THE LUCAS GROUP Style Guide
CONTENTS //
1
Return Brief
4
Rationale
6
Identity
8
Logotype
10
Main Logo
12
Main Logo & Variations
14
Space & Size
15
Typography
17
Colour
21
Supplimentary Icons & Patterns
22
Characters
27
Elements & Symbols
31
Pattern
33
Illustration Style
39
Logo Do Nots
41
Neon Sign
43
Application
46
Stationery
53
Development
RETURN BRIEF //
Client The Lucas group is an overarching company, owned by Chris Lucas, that manages popular Melbourne restaurants and bars, Chin Chin and Go Go Bar. The group have been around for 20 years and are continuing to grow and flourish in the ‘foodie world’ with the opening of their new restaurant, Baby, and the reinvention and reopening of their existing brand, Pearl. The Lucas Group prides itself and its restaurants on being hectic, crazy, whacky, risky, young, playful, cheeky and risqué, among many other desirable traits. They refer to their design strategy as ‘controversial not offensive’ as they masterfully challenge the line between the two. Their restaurants wish to be the ‘death of fine dining’ as you experience a casual, relaxing journey in their establishments, removing yourself from the hustle and bustle of the city. With a demographic of 20-45 year olds, their business is booming and has become a foodie blogger sensation, full of culture. Aim The aim is to connect all identities to The Lucas Group in the form of a well-designed brand, to be used on applications such as business cards, letterheads, emails, websites, delivery vans etc. This brand will be the foundation for each of the groups existing and future establishments. The brand must reflect the attitude and personality of The Lucas Group whilst being versatile and fresh. In years to come, The Lucas Group wishes for its audience to look at the brand and think it’s new, right now and in a year’s time. It should be timeless.
R AT I O N A L E //
The Lucas Group is the fun and exciting brain behind some of Melbourne’s favourite restaurants and bars. Its unique, risqué and vibrant attitude are inspiration enough for the brand design I have achieved. The colour palette I have chosen is a simple two-colour process, using CMYK Yellow, Black and 5% Black. This provides a striking palette for the entire brand with high contrast and attitude, supporting the edge and quirkiness of ‘The Lucas Group’. The palette itself enforces strength and stability through consistency, as the colour palette is present throughout the entire brand while providing cheap and simple printing for all stationery items and other collateral. This was a strategic choice in the cost effectiveness of the brand. By using only these two colours and a tint of Black, printing costs will be much less. The main logo of ‘The Lucas Group’ defines the brand’s vibrant and unique edge whilst tending to their ‘controversial not offensive’ attitude. The shape itself is unique as it’s not quite a square nor a rhombus. The angles are striking, emphasised by the bold and similarly striking yellow. The shapes inside form a shocked face, with a hand over an open mouth and subtly disproportional eyes, representing the groups ability to shock and surprise whilst masterfully and professionally bordering on offending. The yellow shape gives wholeness to identity as it bring s the graphics together, combining them into a strong, stable and functional graphic, able to be used on many applications to represent the company. The logotype is an extension on the strength of the company and its roots as each character has been typeset as to let its own personality be seen. Each of the letters is a foundation, representing the company and its many current, and no doubt future, establishments that are all so different in personality and yet pertain to the same purpose. Together, these form a strong and representative identity for the group. They are versatile graphics that may be used together or separately, dependingontheappropriatenessofcontext.Thesupplementarycharacters, patterns and symbols are another outlet for the expression of the brand’s personality and bring strength to the group with further recognition of style.
THE LUCAS GROUP logo
logotype identity
IDENTITY //
The main graphic representation or ‘identity’ of ‘The Lucas Group’ comprises of a combination of logo and logotype. The graphic to the left explains the difference between each of the elements. The Lucas Group defines itself and its restaurants as being ‘controversial not offensive’ and pride themselves on their quirky edge. The logo is a graphic representation of these characteristics.
THE LUCAS GROUP
LOGOTYPE // BentonSans Cond Medium Size 52.83 pt Leading 59.59 pt Kerning 200
The logotype has been typeset with precision. Each character has been kerned to let its own personality be seen. Each character is a foundation, representing strength. The white space created by the typesetting provides balance within the identity between itself and the vibrant logo. The manner in which each of these elements line up is also a tool of balance and strength.
