Graduation Project Documentation

GRADUATION PROJECT REBRAND NEW - Visual identity for an Educational Institute Sponsor : TSK DESIGN, Bangalore Volume : 1 Of 2

STUDENT : NOOPUR CHOKSI PROGRAMME : Bachelor of Design

GUIDE : Immanuel Suresh

2015 COMMUNICATION DESIGN (GRAPHIC DESIGN)

National Institute of Design Ahmedabad

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Copyright Š2015-2016 Student document publication meant for private circulation only. All rights reserved.

Bachelor of Design, Graphic Design, 2011-15 National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India.

No part of this document will be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means including photocopying, xerography, photography and videography recording without written permission from the publisher, Noopur Choksi and National Institute of Design.

All illustrations and photographs in this document are Copyright Š2015-2016 by respective people/organizations.

Edited and designed by Name: Noopur Choksi Email: noopur.c@nid.edu, noopur.2013@gmail.com Processed at National Institute of Design (NID) Paldi, Ahmedabad - 380007 Gujarat, India. www.nid.edu Printed digitally in Ahmedabad, India.

November, 2015.

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ORIGINALITY STATEMENT

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and it contains no full or substantial copy of previously published material, or it does not even contain substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in this degree project. Moreover I also declare that none of the concepts are borrowed or copied without due acknowledgement.

I further declare that the intellectual content of this degree project is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged. This degree project (or part of it) was not and will not be submitted as assessed work in any other academic course.

I hereby grant the National Institute of Design the right to archive and to make available my degree project/thesis/dissertation in whole or in part in the Institute’s Knowledge Management Centre in all forms of media, now or hereafter known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act. I have neither used any substantial portions of copyright material in my document nor have I obtained permission to use copyright material.

Student Name in Full: Noopur Choksi

Student Name in Full: Noopur Choksi Signature: Date:

Signature: Date:

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REBRAND REBRAND REBRAND REBRAND

NEW NEW NEW NEW

VIDYASHILP AND VIDYASAGAR VISUAL IDENTITY DESIGN

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ACK N OWLE D G E M E NTS That’s the formal word for the kind of thank you’s I have in mind. I deeply appreciate the assistance, help support and guidance of numerous people.

NID, for all the education on design and life, and for being this place where I got a chance to discover myself. For being an institute which is truly open minded and accommodative of everyone’s crazy whims and ideas.

All my teachers at NID, for always being kind and patient. For all their teachings and inputs along every step of the way. For being supportive in whatever we wish to explore and for letting us venture out.

Suresh, for he is in my eyes, the perfect listener and a great teacher. For smiling at my irrational doubts, and making me see the bigger picture everytime I got too obsessive. For being a very understanding guide and for always inspiring me with his narratives and wisdom, and many excellent observations. For making me realise that Design is about life experience.s Tarun, for his invaluable inputs along the way. His thouroughness is truly inspiring.

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Tsk design, for offering me this opportunity to be a part of their studio and this project. And for making me feel warm and comfortable. And giving me room to voice my thoughts and explore my ideas freely.

Tania, for taking interest in my ideas and helping me take them forward. For mentoring me with utmost patience, conversations with her were always immensely insightful and thought provoking.

Robby, Chahat, Aseem, Ananya and Sean for making working with them seem like an evening off.

All my friends and batchmates at NID, who have have contributed in my growth and learnings with their stories and experiences. Gowri, Boby, Naomi, Noosheen, Geetika, Pupul, Ishita, Stuthi, Gaurav, Arjun and Karen and for making NID seem like second home.

To my teachers and friends in Israel for making my student exchange a memory that I am going to cherish for the rest of my life. For all the amazing conversations and work sessions that changed the way I looked at the world and Design.

Mom, Dad and brothers for all the love. For giving me the space and freedom to explore and grow. For always being supportive of my decisions.

Burhaan for lending me his camera and helping me out with shooting the images for the print collaterals.

Sharath Narayan, for keeping the optimist in me alive. For introducing me to all the beautiful music that kept me going.

Johana for all the conversations that we share about music, life and design and for inspiring me with her work and stories.

My House mates in Bangalore for their warmth, stories and company.

Sohn, Tame Impala, Mount Kimbie, Bombay Bicycle club, Washed out, Fyfe, Baths, Hiatus Kaiyote, Daedelus, Air and Sigur Ros for the music they have created.

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“Ensure it feels like it’s made by humans, for humans.”

Stefan Stagmeister On designing for humans

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P R E FAC E

Having lived in a country like India, in all its diversity, hugeness and glory, I have always looked at the amount of visual information that we are surrounded by and have thought of ways in which it could be simplified, sorted out, cleaned up. As Paul Rand states, “The public is more familiar with bad design than good design. It is, in effect, conditioned to prefer bad design, because that is what it lives with.

The new becomes threatening, the old reassuring.�

No two people look at one thing in the same way.

With the world population crossing billions, one can only imagine the in numerous viewpoints people have. Visual diversity is a result of our own needs, choices, abilities, demands, limitations and freedom, as confusing as it sounds.

Regardless of the history of where and how a certain visual language came to be, everything in our country seems to be locked up in multiple time zones.

The plethora of brands, both local and global all shout out as loud as they can. There is a desperate need to

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express but at the same time there is a need to stand out and differentiate ourselves and our aspirations from the ones around us. The world of visuals is a confusing place, and simplifying things is not necessarily the solution to every problem.

While the visual landscape of the country is chaotic on one level, there is a richness to it that comes from the narrative behind the design, the limitations in the execution and the mere lack of freedom due to unapologetically bossy clients.

Everyone fantasizes the idea of their own little world.

I have always imagined a world where people are more emphathetic towards good design. Simply put, what would it look like if everything around us was well designed? Design is everywhere. To think that it can all be controlled and filtered is stupid. Design education helps you develop that eye for detail, but to be stuck up on your judgements and opinions is not such a good idea. The only way out for me, is to be a passionate believer in the fact that there is a scope for change and that this change has to start somewhere, and that I am going to be a part of it, in my own little (Graphic Designer-ly) way.

There is a beginning of an emergence of a more caring and design aware twenty first century society. This has led to enormous changes in the world of design. While there is a beauty in the visual clutter, there is a value for better visual communication.

And before wondering or thinking if people around me really care for good design, I like to stop myself and think that this is not about them. This is about what I can do, with my knowledge and understanding.

So when the opportunity came up to redesign the identity of an established school somewhere in the heart of Bangalore, I was more than excited to take it up. It reinforced the fact that there is visual awareness in the people working for the formal education system in the country.

There is a need to keep up and stay relevant. This scope for change was incentive enough to explore, experiment and implement those thoughts and put them into action, and see the outcome manifest. This is the essence of what kept me inspired throughout the journey of my graduation project.

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INTRODUCTION Section 1 GROUNDWORK 01 Initial Research 02 Research & Analysis 03 Brand Vocabulary 04 About Vidyasagar

CONTENTS

16 47 77 93

Section 2 DESIGN ITERATIONS 05 Design Iterations I 06 Design Iterations II 07 Final Design Iterations

107 213 251

Section 3 CONSOLIDATION 08 Brand Applications 09 Brand Maintenance

323 413

CONCLUSION

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Introduction.

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T H E NATI O N A L I N S TI TU T E OF D E S IG N The National Institute of Design (NID) is internationally acclaimed as one of the foremost multi-disciplinary institutions in the field of design education and research.

Through three campuses in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Bangalore, NID offers professional education programs at Undergraduate and Post Graduate level with five faculty streams and 18 diverse design domains. NID has established exchange programmes and ongoing pedagogic relationships with more than 55 overseas institutions. NID has also been playing a significant role in promoting design.

NID is a unique institution with many problem solving capabilities, depths of intellect and a time tested creative educational culture in promoting design competencies and setting standards of design education. The rigorous development of the designer’s skills and knowledge through a process of ‘hands on, minds on’ is what makes the difference.

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The Graphic Design studio early in the morning, NID.

Image Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/amit_chahalia/12568029573

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The foyer, NID.

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T H E W O R K P LAC E ABOUT TS K D E S IG N Tsk Design was established in 1996 by Tania Singh Khosla who received an MFA in Graphic Design from Yale University, School of Art. It is a design consultancy working in the areas of brand identity design and strategic communication. Located in Bangalore, their clients span industries both in India and overseas.

The studio focuses on creating strong and successful brand solutions for both large and small businesses in hospitality, healthcare, retail and education amongst others. Working across mediums – print, web and space, work at tsk ranges from strategic large scale projects to small and interesting ones, giving designers an exciting space to both participate and grow. Parallel to their commercial practice, they also engage in design projects that are self initiated, for cultural institutions and the arts.

Their work seems to negotiate a fine balance between an internationalist and a modern Indian design aesthetic and is inspired and informed by the modern and traditional, the global and the local. Tsk Design seemed like the perfect place for me at that point, because I was looking for a design studio with an

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intimate setup and a dynamic creative team.

A place is a lot about the people, and the people working at Tsk are passionate individuals who have learned how to balance work and fun, which makes the studio environment light and friendly. There was never a dull moment at the workplace.

The method of work at Tsk is driven by the nature of the project and every project is tackled with thorough study, commitment, love and attention to detail.

Through their experience and contribution in the field of design, they have developed their own method of working, and it was enriching to be able to learn that firsthand. In a rapidly evolving urban Indian landscape and a culture that is undeniably rooted in its unique sense of self, the design work at Tsk constantly aims at identifying possibilities for communication and design, and coming up with design solutions that are holistic, innovative, smart and culturally relevant.

Working at tsk has helped me develop a keener eye for detail, always ensuring that every little element in the design, comes together and works as a whole, while retaining a sense of freshness.

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Tania Singh Khosla (Founder + Design Director) Robby Banner (Lead Designer) Chahat Kathotia (Designer) Ananya Sengupta (Business Admin) Yashodhar (Accountant)

From left to right – Robby, Chahat, Sean, Tania, Ananya, Yashodhar, Drishti, Me & Tanay (Aseem & Shruti are missing).

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“Any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational.”

– Source Unknown

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WHY T H I S P R OJ ECT ?

“Everything that is used in Schools involves visual as well as textual data. It has a scope for design intervention at some point or the other. Whether it is a table of complex data in your Maths textbook or your annual report card, the School diary, commendation certificates or the School textbooks.”

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During my Typography II module in my second year at NID, I had attempted a small yet intensive classroom project that delved into the field of Education under the guidance of my Faculty – Tarun Deep Girdher. The assignment was a result of Tarun’s involvement in the education field in his works, and his identification of an opportunity for change.

The assignment involved selecting a subject from high school NCERT/CBSE text book for class 5 or 6, and redesigning at-least 3 chapters of a chosen subject.

Being a student in a CBSE school myself, I had studied from the exact same books at one point.

So not only was it easy to relate to what I was working on and identify the problem areas, it was also interesting to analyse the book with the point of view of a designer. We identified that the NCERT textbooks had not been updated for more than 30 years and were losing their relevance. The look and feel that any printed material generates, influences the way in which the reader percieves the information.

Every book that is used in School involves visual as well as textual data and has scope for design intervention at some point or the other. Whether it is a table of complex data in your Maths textbook, your annual report card, the School diary, commendation certificates or School textbooks.

The design process turned out to be extremely insightful. During the ideation, discussions and feedback sessions with Tarun I discovered my interest in academia and academic related design opportunities. So when the opportunity that involved re-branding one of Bangalore’s premier and established schools presented itself, I was instantly excited to take it up.

I had always wanted to do a project that involved design intervention in the field of education, and this project seemed like a good place to start. An educational system is a complex setup with a lot of people involved. Not only are these people of varied age groups, but they are also involved at different stages of the system, and play different roles and yet everything is interconnected and works in tandem with one another. While literacy and education is a basic societal need and responsibility on one level, the education system has an academic, an administrative, and a business side to it as well.

Formal education in India is rapidly evolving.

Although I did not really know the scale and the complexity of the project in the beginning, I was ready to plunge in and find out. What you will read and see in the coming chapters is a documentation of how I went about it. Dive in.

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/ SE C TI ON I /

Groundwork.

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P R OJ E CT P R O P O S A L P R OJ ECT B R I E F To work on redesigning the brand identity of Vidyashilp Academy, one of Bangalore’s premier educational institutions.

Confirmation letter from tsk

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Tentative Project Proposal

15 ACTUAL TIME-LINE EXTENDED SCOPE OF WORK

P R OJ E CT T I M E L I N E

Research + Analysis + Meeting I & II + Positioning Statement/TOV/Brand Personality PRESENTATION I

Design Strategies + Ideation + Design explorations + Iterations + Brand Architecture PRESENTATION II

Form Refinements + Brand Typography + Prototyping + Brand Extension/Contextualisation PRESENTATION III

Content Analysis + Design + Execution + Consolidation PRESENTATION IV & FINAL PRESENTATION

Brand Management + Documentation

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“I wanted to understand and reason with the elements, make meaning, and uncover the story behind things that didn’t reveal anything at a first glance.”

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For Redesigning the visual identity of any brand, it is important for a designer to understand a brand’s origin, as every brand has a history behind it. Every existing brand undergoes various stages of growth since its inception to its establishment.

Before I formed any views or opinions about the School, it was important for me to really immerse myself in understanding and absorbing the story behind the brand, how it came about, its brand values, the brand behavior, and the brand perception in order to have a thorough understanding of it.

Since my project involved redesigning the current Shilp identity, I started out by looking at the existing identity, their website and the School’s web presence, as the internet was my first go to source for information on the School. Being a design student,

and with the amount of visual exposure in today’s day and age, you tend to get quite judgemental of what comes in front of your eyes. I had already picked upon a hundred things that were wrong with the current visual identity and made up my mind that any kind of change would only help and couldn’t cause any harm.

So I can say that I started out with a slightly arrogant, and highly ignorant outlook on the existing branding.

This was my first level of judgement.

When I went past that level, is when I really looked at the School and its visual language with a fresh set of eyes and an open mind.

I wanted to understand and reason with the elements, make meaning, and uncover the story behind things that didn’t reveal anything at a first glance. And that was my starting point.

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01

Initial Research 1.1 About Vidyashilp Academy 1.2 Studying the Brand - In depth 1.3 Visiting the School (Tour & Meeting I) 1.4 Groundwork for the Brand Positioning

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O N B RA N D I N G

“People often view the role of Graphic designers in branding as logo creation, starting and ending with the brand mark, yet the graphic designer’s role is much more extensive and requires knowledge beyond that of how to make a visually pleasing identity.”

The need to identify things with symbols or letters has been a common practice for more than 5,000 years. The earliest marks determined ownership of an Egyptian brick. With the Industrial Revolution, there was an explosion of logos as mass produced goods flooded the markets. Today we are surrounded by a world with a rich and almost chaotic visual landscape.

Logo design is in the middle of another major transition. It is not limited to static and rigid visual systems. We live in a world with a multi platform environment. A Brand is a perception formed by the audience about a company, person or an idea.

The perception is the culmination of logo, visuals, identity, messages, products and actions. A designer cannot “make” a brand. Only the audience can do so.

The designer forms the foundation of the message

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with the logo and identity system. The process of Branding is hugely influenced by Graphic Designers.

The visual interpretation and translation of a brand to an audience is the fundamental element of branding.

Design connects the audience to the brand.

People often view the role of Graphic designers in branding as logo creation, starting and ending with the brand mark. A graphic designer’s role is much more extensive and requires knowledge beyond that of how to make a visually pleasing identity. Brands affect people’s lives because they are a part of people’s daily choices and decisions. ‘Powerful brands have at the center an idea that is big enough for you to want to be a part of it. This idea is unique, simple and true, and the branding agency helps to bring this idea to life.’

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ON R E D E S I G N I N G

“With an existing brand that needs reinventing, a culture already exists, together with a tradition, an attitude and a reputation, often a long standing one. There are employees, customers, stakeholders, suppliers.�

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Brand Identities are re-designed for various reasons, it may be to capture a new audience, to reposition a company or an existing brand, or to offer something new. Every product or service that operates in a competitive environment needs to be supported by branding and communication to explain to its audience why it exists or why it has changed.

With an existing brand that needs reinventing, a culture already exists, together with a tradition, an attitude and a reputation, often a long standing one. There are employees, customers, stakeholders, suppliers. As a designer, it was important for me to understand the context of the brand that I was working with. To study its origin and history, its market positioning, its competitors and the existing brand environment.

REDESIGNING POINTERS: 1. Require a thorough and full understanding of the Brand and its direction.

2. To determine the extent of change.

3. Not compromise on the existing brand values, as it may drive away those who are loyal to the brand.

4. Ensure that the brand is updated, enlivened, and it gains a more contemporary position.

5. Require clear communication to explain the need for the change.

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VI DYAS H I LP ACADE MY Yelahanka, Bangalore

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1.1 A B O U T VI DYAS H I L P G ETTI NG A SE NSE OF TH E B RAN D F I R S T M E E T I N G AT T S K My first briefing on the Project, was a discussion with Tania and Chahat updating me on the previous meeting they had with the client and what they know about Vidyashilp as a School, the Parent Brand and the educational setup in Bangalore.

They threw in names of numerous schools most of which were unheard of by me. They had worked on similar projects in the field of education before and hence they already had a much better understanding of where the School stands and the kind of system we were dealing with.

Which meant that I had a lot of catching up to do in order to come at par with their line of thinking.

When you work on a project in a new place, there is an added level of understanding of the place, the people, the language and the culture that is required in order to do justice to the project.

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Almost like a crash course on anthropology. This understanding was going to be very crucial in the future interactions and undertakings. I had decided that I would observe and absorb all along.

Vidyashilp is a contemporary, progressive School with a sense of Indian-ness. The School was founded by an educator, Mr Ravindra Vithani.

The school is going through a transition period with Mr. Vithani’s retirement. The education system of Vidyashilp is extremely sorted, producing great academic results, giving the school an edge over the other schools in the city.

Since we were dealing with a system that was under transistion, there was lot to be understood before we played a role in bringing about and supporting this change with the redesigning.

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M O R E A B O U T V I DYA S H I L P My next step was to study Vidyashilp as a brand.

To understand how it is portrayed, what the brand philosophy is and how it is perceived amongst its peers. Apart from Tania and Chahat’s briefing about the School and the scenario, my first source of information came from School’s website and google web searches, and that is how I started gathering the information piece by piece.

presented in the energizing and enabling atmosphere.

The school is highly acclaimed for the quality of its academic process, learning practices and its endeavors to achieve excellence in holistic learning.

The school’s academic initiatives function in a collaborative and dynamic environment, forging a new paradigm in education, while recognizing the child’s ability to think.

Vidyashilp Academy is a primary and secondary international school based in North Bengaluru in the Indian state of Karnataka. The school is affiliated with Cambridge University's International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) from Grades 1 to 10. Mr. Ravindra Vithani is the managing trustee of Vidyashilp Academy. VSA provides a contemporary, specialised educational experience, through an integrated broad-based curriculum, well grounded in Indian values. VSA sculpts knowledge from the child‘s perspective to make the child better assimilate, retain and own the knowledge. VSA is an institution where everyone‘s individuality is honed so that they are able to grow to their potential with the myriad opportunities

INFRASTRUCTURE:

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The campus building comprises of class rooms, work areas, state-of-the-art laboratories, auditorium, seminar halls, and the dining hall, a 25 meter swimming pool, a volley ball court, a basketball court, a badminton court, a skating rink (Bangalore’s largest), a full-size cricket field, football and hockey fields, and an indoor-sports facility for chess, yoga, badminton and music, arts and sculpture centers.

Each classroom is laid out to accommodate students in a comfortable and conducive environment for active learning, including custom-made functionally designed working tables and seating arrangement, storage facilities, computers, audio-visual equipment as well as lesson plan interactive screens.

KEY FACTS ABOUT THE SCHOOL It is amongst the first progressive schools in Bangalore. It has a 61 acre campus and is located in North Bangalore, India. It was founded by Mr. Ravindra Vithani in 1998, and promoted by Mr. Dayanand Pai. The school offers two certifications: National ICSE, as well as the IGCSE. The affiliated schools include – Vidya Sagar (Feeder School), Vidya Niketan.

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1.2

1.1

1.1 Current Brand Identity 1.2 & 1.3 First look at the Shilp Website 1.3

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1.2 STU DYI N G T H E B RA N D I N D E PT H

Vidyashilp had called in a Brand Strategist – Preeti Sawhney, to work out the Brand philosophy and give a more defined shape to the brand which seemed to have been scattered and all over the place since its inception and the added years of growth and changes.

Since the school had been around for the past 16 years and was going through a transition period, they had decided to re look at the Shilp brand as a whole, and bring in the much needed change in order to make it more relevant and at par with today’s rapidly changing times. Vidyashilp had called in a Brand Strategist – Preeti Sawhney, to work out the Brand philosophy and give it a more defined shape.

Before our first visit to the School, Tania advised me to go through the documents that Preeti had written about Vidyashilp to get a sense of the brand. She had done an extensive amount of research on the School and had helped put VSA’s underlying philosophy into words. Preeti had been called in for branding purposes. She wanted to go though the entire thing, how the school functions, what they claim? Whether it is working? What are the kind of duties for the coordinators and heads of the institute and so on.

The purpose from their point of view for calling her in was to institutionalize what the school stands for so that everybody is on the same page.

It was to understand the brand philosophy of the school and what core values they have because it had never been fleshed out. Initially when the School was smaller it was more evident, so the people who had been there since the beginning understand it thoroughly, but as the school grew, it sort of diluted, the brand understanding at least.

In the documents she covered the School’s underlying Philosophy, their methodology, its atmosphere, the curriculum. She also wrote about the Infrastructure of the School, teachers, the school’s academic results, as well about how the School is percieved by the parent’s, student’s and the alumnus’s of the School.

She also covered the challenges that the school faces and their aspirations for future growth. Going through those 40 pages of writing about the School was a lot of information to take in. While they were extremely detailed, it was tough to simplify and bring all those pages down to a simpler and brief understanding of the Shilp brand, and that was the challenge that lay in front of us.

2.1 Thumbnails from Preeti’s Documents on Vidyashilp, the highlighted text marks the key points.

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2.1

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F I LT E R I N G K E Y W O R D S F R O M T H E VA LU E P R O P O S I T I O N After going through Preeti’s Documents

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Overall Development

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Application Oriented

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Holistic

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Not Exam Oriented

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Systems In Place

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Develop Open-Minded Individuals

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Evolving

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Conceptual Thread Runs

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Methodical

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Proprietary Lesson Plans Or Lps

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Child-Centric

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Dynamic Content

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International Education

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Child At Their Heart

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Emotional Quotient

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Lasting Relationships

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Personalized Education

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Confident Personalities

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Sculpting Knowledge

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Provides Life-Skills

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Grounded In Indian Values

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Well-Defined Culture

t

Progressive

t

Academic And Individual Excellence

t

Contemporary Education

t

Approachable And Friendly Environment

t

No Unnecessary Stress

t

Myriad Opportunities

(2.1), I decided to highlight and filter out the important keywords from it.

Black Slanting Dash: Claims (Doubts - yet to validate).

Grey Underlined words: VSA’s Approach.

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A QU ICK EXE RCI S E From the filtered keywords, I did a small exercise based on my reading and understanding of Shilp so far. I divided the keywords into three groups – the claims made by the School, their Approach towards the educational system, and the reality in my opinion.

Once I put it on paper, I discussed the analysis with Tania and Chahat, where we compared our opinions, and saw where we differed.

This exercise was interesting because all of our opinions were tainted by our own perception of the School. Tania is also a parent, and while her kids go to a different school in Bangalore, her sister’s daughter is an alumni of Shilp. She has a lot of Shilp Parents in her circle where she gets a lot of her information and insights from. Meanwhile, Chahat had people in her own group of acquaintances, who are Shilp almunus.

So they both had their own reasons for basing each parameter on their knowledge and experiences.

This also made me question whether it was important to really validate each claim of theirs. A lot of what they claimed they have, could also be something that they aspire to achieve.

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QUESTION 1.

How are these key points reflected in the current identity?

QUESTION 2.

What do they really wish to project to the outside world?

2.3

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2.3 & 2.4 A sneak peek from the project book This was a collection of the keywords that were overlapping and coming up again and again.

2.4

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1.3 V I S I T I N G TH E S CH OO L V I S UA L TO U R & M E ETI N G W IT H T H E K EY STAK E H O LD E R S Vidyashilp Academy is situated in Yelahanka on the Old International Airport by-pass road. Our first meeting at Shilp was on the 25th of February.

According to how it had been planned, we were to meet the Director of the School, the School Principal and the Vice Principal (the key stakeholders) and just take a tour of the campus to get a sense of the School’s architecture and atmosphere.

The School is situated on the highway, and is far away from city life. You can recognize Vidyashilp from its high gates with huge iron doors that makes it look like you are entering a huge arena with a large monument within it. The school campus is huge and sprawling with landscaping and greenery everywhere you look.

