Student Project— Rebranding: Polaroid
Visual Development Guide
Volume 02.
Alex Jang
2019
Student Project— Rebranding: Polaroid
Visual Development Guide
Volume 02.
Alex Jang
2019
This book is a part of a student rebranding project. The information in this book is non-commercial, and the use of the resources is intended for educational purposes only. This book does not represent or reflect the brand Polaroid.
Contents
06 — 11
The brand—Polaroid Overview Logo history New mission New objective
12 — 31
Visual development—New logo Design concept Warm-up sketches Set a direction Digital sketches Final logo
32 — 39
Research—Similar logo Look-a-like logos
The brand—
Polaroid 1
OVERVIEW
8 In 1943, while Edwin H. Land, founder of Polaroid, was on vacation with his family, his 3-year-old daughter asked why she can’t see the picture he has just taken of her.
Polaroid has been a trusted global
was acquired by Impossible Project,
brand for more than 80 years and is
which had originally started out in
best known for its pioneering invention,
2008 by producing new instant films
the instant camera by its founder
for Polaroid cameras. The Impossible
Edwin H, Land. The company started
Project was renamed Polaroid Originals
in Cambridge and spread across the
in 2017, and the brand Polaroid still
world and was an icon of innovation.
remains as a separate brand.
Polaroid was a feisty, ubiquitous,
At the moment, Polaroid heritage
and pioneering brand, in many respects
brands symbolize, embody, and provide
Polaroid was the Apple of its time with
tremendous familiarity with quality
a “leader in Edwin Land, a scientist
products ranging from instant and
who guided the company as the
digital still cameras, high-definition
founding CEO for four decades”*. The
TVs, mobile printers and accessories,
original company suffered a long
apparel, and more. The company is
decline starting in the ’80s leading to
still dedicated to continually offering
bankruptcy in the 2000s.
products that ensure quality and
In 2017, the brand and its intellectual property of Polaroid Corporation
* History of Polaroid and Edwin Land from Boston.com, 2012-10-03.
function, making for a continuum of Polaroid brand values.
LOGO HISTORY
9 Polaroid 1960s - 1991
Polaroid 1991 - 1996
Polaroid 1996 -
Polaroid Original 2017
NEW MISSION
10
Our mission is to encourage people to build a special connection with others by sharing life moments instantly.
NEW OBJECTIVE
11 The new Polaroid will become more than a method for taking instant photography. It will expand its ways of capturing and sharing moments through various products and services. For example, the new Polaroid will collaborate with a wide range of events, individuals, and brands so that people can experience life, new values, cultures in a fresh and exciting way and build special connections together. Through the new Polaroid platform, anyone can capture and share their authentic moments immediately.
Visual development—
New 2
logo
DESIGN CONCEPT
14 To set proper visual concepts for the brand, digging into the core of Polaroid was necessary. By understanding the vision and value of the brand, it was able to figure out a fair design solution. Came up with three keywords were a starting point of the design exploration.
At the initial sketch round, three design directions connected to each keyword were set; Instant-In a snap, Share-More joy together, Memory-Memories matter. Star and rainbow were used as a graphic symbol for the first drafts of the sketches. These symbols especially emphasize the concepts of instant and memory.
Polaroid provides a method that people
In the final refinement, the star
to share their memories instantly. So,
shape was chosen to use as the main
Instant, Share, and Memory seems
symbol for the logo design because
reasonable to be core keywords for
the overall purpose of this rebranding
Polaroid, and these three concepts
project is to expand and support the
would help the brand to find the best
brand’s potential future value.
solutions for its future business.
Also, by taking the new symbol, the
A bunch of pencil sketches was
new Polaroid could introduce the wid-
drawn at the beginning round of this
en and various concepts of the brand’s
phase to explore and visualize various
products and services.
possibilities. After some experimental points, a wide range of concepts was narrowed down to specific styles and ideas that have potential. The peer feedback and exchanged opinions for the sketches were helpful to set a design direction carefully. Based on this, computer comps were created. It was refined several times to get the best mood and tone matching with the future brand’s aesthetic.
DESIGN CONCEPT
instant, share, moments.
15
WA R M - U P S K ETC H E S
16 Phase 01. Warm-up sketches
At the beginning phase, I tried to explore various ideas as much as possible. The initial goal of the warm-up sketch was to emphasize the soul of the brand in many ways. I focused on a few symbols such as rainbow, stars, prism, stacks, and ‘P’ from Polaroid.
WA R M - U P S K ETC H E S
17
DEVELOPMENT
18 Phase 02. Development
Based on peer critic, some of the symbols were removed from the exploration list. It narrowed down to two items: star for ‘instant’ and ‘fun’, letter P for ‘Polaroid’. I want to design a new logo that delivers the brand’s future potential.
DEVELOPMENT
19
Star—Instant
DEVELOPMENT
20
Star—Instant
DEVELOPMENT
21
Star—Instant
DEVELOPMENT
22
Logotype—Brand
DEVELOPMENT
23
Spontaneous—Joy
D I G I TA L S K E T C H E S
24 Phase 03. Digital sketches
Symbol—Star type 1.
