Brief 1: Branding

While I don't want to go for a fully modernist style of branding, I do think that there are certain elements that are important and what I should use in this brief.

I have decided that I definitely want to use a sans serif typeface.

Some typefaces to consider:

I've decided that I don't want to use Helvetica at all. I've never been a fan of the font so I won't like working with it. 'Stark' and 'Young' are quite similar, and I'm not too keen on the overall look of them when they're typed out. I think they would need a lot of work to look good.

At this point I've decided on Berthold Akidenz Grotesk Regular. This is the typeface used in the Swissted posters and I think it looks really great, and it is a true modernist typeface.

Keeping with the modernist theme I wanted a very simple typographically based logo design. This means that I can use the branding over a variety of different media and it will still stand out. I think a simple logo will also be quite memorable.

Initial ideas:

While I thought this direction would work quite well, I think it's all a bit underwhelming so maybe a more striking typeface in a simple design would be better.

I decided on 'Baron Neue' as it is quite a contrast to the previous typeface.

Initial ideas:

While I think the typeface is striking, I don't think that it works well with the direction that I want to go in. It seems a bit too edgy and not really with the theme and style of design that I want to work with. I am also having trouble working with the name in this typeface.

As a last resort for this typeface I changed the name to 'Cibo De Vita' which translates to 'Food Of Life'.

I'm still not convinced by this typeface. I think it's a bit severe in it's appearance.

I've decided to go back to Berthold Akidenz and make that work because I much prefer the soft curves of this typeface over the sharp edges of Baron Neue. I also think that this typeface is much more versatile.

I tried a few more ideas which were simple but a bit more exciting visually, trying both names 'Vita' & 'Cibo De Vita'.

At this point I think that while these are quite interesting ideas, I don't think they're working as well as I want them to. I don't think there's anything particularly interesting or memorable about them.

I decided to try the idea of a symbol to go with the text. I decided on a simplified design of a piece of wheat. This is quite a distinctive object and something that is recognisable, and can be created in a minimal design while still clear what it is.

Wheat symbol:

I am relatively happy with the way these two symbols work. I'm not entirely sure which design works better right now, but I think I will work this out when I put it with the type.

I started by putting it with the Baron Neue type.

I think that it is still too harsh so doesn't work well.

I tried the Berthold Akidenz Grotesk.

I think this looks better, but I don't like the layout of the text.

I played around with the layout until I found one I was happy with.

I think the layout is simple but professional. I also think the symbol balances out the text because of the white space.

I then kerned the letters of the type so it all sat a bit better.

After this I started working on a colour palette to use.

Colours:

These are the initial colours I decided on. I chose the brown and two golds because of their association with bread and bakery. I also think the colours are quite flat and not that bold, which gives the impression of a more sophisticated approach. I wanted to try the idea of using two light greys instead of using white all the time as well.

Once I chose the colours I looked into how these could be used.

Colour variations:

I decided that the darker gold and the grey weren't necessary and didn't really work with anything other than the colour and white, where as the other colours were working quite well together.

Chosen colour options:

How these colours could work:

When looking over the other possible names, just to make sure I had chosen the right name, I realised that I had spelt the name wrong. It was 'di' not 'de'. I'm glad I realised this now and not once I'd printed all the material.

I retyped the logo design and was annoyed to find that it just didn't sit right compared to before. The 'de' definitely looked nicer. With this in mind I typed out the other similar name I had which was 'fonte de vita'.

These are very similar and each had pros and cons. As they both mean essentially the same thing, it is a case of which looks better and works better with the logo.

I decided on 'fonte de vita' as I think it works a bit better than the other. I think that this is down to the actual letters. The dips in the height seem a lot more balanced and rounded than in the other.

I then decided on a definite colour combination for flat colours.

These six are the combinations that worked best. I would have liked to mix them a bit more with the black, but it seemed a bit harsh against the gold, and these six work well together. I think that the black won't be used as much as I want to keep with the gold and white as the primary colours. The brown is a contrast to the gold and I think the black will be used when necessary, but no other time.

Following this I created a document outlining the brand guidelines. This will help me in creating the collateral that I need, and keep everything uniform and consistent.

Complete brand guidelines:

Right now I'm quite positive in terms of the direction that this brief is going. I think the brand guidelines will definitely help in creating the collateral at a quicker speed as I have now made the main decisions and will just need to put them into action.

From this point I need to create corporate collateral, as well as the actual collateral for the bakery/cafe, including menus and a purchase list for the bakery. I think that this will be the largest job of the brief as I have to decide on exactly what I would want to be sold. This requires a bit more research.