ERECTOR | Visual Development Guide // GR604 Student Project by Mengyi Shao

Visual Development Guide

ERECTO R RE-BRANDING PROJECT

GR. 6 0 4 NATU RE O F IDE NTIT Y

About This Book

The visual development guide includes our brand background, identity evolution history, our logo exploration process, and finalization. After we establish our new mission, and identify our brand attributes and new vision, we move forward toward the development of our new identity. For this phase, we keep practicing divergent thinking and produce enough potential logo options to help us to define the final direction that can reflect the core of our brand and our new mission.

Visual Development Guide

ERECTO R RE-BRANDING PROJECT

GR. 6 0 4 NATU RE O F IDE NTIT Y

This Is ERECTOR

Logo Exploration

Brand Overview

R1: Sketches

Timeline

R2: Distillation

Logo Evolution

R3: Initial Refinements

Our New Mission

R4: Final Refinements

Key Phrases

VISUAL D EVELO PMENT GUIDE

3 Logo Finalization Our New Logo

108

Look-a-like Logos

110

Brand Inspiration

112

Contents 02

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fig.01 Boy playing with Erector Set

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This Is ERECTOR 01

VISUAL D EVELO PMENT GUIDE

Brand Overview

Timeline

Logo Evolution

Our New Mission

Key Phrases

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01 12

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Brand Overview Erector Set (its trademark is styled as “ERECTOR”) The brain behind the Erector Set was Alfred is a brand of a toy construction set. The set conCarlton Gilbert (A.C. Gilbert), a toy manufacturer sists of a collection of small metal beams with and Olympic gold medalist. The inspiration regular holes for nuts, bolts, screws, mechanical behind the Erector Set came to Gilbert whilst parts such as pulleys, gears, and small electric commuting from New Haven, Connecticut to New motors. It was the first-ever American construction York City. Based on his observation of the steel toy equipped with moving parts and motors, work along the railroad, he had the idea of prowhich made it more realistic and had a number viding children materials to build whatever they of technical advantages over the other similar want to play with. construction toys at that time.

fig.02 The kneeling boy label used by Erector on the metal box in late 1933– early 1934

The Core of ERECTOR

Encourage creativity and ingenuity through building

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Timeline 1913

1917

1941

1961

A.C. Gilbert markets

The A.C. Gilbert Com-

The Gilbert Hall of

A.C. Gilbert died.

his first construction

pany opened the

Science opened in

At his death, he

set under the name

world’s largest toy

New York City.

“ERECTOR”. It was the

factory at Erector

first-ever American

held 150 patents for his inventions.

Square in New Haven.

(construction) toy equipped with mov-

Gilbert convinced U.S.

ing parts and motors.

Council of National Defense to reject a proposal to ban Christmas

fig.05

toys. He was praised by the press as “The Man Who Saved Christmas.” fig.03

1910

20s

fig.04

30s

40s

50s

60s

1916

1920

1942

1954

The company was reor-

The A.C. Gilbert Com-

Gilbert stepped down

ganized and changed

pany established its

pany switched from

as president of the A.C.

its name from Mysto

radio kits. The radio

toy production to

Gilbert Company. His

Manufacturing Com-

station, WCJ in New

military production.

son, A.C. Gilbert, Jr.

pany to the A.C. Gilbert

Haven, included a

During the war, the

took over the company.

Company.

sports review program,

Erector Set was used

which was the first

to design and test a

Gilbert published his

A.C. Gilbert founded

radio sports program

portable bridge.

autobiography

the Toy Manufacturers

in the U.S.

“The Man Who Lives

of the U.S.A. as the

in Paradise.”

organization’s first president.

fig.06 classic (1924—1932)

type i erector (1913—1923)

transition (1933—1937)

return to prominence (1938—1945)

material substitutions (1946—1952)

type ii erector (1924—1962)

business is boomin’ (1953—1959)

decline (1960—1962)

VISUAL D EVELO PMENT GUIDE

1967

1989

2002

2017

The A.C. Gilbert

A.C. Gilbert Discovery

Company declared

Village was opened in

The Boys and Toys

launched new STEAM-

bankruptcy.