The School in itself is a large white building that looks almost like a mansion with a 1000 rooms! We head to the meeting, where I am introduced to Kiran Pai (the School’s Director), and we are later joined by

Kalpana (who has been the School principal since its inception) and Sylvy, who is the Vice Principal. I make a mental note of how largely women dominated the School environment was. We decided to audio record the meeting so as to participate in the meeting and save the note making for later.

Since this was the first meeting, all of us had a lot of questions that needed to be answered, starting from the purpose of bringing in a brand strategist on their end, and the authenticity of her conclusions and observations, about the big change that is about to happen with Mr. Vithani leaving, things that make Vidyashilp stand out, about how the School has performed over the years. We wanted to get their opinion on the current identity, the way it looks, the colors and the symbolism.

Being the propagators of the School’s identity, they were the best people to tell us exactly how the current identity came about and what it lacks and the degree of change they are looking at.

M E E T I N G a A U D I O R E C O R D I N G a T R A N S C R I B I N G T H E M E E T I N G a H I G H L I G H T I N G T H E K E Y P O I N TS a I S O L AT I N G K E Y W O R D S a M A K I N G C O N N E C T I O N S

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3.1 The current Shilp identity has been incorporated into the landscape of the School. This is the first thing that you see once you enter the School.

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3.2 Vidyashilp Academy can be easily spotted from a distance by the huge gates that mark the entrance.

3.3 The road that leads you inside the school campus.

3.4 The School building as seen from near the landscaped logo.

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3.4

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3.5 & 3.7 The view out front from the top floor of the Shilp building.

3.6 The Shilp encounter building – meant for extra-curricular activities.

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3.7

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3.8 The interiors of Shilp – corridors with the Notice boards.

3.9 The campus is lush green, and is maintained with utmost care and precision, the potted plants use fertilizer from their own compost.

4.0 Motivational quotes on the wall, outside each classroom across the entire building.

3.9

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4.0

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4.1 The School has a huge campus equipped with a 25 meter swimming pool, a volley ball court, a basketball court, a badminton court, a skating rink, a full-size cricket field, a football field and a hockey field.

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4.3

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4.2 The School follows a great system for waste management, where all the waste is segregated into biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste(which is used for the compost). The nonbiodegradable waste goes for recycling. Paper is recycled on campus, and they have a special alloted area for the same.

4.3 The recycled paper hung outside to dry.

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Following are the keypoints that came to light in the first meeting with the Clients at the School.

M E ETI NG 1 W I T H M S . K I R A N PA I ( D I R E C TO R , V I DYA S H I L P )

M E ETI NG 1 M S . K A L PA N A A N D M S . S E LV I ( V I C E P R I N C I PA L )

t Vidyashilp is a complete school that is child centric and offers personalized education. t The school has systems in place that work. t The school is contemporary and progressive.

This does not reflect in the current identity. t The school is ready for change. t The school tends to have a closed door policy. t It needs to look at being an open communication school and it is working towards being more inclusive and transparent. t The school does a lot of great things but they are not spoken about. The only projection to the out side world is through branding and word of mouth (no advertisments). t College placements are very important and they needs more emphasis for future growth. t The website needs to be addressed at priority and there is a need to introduce quick and smart ways of communication. t The school wants to focus on giving back to the community and not just on the individual.

t The indigenous content is something that is very unique to the school(LP’s). t Children's fearlessness and confidence is the school’s USP. t Children are their main focal point. t Systems are so in place that people have confidence in the school. t VidyaShilp is the most sought after schools in Bangalore city. t Children's love and affection for the school is commendable. There is a strong emotional attachment. t Overall development is valued. t Vidyashilp does not believe in memorizing, pushing and pressurizing. t It is a child-centric school. t International education rooted in Indian values. Unconventional classroom learning. t The logo was developed after a lot of thought a represents what the school stands for - leading every child to excellence.

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I N FE R E NCES: There seemed to be a slight disparity between the vision the School’s administration had for the school and what the academic department had in mind. I noted a clear hierarchy amongst the decision makers and also the fact that they were all quite passionate about the School and their role in the system. It was a bunch of strong opinionated individuals who are working towards one goal – the growth of the School, with different approaches.

More than anything, we realized that the current logo of the School was something that was of great value to them because it was created indigenously and hence the emotional connect was strong. So whatever change was to be incorporated, had to be gradually and carefully introduced.

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5.1

5.1 A quick mapping of all the words associated with Vidyashilp to have all my thoughts in one place and look at the scenario more objectively.

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1.4 G R O U N DWOR K FO R T H E B R AN D POSITION I NG Simultaneously, through multiple meetings, we were trying to isolate the main key points that were crucial in describing the Shilp philosophy. The idea was to bring it down to a few words, in order to have a base on which the new brand philosophy could be built.

This is what Chahat and I came up with based on our inferences.

FILTERING KEYWORDS (LEVEL 2) FOR THE VSA MISSION STATEMENT t Holistic t Academic and Individual excellence t Child-centric t International & Personalized education t Well-established and well-defined culture t Conceptual thread runs t Dynamic Content - Proprietary Lesson Plans t Approachable and friendly environment

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VSA PHILOSOPHY t Build pressure slowly. t Freedom to learn. t Create operating minds not theoretical minds. t A complete school. t Unconventional and unique. t Contemporary education. t Operate clean & fair. t Grounded in Indian values. t Children find learning fun. t After a point marks have no value. t The foundation builds a child’s personality. t Have their systems in place. t Focus on overall development. t Each child is unique. t Their perspective is unique, and they learn uniquely(personalized education). t Sculpting knowledge not imparting knowledge.

FACULTY t Capable, Caring, t Friendly and approachable THE SCHOOL t Broad, Balanced, Child-led curriculum STUDENT t Well rounded, Groomed t Confident, Systematic/Smart KEYWORDS: t Confident t Systematic t Unique t Progressive t Rooted t International

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5.2

5.2 Ideation for the Brand Philosophy, the Brand Personality and the Tone of Voice – Putting words on paper and making connections.

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02

Research & Analysis 2.1 Thoughts on the Existing Identity 2.2 Case Studies of existing logos 2.3 Questions for the key Stakeholders 2.4 Meetings & Discussions on Shilp 2.5 Meaning of the name ‘Vidyashilp’ 2.6 Understanding the Target Audience 2.7 Vidyashilp Visit II - Meeting the Teachers 2.8 Experiencing Learning at Vidyashilp

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2.1 T H O U G H TS O N T H E E X I ST I N G B R A N D I D E NT I TY PROS t Reflects their ideology & key messages — Individual Excellence, Leading the child to his/ her optimum level/potential. t There is an emotional attachment to it. t Colors work well – Burgundy and blue are academic colors and are easily identifiable.

CONS t Outdated look and feel. t Doesn’t look official t Doesn’t reflect being/having contemporary ways of education. t Inconsistent use of the identity. t Not at par with global standards. t Focuses only on the individual, and not on the community.

ASPIRATION t Look: in sync with the current times. t Have an identity that is taken more seriously. t Look: Should reflect contemporary and forward ways of education. t Step apart and ahead of Vidya Niketan School.

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6.1 School logos that use similar forms as found in the Shilp logo.

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2.2 CA S E S T U D I E S A N A LY Z I N G VAR I O US VI S UA L I D E N T IT I ES Since it was essentially a branding project for an educational Institution, I looked at various School logos, and maintained a logo journal to keep a track of what’s out there. The Vidyashilp Brand Identity uses the ‘V’ shaped form to symbolize an individual.

I found multiple logos that use a similar form (refer to Image No. 6.1), because of its generic appeal and universal nature, that form is common in fields other than education too.

By this time I was neck deep into the research, and I was starting to see and understand why the current logo works and the sense of ownership that came with it, because it has been around since the School’s inception. It was designed in house, by people who truly understood what the School stood for. I realized that I could not possibly discredit the effort that went behind it even though it wasn’t executed with professional help or precision.

In Tania’s words, ‘Symbols work because there is a sense of familiarity’. Symbols used in well designed

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logos, have a simplicity to them in terms of the message they convey. This message is easily and widely understood and that is what makes the logo work in the first place.

I realized that for a Institution like Vidyshilp there was a need for something more than just a logo, there was a need for a brand language, and a complete visual system that binds everything together.

I started looking at websites of the schools in Bangalore, in order to see how they portray themselves, how they put forth their brand philosophy, and how they go about translating their philosophy into their visual identity and communicaton.

It was also an important exercise because there was an emerging pattern in the communication of the formal education system in India. I drew inferences to see what each school has to offer and how they differ from one another in terms of their visual as well as verbal communication.

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FOLDOUT

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VASANT VALLEY SCHOOL DELHI, INDIA

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THE CATHEDRAL & JOHN CONNON SCHOOL MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA

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KEDRIYA VIDYALAYA INDIA

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DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL INDIA

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BISHOP COTTONS SCHOOL BANGALORE

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THE DOON SCHOOL DEHRADUN

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THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGALORE BANGALORE

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GREENWOOD HIGH BANGALORE

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OAKRIDGE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL HYDERABAD

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OAKTREE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL KOLKATA

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MALLYA ADITI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGALORE

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EKYA SCHOOLS BANGALORE

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CA S E S TU D I E S B RA N D N E W U N D E R C O N S I D E R ATI O N Brand new is a is a web based platform and is a division of Underconsideration. Its sole purpose is to chronicle and provide opinions on corporate and brand identity projects.

They cover redesigns and new designs of well-known products, companies, and organizations. Brand New is edited and 99% written by Armin Vit. I discovered this website while working on my project.

It serves as a very interesting platform for creative review. The format that they follow covers all aspects of the redesigning activity, right from the history of the company to the details in the current design, reasoning with every step with carefully worded opinions. I used to study these reviews from time to time throughout the course of my project, in order to understand the knitty-gritties of the process of brand renewal through redesign.

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A screenshot of the Home Page

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‘Eye of the Lion’ New Logo for Pennsylvania State University

by Jerry Kuyper Partners

ABOUT The Pennsylvania State University (commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU) is a public, staterelated research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855, the university has a stated threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service.

BEFORE

AFTER

OPINION/NOTES (Straight from the website) The lock-up of the old logo was its weak point, making it really hard to discern what was going on inside that shield, even at large sizes.

The word-mark took too much prominence and the line created a lot of non-beneficial whitespace on the right. The old (and new) logo depict the Nittany Lion Shrine that is the university’s mascot.

After seeing the sculpture, the logo is a great rendering that has been solidly drawn (literally and metaphorically). It’s been nicely integrated with the shield too, creating a harmonious relationship.

The typography is okay but perhaps the hard slab serif

could have been softer to match the icon. * Evolutionary change

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‘Cins of the Father’ New Logo for Cincinnati Christian University

ABOUT (Est. 1924) “Cincinnati Christian University (formerly Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary) is a private Christian university located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is supported by the Christian churches and churches of Christ, which are part of the Restoration Movement.”

BEFORE

AFTER

OPINION/NOTES (Straight from the website) This isn’t the biggest story of the month nor is the new logo the most interesting but the old logo was so atrociously bad that this is deserving of a mention.

For a city with the most “N”s in its name they sure managed to pick the ugliest typeface with the ugliest “N”s in that old version and some default-looking Verdana did not help.

The new typography is only good by contrast, because it’s still a bit of a train wreck in its kerning.

The new icon is the better element and full of rationalization which is always a pleasing approach.

* Revolutionary change

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‘Spot On’ New Logo and Identity for ArtCenter

ABOUT Established in 1930 in Pasadena, CA, ArtCenter (or ArtCenter College of Design for long) is a private, nonprofit college — granted Non-Governmental Organization status by the UN Department of Public Information in 2003 — focusing on art and design.

BEFORE

AFTER

OPINION/NOTES (Straight from the website) This isn’t a groundbreaking identity nor does it ooze creative-ness, a common complaint since the expectation is that design schools’ own identities should look like all the winners of a design annual blended together.

Plenty of companies and institutions have laid claim to the circle as their logo so that’s nothing new either but here there is a history and precedent in the school’s existence and the circle isn’t presented as an over-the-top concept, it just serves as an identifier.

Overall, this is a simple and well thought out system that gives ArtCenter a vivid Californian presence while retaining a scholarly feel.

* Evolutionary change

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2.3 Q U E S TI O N S FO R T H E K E Y STA K E H O LD E R S A set of questions that we wanted to get the School’s perspective on. While we were plugging in information from various sources, there were certain things that needed more explaining on their side, in order for us to move forward.

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2.4 F U R T H E R M E ETI N G S A N D D I S C US S I O N S O N VI DYAS H I LP Tania, Chahat and I had many discussions on how to strike a balance between the perception of the school, what the School projects and what the reality actually is. As a designer, I always thought it was important to stay as authentic as possible, but this was definitely more complicated that that. There was no one way of looking at it. I decided that instead of trying to look at what the brand was trying to project and what the reality was, I would look at it as the aspirations the brand has for its future endeavors. That seemed like a more level headed approach to take. We met with a lot of Shilp parents, and through informal interactions gained more insights into the School’s working.

A lot of parents spoke about how Shilp is a real ‘boys’ school. How they encourage a lot of sports. And how the kids are always kept active and busy. ‘My boy just loves school!’, is what a lot of parents had to say. We also found out that the School is popularly called Shilp. That’s what distinguishes it from Niketan.

Vidya is common in both but is not said much.

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“Something I really appreciate about Vidyashilp is the school culture.

I absolutely love the mission of Vidyashilp and I think the fact that everything is student-centered and focused around preparing students for what they’ll need to know post-VSA is so valuable. If we aren’t teaching our students relevant information that they can apply to their lives after they graduate, then what are we doing as educators?”

A blog review on Vidyashilp

By Jackson Farley (Educator, Columbia)

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2.5 T H E M E A N I N G O F T H E NAM E ‘ V I DYA S H I LP’ The name of the School is derived from two words, namely - Vidya which means knowledge and Shilp, which means to sculpt.

Sculpt, skulpt/(verb): create or represent (something) by carving, casting, or other shaping techniques. So it literally translates to ‘sculpting knowledge’.

There were two things that I had made a mental note of at this point, the name in itself is a very Indian name, because two Sanskrit words are coined together to form the name. This solidifies the fact that the School is rooted in Indianness, and wants to retain and project that image. The name may not work on a global platform.

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Also if you looked at their current logotype, they have used a ‘shirorekha’ in the English logotype which is originally used in the Devanagari script(where each word is marked by a line above it called the Shirorekha). The Indian element is the logo was strong.

Drawing from the meaning of the word Shilp we came up with a set of words like Sculpting, Shaping, Morphing, building, dynamic, evolving, to work with and keep in mind while designing the Identity.

Since there was an essence of Indian-ness in the brand image, I also looked at cultural and religious symbols to study the elements of Indian culture and looked at schools with similar sensibilities as Shilp.

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What are some branding mistakes schools make?

USING MULTIPLE LOGOS One of the first things to look for when assessing a school’s brand is the consistent use of one logo. Often, you find multiple logos. When you use multiple logos, the brand gets diluted. When you use one logo, your brand will be consistent and strong.

USING MULTIPLE TAG LINES (OR NO TAG-LINE AT ALL) A tag-line is an opportunity to sell your brand in an emotionally compelling set of words. Usually the shorter the tag-line, the better. The tag-line should sum up the main message of your school.

INCONSISTENT BRAND ELEMENTS The brand is not only comprised of a logo mark and a tag-line, it also should use consistent colors and design elements. For example, your admissions brochure should have a similar look and feel to your school’s website.

IT’S JUST PLAIN BORING AND BLAND Think about your brand as the packaging for your product. If you want someone to take a closer look

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inside the package to discover your school, you need to give them a compelling and high quality image that attracts them and motivates them to take the next step. Vibrant colors, compelling photos and engaging messages all contribute to this brand.

USING A DESIGNER “WANNA-BE” OR PARENT VOLUNTEER TO CREATE YOUR BRAND Parents expect a high level of quality in the school because of the significant cost. Developing a brand for the school without professional help should not be attempted (there are some exceptions to this).

USING POOR PHOTOGRAPHY Photos can make or break a brochure or website.

Photos should express the life at the school through images of its students, faculty and staff in action.

Letting everyone brand what is right in their own eyes. A brand should be controlled, maintained and protected by a person or group at the school.

If everyone does what is right in their own eyes, then your brand image will be diluted, inconsistent and unprofessional.

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2.6 U N D E R S TA N D I N G T H E TA R G E T AU D I E N C E Interviews and conversations aim to gain insights, determine consensus and uncover issues. At this point, it was important for us to determine and understand who the target audience was. Who does Vidyashilp aim to reach out to? Who do they want to cater to? What is their role in the making and progress of the brand?

What motivates the Target Audience?

How will the redesigning affect the Target Audience? What kind of visual language does the Target Audience respond to? What are their aims and aspirations regarding the School and its functioning?

Afterall, the Brand must speak to the particular group of people that it is targeting and catering to and take into consideration their needs and demands.

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The Target group for Shilp is very diverse. But it can be broadly divided into two groups. The images on the right show an attempt at picking and identifying families in these two broad categories: A. AFFLUENT BUSINESS FAMILY They choose VSA because its a complete school.

The school’s rooted-ness and values provide a good balance, that plays an important role.

B. DOUBLE INCOME FAMILY Where both the parents are working.

Results and Academic excellence are important to them and that balanced with a multitude of opportunities and extra curricular activities for balanced, all round development is a big draw for them. The fact that the school is rooted in Indian values also plays a significant role.

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A.

B.

A.

B. B.

A.

Image Source: https://www.123rf.com/stock-photo

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TA R G E T AU D I E N C E ( PA R E N T G R O U P ) S T U DY

DOUBLE INCOME FAMILY

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AFFLUENT BUSINESS FAMILY

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I N F O R M A L PA R E N T I N T E R V I E W S S H I L P PA R E N TS

I N FOR MAL STU D E NT I NTE RVI EWS S H I L P A LU M N I

POSITIVE t The Parents trust the school implicitly with academics. Consider it to be a solid school. t It is a great school for boys as it has a lot of sports and keeps the children engaged. t They lay emphasis on public speaking, which aids in making the children very confident. t Most of the children love school. t Most parents seemed to be unaffected by the transition in the management.

POSITIVE t Ample attention to Academic performance. t Participation in extra curricular activities encouraged. t Lot of leadership qualities are instilled t Children are encouraged to be frank and free.

ROOM FOR CHANGE: t Parents would like greater transparency and more interaction with the school. t They would like more open communication from the school’s end. t The transition from 6 to 7th grade can be daunting for some children who are below average. t Academic pressure from Grade 7 is intense but most children seem to manage it. t They leave school for fear of being left behind. t Not truly ‘not leaving any child behind.’

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ROOM FOR CHANGE: t Doesn't tap into your strengths. t Personal connection lacking. t Like a factory, producing products, not of the best of quality. Just another number. t Kids who stay back in India, generally go to colleges in and around Bangalore. t Lack of inspiration, no one to look up to.

No institution is perfect, and every system evolves and grows with time. It was important to get these viewpoints to know where the School stands and the challenges it faces. It also brought to light the things that make Shilp stand out amidst the other schools in Bangalore, and presented a more realistic scenario.

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2.7 VI DYA S H I LP V I S IT I I M E E TI N G WI T H TH E S H I LP T E AC H E R S In any project, I feel like it is the designer’s role to peel off the layers, to look beyond the obvious, and beyond what is presented to you.

While our first Shilp meeting was with the primary decision makers, who headed the School, who were our main clients for the project, the next step was to meet with the School teachers and the students who are not only a part of our effective Target Audience but are also the people who would be crucial in the propagation of the new design, the people who will take the identity forward.

7.1

Not only are they the first hand users of the Identity, they are also the ones who feel an attachment and a sense of ownership for the School. Tania had arranged for another visit to the School and this time we were going to meet with the Phase I (Secondary) as well

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as the Phase II teachers (Higher secondary). While the first meeting was formal, this was going to be a more informal discussion, where we were trying to understand our secondary target group – the teachers and the students and their needs and expectations.

The whole purpose of the meeting was for it to be a very open ended discussion, with people putting forth their views. It was also interesting because not all of them had been kept in the loop regarding the re-designing, so we got some honest and natural reactions on mentioning what we were there for.

It was a little weird to me that they weren’t informed what the meeting was about, almost like the admin wanted us to break the news to them.

There seemed to be a bit of a communication gap between the Teachers and the admin, and this was a bit surprising, because they claimed to have an open communication system.

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AGENDA FOR THE MEETING: 1. Observe Classes and Teaching Methodology.

2. Experience the Culture of the School.

3. Interview Children to ratify certain ‘claims’ as stated in the Brand Document.

4. Interview Faculty and HOD’s for reasons stated above. Perception vs Claim.

5. Interview Heads of School to Answer Questions mailed after Meeting 1 (Image 6.2)

7.2

7.3

7.1 The entrance to the Shilp building.

7.2 & 7.3 Students leaving School after their exams.

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M E ETI NG WITH T H E S H I L P FA C U LT Y P HAS E I & P HAS E I I Through the meeting we gained more perspective on certain topics and it helped answer a lot of our questions and doubts about the School.

“A logo should speak for itself, if it has room for any clarification/explanation, it has to be re-worked. It should be able to stand up on its own, like the Shilp children, who can immediately stand out in a crowd.

Many other schools and colleges have a similar logo.”

When the identity was designed in 1998, it had a set of people, who believed in what the conviction was, and it was made from their perspective, but the world has changed so much over the past sixteen years.

Photos from the meeting with the Vidyashilp teachers.

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The colours of the uniform are based on the four houses, Nalanda, Pataliputra, Takshashila, Magadh, names of ancient universities, and that is the element of Indian-ness that they talk about. They believe in being Nationalistic (taking pride in one’s own country) rather than calling themselves Hindu/ traditional. They believe in secularism.

“A nationalistic approach gives a geographical connect.” Most of the teachers were very well versed in their understanding of branding, and were well aware of their brand image. A lot of them were more open to the idea of a re-work rather than a complete change. This is what most of them had to say about the upcoming transistion: “We cannot hold on to something that happened in the past, we need to change and move forward. We are not a closed school, where only Bangalore knows about VSA, or only the country knows about VSA, we are moving towards globalisation. Thing needs to be given a complete makeover, to suit the level, and be at par with the global standards.”

Another point that came to light was that Shilp had always focused more on individual excellence, even in the brand identity.

But in today’s world, as a school, they do have a responsibility towards the community. And making that change in the brand’s image and visual identity system would be a good step in the moving forward.

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THOUGHTS ON THEIR VISUAL IDENTITY & THEIR CURRENT BRAND PHILOSOPHY: t t t t t t

Leading every child to his/her optimal level Individual is encompassing knowledge Don't want the child to take any pressure home.

Gradual build-up.

Carry along the child to his/her optimal level.

Website should be upgraded, should be trending The website needs to be an active site.

SHILP CULTURE & FUNCTIONING: t They believe that all the people need to be responsible – teachers, students and anybody that associates themselves with the VidyaShilp family. t VSA every child is unique and learns uniquely. A unique example is the Lesson plan. t Culture of the is school very diverse. Students are told about the significance of all festivals. t LPs are framed in such a way so as to instil the concept of secularism. ‘concept of one-ness’ and make them more aware of global issues. t They also have an all faith prayer - from the Koran, the Bible, the Gita (during graduation).

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t The Teachers also represent different states in India (secular School culture). t Children have a second home feeling, that is the kind of bonding they have with the School.

DESCRIBING A VSA CHILD: t Personality of a student – Frank, Free and Fearless. t Accomplished, because it is not only academics, sports and extra-curricular activities. Lot of leadership qualities. t Children have a second home feeling and they look forward to school. t Students involvement in every aspect of the School is encouraged.

We were thinking about the phrase ‘shaping of young minds’ and that sounded like an apt hinging point. Vidyashilp is a Sanskrit word, and will not be understood in the global context. If we worked with the words with shaping and sculpting, like brands have tailgates, it would help us to sum it up in two to three words and measure everything against that. It also resonates directly with the name of the school, so that would be an interesting take on it.

Screenshots of the transcriptions from the meeting, highlighting the key points.

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2.8 E X PE R I E N CI N G LEAR N I N G AT V I DYAS H I LP ACAD E MY Now that we had a much better understanding of the Teachers at Shilp, it was time to understand the Shilp Student body better.

We attended a fourth grade English lecture in order to get a sense of their teaching method, the class environment and the culture of the School.

The topic of study that day was diary writing. The teacher read excerpts from Anne Frank and Zlata’s diaries as examples. The class environment was very open and interactive with the teacher constantly demanding student participation through questions and discussions on various subjects .The students seemed to be very responsive and the teacher managed to maintain their attention throughout, with her distinctive articulation. What I also realised is that

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the teacher knew the strengths and the weaknesses of her students well enough, and there seemed to be a personal connect between the two. The children came across as very confident, over-enthusiastic, out spoken. There were no textbooks being used. Each student had a notebook where they were jotting down all the important points from the discussion.

The teaching method was extremely interactive, supported by presentation. The teacher– Ms.Ritu was a young and energetic personality who seemed to have a friendly rapport with her students.

This was a great experience, as not only did it take me back to my school days, it also a gave us a clearer picture on our main focus group – the students. We realised that the identity needed to capture this open, free and vibrant nature of a VSA child, as they were the representatives of the School’s image.

