Advanced Typography Task 2: Key Artwork

Week 5 - Week 9
29/9/2022 - 26/10/2022
Leong Jiahui / 0353469
Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media
GCD 61004 / ADVANCED TYPOGRAPHY
Task 2: Key Artwork 

Content

Instructions:


Task 2A: Key Artwork 

WEEK 5 (28.9.2022)
Visual Research 
Hey Siri, what's a wordmark and monogram? Dug through google & Pinterest to find some inspo and damn. How good many of them look is honestly sort of discouraging. 
fig 1.1.1 wordmark inspo 1 (3.10.2022)

fig 1.1.3 monogram inspo 1 (3.10.2022)

Most of the monograms I found on Pinterest have this certain elegant style to it. I guess it's because it works and looks good. The word mark looks great and all, but I think it needs to carry a meaning or a certain branding for it to work. Since we're using our names... Maybe a representation of who we are? 

Progress
Debated whether I should use my name (jiahui) my initials (LJ) or my nickname for my art account (frey). Decided to go with "Frey" cause that's most likely the one I can further improvise to be used in my future branding & works.
fig 1.2.1 key artwork sketches (3.10.2022)
Do they showcase personality? Not really. But I'm going to try digitalizing some and see where I can branch out from there. 

fig 1.2.2 key artwork first drafts (4/10/2022)

WEEK 6 (5.10.2022)
Identity & legibility is very important when designing a key artwork. The goal is to create something unique and representative. We must also be able to rationalise the form we create. Surprsingly, my work this time round has been greenlit from the first feedback (will I get hit by a car later?) But my anxiety could never so I tried working more on the 1st design on the left. 
fig 1.2.3 key artwork drafts (5.10.2022)
The final one is a personal favourite, especially with the way it sort of looked like a heart, but legibility feels like a problem here. 
Hence, I have reverted back to my second design, but added the sparkle on top of it, simply because I like sparkles and you'll see it a lot in my works. 
fig 1.2.4 final key artwork (10.10.2022)

Animation Process 
WEEK 6 (5.10.2022)
Moving onto the simple logo animation, I planned out how I wanted the animation to be. Now all that's left is to hope that it translates well in the final outcome. 
fig 1.4.1 animation plan (10.10.2022)

WEEK 8 (19.10.2022)
Doing this frame by frame because I like pain. (blinking for help)

fig 1.4.2 animation process (23.10.2022)

Here's the first draft. I have no idea why it is not so subtly shifting to the left and honestly, I'm not sure if I can fix it.
fig 1.4.3 animation drafts (23.10.2022)


Task 2B: Collaterals 

WEEK 7 (12.10.2022)
Proceeding with the collaterals, I decided to brainstorm themes with a friend
-chocolate brand (chocolate, wrapper, paper bag)
-chess (chess pieces, chess board, chess box)
-bank (credit card, rubber stamp, pen, envelope) 
-glasses brand (transparent glasses sticker, glasses box, paper bag)
-perfume/ skin care (paper bag, bottle, box)
-charity auction event (ticket, poster, bidding sign, bidding hammer)
-casino ( chips, vouchers/ tickets, poker cards, briefcase) 

SO apparently we're not allowed to create an event, and the wordmark is supposed to represent US. We're the brand. Time to reconstruct my thought process

Concept & Direction 
After giving it some thought, I decided to go with a simplistic look with my brand "the stationery addict doodle artist". The concept will be black and white, giving the feel of ink and paper, or pencil and paper. I want to go with a more clean and more minimalistic approach to capture the elegant vibe of the wordmark. 
To fit the narrative, the 3 collaterals I've chosen to represent myself are:
  1. Sketchbook - doodle artist 
  2. Stamp - a signature to stamp on completed artwork 
  3. Pencil case - stationery addict 
Some tag lines I came up with to be incorporated in the IG posts are "classy & creative" and "wild and free frey"

Collateral process
It took me too long to figure out how mock-up templates work.  
fig 1.3.1 collaterals process (18.10.2022)
I'm pushing for the classic black & white vibe to fit the vibe of my concept. All mock-up templates are sourced online. I will also try to find b&w photos of myself.

fig 1.3.2 stamp collateral (18.10.2022)

fig 1.3.3 pencil case (18.10.2022)

fig 1.3.4 sketchbook (18.10.2022) 

