GR604 My student project AOL 03 by Haolai Francis Zhou

03 VISUAL STANDARDS GUIDE

MERIC ONLINE

03 VISUAL STANDARDS GUIDE

“AS A COMPANY GROWS, COMMUNICATION BECOMES ITS BIGGEST CHALLENGE.” —Ben Horowitz {Investor, and author}

TABLE OF CONTENTS

OUR NEW LOGO

OUR NEW VISION

02 / Our New Logo

10 / Logo System

06 / Logo Components

12 / Clear Space

07 / Mark Symbolism

16 / Dimension Restrictions 18 / Reversed Logo 20 / Incorrect Logo Usage

OUR NEW DIRECTIONS 34 / Future Expansion

24 / Color Palette 26 / Typography Standards

OUR NEW LOGO [ THE PRESENTATION OF AOL NEW LOGO. ]

01 07 / OUR NEW LOGO 09 / LOGO COMPONENTS 11 / MARK SYMBOLISM

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OUR NEW LOGO [ AOL’s new logo ]

THE CONCEPT OF NEW LOGO 2 Good communication is key to gathering ideas and sharing with people. My concept is to combine the three letters—a,o,l into one graphic symbol. The combining represents communication, connection and forming community. Combining the letters was a big challenge. My solution was to design the letter “A”, which including the letter “L”. Then, I used the “O” as the biggest part of the logo, around the “A”. The goal of this design is to let people easily recognize the AOL logo without the addition of extra elements.

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THE ANATOMY OF NEW LOGO 4 This is the anatomy of new logo. It shows how I get the shape of those letters, and it conveys the connection between graphic symbol and wordmark.

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X X

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X 1/3 X

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LOGO COMPONENTS [ What makes up the logo ]

SIGNATURE 6

SYMBOL

WORDMARK

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MARK SYMBOLISM [ Three initials of AOL made of this graphic symbol. ]

INITIAL “A”

INITIAL “O”

INITIAL “L” 7

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OUR NEW VISION [ THE USAGE OF AOL NEW LOGO. ]

02 10 / LOGO SYSTEM 12 / CLEAR SPACE 16 / DIMENSION RESTRICTIONS 18 / REVERSED LOGO 20 / INCORRECT LOGO USAGE 24 / COLOR PALETTE 26 / TYPOGRAPHY STANDARDS

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LOGO SYSTEM [ There are three official formats in our new logo system. ]

SIGNATURE

SYMBOL

WORDMARK

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The signature includes symbol and wordmark, and it has two main color as its color system.

The symbol also uses two main color to make a contrast so that the design of three letters in symbol could be more intriguing and strong.

The wordmark uses the new design of letter “A” so that it has a good connection with logo symbol.

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CLEAR SPACE [ Signature ]

What is clear space? 12 The clear space has been established to ensure logo visibility and impact. Maintaining the cleat space zone between the logo and other graphic elements such as type, images other logos, etc. Ensures that the logo always appears unobstructed and distinctly separate from any other graphic elements.

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X 13

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X = The width of the left diagonal stroke of the “A”.

1/2X X 1/3X

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CLEAR SPACE [ Symbol ]

X = The width of the left diagonal stroke of the “A”.

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CLEAR SPACE [ Wordmark ]

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X = The width of the left diagonal stroke of the “A”.

X X 1/3X

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DIMENSION RESTRICTIONS

What is dimension restrictions? 16 In order to ensure the logo is recognizable, the logo must always be displayed at a size large enough to read both the logo type and the registered trademark.

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Larger than 1 Inch

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Smaller than 1 Inch

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Smaller than 0.5 Inch

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Smaller than 0.25 Inch

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REVERSED LOGO

What is reversed logo? 18 The logo versions shown below demonstrate proper usage on a dark background. The reversed logo can be applied in black, or white. This standard is to be applied to the vertical logo as well.

