Branding Development and analysis
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Introduction: We are Future Forum, fourteen architecture students from the University of Sheffield. Over a six week period we undertook five participation activities with over two hundred participants at Sheffield Futures. Each design decision, for the re-development of the Ground Floor of Star House, was made through participation and feedback of the users. This document is an exploration into the existing branding of Sheffield Futures, the application of branding on Star House and initial development of a new branding scheme for YIACS. The exploration and development exercise was informed by the feedback and comments collated from users of Star House.
Contents: 01: Logo development 02: Branding Star House 03: Initial YIACS Branding
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Logo Development
Colour Theory: In consultation with the young people and users of Star House colour has been a key discussion point in the design process. During these discussions it became apparent that some users favoured bright and bold colours, whilst others favoured calming pastels. What was emphasised in the results of these discussions is that colour is a stimulant, it can be provocative and emotive.
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Colour can be used harmoniously to promote smooth transition or in stark contrast to portray an aggressive division. In turn, as shown in the diagram below, a variety of emotions are associated to particular colours. Not only is this important to consider in documents and publications sent out to various clients but in the appropriate use of colour used in branding around the building.
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Appropriate use of Colour in Brand Appropriate use of Colour in Brand
Where stated in the existing branding guidelines, colour should be used appropriately in accordance with the diverse audience stated in the existing thatWhere Sheffield Futures interactsbranding with. guidelines, colour should be used appropriately in accordance with the diverse audience that Sheffield Futures Shown below are examples appropriate and how interacts with. Shown below of arethis examples of thisuse appropriate use and how colour can be used to not only associate with emotions but with colour can be used to not only associate with emotions but with activity. For activity. For example Green linking to Health based services, example Green linking Health based services, Blue with Corporate and Blue with Corporate andtoOrange with Social. Orange with Social.
Blue
Corporate Ambition Calm
Purple
Comforting Deep Creative
Orange
Social Motivation Exciting
Green
Safety Health Sanctuary
Pink
Respect Care Charity
Red
Passion Power Confidence
Navy
Control Authority Loyalty 7
Development of ‘Future Forum’
The perforating graphical style currently used by Sheffield Futures has been implemented into the Future Forum logo to create a sense of consistency.
In keeping with the Sheffield Futures logo, a circular frame was added to avoid harsh geometry and be more visually inviting.
FORUM
FUTURE The name ‘Future Forum’ ties in aspects of a forum based around discussion where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged with the existing Sheffield Futures brand. 8
Gradiating the colour from orange to blue hints towards a link between social and professional and a transition from excitement to tranquility.
Graphic Identity
future forum
As an alternative to the YUPEs graphic presence, we developed graphic representations of the Future Forum team. The hope in doing this was to promote our presence in Star House on a more personal level, where the YUPEs promote anonymity, we wanted an opposite effect so that we could be easily identified as a separate entity by staff and users alike.
Bake sale ssoa live project future forum
Bake Sale We used the graphic identity to promote events we were to host such as the bake sale which evolved into the free cafe.
Sheffield 10k Similarly we used this style to promote our involvement with the Sheffield 10k run and our fundraising efforts.
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rta o p s i m I s Thi Large Scale Publications me t o n t a t r is Impo Thisour In order to promote presence within Star House, me t posters to promote o n we opted to use large format t a t r o p forum format to interact with s free cafe andImthe s is i This ithe h users. Due to the large scale format of drawings T e such design concepts, we were able to feedback ttheo mposters, tantasdirectly r tant o r p o drawn onto indicated is p m I through the use of stickers sucheither m I as the oneTbelow his e m or through written comments. me o t t o n t a t r Impo This is me t o n t a t r Impo si i This is h T e to m ant t r o p is Im mpor I s i h T to me to tant r o p s i m I This o me nt t a t r o p s Im This i me t o n t a t r Impo s is i h T e to m ant t r o p s i Im This me t o n t a t r o Imp This is me t o n t a t r o p Monday, wednesday and fridays is Imopen s i h T to mIne the RECEPTION area nt a t r o p s Im of STAR HOUSE This i me t STARTING FRIDAY 14TH OCTOBER o n t a t r o Imp This is me t o n t a t r o Imp to me
young person’s
free cafe
Please give us a shout if you have any ideas, queries or opinions! ar-lp15@lists.shef.ac.uk
futureforum2016.wordpress.com futureforum2016 @futureforum.sheffield @FutureForum2016
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We are a group of Architecture students helping Sheffield Futures to develop the Ground Floor of Star House. We will be running this cafe throughout October.