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EXPE R I E NCI NG LEAR N I NG AT V I DYA S H I L P (E N G LI S H C LAS S, G R AD E 4) OBSERVATIONS: t Students were extremely confident, enthusiastic. t Student participation – 60-70% t Teaching method – Interactive, aided by technology and engaging. t The class was fairly informal.

PERSONALITY OF A VSA STUDENT t t Students stand out in a crowd t Confident, Fearless t Vocal and Outspoken. t Possess Leadership Qualities t Accomplished t Well Rounded

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03

Brand Vocabulary 3.1 Where the School is today?

3.2 Where the School aims to be?

3.3 Brand Positioning Statement 3.4 Brand Personality 3.5 Tone of Voice 3.6 Client Presentation I 3.7 The Brand Architecture

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3.1 WH E R E TH E S CH OO L I S TO DAY ?

ASSETS

CHALLENGES

t It is amongst the most highly reputed schools in Bangalore city. t It is a pioneer in contemporary, well-rounded education. t Shilp produces outstanding academic results t It is a school that cultivates confident, fulfilled t and highly able young individuals. t A solid, well-honed, trustworthy, systematic organization.

t Only strong for K-10 as +2 program is new. t Retention and attraction of +2 students is a challenge. t Perceived primarily as an Indian school and not International school. t Impersonal. Insufficient and unimpressive communication with the school. t Teachers and assignments are often not progressive/old-fashioned(More investment in teacher training). t No child is left behind: is not entirely true. Up until Class 6 the education is solid, beyond which children, who are below average tend to leave Vidyashilp for another School. t Technology enablement lacking (hinders productivity, efficiency and interaction). t Transition: From the old guard (founder) to the new (promoters) could cause apprehension while as also presenting an opportunity for positive change (greater transparency, responsiveness and interaction with the Parents).

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3.2 W H E R E TH E S CH O OL AI M S TO B E? t Consolidate its reputation as a premier educational institution that balances all-round development and academic excellence. t Be perceived as a world class international school (that offers both the Indian and international curriculums). t Build a strong +2 department by retaining and attracting students (A Levels vs ISCE). t Build a track record of excellent college placements and create an impressive alumni network. t Aim to be recognized nationally and globally as a credible school. t Professional, Transparent and Accessible (within the school and with the parent community). t Be truly inclusive so no child is left behind (even beyond primary school). t Be contextual and breed a sense of responsibility and citizenship (while celebrating individual achievement). t Be dynamic. Embrace change and stay relevant – while being rooted in a strong sense of values.

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“Be dynamic. Embrace change and stay relevant – while being rooted in a strong sense of values. Aim to be professional, transparent and accessible.”

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3.3 P O S I T I O N I N G STAT E M E NT Positioning is a brand’s DNA. It is private language that acts as a decision-making filter for public communications. This language is intended only for internal consumption.

A positioning statement defines a brand’s position – that is, the “space” in your audience’s consciousness that you want to establish as belonging solely to your brand.

A positioning statement defines a brand’s position – that is, the “space” in your audience’s consciousness that you want to establish as belonging solely to your brand. Positioning is about differentiating your brand from your competitors, so the language that describes your positioning is very important.

Every decision that is made regarding the brand is judged by how well it supports the positioning statement.

It is also referred to as a brand strategy, positioning strategy, or brand positioning statement.

It is a crisp description that paints a compelling picture of how the marketer wants the target audience to view the brand. Every decision that is made regarding the brand is judged by how well it supports the positioning statement.

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Is it memorable, motivating and focused to the core prospect?

C R I T E R IA F O R E VALUAT I N G A

P O S I T I O N I N G S TAT E M E N T

Does it provide a clear, distinctive and meaningful picture of the brand that differentiates it from the competition?

Can the brand own it?

Is it credible and believable?

Does it enable growth?

Does it serve as a filter for brand decision making?

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D E FI N I NG TH E P O S I T I O N I N G S TAT E M E N T It was important to have these things charted out, inorder for the first client presentation to shape up and to have a base on which the designs will be built.

It learned the importance of having a crisp and concise Brand vocabulary for effective and clear communication.

This also came from the realisation that all our observations and insights were scattered and didn’t necessarily sum up what VSA stood for.

Positioning Statement Attempt I - Keywords

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Vidya Shilp is a complete, international school, rooted in its Indian context, offering a carefully shaped, contemporary education, that enables each child to evolve into a confident, responsible, distinct young citizen.

Version 1.1

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Vidya Shilp is a complete, international school, rooted in its Indian context. A carefully shaped education experience promotes all-round development as well as academic excellence, enabling each child to grow into confident, responsible and distinct young citizens.

Version 1.2

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complete A holistic school that believes in a broad and balanced approach, all-round development as well as academic excellence. A school that takes care of every aspect of a child's intellectual, physical and emotional needs. international It offers both Cambridge certifications (IGSC and A level) as well as ICSE. rooted in the Indian context The school inculcates pride in India’s traditions, culture and secularism. carefully shaped The school does not believe in just imparting knowledge, it believes in sculpting knowledge so each child truly imbibes the learning. distinct, confident and responsible citizens VSA aims that each child will: t Develop a true love for learning t Strive for excellence/distinction in whatever the student chooses to do. t Have an innate sense of self worth.

Have a strong sense of citizenship and responsibility to the communities around us.

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3.4 B RAN D P E R S O N ALIT Y SOLID/DEPENDABLE PROGRESSIVE/FORWARD THINKING NURTURING VIBRANT INDIAN

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Once we had the brand positioning statement listed down, it was important for us to define the Brand Personality as well to support the positioning.

The personality of the Brand determines what the brand projects and how the brand is/should be perceived. It is the impression that the brand creates on its audience.

It is a set of human characteristics that are attributed to a brand name. It is something to which the consumer can relate. An effective brand can increase its brand value by having a consistent set of traits.

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3.5 TO N E OF VO I C E

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SOLID/DEPENDABLE SELF ASSURED COMPOSED

The Tone of voice of a brand determines the way in which the Brand communicates with its Target audience. It is about finding your Brand’s voice.

PROGRESSIVE CLEAR

This sets the vocabulary for the future communications of the brand.

NURTURING WARM

It was important to think about how formal the tone should be? Formal language can convey a sense of professionalism as well as the qualities of being authoritative and respectful, which is important for an educational institution. In contrast, informal language can more easily be filled with personality and warmth.

It was important to strike a balance between the two, because a School also has emotional ties.

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N O O P U R C H O K S I | B . D e s | G r a p h i c D e s i g n | Pr o j e c t D o c u m e n t a t i o n

3.6

C LI E N T PR E S E N TATI ON 1 The first client presentation was a consolidation of all the research and analysis that was done so far. This was our chance to really communicate and present to the client a realistic picture of the existing scenario, our understanding of the brand and our inferences on how to take this forward.

A well packaged presentation helps ensure the client that their brand is in safe hands.

For that it needs to have a clear structure.

So we first devised a basic framework of the flow of the presentation.

It is important to convey what you have to in brief but comprehensive manner, without missing out on any important points. This was a tough exercise, initially, firstly because it required us to filter and bring down a whole month and a half ’s worth of study to a few slides, but also because it was representative of Tsk’s work. So it had to fall into the visual language of the studio. I slowly got the hang of it, with continuous back and forth and constant feedback from Tania and some help from Chahat.

8.1

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8.2

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8.3

8.1, 8.2 & 8.3 Screen shots of the slides from the presentation (work in progress). The blue text is the feedback from Tania for corrections and changes.

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FE E D BACK FR OM T H E F I R S T P R E S E N TAT I O N The logo does not have to be an evolutionary logo, especially not at the cost of an Iconic Logo.

Long term plans to open more Schools in and outside the country.

Vidyashilp Brand Expansion -To open global and National Institutes.

The first client presentation got a positive response from the Client. Our doubts about the involvement of some of the stakeholders and their role in the decision making process were made clear. This was important because this defined the people who would make the final call, and this is important in a institution that has multiple levels of hierarchy.

In terms of Target Audience, they said that they were aiming and moving more towards the right hand side of the chart (Affluent Business Family).

Long term plans for the School - They revealed that they wanted to expand the Shilp brand and open more Schools in other places. (Like – Dubai).

Higher education colleges in India are limited, and the reality is that there are wider choices overseas, so they wish to equip their students to fit in as global citizens.

The logo does not have to be an evolutionary logo, especially not at the cost of an Iconic Logo. The Doon’s School was a topic of discussion because apart from being iconic and simplistic, it had an emotional hook and a real crisp-ness to it.

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Thumbnails of the Slides from the Final Presentation.

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3.7

U N D E R S TA N D I N G TH E B RAN D AR C H IT E CTU R E

Shilp Brand Expansion Vidyashilp International School

Brand architecture is the structure of brands within an entity; it is the way brands within a portfolio are related to and differentiated from one another.

It establishes a framework for the visual and verbal representation of brands within a family of brands.

Sister Schools (Founded by Mr.Vithani)

It addresses the following: The number of separately named entities (brands/subbrands). The criteria for becoming a separately named entity. The relationship between separately named entities. Naming and brand identity conventions for each level. The nature of relationship between the named entities at different levels.

Make this connect stronger so that they look like a part of one Brand Family

Feeder School for Shilp & Niketan

Scope of Work: To design the Brand Identity for Shilp & Sagar Explaining the Brand Architecture

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04

Vidyasagar Preschool About Vidyasagar (Visiting the School) Culture of the School About the Parent Group Further Insights into the School Teaching Method Sagar Student Personality

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ABOUT VI DYA SAGAR VISITI NG TH E SCHOOL, M E E T I N G T H E D I R E C TO R Vidyasagar is the feeder school for Vidyaniketan and Vidyashilp. It is primarily a pre-kindergarten and a kindergarten school. My visit to Vidyasagar materialised sometime in June, when the Schools reopened. By then I had started designing and exploring ideas for the Visual Identity for Vidyashilp as well as Vidyasagar. I found myself struggling with ideas when it came to designing for Vidyasagar. I realised that something was missing in the foundation of the design process. This is when I proposed to Tania that it was important for me to visit and experience the culture of the School and really understand Vidyasagar as an individual independent entity.

So we arranged a meeting with Ms.Shilpa Pai (The Director) and a visit to the School campus, to observe the School environment. Vidyasagar has been around

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for about 20 years now and is older than Shilp (which started four years after Sagar.) The sense that I got from the Preschoolwas that it was just like Shilp, but on a smaller scale. There are a total of 65 staff members in Sagar, including the teachers and the principal. So it is very light in terms of management.

Shilpa Pai(Director/Principal) emphasised on the fact that they want to be more connected with Shilp in the future, and it would really help if the respective identities conveyed that.

They refer to themselves as VSN - Vidya Sagar Nurture, to distinguish themselves from other Schools with a similar name in Bangalore.

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CULTURE OF THE SCHOOL: Homely, 'Everybody is familiar with everybody’.

For young children, a sense of security is very important. They claim to have that.

Since there are fewer people, it is a more intimate environment, so there is a sense of familiarity.

All in all, the education is personalized.

9.1

ABOUT THE PARENT GROUP (TARGET AUDIENCE): The parent group is very diverse, almost like Shilp.

Although from what I saw, I felt that it was hinging more towards the more conservative Indian families.

Parents who are exposed to the outside world, but want their kids to know and have Indian values; because they know their kids will grow to be global citizens, also form a part of the parent population.

9.1 A mural of Saraswati (The Hindu Goddess) situated right in the center of the School’s front facade.

9.2 VSN (Vidya Sagar Nurture) incorporated into the landscape in the school garden.

9.3 The Sagar students running to the outdoors for their Physical Education class.

9.2

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9.3

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FURTHER INSIGHTS: The School is open to receiving parent feedback. Regular Interactions with Parents (once or twice a month).

So it is not ‘closed’ as an institution.

They work in collaboration with the parents.

Open doors to parents to volunteer their time and help in the improvement of the school.

They feel the need to work on their Web presence.

They are currently reworking their infrastructure.

9.6

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School Infrastructure 9.4 The recreational Room at Vidyasagar.

9.5 The Sports Storage Room.

9.6 A peek into a typical classroom at Sagar.

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TEACHING METHOD: The teaching method is extremely – ‘Non linear’ and engaging. Ms. Shilpa spoke about how they teach in a 'conventionally unconventional way'.

The kids are encouraged to engage in group discussions and activities – Dance, Music, Yoga etc.

Sports is also a major part of their schooling.

There are two teachers per class - One main and the other acts as an assistant teacher.

Indian Mythology and Folktales are taught and shared in the form of interactive, simplified stories.

It is essentially a Hindu School but they do celebrate all festivals, and do not wish to exclude anybody. Claim to have an open minded approach.

9.7

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There are 36 kids per class - so they are not overwhelmed when they enter their primary level of schooling. They have PREP I, PREP II after which they “graduate” to Primary School.

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9.8

9.9

Teaching at Vidyasagar 9.7 The students are very young so the teachers give them individual attention.

9.8 The Sagar students have regular dance lessons.

9.9 A peek into a typical classroom at Sagar.

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10.2

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A SAGAR STUDENT: t t t t t t t

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Confident (Like the Shilp kids).

Have no inhibitions.

Are able to hold one's own.

Are taught how to stand up for themselves.

Have a sense of healthy competition.

Good Sense of discipline.

Grounded.

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Challenges faced during this process

People related

Lack of unanimous decisions.

Time related

Hierarchy in the system.

Difficulty in communication.

Time management.

Accessibility.

Accessibility.

Incomplete information.

Lack of unanimous decisions.

Getting a hang of the client’s

Getting people on board.

vocabulary.

Constant back and forth.

Understanding the mindset of

Arranging meetings.

the various stakeholders.

Extensive written material.

Differences in Opinions.

Waiting for replies.

Unsupportive environment.

Waiting for approvals.

Getting people on board.

Inconsistency.

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/ SE C TI ON I I /

Design Iterations.

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“So the challenge was to not only bring about a fresh approach but also to figure out newer ways of using already established patterns, meanings, interpretations and symbols.”

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I had a sea of information that lay ahead of me.

There was a lot of filtering that we had done, and there was a lot that still needed to be sorted. Tania would emphasized on the importance of having one core idea, and a few pivotal points that would aid in starting the design explorations. She stressed on the importance of choosing the right words and how they make a huge difference when it comes to giving them a visual form. Since the DNA of the brand was identified and defined, it was much easier to understand ‘how the brand speaks’, and what it wants to project. The first round of explorations was more of an exercise in the abstraction of actual concepts and ideas. When I was consciously thinking of ideas, I was letting the clichés flow. Because the conscious mind can only think of things it knows and things it has seen or remembered. Something that I thought was a good idea, was mostly something that had been tried and tested. So the challenge was to not only bring about a fresh approach but to figure out newer ways of using already established patterns, meanings and symbols. These patterns are important in the world of communication, because there make for a common visual language that is understood universally.

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05

Design Iterations I 5.1 The basic Visual Design Palette 5.2 Form Explorations – Round I 5.3 Thinking on Paper 5.4 Looking at University Logos 5.5 Understanding the word - ‘contemporary’ 5.6 Designing for Vidyasagar Preschool 5.7 Exploring an Evolutionary Approach 5.8 Exploring Forms with Origami 5.9 Exploring Shields as an Option

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Line. Shape. Pattern. Color. Figure ground. Letter-form. Contrast. Perception.

Fundamental elements of Visual Design

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5.1

T H E B AS I C V I S UA L D E S I G N PA L E T T E GOING BACK TO THE FUNDAMENTALS Design education is crucial because it sets your fundamentals in place. I found myself trying to define and create a basic design palette. How do you break down any design into simple elements? How do these elements make/change meaning in different contexts? There are a few basic elements that one can boil down to while exploring visual communication.

All of these elements are interrelated and work in tandem to create strong and effective visuals.

way that lines have meaning, shapes have meaning too and are an important building block in the visual grammar and visual thinking we have at our disposal as designers.

There are abstract shapes, geometric shapes, organic shapes. All these shapes have a visual grammar to themselves. Often the meaning behind shapes is cultural or religious, particularly as shapes are combined.

LINE A line is an expression. It is one of the most powerful means of communicating a mood. The way in which a line is drawn can evoke different meanings. As I had inferred from the Vidyashilp logo, the harsh angles of the forms made the logo look less warm and welcoming. Compositions dealing with angles at various degrees produce a “sharp� and potentially hostile situation, whereas a soft, sensuous line implies a gentler, warmer, non-aggressive attitude.

PATTERN When dealing with shapes, it is often tempting to to continue the thought and create a pattern using elements of the trademark.

This helps build a dynamic visual language which follows its own defined vocabulary and makes the trademark more dynamic and versatile.

While sometimes this approach is useful in branding, it often runs a risk of placing the mark in jeopardy, since the simplicity of this approach also makes it less unique.

SHAPE What do you feel when you see a circle? A square? A triangle? Are you affected the same when seeing an object with soft gentle curves as you are when seeing another object with sharp jagged edges? In the same VOLU M E I OF I I

LETTER-FORM Using common letter-forms in unique combinations can create a simple yet effective means to develop a brandmark. Type as a visual is a common practice.

FIGURE GROUND This is the interaction of one form with the other where there is need to prioritize and emphasize certain elements from the others.

Positive and negative shapes interact with one another to provide a mental puzzle. This relationship is the key to creating visual contrast.

CONTRAST Variations in weight and size can create a subtle meaning and help in creating visual hierarchy and interest. Contrasts also help to break a monotone and grab the viewers attention.

Too much similarity is boring but without similarity important elements will not exist. An image without contrast is bland. So the key is to find the right balance between similarity and contrast.

PERCEPTION Even the simplest of shapes can convey completely different meanings with the slightest modification.

The relationships of shapes in a form can be perceived differently depending on slight or major alterations.

The principles of Gestalt are of great significance when it comes to working with visuals.

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E X P LO R AT I O N S ROU N D 1 EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE My starting point for visual explorations was working with the existing Shilp identity and seeing where it goes from there. I had two valid reasons to do so. One, was to exhaust the potential in the current identity. Two, it was to try to enhance the form and see the change in the look and feel and the subsequent change in meaning. In doing so I would get a more thorough idea of where and why the identity works and what should be retained, what it lacks and what could be incorporated to make it better. As you can see, the identity does succeed in portraying excellence, achievement, and does strengthen the concept of a ‘step by step road to success’. I had to identify what it lacked. What could be added to the existing form to incorporate the new updated Brand philosophy which would help in uplifting the image of the School.

Symbolic human figures: abstract, stylized, and concrete Screenshot from the book - Signs and Symbols Their Design and meaning

by Adrian Frutiger

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USING THE KEY ELEMENT OF THE EXISTING LOGO I started out by vectorizing the main element of the logo, the ‘V’ that stands for the ‘Individual achieving excellence’ and for Vidyashilp. The form in itself is one of the most common and simplified forms used to represent a successful and happy individual (Refer to Image 6.1). What works for it is the universal nature and its simplicity.

What does not work, is the fact that it is overused and hence banal and that the form in itself is poorly executed. The forms are crude and sharp giving it an austere feel. I used the vectorized form to explore and refine the same form and make it softer.

Although some of the forms look ridiculous, it gave me an understanding of the symmetry of the form and the proportions. My next step was to shift the focus from the individual ‘V’ to the community which is something that we saw as a natural transition for the identity to be more wholesome and inclusive.

KEYWORDS Sharp, Harsh, Individual, Community, Excellence, Vibrant, Star-burst, Generic.

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SOFTENING THE FORM OF THE ‘V’ Another little tweak in form that we saw could work was softening the sharp edges of the main element of the logo. It instantly lightened up the look and feel of the form and helped to bring down the rigidity of the form to a certain extent.

Even the radial repetition of the form as a whole looked more approachable, less harsh and warmer.

The Indian-ness in the Identity was also enhanced due to the softer curves. But there was an interesting observation that we made:

The “star-burst” quality of the sharp form seemed to be lost in the process of the softening of the form. The harsh edges added to the bursting effect that got dulled down with the soft blending curves.

KEYWORDS Evolutionary change, Softer, Excellence, Vibrant, Indian, Warm, Community, Dynamic, Generic.

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FEEDBACK ON THE FORM AS A LOGO As a quick exercise, I put the form together with a fairly neutral logotype (Frutiger). On discussion with Tania, she pointed out two things to me. One, it is always important to work in single color, preferably Black/gray while exploring with a form because color brings in an added layer of meaning. While this change does seem refreshing it loses out on certain key points that were covered in the existing identity.

We also realized that it lacked a contemporary feel to it and was tending more towards an Indian, decorative look which may not have a wide appeal.

While this option seemed to have been the natural route to take, it did not seem to capture the DNA of the brand well enough.

Its generic quality made it easy for the form to be used in any context (not just educational).

KEYWORDS Decorative, Indian, Vibrant, Inclusive, Community, Happy, Celebratory, Generic, Pattern.

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Here I experimented with different hues of the current Shilp colors - Blue and Burgundy to see what change color could bring about in the the look and feel of the identity.

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LINES AND COLOR Keeping the form constant, I played around with other graphical elements like line and color to see how they added value to the form. Moving from the Shilp Burgundy to a more lively red definitely helped in bringing down the serious look and feel.

I also noticed that the further I moved away from the ‘academic’ colors, the less appropriate the form looked as an Identity for a School or an Educational Institution.

While this exercise was a bit too early on in the exploration process, it was an important step in the direction of change.

As a designer, it was important for me to work out the obvious possible solutions, in order to have a clear idea of how to proceed further.

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It was time to detach from the existing logo and start with a clean slate.

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5.3

TH I N K I N G O N PAPE R WORKING WITH KEYWORDS FROM THE BRAND PHILOSOPHY

“Visualizing on paper not only gives you the perfect outlet for your ideas. It is also a spontaneous way of quickly seeing how the idea materializes out of your head.”

A lot of people can ideate directly on the computer, as it allows you to play around with the elements Personally I choose to think on paper, and then take the idea forward with whichever tool or medium is appropriate. Visualizing on paper not only gives you the perfect outlet for your ideas, but it is also a spontaneous way of quickly seeing how the idea materializes out of your head. If I said that I wasn’t hesitant to start sketching out ideas for the identity, I would be lying.

Since the research was so solid, it was important to do justice to it in the designs and I felt the pressure of coveying the message clearly and effectively. This was also the first time I was to have my sketches and ideas for the Identity judged, analyzed and reviewed.

My mind was buzzing with various thoughts and I decided to start with whats available – the keywords from the Brand philosophy. And I started to visualize words into abstract ideas/forms.

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SHAPING YOUNG MINDS SHILP - SCULPT

11.1 & 11.2

I came up with ideas based on the word ‘Shilp’ – ‘Shaping young minds’. I tried to stick to simple forms as much as possible, while doing these explorations. I also looked at expressive typography as an option.

11.1

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11.2

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MOVING TOWARDS EXCELLENCE /ENCOMPASSING KNOWLEDGE

11.3 & 11.4

This approach aimed at working with the star as a symbol for excellence – ‘Moving towards excellence’, also using a star form as a base grid. Based on the number of points, stars have various connotations.

11.3

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11.4

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CHILD - CENTRIC

11.5 & 11.6

Here I was sketching forms that denote a happy, accomplished individual. Although I found myself in a loop here, going back to a similar form as the one in the existing identity, it was worth a shot. I tried to come up with different representations for the form.

11.5

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11.6

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BASIC SHAPES/GRIDS SHAPING/MORPHING

11.7 & 11.8

I tried to use typography as a medium to show shaping, morphing, moulding etc, but it seemed too abstract and outlandish for a School. I also looked at creating forms from simple square grids to see what I could come up with based on the idea of ‘shaping’.

11.7

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11.8

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Using the letterform ‘V’ in isolation for Vidyashilp, I tried out some clean bold form explorations.

Sticking to a singular simple form was limiting at first, because it wasn’t strong enough by itself, although there was a scope for the development of a dynamic visual language.

Even though this form was similar to the ‘V’ form that I had derived directly from the logo earlier, it was bolder and more contemporary in its appearance. On exploring shapes and forms with it further, it seemed to lose its beauty in a group and the form just ended up looking uninteresting.

KEYWORDS: DIVERSE | OPERATING MINDS | COMPLETE | HOLISTIC | BALANCED

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Using the letterform ‘V’ as an element in the visual language.

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Spacing the form out from the one on the left definitely helped, but it was still quite geometric and solid. It needed some softer element.

Introducing the circle added more meaning to the form.

Using repetition to create different meanings.

The boldness of the form did not go very well with the Image of the School as it did not project any nurturing qualities. The typographic element was not enough, symbolism was lacking in this set of forms.

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While exploring the ‘V’ form further and trying out various ways to represent it, I chanced upon creating this form (10.2). I realized that it was a fairly harmonious form, with soft subtle curves and it looked balanced. It could also stand alone as a stronger entity as compared to the previous form explorations. The curvy lines gave a softer, warmer look and feel to the form. The organic rendering added an element of Indian-ness to the form.

The form was also easier to incorporate into the brand language as it was versatile and some really interesting patterns emerged.