Salem, Oregon.

Were Made,” a biogra-

focused designs.

“The Man Who Changed

ERECTOR by MECCANO

phy of A.C. Gilbert Gabriel Industries

was published.

bought the assets. Gilbert was portrayed by Jason Alexander in

1978

the made-for-TV movie “The Man Who Saved

Gabriel Industries

Christmas.”

was taken over by Columbia Broadcasting Corporation (CBS).

70s

80s

90s

2000

2010

2019 Re-branding ERECTOR with our new mission and approach 2020

bankrupt

1962

1984

2000 MECCANO bought the

With sales declining,

CBS sold the Ideal

the Gilbert family

Company and ERECTOR

ERECTOR brand and

sold the A.C. Gilbert

to View-Master.

unified its presence on

Company to the

all continents. The two

Wrather Corporation

brands are sold under

and were no longer

the MECCANO brand

involved in the company.

name, with the Erector Set being marketed as “ERECTOR by MECCANO.”

fig.03 The box top of #1 Erector set in 1913 fig.04 The A.C. Gilbert Company in New Haven, Connecticut fig.05 The Gilbert Hall of Science in New York

fig.07

type iii erector (1963—1988)

fig.06 The A.C. Gilbert is converted to manufacture parachute flares in 1942 fig.07 The first ERECTOR by MECCANO set

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Logo Evolution As we move towards our new brand identity, it’s necessary for us to review the history of ERECTOR’s past looks. Taking a look at the evolution of our older logos could help us identify the meaningful elements that relate to the core of our brand. For our new brand identity, we will not only explore more elements that reflect our brand values and unique characteristics but also stick to the core of our brand. The ERECTOR logo was first designed in 1913 when the first Erector Set was introduced. The logo had four phases of changes. In the first three phases,

1913–1952 The first logo of Erector Sets. The wordmark was written in a display typeface, which gave it a playful feeling.

1953–1956 In this period, the display wordmark was changed into a slab serif typeface. And a drop shadow was added to give a three-dimensional feeling.

the logo kept using a wordmark but in different typefaces and making a connection between letters “R” and “T”. The connection between these two letters reflected the shape of a “girder”, which was behind the original invention story of ERECTOR. The connection also represented the idea of building, which has always been the core of ERECTOR. The latest logo still keeps the idea of building and adds the feeling of science and engineering, with a more “technological” and “futuristic” feeling to it.

VISUAL D EVELO PMENT GUIDE

1957–1966 In another modification, ERECTOR changed its logo again. The wordmark was written in a bolder sans serif typeface, which looked more solid and stronger.

2000–Present After ERECTOR was bought by MECCANO, the logo had a new look. The wordmark was written in a more geometric sans serif typeface. It also conveys the feeling of engineering.

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Inspire peo apply their ingenuity t collaborati building Our New Mission

01 18

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ople to r through ive 19 02

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Key Phrases We generated three key phrases that can best demonstrate our new mission and re-branding outcomes in the future. These three key phrases are based on our three keywords: collaboration,

inventiveness, and contribution. These phrases guide us to start the visual development of our brand and the ideation process before sketching.

fig.08 A group of people hudding

Collaboration

Build better together Inventiveness

Spark innovation Contribution

Make the world a better place 21

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Logo Exploration 01

VISUAL D EVELO PMENT GUIDE

R1: Sketches

R2: Distillation

R3: Initial Refinements

R4: Final Refinements

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R1: Sketches In this phase, we generated sketches in three divergent directions derived from key phrases. Each direction includes three categories: symbolic marks (symbols), graphic marks (graphics), and wordmarks (logotypes).

In order to better practice divergent thinking, we brainstormed for each key phrase before we started sketching. The brainstorm maps help us unlock more potential ideas related to each key phrase.

In the first round of logo exploration, we need to make sure to think divergently and explore as many possibilities as we can to help us choose the most successful direction to move on.

