VISUAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDE
THE SHARPER IMAGE
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It is time to show what is inside of you.
You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness.
-Brene Brown / American Author & Public Speaker
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THE SHARPER IMAGE
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VISUAL CONCEPT 1.1 ORIGINAL LOGO / 11
1.2 CONCEPTUAL RESEARCH / 12
1.3 THREE VISUAL DIRECTIONS / 14
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THE SHARPER IMAGE
- Table of Contents -
2.1 LOGO DEVELOPMENT / 18
2.2 CHOSEN DIRECTION / 32
2.3 LOGO ANATOMY & SEAL / 35
2.4 TYPOGRAPHY / 39
2.5 COLOR CHOICE / 40
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IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT
VISUAL CONCEPT
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THE SHARPER IMAGE
01 / Visual Concept
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THE SHARPER IMAGE
01.1 / Original Logo
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1.1
ORIGINAL LOGO Before starting to design a new identity for The Sharper Image, take a look at the original logo to understand the concept behind it and get inspiration. The designer of the original logo is unknown, but based on the typeface choice and the arrangement of the logotype, it expresses a modern feeling and tone in the 80s. The design reflects to it target audience and the mission of The Sharper Image—to provide the aspirational man tools to develop a cutting edge facade.
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1.2
CONCEPTUAL RESEARCH The original mission of The Sharper Image was to share the enthusiasm of discovering cool gadgets and technological products. Men are their primary customers, especially men who want to look cool. Having this idea in mind, think about the reason why men want to look cool. It is about self confidence, pride, and to approach what they want—women. However, attractiveness is not only about dress and appearance, it is also the inner part of a man, what he truly is. It takes process to become a gentlemen, but that would be the overall goal.
CONCEPT
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The first concept is toward a elaborate and detailed direction. A fancy decorated logo to represent the appearance of gentlemen.
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THE SHARPER IMAGE
01.2 / Conceptual Research
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CONCEPT
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CONCEPT
The second concept focuses on the spirit of gentlemen, who are humble but confident. Minimal design is used to express the hidden elegance of men.
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The third concept is about symbolism, using an animal totem to represent the characteristic of a real man.
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1.3
THREE VISUAL DIRECTIONS Direction
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Evaluate the first concept, and put in the idea of union, community and club, then it turns into the first direction.
Direction
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The second direction is based on the second concept—humble but confident. The idea of revealing something matches the contrast between the inner and outer man and also the new mission of the brand.
Direction
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The third direction also comes from the second concept. Using minimal icons to represent gentlemen and professional as a whole.
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THE SHARPER IMAGE
01.3 / Three Visual Directions
OLD SCHOOL SHIELD Humble + Hidden =
ILLUSION & REVEAL Professionalism + Manners =
DRESS CODE
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Society + League =
IDENTITY DEVELOPME
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THE SHARPER IMAGE
02 / Identity Development
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ENT
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2.1
LOGO DEVELOPMENT The first step to develop the new identity system for The Sharper Image is the logo design. Synthesize the three directions and start from raw sketches, then finalize on computer. There are five phases in the identity process: 01/ 02/ 03/ 04/ 05/
Logo Development Chosen Direction Logo Anatomy & Seal Typography Color Choice
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Direction
01 / Old School Shield
Explore various shapes of shields in order to find the most representable mark for The Sharper Image. Combine hipsters elements and lines to reinforce the tone of modern, male focus and high end.
Sketches
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THE SHARPER IMAGE
02.1 / Logo Development
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Direction
01 / Old School Shield (Cont.)
Sketches
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THE SHARPER IMAGE
02.1 / Logo Development
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Direction
02 / Illusion & Reveal
The concept of hidden and revealing indicate the humility and intelligence of gentlemen. Exploring with multiple styles of typefaces and compositions to accent the meaning behind the concept and mark.
Sketches
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THE SHARPER IMAGE
02.1 / Logo Development
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Direction
02 / Illusion & Reveal (Cont.)