KEYWORDS: DIVERSE | COMPLETE | HOLISTIC | BALANCED | WARM | INDIAN | CONTEMPORARY | GROWTH | SHAPING

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A form derived from one of my initial sketches.

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A basic exercise in repitition, scaling and overlapping. To see all the variations in form.

Emergence of a form; shaping of a form.

Using the above form on a shield and playing with the counter-forms.

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Studying and looking at the visual landscape of the Education system nationally and globally, I recognized the form of the Shield as one of the most used element. So much so that it is almost an identifier for an Educational Institution.

Over the years, the Shield has come to symbolize protection, faith, courage, establishment and glory depending on the patterns on the Shield. A shield also instills a sense of ownership in the bearer.

A variety of symbols were used as representations in Medieval shield designs. Plants, animals, lines, and other objects had special meanings for the owner of the shield. I decided that a Shield would be a good route to take for Vidyashilp Academy.

KEYWORDS: SHAPING | EMERGENCE | SCULPT KNOWLEDGE | GROWTH | GLORY

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12.1 Scans from my first few sketches using a Shield. I was looking at abstract shapes and forms to symbolise the core idea.

12.1

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5.4

LO O K I N G AT U N IVE R S ITY LOG OS VISUAL JOURNAL I found myself directionless in spite of having a good understanding of the DNA of the brand.

Tree of Knowledge - Growing from the book

There were numerous approaches possible, my explorations were starting to stray.

This is when I decided to take a step back and look at visual identities of Universities and Educational Institutes. Firstly because, I had already looked at in numerous School logos, and secondly because the name ‘Vidyashilp’ is much more synonymous to the name of an established educational Institution. This was also because the Shilp House names were the names of the four oldest Indian Universities – Nalanda, Magadha, Patliputra, Takshashila.

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Name of the Institute in a circular format in two languages.

Book as an indication of an educational Institution The date of establishment of the Institute.

A Shloka or a saying in Sanskrit that serves as the School’s philosophy.

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OBSERVATIONS There were certain symbols that were recurring in every visual Identity. For example, the Sun, a Book, Tree, Coat of Arms, Lotus, Light/Flame, Torch and Hands. These symbols were common in most of the logos. Symbols and their meanings: Sun - Knowledge, Wisdom Torch - Enlightenment Lotus - National Flower of India, Flower of the Indian Goddess Of Knowledge Book - Education Hands - Nurture/Warm/Support Coat of Arms - Establishment Except for the slightly more contemporary ones, most of these logos are in a circular format, similar to an official seal/emblem. Also notice the use of not more than one or two colors, and single line drawings. This was probably maintained for simplicity and ease in reproduction and for an iconic appeal.

KEYWORDS Elaborate, Illustrative, Symbolic, Circular, Monotone.

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5.5

U N D E R STA N D I N G TH E WOR D – ‘ CONTE M P O RA RY ’ One of the words that kept popping up time and again was ‘contemporary’. We emphasized on how the current Shilp Identity was old-fashioned and wouldn’t work in today’s day and age and how it needed to be contemporary and up to date with the current times.

So I decided to do a small study and see how people define or understand the term ‘contemporary design’.

What is it after-all? And why and how it will work for Vidyashilp? What are people’s expectations and perceptions of something that is contemporary?

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This was a significant step as it was one of the key points to keep in mind while re-designing the Shilp and the Sagar Identities, was to bring them at par with the global standards.

“Contemporary Design celebrates what isn’t there as much as what is” Having used the word time and again, I decided put down some points that would help me in defininf the word better and aid in the design process.

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C O N T E M P O R A RY D E S IG N?

W H AT D O YO U M E A N BY

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t Rooted in the Moment. t At par with the current times. t About-face from the conventions of Traditional Decor. t Less is more. t Smooth profiles instead of ornamentation. t More Fluid (Dynamic?). t Tolerates rule breaking. t Minimal? t Strong emphasis on Line & Form. t Lines/Planes/Angles. t Simple Geometric forms. t Empty space takes on a sculptural quality. t Clean lines & striking profiles. t Simplicity?

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5.6

D ES I G N I N G FO R V I DYA SAG A R PR E S CH OO L My scope of work for this Project expanded when I found out that I had to work on redesigning the Visual Identity for Vidyasagar Preschool (the Feeder School for Vidyashilp). I was already neck deep into the design process for Shilp, so I had to take a step back and look into designing for Vidyasagar as well.

Their aim with the same designer working on both the Identities for Shilp and Sagar was to create and maintain a uniform brand language, Vidyasagar is also an Independent Entity in itself. So I had to follow the same procedure in understanding the background and history of the School as I did for Shilp. Once the groundwork was sorted, and I had a sense of the Preschool and its Brand personality, I started working on the Ideation process. Since the

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core philosophies of Vidyashilp was all that we had been discussing and working with, it was not easy to switch to designing for the Preschool, since it meant making the tone of voice of the Brand much lighter and kid-friendly. Apart from that, maintaining the same visual language across Shilp and Sagar, at the same time imbibing the core ideas of the Vidyasagar so that the identity is effective even in isolation. That was a challenging task.

Since the word ‘Vidya’ which means knowledge, was common in both the names, that was a connecting factor.

Although there seemed to be no relation between the words ‘Sagar’(ocean) and ‘Shilp’ which means to sculpt.

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Elements that could be used as a part of the Sagar Visual Identity.

Aims for the Identity Words associated with ‘Sagar’ Words associated with ‘Vidya’ Keywords to keep in mind while working on the Identity for Vidyasagar.

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5.7

E X P LO R I N G A N E VO LUTI ONARY A P PR OACH DESIGN DIRECTION I After the initial round of explorations, we narrowed down on one of the forms (Image 10.2) and decided to explore it further.

Since Vidyashilp was undergoing a transistion, it was important that we respect the image that the School had built over the last sixteen years. A large part of this was trying to retain some of the essence of the old identity while creating the new one(Evolutionary Change). Change is tough for any established institution, especially in education, since a lot of feelings and emotions are attached with the School’s identity, that is what the students and the teachers take pride in, and that is how people recognise the School. Even though I was exploring other options parallely, it was important to realise the full potential of this particular design direction, before completely dismissing the idea.

DESIGNING FOR SHILP AND SAGAR It was also time to start working on an equivalent logo option for Vidyasagar as well, because Vidyasagar is the feeder School for Vidyashilp, and the connection between the two Schools needed to be established.

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Playing around with the radius and the sizes and seeing how it affects the spacing and the joinery in the form when the Individual ‘V’s come together.

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EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE FORM EXPLORATION ROUND I

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Some of these look too claw like.

Try the scales without the dots.

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Vidyasagar Vidyashilp Academy

I feel the petals relate more to shilp and dots to vidya/focus etc. Try swapping colors in the text. Work more on type.

Can we treat vidya shilp as two words?

Preschool

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

VIDYASAGAR PRESCHOOL

Don’t like serif with this option. This form could work for Sagar. San serif type. Check the points where the ‘V’s meet. Could be more delicate.

The text in blue is the feedback from Tania.

Incorporating the feedback I moved on to exploring logotype options for both Shilp and Sagar.

The transistion from the Shilp to Sagar form came naturally and worked well with the word ‘Sagar’– Ocean, water, waves etc.

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Patterns and explorations with the form that can be a part of the Brand application.

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EXPLORING THE VISUAL LANGUAGE FORM EXPLORATION ROUND II

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VidyaSagar Prechool

I was trying a different blue here, to get a lighter vibrant feel in the identity. I was looking at logotype options here. Interstate is a neogrotesque sans serif typeface and is clean, simple and easy on the eyes, although it does have some sharp angular cuts on certain letter-forms making it slightly quirky and characteristic.

VidyaSagar Preschool

VidyaShilp

Typeface : Interstate

International School

VidyaSagar Preschool

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VidyaSagar

This color combination seemed to work better as the form in itself is quite vibrant and lively, it needs slightly serious colors to bring in an academic feel to it. For the logotype, I tried Frutiger here. It is classic, simple with more neutral letter-forms as compared to Interstate.

Typeface : Frutiger

Preschool

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5.8

E X P LO R I N G FOR M S WITH OR IGAM I DESIGN DIRECTION II

The goal is to transform a flat sheet of paper into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques.

We were thinking of ways to depict the idea of Shaping/Sculpting. One of the ideas that we came up with was to explore Origami (the art of folding paper) as an option. The goal is to transform a flat sheet of paper into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques. As someone who had only explored Origami on a very basic level in School as a kid and to a certain extent during my Design education, it took me some time to get the hang of it.

I also realized that what we were trying to explore was the process and not the end product. The process was important in the shaping up of the final form. Since Origami allows you the flexibility of making whatever you wish to, picking up one form that would be a stand-alone entity for Vidyashilp was a bit difficult.

We decided to work with the symbol of a bird in

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flight as it is a positive symbol and denotes taking off, progress, moving forward, soaring high; all of which seemed fit for a School. The form of the bird was arrived at with Origami because of its simplicity and clean forms. I started by looking at references (13.1 & 13.2) of generic representations of a Bird, their postures while in flight, the symbolism associated with it and so on.

It seemed like an interesting approach because it had the potential to be developed into a dynamic and engaging visual language, because a piece of paper can be folded into any form required.

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13.1 Birds in Flight Looking at the different postures and forms of the bird while it is mid-flight.

13.2 Origami Alphabet

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UNDERSTANDING THE FORM There are so many different kind of birds you can create with paper folding. I decided to go with a neutral form so that it could have the generic connotations. The images that you see on your right, as strange as they look, are that of the same bird viewed from different angles. I wanted to identify the different shapes and combinations that you could spot in one form.

Although this was a silly attempt, it made me realise that Origami is all about the planes and the folds. I need not use actual paper forms, but I could create a visual language along the same lines with planes and folds and explore that instead.

13.3

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The square piece of paper transforms into a bird symbolizing the shaping of an idea/concept or an individual from a simple to a well-defined one.

13.4 Understanding the stages of the construction of the bird.

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EXPLORING THE FORM OF THE BIRD WITH ORIGAMI Design Concepts and Evolution

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Here I was trying to incorporate a book like form in the fluttering wings of the flying bird.

Mirroring the birds symbolized ‘love’ or ‘union’, and wasn’t a good route to take for an identity for a School.

This clusters looked like an interesting approach, although the counterform did not create any identifiable shape.

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I decided to explore the bird as a symbol with Origami as a technique. The clean simple planes in a paper folded Origami sculpture make for a contemporary form. Since we were more concerned with shaping of new forms, I decided to explore the bird in a vector form as it was a faster medium to explore the various orientations, permutations and combinations possible.

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Vidyasagar

Vidyashilp

Using a similar form , I was looking at a logo version for Vidyasagar along with Shilp. There was a butterfly-like form that emerged as I mirrored the Bird. I tried out an approach where Sagar uses a much simple form and the form becomes more complex for Shilp; showing the shaping of a simple young kid into an accomplished individual.

Exploration Technique: Vectorization, Elimination, Mirroring, Subtraction Typeface Used: Agenda Bold (Although I wasn’t really looking at the logotype at this stage) Colors Used: Since the Shilp Brand colors were Blue and Burgundy, I was looking at what other color could work with the personality of the Brand, and a deep yellow seemed like a good option, so I tried it out in this set of explorations.

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This was one of the explorations that Tania shortlisted. The reason being the simplicity of the form and the inclusion of the Sun adding another layer of meaning. The Bird soaring against the sun, is a sign of prosperity and achieving new heights.

The Sun in itself is a universal source of life, light, positivity and knowledge. The feedback that I got from Tania was to work on the form of the Sun. The Sun is cut abruptly and the angle between the Sun and the bird’s tail create an oddly shaped gap. I tried a couple of combinations but shifting the tail of the bird, ruined the posture, and the explorations reached a dead end. So we decided to park it aside and look at the other directions.

Exploration Technique: Vectorization Colors Used: I must admit that the yellow in these explorations was randomly picked because there was a Sun in the visual, and using black/gray was taking away from the look and feel that I was going for.

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BIRD FORM I Here the bird was facing towards the right, which was indicative of the forward direction. The number of planes in this form had been simplified.

With the cluster, I was trying to see if it formed some interesting shape in the counter-form. It was also in sync with idea of Shilp moving focus from helping an Individual move forward to promoting the idea of moving forward as a group.

This bird form was one of the other simpler forms with lesser number of planes.

I was trying out the Shilp color combination - Blue and Burgundy on the different planes to see how the perception of the form changed.

What was missing in this cluster of birds was that all the birds were pointing in the forward and not the upward direction.

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BIRD FORM II Here the stance of the bird was entirely different from the first form. The posture radiated pride and seemed more apt for this direction.

We decided to go ahead with this form and explore and refine it further. Although the counter-form was still difficult to resolve.

By this time, I was also losing interest in exploring this option, since I didn’t see it having a very high retention value.

The form was more apt to denote a bird in flight and hence worked better with the concept of ‘soaring high’, ‘taking off’, ‘reaching newer heights’.

Since the birds joined together to form the counter-form, it was a very prominent white space, and the form needed to be worked out.

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BIRD FORM III

It was interesting to see how swapping colors helped in bringing out the form of a an almost three dimensional ‘V’ in the bird. Although the ‘V’ was very angular and hence slightly quirky, as you can see in the bird circled below.

I rearranged the bird to achieve a more defined shape for the counter-form, but it didn’t work out as expected.

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I even tried a cluster of four birds to see how if it could help with the counter-form.

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FORM REFINEMENT & LOGO LOCK-UPS

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VIDYA SHILP

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

VIDYA SHILP

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

VIDYA SHILP

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

I tried to enhance the form of the ‘V’ formed in the bird, by keeping both the wings blue and the rest of the form in Burgundy.

Typeface Used: Brandon Grotesque Observations & Feedback:

The bird looks too much like an old crow or a hawk.

The cluster of four was not really evocative of any other positive connotation except for the direction in which the birds were pointing.

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VIDYA SAGAR

VIDYA SHILP

PRESCHOOL

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Tried a horizontal logo lock up here since the form allowed this combination.

A classic vertical centre aligned logo lock-up.

VIDYA SHILP

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Since the cluster of three was more asymmetrical that the group of four, it worked well in a horizontal composition.

Typeface Used: Brandon Grotesque Observations & Feedback:

The counter forms are still too busy and have too many corners and edges. We decided to go ahead with the 4 bird option, since the formation and symbol type combination was much stronger here, and it looked more lofty.

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A single bird for Sagar, and a cluster for Shilp. I highlighted the prominent ‘V’ form by keeping it Burgundy.

The counterform here was rectangular and much more defined, making it look clean as a whole. But the rectangle looked a bit warped.

To get a clean rectangle counter form I made the tail and upward wing the same width. But it ended up looking chunky.

Typeface Used: Museo Observations & Feedback:

If you look closely there seem to be misalignments.

This is affecting how the birds connect. We realised we prefer the darker colors. The counter form looks cleaner that before. The proportions of this bird form were not right, especially the beak.

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OPTION II : ORIGAMI

VIDYASHILP

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

13.5 Decided to go with a slightly more vibrant shade of Burgundy.

Typeface Used: Brandon Grotesque

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Symbolism: The square piece of paper transforms into a bird symbolizing the shaping of an idea/concept or an individual from a simple to a well-defined one.

The bird in flight is a positive symbolism and denotes taking off, progress, moving forward, soaring high.

A bird also symbolises freedom making it an apt brand-mark for a school that is progressive and promotes the idea of enhancing one’s individuality.

The origami option was the weakest out of the other explorations. Especially the one with one bird, it felt generic and also as a group it becomes quite complex. Could also be a logo for an air-lines. Not everyone likes birds, and some students might find it hard to relate it with their School’s image.

However, we decided to keep it as one of the options for the client presentation so that we could present all the different routes we considered and explored.

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While I was still mulling over various ideas, we realized a few important things to keep in mind while designing the Shilp Identity:

Vidyashilp aims to be perceived as an ‘International School rooted in Indian values’. The name of the School is essentially Indian, it may not be understood globally. At the same time the name has a powerful meaning – ‘Sculpting Knowledge’, which needs to reflect in the identity.

‘Vidyashilp’ as a name in itself is a bit old school and traditional to a certain extent. So the Identity needs to break away from that and have the much needed contemporary feel. ‘Shaping a responsible new generation’ – was an effective Brand tag line.

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5.9

E X P LO R I N G S H I E LD S AS A N OPTI ON A BRIEF HISTORY OF SHIELDS MEDIEVAL COAT OF ARMS Medieval Shield Designs - Purpose Medieval shield designs were decorated with symbols which were used as a means to recognize a knight when they were jousting at tournaments and on the battlefield. This form of recognition via Medieval shield designs was necessary as the armor worn by a Knight included a visor which completely covered the face. The decoration and colors on a shield, or the shield symbols were therefore highly functional allowing knights to be easily recognized.

Medieval Shield Designs - Professions and Surnames: Many coats of arms feature indications of the profession or the surname. The name Chandler indicated that the family profession was as candle makers and the name Frobisher was given to those who polished armor and swords and suitable symbols on Medieval shield designs would reflect these names.

Surnames also create opportunities for animals to be shown such as Swynford (swine or boar).

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Medieval Shield Designs - Symbols A variety of symbols were used as representations in Medieval shield designs.

Plants, animals, lines, and other objects all had special meanings for the owner of the shield. t Horse Shoe represented Good Luck t Chain represented Obligation t Helmet represented Wise Defense t Heart represented Sincerity or Charity t Crown represented Authority t Tower represented Society or Wealth t Sun represented Glory Medieval Shield Designs - Line Symbols A variety of line symbols were used as representations in Medieval shield designs.

The lines had special meanings as follows: Zigzag Lines represented Fire, Wavy Line represented Sea or Water, Bumpy Line represented Earth or Land, crenulated Line represented a Town or Wall.

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*

*

A shield design can communicate stability, protection, longevity, tradition, solidity, masculinity, toughness, boldness, confidence, no retreat, no surrender.

It says tradition, traditional, official, historical, strong, solid, credentialed.

When a company is creating a new logo, and the research indicates this message or these attributes are on target, a using a Shield can help convey the story of the brand in one iconic, succinct, self-contained badge with an air of classic authenticity.

WHY SHIELDS?

Contemporary logos capitalize on this historic, timehonored design institution, imitating the style and/ or using some of the elements.

Symmetry, banners and mottoes, shields, and other design motifs can impart a stately, dignified look and feel. It portrays several different messages depending on the shape and the symbols on it.

* These are the two basic shield shapes on which all of my explorations are based on.

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EXPLORATION ROUND I Preliminary Thumbnails and Sketches

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WAYS IN WHICH I COULD SYMMETRICALLY DIVIDE THE SHIELD WITH SIMPLE LINES.

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Sketches - Dividing the Shield with lines and defining forms with Color Blocking.

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Starting with simple organic shapes and lines, I was trying to denote the concept of Sculpting/Shaping. At the same time I was questioning myself as to what makes a logo look contemporary? Is it the simplicity, crispness or an innovation in the design of an otherwise traditional form? I was trying to stay away from elaborate imageries in order to give it a more modern day spin to it.

Shaping of a flame like form withing the Shield.

Keywords : Nurturing, Shaping, Growth

Really simple exploration based on the keywords ‘Emergence of a form’

14.1

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Vectorising one of the chosen sketches from Image 11.5.

Vectorising this sketch was a task, firstly because I was a little rusty, and secondly because the curves were a bit tricky.

The tiny flame on top made the Shield look even more traditional and less abstract. This gave the Shield a very serious tone.

Out of the sketches that Tania reviewed, we picked a few thumbnails that seemed to have potential and could be vectorized and cleaned up further.

This exploration was not taken forward as it lacked a contemporary look and feel to it. The calligraphic thick and thin strokes added an Indian look to the form and the form ended up looking traditional.

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Here I was trying to incorporate additional elements into the Shield to give it an added layer of meaning. Like the abstraction of a book, or the indication of leaves sprouting to denote growth, shaping, formation.

Exploring with lines and planes. Although it looked contemporary, as a symbol it lacked depth, and just ended up looked visually interesting. I was trying to show the shaping of the form of a cube in the Shield.

14.2

14.3

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Vectorized version of one of the chosen sketches from Image 11.7.

It is only when I did this exercise did I realize that a lot of ideas don’t translate well in a clean, vectorized form.

The same shield in reverse, looked like a mask or an alien’s face. To enhance the sprouting effect, it needed more work.

This was interesting in terms of the kind of curve it created on an otherwise flat surface of the Shield.

You can see the evolution of this form in the next three explorations.

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Other variations of the Shield that happened while I was vectorising some of the sketches. I tried to incorporate a really clean form of a flame into the Shield, and play with the negative and positive space to create depth.

Keywords: Emergence, Sprouting, Unconventional - ‘Breaking free from the form of the Shield.’

The forms were bold and simple, and since the Shield wasn’t complete, it looked less traditionally Shield like. But the Shield also looked like a cape/ bats/two humans hugging/fighting etc. And the split in the middle could evoke a negative meaning.

An improvement in the previous form by balancing out the sides.

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The image of a two hands nurturing and shaping a form was playing in my head when this sketch came about. I tried to explore this sketch further as the simplicity and boldness of the form caught my eye. There was also a ‘V’ forming in the sketch, but there was also a possibility of it looking like the letter-form ‘U’.

14.4

14.5 Exploring the same form with different proportions, and a play of alternating negative spaces.

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These were the first round of vectorized sketches. The top of the Shield had a ‘serif’ like form, which we decided to eliminate in the next round to make it look less old fashioned.

Vidyashilp Academy

Vidyashilp Academy The ‘V’ that I had incorporated into the form of the Shield looked more like U because of the curves and the thickness.

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This didn’t work as it reinforced the appearance of the letter-form ‘U’ in the identity.

I swapped the colors here, and the form instantly became more interesting because it looked like the petals were unfurling.

Typeface : Mrs Eaves Petit Caps Keywords: Nurturing, Growing, Unfurling, Supporting, ‘Working hand in hand’.

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Every medium has its own advantages and limitations. Since I was already sketching with markers and felt pens, I decided to switch to watercolors to see if it would bring about a change in my style of explorations.

Brush and watercolors give you organic, free flowing lines and gradients. While markers give you much bolder stronger strokes.

14.6

14.7 Because of the freedom you get with watercolors, a lot of these explorations were starting to look strange.

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‘Emergence of a form’ within the contours of the Shield.

I was trying to bring out the idea of ‘moulding’ and ‘shaping’ with abstract but simple organic forms.

Using Gradation to show growth, emergence, sculpting.

Here I was trying to bring in the ‘V’ for Vidyashilp into the Shield, but it ended up looking too forced.

14.8 Anything that has to depict something emerging, will be gradual. I was trying to work that out with just lines.

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In some of the sketches I tried to use just lines to show concepts like growth, transition, shaping, sculpting.

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The torch is also a widely used symbol to represent the ‘spreading of the light of knowledge’. So I started looking at ways to incorporate torches into the shield.

I tried to integrate the ‘Sun’ symbol into the Shield. The Sun is universally known as a symbol of life, energy and knowledge.

A bud like form merged with the Shield. It was also reminiscent of a lotus.

Even though I was trying to incorporate the Sun as a symbol on the Shield, I was looking at less illustrative and cleaner forms.

14.9

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Vidyashilp Academy I was trying to simplify this form by reducing the number of petals and trying a line drawing but it ended looking a bit feminine and was not apt for an Educational Institute.

The idea of sculpting/shaping got lost in this form. The gradation in color didn’t help in enhancing the concept.

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Typeface : Mrs Eaves Petit Caps Keywords: Budding, Growth, Shaping of a flower, Fresh.

By this time I was getting a hang of the fact that although the explorations were tending more towards being contemporary and less old school, the Identity for a School needed to have an emotional connect, and that was missing so far.

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CONTEMPORARY LOGO INSPIRATIONS From the Logo Journal

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I like how the name of the School is given prime importance with the large Logotype. The Shield is a very contemporary one, with simple clean shapes and bold academic colors, with the V incorporated into the form.

The use of the ‘O’ in the Shield makes for a dynamic element that has the scope for the creation of a lively visual language.

The incorporation of the Lion (National Animal of Singapore) into the Shield is iconic. The composition of the half finished Shield and the face of the lion breaks the otherwise traditional form of the Shield.

I especially like the simple classic logotype with a neat Type hierarchy. The form in itself is simple and self explanatory.

I like the classic Serif Type treatment for the Logotype, and the simple minimalistic form of the torch in bold colors.

What is interesting here is the incorporation of the hands into the flame of the torch, and the illustrative approach.

Since I was working on the flame of the torch and the idea of sculpting/shaping, the smoothness of the curves in this exploration caught my eye.

The type treatment here is again, classic and conveys that the University is an established institution. The form in itself has beautifully rendered curves.

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EXPLORATIONS ROUND II Thumbnails and Sketches

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I decided that the Shield as a stand alone entity was not strong enough, and it needs an added layer of meaning for it to be an Iconic logo that is globally understood, relevant for an Educational Institution and has value.

Following are the thumbnails I explored with a Torch and a Shield.

