[Student Project] United Colors: Visual Development Guide [GR604]

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UNITED COLORS VISUAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

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VISUAL

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THE TABLE OF CONTENTS

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THE CONCEPT

FORMER IDENTITY

THREE DIRECTIONS

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BR AND HISTORY

CONCEPTUAL RESE ARCH

BRAND INSPIRATION

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DEVELOPMENT PHASE ONE

DEVELOPMENT PHASE THREE

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FINAL LOGO

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DEVELOPMENT PHASE TWO

FINAL WORDMARK

SIMILAR LOGOS

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CONCEPT U N I T E D C O LO R S

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BRAND HISTORY

Benetton offered clothing collections for women, men and children with a sense of beauty and taste which reflected the Italian style of the brand.

The origin of the Benetton group dates back to the 1960s in Ponzano Veneto where Luciano Benetton, eldest of the four siblings was working as a salesmen.

He was inspired to start selling colorful knitwear. Three years later the company expanded into France. In due course, Benetton spread throughout Europe and was established in the United States in 1979.

Benetton employed unusual, controversial advertising techniques that used “shock value” and photography to grab viewers’ attention. Benetton’s communication strategy was developed, consequently through the desire of the company to produce images of global concern for it’s customers in a global way. Benetton is well known for it’s colorful and provocative advertisements.

Unlike most advertisements which centered on a company’s product or image, Benetton’s advertising campaigns focused on social and political issues.

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FORMER IDENTITY

Before developing a new identity for United Colors, it was important to examine and understand the prior design.

The old logo highlights the brand name in a simplistic way, uses gender neutral colors and portrays its fashionable spirit. The green and white colors of the wordmark add a freshness to the overall design. The symbol in the logo represents gender neutrality.

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WHAT WILL BE CHANGED? The new identity will change the brand’s name to “United Colors” and will portray our new personality centered around multiculturalism. It will echo our mission of being a brand that cares about people, regardless of who they are and where they are from. A brand that will passionately strive for the betterment of society.

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CONCEPTUAL RESEARCH

United Colors aims to form “ONE” loving society called humanity.

United Colors of Benetton was a retail store that created garments and fabric. The word fabric was the starting point that drove the re-definition and transformation of the brand. It aims to showcase how distinct colored threads can be woven together to create “ONE” fabric.

This draws a parallel to people from distinct cultures and geographies coming together to form “ONE” loving society called humanity. The keywords that describe the brand are quirky, global and bold.

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THREE DIRECTIONS

The next step of the visual development is research and brainstorming. There are three main ideas which highlight our future direction and help explore the visual system that will fit our mission and soul. We intend to carve ideas close to the brand’s soul of being global, quirky and bold. These characteristics in combination with each other will portray an identity that cannot be ignored.

IDEA 01 GLOBALISM

For one and all. A brand that promotes multiculturalism.

IDEA 02 QUIRKY

A brand that wants you to stand by who you are with pride and courage.

IDEA 03 BOLD

A brand that want you to be vocal about your thoughts and feelings.

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BRAND INSPIRATION

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MARK DEVELOPMENT CAMP 01/ GLOBALISM For one and all. The idea is to showcase a logo that conveys the brand’s affinity for multiculturalism and speaks out for the brand’s intent to treat everyone across the globe with equality.

This sketch showcases individuality, but also a formation of a cohesive design

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CAMP 01/ GLOBALISM

Circles coming together show diversity. Circles can have a variety of explanations.

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CAMP 01/ GLOBALISM

Too detailed, won’t work as a logo.

Keep it simple

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CAMP 02/ QUIRKY United Colors of Benetton had a quirkiness associated with its advertisement campaigns and fashion sensibilities. It’s a brand that wants you to stand by who you are with pride and courage. The brand will retain the quirkiness in its new avatar.

With cohesive colors, this logo might work well. The circles define being together yet maintaining your individuality

Choose the right name of the brand you want to go with.

Don’t invert brand names.

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CAMP 02/ QUIRKY

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CAMP 02/ QUIRKY

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This might work if done symmetrically

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CAMP 03/ BOLD United Colors of Benetton has always been bold and vocal. The brand has a strong voice which can be used to promote its mission. It stands for being vocal to express yourself freely.

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CAMP 03/ BOLD

The star inside has to be symmetrical.

The idea of fabric is nice for a fashion brand

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UNITY THROUGH DIVERSITY The past three camps show that Benetton is always about unification of multicultural attitudes. The exploration here shows the idea of unification but by keeping your individuality.

Try a hexagon format with thicker lines.

Complicated logos don’t work, keep it clean and simple.

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UNITY THROUGH DIVERSITY

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UNITY THROUGH DIVERSITY

Doesn’t work for this brand.

Might work for another.

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UNITY THROUGH DIVERSITY

Add more lines to the fabric to check the pattern

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Interesting sketch, looks a little too much like another brand?

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DIGITAL EXPLORATIONS Too complex to form a logo.

Star formation inside doesn’t look symmetric.

Edges don’t cut off at the right angle, make all logos thicker.

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Looks interesting, evolve more.

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DIGITAL EXPLORATIONS

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DIGITAL EXPLORATIONS

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DIGITAL EXPLORATIONS

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FINAL DIGITAL EXPLORATIONS

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FINAL WORDMARK

The United Colors logo is based on the typeface Gotham Bold. The typeface has been altered to better fit the aesthetics of the brand.

UNITED COLORS

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FINAL LOGO

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SIMILAR LOGOS

To create a unique and distinctive mark, research was done to find logos that resemble the direction the re-branding was heading to. This was done in order to avoid using elements too similar to already existing logos.

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SOURCES: BENETTON GROUP www.benettongroup.com HISTORY OF BENETTON www.Fundinguniverse.Com/company-histories/bentton-group-s-p-a-history/ issuu.com/xuxuchuah/docs/amw_346_imc_case_study_benetton_-_x PHOTOGRAPHY www.theatlasofbeauty.com www.pinterest.com www.huffpost.com www.gettyimages.com www.flickr.com

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