North Stars VBC by Lillie Schenk

North Stars VBC Brand Book Lillie Schenk

The Story

The Present 16 The Future

We are a proud Heart of America Volleyball Club! Our athletes and teams are committed to a demanding training and competition schedule where we play amongst the finest clubs in the county. This means we expect to look great! North Stars teams are in the gym working hard in preparation for an exciting and challenging season playing local HOA tournaments and major travel tournaments. Look for us at HOA Powerleague, MLK Tournament, ShowMe National Qualifier and the HOA Regional Championships, all in and around our home in Kansas City. On the road you'll find our teams in Omaha for the President's Day Classic, the LoneStar Classic in Dallas, Colorado Crossroads in Denver, and the Mideast Qualifier in Indianapolis in Indianapolis and St. Louis. GO NORTH STARS!

Phil Klassen, President

Hi! I’m Lillie, Lillie Schenk… …which is perhaps the most awkward name to have when you’re a volleyball player.* Yes, I used to play volleyball and this was me back in my high school club days. You might have noticed that this is a book displaying my re-branding of North Stars Volleyball Club. No, I wasn’t a North Star; I was on the other side of the net.

*Schenk (shangk), or “shank” in volleyball terms is a bad pass where the ball most likely cannot be played by a teammate, thus potentially losing a point for their team.

The Story

This was one of the teams I played on. Highlands 16-1 In this moment, we were watching the North Stars 16-1 team warm up before playing them. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re analyzing them in hopes of finding any weaknesses they may have. Any regional volleyball club knows this is a difficult task.

So why is my team studying the North Starsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tactics?

So they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do THIS to us.

So, who are the North Stars? HISTORY Steve Harris and Lisa Free-

man founded North Stars Volleyball Club in 1993. The club was founded with the commitment of providing youth in the Kansas City metropolitan area an opportunity to enhance their volleyball knowledge and skills. North Stars VBC is dedicated to providing a positive environment for all participants. The individual, team, and club goals are achieved through the active participation and cooperation of players, coaches and parents. The North Stars program has been recognized as one of the best clubs in the Heart of America Region. The club has consistently performed in the top five among the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s age

divisions. In addition to our regional performance we have made a strong presence at the national level.

veloping volleyball knowledge and skills through instruction and competition.

The club has drawn some elite coaches in the area. Our coaching staff consist of college, high school, and middle school coaches, along with college players and All-Americans. We also have a variety of coaches that have played and/or coached upper levels of club ball. The club continues to draw on these talented coaches and are grateful for their unselfish contributions to the game.

GOAL Each player, parent and coach

MISSION North Stars is a junior vol-

leyball club for young women ages 9 through 18. We are dedicated to de-

will represent our club, as well as the Heart of America region, with integrity and good sportsmanship. We will be competitive and positive at all levels and during all games regardless of the outcome.

FUTURE The North Stars Volleyball Club has successfully achieved scholarships for 90% of all seniors. These scholarships ranged from Division 1 to NAIA schools.

… and why re-brand them? I considered re-branding a volleyball club that I had played for, but I liked the idea of rebuilding something from an outsider’s perspective. I didn’t want to have a “pre-bias” towards what I was re-branding. Being familiar with the game of volleyball and being accustomed to North Stars through opponency, to me, was the perfect base of knowledge for a successful redesign. I also wanted to work with a group that (although perhaps wasn’t successful when it came to graphics), really had their act together when it came to their main purpose of existence. Through records and observation, it’s clear that North Stars stands firm on its skills, character, and determination.

The Present

Currently

Colors. Black and red arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bad colors, the red is very basic and plain, though. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lacking sophistication and depth.

Logo. Elements are disconnected from each other. This mark says nothing about North Stars.

Website. Flat and dated; solely there to inform.

Facebook page. Flat and dated; solely there to inform

Coachesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; gear. Visuals seem to change with the seasons. Change is good sometimes, but North Stars needs to have a solid graphic/s that they can be associated with.

North Stars can be viewed as a

FAMILY.

Both on and off the court, there’s an admirable amount of

LOYALTY

within both the club and each team. North Stars have a good amount of

FUN

with each other to build a close bond. There’s a

FRIENDSHIP that’s carried on beyond the season. An apparent

TRUST

exists in this club. Each girl gives

SUPPORT

to her teammates on and off the court. There is an extreme

LOVE

for one another and the game, and a tight

UNIFICATION.

North Stars teams have a sense of

PROFESSIONALISM, having respect and

PRIDE

for themselves and the game. They have

AGGRESSION and hunger for the ball. They are conditioned for

PRECISION, paying attention to detail. Opponents take notice of their

INTENSITY and desire for each point. No one can ignore their extreme

VOLUME,

heard throughout the game. They have the

INTELLIGENCE to make smart moves on the court, and it’s clear they have a true

PASSION for the game they play to win.