We think divergently and explore as many possibilities as we can to help us choose the most successfull direction to move on. 24

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Collaboration

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Build better together

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Build better together

Animals 01–08 Ants and bees have the meaning of collaborative building, but it’s hard to convey this meaning directly and it isn’t worth explaining to people. 09–12 Schoolong fish and wild geese don’t have any connection with building and engineering, which means they’re not the correct symbol for ERECTOR.

Symbolic Marks Symbolic marks (symbols) are the meaningful shapes or allusions that connect to the deeper meaning within our brand. Based on the key phrase build better together, we identified some animals and objectives that can represent collaboration, connection, and problem solving.

Ant

Bee

Schooling fish

Wild goose

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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Objectives

Hand

Knot

19 There is a hidden “swastika” in the center, which we would never want to use in the logo. 26–27 Some students have already had very similar logos for another brand. 30–31 The idea of building has the potential, but these two are not that interesting.

Chain

Weave

Puzzle

Wall / Brick

Gear

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Build better together

Graphic Marks Graphic marks (graphics) are the abstract or generic shapes or letterforms that connect to our brand name. In this category, we generated some abstract shapes that represent the idea of collaboration. Also, we explored various ways to combine abstract or geometric shapes with the letter â&#x20AC;&#x153;Eâ&#x20AC;?.

Abstract Shapes 01, 30 Some ideas of spark for innovation are good for ERECTOR. 11 This reflects the idea of building.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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21 This is better for collaboration and communication rather than the idea of building. 17

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Build better together

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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Transformed “E” 12 This can reflect the idea of building.

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Build better together

28 This looks like something is falling down and breaking. 29 This is more like a “C” than an “E”.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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Wordmarks Wordmarks (logotypes) are the customized, style-appropriate type solutions that feature our brand name. We generated several logotypes based on the idea of collaborative building and connection.

02 This can work with some of the other marks. 03 This also reflects the idea of building.

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Inventiveness

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Spark innovation

01 36

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Spark innovation

Animals

Symbolic Marks Symbolic marks (symbols) are the meaningful shapes or allusions that connect to the deeper meaning within our brand. Based on the key phrase spark innovation, we identified some animals and objectives that can represent intelligence, wisdom, creativity, and ideation.

Dolphin

01â&#x20AC;&#x201C;27 None of these animals are related to ERECTOR.

Fox

Owl

Bird

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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Elephant

Monkey

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Spark innovation

Objectives

Brain

01â&#x20AC;&#x201C;19 These can reflect the idea of innovation and intelligence, but they are very weird shapes. 01

Gem / Crystal

Light bulb

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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Star 21 This looks a little bit satanic, which we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to see in our logo. 22 The idea of spark (star) has potential for development.

Eye

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Spark innovation

Graphic Marks Graphic marks (graphics) are the abstract or generic shapes or letterforms that connect to our brand name. In this category, we generated some abstract shapes that represent the idea of spark and innovation. Also, we explored various ways to combine abstract or geometric shapes with the letter “E”.

Abstract Shapes 03, 05, 30 The idea of spark relates to the core of ERECTOR. These three have the most potential for development. 13 This feels more “fun”, which might not work for ERECTOR like some of the other similar ones.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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20 It looks like “excitement”, but not quite “science” or “building” as it should be. 17

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Spark innovation

Transformed “E” 06 Dynamic “E” has potential for development. 16 This has some potential, but right now it looks more like “C” than “E”.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

VISUAL D EVELO PMENT GUIDE

Wordmarks Wordmarks (logotypes) are the customized, style-appropriate type solutions that feature our brand name. We generated several logotypes based on the idea of spark and innovation.

04 It’s too “fun” and “fashion”

ERECTO R RE-BRANDING PROJECT

Contribution

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Make the world a better place

01 46

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Make the world a better place

Symbolic Marks Symbolic marks (symbols) are the meaningful shapes or allusions that connect to the deeper meaning within our brand. Based on the key phrase make the world a better place, we identified some objectives that can represent contribution, development, and achievement.

