Come and furnish your purchase pile with my lovely cards and art. Delight your eyes with the wares of designer makers. Calm your ears with live music and carols! See you there :)
The Assembly House, Christmas Fair. Be there!
5 December 2011
Come and furnish your purchase pile with my lovely cards and art. Delight your eyes with the wares of designer makers. Calm your ears with live music and carols! See you there :)
Branding Guidelines
26 October 2011
One of the key things that Steve Jobs brought to Apple was a strong brand position with clear character.
For companies to maintain consistent branding it is good practice to create and establish branding guidelines early on. Branding guidelines will make clear how and when to apply aspects of the branding and multiple designers will be able to work on projects under the same brand umbrella and the integral brand style will remain consistent.
Essentially branding guidelines set out the key visual elements of a brand which must be controlled. They illustrate how logos, signatures, layouts, fonts and typography work together to present the visual identity or 'the face' of a brand.
Branding allows the formation of a style and a vehicle on which to convey personality and identity values; a common link over a variety of communication methods. Branding offers cohesion and consistency in order to maintain a strong individuality specific to a company or product.
Visual elements can be chosen carefully and employed logically to portray specific emotions or to elicit emotions from the target audience. Particular imagery will appeal to a particular demographic; seeking to promote companies and products directly with the people and situations for which they have been created.
Some aspects of a brand will be almost set in stone and others may have some or complete flexibility. Usually the logo/signature will be a fixed element but flexible elements will vary from brand to brand.
Branding guidelines can always be reviewed at any time. Reviewing the brand guidelines every year or two will give you the chance to check no elements have become dated or have naturally fallen from use. New elements can be added to refresh the brand or reflect changes that have naturally evolved within the brand's visual language.
What to consider for inclusion in branding guidelines:
BRAND OVERVIEW
Many companies choose to start their brand guidelines with a statement of their design vision. This is a bit like a mission statement but for the design elements. Try to keep this short, maybe just a paragraph but be sure to include any keywords a designer should have in mind when creating work to fit the later stipulated criteria. For example; saying a brand has a fresh, organic outlook will instantly create a feeling in the designer's mind and they are more likely to be brand sympathetic in their design choices.
LOGO
Show the main logo in full colour followed by a breakdown of signatures (sub logos), alternative logos and elements which can be used alone. These can be addressed individually later in the guidelines if strict criteria applies to elements when used alone.
SIZE
Stipulate at which sizes the logo maybe used and in which situations. For example you may want a large logo with extra detail to be used in large format communications and a smaller simplified logo to be used on all stationery and print collateral. If you want control over the exact size state measurements and always include a minimum size for your logo(s) what ever their use. Any illegible logo is unforgivable and does nothing but devalue the brand.
Do mention that logos should be scaled proportionally. There will be sad times if you see that someone has stretched or squashed your carefully designed logo!
EXCLUSION ZONE
A designer or two, or maybe you, will have spent hours creating a great logo. The last thing you want is for it to be half hidden by other elements in an advert or cut off by the edge of a document.
Establishing an exclusion zone is setting out some personal space for your logo. You could specify a fixed minimum distance around your logo however this may offer little in the way of adapting across various communications. Instead decide on the amount of space you would like around the logo and then look to the logo itself to ground this measurement. Find a letter or brand element that is of this width and this will be a scalable component, giving a proportional distance in all situations.
FILE FORMATS
Include information on which file formats the logos, signatures and other visuals elements are available in. This may seem like a small details but it will prevent designers requesting logos in formats that you don't have available.
COLOURS
List all permissible colour palettes for the brand and contexts in which they should be used. For example; full colour logo to be used on all stationery and monochrome logo in one of four colours when used on other forms of communication or all advertisements should be based on a set group of colours.
Clearly state pantone values, CMYK, RGB and hex values where possible. Just one of these is fine but if you can include them all you will have tighter control of your brand colour scheme.
LOCK UP
Any information that must appear in a fixed position in relation to the logo or other brand elements is classed as locked or fixed information. Show examples how it lock up should behave over different formats and orientations. Often this information will be an address or contact details where you want to control how the type flows over a set number of lines. Giving this kind of information prevents type being separated in inappropriate places. Locking information keeps control of legibility and setting out how space is shared retains order of precedence.