15.1

By not having the entire torch into the Shield I was trying to create interest, by keeping it suggestive, but it ended up looking too abstract.

15.2

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Sketches chosen to be taken forward

For the base of the torch I was trying to stay away from the extremely detailed and ornate forms and stick to simple shapes. The flame was an organic element and easy to play around with, so form variations were possible.

15.3

15.4

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A single torch was slightly difficult to work with initially because of its strong vertical presence, and having it in the center not only divided the shield into two halves, it also made the Shield look serious and old fashioned.

So when I tried an off-center torch, it automatically brought a fresh approach to the otherwise center aligned forms.

Tania kept reminding me to stick to cleaner forms and to keep them less organic and illustrative. The next step was to vectorize some of the chosen forms so that I could play around with the elements, pay attention to the details while refining them, and work on the logotype for these forms.

Sketches to be taken forward

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(Refer to Image 15.1) This just ended up looking like a tribal mask, especially the one in color. I tried to work out the rays of the Sun, but the base was too chunky.

(Refer to Image 15.4) The flames take center stage here, and they look fiery because of the variations in the stroke width and size making the Shield look less contemporary.

vidyashilp academy (Refer to Image 15.4) Using a similar flame but the play of negative and positive space was different.

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(Refer to Image 14.4) I was trying to work out the play of black and white spaces in this form, and reducing the number of petals to make it simple and crisp.

(Refer to Image 14.9) Since the form was really heavy on the top, I tried thinning down the stroke and have it taper towards the top, to see if it looks less like the letter-form ‘U’. But this just disturbed the proportions and the curve of the form.

REFINING AND SIMPLIFYING THE FORMS

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The division of the flame was still unresolved, as tiny bit of white would get difficult to tackle in smaller sizes.

Tania pointed out that the relationship between the logo and the logotype was not right, and the sizes needed to be worked out.

vidyashilp academy

vidyashilp academy Observations & Feedback:

The Introduction of yellow was definitely refreshing.

The letter-form’V’ (for Vidyashilp) in the Shield was also emphasized with the introduction of yellow.

The organic form of the flame adds an element of Indian-ness in the otherwise sharp and angular cut of the ‘V’ into the Shield.

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You can see the evolution of this form when you look at the bottom row, the incomplete Shield on the right half looks less abrupt, because the white space merges with the curve of the flame.

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Observations & Feedback:

Having come this far into exploring with Shields, this exploration seemed to be one of the first refreshing and contemporary looking. The torch was off center, and created an interesting space where the logotype could fit. As a form, it was simple, easy to remember and evocative at the same time.

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ROUND III Working on refining the forms and creating the Sagar identity equivalent for the Shilp identity.

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TORCH + WAVES + SUN + SHIELD

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WORKING ON THE FORM OF THE TORCH Symbolism: The torch symbolizes the ‘light of knowledge’ and represents the ability of education to serve as a guiding light. It symbolizes the vision of education to provide enlightenment to all the students and eradicate ignorance.

Here I was working on the flame as well as the base of the torch. It was important to keep in mind that the logo was going to be reproduced in various sizes, and so every little detail had to be taken care of.

Notice how the change in the flame beings about a Since the flame was directly derived from one of my sketches, the illustrative strokes were lending a more traditional feel as a whole.

And the tiny overlaps also needed to be taken care of.

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Upon re-work, the flame was bolder and clearer in smaller sizes. It also looked much more harmonious, and well proportioned, although I did increase the size to give it more emphasis.

change in the perception of the form as a whole.

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LOGO LOCK-UPS AND TYPE CHOICES This horizontal logo lock-up worked well with this Shield because of the blank white space on the right half of the Shield that leads your eye to the logotype.

Also the stacking of the type balances out the Shield and helps with creating the type hierarchy.

VidyaShilp International School VIDYA SHILP ACADEMY Typeface considered: CF Din Book CF Din Medium

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While a centred logo lock-up with a Serif typeface fortified the academic, established, institutional feel of the identity, the horizontal lock-up looked more fresh and contemporary.

This was more of an exercise to see how the form works with typography. I had still not explored logotype options at this stage.

Typeface considered: Timeless Regular

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FORM EXPLORATIONS FOR SAGAR CIRCLE - BASIC SHAPE, SUN, CHILD.

THE ‘V’- VIDYASAGAR/ViDYASHILP THE FORM AS A WHOLE - BUD/CHILD

In these set of explorations, I decided to to stick to simple shapes, since it is an elementary school. the circle seemed to work with the ‘V’ of the Shield and formed an Individual/bud-like form which was resonant with the current Shilp and Sagar Identity.

Will a Shield work for Sagar since its a pre-school? If yes, then how can I work with the form of the Shield to make it more appropriate for a kid’s school? If not, how do I establish the connect between the teo Schools? Do these colors work for Sagar as well as they work for Shilp?

These were some of the questions that were running in my head while exploring these forms. So I decided to pursue all the possible routes to come up with a Sagar

Identity that is analogous to the Shilp identity.

OPTION I - BUD | SUN

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VidyaSagar Pre-school

VidyaShilp International School One of the solutions for the Sagar Identity, was to reduce the size of the Shield to make the form less institutional.

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VidyaSagar Pre-school

SAGAR LOGO LOCK-UPS & TYPE DECISIONS A clean sans serif typeface for Sagar to go with the Shilp logo. I was trying to figure out the type placement and the type sizes for the smaller shield.

The Title case treatment worked better than having the name in uppercase, because it had a more softer, gentler feel to it.

The binding factor between the two identities was the color scheme and the outer form of the Shield.

VIDYASAGAR

Preschool

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FORM EXPLORATIONS FOR SAGAR OPTION II Since the literal translation of the name ‘Vidyasagar’ is ‘Sea of Knowledge’, I decided to incorporate waves into the form of the Shield.

This is when I realised that the Shield may not work for a pre-school. It brings about a sense of seriousness and takes away from the playful-ness needed for a Pre-school.

OPTION II - SAGAR - SEA | WAVES

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The reason why this doesn’t work is the fact that it doesn’t go with the image of a preschool. And the waves look forced, to fit into the format of the Shield.

Typeface Used: Museo

VidyaSagar

VidyaShilp

Preschool

Academy

The visual language of the waves in the Shield for Sagar does not match the one for the Torch in the Shilp logo. This disparity in the central element was one of the main reasons for eliminating this option.

Typeface Used: Agenda

VIDYA SAGAR Preschool

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VIDYA SHILP Academy

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FORM EXPLORATIONS FOR SAGAR OPTION III Simpler, less abstract forms and shapes would work for a preschool. So we decided to explore the direction with the Sun and waves as the equivalent to the Shield.

Although as a concept it worked much better than the Shield for Vidyasagar, a lot of these looked like the Pepsi logo, especially the ones with only the red and the blue. I tried to follow the same visual treatment as the Shield for Shilp.

OPTION III - SUN | WAVES

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Basic Shapes, and bold playful colors what what I was going for here. The idea was to incorporate the waves into these forms. But except for the Red and Blue option (too much like Pepsi) none of these seemed to work with the visual language of the Shilp Logo.

Typeface Used: Mrs Eaves Small caps, Myriad Pro

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VidyaSagar Preschool

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VidyaSagar Preschool

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VidyaSagar Preschool

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RISING SUN ‘V’ FOR VIDYASAGAR NURTURE - BUD

The form of the Bud symbolizes nurturing qualities.

These set of explorations were inspired from the outer form of a Shield, reducing the size considerably to get the bud-like form.

OPTION IV - NURTURE (BUD - LIKE FORM)

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IDENTITY FOR SHILP & SAGAR

VIDYASAGAR Preschool

VIDYA SHILP International School

VIDYASHILP Academy

Option 1 Typeface Used - Agenda

Since the Brand roll-out involved more Schools in the country and abroad, I decided to do two logo versions, one for Vidyashilp Academy and one for the Vidyashilp International School alongwith the identity for Vidyasagar (which is called Vidyasagar Nurture at the moment). Although the form was softer and nurturing, it didn’t quite resonate with the name of the School.

The colors seemed to work across all the logo versions. The transistion from the Vidyasagar Identity to the Shilp one was smoother in the second option.

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Option 2 Typeface Used - Mrs Eaves

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VidyaShilp International School

COLOR OPTIONS FOR THE SHIELD

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VidyaShilp International School

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VidyaShilp International School

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VidyaShilp International School

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TORCH II + WAVES + SHIELD

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TRYING ANOTHER FORM FOR THE FLAME OF THE TORCH These are the two different approaches that I explored for this design direction. The change in the flame of the torch brought an overall change in the look and feel of the identity. The revised flame was more subtle, minimalistic and less obviously illustrative unlike the previous one.

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OPTION V - NURTURE (BUD - LIKE FORM)

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Form explorations for the Sagar Identity to go with the Shilp Logo. The form of the waves directly turns in the flame of the Torch in the Shield. I also explored the form of a Bud and a Lotus for Vidyasagar.

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Option I

TORCH II - SHILP & SAGAR LOGO

vidyasagar preschool

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Option II

Although the Sagar identity would stand independent of the Shilp Identity, it was crucial that the identities look like a part of one Brand family and that connect was made clear in the visuals.

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Yet again while the Shilp logo seemed to work better than the Sagar logo, in Option I it ended up looking too ornamental and decorative and could very well work for a spa or a beauty clinic. Whereas in Option II, the Vidyasagar logo got too literal. Since the form is so minimal and simple, it does not make for a strong Brand identity.

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‘Shaping a Bright new generation’

LOGO EXPLORATIONS ROUND IV

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VIDYASAGAR

Borrowing from this Shield, I decided to explore the logo options for Vidyasagar. The flame of the torch was a fluid organic form, and I thought that would be a good starting point for the Sagar Identity.

VIDYASAGAR

VIDYASAGAR

VIDYASAGAR

VIDYASAGAR

VIDYASAGAR

VIDYASAGAR

VIDYASAGAR

VIDYASAGAR

VIDYASAGAR

FORM EXPLORATIONS FOR VIDYASAGAR

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INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

VIDYASAGAR PRESCHOOL

Typeface Used: Adobe Caslon Pro

In this Brand-mark the form of the Diya is adapted directly from the Torch in the Shield. The Diya is of great significance because it is a small yet iconic source of light in our country, and it seemed to work well as the Sagar equivalent for Shilp. The logotype looked weak as compared to the logo.

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Typeface Used: Mrs Eaves

The two colors that I have used, are not only a variation in Shade of the Shilp Brand colors but are also the colors of fire(red)and water(blue).

Since the flame from the Shield becomes the waves for the Sagar, the colors have been interchanged to depict the same.

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Form explorations for the Sagar brandmark to go with the Shield of the Shilp brand-mark.

ROUND I - SUN & WAVES

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Option I

LOGO LOCK-UPS

Option II

The center aligned logo lock-up doesn’t work as well as the horizontal lock-up because the form looks of the Shield looks incomplete and less integrated.

For the logotype, I worked with Adobe Caslon Pro as the sharp serif seemed to work with the soft curves in the flame. Option I looks too much like the Pepsi Logo, I tried to tackle that issue in Option II but it didn’t quite work out and the similarities still existed.

All this while, I was working with variations in the Shilp Brand colors - Blue & Burgundy, firstly because they seemed to work well with the School.

Secondly, so that the target audience is still able to relate to the new design as belonging to Shilp and that level of association stays as far as the colors are concerned.

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VIDYA SAGAR Preschool

EXPLORATIONS ROUND II - SUN | WAVES

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VIDYA SAGAR Preschool

To break away from the association with the Pepsi Logo I tried to make the form slightly more asymmetrical. Since the serif was a bit too heavy and serious for a Pre-school logo, I went ahead with Whitney for the brand-mark. But when you look at the form in isolation it looks a bit odd.

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OBSERVATIONS & REFLECTIONS

VIDYASAGAR preschool

VIDYASHILP

International School

Typeface Used - Whitney

When you look at both the options for the Sagar logo, the form of the Diya looks much stronger as a standalone entity. As for the logotype, the Serif goes better with the look and feel that we were going for Vidyashilp, but we were thinking of whether to introduce a secondary sans serif typeface for Sagar as well as for the International School logo version for Vidyashilp. What works for the form of the diya is its simplicity in the form and symbolism.

Typeface Used - Mrs Eaves

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Knocked out version of the logo on the Brand Colors.

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ROUND IV Refining the form of the diya

1.

3.

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2.

4.

Since the base of the diya looked a bit truncated and abrupt, based on the feedback from Tania, I re-looked at the form and tried to make it look more complete.

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To resolve the form, I added a serif-like yet subtle base to the diya so that the simplicity of the visual language of the Shield stays intact.

Working on the base of the diya, although it was starting to look like a soup bowl.

RESOLVING THE FORM OF THE DIYA

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VIDYASHILP

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Kocked out Logo versions for Shilp and Sagar

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APPROACH 1 : EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE

While retaining the essence of the old, we make subtle but significant changes, creating a new brand mark that is aligned with the times.

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APPROACH 2 : REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE

Significantly changing the design of an established brand mark aiming to strategically reposition the brand/company.

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06

Design Iterations II 6.1 Eliminating Design Options 6.2 Design Presentation I 6.3 Breather: Guide Visit

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6.1

CH O OS I N G & E L I M I N AT I N G D ES I G N O P TI O N S It was about time for the first Design Presentation.

I was in a constant dialogue with Tania, refining the logos, figuring out the logotype, incorporating her feedback, and finalising the details.

Tania’s feedback was crucial in the design evolution process. We made sure we were as thorough with the designs as possible, and we reasoned with every little element in the concept and the design.

For the presentation, it was it important for us to narrow down on the strongest logo options. It was also important to show them the different routes that we had explored so that all potential ideas were covered. Elimination is a crucial aspect of any design

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process, because it requires you to detach from your work and review it as objectively as possible.

My review sessions and discussions with Tania and Chahat really helped in the shaping up of a lot of potential design options. Before we present the designs, it was also important to package them well, to show the clients the potential of each design option.

While the Brand-marks were in place, it was important to see them in action, in the Brand applications. Mock-ups were created for each logo Option. These would help the Clients in visualising the identity across different media platforms.

The Designs for the Short-listed options were articulated in a clear and effective language that resonates with the tone of voice of the School.

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VidyaShilp International School

VidyaShilp

VIDYASHILP

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Academy OPTION I

OPTION II

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OPTION III

OPTION IV (Chahat’s Design)

VIDYASHILP

academy

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

ADDITIONAL OPTION I

ADDITIONAL OPTION II

ADDITIONAL OPTION III (Chahat’s Design)

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The idea is to create a logo that will help a product or service succeed, or design a visual system that will create inspiration.

The logo is a distillation of the client’s most basic communication, “This is who I am”. The visual system answers the question, “This is what I believe.”

Book: Masters of Design. Logos & Identity. (Sean Adams)

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DESIGN OPTION 1

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EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE SYMBOLISM The central element of the old VSA brand-mark, the child, indicates the value that ‘no child is left behind’.

Each child is nurtured to excel.

Adapting this rather sharp and aggressive form we created a soft and visually appealing ‘child’. The new form is angular in its counter-form creating a strong ‘V’, but at the same time, is also fluid and humanistic.

OLD SHILP LOGO

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THE INDIVIDUAL

THE COMMUNITY

The new mark more closely reflects Vidyashilp’s values of being both nurturing and inclusive, while instilling excellence.

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COLORS

VidyaShilp Academy

VidyaSagar Preschool

Navy Blue + Maroon: Are both very strong colors offset and balance the softer floral form of the Brand Mark. These colors are also derived from the existing VSA brand colors to maintain a sense of legacy.

The ‘V/Child’ is adapted and repeated to form ‘water/waves’ (sagar) symbolizing the endless possibilities of learning and childhood. Mindful of the playschool age group, the brand mark has a playful quality to it. Navy Blue is both corporate and professional, as well as often used by academic institutions to lend credibility.

Maroon is also often used by academic institutions globally lending a sense of establishment and legacy.

TYPOGRAPHY

VidyaShilp Academy

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VidyaSagar Preschool

Typeface Used: Interstate (Bold & Regular) Offsetting the fluid symbol, a sharp san serif logotype makes the identity contemporary and bold.

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VISUAL LANGUAGE : ‘SHAPING A NEW GENERATION’

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Extension of the Brand-mark to create the Brand Language.

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Evolutionary Change - Stationery Mock-up I

BRAND APPLICATIONS

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Vidyashilp School-bus Mock-up for Evolutionary Change

Evolutionary Change - Stationery Mock-up II - Business cards, Folder, Letterhead, Envelopes, Pencils & Erasers

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Evolutionary Change - Visualizing the Shilp Logo on a Uniform Embroidered Logo Mock-ups for Vidyasagar

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Embroidered Logo Mock-ups for Vidyashilp

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DESIGN OPTION 2

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SYMBOLISM The Shield: A heraldic symbol used by academic institutions (historically and today) to establish legacy and credibility.

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The Torch: A universally recognized symbol for the ‘light of knowledge’.

Both the shield and torch are globally associated with academia and hence this symbol lends itself to geographies where the name VidyaShilp may not be understood.

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SYMBOL

VidyaShilp International School OPTION I

A graphic, stylized torch integrates with a simple, contemporary shield to create a unique and bold Brand Mark. The fluid flame form has an Indian-ness to it, while the shield is global in its rendering.

A sharp, angular ‘V’ dramatically intersects the shield to reinforce the name Vidyashilp and create a strong brand recall.

COLORS Navy Blue + Maroon: are derived from the existing VSA brand colors to maintain legacy. Navy Blue is corporate and professional. Maroon and Navy are both used by academic institutions globally to lend a sense of establishment and legacy.

Chrome Yellow brings warmth and vibrancy.

TYPOGRAPHY Typeface Used: CF Din Bold, CF Din Book The contemporary sans serif logotype offsets the fluid ‘flames’ while reinforcing the ‘V’ within the shield.

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SYMBOL In this Brand Mark, the shield has been shortened and refined to imply a nurturing form (2 hands perhaps), that take care of the dot (the child).

VidyaSagar Pre-school

Together the shield and the dot also imply a young child(or an Individual).

OPTION I

TYPEFACE

COLORS Navy Blue + Maroon: are derived from the existing Vidyashilp brand colors to maintain legacy.

The addition of the Chrome Yellow brings in a feeling of vibrance and warmth.

Typeface Used: CF Din Bold, CF Din Book The same typeface as the one used for Vidyashilp to maintain consistency in the Brand Family.

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vidyasagar preschool

OPTION II

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OPTION III

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Stationery Mock-up - Envelope, Letterhead, Business Cards

BRAND APPLICATIONS

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BRAND APPLICATIONS - Embroidered Logo, Logo on a Cap, Bus Mock-up, Logo on the School Uniform

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DESIGN OPTION 3

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SHAPING A BRIGHT, NEW GENERATION.

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SYMBOL

VIDYASHILP

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

COLOR OPTION I

‘Shilp’ means to sculpt. VSA sculpts knowledge, thus ‘Shaping a Bright New Generation’. Echoing this philosophy, a dramatic torch of light is literally sculpted out of a minimal, implied shield.

Vidyasagar: In this Brand Mark, the torch is adapted to create a ‘diya’, a small yet iconic source of light in India. While VSA has a more global identity, aligning with the aspirations of older children leaving school, VidyaSagar has a more Indian sensibility

The fluid flame has an Indian-ness to it, while the shield is global in its rendering.

Together they create a Brand Mark that is universal, timeless, inspiring and eyecatching.

COLORS Navy Blue: This Brand Mark is rendered strongest in a single color. Navy Blue projects credibility, academia and professionalism.

The yellow color in the Sagar Logo brings in warmth and vibrancy appropriate for a preschool.

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COLORS The alternating Blue and Burgundy borrowed from the existing colors in the Vidyashilp Brand Identity create an integrated Brand mark.

The Blue bands in the Vidyasagar Identity symbolize waves (Sagar - ocean).

TYPOGRAPHY Typeface Used: Adobe Caslon Pro An elegant Serif Typeface in all caps offsets the contemporary symbol with a timeless quality of knowledge and legacy.

COLOR OPTION II

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Stationery Mock-up - Envelope, Letterhead, Business Cards

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Vidyashilp School-bus Mock-up

Stationery Mock-up II - Business cards, Folder, Letterhead, Envelopes, Pencils & Erasers

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The Shilp Logo on a Uniform

Embroidered Logo Mock-ups, T shirt Mock-up, Logo on the School Cap

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VIDYASHILP

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

VISUAL COMPARISON WITH OTHER SCHOOL LOGOS

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ADDITIONAL OPTION 4

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SYMBOL The square peice of paper transforms into a bird symbolising the shaping of an idea/concept or an individual from a simple to a well-defined one.

The bird in flight is a positive symbolism and denotes taking off, progress, moving forward, soaring high.

A Bird is also a symbol of freedom making it an apt brandmark for a school that is progressive and promotes the idea of enhancing one’s individuality.

VIDYASHILP

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

VIDYASAGAR PRESCHOOL

COLORS Navy Blue + Maroon: both very strong hues are derived from the existing VSA brand colors to maintain legacy.

TYPOGRAPHY Typeface Used: Brandon Grotesque The contemporary sans serif logotype offsets the sharp planes of the origami forms.

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SYMBOL A graphic, stylized torch integrates with a simple, contemporary shield to create a unique and bold Brand Mark. The organic form of the flame with its curves adds an element of Indian-ness

‘Sagar’ means ocean. This form has been derived from the flame to create a simple yet relevant brandmark.

Waves have a playful quality that work for the logo of a preschool.

vidyashilp academy

vidyasagar preschool

COLORS Blue + Red : Both hues are derived from the existing VSA brand colors with a change in the shades to maintain legacy, at the same time add vibrancy.

Yellow adds warmth.

TYPOGRAPHY Typeface Used: Mrs Eaves Petite Caps

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6.2

DESIG N P R E S E N TAT I O N 1 The first Design presentation took the longest to materialise, because I was still amidst a sea of explorations, that were scattered in different directions and I did not see them as ready and presentable design options.

This is when Tania stepped in, and really pushed me to take the designs to the next level of refinement so as to realise the full potential of each exploration.

Even though I hadn’t gotten into the Brand Typography in full depth, spontaneous decisions were made at the time to complete the identities and provide a holistic picture.

Writing down the concepts behind each exploration, gave me clarity on how to present each logo option.

Every decision was reviewed and monitered by Tania and she ensured that the Brand vocabulary was kept in mind while making the Presentation.

Thumbnails of the Feedback Slides from Tania.

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Structuring & story-boarding the presentation.

Since it was the first Design Presentation, it was crucial that we showcase the work in the best way possible.

Presentation is a part of how you package your designs.

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16.1

16.2

16.1 A screenshot of the list of e-mails shared to discuss feedback, updates and changes for the Design Presentation.

16.2 A screenshot of my folders organised date wise so as to keep track of the updated files.

16.1

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Thumbnails of the Final Presentation. (Design Presentation I)

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16.3

16.4

16.3 & 16.4 Meanwhile, I was also testing the logo options in smaller sizes in print. Checking the concept behind each logo against the Brand Positioning, personality and Tone of Voice, helps to to see how it works with the Brand Vocabulary.

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Simple.

Iconic.

High recall value.

Contemporary.

Symbolic.

Sculpting - ‘Emergence of a form’ Shaping of the Torch from the form of the Shield.

Evolutionary Change.

Retains the emotional connect with the School’s existing image.

Shifting focus from the Individual to the community.

VidyaShilp Academy

Has a sense of Indianness (because of the red dots and the decorative form and subsequent patterns).

FEEDBACK FROM THE PRESENTATION The presentation got a really positive response from the Client. Two logo options - the Shield and the Evolutionary Change were chosen due to differences in opinion amongst the Clients. This divide was mainly because of two reasons. One, the fact that the Evolutionary Change logo option was favoured people who were emotionally attached to the image of the School created by their existing identity. These were the people who were not on board with a redesigning of the identity in the first place.

The other reason as to why it worked was because of the way in which it had been presented to them. The presentation showed a clean evolution of the form from the current Shilp logo to how we arrived at the new form. This story appealed to them much more than going with something that was entirely new.

Inspite of that, it was decided that we need not go ahead with the Evolutionary change just because it seems like an upgrade, especially not at the cost of an Iconic logo.

SHORTLISTED DESIGN DIRECTIONS

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BREATHER

G U I D E VI S IT Demarking a concious break in the workflow, I decided to time my Guide visit after the first Design Presentation. Not only did I have a substantial amount of work to share and discuss by then, it also served as a good break from all the Vidyashilp work that I had been absorbed in, and really helped me zoom out. I took Suresh through the progress of my project so far, and touched upon what the further roll out is going to be. Discussing the project with him, really helped me to look at my project subjectively as this was also the first time I was giving a detailed account of my personal journey through this entire process. Suresh gave me some useful pointers on the way forward and how I should start putting together my insights of the whole process. He also helpedcresolve my worry, regarding the Project by reminding me to focus on the process and learn from experiences without worrying about what is to come my way. I went back with a focused frame of mind.