Objectives

Road / Way

Stair

Spotlight

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

VISUAL D EVELO PMENT GUIDE

Graphic Marks Graphic marks (graphics) are the abstract or generic shapes or letterforms that connect to our brand name. In this category, we generated some abstract shapes that represent the idea of future, contribution, and achievement. Also, we explored various ways to combine abstract or geometric shapes with the letter “E”.

Abstract Shapes 01–16 These are cool shapes, but they lack the feeling of “science” and “building”. 01

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Make the world a better place

Transformed “E” 23 The idea of dynamic “E” has potential for development. 24 The idea of building has potential for development.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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Wordmarks Wordmarks (logotypes) are the customized, style-appropriate type solutions that feature our brand name. We generated several logotypes based on the idea of contribution and achievement.

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R1 Conclusion

In the first round of logo exploration, we generated some unsuccessful directions that had no relationship with our brand and represented some of the other brands. But we also got some successful and potential directions that can be further explored and developed.

Potential Directions

Spark Dynamic “E” 01

Building

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Unsuccessful Directions

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R2: Distillation This phase is based on the concept of distilling and refining. In the second round, we evolved our initial sketches in a more detailed way and also kept exploring more potential directions based on the first round conclusion. According to the conclusion of the first round, we identified the key phrase make the world a better place as not as successful as the other two

phrases. Therefore, we evolved our key phrases into innovative building, which gave us a more clear direction. Also guided by the three potential directions, spark, dynamic â&#x20AC;&#x153;Eâ&#x20AC;?, and building, we generated our second round sketches on a larger scale on a grid with more details.

We evolved our initial sketches in a more detailed way and kept exploring more potential directions. 54

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Collaboration

Build better together Inventiveness

Spark innovation

Innovative building

Contribution

Make the world a better place

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Innovative building

Direction 01: Spark In this direction, we drew varieties of logos based on the concept: spark for innovation. We explored some abstract shapes, also combined the idea of spark with the letter “E”.

Spark 01–18 These are all well-drawn shapes, but the idea of spark is not as successful as the other directions.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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Innovative building

23 This one has potential for development. 24 This one is very similar to 23 and 29, but it’s too “fancy”for a logo. 19

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

VISUAL D EVELO PMENT GUIDE

Spark + “E” 01 It looks like a Japanese flag, a feeling we don’t want for our logo.

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Innovative building

Direction 02: Dynamic “E” In this direction, we focused on exploring dynamic shapes that convey the feeling of “innovation” and “movement” and combining these shapes with the letter “E”.

Dynamic “E” 03 This one is not visually appealing.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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Innovative building

Direction 03: Building In this direction, we drew varieties of logos based on the concept of building. We explored varities of abstract shapes in 2D and 3D, and combined them with the letter “E”.

2D Building + “E” 07, 08 It’s hard to see an “E”.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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12 It’s more like an “F” than an “E”.

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Innovative building

3D Building + “E” 17, 18 These two are very similar to another student’s logo, which we want to avoid.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

VISUAL D EVELO PMENT GUIDE

24, 27, 28 These have potential for development, but should be more like an “E” and have a “stamp” look.

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Innovative building

3D Collaboration + “E” 14–18 These are not visually appealing.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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R2 Conclusion

After the second round of logo exploration, we found that the idea of spark (star) is not as successful as the idea of building. Therefore, in the next round, we will focus on this direction and start the initial refinements.

Potential Directions

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Unsuccessful Directions

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R3: Initial Refinements

Based on the conclusion of the second round of logo explorations, we started doing more detailed refinements according to each potential direction. We still started with hand-drawn sketches and then moved to the laptop to do more delicate digital refinements.

Potential Direction 01 01â&#x20AC;&#x201C;15 All these variations have slight differences, but none of them are successful enough to be the final logo. But this direction has more potential than the other directions. 01

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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29 This one is more successful than the other variations. It may be better if we can increase its width. 01–28, 30–33 All these variations have slight differences, but none of them are successful enough to be the final logo. But this direction has more potential than the other directions.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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39 This one is more successful than the other variations. It may be better if we can still keep its “brick stacking” look instead of making it too like an “E”. 34–38, 40, 41 All these variations have slight differences, but none of them are successful enough to be the final logo. But this direction has more potential than the other directions.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

VISUAL D EVELO PMENT GUIDE

Potential Direction 02 01–06 These variations still look more like “stairs” rather than “E”, which is not successful to be a logo.