Sketches
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THE SHARPER IMAGE
02.1 / Logo Development
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Direction
02 / Illusion & Reveal (Cont.)
Sketches
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THE SHARPER IMAGE
Direction
02.1 / Logo Development
03 / Dress Code
The third direction is using minimal icons of gentlemen to represent professionalism and elegance. The icons are mostly related gentlemen’s dress code and accessories.
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Sketches
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Direction
03 / Dress Code (Cont.)
Sketches
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THE SHARPER IMAGE
02.1 / Logo Development
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2.2
CHOSEN DIRECTION After exploring by pencil sketches, we chose direction two as the final concept since it contained more abstract and thoughtful meaning. To represent the feeling of an illusion, we choose Sensaway STD as the logo typeface.
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THE SHARPER IMAGE
02.2 / Chosen Direction
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THE SHARPER IMAGE
02.3 / Logo Anatomy & Seal
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2.3
LOGO ANATOMY & SEAL This chapter shows the final design of the logo and how it was edit and modified. Along the process, it not just pick a typeface for the logo of The Sharper Image, but to combine the various concepts and deliver it meaning.
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TSI
Original Typeface
Sensaway STD Designed by Aron Jancso in 2010. Published by Die Gestalten. Sensaway supports 68 different languages such as English, German and French in Latin, Other, and Cyrillic scripts. The typeface itself has a unique curve and sharp corner. It contain the feeling of both tough and soft. Take the curve as inspiration and design element for the logo, modified it into the new logo of The Sharper Image.
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THE SHARPER IMAGE
02.3 / Logo Anatomy & Seal
0.6875x
x
0.625x
x
1.625x
x
1.125x
0.875x
1.125x
1.125x
0.875x
1.125x
1.125x
1.125x
1.125x
0.875x
0.5x
1.625x
0.5x
1.125x 0.6875x
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x
x
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x
/ Walbaum Bold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789 !@#$%^&*()_+=?/[]\
/ PT Sans Bold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789 !@#$%^&*()_+=?/[]\
THE SHARPER IMAGE
02.4 / Typography
/ Walbaum Italic
/ Walbaum Bolditalic
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789 !@#$%^&*()_+=?/[]\
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789 !@#$%^&*()_+=?/[]\
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789 !@#$%^&*()_+=?/[]\
/ PT Sans Regular
/ PT Sans Italic
/ PT Sans Bold Italic
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789 !@#$%^&*()_+=?/[]\
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789 !@#$%^&*()_+=?/[]\
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789 !@#$%^&*()_+=?/[]\
2.4
TYPOGRAPHY
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/ Walbaum Roman
2.5
COLOR CHOICE The color choice of the new vision for The Sharper Image is to integrate with gradient. The gradient is composed by three colors, and it represent the illusion, humble and intelligence, which is the concept of what made a real man.
TSI Spot Color
PMS / 2728 C 2728 M 286 U CMYK / 78. 66. 0. 0 RGB / 60. 90. 255 HEX / #3c5aff
PMS / 276 C 276 M 276 U CMYK / 83. 86. 44 .49 RGB / 45. 35. 65 HEX / #2d2341
Gradient
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PMS / Pantone Black C Pantone Process Black M Pantone Process Black U CMYK / 0. 0. 0. 0 RGB / 0. 0. 0 HEX / #000000
THE SHARPER IMAGE
02.5 / Color Choice
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All content for The Sharper Image Visual Development Guide was collected, conceived, written and design by Grace Min Shan Lee. www.behance.net/graceminshanlee School / Academy of Art University Course / GR604: Nature of Identity Instructor / Hunter Wimmer Copyright Š Grace Min Shan Lee The image in this book are used in accordance with the Creative Commons License. This book is a non-commercial work produced as a student project for educational purpose, and as such is considered a derivative work under the Fair Use Clause of U.S. Copyright Law.