Small Scale Publications When interacting with the wider public, a series of leaflets and postcards were used to raise awareness and gain more informal feedback. These were branded simply in order to make basic information and content stand out effectively.
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02
Branding star house
Facade and Entrance Treatment Currently at Star House there is a disparity between the two main entrances. Both the public entrance and the designated staff entrance are branded differently, Through minimal intervention the presence of Sheffield Futures could be improved to stand-out on the richly populated Division Street but also in the new Retail Quarter currently in development.
Various Front of Houses on Division Street 14
Front of House Branding The existing front of Star House is wrapped by an array of decals that combine YUPEs with an illustrated Sheffield backdrop. These decals block a significant amount of the glazed facade that could be used to connect Star House with the public flow on Division Street. Through exploring alternative options for this facade, the building could be rebranded to strengthen Sheffield Futures’ identity and presence on Division Street.
Option 01: Existing Decals
Option 02: Reduced YUPEs
Option 03: New Logo Motif 15
Use of YUPEs Although the YUPEs create a strong sense of identity for Sheffield Futures during our workshops with young people and users of Star House, comments were made regarding their overuse. Due to the anonymity of the YUPEs some users found them ‘creepy’ when used in excess within certain areas of the building such as on the main entrance facade and windows.
Due to the varying scales of the YUPEs enlarged variations could be perceived as intimidating, giving them a more human scale and limiting the use of them throughout key areas in the building may help tackle this negative connotation.
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Analysis of YUPEs YUPEs have a significant part in establishing a strong graphic identity within Star House for Sheffield Futures, however, through user feedback we found that they can be perceived negatively. Minor adjustments to the YUPEs however, can counteract the negative connotations that they are associated with.
The anonymity of the YUPEs succesfully protects the identity of those they are modelled on, however, due to this and the overuse of them the YUPEs can be intimidating. When used at an over-bearing scale. By simply reducing the YUPEs to a human scale the over-bearing nature of them can be overcome.
Although the lack of facial features allows the YUPEs to be anonymous, this remains a key feature that users find ‘creepy’. Without facial expressions it is difficult to portray an emotion and although modelled after real people, some may find them difficult to read and emotionally cold.
Simple changes such as adding gestures to the graphic makes the YUPEs more animated and welcoming rather than inanimate and hostile.
A vast majority of the YUPEs currently used appear to be rigid and rather inanimate. With their arms by their side, the posture reads as very univiting and suggests negative body language. Even as a graphic representation of a person this body language can still be communicated with simple changes.
When overused in certain areas the YUPEs act as an audience that overlook spaces in the building. This sense of audience can be intimidating to certain users of Star House. By reducing the magnitude of the YUPEs, the intimidation of them can be reduced.
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Colour Theory and Space - 01 Whilst colour has been carefully considered within the existing branding guidelines for Sheffield Futures, it is important to consider what these colours may represent to others such as users of Star House or how the wider public may perceive Sheffield Futures. Colour can be highly emotive but where some perceive, for example, red as anger, others may perceive it as passion. This change in interpretation must be considered in branding and in house spaces as to create a consistent and strong sense of identity for not only Sheffield Futures as a whole, but as a presence within Star House. The colours adopted could dramatically affect the mood and atmosphere of a space as seen below with the existing reception area.
1 01) Back of House
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02) Admin Corridor
3 03) Entrance Foyer
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Colour Theory and Space - 02 The diagram below denotes how application of certain colours to areas within Star House can be used to aid users in finding specific areas relating to the services they require. Orange represents more social areas, green caring and friendly areas and blue representing more professional or work based areas. This transition through the spaces represented by colour is a design element that can be implemented into the back of house redesign.