LAYOUT / COLUMN GRID
Show your working. Reveal the underlying grid divided into columns and/or rows that every element is placed within. Most grids consist of a fixed number of columns spaced evenly over the available space. This makes scaling simple while proportions are maintained; whether the item is the front of a gatefold leaflet or an A1 poster its 'look' will be consistent.
Flexibility for text and image placement should be addressed. With good guidelines, marketing collateral will show a strong brand identity.
FONTS
List all fonts permitted and and criteria for their use. Include character maps for all faces and weights used as a handy quick reference guide. Often a brand will have a headline font and a main body text font. If you wish to have more fonts available than this consider whether a different weight/face of the same font family would suit the purpose as this will maintain a more cohesive visual impact.
Stipulate sizes which may be used and the appropriate use for different sizes.
TYPOGRAPHY
Consider typographic features that will impact the arrangement and aesthetics of any text representing the brand. You can look at kerning (letter spacing), leading (line spacing), tracking (text spacing) to control blocks of text. Include examples of text blocking at different sizes and state the tracking/leading information which may be pertinent to the different sizes and purposes. Ensure methods of hierarchy, hyphenation and emphasis follow a clear pattern throughout.
COPYWRITING
You may like to include this information if the brand is to have a strong voice through its copy. If you want to restrict all headings to 4 words and all straplines to fewer than 10 words then say so here. Would be good to mention tone of voice or keywords pertinent to the brand personality. For example if the brand is supposed to sound like its written by your nan using up to date slang is not going to sit well and vice versa.
IMAGERY
If imagery will play a strong role in marketing the brand, you should include any criteria that could impact this. For example, all images should include a person of a specified demographic or no images are permitted to show violence of any kind however mild.
Images sizing can be mentioned to control text/image balance. For example; only images of 100 mm x 100 mm should be used in annual reports or all adverts should include a full bleed image.
WEB GUIDELINES
Any brand around today intending to survive must consider their web presence.
Make sure any of the guideline criteria already covered which cannot be matched to an acceptable standard on the web are readdressed. If you use a particular font in your body copy which would be illegible or tiring to read on a screen select a more appropriate web font. Sizing of logos and elements can be adjusted to suit the medium.
Look at the buttons. Establish their usage, hierarchy and different visual states (native, hover, disabled and visited). Do the same for any icons to be used and explain the criteria for their use.
If there will be a logged in state, point out any differences that will occur.
For larger companies, or companies planning to scale, you may like to consider coding guidelines. Areas to cover are: CSS naming conventions, integration of Javascript, form styling, DocType and validation requirements, directory structures, accessibility standards (alt tags), testing methods and version control.
____
Final things to remember.
Include a cover and contact details for those who have the authority to answer brand guideline queries.
Make it accessible, the best format would be an online pdf for ease of distribution and efficiency of updating.
Create a stripped down mini guide the includes the fundamentals for use as a refresher guide for existing designers or a quick reference for those doing small ad tweaks who may not need to read the full details.
Make available any templates in current use like standard advertisements or corporate stationery. Reducing the amount of times a document is set up from scratch reduces the scope for error.
Happy guideline creating!
For companies to maintain consistent branding it is good practice to create and establish branding guidelines early on. Branding guidelines will make clear how and when to apply aspects of the branding and multiple designers will be able to work on projects under the same brand umbrella and the integral brand style will remain consistent.
Essentially branding guidelines set out the key visual elements of a brand which must be controlled. They illustrate how logos, signatures, layouts, fonts and typography work together to present the visual identity or 'the face' of a brand.
Branding allows the formation of a style and a vehicle on which to convey personality and identity values; a common link over a variety of communication methods. Branding offers cohesion and consistency in order to maintain a strong individuality specific to a company or product.
Visual elements can be chosen carefully and employed logically to portray specific emotions or to elicit emotions from the target audience. Particular imagery will appeal to a particular demographic; seeking to promote companies and products directly with the people and situations for which they have been created.
Some aspects of a brand will be almost set in stone and others may have some or complete flexibility. Usually the logo/signature will be a fixed element but flexible elements will vary from brand to brand.
Branding guidelines can always be reviewed at any time. Reviewing the brand guidelines every year or two will give you the chance to check no elements have become dated or have naturally fallen from use. New elements can be added to refresh the brand or reflect changes that have naturally evolved within the brand's visual language.
