Visual Development Guide

VISUAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

SCHOOL: Academy of Art University

CLASS: The Nature of Identity

FONT: Avenir and Archer

SOFTWARE: Adobe Creative Cloud

All content for the Borders Visual Development Guide was collected, conceived, written and design by Fang Ci.

All Rights Reserved

Copyright ©2016 Fang Ci

No portion of this publication can be used or reproduced without the prior written consent from FANG CI. This Book is a non-commercial work produced as a student project for educational purpose.

VISUAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

VISUAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

The Visual Development Guide explores the visual identity of the rebranded Borders; it summarizes the identity development process from the initial ideas to the final form. The identity is meant to enhances the soul and core ideas of the new brand; it’s meant to convey the feeling of promoting communication across borders in order to connect people around the world through the spread and exchange of knowledge.

CONTENTS

01. LOGO RESEARCH

13 14 16

3 Keywords

Categories and Camps

Look-A-like logos

02. LOGO SKETCHES

03. FINAL LOGO

13 14 16

3 Keywords Categories and Camps Look-A-like logos

3 KEYWORDS

CONNECT/COMMUNICATE: CONNECT PEOPLE

BOUNDARY: CROSS BORDERS

KNOWLEDGE: SHARE KNOWLEDGE

CONCEPTUAL RESEARCH

The mission of Borders is to share knowledge to connect people around the world through the spread of knowledge and communication. The target audience ranges from primary students to professionals who want to learn and self-improve in different areas. The concept here is to engage the soul and the target audience. As such, there are three key words that are used to explore, design, and guide the visual development of the brand.

[4]

[5]

[6]

CATEGORIES AND CAMPS

CONNECT PEOPLE (dialogue boxes, puzzle, arrow)

CROSS BORDERS (bridge arch, wall, lines)

SHARE KNOWLEDGE

(seed, cutured animals that represent sharing knowledge, bulb)

CONCEPTUAL EXPLORATION

After figuring out the key phrases and defining the categories or “camps,” the next step is to explore logo design concepts. Each camp is meant to deliver a mix of three types of solutions: graphics only, type only, and both graphics and type

LOOK-A-LIKE LOGOS

LOOK-A-LIKE LOGO

Look-a-like logos are ones that are similar. These are both similar and different with the logo for the intended company. The two ideas explored here are dialogue boxes and seeds.

Dialogue boxes are used to represent the communication and connection between people. They are typically seen in logos used for communication-based apps or services.

Seeds are used to represent knowledge, and are typically seen in logos related to education.

INTERLLINGUA PINGER

COMCAST

Professional translation and localization services are key to international development and tourism. It is with this mission statement that Interllingua was founded in. The company now provides academic and marketing translations.

Comcast Corporation, formerly registered as Comcast Holdings, is an American global mass media conglomerate and is currently the largest broadcasting and cable television company in the world.

KAKAO TALK

Pingar, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in San Jose, California. Pinger’s application, Textfree, is a cross-platform texting and calling application for smartphones. Users use it to communicate with others, even if they do not have Textfree, via texting and calling.

KakaoTalk, or sometimes called KaTalk, is a free mobile instant messaging app that has free text and call features.

PELHAM COMMUNITY COALITION WECHAT

The Pelham Community Coalition is a group that seeks to inform and empower members of the Pelham community to combat substance abuse, especially among the youth.

WeChat is a cross-platform instant messaging services owned by Tencent. First released in January 2011, it is currently the largest standalone messaging apps in terms of monthly active users.

Facebook Messenger, sometimes abbreviated as Messenger, is an instant messaging service and software application that provides text and voice communications.

TALENTSEED

HANGOUTS

Line is a proprietary application that is used for instant communications on electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, and personal computers. Line users exchange texts, images, videos and audio, and conduct free VOIP conversations and video conferences.

Talent Seed is not just another recruitment company but one that aims to teach your company on how to recruit and keep key talents. The keywords here are growth and potential.

WHATSAPP

Google Hangouts is a communication platform developed by Google. It includes instant messaging, video chat, SMS, and VOIP features.

IMO

WhatsApp Messenger is a proprietary, cross-platform, and encrypted instant messaging client for smartphones. It sends text messages, documents, PDFs, GIFs, videos, user location and audio messages to other users. The contact list uses the standard cellular mobile numbers for a low barrier of entry.

Message and video chat with your friends and family for free, no matter what devices they are on.

THE ORGANIC FEED COMPANY

A family run business, the Organic Feed Company aims to provide you with the healthiest organic feeds possible. This means absolutely no synthetic ingredients such as artificially manufactured vitamins and amino acids.

INDYPL SEED LIBRARY

The University of Toledo’s SEED initiative focuses on Sustainability, Energy Efficiency, and Design to ensure the University is operating in a manner that betters our neighbors, economy, and planet.

