the methodology I use each time I design a logo. It’s a fairly simple three-step process, although each stage is lengthy. The process works well for me, and I feel as if I’m able to fully explore my ideas fully using it.

Upon refining my logo depicting the smiles, I took into account the versatility of it, as I found an article giving helpful tips on obtaining such versatility.

This led to me taking into account such things as scaling, simplicity, gradients and colours. The article allowed me to reflect upon my own logo and assured I was taking these crucial factors into account.

I realised when my logo was scaled down it was fairly unrecognisable, which is an issue as it needs to be instantly recognisable. With this logo the two points are much too thin to be seen at a small scale. To resolve this I would have to increase the line thickness and perhaps remove the text all together.

I have kept my logo designs fairly clean and simple for the most part, but I need to keep in mind the scalability when moving forward, and try not add any unneeded text such as the established date.

Versatility of a logo design must be ensured so that it appears as an impressive design in all conditions. It should be scalable, meaning that it must keep its proportion of elements in big and small sizes. Such a logo must also look equally good on black and white surfaces such as newspapers and in colors as well.

Tips On How To Ensure Versatility Of Your Logo Design, Henna Ray, Design Hill, 2018

Reference:

https://www.designhill.com/design-blog/tips-on-how-to-ensure-versatility-of-your-logo-design/

Throughout my own personal journey as a designer, I’ve come to develop my own process and methodology when working through a project.

During the regular design process, there is multiple stages of decision making. This requires critical thinking. For example, when multiple ideas are generated for a potential solution, I must decide which direction to take the project in. I’ve found myself many times leaning towards a solution I know isn’t the best one, but favouring that one due to the amount of time spent creating it or because it required and shows my skills.

Reflecting on this now makes me aware of certain faults in my own critical thinking in the past. I need to be aware of this during my MA project, as multiple decisions will be being made.

In a seminal study on critical thinking and education in 1941, Edward Glaser defines critical thinking as follows “The ability to think critically, as conceived in this volume, involves three things: ( 1 ) an attitude of being disposed to consider in a thoughtful way the problems and subjects that come within the range of one’s experiences, (2) knowledge of the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning, and (3) some skill in applying those methods. Critical thinking calls for a persistent effort to examine any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the evidence that supports it and the further conclusions to which it tends. It also generally requires ability to recognise problems, to find workable means for meeting those problems, to gather and marshal pertinent information, to recognise unstated assumptions and values, to comprehend and use language with accuracy, clarity, and discrimination, to interpret data, to appraise evidence and evaluate arguments, to recognise the existence (or non-existence) of logical relationships between propositions, to draw warranted conclusions and generalisations, to put to test the conclusions and generalisations at which one arrives, to reconstruct one’s patterns of beliefs on the basis of wider experience, and to render accurate judgments about specific things and qualities in everyday life.

(Edward M. Glaser, 1941)

In my opinion, this quotation from Edward M. Glaser is the most descriptive and concise definition of critical thinking I have found. He puts it simply in a short three-step process, making in incredibly digestible for just about anyone. I think a point that is stressed throughout this quote, is the fact one must withhold personal experience, and general beliefs in order to think clearly and critically.

Reflecting on my own methods regarding critical thinking, I am aware that I may be led in a certain direction because of preexisting experiences and opinions. To successfully critically think in the future, I will need to retain the three steps stated here by Edward M. Glaser, and to be aware of my own personal opinions and assumptions, allowing me to think clearly and be able to make well-informed decisions.

Reference:

(Edward M. Glaser, An Experiment in the Development of Critical Thinking, Teacher’s College, Columbia University, 1941)

Throughout the two ongoing modules, I have been prompted a number of times to think and question my own approach and process regarding my creative practice.

Prior to studying the two ongoing modules, I would have simply stated that my creative process is made up of three main stages. That being research, experimentation, and development.

Although these three stages are still relevant, actually analysing the process instead of simply following it has helped improve it and be more aware of my own personal process.

For example, I’ve found I should spend much more time during the research stage of a project, as it’s the most crucial stage to make sure everything that follows is set on a solid foundation of information and knowledge. Having a wealth of research helps inform the later stages more appropriately, and will almost always lead to a unique and suitable outcome.

Something else I have learned since reflecting on my own creative process is the need for constant iteration. Most ideas take time before being fully explored and fleshed out, and I don’t think I’ve given each idea and concept within a project time to develop in the past. I now use the analogy of the creative process being similar to clay, where you must constantly mold and remove clay to eventually get to the finished and polished outcome.

Overall, the two ongoing projects have helped me refine my creative process even further, allowing me to hopefully create a better and more informed body of work.