What to consider for inclusion in branding guidelines:
BRAND OVERVIEW
Many companies choose to start their brand guidelines with a statement of their design vision. This is a bit like a mission statement but for the design elements. Try to keep this short, maybe just a paragraph but be sure to include any keywords a designer should have in mind when creating work to fit the later stipulated criteria. For example; saying a brand has a fresh, organic outlook will instantly create a feeling in the designer's mind and they are more likely to be brand sympathetic in their design choices.
LOGO
Show the main logo in full colour followed by a breakdown of signatures (sub logos), alternative logos and elements which can be used alone. These can be addressed individually later in the guidelines if strict criteria applies to elements when used alone.
SIZE
Stipulate at which sizes the logo maybe used and in which situations. For example you may want a large logo with extra detail to be used in large format communications and a smaller simplified logo to be used on all stationery and print collateral. If you want control over the exact size state measurements and always include a minimum size for your logo(s) what ever their use. Any illegible logo is unforgivable and does nothing but devalue the brand.
Do mention that logos should be scaled proportionally. There will be sad times if you see that someone has stretched or squashed your carefully designed logo!
EXCLUSION ZONE
A designer or two, or maybe you, will have spent hours creating a great logo. The last thing you want is for it to be half hidden by other elements in an advert or cut off by the edge of a document.
Establishing an exclusion zone is setting out some personal space for your logo. You could specify a fixed minimum distance around your logo however this may offer little in the way of adapting across various communications. Instead decide on the amount of space you would like around the logo and then look to the logo itself to ground this measurement. Find a letter or brand element that is of this width and this will be a scalable component, giving a proportional distance in all situations.
FILE FORMATS
Include information on which file formats the logos, signatures and other visuals elements are available in. This may seem like a small details but it will prevent designers requesting logos in formats that you don't have available.
COLOURS
List all permissible colour palettes for the brand and contexts in which they should be used. For example; full colour logo to be used on all stationery and monochrome logo in one of four colours when used on other forms of communication or all advertisements should be based on a set group of colours.
Clearly state pantone values, CMYK, RGB and hex values where possible. Just one of these is fine but if you can include them all you will have tighter control of your brand colour scheme.
LOCK UP
Any information that must appear in a fixed position in relation to the logo or other brand elements is classed as locked or fixed information. Show examples how it lock up should behave over different formats and orientations. Often this information will be an address or contact details where you want to control how the type flows over a set number of lines. Giving this kind of information prevents type being separated in inappropriate places. Locking information keeps control of legibility and setting out how space is shared retains order of precedence.
LAYOUT / COLUMN GRID
Show your working. Reveal the underlying grid divided into columns and/or rows that every element is placed within. Most grids consist of a fixed number of columns spaced evenly over the available space. This makes scaling simple while proportions are maintained; whether the item is the front of a gatefold leaflet or an A1 poster its 'look' will be consistent.
Flexibility for text and image placement should be addressed. With good guidelines, marketing collateral will show a strong brand identity.
FONTS
List all fonts permitted and and criteria for their use. Include character maps for all faces and weights used as a handy quick reference guide. Often a brand will have a headline font and a main body text font. If you wish to have more fonts available than this consider whether a different weight/face of the same font family would suit the purpose as this will maintain a more cohesive visual impact.
Stipulate sizes which may be used and the appropriate use for different sizes.
TYPOGRAPHY
Consider typographic features that will impact the arrangement and aesthetics of any text representing the brand. You can look at kerning (letter spacing), leading (line spacing), tracking (text spacing) to control blocks of text. Include examples of text blocking at different sizes and state the tracking/leading information which may be pertinent to the different sizes and purposes. Ensure methods of hierarchy, hyphenation and emphasis follow a clear pattern throughout.
COPYWRITING
You may like to include this information if the brand is to have a strong voice through its copy. If you want to restrict all headings to 4 words and all straplines to fewer than 10 words then say so here. Would be good to mention tone of voice or keywords pertinent to the brand personality. For example if the brand is supposed to sound like its written by your nan using up to date slang is not going to sit well and vice versa.
IMAGERY
If imagery will play a strong role in marketing the brand, you should include any criteria that could impact this. For example, all images should include a person of a specified demographic or no images are permitted to show violence of any kind however mild.
Images sizing can be mentioned to control text/image balance. For example; only images of 100 mm x 100 mm should be used in annual reports or all adverts should include a full bleed image.