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INCORRECT LOGO USAGE

What is the incorrect logo usage? 20 Below are examples of incorrect logo uses. While the new AOL logo appears here, these examples also apply to the use of the AOL logo or either version of the mark.

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MERIC ONLINE Do not delete parts of logo.

MERIC ONLINE Do not outline logo.

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MERIC ONLINE Do not stretch or distort the logo in any way.

AMERICA ONLINE Do not change wordmark of logo by an unapproved font.

MERIC ONLINE Do not add drop shadow.

R IC M E LI N E ON Do not rotate the logo

MERIC ONLINE Do not use gradient effects.

MERIC ONLINE Do not apply the logo into a similar color background.

MERIC ONLINE Do not add colors by no meaning.

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LOGO VARIATION

What color variations are acceptable? 22 Logo may appear on white, black or colored backgrounds and must be changed accordingly. For example, on a white background, logo must be in original color palette. When logo appears on black or colored backgrounds, it must be white.

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[ Symbol with backgrounds ]

[ Wordmark with backgrounds ]

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[ Signature with backgrounds ]

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COLOR PALETTE [ The main logo color palette. ]

What is AOL logoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new color palette? 24 The new AOL may appear in only black and white. Do not use any other colors in presenting the logo. However, for the future, AOL has a variety of services so that, for each extension, they may have different main color.

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Orange

Grey

C: 0 M: 39 Y: 100 K: 0 #: faa719

C: 0 M: 0 Y: 0 K: 34 #: b3b5b7

R: 250 G: 168 B: 25

R: 179 G: 181 B: 184

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PANTON 1375C

White

PANTON 421C

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TYPOGRAPHY STANDARDS

What is AOLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s typography standards ? 26 Typography helps to center AOL brand identity and should be used consistently across campus. To ensure that all of our visual communication are consistent, AOL uses a select group of preferred typeface for digital materials and one default typeface.

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Blender Pro Thin Good communication is the most important thing to collect ideas and share with people.

Blender Pro Book Good communication is the most important thing to collect ideas and share with people.

Blender Pro Medium Good communication is the most important thing to collect ideas and share with people.

Blender Pro Bold Good communication is the most important thing to collect ideas and share with people.

BLENDER PRO

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CORPORATE BUSINESS SYSTEM

What is AOLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new visual identity? 28 The business collateral for AOL is a meant to be in introduction to the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s identity. Color on the mark and logotype system will be changed depending on what section of the brand are representing. The design is integrated with our corporate visual that are the new AOL color scheme, typography style and transformation factors.

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OUR NEW DIRECTIONS [ THE FUTURE EXPANSION OF NEW AOL. ]

03 34 / FUTURE EXPANSION

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FUTURE EXPANSIONS [ Today, we want to access to more information so that we can build a community that people can collect ideas and share with world. ]

DIAGRAM 34 AOL SCHOOL A S-01 B C S A S-02 B C S A S-03 B C S B C S A S-04 B C S A S-05

Interactive Space [ Library ] Creating [ Art Studio ] What Is Communication [ Language Program ] What Should I Do [ Job Workshop } Experiment With Your Limits [ Survival Camp ]

AOL PRODUCTS A P-01 B C S A P-02 B C S B C S A P-03 B C S A P-04 B C S A P-05 B C S A P-06 B C S A P-07 B C S AP-08

Coming Together [ Fitness Centre ] The Wolrd [ Shopping Mall ] Beyond Watching And Listening [ Theatre ] Our Home [ Apartment ] First Tastes [ Food Market ] Information Center [ A Community ] Collection [ Antique Store ] Cooking Time [ Restaurant ]

AOL EVENT B

A E-01 A E-02 A E-03 A E-04 A E-05 A E-06

Discover Your Group [ Conference ] Let’s Go [ Travel Meet Up Groups ] Upload Your Song [ Music Festival ] The Secret [ TV Show ] Let’s Play [ Game Store ] Sharing Space [ Social Networking ]