WEEK 9 (27.10.2022)
It's NOT a wrap... Am redoing the Instagram layout, so why not just go all out and make some new collaterals too? 
Here are my final collaterals: 
fig 1.3.5 collaterals (27.10.2022)


IG post:
Here's the first idea/draft direction of how I want the layout to look. To fit the collaterals and the classy vibe I'm going for, I went with a sleek, simple and clean look. The only concern I have with this is that it may look like a lack of effort...?
fig 1.3.5 IG post draft (18.10.2022)

WEEK 8 (19.10.2022)
More layout draft ideas: 
fig 1.3.6 IG layout drafts (24.10.2022)

I slapped the design onto an Instagram profile generator and it looks pretty okay I guess. 
fig 1.3.7 IG profile generator (24.10.2022)

WEEK 9 (27.10.2022)
Not wanting to stray too far from my previous black & white theme, I started my new attempt. I'm keeping my previous 9 posts cause I liked them and no form of criticism will ever be enough for me to take them down. 
fig 1.3.8 IG posts new attempt (27.10.2022)


Final Outcome 

Task 2A: Key Artwork 
fig 2.1.1 final key artwork (23.10.2022)

fig 2.2.1 Final Key Artwork Animation (23.10.2022)

fig 2.2.2 Final Key Artwork Animation with sound effects (23.10.2022)
 
Task 2B: Collateral 

Instagram profile:

fig 2.3.1 Instagram profile (28.10.2022) 

Collaterals:
fig 2.3.1 gold foil word mark (28.10.2022)

fig 2.3.2 Phone case cover (28.10.2022)

fig 2.3.3 Skateboard (28.10.2022)


fig 2.3.4 Sketchbook (26.10.2022)

fig 2.3.5 Rubber stamp (26.10.2022)

PDF:



Feedback

WEEK 6 (5.10.2022)
General Feedback: remember to number works. The proximity of the letterforms is important so the artwork looks more like a unit. Take note of the negative/counter space of the key artwork. The negative space should be almost equal to the type. 
Always do a reverse image search on the designed key artwork. 

Specific Feedback: 
Designs are unique. The 1st one is not particularly legible and can be improvised. The 2nd one, its style is not particularly new but the combination of letters makes it unique. Mr Vinod likes the 2nd one more.

WEEK 7 (12.10.2022)
General Feedback: 
pay attention to the overshoot of curvatures in letters. Study collaterals and expand the word mark based on the theme. Try not to just slap the word mark onto the collateral.

Specific Feedback: 
Proceed with option 1. 

WEEK 9 (26.10.2022)
Specific Feedback: Expand the mark. The current design looked too flat and the presentation of collaterals can be improved. All designs must be expanded from the mark itself. 


Reflection

Experience
Designing the wordmark was a very enjoyable process! I'm kinda touched by how smooth sailing the process was. One does not get to experience that often. The real challenge came in the animation and collaterals part, which was a bit unexpected. The Instagram layout was frustrating and have no business being so annoying. 

Observation
The "fitting your wordmark into a box" technique to see whether your wordmark is well-balanced or not is pretty cool. Being more aware of counter space surely helped in the design process. 
 
Findings
I suck at making Instagram layouts, I realise. Here's to every Instagram layout I have insulted. It's not easy. I also realized the amount of effort put into establishing a brand. The further readings were all very enlightening. 

Further Reading

WEEK 6 (5.10.2022)

I read this article about the basic tips and tricks in designing a wordmark. The author of the article mentioned how keeping the wordmark simple is essential in keeping the design timeless. Here are the 3 most important points to take note of when designing a wordmark: 
  1. have a short, distinctive business name 
  2. be able to use your logo across many different mediums, or on top of images and different backgrounds
  3. Use a bright, distinctive colour or typeface in your logo

WEEK 7 (12.10.2022)
In this article, I read about how to use a wordmark logo design to make a brand more recognisable. An interesting finding from this article is how to use colours with intention. Besides that, they also brought up how not discarding shapes in a design is an interesting way of adding some extra personality.

WEEK 8 (19.10.2022)
This week, I read an article to help me brainstorm on how to make proper collaterals. They brought up various points on how to make collaterals that can leave lasting impressions on customers. 


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