WEB GUIDELINES
Any brand around today intending to survive must consider their web presence.
Make sure any of the guideline criteria already covered which cannot be matched to an acceptable standard on the web are readdressed. If you use a particular font in your body copy which would be illegible or tiring to read on a screen select a more appropriate web font. Sizing of logos and elements can be adjusted to suit the medium.
Look at the buttons. Establish their usage, hierarchy and different visual states (native, hover, disabled and visited). Do the same for any icons to be used and explain the criteria for their use.
If there will be a logged in state, point out any differences that will occur.
For larger companies, or companies planning to scale, you may like to consider coding guidelines. Areas to cover are: CSS naming conventions, integration of Javascript, form styling, DocType and validation requirements, directory structures, accessibility standards (alt tags), testing methods and version control.
____
Final things to remember.
Include a cover and contact details for those who have the authority to answer brand guideline queries.
Make it accessible, the best format would be an online pdf for ease of distribution and efficiency of updating.
Create a stripped down mini guide the includes the fundamentals for use as a refresher guide for existing designers or a quick reference for those doing small ad tweaks who may not need to read the full details.
Make available any templates in current use like standard advertisements or corporate stationery. Reducing the amount of times a document is set up from scratch reduces the scope for error.
Happy guideline creating!
Creativity and Community: the response to the #londonriots
11 August 2011
When the purse strings of government are tight and budgets are scrutinised, invariably one of the first things to vanish is the arts funding. This is wrong and the importance of the arts should be noted.
If there is one thing that people need during hard times its a sense of community. Art and creativity bring people together; raising morale, showing that there are other ways of seeing and encouraging people to step up and create things.
The recent #londonriots have shown that our captial is in dire need of refreshing its community spirit. Residents need to have pride in the area that they live in, an atmosphere they help to create.
I love this photograph taken by David Levene in Peckham. It shows a message board set up by local theatre company Peckham Shed outside a Poundland store that was damaged during the rioting.
Spontaneity, a splash of colour and bucket loads of community spirit. More please.
If there is one thing that people need during hard times its a sense of community. Art and creativity bring people together; raising morale, showing that there are other ways of seeing and encouraging people to step up and create things.
The recent #londonriots have shown that our captial is in dire need of refreshing its community spirit. Residents need to have pride in the area that they live in, an atmosphere they help to create.
I love this photograph taken by David Levene in Peckham. It shows a message board set up by local theatre company Peckham Shed outside a Poundland store that was damaged during the rioting.
Spontaneity, a splash of colour and bucket loads of community spirit. More please.
Saville Science
15 July 2011
Great to see that Prof Brian Cox & Jeff Forshaws's shiny new book The Quantum Universe: Everything That Can Happen Does Happen, is all encased in beautiful book jacket design thanks to Peter Saville.This book deserves to be a display piece on everyone's bookshelf!
You can buy a copy here or read a review.
Not one but TWO Black Pencils!
17 June 2011
Fittingly the Old Spice campaign created by Wieden + Kennedy strolled away in a manly fashion from this year's D&AD awards. Rumour has it that as well as the TWO Black Pencils received, other items being carried were a big fish, a candle stick and I think one of them was... wait... riding a horse?!
If you have somehow missed the whole campaign do have a little peruse on YouTube to seek out the gems of this campaign. Whoever was responsible for the casting of Isiah Mustafa should be given a nod of gratitude and a small swoon from ladies everywhere.
A hint of reality
1 June 2011
Recently there has been a buzz around a new way of using a very old method of animation. The good old animated gif has been hauled out from the shadows and given an airing in a fine spring breeze. To find it you need to search for its shiny new name "Cinemagraph" termed so by the animated gifs' re-inventors Jamie Beck and Kevin Berg.
I've produced a couple of cinemagraphs, both from the same source images but using different areas of focus. Subject matter must be chosen carefully; movement of some items/objects you would not necessarily expect can leave your cinemagraph looking a bit odd but if you are going for the poltergeist look then I guess that is fine!
Here are my cinemagraphs, they are my unpolished first attempts but I'm pretty pleased with them.
Firstly, the one with the hair...
and secondly the one with the skirt...