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07â&#x20AC;&#x201C;24 All these variations are not successful to be the final logo.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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Potential Direction 03 01â&#x20AC;&#x201C;13 This direction is not as successful as some of the other directions.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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Potential Direction 04 01 This one could be the final logo, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more successful than the other variations in this direction.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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Potential Direction 05 01â&#x20AC;&#x201C;12 This direction is not as successful as some of the other directions.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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Potential Direction 06 01 This one could be the final logo, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more successful than the other variations in this direction.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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R3 Conclusion

After the third round of logo exploration, we had a pretty clear direction to guide us moving forward until we define our final logo.

Potential Directions

All these four directions could work as a logo. Eventually, we chose this direction for our final logo. Compared to the other two directions, this one is not only simple and strong, but also conveys the idea of building by including the letter â&#x20AC;&#x153;Eâ&#x20AC;? in a more mysterious way.

VISUAL D EVELO PMENT GUIDE

LOGO EXPLORATION

ROUND 3: INITIAL REFINEMENTS

89 02

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R4: Final Refinements

This is the final phase of our logo exploration. We did very detailed refinements based on our chosen direction. Meanwhile, we explored varieties of logotypes and color palettes to see which one would work the best with our logo.

Symbol

VISUAL D EVELO PMENT GUIDE

We tried different angles and widths of the symbol and eventually we decided to choose this one as our final logo to move forward.

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Wordmark 01–06 These are not successful to be the wordmark because their height and width doesn’t match our symbol.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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07–12 These are not successful to be the wordmark because their height and width doesn’t match our symbol.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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14 This is the most successful one compared with others, but it will be better if the stroke of the letter “R” keeps the same angle with the other altered letters. 13

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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Symbol + Wordmark 01â&#x20AC;&#x201C;09 All these combinations are not successful because the wordmark cannot match our symbol very well.

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14 This is the most successful combination compared with others because the wordmark can well match our symbol.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

100

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Color 01, 05 The orange and yellow tone is proper for ERECTOR. 03, 06 Purple is not the appropriate color for ERECTOR. 01

101

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11, 12, 17 Pink, salmon, and purple is not the appropriate color for ERECTOR. We need to think about which color can best represent ERECTOR instead of trying so many colors that are inappropriate for our brand.

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18 These two colors work well together.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

102

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21â&#x20AC;&#x201C;27 Symbol and wordmark keeping the same color is not a successful direction.

103

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21â&#x20AC;&#x201C;27 Symbol and wordmark keeping the same color is not a successful direction.

Has Potential Be Careful / Avoid

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32–45 Symbol in a bright color and workmark in dark blue doesn’t work as well as symbol in a bright color and wordmark in black.

105

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Logo Finalization 01

VISUAL D EVELO PMENT GUIDE

Our New Logo

108

Look-a-like Logos

110

Brand Inspiration

112

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Our New Logo ERECTOR’s new logo contains two components: the symbol and the wordmark. The symbol represents the idea of collaborative building, and also its 3d treatment conveys the idea of innovation and future. Moreover, we combined the initial letter “E” with stacked building bricks by utilizing the negative space.

Our Logo Concept

Our new workmark was developed based on our new symbol. We alternated each letter by maintaining the same angle of the building bricks in the symbol, which makes it look visually consistent. We use orange tone to bring new vitality and inventiveness to the new ERECTOR.