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COMMUNITY

BUILD

AE-02

AS-05

35 AS-01

AP-02

AE-01 AS-04

AP-01

AP-04

AE-03 AP-03 AP-06 AE-06

AS-03

AE-04

AP-05

AP-08

AP-07

AS-02

AE-05

COLLECT

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FUTURE EXPANSION [ AOL is expanding to encompass a wide range of services, products and experiences to future collecting and sharing ideas and building community. ]

36 1. WHAT IS COMMUNICATION ? [ LANGUAGE PROGRAM ] Provides a series of programs to teach people different countries’ languages, and also teaches people how to keep good relationships with friends, family and so on. This program not only focuses on languages, but also pays more attention to what communication is and how to communicate.

5. COMING TOGETHER [ FITNESS CENTER ] This fitness center offers a computer club that provides some online tutorials and courses, participants stay at the club, and share comments and ideas. Finally, if they follow the all instruction from these courses and tutorials, they will get discounts for their membership.

2. INTERACTIVE SPACE [ LIBRARY ] Provides a nice space to let people interact with each other. Also there are many resources to let people know how to get old books or collector’s edition books. This library not only includes all common services, but also it allows people to find their books by themselves from the resources the library provides.

6. CREATING [ ART STUDIO ] This art studio offers design workshops and drawing courses for different groups of people. They are free to join and share their ideas with designers. Also, this studio can open up their work space to present to the public. It is a good chance to learn, and it’s presenting itself for their clients.

3. THE WORLD [ SHOPPING MALL ] This shopping mall includes all normal brands, but the different thing is this mall offers traditional brands from 30 countries in different fields such as Chinese traditional handcrafts and clothes, or Japanese traditional artworks and so on.

7. UPLOAD YOUR SONG [ MUSIC FESTIVAL ] This music festival aims to build a community of people who love music, but they are afraid to appear in public. Also this is a good chance to discover and collect some good inspiration from different people.

4. COOKING TIME [ RESTAURANT ] This restaurant has a comfortable environment, and also it provides some cooking courses for free. Therefore, customers can learn some new cooking techniques if they are interested in specific foods.

8. DISCOVER YOUR GROUP [ CONFERENCE ] Holding different kinds of conferences is a good way to attract different groups of people to collect and share their ideas. Also, this conference has real-time interaction on social media. It aims to access more information and build a big information network.

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37 9. BEYOND WATCHING AND LISTENING [ THEATER ] At this theatre, there is a room for the customers to communicate with each other, and they will get free drinks and foods when they talk about the movie they will watch or have watched. 10. OUR HOME [ APARTMENT ] This apartment building has some great open areas for their residents. It will give people more space to relax and to build a good community around these open space. 11. FIRST TASTES [ FOOD MARKET ] In this food market, there are foods and cooking materials from so many different countries. The goal of this market is to share different cultures and let people learn more. 12. SHARING SPACE [ SOCIAL NETWORKING ] Cultural reporting net working that may include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and blogs. It provides users with frequently updated content such as articles, photos. videos. It also allows users to subscribe to it, and they can post anything they want. It becomes a community where people can share and gather any ideas about culture, sports and so on.

13. INFORMATION CENTER [ A COMMUNITY ] In this community, there are a lot of different services and organizations so that people can learn anything they are interested in and anything they want to know. Also, it allows participants to communicate with other people through different courses the community provides. 14. COLLECTION [ ANTIQUE STORE ] In this store, people can find some vintage items, and also the store also collects different old beautiful antiques from different countries. Collecting and sharing is the main concept of this store. 15. LETâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GO [ TRAVEL MEET UP GROUPS ] This group aims to group people who love traveling around the world, and also they are interested at different cultures, food, fun and so on. It is a good way to build a community that allows people to travel together, and they can share their experiences and ideas. People can find out what is happening in groups around them and start to meet up with groups near them.