MAIN LOGO //
LIGHT & DARK
G R AYS C A L E
MAIN LOGO & VA R I AT I O N S //
The shapes inside the yellow shape form a face. This face is ‘shocked’, you could say, with its hand over its mouth and subtly disproportional eyes. The background shape is edgy and unique, not quite a square nor a rhombus. The angles are striking, emphasised by the bold and similarly striking yellow. This gives wholeness to the logo as the two graphics are combined as one, creating stability and function, as it can be used on many varying applications to represent and speak for the company. The variations are less striking, however may be use on some stationery such as matchboxes/books and other nick-nacks however may not be suited to items such as business cards and envelopes.
x
x
x
THE LUCAS GROUP x
x
S PAC E & SIZE //
Each of the elements within the identity may be used together or separately, depending on the application/context. They may be spaced and scaled differently when used in differing compositions, however, when used together as seen in the diagram, they must always possess x space between and around them. This is so that the brand can be expressed in different ways. When used as the diagram shows, the brand is communicating formally, however when separated, the brand is communication on another level. The logo is recognisable even without the logotype directly next to it. The colour palette and shapes begin to create recognition.
TYPOGRAPHY // Courier New Size 9 pt Leading 12 pt Kerning 0
Handwritten type variations are available as supplementary decorative type for atmospheres and various other applications that serve the purpose of defining and representing the personality of ‘The Lucas Group’. These two particular variations show the diversity and unique attitude that the group possesses and may be used in any of the three colours in the palette, staying true to the brand. Body copy typography is set simply. Using a typewriter-like font, Courier New gives the content a little edge. Set at 9pt with 12pt leading, these specs are the minimums for legibility seeing as it is a very busy typeface. Using default align left positioning may cause messy paragraphs, so some adjustments may be needed. Alternatively, justified text with adjusted type setting values may be used (such as this body copy you are reading now). In the justification type setting menu, the specs read as follows: Word Spacing - Min: 0% Desired: 92% Max: 145% Letter Spacing - Min: 0 Desired: 0 Max: 0 Glyph Scaling - Min: 100% Desired 100% Max: 100% Auto Leading - 120% Single Word Justification - Full Justify Composer - Adobe Paragraph Composer
Yellow C=0 M=0 Y=100 K=0
COLOUR //
Colour is an important element in the brand. It is a simple colour palette, being a 2 colour process when printing with CMYK Yellow, Black and 5% Black. This provides cheaper and simpler printing processes for all stationery items and other collateral. The palette is striking with high contrast and attitude, supporting the edge and quirkiness of ‘The Lucas Group’. It enforces strength and stability through consistency, as the colour palette is present throughout the entire brand.
Black C=0 M=0 Y=0 K=100
Light Grey C=0 M=0 Y=0 K=5
S U P P L I M E N TA R Y I C O N S & PAT T E R N S //
The following supplimentary icons and patterns are for use throughout the brand on stationery, interior and exterior spaces, advertising etc. They are all part of strengthening the brand and giving it a fun, diverse attitude, keeping the simple colour palette in mind.
CHARACTERS
Characters are full of energy and attitude, keeping with the colour palette as they become physical representations of the brand. They would be ideal for use in office spaces,restaurant interiors, on delivery vans or packaging to communicate the personality of the brand.
ELEMENTS & SYMBOLS
Taking elements/symbols from the characters and playing with them or treating them in different ways can emphasize the strength of the brand. These icons could be used anywhere to spice up a space, be it physical or virtual. They are interesting as they bring recognition to the viewer and become an integral part in the whole personality of ‘The Lucas Group’.
PAT T E R N
Pattern could be a powerful tool in the brand as it brings life and diversity to small, somewhat insignificant elements within the brand. To be used on surfaces of interiors, backs of business cards, wrapping paper... the possibilities are huge.
I L L U S T R AT I O N STYLE
Illustration style is another type of communication for the brand as it could build identity and recognition. A quirky and unique style can act as a powerful tool in the process. Perfect for use on the backs of letters, envelopes, wall surfaces etcetera.
DO NOT alter the shape DO NOT alter the colour DO NOT alter the rotation
LOGO DO NOTS //
NOT NOT NOT NOT
use anything other than capitals alter the leading/kerning alter the colour alter the rotation
THE LUCAS GROUP
S E A H P C T U LU RO
DO DO DO DO
The Lucas Group
G
the lucas group
NEON SIGN //
VA N A P P L I C AT I O N //
THE LUCAS GROUP
S TAT I O N E R Y //
BUSINESS CARDS
M AT C H B OX E S / BOOK
ENVELOPE & LETTERHEAD
DEVELOPMENT //