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07

Final Design Iterations 7.1 Refining the Chosen Form 7.2 Client Presentation III 7.3 Revisiting the Sagar Identity 7.4 Brand Typography 7.5 Picking the House Colors 7.6 Resolving the Shilp logotype 7.7 Vidyashilp Logo Versions 7.8 Client Presentation IV

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A typical work day at Tsk amidst coffee and computers.

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I have articulated my work process in the form of a simple flow chart. You must realise that most of these processes run parallely and overlap with one another. There is a constant back and forth, which is why I have refrained from using arrows in the flow chart.

IDEATION

SKETCHES & THUMBNAILS

VISUAL EXPLORATIONS

Flow of Work (During Design Iterations) INCORPORATING THE FEEDBACK

CLIENT PRESENTATION FILTERATION

REVISED VERSIONS

REFINEMENT

FEEDBACK DISCUSSIONS ELIMINATING DESIGN OPTIONS

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7.1

3 & ' * / * / ( 5) & CH OS E N F OR M There was a slight setback in the project when one of the members at the meeting pointed out that the rendering of the flame in the Torch reminded her of the Wella logo. And she couldn’t unsee it. We were working on refining the form at this stage. So we decided to explore the different possible variations in the same form that I could come up with so as to try and break this association.

VIDYASHILP

It was also a good way of exploring and thinking within the structure of the same form but coming up with different ways to render and represent the same idea.

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

17.1

So I started with analysing the two identities (17.1) by placing them together. So while they were conceptually totally unrelated, the visual similarities were evident. Mainly because of the direction of the hair and the flame, the assymetry, and the white gaps that form the hair in the Wella logo and the white gaps between the flames in the Shilp brandmark.

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17.2

17.3

17.2 & 17.3 Looking at the form from all the possible angles to spot the details that I may have missed out on. Sketching out the other variations within the same form.

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I was trying to follow the same grid as the one that I derived out of the initial form, and explore other types of lines to break away from the organic wavy lines.

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VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

FORM REFINEMENT STAGE I

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INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

It was important to see how the forms work with Type. The grey dots represent the forms that were picked for further refinement.

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Form 1

Working on increasing the gradation in the white spaces between the flame so as to make it look less like the Wella logo.

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The gradation in thickness of the white space in Form 1 is From bottom to top, and the one in Form 2 is from top to bottom.

Form 2

The difference was still quite subtle and needed more work in order for it to be noticeable.

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I tried reversing the thickness in the flame so as to make the form more stable.

Shifting the torch to the right for a better balance in the form. I also straightened out the curve as an experiment.

FORM REFINEMENT STAGE II

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The chosen forms that need to be resolved further.

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Subtle variations in the top curve. Having all the forms in one place with the original form for comparison (in black).

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Old Logo with slight gradation in the white spaces.

Making the form symmetrical.

Adding more gradation in the white spaces.

Making the top curve shallower.

ASYMMETRY VS SYMMETRY

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THE OLD BRANDMARK (ASYMMETRICAL)

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THE REFINED BRANDMARK (SYMMETRICAL)

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REFLECTING ON THE REFINED FORM A Shield is viewed centrally (along the vertical axis that passes through the center).

When humans regard any object they first seek to take up a firm position with regard to their underlying terms of reference. In most cases this position will be symmetrical: horizontal (level) and vertical (gravitational). Everything is realised only when it is viewed in duality. I didn’t realise the need for symmetry in the form until I compared it with the asymmetrical Shield. The asymmetry that we had appreciated in the beginning was starting to make the form look unbalanced, especially when it was placed alongside other forms.

Fixing this was a huge step in cleaning up the form that I started with, and it really did feel like the new form was stronger, more balanced, proportionate and it didn’t take away from the concept on which it was built in the first place.

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17.4

REVIEWING THE FORMS IN PRINT

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17.5

17.6

17.5, 17.5, 17.6 Looking at the forms of the Shield in print with Tania.

When I blew up the individual forms is when I started to notice the details in the curves, and I worked on fixing the gaps and smoothening the curves.

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This was the Shield that the Client zeroed down upon. The gradation was subtle, but the form was much more refined that the previous version, giving it a stable and balanced look that makes for a bold and enduring Brandmark.

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7.2

$ -* & /5 P R E S E N TAT I O N I I I This presentation was more about updating the Client about the progress of the Project. Once we had arrived at the refined version of the Shilp Identity and we had looked at all the variations that were possible within the same concept, we decided to present it to the Decision makers at Vidyashilp.

The Brand Architecture had also been laid out. Vidyashilp was to have two logo versions – ‘Vidyashilp Academy’ for Schools across the country, and the name ‘Vidyashilp International School’ for the Schools abroad.

FEEDBACK It was good to know that the Clients were on the same page as us with the Shilp Identity, but while the Identity for Vidyasagar was concerned, it wasn’t quite working yet. We realised that the diya for Vidyasagar works on a conceptual level. When you see it in relation with the Shield of Vidyashilp, to see the transistion of the ‘Light of Knowledge’ from the diya into a Torch, makes sense. But the diya in isolation was not only slightly weak, but was also not very effective as an Identity for a Preschool, it needed to be more playful, less serious and have elements that the School going kids can relate to.

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VIDYASAGAR PRESCHOOL

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

VIDYASHILP

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

The Brand architecture as presented to the Clients.

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Thumbnails from the Client Presentation (By this time I had gotten the hang of making Client Presentations and since the format was established it was happening much faster.

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7.3

3 & 7 * 4 5 * / ( 5 ) & SAGAR I D E NTITY There were a couple of things that I has missed out so far with the Vidyasagar Identity. I realised that my main focus had been working on the Shilp Identity, and I wasn’t able to give the Sagar Identity enough attention. This is when I decided to look at the explorations for Vidyasagar with a fresh perspective.

A Visual Comparison of the Vidyasagar Identity alongside logos of Preschools in Bangalore gave me a clearer understanding of why the logo wasn’t working.

There was a lot of ground I needed to cover, in order to capture the essence of Vidyasagar and translate it into the Identity in a way in which the connect between Shilp and Sagar is established. I started by looking at logos of other Preschools to see the visual elements that work with such a system. A Preschool it is an educational setup but on a much lighter note, since they are dealing with shaping up the innocent minds of little kids The current Sagar logo is placed inside a shield on the uniform which seems a bit too imposing for a playschool.

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We proposed to move away from the shield completely for the Sagar logo.

It was important that the link between VidyaSagar and VidyaShilp is established and reinforced in the identity. The logo for Sagar should not be abstract, since it is a Preschool logo. It should be age appropriate. It should be warmer and should not look imposing in any way.

Based on the observations that I had made when I visited the School , there were other points to consider that needed to be answered and cleared out.

For example, the architecture of the school as well as the daily prayers make Sagar come across as a very Hindu school. In our meetings at VidyaShilp, it was clearly articulated that Shilp is rooted in Indian-ness and is not leaning towards any particular religion.

Therefore, Shilp is Nationalistic, but not Hindu.

So going forward, which route does VidyaSagar intend to take? Will the Hindu architecture be repeated in the other Schools?

We realised that the diya logo that we have proposed for Sagar is quite Hindu in its iconography and seems to work well with the current architecture and image of the school. At the same time, there is a need to move away from that and make the logo more neutral and child-friendly. It must suit the ages the preschool deals with, rather than the “full-fledged” school visual effect it has going on right now.

On putting these points forth to the Client, we were informed that, moving forward, the pre-school will not retain its Hindu identity and will embrace an architectural design that will accomodate a multicultural diversity rather than representing one single race, religion, cast or creed. After gaining clarity on this situation, I decided to start afresh.

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VISUAL COMPARISON OF PRESCHOOL LOGOS

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LOOKING AT EXISTING VISUAL IDENTITIES

Sketchy child-like illustrations so that they are relatable and fun looking. The use of the soft pastel colors. A serif typeface in lowercase for a less imposing serif rather than having it all in Uppercase.

The use of fresh bright colors. Happy elements like the rainbow and the fish, and an illustrative treatment. Use of a sans serif Typeface for a lighter vibe. Type heirarchy with Font weights.

Colourful alphabets, in geometric rounded forms. Simple vectors forms of easily understandable elements like apples, stars, leaves, butterflies etc. Sans serif Typeface.

Soft pastel colors. A sans serif Type treatment.

Simple obvious forms directly related to the name of the School.

Simple clean shapes. Bright Colors. Inspired from Lego - Building Blocks. A wide sans serif Typeface.

Happy and Playful. Children as the main element in the logo. Colorful Brand elements. Clean sans serif Typeface.

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Illustrative. The visuals are directly related to the names(not abstract at all). Handwritten typography for a warmer personalized feel.

Symbolism of a growing blossoming tree with a happy child’s silhouette. Cicular format. Soft colors. Use of four colors in the Identity.

Form of the Shield as the Base. A soft and mellow color treatment. Blossoming Tree as the symbol for gowth. Recognizable forms.

Clean, line drawing. Using the form of an animal as a symbol, easily recognizable. Use of a soft green as the brand color. Spaced out type set in a circular format to offset the form of the Shield.

Butterfly as the symbol of transformation, growth and lightness. Soft, cool colors to support the form of the butterfly. A clean Serif type treatment.

Abstract yet simple line drawing Symbolising growth. Nurturing forms. Subtle use of color. Soft Pink for the Logotype.

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vidyasagar preschool

VidyaSagar Preschool

Looking at all the logo options for the Sagar Identity that I had come up with corresponding to the Shilp Identity. Common elements: Sun/waves/Bud/ Light, based on the name Vidyasagar - ‘Ocean of Knowledge.’ I started to think of how I could use the same elements in a new way.

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VIDYASAGAR LOGO CONCEPT I The base of the Shield has been used to create the bud like form for Vidyasagar. The leaves of the bud closing in to collect the drop of water (also look like hands) add a warm and nurturing feel to the form. The drop symbolises a small but integral part of a water body that will eventually grow to form an Ocean (Sagar).

Keywords: Indian, Endless Opportunities, Nurturing, Warm, Open.

COLORS Navy Blue(Water)+ Maroon(Indian): Both are very strong hues derived from the existing VSA brand colors to maintain legacy and the connect with Shilp.

TYPOGRAPHY Typeface Used: Adobe Caslon Pro To maintain the connect between Shilp and Sagar the Typeface has been kept the same.

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VIDYASAGAR NURTURE

COLOR ALTERNATIVES

DEVELOPING A VISUAL LANGUAGE

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VIDYASAGAR NURTURE

VIDYASAGAR NURTURE

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Retaining the shape of the base of the shield, inorder to bring in a more contemporary feel, the curves were made to look less organic and the drop was replaced with a dot, so that the bud also looked like the form of a ‘child’. The colors used were fresh and bright giving it a positive uplifting look and feel. The bud-like form symbolised growth and nurturing qualities.

FORM REFINEMENT STAGE I

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Here I was trying to come up with a playful, colorful and fun visual language that was derived from simple 3D shapes. I went backwards from the form of the Bud and simplified it into a cube, based on the visible planes in the Bud. From that evolved many different explorations that revolved around the idea of growth, nurture, joy, the rising sun etc.

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VIDYASAGAR NURTURE

VIDYASAGAR NURTURE

VIDYASAGAR NURTURE

VIDYASAGAR

VIDYASAGAR

VIDYASAGAR

VIDYASAGAR

VIDYASAGAR

VIDYASAGAR

NURTURE

NURTURE

NURTURE

NURTURE

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NURTURE

VIDYASAGAR LOGO OPTIONS - CONCEPT II

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While sketching the Sun and the waves for Sagar I stumbled upon the idea of erasing the form out of a filledarea. I was thinking of how to illustrate these forms in a way that kids could relate to it. I realised that the thing that kids use the most besides a pencil or a crayon is an eraser. Based on this concept, I explored visuals by erasing out the form of the Sun and the waves from a Solid circle.

Concept III

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Rendering the waves in different line weights so as to match white spaces in the the flames of the Torch.

Shilp and Sagar Brandmarks placed together.

Rendering the rays of the Sun, with the same technique, keeping the water constant in all the explorations.

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SInce we had only been looking at the Shilp color palette with the Blue and Burgundy so far, I decided to try a few other color combinations for Vidyasagar to bring in a more vibrant color scheme which would be appropriate for a Preschool.

TRYING COLOR ALTERNATIVES N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

Looking at the forms with Typography to get a better Idea of how it works with a logotype.

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Inorder to try and test one of the color schemes, I decided to create a quick moodboard with a set of Brand applications (Folder, Letterhead, Visitors Card, Business Cards, Envelope).

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Explorations within the same form. I also tried an offcenter sun to see how that works with the waves. All this while the waves was kept constant. We decided to stick with Burgundy and Blue, as it worked well with the sun(red) and the waves(blue).

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VIDYASAGAR NURTURE

VIDYASAGAR

Thickness of the rays - 5pt

NURTURE

VIDYASAGAR NURTURE

Thickness of the rays - 6pt

VIDYASAGAR NURTURE

Thickness of the rays - 7pt

VIDYASAGAR PRESCHOOL

VIDYASAGAR NURTURE

Thickness of the rays - 5pt

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Thickness of the rays - 6pt

Thickness of the rays - 7pt

For the logotype we decided to go ahead with a sans serif typeface in combination with the Serif in the name, for a less serious and more contemporary look and feel. ‘Vidyasagar Nurture’ was going to be called Vidyasagar Preschool in the future.

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Using the same visual treatment as the Sun for the starting point, and exploring within the form of the circle, keeping the waves constant.

I looked at all the elements that could be Illustrated - fish, rain, boats, bubbles, trees, birds, plants, houses etc. The idea was to make the logo as versatile and creative as possible.

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VIDYASAGAR LOGO OPTION III The Sun: A universal symbol of Life, optimism and knowledge. The rising sun is symbolic of growth and embarks a new beginning.

The waves: Symbolise the sea of knowledge and endles possibilities. We created a simple yet playful Brandmark that resonates directly with the name of the School - Vidyasagar(Ocean of Knowledge), and makes it relatable for young kids.

Keywords: Happy, Playful, Fun, Warm, Child-friendly, Age-appropriate, Simple.

FINALISED BRANDMARK FOR VIDYASAGAR

COLORS Blue(Sagar) + Burgundy(Sun): both very strong hues are derived from the existing VSA brand colors to maintain legacy and the connect with Shilp.

TYPOGRAPHY

FINALISED ICONS FOR THE VISUAL LANGUAGE

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Typeface Used: Adobe Caslon Pro, Kievit To maintain the connect between Shilp and Sagar the Primary Typeface has been kept the same. The introduction of a secondary Sans serif Typeface, to add a contemporary feel to the Identity.

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7.4

# 3 " / % TYPOG RAPHY Just like the Brand has a personality, so does Type.

It is important to make the right type choices that not only complement and support the Brand Personality but also help in elevating the Brand.

Although personality is an important consideration when selecting a typeface, it should not be the only consideration. Legibility, flexibility, and consistency are also important factors to consider for an identity program. The typography in a logo can be as impactful as a graphic. Brand Typography was an area that I had not explored intensively yet. Since the brand-mark was finalised, there was a need to support it with equally effective typography.

There were a lof of things that needed to be taken under consideration before we finalised the Brand Typography. Typographic Decision is not determined by aesthetic consideration alone.

TYPEFACE FOR THE LOGOTYPE After a couple of explorations with Logotype to support the Shield Logo option, we had fixed upon

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Adobe Caslon Pro for the time being. That was the logo option that we had presented to the Client.

Adobe Caslon Pro with its Classic Serif seemed to complement the contemporary organic quality of the Shield, creating an integrated Brandmark. So when it came to spending time of finalising the Typeface for the Logotype, I started out by looking at typefaces similar to Caslon, to test whether they work with the Shield better or as well as Caslon does.

There were a lot of things to consider before I started to explore Typefaces: Font family, Font category, Font availability, Combination of fonts, Number of fonts, Letter scaling, Letter spacing, Font weight, Capitalization just to name a few.

Once the Primary Typeface was fixed, the next plan of action was to resolve the Logotype and finalise the Brand Typography. It was also important to do this before I started designing the Brand Applications.

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VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

VIDYASAGAR PRESCHOOL

VIDYASAGAR PRESCHOOL

VIDYASAGAR PRESCHOOL

"EPCF $BTMPO 1SP QU

(FPSHJB QU

'SVUJHFS QU

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

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VIDYASAGAR PRESCHOOL

VIDYASAGAR PRESCHOOL

VIDYASAGAR PRESCHOOL

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I started out by looking at Serif Typefaces for the Logotype for both Shilp and Sagar. All of the explorations below are set in 12.2pt Leading. The Character spacing has not been altered with.

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5:1&'"$&4 $0/4*%&3&% PRIMARY TYPEFACE FOR THE BRAND

ADOBE CASLON PRO // 10pt

PALATINO // 10pt

BASKERVILLE // 10pt

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437, After Jakkur Flying Club, On International Airport by-pass road, Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437, After Jakkur Flying Club, On International Airport by-pass road, Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437, After Jakkur Flying Club, On International Airport by-pass road, Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

WARNOCK PRO // 10pt

GEORGIA // 10pt

MILLER DISPLAY // 10pt

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437, After Jakkur Flying Club, On International Airport by-pass road, Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437, After Jakkur Flying Club, On International Airport by-pass road, Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437, After Jakkur Flying Club, On International Airport by-pass road, Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

ADOBE GARAMOND // 10pt

ADOBE JENSON PRO // 10pt

PT SERIF // 10pt

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437, After Jakkur Flying Club, On International Airport by-pass road, Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437, After Jakkur Flying Club, On International Airport by-pass road, Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437, After Jakkur Flying Club, On International Airport by-pass road, Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

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MRS EAVES // 10pt

DIN 1451 STD // 10pt

WHITNEY // 10pt

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437, After Jakkur Flying Club, On International Airport by-pass road, Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437, After Jakkur Flying Club, On International Airport by-pass road, Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437, After Jakkur Flying Club, On International Airport by-pass road, Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

MINION PRO // 10pt

AMPLITUDE // 10pt

INTERSTATE // 10pt

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437, After Jakkur Flying Club, On International Airport by-pass road, Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437, After Jakkur Flying Club, On International Airport by-pass road, Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437, After Jakkur Flying Club, On International Airport by-pass road, Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

SCALA // 10pt

GILL SANS // 10pt

BERTHOLD AKZIDENZ GROTESK // 10pt

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437, After Jakkur Flying Club, On International Airport by-pass road, Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437, After Jakkur Flying Club, On International Airport by-pass road, Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437, After Jakkur Flying Club, On International Airport by-pass road, Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

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Looking at how the typeface works in the address block.

This is when we realised that there was a need for a secondary typeface, preferably a Sans serif.

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Testing the logotype options in Print and analysing the Type choices.

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Adobe Garamond

Georgia

Miller Display

Adobe Caslon Pro

PT Serif

Baskerville

After exploring various options for the Logotype in Serif we realised that Adobe Caslon Pro was still our first choice as it seemed to work really well with the Brandmark. It brought in the much needed feel of an established Institute of education and learning with its standard design conventions and the classic feel.

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5:1&'"$&4 $0/4*%&3&% SECONDARY TYPEFACE After exploring a set of Stationery as a part of the Brand Applications in Adobe Caslon Pro, we realised that it was taking away from the contemporary look the Brand aspired to achieve. It needed to be used in combination with a Sans serif that would complement the traditional and classic Serif typeface and bring in a fresh feel. This would also form an integral part of all the Brand applications ranging from the Print collaterals to the School’s Web presence. We started looking at Typefaces that would work best in combination with Caslon.

A combination of both the primary and the seocondary typeface would be used for all brand communications.

Simlutaneously, I also had to look at whether the Typekit versions of the fonts were available for Web use, and if not what alternate options were available.

To test how the clean san serif typefaces work with the Brand language, we decided to test them on the positioning statement.

Vidya Shilp is a progressive school, rooted in its Indian context. A carefully shaped education experience promotes all-round development as well as academic excellence, enabling each child to grow into a confident, responsible and distinct young citizen.

WHITNEY // 16pt

Vidya Shilp is a progressive school, rooted in its Indian context. A carefully shaped education experience promotes all-round development as well as academic excellence, enabling each child to grow into a confident, responsible and distinct young citizen.

MILO // 16pt

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297

Vidya Shilp is a progressive school, rooted

Vidya Shilp is a progressive school, rooted

in its Indian context. A carefully shaped

in its Indian context. A carefully shaped

education experience promotes all-round

education experience promotes all-round

development as well as academic excellence,

development as well as academic excellence,

enabling each child to grow into a confident,

enabling each child to grow into a confident,

responsible and distinct young citizen.

responsible and distinct young citizen.

KIEVITOT // 16pt

MYRIAD PRO // 16pt

Vidya Shilp is a progressive school, rooted in its

Vidya Shilp is a progressive school, rooted in its

Indian context. A carefully shaped education

Indian context. A carefully shaped education

experience promotes all-round development

experience promotes all-round development

as well as academic excellence, enabling each

as well as academic excellence, enabling each

child to grow into a confident, responsible and

child to grow into a confident, responsible

distinct young citizen.

and distinct young citizen.

FRIEGHTSANS PRO // 16pt

AGENDA // 16 pt

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ABCDEFGHIJKLM NOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Regular

ABCDEFGHIJKLM NOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

SemiBold

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ADOBE CASLON PRO A long running serif font first designed by William Caslon in 1722 and used extensively throughout the British Empire in the early eighteen century. William Caslon based his type on Dutch models. It was used widely in the early days of the American Colonies and was the font used for the U.S. Declaration of Independence. It has been revived at various times since then, in particular during the British Arts and Crafts movement and again each time it went through a redesign for technological changes. It continues to be a standard in typography to this day. Adobe Caslon Pro is the right choice for magazines, journals, book publishing, and corporate communications.

Caslon was a good match for Shilp because it is simple and grounded at the same time it is a Classic font and communicates establishment and trust when used in the correct context. It is versatile and works well in small as well as large sizes.

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ABCDEFGHIJKLM NOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

FF KIEVIT

Regular

ABCDEFGHIJKLM NOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

American type designer Michael Abbink created this sans serif Font in 2001. The clarity of classic sans serif faces (Frutiger and Univers) and the humanistic characteristics of old styles (Garamond and Granjon) were the inspiration for this contemporary design that is equally at home in a headline or a body of text.

The openness of the characters and their proportions also make it an ideal typeface for use in small print.

The family has 9 weights, ranging from Thin to Black (including italics) and is ideally suited for advertising and packaging, book text, logo, branding and creative industries, small text, wayfinding and signage as well as web and screen design.

The Kievit family includes nine weights, true italics, old style figures and small caps—everything necessary for even the most demanding typography.

We narrowed down on Kievit as it provided the contemporary look and feel, apart from the fact that it seemed to work well with Caslon Pro.

Medium

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1 * $ , * / ( 5 ) & H OU S E COLOR S The current Shilp Identity consists if two colors - a dark Burgundy and a Navy Blue. We had realised early on that these colours work well for the School.

Both Burgundy and blue are academic colours and are easily identifiable. Since we were going ahead with a revolutionary change, it was crucial we maintain some level of connect with the Old Brandmark by keeping the Brand colors constant. So that people are still able to relate the Identity to Vidyashilp. Since the old Shilp Identity had been designed indigenously, the Brand colors had not been picked meticulously and they were finding it difficult to achieve the same shade of Blue and Burgundy across different applications.

What they needed was a well defined color palette to maintain consistency. To find the right shade of Blue and Burgundy for the Brand, I started out by making color swatches of Blue and Red in different CMYK

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values. The plan was to test how the colors turn out in Print to get an idea of what the colors actually look like. It was also important to pick the right paper to print on, so that the colors look as close to the chosen hue as possible. The next step was to find the closest Pantone values for the chosen CMYK swatches and visualise how the colours are used across various Brand applications.

The Vidyashilp Brand Identity System consists of 3 colours. The House Colours are divided into a Primary Colour Palette and a Secondary Colour Palette. Primary Colours are for the Brand Mark and Secondary Colours are to be used in conjunction with the Primary Color Palette for collaterals and other applications.

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Based on the CMYK values that we picked (depending on the vibrancy of the hue and the bold and solid look and feel that we were going for), we shortlisted the closest Pantone values to the CMYK swatch from the Pantone book of colors.

Following is the list of Pantone values I chose for the Burgundy in (CMYK(20, 100, 95, 30)): 704 C // 7621 C // 7622 C Following is the list of Pantone values I chose for the Blue (CMYK(100, 80, 0, 30)): 7686 C // 287 C // 661 C

My work desk at TSK - Finding the closest Pantone values to the chosen CMYK Swatches (Image 13.1 & 13.2) from the Pantone Color Book. The color swatches were printed on Rendevous Super white Paper (180 gsm).

