Bookstore Identity Design
Process Book By Manny Quintero
Identity Design Process | Manny Quintero
Introduction
Table of Contents Main objective To create a branded system for a Brooklyn based retail bookstore. To consider business realities such as company mission, core values, and target audience. To give the bookstore it’s own personality in addition to the visual representation of that identity.
Chapter 1 (Research)............... 3
Digital Variations........................ 15
About Brooklyn New York........... 4
Logo + Type............................... 16
City Snapshots............................. 5
Chapter 3 (Construction)...... 17
Street culture................................ 7
Logo Design & Type.................. 18
Logo Research............................. 9
Logo Attributes.......................... 19
Chapter 2 (Development)..... 10
Color Palette.............................. 20
Pencil Sketches........................... 11
Photography............................... 21
Digital Variations........................ 12
Chapter 4 (Presentation)....... 22
Digital Variations II..................... 13
Brand Identity System............... 23
Digital Refinements................... 14
In conclusion ............................. 25
Research When you start with any project you have to make sure that you know as much as possible about your client, their target demographic and their product. This part of the design process is crucial as I try to know what other designers have done in the same area as our book store. I need to understand their work so I can either resemble their work, or stay as far away from it as possible—all under the request of our client of course.
Chapter 1
Identity Design Process | Manny Quintero
RESEARCH Development Construction Presentation
About Brooklyn New York This city is a melting pot of colorful culture and artistic expression. Brooklyn has more than 2.6 million people calling it their home. It actually has the largest population of any borough and would be America’s fourth-biggest city on its own.
It is no secret that Brooklyn is a really amazing place. Let’s explore what makes this place so unique.
According to the last census Brooklyn had in 2010 the city’s population was 31% African American, 10% Asian, 0.5% from some other race and 1.6% of two or more races. 20% of Brooklyn’s population was Hispanic, or of Spanish origin. In Brooklyn art is deeply rooted into the landscape. There are colors, shapes and themes decorating almost every single street, and they vary from larger than life murals on walls to beautiful architecture and music from all corners of the world. Speaking of music, Hip-hop can probably be described as one of the strongest influences on the street community, not only being manifested in art, but also in what people wear and sometimes how they talk as well.
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RESEARCH
Identity Design Process | Manny Quintero
Development Construction Presentation
City Snapshots The streets in Brooklyn are filled with colors reminiscing from all cultures of the world. It has been that way for decades, and perhaps that’s why in its great cultural differences we also find a look and style the looks almost the same throughout the city. I am starting to think that what would stand out the most in a place like this would be a style that steps out of their norm, even if that looked “normal” everywhere else.
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RESEARCH
Identity Design Process | Manny Quintero
Development Construction Presentation
“Brooklyn is not the easiest place to grow up in, although I wouldn’t want to change that experience for anything.” – Neil Diamond
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RESEARCH
Identity Design Process | Manny Quintero
Development Construction Presentation
Street culture Our target audience is anyone living in the city. We want everyone to connect with us, but Brooklyn is one of the most diverse cities in the world. Therefore, in order to please all cultures and preferences “Last Chapter� will be culturally neutral and offer only the highest quality of books and customer service. It will be important to consider that the quality we are aiming for may cause our prices to be above the average bookstore.
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RESEARCH
Identity Design Process | Manny Quintero
Development Construction Presentation
“The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best, but legendary.” – Sam Walton
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RESEARCH
Identity Design Process | Manny Quintero
Development Construction Presentation
Logo Research What is the coolest and most iconic landmark of this great city? The Brooklyn bridge. It is so famous that can be recognized by just about any person in the world. I am fully aware that it has also been overused a thousand times in every logo from Brooklyn. I will explore using it as a possibility, but I am still considering if it might be best to do something subtle and different from what is perhaps expected.
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Development In order for me to discover the brand style and message that we wanted for our book store I had to start thinking of ways to be as distinctive as possible from other stores. What I had to discover was that in order to stand out you have to do something that nobody else has done... and that ‘s easier said than done, of course. Because of the huge cultural influences that give Brooklyn its identity, I want to create a brand that will be simple, minimalistic and very refined. Last Chapter Bookstore will focus on selling high quality books, providing amazing customer service and creating an unforgettable store experience.
Chapter 2
Identity Design Process | Manny Quintero
Research
Development Construction Presentation
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Simple lines, strong concept of book interaction. Dynamic movement.
A book marker can be a clever and easy way to brand the store and make giveaways.
Going withe a very literal representation of the store name could be effective.
I’d love to use the bridge, but I am thinking it might be a little too expected or boring.
Pencil Sketches For this important step I first tried to create as many concepts as I could. Having many choices helped me to discover the general direction in which I wanted to take the identity for our book store. Thanks to this step I discovered that I was not into using the bridge in the logo as much as I wanted to use a book marker.
Identity Design Process | Manny Quintero
Research
Development Construction Presentation
Subtle page design, prominent color, dark background.
Negative space use, color contrast, clever angle use.
Might look like a building. Strong marker concept.
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Digital Variations Through my initial digital designs I realized that I want to use negative space as much as possible. I also want to stay within the concept of book pages and chapter markers. I am not sure if I have found an answer to what we need just yet, but I am liking the direction that I am going.
Identity Design Process | Manny Quintero
Research
Development Construction Presentation
Simple icon style. Web/print friendly.
Great use of negative space. Nice simple design.
Minimalistic use of negative space. Unique design.