Our new logo was inspired by the idea of building, which has always been the core of our brand 108

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ERECTOR Signature

ERECTOR Wordmark

ERECTOR Symbol

ERECTOR New Logo

+ Building Bricks

= Letter “E”

New ERECTOR Symbol

109

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Look-a-like Logos Before we finalize our logo, it’s quite important for us to do research about the existing commercial logos that share similarities with our logo. It’s a

crucial method to help us know that our new logo doesn’t already exist in the current commerical market or doesn’t belong to our business area.

artists association Encuentro de Escultores

printing Edwin Vogt & Partner

architecture Enric Graells

Similarity Difference

3D, inital letter “E” Shape not defined by negative space

3D, Inital letter “E” No building brick look

Inital letter “E” No obvious 3D look

real estate Immobilare Erba

electronics Elite Circuits

construction Tilysa Construcciones

Similarity Difference

Similarity

3D, brick look Initial letter “i” and “E”

3D, initial letter “E” Electronic, energy feeling

Difference

3D, building brick look, negative space Initial letter “T”

furniture Environmental Products

office system Ergometrix Office Systems

literature prize The Folio Prize

Similarity Difference

Similarity

3D Initial lowercase “e”

3D, initial letter “E” Rounded edges

Difference

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3D, building brick feeling, negative space Initial letter “F”

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construction BAM

art gallery Black Cube

Similarity Difference

3D, negative space No initial letter, different perspective

construction Urbis 3D, negative space Abstract shape

Similarity

3D, building feeling, negative space Difference Initial letter “U”

publishing Furnituregroup

hospitals Hospital Consortium Inc

bricks Zürcher Ziegeleien

Similarity 3D, negative space Difference No initial letter, no building brick look

Similarity

Similarity 3D, building brick look Difference Initial letter “Z”

Difference

insurance SCAB

real estate Steel Properties

construction Guerin

Similarity

Similarity 3D, negative space Difference Initial letter “G”

3D, building brick look, negative space Difference Abstract shape

Difference

3D, building brick look, negative space Abstract shape

3D, dynamic brick look, negative space Abstract shape

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GR. 6 0 4 NATU RE O F IDE NTIT Y

Brand Inspiration Our research process also includes studying other successful brand guidelines in the current market. Before we established our new brand standards, we studied some brand standards and

took inpiration from them. This process better guided us to produce complete brand guidelines and move forward.

Color Variations Broadview Security gives very clear guidelines for color variation of their logo by showing specific examples.

Typography Cadence shows their typography guidelines very clearly by showing the typeface, general usage, and typeface specimens.

Clear Space Devon shows clear graphics and puts the explanation beside it, which is quite easy to understand.

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Incorrect Usage Nexstar gives a clear standard of the incorrect usage for their logo by indicating the “Don’ts” below the incorrect usage images.

Graphic Elements Electrolux provides a clear guideline for using their graphic elements by expaining the usage and showing real examples of applying the elements.

Size Chart VMware gives a very detailed logo sizing standards by showing clear graphics and explaining the usage of logo standard sizes, minimum sizes, larger sizes, and extreme cases.

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ERECTO R RE-BRANDING PROJECT

Sources Images fg.01

https://www.cultofmac.com/400485/ how-apple-out-innovates-the-competition-this-week-on-the-cultcast/

fig.02

https://www.acghs.org/?page_id=767

fig.03

https://www.hakes.com/Auction/ItemDetail/208342/THE-ERECTOR-BOXED-SETFIRST-ERECTOR-SET

fig.04

https://www.hobbydb.com/marketplaces/ diecastspringcleaningsale/subjects/thea-c-gilbert-company-brand

fig.05

https://www.eliwhitney.org/7/museum/ -gilbert-project/-man/a-c-gilbert-scientific-toymaker-essays-arts-and-sciences-october-6

fig.06

https://connecticuthistory.org/topics-page/war-and-defense/

fig.07

https://us.letgo.com/en/i/6e8fbe4d-9da04479-a55d-8981a9326d1a

fig.08

01 76

https://fasttrackae.com

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77 02

ERECTO R RE-BRANDING PROJECT

School Academy of Art University School of Graphic Design Course GR.604 Nature of Identity Instructor Hunter Wimmer Typeface Neue Hass Unica Roboto Slab

ÂŠ 2019 Mengyi Shao All right reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission of the copyright holder.

This book is a non-commericial project for educational purposes and is not intended to represent or replace the original brand.

GR. 6 0 4 NATU RE O F IDE NTIT Y

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