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(100, 80, 0, 50)

(100, 80, 0, 40)

(100, 80, 0, 30)

(100, 87.22, 19.57, 10.31)/Pantone 287 C

(90, 80, 0, 50)

(100, 90, 0, 45)

(100, 90, 0, 30)

(100, 100, 0, 30)

(100, 100, 0, 40)

(100, 87.9, 26.99, 18.77)/Pantone 288 C

(95, 90, 0, 40)

(100, 80.05, 11.4, 2.48)/Pantone 293 C

(100, 60, 0, 40)

(100, 60, 0, 50)

(100, 80, 0, 60)

(94.77, 78.08, 0, 0)/Pantone 2728 C

(97, 70, 0, 40)

(100, 97, 0, 10)

(100, 84.09, 11.04, 3.08)/Pantone 286 C

(100, 84.09, 11.04, 3.08)/ Pantone 2758 C

(100, 93.94, 23.7, 22.62)/Pantone 2748 C

(100, 97.04, 11.05, 10.67)/Pantone 2738 C

(100, 97.52, 2.24, 2.71)/Pantone B 072 C

(100, 100, 27.74, 27.28)/Pantone 273 C

18.1

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(3, 100, 80, 43 )

(12.05, 94.67, 83.69, 2.49)/Pantone 1797 C

(20, 90, 90, 20)

(18.26, 95.04, 95.23, 7.88)/Pantone 7620 C

(26, 95, 80, 20)

(26, 95, 80, 40)

(27.79, 93.46, 85.91, 27.46)/Pantone 7623 C

(26.25, 95.78, 86.19, 23.69)/Pantone 7622 C

(20.79, 100, 95.33, 12.02)/Pantone 7621 C

(22.48, 100, 70.96, 13.55)/Pantone 1946 C

(0, 90, 90, 50)

(20, 95, 73, 55)

(16.15, 100, 86.91, 6.41)/Pantone 200 C

(24.07, 99.53, 78.49, 17.48)/Pantone 201 C

(29.26, 95.66, 75.73, 29.08)/Pantone 202 C

(29.12, 100, 70.3, 26.69)/Pantone 1955 C

(0, 100, 95, 60 )

(0, 100, 95, 50)

(23.62, 91.66, 78.48, 15.2)/Pantone 1807 C

(32.61, 92.61, 73.56, 37.88)/ Pantone 188 C

(22.3, 100, 88.93, 14.68)/Pantone 187 C

(20, 100, 95, 13)

(20, 100, 95, 30)

(10, 100, 95, 30)

18.2

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PRIMARY COLOR AND SECONDARY COLORS FOR VIDYASHILP:

VIDYASHILP BURGUNDY Pantone 704 C C24 M95 Y86 K19

The final color palette for Vidyashilp and Vidyasagar is as follows:

R158 G42 B47 Websafe #993333

Primary Colour Palette Vidyashilp Burgundy: Pantone 704 C Vidyashilp Blue: Pantone 287 C Secondary Colour Palette Vidyashilp Grey: CMYK(0. 0. 0. 25) The House Colours can also be reproduced in four colour offset printing. While it is preferable to use Pantone inks for colour accuracy, the four colour offset values (CMYK) are also given alongside. The Websafe values are also provided for use on Web based platforms.

VIDYASHILP BLUE Pantone 287 C C100 M91 Y17 K6 R0 G48 B135 Websafe #003399

VIDYASHILP GREY C0 M0 Y0 K25

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VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

ACADEMY

ACADEMY

ACADEMY

ACADEMY

Brand Mark Reproduction in Reverse on Primary and Secondary House Colours.

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COLOR OPTIONS FOR VIDYASHILP Now that the Brand colors were finalised, we were still unsure about whether to keep the Brandmark in Single color (how we started out) and the percentage of each color on the Brandmark. Since Burgundy was one of their Primary colors it was important to have that in the Brandmark. I explored the different color combinations possible with the chosen House colors.

The colors could either add to the Brandmark by contributing to the meaning or the symbolism. The secondary colors could also be used as an accent color (in the logotype) or in the Brand applications.

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This color treatment was chosen for the final Brandmark. The Blue left half of the Shield interacted with the Blue logotype, creating an integrated composition. The red Flames symbolising fire, adding a vibrancy and helped reinforce the idea of ‘Indianness’ in the Vidyashilp Identity.

THE THREE SHORTLISTED COLOR OPTIONS

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7.6

3 & 4 0 -7 * / ( 5 ) & S H I LP LOG OTYPE

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 28, 22.5

We had been really zooming in and working on fixing the minutest details in the identity. For the logotype, it was important to look at the relationshilp between the name of the School and the word ‘Academy’ or ‘International School’, and find the right type hierarchy. Letter spacing and leading also had to be taken care of so that the composition of the Brandmark looks integrated. All the explorations were tried and tested in Print so as to get a clear idea of how it will reproduce on paper. The brand typography looked weak in comparison to the bold strokes of the Shield.

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VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 29, 24

I was working with Adobe Caslon Pro in Semibold for Vidyashilp and a regular weight for Academy.

So I decided to work with other weights to make the Logotype stronger in isolation. I was not sure of whether to use a Bold or a semi-bold at first, because of how it would reproduce at a smaller size.

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VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

25.63, 20

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

26, 20

Testing the Logotype in print in different sizes.

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

28, 22.5

The type size mentioned above has been altered for purpose of the Doc, only take into note the difference in the ratios.

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VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

Semibold // Semibold

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VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

Semibold // Regular

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

Bold // Semibold

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VIDYASHILP

ACADEMY

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

This is the Logotype that we finalised. Both the words are set in Adobe Caslon Pro Bold, in different Type sizes to create hierarchy.

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7.7

V I DYA S H I L P -0 ( 0 7 & 3 4 * 0 / 4 We were to come up with two logo versions for Vidyashilp, based on their future plans for the School:

Vidyashilp International School.

Vidyashilp Academy/International School in a regional context (such as Yelahanka, Bangalore, Dubai etc.) much like the DPS and NPS regional categorization on their Visual Identity.

The Project Brief was evolving as the Project unfolded. Once the Shilp Brandmark was finalised, the Brand architecture involved having logo versions for the Schools with the name of the Location where the School was situated. Since the Brand mark was going to remain the same, it was important to have the location name in the visual identity so as to differentiate between the various Schools. We debated a lot over this need for differentiation, but we realised that each School was going to be an independent entity in its functioning. To resolve this, we explored two design directions - one with the name of the location alongwith the Brandmark and one with just the Logotype and the region name depending on the usage in the Brand Applications.

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National Public School, Regional Categorization.

Delhi Public School, Regional Categorization.

What was lacking in most of these Identities was consistency, in spite of being under the same Brand Family.

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VIDYASHILP

Exploring with ‘International School’ in the name and the name of the location using both the Serif (Caslon) and San serif(Kievit) House font. A San serif like Kievit seemed to have better legibilty in smaller sizes, and it also created a break from the Serif in the name and stood out when used in as an accent of the Brand colors.

VIDYASHILP

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL YELAHANKA

VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

DUBAI

YELAHANKA, BANGALORE

DUBAI

ACADEMY

ACADEMY

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

YELAHANKA

| YELAHANKA |

YELAHANKA

| YELAHANKA |

ACADEMY

ACADEMY

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY | YELAHANKA |

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ACADEMY

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

ACADEMY

We also looked at options using just the Brand Logotype without the Brandmark that could appear on the website in Isolation or in newspaper ads etc.

YELAHANKA

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Testing the explorations in small sizes in Print.

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We decided to keep the location name specific to the region and not have the name of the State or the city alongwith the Logotype as it was starting to look too cluttered.

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Checking the new logo versions with the Regional categorization along side the Brand Positioning statement to see how the Brand Typography works.

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7.8

$ -* & /5 P R E S E N TAT I O N I V CONCLUDING DESIGN ITERATIONS

REFLECTING ON THE PROCESS

We concluded this stage of exhaustive Design explorations with a Client Presentation to lock down the Final Brandmarks for Shilp and Sagar.

This marked the beginning of the next stage of the Project that involved Brand applications and contextualisation.

By this time, I was fully acquainted with the nature of work I was involved in. I had a much better understanding of the Client and the work environment at Tsk Design. Having my work reviewed at every stage right from the inception of an idea to to refinement helped me keep a track of the evolution of each concept.

This would involve applying the Brand Mark to a diverse range of relevant applications to assess the strength and flexibility of the Design. This presentation was meant to get the Final approvals on the Designs from the Key Stakeholders. It was important to get a written approval from the Decision makers so that the next stage can be carried forward smoothly. By the end of this presentation, the visual identity for Vidyashilp Academy, Vidyashilp International School and Vidyasagar Preschool was approved and finalised.

Being involved in interacting with the Clients first hand gave me a clear insight on their needs and aspirations, apart from the fact that it really helped hone my formal communication skills. Since we were dealing with an Educational Institution, a lot of planning was also required on the Client’s side, for them to implement the new Visual Identity in the coming Academic Year. Having the Final Designs in place was a satisfying feeling in itself becuase now there was scope for redesigning the “Brand world” with a fresh and new Visual Language.

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Thumbnails from Client Presentation IV. This was a short Presentation with mostly visuals meant to present the Final Designs approval from the Client’s end.

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/ SE C TI O N I I I /

Consolidation.

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The Final Brandmark

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Vidya Shilp is a progressive school, rooted in its Indian context. A carefully shaped education experience promotes all-round development as well as academic excellence, enabling each child to grow into confident, responsible and distinct young citizens.

The Final Positioning Statement

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VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

THE FINAL BRANDMARK

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BRAND ARCHITECTURE

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VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

YELAHANKA

CHENNAI

ACADEMY

VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

ELECTR ONIC CI TY

DUBAI

ACADEMY

Vidyashilp Academy + Location

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INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Vidyashilp International School + Location

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BRAND APPLICATIONS FOR VIDYASHILP

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THE FINAL BRANDMARK

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09

Brand Applications 9.1 Brand Applications for Vidyashilp 9.2 Designing the Print collaterals 9.3 Revealing the Brand Identity

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9.1

B RAN D A PPL I CATI ON S Brand implementation refers to the physical representation and the continuous and consistent application of the brand identity across visual and verbal media. In visual terms, this can include signage, uniforms, liveries, interior design and branded merchandise. Brand implementation encompasses facets of architecture, product design, industrial design, quantity surveying, engineering, procurement, project management and retail design.

Brand implementation is an integrated part of a branding cycle. It needs to be initiated during the design and development phase. Mock-ups help in visualising how the Brand Mark applies to a diverse range of relevant applications. They are easily available and come in handy when you want to gauge how a certain design decision will look on the chosen medium. I explored various Mock-ups while working on the Shilp Identity so as to get an idea of the visual language that could be created for the Brand.

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Brand implementation helps to assess the strength and flexibility of the Design and explore the creative potential of the identity by stimulating a branded world.

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We created a moodboard of how the Shilp Stationery will look when the Designs are set in the Brand colors. This helps to gauge how the colors are applied across the various applications.

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Stationery Mock-up - Envelope, Letterhead, Business Cards

BRAND APPLICATIONS

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A mock up of the Business cards, Folder, Letterhead, Envelopes and other Brand merchandise. Doing this gave me a clear idea of how the Brand applications would looks as a unit.

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The Shilp Brandmark as a wax seal.

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The Brandmark embossed on White Paper.

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The Identity on a Uniform

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School T-shirt as a part of the Brand Merchandise.

The Shilp Brandmark on the School Bus

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Embroidered logo Mock-up on a whilte fabric

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Embroidered logo Mock-up in Reverse (Grey on Blue)

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The Shilp Brandmark on a Hoodie

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9.2

DESIG N I NG TH E PR I NT C OLLATE RA LS The next step of the Project involved working on designing the Shilp & Sagar collaterals. A list of stationery was sent to the Clients for them to add or alter the list if necessary. The list was as follows: 1. Letterheads + Continuation Sheets 2. Business Cards (Generic + Personalised) 3. Envelopes (Small + A4) 4. Mailing Labels for parcels/couriers 5. Docket/Folder 6. Notepads 7. ID Cards (Visitor, Student & Employee) 8. Powerpoint Presentation Template 9. School Stationery (Notebooks) 10. Email Sign-off 11. Greeting Cards 12. School Certificate (Leaving & Commendation) 13. Pen-drive 14. School Diary 15. Parent Handbook

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Designing the stationery gave me a chance to explore layouts and Typography in depth. Each final design option was made into a Print prototype so as to get a better idea of the design decisions. Everything starting from the size of the collateral, the colors, typography, the type heirarchy, the chunking of information, the layout, the paper used for printing had to be taken into account.

Fixing upon the right content was also crucial to avoid any kind of misinformation. Since a School is a large setup, and all the items were to be mass produced, we had to make sure that the designs were easily reproducible, followed industry standards, and weren’t very experimental or edgy in any way.

A classic format seemed to work well with the design of the Brandmark which was bold, iconic and yet simple in its look and feel.

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D ES I G N I N G T H E B U S I N E S S CA R D S (For Vidyashilp)

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EXPLORATIONS - ROUND I This was the initial round of explorations. I started out by looking at Business card samples to see what kind of sizes are used and acceptable.

Vidyashilp Academy 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437 After Jakkur Flying Club On International Airport by-pass road Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

In this round I mainly focused on the chunking of Information and deciding what information goes on the Front and the Back.

Since the first round of explorations was done before the Secondary Typeface (Kievit) of the Brand was finalised, the Primary Typeface – Adobe Caslon Pro was used for all the written content that goes on the Business cards.

t 9739801824, 9538103678 e mail@vidyashilp.com

VIDYASHILP

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

MRS. KIRAN PAI Administrator

FRONT

BACK 3.54”

t 9739801824, 9538103678 e mail@vidyashilp.com

2.13”

MRS. KIRAN PAI Administrator

Vidyashilp Academy 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437 After Jakkur Flying Club On International Airport by-pass road Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064

VIDYASHILP

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

FRONT

N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

BACK

341

Vidyashilp Academy 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437 After Jakkur Flying Club On International Airport by-pass road Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064 t 9739801824, 9538103678 e mail@vidyashilp.com

VIDYASHILP

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

MRS. KIRAN PAI Administrator

FRONT

The Brandmark in Reverse on Burgundy which is one of the Primary Brand Colors.

BACK

Vidyashilp Academy 42/3 , Shivanahalli P.O. Box No.6437 After Jakkur Flying Club On International Airport by-pass road Yelahanka, Bangalore - 560 064 t 9739801824, 9538103678 e mail@vidyashilp.com

FRONT

VIDYASHILP

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

MRS. KIRAN PAI Administrator

BACK

Single color Brandmark on White.

Information Chunking, Address Block, Telephone, e-mail // Name of the Card holder // Designation.

LAYOUT EXPLORATIONS - ROUND I

VOLU M E I I OF I I

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

EXPLORATIONS - ROUND II I decided to use Burgundy as an accent color in the text to highlight the first level of information and create a heirarchy in the text.

The flow of information was also much clearer by now. Instead of printing reverse text on Blue, we decided to have the Brandmark in reverse at the Back of the Card. The web address appears on both the sides for a quick and easy reference.

Vidyashilp Academy 42/3, Shivanahalli P.O. Box No. 6437 Yelahanka Bangalore 560 064 MRS. KIRAN PAI Director

FRONT

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

Vidyashilp Academy 42/3, Shivanahalli P.O. Box No. 6437 Yelahanka Bangalore 560 064

t 97398 01824, 953818 0367 e mail@vidyashilp.com www.vidyashilp.com

FRONT

VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

www.vidyashilp.com

www.vidyashilp.com

ACADEMY

BACK

N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

ACADEMY

BACK

KIRAN PAI Director t 97398 01824, 95381 03678 e mail@vidyashilp.com

343

Brandmark as a Visual

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

Vidyashilp Academy 42/3, Shivanahalli P.O. Box No. 6437 Yelahanka Bangalore 560 064

Vidyashilp Academy 42/3, Shivanahalli P.O. Box No. 6437 Yelahanka Bangalore 560 064

KIRAN PAI Director t 97398 01824, 95381 03678 e mail@vidyashilp.com

FRONT

MRS. KIRAN PAI Director t 97398 01824, 95381 03678 e mail@vidyashilp.com www.vidyashilp.com

Name & Designation Contact details Web Address

FRONT

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

www.vidyashilp.com BACK

BACK

LAYOUT EXPLORATIONS - ROUND II

VOLU M E I I OF I I

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

Tania told me that a good way of testing the layout explorations that I made without having to print each option separately. I printed the different layouts explored for the text on one sheet of paper. Each individual test block was then cut out. This is an old school method which gives you freedom tocould play around with the elements on a plain sheet of paper. It gave me a better understanding of how to utilise the space avaliable in the most efficent manner. Once the layout for the address block was finalised, that would apply to all the other Print collaterals for consistency.

Testing the Layout explorations for the Business cards in Print.

N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

345

BACK

FRONT

Brandmark as a Visual without Logotype

Web Address

Shilp Brandmark

Address Block

Name Designation Contact details

CHUNKING OF INFORMATION

VOLU M E I I OF I I

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

DESIGN EVOLUTION

VIDYASHILP Vidyashilp Academy 42/3, Shivanahalli P.O. Box No. 6437 Yelahanka Bangalore 560 064

KIRAN PAI Director t 97398 01824, 95381 03678 e mail@vidyashilp.com

STAGE I N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

The Brandmark in different color options.

All the text was set in Adobe Caslon Pro.

www.vidyashilp.com

BACK

FRONT

ACADEMY

STAGE II

347

0.7cm

0.7cm

BACK

FRONT

www.vidyashilp.com

42/3, Shivanahalli P.O. Box No. 6437 Yelahanka Bangalore 560064

KIRAN PAI Director t 97398 01824, 95381 03678 e mail@vidyashilp.com

STAGE III VOLU M E I I OF I I

Text Block in Kievit (Secondary House Font) to for a more contemporary look.

The longest name had to be taken into consideration. Details like the format of the Phone number was also taken care of.

Notice the Evolution in the shades of Blue and Burgundy. The final Design uses the Brand colors.

FINAL DESIGN VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

All of the Design explorations starting from Stage I till the FInal Design were tested in Print.

The paper used for printing the explorations was Redevous Super White (RSW 290 gsm).

/ "5 * 0 / " - * / 4 5 * 5 6 5 & 0 ' % & 4 * ( /

N O O P U R C H O K S I | B . D e s | G r a p h i c D e s i g n ] 1S P K F D U % P D V N F O U B U J P O

349

Design Evolution of the Business Cards

VOLU M E I I OF I I

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

VIDYASHILP BUSINESS CARD

(FRONT & BACK)

www.vidyashilp.com

Specifications: Size: 3.54” by 2.13” Colors Used: Shilp Blue & Burgundy Text set in Kievit Medium 8pt, Kievit Regular 8pt // Leading: 9.2pt

/ "5 I* O 0/ - I* N /S 4 T5 I* T5U 6T5E& O 0 F' D%E&S4I*G (N / N AT N" AL

42/3, Shivanahalli P.O. Box No. 6437, Jakkur Bangalore 560 064, India

Madhushree Dutta Majumdar Coordinator - History & Civics E madhushree_m@vidyashilp.com M +91 97398 01824 T +91 80 2856 1824, +91 97398 01824

This is the Final template. It was made taking into account the longest name in the list of people at Vidyashilp. It also uses the final address block approved by the key stakeholders at the School.

351

D ES I G N I N G T H E LE T T E R H E AD S (For Vidyashilp)

There were two types of Letterheads that needed to be designed. A personalised Letterhead for use by the Directors and the Head of the Departments at the School and a general Letterhead for the School’s day to day communications.

A personalised Letterhead consists of the Name and the Designation, the Brandmark, the address block and the contact information (e-mail and telephone number) of the person in whose name the letterhead has been designed.

Th adress block remains the same across the print collaterals for uniformity. But the design for each printed material is guided by the size and the format of the collateral concerned. The designs evolved with the changes in the Brandmark, the colors, the introduction of Kievit as the secondary typeface.

VOLU M E I I OF I I

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

2 cm

OPTION 1

Based on the Information hierarchy in the Business card designed for Shilp, the Letterhead also had the Name of the School and the website address in Burgundy, for it to stand out. Apart from that, I had to also take into consideration the format of the paper (A4 ) and figure out the margins on the sides.

OPTION 2

Information that goes on the Letterhead: The Brandmark The Name of the School The Web address The School address Contact information.

2 cm

EXPLORATIONS - ROUND I

N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

353

Document Guides

OPTION 3

The Shilp Burgundy was used as an accent color to highlight certain information.

OPTION 4

Tried putting the Brandmark aligned to the right margin of the page. Doesn’t work because the Brandmark guides your eye from left to right (hence out of the page).

VOLU M E I I OF I I

Screenshots of the header area of the A4 sheet which is the active space used for designing the Letterhead.

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

DESIGN EVOLUTION

Fold Mark (Three-fold Letterhead)

STAGE I

N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

STAGE II

355

2 cm

2 cm

GENERAL LETTERHEAD

VOLU M E I I OF I I

PERSONALISED LETTERHEAD

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

I had to take into account the margin space for punching the holes into the Letterhead. It was also important to test each design block by making three folds in the Letterhead as that is how it goes into the envelope. This gave me an idea of how much space there was for the body of the letter.

The Final Shilp Letterhead with a dummy Letter set in Georgia.

N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

357

Sending samples of the body text for the letterhead to Tania for approval. Since the letterhead was going to be used by people who would type in a letter on Word or some other text based software, it was important to take into consideration the Typefaces that would be preinstalled on these softwares.

VOLU M E I I OF I I

We decided to go ahead with Georgia, as the Typeface we would propose them to use for the body of the Letterheads whenever they type in a Letter. Georgia is a pre-installed Serif Typeface and is easily available and seemed to work well with the image of the Brand and the Brand typefaces.

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG N O O P U R C H O K S I | GRAPHIC B . D e s | GDESIGN r a p h i c Dt (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5 e s i g n ] 1S P K F D U % P D V N F O U B U J P O

PERSONALISED LETTERHEAD SAMPLE

/ "5 I* O 0/ - I* N /S 4 T5 I* T5U 6T5E& O 0 F' D%E&S4I*G (N / N AT N" AL

359

DESIGNING E N V E LO P E S There were two envelope sizes that I designed for – A standard DL Envelope(Catalog) (Size: 4.2” by 9.25” (Size 10)) One of the most widely used business envelopes, the DL format does not fall under the C series sizes as it has a different aspect ratio. The DL envelope will hold an A4 sheet of paper folded into 3 equal sections parallel to its shortest sides.

A standard C4 Envelope The Center seam makes this style more durable for mailing and holding heavy-weight materials.

Center seam makes this style more durable for mailing heavy-weight materials.

VOLU M E I I OF I I

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

4.2”

Using the Shilp Burgundy for the color of the top flap.

The treatment of the address block was kept constant across the Print collaterals.

Flaps for folding and pasting.

9.25”

N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

LAYOUT EXPLORATION & THE KEYLINE USED

361

VIDYASHILP ENVELOPE FINAL

VOLU M E I I OF I I

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

OPTION I

OPTION II

LAYOUT EXPLORATIONS

N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

363

OPTION III

VOLU M E I I OF I I

OPTION IV

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

2 cm

2 cm

42/3, Shivanahalli P.O. Box No. 6437, Jakkur Bangalore 560 064, India

E mail@vidyashilp.com M +91 97398 01824 T +91 80 2856 1824, +91 97398 01824 www.vidyashilp.com

VIDYASHILP A4 ENVELOPE FINAL

N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

365

D ES I G N I N G TH E F O L D E R (For Vidyashilp)

The Folder was an important element in the Print collaterals as it holds all the printed materials binds the design into one consolidated Design kit.

The folder was to contain everything starting from the Business cards to the Letterheads (Personalised & general), the Notepad, the C4 envelope that holds the letterhead, the Card with the positioning Statement, and the Postcards.

Everything right from figuring out the right size for the Folder to the what the flaps looked like, what Paper to use so that it is sturdy enough and the postproduction (cutting &pasting) had to be taken care of. I decided to use the Shilp brandmark as a visual on the folder for a bold look and to break the monotony of the Designs placed inside.

VOLU M E I I OF I I

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

A screenshot of the Artboard that was used for Designing the cover of the Folder. I decided to use a blown-up Shield as a Visual on the cover.

FOLDER SIZE : 17.9” by 11.9”

N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

367

The sheet with the color variations sent for Printing to test the visibilty and the darkness of each swatch so that it stands out from the background but at the same time isn’t too dark or muddy.

Deciding how much of the Torch and the Flame is shown on the cover was also tried and tested in Print first to get a better idea.

VOLU M E I I OF I I

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG N O O P U R C H O K S I | GRAPHIC B . D e s | GDESIGN r a p h i c Dt (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5 e s i g n ] 1S P K F D U % P D V N F O U B U J P O

COVER

VIDYASHILP FOLDER ARTWORK / "5 I* O 0/ - I* N /S 4 T5 I* T5U 6T5E& O 0 F' D%E&S4I*G (N / N AT N" AL

369

INSIDE OF THE FOLDER

VOLU M E I I OF I I

INSIDE POCKETS FOR THE FOLDER

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

3.7 cm

COVER (8.9” by 10.4”)

INSIDE OF THE CARD

CARD WITH THE POSITIONING STATEMENT N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

371

VOLU M E I I OF I I

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

4 in

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

6 in

POSTCARDS IN THE THREE BRAND COLORS N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

373

BACK

FRONT

VOLU M E I I OF I I

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

FRONT COVER SIze: 5.83” by 8.27”

BACK COVER

INSIDE PAGES

ARTWORK FOR THE NOTEPAD N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

375

Printed samples of the Card with the Positioning Statement, Notepad & Postcards.