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Digital Variations II At this stage of my identity design I have discovered the elements that I would like to show as part of my logo. I am have also recognized that red would be a great way to create emphasize the idea behind the chapter marker. I need to polish the book pages design and then simplify the mark as much
Identity Design Process | Manny Quintero
Research
Development Construction Presentation
I like the negative space, I also like the ribbon design and color.
Geometric form, color infusion and simplicity
Clear book message, nice negative space
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Digital Refinements At this stage of my identity design I have discovered the elements that I would like to show as part of my logo. I am have also recognized that red would be a great way to create emphasize the idea behind the chapter marker. I need to polish the book pages design and then simplify the mark as much as possible.
Identity Design Process | Manny Quintero
Research
Development Construction Presentation (Myriad Pro Bold)
(Franklin Gothic Demi)
(Egyptian Slate)
(Baskerville MT Pro)
(Nevis Bold)
(Roboto)
Hurray, I have found the perfect font! Great for print and web, clean and modern, matches my logo’s line weight. Time to make it all work together.
I like the idea, I think it tells a story with just one look, and the logo relates to the name very well. Now I need to simplify the concept a little more.
I feel so close to the final design. Now I just have to tweak the little details that will make this into a beautiful logo.
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Digital Variations Nevis Bold may have been created just for my logo. I feel like my design gets taken to a higher level when it is placed next to the type I have selected. I am feeling very close to a final design. I know there’s a bit more to change, but now I have an image being projected and all I have to do is adjust the focus. Hang tight, I am almost there.
Identity Design Process | Manny Quintero
Research
Development Construction Presentation
Logo + Type Logotype Personality and brand message Sometimes it can be hard to believe that a simple-looking logotype would take so much work to create. However, even when they may look simple they are the product of hours of research, careful planning, execution, and refinement. With this design I wanted to express what it feels like to return to your favorite book, picking it up and opening it to that last chapter you don’t want to finish. I also wanted to make it represent a clean and modern company that offers only the best available products in the city... in this case our city of Brooklyn, New York.
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Nevis Bold may have been created just for my logo. I feel like my design gets taken to a higher level when it is placed next to the type I have selected. I am feeling very close to a final design. I know there’s a bit more to change, but now I have an image being projected and all I have to do is adjust the focus. Hang tight, I am almost there.
Construction This part of the process contains the soul of our brand. Here we put all the pieces together. I have a logo, which is basically just the face of our store, but now I need to create a full body with parts that work in unity for optimal display performance. Our brand is very simple but it also has very specific aspects that will need to be respected in order to function the way that they should. Such as typography, color, and marketing strategies.
Chapter 3
Identity Design Process | Manny Quintero
Research Development
Construction Presentation -111째
Logo Design & Type Here are some important rules to follow when reproducing the logotype for our store. It is very important that we stick to these rules in order for our brand to obtain maximum recognition from the members of our city.
158째
ff0000
4d4d4d
X
ABC123 ABC123 Trade Gothic Next LT Pro
Sabon LT Std
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Identity Design Process | Manny Quintero
Research Development
Construction Presentation
Logo Attributes
Don’t change order of line stacks
Do not modify the marker
No color variations or shade changes
No use of gradients or faded colors
Here are some important rules to follow when reproducing the logotype for our store. It is very important that we stick to this rules in order for our brand to obtain maximum recognition from the members of our city.
Don’t change the Number of used lines
line thickness should never be changed
Don’t change angles on marker design
Don’t slant the logo in any way.
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Identity Design Process | Manny Quintero
Research Development
Construction Presentation
Color Palette
#ff0000 R255 G0 B0 C0 M99 Y100 K0
#4b4b4b R75 G75 B75 C66 M59 Y57 K38
#ffffff R255 G255 B255 C0 M0 Y0 K0
# 1e8ca5 R31 G140 B165 C81 M31 Y28 K1
# c4d2d8 R197 G210 B216 C22 M10 Y11 K0
It is very important that our brand will be represented by a clean and sophisticated color palette. We will primordially use white (#ffffff ) and off white (#c4d2d8) to create environments, Red (#ff0000) as accent and the rest of the palette to create small design variations.
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Research
Identity Design Process | Manny Quintero
Development
Construction Presentation
Photography Our brand is highly Dependant on rich visual content. We strive to be culturally neutral but we celebrate the beautiful heritage within our city; We do that by displaying images that show our people and our streets. We want our pictures to show natural colors and variation in focal length with beautiful bokeh effects and slightly faded colors.
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Presentation You can talk all you want about brand identity and design, but at the end of the day nothing says more than your finished product. Your client can be on board with all your ideas, but once they see you actual results they can still pull the plug and walk away. In order to prevent that I like to make sure that all my designs are well presented, showing great craftsmanship and time investment. It is always better to present your client with tangible products, however, if you have to present digital files you can still make sure that each image looks as expected from a professional.
Chapter 4
Identity Design Process | Manny Quintero
Research Development Construction
Presentation Brand Identity System We firmly believe that less is more. We want a minimalist approach to design in everything that we present to our customers. However, we do not want to compromise quality of products in any way. We only use the best materials and craftsmanship available, and we remind our clients that we only use eco friendly materials and renewable sources.
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In conclusion I leave this project having acquired a tremendous amount of experience. I got to speak with business owners, peers and experts and they all provided me with amazing views of my work. The feedback that I received is now helping me to improve and to strengthen my design skills. Now I hope that the person reading this process book will be able to get pass my imperfections and will be able to see how much love and respect I feel for my trade. Thank you for your time reviewing my work and if I may be of help I can be contacted through my site: www.mannyquintero.org
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