Lizzy Gosney
Brief_02
Yamaha Competition Brief
THE BRIEF
BACKGROUND
CONCEPT
A competition brief to create a Graphic Form of ‘KANDO’ for Yamaha. Raise awareness of Yamaha’s involvement with music and motors under one corporation.
The Japanese word KANDO means “for the heart” or “to be deeply moved”. KANDO is an important Japanese philosophy that Yamaha Music and Motor Co. have always embraced. Since 1887, Yamaha has grown to become the world’s largest manufacturer of a full line of musical instruments, and a leading producer of audio/visual products, semiconductors and other computer related products, sporting goods, home appliances and furniture, specialty metals, machine tools, and industrial robots.
With this in mind, the competition asked Grapic Designers worldwide to think about a new and creative solution which clearly represented both the music and motor elements of the company. This brief asked for the two elements to be presented together through the identity of ‘Kando’, whether it be a logo, brand or small mark, this brief was reasonably open to interpretation.
Level 06
Lizzy Gosney
Brief_02
LOGO RESEARCH Yamaha Corporation uses a Yamaha Logomark with the tips of the tuning forks contained within a circle. and an “M” with a middle column shorter than the outer legs, and features “YAMAHA” printed in an asymmetric font. The logo of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. is printed in a symmetrical font and uses red as its corporate color, while Yamaha Corporation uses violet.
Yamaha’s logotype, featuring the combination of the tuning fork mark and the Yamaha logo, was established in 1967 when the tuning fork mark was standardized. Following a period in which the tuning fork mark was not used, the company unified the logotype to the one used today.
Yamaha Competition Brief
Level 06
Lizzy Gosney
Brief_02
Yamaha
DEVELOPMENT The initial sketches were based on the three tuning forks used in the Yamaha logo. There was a variety of different attempts at placing the tuning forks in to different layouts. This idea intended to re-use the tuning forks through an alternative perspective so as not to specifically concentrate on the musical element of Yamaha, but try and incorporate more relation to the motor side of Yamaha too.
The sketches were drawn on to gridded paper in order to generate more structured designs. This also gave the drawings a more mathematical feel something, which is an important element of both making musical equiptment, and motors. During the sketching stage of this project, the drawings started to resemble the letter ‘m’.
The sketches were scanned in to Illustrator, where they were coverted in to vectorised line drawings. This would make it easier to visualise them on a range of scales without becoming pixelated.
Level 06
Lizzy Gosney
Brief_02
Yamaha
DEVELOPMENT The chosen vector was of a design created using two upside down heart shapes. The hearts were relevant as they worked as a subtle reference to both definitions of Kando. The upside down heart suggested a connotation of them moving downwards, in other words, being ‘deeply moved’.
As experimentation, an extra heart was added onto the previous design to form an ‘mm’ outline. The ‘mm’ worked as an abbreviation for ‘music’ and ‘motors’ combined. The design was placed with a variety of different typefaces to get an idea of how it would coordinate with the word ‘Kando’.
The logotype worked effectively with the double m shape incorporated, however the logo appeared to be much greater in width than height. This could cause a limiation when considering the range of of contexts and situations in which the logo would be required.
Level 06
Lizzy Gosney
DEVELOPMENT To resolve the width issue, the third heart was removed, leaving only two hearts. The chosen typeface was ‘Coolvetica’. This was repositioned above the ‘m’ to add clarity to the overall image. Different stroke weights were applied to the icon and colour was incorporated in to a couple of the designs to give it it a hearty feel.
Brief_02
Yamaha
Level 06
Lizzy Gosney
Brief_02
C=0, M+0, Y=0, K=0 (#FFFFFF)
C=0, M+0, Y=0, K=100 (#000000)
Coolvetica DEVELOPMENT The KANDO identity only uses black and white. The main logo/icon is the black outlined variation (left). However, the inverted version (right) can be used in situations where the background is dark and therefore causes the KANDO identity to be lost or distorted. ‘Coolvetica’ was chosen as the main font due to its clear, bold aesthetic.
The project intended to work on a universal platform. This was due to the worldwide audience familiar with Yamaha Corporation. In order to work as a recognisable symbol in multiple languages, the icon remains simplistic. This also helps the icon to function effectively in a range of scales and environmental contexts.
Yamaha
Level 06
Lizzy Gosney
Brief_02
DEVELOPMENT The poster designs were experiemented with in Photoshop. The developments focused in on scale, photography, layering, or a combination of these aspects. This helped to keep the design consistent. The posters incorporated various shades of red as it was the most appropriate for the theme of ‘the heart being deeply moved’. The message also had a dark and mysterious aura about it, hence the production of deep and dark imagery in the posters.
Comparing all of these designs, against one another helped to ensure that the most effective posters were selected. This process began to reveal the most effective use of type and image working together.
Yamaha
Level 06
Lizzy Gosney
Brief_02
Yamaha
FINAL POSTERS The four final poster designs come as two sets of pairs. One poster variation follows a strict and minimal gridded design approach, whereas the other is free and expressive. The two designs work together to convey the true meaning of ‘KANDO’. The double upside-down logo features in every poster - some larger than others. White variations of the logo have been placed onto the dark red and black imagery to increase the level of imapct.
There a are two poster styles; one with the Yamaha mototbike or Yamaha keyboard as the prominent feature. These posters focused mainly on the imagery. The change between a keyboard and a motorbike is reasonably subtle. This is to encourage people to look more carefully at the campaign and experience Kando for themselves.
The second poster variation features the KANDO identity as the prominent feature. It it placed centrally on the posters, and ienlarged to almost reach the edge of the poster to create a strong visual impact. The KANDO identity is recognisable from a far distance, without requiring viewers to look closer. These variations would be well suited to billboards on motorways, where viewing time is extremely limited.
Level 06