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FUTURE EXTENSIONS

38 16. WHAT SHOULD I DO? [ JOB WORKSHOP } In this workshop, people can practice and improve their skills and quality of their portfolio or resume. People who are working for different types of companies in different fields will come to this workshop every week or every month to share their job experience. Also, they will help you to improve your resume, presentation and so on.

19. LETâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PLAY [ GAME STORE ] At this game store, people have an area for playing any new games for free, and they can make some comments about the new game. Then, the game company will get feedback from them. It is good for players to enjoy the game, and also it is good for the game company to improve the game. Sharing new information and access to more information is the main goal.

17. THE SECRET [ TV SHOW ] This TV show, it presents some uncovered secrets and stories in different countries. People can learn these interesting things through the TV show. It builds a very easy way to share information on social media, and also the way that people get these secrets or stories is intriguing and attractive.

20. THE EYE [ GALLERY ] The Eye Gallery features photography of peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives. The photos will give viewers an idea of how people live around the world.

18. EXPERIMENT WITH YOUR LIMITS [ SURVIVAL CAMP ] The purpose of this camp is to teach people how to live without modern conveniences and experience non-industrial lives. The camp is a sharing experience and provides people with local access to hands-on outdoor learning adventures. Also, it builds a community where people gain and create their own experience to share with other people.

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INTERACTIVE SPACE [ AOL SCHOOL ]

[ AS-01 ] LIBRARY 40 Provides a nice space to let people interact with each other. Also there are many resources to let people know how to get old books or collectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s edition books. This library not only includes all common services, but also it allows people to find their books by themselves from the resources the library provides.

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WHAT IS COMMUNICATION? [ AOL SCHOOL ]

[ AS-03 ] LANGUAGE PROGRAMS 44 Provides a series of programs to teach people different countriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; languages, and also teaches people how to keep good relationships with friends, family and so on. This program not only focuses on languages, but also pays more attention to what communication is and how to communicate.

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“THE MOST INTERESTING INFORMATION COMES FROM CHILDREN, FOR THEY TELL ALL THEY KNOW AND THEN STOP.”

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THE WORLD [ AOL PRODUCT ]

[ AP-02 ] SHOPPING MALL 48 This shopping mall includes all normal brands, but the different thing is this mall offers traditional brands from 30 countries in different fields such as Chinese traditional handcrafts and clothes, or Japanese traditional artworks and so on.

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LEARNING ABOUT THE WAY PEOPLE PROCESS INFORMATION AND THEIR EMOTIONS IS HUGELY HELPFUL TO OUR NEW FUTURE.

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COOKING TIME [ AOL PRODUCT ]

[ AP-08 ] RESTAURANT 52 This restaurant has a comfortable environment, and also it provides some cooking courses for free. Therefore, customers can learn some new cooking techniques if they are interested in specific foods.

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OUR HOME [ AOL PRODUCT ]

[ AP-04 ] APARTMENT 56 This apartment building has some great open areas for their residents. It will give people more space to relax and to build a good community around these open space.

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UPLOAD YOUR SONG [ AOL EVENT ]

[ AE-03 ] MUSIC FESTIVAL 58 This music festival aims to build a community of people who love music, but they are afraid to appear in public. Also this is a good chance to discover and collect some good inspiration from different people.

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FIRST TASTES [ AOL PRODUCT ]

[ AP-05 ] FOOD MARKET 62 In this food market, there are foods and cooking materials from so many different countries. The goal of this market is to share different cultures and let people learn more.

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LETâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GO [ AOL EVENT ]

[ AE-02 ] TRAVEL MEET UP GROUPS 66 This group aims to group people who love traveling around the world, and also they are interested at different cultures, food, fun and so on. It is a good way to build a community that allows people to travel together, and they can share their experiences and ideas. People can find out what is happening in groups around them and start to meet up with groups near them.

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TYPOGRAPHY BLENDER PRO BOLD DESIGN HAOLAI (FRANCIS) ZHOU INSTRUCTOR & CLASS INFORMATION HUNTER WIMMER GR604 NATURE OF IDENTITY