There are a number of other cinemagraphs on the web, do check them out. Good ones can be found on From Me To You and Feel Guide
If you fancy making a cinemagraph yourself them you might like this tutorial by Fernando J Baez.
I've produced a couple of cinemagraphs, both from the same source images but using different areas of focus. Subject matter must be chosen carefully; movement of some items/objects you would not necessarily expect can leave your cinemagraph looking a bit odd but if you are going for the poltergeist look then I guess that is fine!
Here are my cinemagraphs, they are my unpolished first attempts but I'm pretty pleased with them.
Firstly, the one with the hair...
and secondly the one with the skirt...
There are a number of other cinemagraphs on the web, do check them out. Good ones can be found on From Me To You and Feel Guide
If you fancy making a cinemagraph yourself them you might like this tutorial by Fernando J Baez.
Using Space
27 May 2011
The use of space is of great consideration for all kinds of designers in our daily work but do we always remember to apply this to our workspaces?
Do you lean over books, magazines and papers with sketches and notes and marked chapters supporting your thinking. Do you only have a tiny area in which to move your mouse or get frustrated because your hand always catches on some piece of desk detritus.
Maybe you have told yourself that you'll tidy your work space right after the next pitch goes well, your latest deadline is met or maybe after next Thursday's de-brief meeting... excuses, excuses.
Take up the challenge now! Put as much considered space into your work area as you would into your work.
This blog post Decluttering as Zen Meditation can give you some motivation if the task seems more than a little overwhelming.
Before and after photos welcome!
Do you lean over books, magazines and papers with sketches and notes and marked chapters supporting your thinking. Do you only have a tiny area in which to move your mouse or get frustrated because your hand always catches on some piece of desk detritus.
Maybe you have told yourself that you'll tidy your work space right after the next pitch goes well, your latest deadline is met or maybe after next Thursday's de-brief meeting... excuses, excuses.
Take up the challenge now! Put as much considered space into your work area as you would into your work.
This blog post Decluttering as Zen Meditation can give you some motivation if the task seems more than a little overwhelming.
Before and after photos welcome!
Implication of simplicity
20 May 2011
A good article on using the emotive power of implication and the start of the #clienttweaks trend on twitter. Enjoy :)
Read the full article here.
Read the full article here.
Bumped into a great thing
9 May 2011
Did everyone else enjoy the Mr Men and Little Miss themed Google headers today?
Couldn't resist a copy of my favourite sporting Mr Bump and a very wobbly set of letters!
Fire!
Freelance is great; today I spent some time artworking this fire engulfed phoenix for one client and then worked on a new venture brand identity and web design for another. Exciting times!
Peas in pods!
5 May 2011
For those of you keenly awaiting an update on the peas, I can say Yes! flowers and now pods have appeared. I potted up the plants a while back so they had room to grow and strings to which they could aspire. They have shot up and are fully functioning pea plants.
Census 2011
27 March 2011
Just completed my census. Proud to have taken my place in this big slice of future history.
Crafty stationery
Got back to basics today, created three shiny new sets of stationery designs while listening to Hard Times by good old Mr Dickens.
First up was the ladybird design, bright and hinting at good weather and gardening times to come.
Then the stylish stripes with their uniform randomness of colour.
Finally a more organic form. I see it as a bird in the sky and a swan seen behind the foliage on the bank. A happy summer scene.
First up was the ladybird design, bright and hinting at good weather and gardening times to come.
Then the stylish stripes with their uniform randomness of colour.
Finally a more organic form. I see it as a bird in the sky and a swan seen behind the foliage on the bank. A happy summer scene.
iPaditis - Signs to look out for...
26 March 2011
One for those of you who are ipad addicts or those that have loved ones who just glaze over and start swiping!
Peas awaiting pods
18 March 2011
As my first foray into Good Life style vegetable growing, I don't think I'm doing too badly! The peas have spouted into healthy little plants and are ready to be potted out into something more nourishing and stable.
Moss Garden
My zen moss garden is underway.
Initial moss has been planted and is sprinkled with water daily like a Japanese tea garden.
Initial moss has been planted and is sprinkled with water daily like a Japanese tea garden.
Tools of the trade
Purchased a new layout pad today. There's something about a new sketchbook or drawing pad that fills me with pride. To leave a shop knowing that under your arm you have the foundation stone for hundreds of new ideas, thoughts and sketches.
I almost ran home!
I almost ran home!
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