Adrianne Illustration

Good friend of mine, the very talented illustrator Adrianne Yates has been rather busy of late. As well as various commissions for magazine illustration work, her fantastic photographic journal Today I Am Loving... and wedding stationery designs, she has also set up a couple of online shops. A selection of her beautiful illustration works are available as limited edition prints, greetings cards, stickers, badges and notebooks at Folksy & Etsy. Perfect little stocking fillers.

Core Branding Processes

I've always found the processes behind design work as interesting, and sometimes more so, than the results. Having noted that I regularly show new work on this blog but have never gone through processes involved, I thought I'd redress the balance.

The steps I take in core branding briefs is something I need to explain quite often, (mainly due to many budget 'designers' willing to knock up a logo in a couple of hours), but that is a whole different blog post! So I thought it would be of interest to show my processes when it comes to tackling branding briefs.

This is by no means a comprehensive 'how to' guide but does explain a some of the basic steps involved in any considered branding brief. The images (click to enlarge) take you through some of the of prep work I created for a recent branding brief.

Research
The first step after defining the needs of the brief is to do a bit of visual research on competitors, target markets and associated industry. The depth of this research often depends on the clients needs and available budgets. However I always put together a short research report to identify any market trends and get a feel for the sort of approach the client prefers and what is appropriate for the target market.

Initial Thoughts

Following on from the research I then set about brain storming, sketching initial ideas and putting together a broad selection of possible base typefaces and colour schemes.

Initial Concepts

Exploring as many possible routes in a rough and ready fashion starts to sort the wheat from the chaff. Any ideas that have possibility for expansion go forward to the client for feedback.

Refined Concepts

From initial client feedback generally one or two routes are chosen for further development. Shortlists for base and supporting typefaces, refinements to icons and colour palette are made.

Final Revisions

Following any further comments from the client, final decisions about the finer points of the logo are made, along with final print and web safe colour palettes and house typefaces.

Final Artwork Files

Once the branding is approved the final artwork files are produced. Typically this consists of full colour, single colour and mono versions of the logo as vector EPS files, high res CMYK Tiffs, and web ready Jpegs or PNG files. If required basic or full brand guidelines are produced including logo usage guidelines, Pantone, CMYK, RGB & HEX colour references and web and print rules.

Basic Branding Implementation

Depending on the clients specific requirements a number of core branding stationery and template items are produced, with close reference to the core brand guides, typefaces and colour palettes. Typically including options for letterheads, comp slips, business cards, powerpoint and word templates.

Solid, considered logo development from the outset not only helps create the foundations needed for establishing a coherent brand, but also makes the development and implementation of all subsequent materials easier and stronger.

Hot Links

Finally got round to sorting my RSS feeds on my new Mac so here's a round up of some interesting web finds over the last month or so. If you're a regular to this blog then sign up to my twitter for more hot links and design related musings.

Just treated myself to this limited edition book Destroy/Rankin featuring reworkings of classic Rankin Photos by a variety of designers and artists. The the hard back book comes with a behind the scenes DVD and essays from Marianne Faithfull, Peter Saville and Damien Hurst amongst others. With all proceeds going to YouthMusic.

Some amazing macro shots of water splashes on Design Beep, great to see a photo of Corrie White's studio set up (in a kitchen), proof you don't need a high spec studio set up to get great shots

Interesting iPhone app concept for Jamie Oliver, puts together recipes, shopping lists, step by step photos and video clips

HypeforType have released another set of exclusive typefaces designed by the likes of Research Studios and Non-Format

Fantastic, complex illustrations from Gary Milne

New York based Studio Von Birken have a simple/ distinctive A-Z website showcasing their work

Really like this new typeface developed by Fontsmith for the UEFA Champions League, a solid looking san serif but with distinctive sharp terminals/ ears and tall x height

Clearance Sale: Identity

Following on from my packaging round up of great work that somehow slipped the net of my Hot Links posts, here is some excellent identity work.

Classical approach to bespoke tailors Norton & Sons identity by Moving Brands

Love the colour palette for Hello Communications work book, want one

Form have a great folio of work, especially like the bold identity for DSFX with it's imposing oversized logo

Austrailian agency Cornwell's identity for Design Live

Company's identity work is always slick, especially like the branding for The Larder restaurant

Chicago based Arlo have an extensive portfolio of quality branding work, get yourself a cuppa and take a good look round, inspiring stuff

Top iPhone Apps

Well I had an iPhone for a few months now and do love it, so thought I'd put together a quick list of my top Apps. If there is any more I should know about post a comment.

CamraBag

Whilst the camera on the iPhone isn't the greatest this app can really bring your photos to life, with a range of filters and effects that can be easily applied to your shots.

RedLaser

This barcode scanner works really well for easy price comparison, just hold a products barcode up to your camera and it will take you to a price list of online suppliers.

RadioBox

This app practically gives your iPhone a digital radio, searching hundreds of global stations for online streaming and storing your favourites. How well it streams depends a lot on the station, I mainly listen to BBC 6music on it and works really well on 3G rarely cutting out/ buffering.

Around Me

A great app when you are in a town your not familiar with, gives you location and mapped routes to nearest, bars, restaurants, ATMs, supermarkets, petrol stations, car parks and more.

BBC iplayer

Whilst not an App (just a link to the website) the iplayer works great on the iphone, easy to navigate and great video quality.

PopCap Games

PopCap make some great addictive games two favourites for the iPhone are Peggle and Bejewelled but they have a lot more to play online

There are loads of to do, and list apps to choose from, two of my simple favorites are the free To Do's and Shopping List Lite.

Remote

Control your itunes or apple TV from your iPhone, easy to set up and just works

Illustration Work

Just a quick update with a couple of illustrations I have produced for a new client Apache Associates. They required two vector illustrations for the developing LGBT holiday section of the Sunsational Leisure website. The first is a image is bespoke commissioned illustration whilst the second has been adapted to suit from a stock illustration (click to enlarge).

Clearance Sale: Packaging

Well once again I've been slacking with my hot links blog posts. My excuses are a combination of mac trouble, with temporary loss of all my RSS feeds and being just plain busy. Anyway in preparation for sorting out my all my feeds and bookmarks I thought I'd have a bit of a clearance sale of stuff that slipped through the net. So to kick us off here's some rather good packaging work.

Great Packaging from DesignFriendship for The Kitchen, minimal packaging with some lovely typographic work

Identity and Packaging for Petite France by Peter Hanberger

Unusual approach for Manual Co. packaging from Peter Gregson, his blog/portfolio is well worth a visit.

I love the contrast between the packaging and contents of Campbell Hay's identity and packaging for Lola's Kitchen

Return of the the Living Red is a really smart concept from M/A/S/H

Help Remedies packaging offers a refreshingly friendly and simple solution to healthcare packaging

Tank have a great folio of varied work including this set of packaging for Bumble & Bumble