D I G I TA L S K E T C H E S
25
Symbol—Star type 2.
D I G I TA L S K E T C H E S
26
Symbol—Star type 3.
D I G I TA L S K E T C H E S
27
Letter—P type 1.
D I G I TA L S K E T C H E S
28
Letter—P type 2.
D I G I TA L S K E T C H E S
29
Combination.
+
FINAL LOGO
30 Phase 4. Final logo
The main logo has two parts: the symbol and the logotype. The symbol represents an instant sharing and bond together. These are the core traits of the brand. The star shape conveys the idea of an instant: what is happening right at the moment. The letter P stands for Polaroid, and it was customized and designed to work as a separated symbol that represents the connection among people. The logotype was developed by customizing the typeface similar to the symbol P. The brand uses four different colors for the logo, to represent the identity of each product and services. As a result, the final design of the new Polaroid logo implies the brand’s mission and characters: Building special connections by instant memory sharing. The overall shape of the logo catches the mood of the futre Polaroid well.
FINAL LOGO
31
Symbol
Logotype
Research—
Similar
logo
3
LOO K- A - LI K E LOGO S
35 To ensure the success of the rebranding, investigation of various logos and marks are important. Here are some look-a-like logos that came up during the research in order to avoid any similarities with the brand’s new logo.
LOO K- A - LI K E LOGO S
Symbol—Star, spark
TE X ACO
Texaco, Inc. (“The Texas Company”) is an American oil subsidiary of Chevron Corporation. Its f lagship product is its fuel “Texaco with Techron”.
36 BP
BP plc (formerly The British Petroleum Company plc and BP Amoco plc) is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom.
CONVERSE
Converse is an American shoe company that primarily produces skating shoes and lifestyle brand footwear and apparel.
WA LM A R T
Walmart Inc. is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores, headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.
ASTERISK
Asterisk is a software implementation of a private branch exchange (PBX). In conjunction with suitable telephony hardware interfaces and network applications
LOO K- A - LI K E LOGO S
37
YELP
Yelp is a business directory service and crowdsourced review forum, and a public company of the same name that is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
T H E R O YA L B A N K O F S C O T L A N D
The Royal Bank of Scotland, commonly abbreviated as RBS, is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, together with NatWest and Ulster Bank.
S TA R A L I A N C E
Star Alliance is the world’s largest global airline alliance. Founded on 14 May 1997, its current CEO is Jeffrey Goh and its headquarters is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
MONTBLANC
Montblanc International is a German manufacturer of luxury writing instruments, watches, jewellery, eyewear and leather goods, often identified by its “Snow peak” logo.
C H U PA C H U P S
Chupa Chups is a Spanish brand of lollipop and other confectionery sold in over 150 countries around the world. The brand was founded in 1958, and is owned by Perfetti Van Melle.
LOO K- A - LI K E LOGO S
Letter—P
Pinterest, Inc. is a social media web and mobile application company. It operates a software system designed to enable saving and discovery of information using images and videos.
38 P L AY S TAT I O N
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of four home video game consoles, as well as a media center, an online service, a line of controllers, two handhelds and a phone, as well as magazines.
P AY P A L
PayPal Holdings Inc. is an American company operating a worldwide online payments system that supports online money transfers and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods.
PREMIERE PRO
Adobe Premiere Pro is a timeline-based video editing app developed by Adobe Systems and published as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud licensing program.
ASTERISK
Python is an interpreted, high-level, general-purpose programming language. Python’s design philosophy emphasizes code readability with its notable use of significant whitespace.
LOO K- A - LI K E LOGO S
39
P AT R E O N
Patreon is a crowdfunding membership platform that provides business tools for creators to run a subscription content service, with ways for artists to build relationships to their subscribers, or “patrons�.
PIVX
PIVX is a Proof of Stake Coin, a form of digital online money using blockchain technology that can be easily transferred with nearly non-existent transaction fees with market leading security & privacy.
PODIO
Podio supplies a web-based platform for organizing team communication, business processes, data and content in project management workspaces according to project needs.
PRODUCT HUNT
Product Hunt is a website that lets users share and discover new products. Users submit products which are listed in a linear format by day. The site includes a comments system and a voting system.
PIAGGIO
Piaggio & C. SpA is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands.
VISUAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDE
VISUAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDE
41
VISUAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDE
COLOPHON
DESIGN
Alex Jang
alexjangdesign.com
alexjangdesign@gmail.com
SCHOOL
Academy of Art University School of Graphic Design Master of Arts
INSTRUCTOR
Hunter Wimmer
BINDING
Blurb
M AT E R I A L
Proline Uncoated #100
SOURCE AND CITE
History from polaroid.com
A Brief History of Polaroid from emulsive.org
History of Polaroid and Edwin Land from boston.com unsplash.com
Adobe photo stock
TYPE
Helvetica Neue Publico