VOLU M E I I OF I I

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

Size: 2.12” by 3.14”

FRONT

BACK

ARTWORK FOR THE CARD PENDRIVE N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

377

Printed Sample of the Card Pendrive (4GB).

(The color turned out darker than the actual shade when printed on the Plastic card.)

VOLU M E I I OF I I

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

80 3 , * / ( 0 / 5) & ST U D E N T I D CA R D I worked on the Student ID cards for Vidyashilp much after I had already concluded and wrapped up my project at the Studio. When Tania approached me to work on the Shilp Student ID and Certificates, I was more than happy to be on board.

I started by looking at the existing Shilp ID card, to look at all the information that is mandatory and to understand the Hierarchy that they follow.

Since there was a tight deadline, there were a few things that I decided to stick with when it came to redesigning the ID cards: 1) The format - The vertical format that the School already follows.

2) The content - Although I did work out the heirarchy and the chunking of the content, all the information that goes on the card was kept the same.

3) The size of the card was not experimented with.

We decided to go ahead with a standard ID card size.

Designing the ID cards was challenging as there is a lot of information that goes on it and there are space constraints due to the restrictions in size.

N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

FRONT The current Vidyashilp Student ID card.

BACK

379

2.13”

ID No: 705

VIDYASHILP

Brandmark

D.O.B: 13 /10/1999 Grade: Class X Blood Group: O+ve Father: Yogendra Singh Mother: Malini Singh Address: No 11, 1st Cross, DaCosta Layout, Cooke Town, Bangalore 560 084 Phone: +91 98463 15308 / +91 98451 47179

Brandmark without the Logotype

Name of the Student

Web address 3.4”

www.vidyashilpacademy.com

ACADEMY

Name JEEVENDRA K SINGH

Student ID No

Photograph of the card holder

Personal Information

Contact Details

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3, Shivanahalli P.O. Box No. 6437, Jakkur Bangalore 560 064, India

School Address

E mail@vidyashilp.com M +91 97398 01824 T +91 80 4219 2000, +91 9825079371 www.vidyashilp.com

School’s Contact Info

THIS CARD IS NON TRANSFERABLE. PRODUCE WHEN DEMANDED. If lost please inform school immediately.

FRONT

Disclaimer

BACK

CHUNKING INFORMATION

VOLU M E I I OF I I

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

ID No: 705

VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

ACADEMY

ACADEMY

ID No

Name Jeevendra K Singh D.O.B: 13 /10/1999 Grade: Class X Blood Group: O+ve

ACADEMY

ACADEMY

Name Jeevendra K Singh

Name Jeevendra K Singh D.O.B: 13 /10/1999 Grade: Class X Blood Group: O+ve

705 VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

ID No: 705 Name Jeevendra K Singh

ID No

705

D.O.B: 13 /10/1999 Grade: Class X Blood Group: O+ve

D.O.B: 13 /10/1999 Grade: Class X Blood Group: O+ve Father: Yogendra Singh Mother: Malini Singh Address: No 11, 1st Cross, DaCosta Layout, Cooke Town, Bangalore 560 084 Phone: +91 98463 15308 / +91 98451 47179 www.vidyashilpacademy.com

(1)

Father: Yogendra Singh Mother: Malini Singh Address: No 11, 1st Cross, DaCosta Layout, Cooke Town, Bangalore 560 084 Phone: +91 98463 15308 / +91 98451 47179 www.vidyashilpacademy.com

(2)

Father: Yogendra Singh Mother: Malini Singh Address: No 11, 1st Cross, DaCosta Layout, Cooke Town, Bangalore 560 084 Phone: +91 98463 15308 / +91 98451 47179

Father: Yogendra Singh Mother: Malini Singh Address: No 11, 1st Cross, DaCosta Layout, Cooke Town, Bangalore 560 084 Phone: +91 98463 15308 / +91 98451 47179

www.vidyashilpacademy.com

(3)

www.vidyashilpacademy.com

(4)

LAYOUT EXPLORATIONS (FRONT) - ROUND I

N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

381

ID No

ID No

705 VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

705 VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

Name Gowri Balasubramanium

Name Gowri Balasubramanium

D.O.B: 13 /10/1999 Grade: Class X Blood Group: O+ve

D.O.B: 13 /10/1999 Grade: Class X Blood Group: O+ve

D.O.B: 13 /10/1999 Grade: Class X Blood Group: O+ve

Father: Yogendra Balasubramanium Mother: Malini Balasubramanium Address: No 11, 1st Cross, DaCosta Layout, Cooke Town, Bangalore 560 084 Phone: +91 98463 15308 / +91 98451 47179

Father: Yogendra Balasubramanium Mother: Malini Balasubramanium Address: No 11, 1st Cross, DaCosta Layout, Cooke Town, Bangalore 560 084 Phone: +91 98463 15308 / +91 98451 47179

Father: Yogendra Balasubramanium Mother: Malini Balasubramanium Address: No 11, 1st Cross, DaCosta Layout, Cooke Town, Bangalore 560 084 Phone: +91 98463 15308 / +91 98451 47179

www.vidyashilpacademy.com

(5)

VOLU M E I I OF I I

www.vidyashilpacademy.com

(6)

Name Gowri Balasubramanium

In this round of explorations, I decided to give emphasis to the Student ID No. so that it is easily spotted. The length of names had to be taken into consideration, so every layout was made keeping that in mind. I decided to divide the Student Information into two chunks – one with the Personal details (DOB, Grade, Blood Group) . The second group contained the Student’s Background information.

Color and weights were used to create heirarchy.

FEEDBACK Option (2) with name in Uppercase was chosen for further refinement. I needed to make the leading tighter to make the design look cleaner. It was also important to take into consideration the isolation zone of logo as the edges looked a bit tight.

www.vidyashilpacademy.com

(7)

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3, Shivanahalli P.O. Box No. 6437, Jakkur Bangalore 560 064, India E mail@vidyashilp.com M +91 97398 01824 T +91 80 4219 2000, +91 9825079371 www.vidyashilp.com

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3, Shivanahalli P.O. Box No. 6437, Jakkur Bangalore 560 064, India E mail@vidyashilp.com M +91 97398 01824 T +91 80 4219 2000, +91 9825079371 www.vidyashilp.com

E mail@vidyashilp.com M +91 97398 01824 T +91 80 4219 2000, +91 9825079371 www.vidyashilp.com

THIS CARD IS NON TRANSFERABLE. PRODUCE WHEN DEMANDED. If lost please inform school immediately.

THIS CARD IS NON TRANSFERABLE. PRODUCE WHEN DEMANDED. If lost please inform school immediately.

(1)

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3, Shivanahalli P.O. Box No. 6437, Jakkur Bangalore 560 064, India

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3, Shivanahalli P.O. Box No. 6437, Jakkur Bangalore 560 064, India

(2)

E mail@vidyashilp.com M +91 97398 01824 T +91 80 4219 2000, +91 9825079371 www.vidyashilp.com

THIS CARD IS NON TRANSFERABLE. PRODUCE WHEN DEMANDED. If lost please inform school immediately.

(3)

THIS CARD IS NON TRANSFERABLE. PRODUCE WHEN DEMANDED. If lost please inform school immediately.

(4)

LAYOUT EXPLORATIONS (BACK) - ROUND I

N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

383

ID No

ID No

705 VIDYASHILP

VIDYASHILP

ACADEMY

ACADEMY

Name JEEVENDRA K SINGH

ID No: 705

Name JEEVENDRA K SINGH

705 VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

Name JEEVENDRA K SINGH D.O.B: 13 /10/1999 Grade: Class X Blood Group: O+ve

D.O.B: 13 /10/1999 Grade: Class X Blood Group: O+ve

D.O.B: 13 /10/1999 Grade: Class X Blood Group: O+ve Father: Yogendra Singh Mother: Malini Singh Address: No 11, 1st Cross, DaCosta Layout, Cooke Town, Bangalore 560 084 Phone: +91 98463 15308 / +91 98451 47179 www.vidyashilpacademy.com

(1)

Father: Yogendra Singh Mother: Malini Singh Address: No 11, 1st Cross, DaCosta Layout, Cooke Town, Bangalore 560 084 Phone: +91 98463 15308 / +91 98451 47179

www.vidyashilpacademy.com

(2)

Father: Yogendra Singh Mother: Malini Singh Address: No 11, 1st Cross, DaCosta Layout, Cooke Town, Bangalore 560 084 Phone: +91 98463 15308 / +91 98451 47179

www.vidyashilpacademy.com

(3)

LAYOUT EXPLORATIONS (FRONT) - ROUND II

VOLU M E I I OF I I

VISUAL I DE NTITY R E DE S IG N

/00163 $)0,4* t UG GRAPHIC DESIGN t (3"%6"5*0/ 130+&$5

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY

ID No: 705

www.vidyashilpacademy.com

Name JEEVENDRA K SINGH

D.O.B: 13 /10/1999 Grade: Class X Blood Group: O+ve Father: Yogendra Singh Mother: Malini Singh Address: No 11, 1st Cross, DaCosta Layout, Cooke Town, Bangalore 560 084 Phone: +91 98463 15308 / +91 98451 47179

FRONT

VIDYASHILP ACADEMY 42/3, Shivanahalli P.O. Box No. 6437, Jakkur Bangalore 560 064, India E mail@vidyashilp.com M +91 97398 01824 T +91 80 4219 2000, +91 98250 79371 www.vidyashilp.com THIS CARD IS NON TRANSFERABLE. PRODUCE WHEN DEMANDED. If lost please inform school immediately.

42/3, Shivanahalli P.O. Box No. 6437, Jakkur Bangalore 560 064, India

Madhushree Dutta Majumdar Coordinator - History & Civics E madhushree_m@vidyashilp.com M +91 97398 01824 T +91 80 2856 1824, +91 97398 01824

Having the Shilp Business Card on the side helped to see if the Design followed a similar language as the one used for the Business card. I didn’t hear from the Studio regarding the Updated artworks for the Student ID that I had sent, so work on the ID wasn’t continued beyond this point.

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SHILP STUDENT ID – REFINED VERSION

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Brand Applications for Vidyasagar

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BUSINESS CARDS (FOR VIDYASAGAR)

Designing the Stationery for Vidyasagar happened fairly faster than it did for Shilp, since by now I already had a basic foundation layed out. Since Vidyasagar is the Feeder School for Shilp, and uses the same House colors and fonts, the type sizes and type treatment were already in place.

What I did get a chance to explore was using the Icon Language across the applications for a Dynamic and Fun treatment for the Preschool’s stationery kit.

Another design decision that I made was to use Blue as the Primary color for Vidyasagar as it directly resonated with the word Sagar - Ocean. This would set the tone for the Brand Applications.

Test prints of layout explorations for the Sagar Business cards.

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SHILPA PAI Principal T 97398 01824, 95381 03678 E mail@vidyasagar.com

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No. 9, 3 cross, Bhoopsandra Main Road, Sanjaynagar, Bengaluru 560094

SHILPA PAI Principal T 97398 01824, 95381 03678 E mail@vidyasagar.com

Vidyasagar Nurture No. 9, 3 cross, Bhoopsandra Main Road, Sanjaynagar, Bengaluru 560094

I decided to bring in the Icon Language in the next round of explorations. The Information heirarchy needed more sorting.

www.vidyasagarnurture.com

www.vidyasagarnurture.com BACK

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www.vidyasagarnurture.com

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www.vidyasagarnurture.com

LAYOUT EXPLORATIONS - ROUND I

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DESIGN EVOLUTION

Madhushree Dutta Majumdar Coordinator - Environmental Science e madhushree.m@vidyasagar.com m +91 97398 01824 t 080 42192000, +91 9825079371

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No. 9, 3 cross, Bhoopsandra Main Road, Sanjaynagar, Bangalore 560 094, India

Madhushree Dutta Majumdar Coordinator - Environmental Science e madhushree.m@vidyasagar.com m +91 97398 01824 t 080 42192000, +91 9825079371 No. 9, 3 cross, Bhoopsandra Main Road, Sanjaynagar, Bangalore 560 094 www.vidyasagarnurture.com

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www.vidyasagarnurture.com

STAGE I N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F D E S I G N

STAGE II

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www.vidyasagarnurture.com

www.vidyasagarnurture.com Madhushree Dutta Majumdar Coordinator - Environmental Science e madhushree.m@vidyasagar.com m +91 97398 01824

No. 9, 3 cross, Bhoopsandra Main Road, Sanjaynagar, Bangalore 560 094, India t 080 42192000, +91 9825079371

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Madhushree Dutta Majumdar Coordinator - Environmental Science e madhushree.m@vidyasagar.com m +91 97398 01824

No. 9, 3 cross, Bhoopsandra Main Road, Sanjaynagar, Bangalore 560 094, India t 080 42192000, +91 9825079371

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VIDYASAGAR BUSINESS CARD

(FRONT & BACK)

Specifications: Size: 3.54” by 2.13” Colors Used: Shilp Blue & Burgundy Text set in Kievit Medium 8pt, Kievit Regular 8pt // Leading: 9.2pt

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This is the Final template. It was made taking into account the longest name in the list of people at Vidyasagar. It also uses the final address block approved by the key stakeholders at the School.

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LETTERHEAD

GENERAL

(FOR VIDYASAGAR)

PERSONALISED

Fold Mark (Letterhead folded into 3 parts) (1/3rd of the complete A4 letterhead)

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PERSONALISED LETTERHEAD SAMPLE

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4.2”

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9.25”

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VIDYASAGAR ENVELOPE FINAL

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INSIDE OF THE FOLDER (with cropmarks) FOLDER SIZE : 17.9” by 11.9”

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INSIDE POCKETS

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BACK COVER

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9.3

3 &7&" -* / ( 5 ) & F I NA L B RA N D MA R K The wrapped up my Project in Bangalore with my last and final Client presentation and meeting which involved unveiling the new Brand Identities (Vidyashilp and Vidyasagar) to the members of the School who played an important role in the School’s decision making process. Up until now we were only interacting with the Directors of the respective Schools as they were the ones who had approached us regarding the redesigning. So this was the first time the other members of the Academic and Administrative Departments were going to see the new design. The school board’s co-trustee, Mr Ravi Pai wa going to be leading the talks, along with the brand unveiling followed by Tania who was going to be carrying forward the conversation.

The format of the Meeting involved creating not only a presentation explaining the process of the rebranding and showcasing the new identities, each member of the meeting was going to be given a personalised Stationery kit so that they are able to visualise the logos in action. Since the Stationery

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kits were customised to the member’s personal information, the idea was also to create a sense of ownership towards the new design so that they could warm up to the change.

STATIONERY KIT FOR VIDYASHILP :

t Each folder was to be accompanied with an A4 size Envelope(Big). t The folder contained the following items: t Personalised Business cards (5 copies) (With one of them placed on the pocket of the folder with the help of the slit.) t Personalised Letterhead corresponding to the personalised Business card. t General letterhead, below the personalised Letterhead. t A small envelope. t A notepad. t A set of 3 postcards (Grey, Blue, Red) t A folded card.

STATIONERY KIT FOR VIDYASAGAR :

t The folder contained the following items: t Personalised Business cards (5 copies) t Personalised Letterhead corresponding to the personalised Business card. t General letterhead, below the personalised Letterhead. t A small envelope. t A notepad. t A set of 2 postcards.

The Printing and Production of each of these items was to be coordinated and handled by me.

That involved being in constant dialogue with the Client, the Printers as well as the vendors. It was very important to be clear and precise in my communications so as to get the job done accurately.

Although the last week was a bit of a mad rush, I really taught me to be more efficient and patient in dealing with the task at hand.

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19.1

19.2

19.1 List of co-ordinators from Vidyashilp who were going to be attending the meeting. Their personal details were required to design the personalised Stationery kit.

19.2 Thumbnails of the Final Presentation

19.3

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19.3 Organising the Folder with the Final Artworks to be send for Printing.

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19.4 The Print Specification Sheet is one of the most crucial documents that is sent to the Printers with all the details regarding the Printing and the post-production process. This ensures accuracy and efficiency.

It is important that the writing be simple and easily understandable.

19.4

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19.5

19.6

19.5 Looking at a catalogue of Paper Samples for the Print job.

19.6 Visit to the Printers while the Printing job was going on to check how the colors turned out.

We had to correct and reset the Printer calibration to get as close to the actual colors as possible.

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A PDF of the arrangement of the Stationery Kits as sent to the Printers for reference.

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Photograph of the Printed Prototype – Vidyashilp Stationery kit

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Card with the Positioning Statement

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Vidyashilp Pen Drive and Business Cards

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Vidyashilp and Vidyasagar Folders

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Vidyasagar Notepad and Postcards

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Brand Maintenance

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9.1

8 0 3 , * / ( 0 / 5) & B RA N D M A N UA L Maintaining a Brand is as important as creating it or setting it up, maybe even more. I started working on the Brand Manual in my last two weeks at Tsk. The work never picked up in full pace as we were caught up in preparing for the big client meeting and the identity revelation that was about to happen.

Since I had worked on the Brandmark and the Brand applications, Tania suggested that I try to work on the Brand Manual after I leave. Since I had been researching and looking at various Brand Manuals, the groundwork had already been laid out. I had come up with a basic structure for the Manual and had just started experimenting layout options.

Every brand needs a set of branding guidelines and rules to maintain their identity. A brand manual establishes the voice and personality of a company, and it governs every aspect of communication from the company. A Brand manual is to be used internally and is handed over to the Company or the Brand

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inorder to facilitate the correct application of the Identity across different media. Why a Brand Manual?

So that the Client has an easy guide to refer to when handling the Designs. You can maintain control of the Design. As a Designer it forces you to define and hone your style, leading to the development of a cohesive design.

Soon I realised that I won’t be able to manage work on the entire Brand Manual, mainly due to time constraints as well as the fact that corresponding with the Studio via e-mail and phone was not possible on a regular basis and the response from the studio as well as the Client’s end was erratic and irregular, as they were handling multiple tasks at the same time.

Starting out with actually designing the Manual took a while, as I was first trying to understand each element that goes into the making of the Manual.

I worked on the Brand Manual up until I fixed the look and feel of the Manual, made the Type decisions and created a Final template. I worked out the visuals for most of the pages for Section 1: Graphic Standards. The text(content) for the Manual was supposed to be plugged in by the studio, so all the text used in the explorations is dummy text. I had to hand over the work on the Brand Manual to the Studio where somebody else could take it forward.

Later on, we also realised that it was a better idea to design a digital Brand Manual as it is more relevant in todays day and age and would be easier to share and access internally within the Clients.

I found myself getting caught up in the details and the knitty gritties of each Design Decision. I was working out the fixing the basic fundamentals that make up a Publication (the grid, the use of typefaces, the folio, the Type treatement, what the headings would look like and so on). It took me some time to shift focus started focus on the actual content that goes into the making of the Brand Manual.

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B

C

D

E

F

E

G

Brand Manuals that I looked at: A. Stonehill Brand Manual B. Ashoka Brand Guidelines C. APJ Brand Manual D. Skype Brand Manual E. Adobe Brand Manual F. Foursquare Brandbook G. Mandarina Duck Brand Manual H. Bing Brand Manual I. Century Brand Manual J. Apple Identity Guidelines K. Cemento Brand Guideline H

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15.1 Rough Outline of the Brand Manual 15.2 Pagination for Section 1: Graphic Standards

15.2

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LAYOUT AND TYPE EXPLORATIONS

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Making the coverpage

Page Size: A4 Grid: Six Column Grid Gutter: 13pt Body Text set in Kievit: 9 pt // Leading 11.5 Headings set in Adobe Caslon Pro: 30pt Image Captions: Adobe Caslon Pro: 11pt The FInal Document Grid

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MOCK-UP OF THE SPREADS FROM THE MANUAL

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Conclusion.

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I have the tendency to really immerse myself in whatever I take up. I had realised that the Project had become my baby, so handing over the files to the Studio before I left was much harder than I had anticipated. As much as I would’ve loved to work on the project up until its completion, I was lucky to have been a part of the project in its formative stages, through the transistion and reconstruction. That made it a wholesome learning experience.

A good Brand always has an underlying great vision.

I was happy to have worked with an Institution that strives to excel in the field of education, and is trying to break convention in its own little way.

A designer’s role is to craft an interface between the brand and the audience .The designer helps to create a perception of the brand in the minds of the audience. Creating this perception goes beyond designing identities, and is a long term process. All changes involve risk, branding change inevitably involves an element of risk, too.

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Working with people who were experienced in dealing with projects of this nature, taught me what it means to be professional in one’s undertakings.

The scope of work also evolved with time so it was extremely important for me to approach the work with an open mind to gain the maximum from it.

The last nine months have been adventurous, challenging, uncertain , demanding, intensive and highly educative at the same time.

Brand implementation takes time, and the roll-out plan for Vidyashilp ans well as Vidyasagar was spread over an year. With the new Brandmarks being put to use only in the coming Academic year. There is a lot of groundwork to be covered so that the target audience is accepting of the change. So it had to be incorporated slowly and meticulously.

Having said that, the assurance that the Brandmark that we created for the Schools would soon be in use across the country as well as globally was a gratifying feeling and of the highlight of my Project.

Having said that, I concluded my project on a high note. Exhausted from having worked long hours I had come to really enjoy the environment that I was working in and I was satisfied that I had put in efforts and come up with results that were well recieved.

Dealing with a system as large as an Educational Institute was a challenging experience. Not only because it is governed by a group of strong opinionated individuals with different outlook on things, but also because even the slightest change affects people at various levels. The progress of the project was heavily client dependent and that taught me to be persistent in my communication so that we get the necessary inputs as and when required.

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Working at a design studio with people who have a good sensitivity and a developed eye for design was an enriching experience as it gave me a deeper understanding of some of my very intuitive design decisions. Being involved in various aspects of the Project, like interacting with the clients firsthand – the Director, the Principal, the teachers, attending classes at the School, conducting interviews, interacting with vendors; gave me a glimpse of the various aspects of the design process in the real world. It gave me valuable exposure as to how a design studio approaches a design project.

No designer can work in isolation and ignorance. Communication is crucial to the design process. That was one of my most important takeaways from the project.

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R E FE R E NCE S Books References:

Websites:

Frutiger Adrian, Signs and Symbols: Their Design and Meaning. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1989.

Print.

Underconsideration: BrandNew. < http://www. underconsideration.com/brandnew/>

Adams Sean, Masters of Design: Logos & Identity; A Collection of the Most Inspiring Logo Designers in the World. Rockport: Quayside. 2008. Print.

“THE Universal Stratagem for the simplification of the Visual Landscape”. Universalstratagem. Web. <http://universalstratagem.com/index.html>

Olins Wally, The Brand Handbook.London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. 2008. Print.

Bradley Steven. “The Meaning Of Shapes” Web. April 5, 2010. < http://vanseodesign.com/web-design/ visual-grammar-shapes/>

Mono Design, Branding: From Brief to Finished Solution. Hove: Rotovision, 2002.

“Humanist Serifs”. Typekit. Web. 10 September 2013. <https://typekit.com/lists/humanist-serifs>

Baldwin Jonathan, and Davis Mellisa, More than a Name: An Introduction to Branding. New York: AVA Publishing, 2006. Print.

“Identity Standards: Logo and Seal”. Web. <http://identitystandards.wfu.edu/logo-and-seal/>

Healey Matthew, Deconstructing Logo Design. Hove: Rotovision, 2010. Print.

Berlow Sam, Coles Stephen, and Sherman Nick. “Font Combinations.” FontsInUse. Web. <http://fontsinuse. com/tags/281/typeface+combinations>

Meggs Phillip, Type and Image: The Language of Graphic Design. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992.

Print.

“Brandards”. Web.< https://brandards.wordpress. com/the-book/ch-8-defining-brand-applicationsstandards-elements/>

McAlhone Beryl, A Smile in the Mind. London: Phaidon Press, 1998. Print.

Cabo Carlos. Rgb.to. 2014. Web. <http://rgb.to/pantone>

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“Inspiration: Logos”. typography-daily. Web. <http:// typography-daily.com/blog/category/inspiration/ logos/> “When logos look alike: Similar original logos.”

Logodesignlove. Web. July 22, 2008. <http://www.logodesignlove.com/similar-originallogos> “Brand Identity Guidelines”. Issu. Web. <http://issuu. com/search?q=Brand+Identity+Guidelines> “The Benefits of Rebranding.” Toastdesign. Web. <http://www.toastdesign.co.uk/the-benefits-ofrebranding/>

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C OLO P H ON

This document has been written and designed by Noopur Choksi.

It has been printed at Chhaap Printers.

This document has been set in: Warnock Pro

Designed by Robert Slimbach.

Released by the Adobe Type Foundry.

Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk

Released by the Berthold Type Foundry.

Frutiger

Designed by Adrian Frutiger.

Released by Linotype Type Foundry.

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