Complete Attributes List

3 directions Pulling from the attributes on the previous spread, I developed three potential directions. All 16 attributes accurately reflect North Stars, so by narrowing down to three particulars for each direction, I am not eliminating the remaining, but rather focusing on the selected.

PRIDE PRECISION PROFESSIONALISM

FAMILY FUN UNIFICATION

VOLUME INTENSITY SUPPORT

For this direction, I experimented with renaming the North Stars. “Midwest Elite” focuses on the club’s skill and impressive record. The mark is a star-like shape with exaggerated points to indicate the club’s on-point focus and plays. The colors and their transparency creates a form of elegance and flow. The logotype consists of thin type to give it a more feminine and classy look. The primary type, Archer Bold has a brisk, yet polished look, why the secondary types, Archer Light and Satellite have a more delicate look.

ON POINT, EVERY POINT Archer Bold

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Archer Light ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Satellite ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 25

For this direction, I explored renaming North Stars again. I chose “Velocity” to allude to each team’s quick pace when they play. On a surface level, the mark represents the rush and speed of the players, or a loud sound. Deeper than that, though, this logo showcases an abstract view of a team by celebrating the different roles of each player on the court. Each triangle represents a player based on their build as an athlete. The smaller triangles symbolize back row players (short players are closer to the floor, therefore making better passers). And the larger, longer triangles represent front row players. There is even a special black triangle aside from the red that showcases the libero, whom wears a different colored jersey from her teammates. The circle shape the triangles are creating alludes to a huddle or cheer that calls for the team to physically come together.

The logo and logotype work alone to keep the visual balance of the primary mark. The logotype holds one of the triangles, though, which is placed horizontally to give the look of acceleration or the raising of volume. The triangle rests on the “C” to call out the word “city.” This shows that the club represents itself on more than just a regional level; they represent Kansas City. The pattern showcases another way players can be connected with their teammates. It also refers to the repetition of the game. The primary typeface, Practique (as well as the colors, red and black), represents the club’s bold presence. Grotesque Light is a nice contraster and works as an easy-to read body copy.

VELOCITY TOGETHER WITH SPEED Practique ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Grotesque MT Std Light ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 27

For my chosen direction, I stuck with the original name, “North Stars.” This name reflects the club’s practice locations (north of the Missouri River). It also straight-forwardly announces that the players are stars. In astronomy terms, the North Star is a star that sticks out among others as a guide. This club can also be viewed as a leader. The mark is simply mimicking the lining of a volleyball. It showcases wholeness and support through the single shapes’ interaction with each other. The colors represent fun, enjoyment, and friendliness towards teammates. There are six players on one side of the court at a time, and when you have six of these marks together, it creates inter-

twining unity. There’s even a little star that appears within the negative space! The primary typeface, Aldo, is fun with an edge. Kozuka, the secondary type is modern and a little more simplistic.

ONE HEART, ONE GOAL Aldo SemiBold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Kozuka Gothic Pr6N EL

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 29

I realized that these colors are niceâ&#x20AC;Ś

â&#x20AC;Śif I was branding a carnival 31

Who is it that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m designing for again? I suppose I had forgotten about my audience with my chosen design direction, when picking a color palette. Although the orange, teal, and yellow successfully reflected the attributes of family and fun, it did so in a childish way. This was a bad thing, not only because it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t accurately North Stars, but because those are negative traits that no sports team would want to be associated with. I needed to take another look at my audience so I could effectively re-brand North Stars.

family / friends of players Parents are the ones paying for their daughter/s’ position on the team, so it’s important to wow them. They need to know that they’re making a good investment.

players

recruiters

opposing teams

Players need to have confidence in themselves as well as their team and the club. This new design should reinforce that.

Recruiters need to be able to access information quickly (web) and be able to identify North Stars and their players.

Opposing teams should be jealous of North Stars’s re-brand! They should be intrigued by this design, wishing it was their own.

After that, I did a lot of this.

After quite a bit of experimentation… …I found that I was trying too hard to change things about North Stars’s look that didn’t necessarily need to be changed. The red & black color combination effectively demonstrates the attributes. I decided to add another color to the palette, since my logo calls for three colors. The gray is more of an accent color that adds some sophistication.

Of course I had to get the perfect redblack-gray combination, so I did a lot of this too.

The Future

ONE HEART, ONE GOAL Aldo SemiBold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Archive ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890

Kozuka Gothic Pr6N EL

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

BOUNDRIES

NOT OK

solid gray

red, black gray clockwise order

solid black

outlined

solid red

stretched

.05 in

Aldo SemiBold logotype