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The colour of the column emphasises the aggressive nature of its placement as it greets you with various signs and CCTV.
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The colour of the floor adds to a warm reception area opposing the existing cold flooring.
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The ceiling panels could be used to colour co-ordinate spaces relating to their designated purpose. e.g.. Career Advice = Blue Reception = Green Cafe Area = Red
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Columns have a very strong presence in the reception area, a change in colour could emphasise this or help them blend into the surrounding space.
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Adding colour to the reception desk, such as green associated with well-being and care, creates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.
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5 2 1 19
Displays and Artwork One of the key points which came out from our workshops, and chats with the young people at our free cafe, was the importance of including artwork within the building. Many people spoke about the uplifting effect artwork has on them when they are waiting around. They told us that it is important to have something to look at whilst waiting for an appointment in a waiting room to keep their mind off things, to make them feel calm, and to allow them to look at something interesting rather than the other people waiting for appointments - which they said often makes them feel nervous and anxious. We spoke to lots of young people who enjoyed producing art work themselves. For this reason we thought it would be a brilliant opportunity for the young people to have an impact on their own environment, by displaying their own art work on waiting room walls, and throughout the building, to brighten up the space and give them something to be proud of. Whilst we believe it is a brilliant idea to display their artwork we think the way in which it is displayed is just as important as the artwork itself. It could look messy and unconsidered if work were to be stuck on walls with blu-tac or drawing pins on cork-board. We believe that framing peoples work not only looks professional, but it gives the young artists a sense of achievement and makes them feel that their ideas are valued.
Same gap between frames
Same gap between frames
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Posters and Presentation We noticed that the existing building was home to an array of posters, hung on display boards and stuck on walls and doors. This created a chaotic and cluttered appearance, whilst making it difficult to read each poster due to an overload of information. Following on from our ideas on the displaying of art work, we also think that posters should be displayed in a similar way in order to create visual clarity. Posters could be hung on walls using string and clips which makes it easy to change posters, whilst creating an organised and visually striking appearance.
Poster Here
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Initial YIACS Branding
YIACS Logo Development - 01 Following on from lots of end-user workshops, we were able to use the information we gathered to come up with a logo concept in order to provide a fun and inspiring logo design to replace the existing branding. The three main titles; Oasis, Future Forum and Crossroads, were suggested by some of the young people who attended our workshops. The logos aim to provide a fun and uplifting graphical style in order to represent the ethos of Sheffield futures, a place for young people to better their lives and futures. The following initial concept logos use a pastel colour scheme in order to create a calming, tranquil effect. They aim to be eye catching, whilst expressing their title and essence in a subtle way.
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YIACS Logo Development - 02 Building on the previous logo designs, we then looked at the branding document for Sheffield Futures. We changed the colour scheme and font of the previous logo designs in order to produce logos which work hand-in-hand with their existing colour scheme and graphical style.
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YIACS Logo Development - 03 After reviewing our logo designs with the group, we decided to take some of them forward based on general opinion and feedback. Each logo has been refined in order to provide a graphically clear, and eye catching image to tie in with the branding of Sheffield Futures.
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House and Sheffield FUtures narrowed the selection down to one ‘Crossroads Cafe’ option and one ‘Future Forum’ option. The general User Feedback and Brand Development feedback towards this selection was based around comments favouring the name ‘Future Forum’ but favouring the colour scheme and graphical Of these selected logos to take forward, feedback from the users of Star House and style ofSheffield the ‘Crossroads Cafe’ option.down to one ‘Crossroads Cafe’ option and one Futures narrowed the selection ‘Future Forum’ option. The general feedback towards this selection was based around comments favouring the name ‘Future Forum’ but favouring the colour scheme and graphical style of the ‘Crossroads Cafe’ option.
UTURE orum Crossroads Cafe: Option 01
Future forum: Option 02
Developed Option 01
Developed Option 02 27
Produced By Future Forum Live Project 2016
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