The IndyPL Seed Library is located in Glendale and is free and open to the public. It provides seeds that are open pollinated, with most of them organic or heirloom, for checkout.

Saturday Engineering Enrichment and Discovery (SEED) Academy is a seven-semester academic career exploration program for public students in Boston, Cambridge, and Lawrence, Massachusetts. Students who are interested must have a strong academic record and an interest in science and engineering.

SKLARCZYK EKOCONNECT

Sklarczyk Seed Farm LLC recognizes the importance of earth friendly sustainable practices and the benefits they will provide for our future generations. That is why they were the first farm in Otsego County and one of the first Greenhouse operations in Michigan.

EkoConnect is a non-profit organisation that enforces and supports the exchange of information, knowledge and experiences in the field of organic agriculture.

SHARE KNOWLEDGE

There are many different elements that can be used to represent the idea of sharing knowledge. Knowledge to me include many things, such as facts, information and news, skills, and education. These are all thoroughly explored in order to design the logo to make sure it resonates with the core mission.

BRAINSTROMING AND EXPLORATION

Brainstorming is the first step in the ideation process; by thinking of related things, you can come up with all sorts to good ideas. Exploration is the next logical step; it allows you to test and disregard until you find the optimal solutions.

ANIMAL REPRESENTATION OF KNOWLEDGE

There are several animals that represent the idea of knowledge; they conjure up several adjectives-wise, contemplative, and enlightened.

CROSS BORDERS

The idea of crossing borders to me means no boundaries and freedom of travel. There are several elements that embody these ideals, such as: broken walls, bridge arches, and related elements that make heavy use of lines.

CONNECT PEOPLE

The centerpiece here is the idea of communication; it connects people across the world. The use of dialogue boxes, puzzle pieces, and arrows to represent the ideals of communications and connecting people around the world.

DIALOGUE BOXES

Dialogue boxes by themselves visually represent communication in any culture. They are natural to use. The ideals of connection and relationships are vividly shown.

ARCHES AND BRIDGES

Arches and bridges are two elements that showcase the ideal of connection. The elements are combined with typography for the logo design in order to represent the soul of the brand.

DETAIL REFINEMENTS

REFINEMENTS

After the brainstorm and exploration phases of logo design, the ideas are then narrowed down to the next steps for detail refinement. Specifically, this step is to really hone the relationship between each elements for the logos.

DIGITAL SKETCHES

CONNECT PEOPLE

DIALOGUE BOXES

Two overlapping dialogue boxes symbolize the action part of communication. This further expands to the ideal of knowledge sharing and relationship forming.

bb b

OPPOSING ARROWS AND ARCHES/BRIDGES

The opposing arrows along with the arches and bridges showcase the communication and connection between people.

borders borders borders borders borders

borders borders borders

SEEDS

Seeds are good elements to use to symbolize growth. Education comes in mind as it fosters people to grow. This is then combined with green colored typography which relates to the ideal of knowledge.

b orders borders

borders

BROKEN WALLS

Broken walls symbolize broken boundaries, freedom of travel, and connection with others.

CROSS BORDERS

CHOSEN DIRECTION

FINAL CHOSEN DIRECTION

Two overlapping dialogue boxes combined with typography was chosen as the final representation of the chosen direction. It showcases the concept of initiating communication; specifically, the overlapped portion are used to represent the connecting of people and sharing of knowledge.

FINAL LOGO

The final logo is comprised of two overlapping dialogue boxes with the overlapping portion being an emphasis of the soul of the brand; that is, the idea of initiating communication to connect people around the world and the embodiment of knowledge sharing. The dialogue boxes were created by using multiple circles in order to integrate them with each other with a square as a centerpiece. The wordmark, done with a modified “Open Sans,” features smooth and flat edges. The square is then repeated in the letter “B” to place emphasis.

Borders' Main Logo

SOURCES

Images

[1] Introduction Page

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249436, Page 4

[2] Contents Page

http://laurentlazard.com/media/Borders-Books-Store.html, Page 6

[3] Chapter 1 Page

http://mediashift.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/books-magazines-building-school.jpg, Page 8

[4] Chapter 1, CROSS BORDERS

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/326440672961798516/, Page 12

[5] Chapter 2 Page

2015-05-18-capitol-hill-books-0118edit_wide-2326ae33f1052767dabddc5fd998c148ea879f9c

[6] Chapter 3 Page

http://cdn-media-4.lifehack.org/wp-content/files/2014/03/books. jpg, Page 8

SCHOOL: Academy of Art University

CLASS: The Nature of Identity

FONT: Avenir and Archer

SOFTWARE: Adobe Creative Cloud

All content for the Borders Visual Development Guide was collected, conceived, written and design by Fang Ci.

All Rights Reserved

Copyright ©2016 Fang Ci

No portion of this publication can be used or reproduced without the prior written consent from FANG CI. This Book is a non-commercial work produced as a student project for educational purpose.

50 BORDERS