Brief 09 _ Modern Poly _ Submission Boards

Extended Practice

Sam Lane

OUGD603

Modern Polymath

Brief / Background

Tone of Voice

Branding and Art Direction for a new Record and Art Colelctive based in Liverpool. The Record Company that have recently set-up with a little amount of funding were looking for a brand system that could be applied to various different vinyls released by different bands as well as varous other promotional material and a website. As well as this, there needs to be two separate brandmarks created for the two bands that are already signed up to the Record company, with the option open to working with the brand to develop further in the future.

The Tone of Voice needs to coerpate and clean. The brand needs to be a base for which multiple different pieces of artwork can easily sit into. The brand itself needs to look modern, as the name suggests, but also needs to have a structured organisation to the look and feel. The artwork that is teamed up with the brand is more experimental and is where the character of the brand is found within.

Target Audience

- A Primary Brandmark (for the record company) - Two Secondary Brandmarks (for the artists) - A Brand System (for vinyl design and other promo material)

01/08

MMXIII

The target audience For the style fo music and the new collective would be young creative and like-minded people, looking for a new way to find and listen to music that is merged with other creaive disciplines.

Deliverables

- 2 12� Full Legnth Vinyl Releases - Posters / Tickets - Website

Extended Practice

Sam Lane

01

Reference

OUGD603

Modern Polymath

Brand System The concept is clear what the client wanted was a brand system that all of his artists and artwork can easily sit into, ultimately bringing some sort of cohesive look and feel to the record company, which is clean and proffesional. My main source of reference for this was some of my favourite graphic design work for Factory Records, mainly by legendary designer, Peter Saville. He managed to create a unique image and system that was built around industrial materials that helped shaped Factory Records.

Saville managed to create a unique image and system that was built around industrial materials that helped shaped Factory Records. I’ve also reference more modern interpretations of this such as the recent Foals branding, which uses type and Grid to create an overall system.

02/08

Sam Lane

03

Extended Practice

Development

OUGD603

Modern Polymath

Clean Layout

Minimal Colour Palette

I took out a lot of case studies into more modern Vinyl Releases to see what was more succesfull. I like the idea of keeping the layout clean and very much typographical such as the Hort example shown on the left.

I’ve also been looking a lot into colour application. I like the idea of using a muted palette for the artwork to sit in. Alternatlivly, I could use one spot colour as an accent along with an B&W colour scheme to create a bold unique image.

04/08

Extended Practice

Sam Lane

02

Research

OUGD603

Modern Polymath

Brand Development

Layout / Vinyl Development

The Primary Brand and it’s mark went through a lot of initial development stages before we got the finished form. I really tried to push the idea of using shapes and polygons through the branding and also tried to bring it into some of the copy too, but the client didn’t want to go down this route. In the end we reverted back to one of the initial brandmarks I create which was dissapointing for me personally.

One the final brandmark was determined, I could hten go on to push the form and shape of the brand to be applied to deliverbales in different ways. You can see on these development images how I tried to apply it in a more abstract way, on the label and also as a pattern.

03/08

Sam Lane

Extended Practice

OUGD603

Modern Polymath

Primary Brandmark

Brand System

The Primary Brandmark in it’s simplest form represents an ‘M’ meaning ‘Modern Polymath’. The shapes that build up the letterform could also be represented as an old microphone, a Speaker or even dials on a mixing desk.

A simple Brand System was devised in which holds all the details that needs to be on the front cover of the Vinyl. The bands name, followed by the name of the EP, then the recordings and Record Company details with the Record Label logo and Reference Number over on the right hand side.

Secondary Brandmark

Colour & Typography

The Secondary Brandmark brings a universal appearance to the brand that is clean and minimal. Helvetica is paired with the logo to form a corperate and proffesional look.

In order to keep a neutral palette and overall brand system, we felt it was important and appropriate to use Black and White for which the artwork will sit inside of.

ModernPolymath©

ModernPolymath©

04

Brand Guidelines

05/08

Sam Lane

05

Extended Practice

12” Vinyl 1 Whoever Fights Monsters Print Run : 250 Copies

OUGD603

Modern Polymath

Whoever Fights Monsters

Artwork

Whoever Fights Monsters are an experimental electronic act who are keen to explore the music of the Far East. Inspired purley from their artistic influences, their brandmark is a Japense Trasnaltion of the word ‘Monsters’.

Commissioned to do the artwork for the vinyl was a well known Japanese Illustraor who has previously created work for Marvel Comics and The New York Times. I had to work with the layout of the illustration in order to make it sit well with the Brand System. I created typographic layout designs for the top right of the front cover, the back cover, the spine and the inside Vinyl label

06/08

Sam Lane

06

Extended Practice

12” Vinyl 2 Soweto Neckalace Print Run : 250 Copies

OUGD603

Modern Polymath

07/08

Soweto Necklace

Artwork

Soweto Necklace are a pair of musiciand who are deeply inspired by traditional African music. Blending Highlife and Mbaqanga with the sensibilities of Manhattan New-Wave, their music is both accesable and evocative. I created a brandmark for them which was very much inspired by African Masks and Pattern.

Commissioned to do the artwork for the vinyl was a young up and coming illustrator who likes to illustrate African animals in her series entitled ‘Wild Beasts’. I had to work with the layout of the illustration in order to make it sit well with the Brand System. I created typographic layout designs for the top right of the front cover, the back cover, the spine and the inside Vinyl label

Sam Lane

07

Extended Practice

OUGD603

Modern Polymath

08/08

Tickets / Posters As well as the Vinyls, I was also asked to extend the Brandmark and System into other areas including Gig Posters and Limiited Edition Tickets that both follow the strcit branding system.

Extended Practice

Sam Lane

08

Website

OUGD603

Modern Polymath

I’m currently working with a web developer on creating a website that is made up of the same brand system carried through from some of the printed materials. The links fit into the navigation bar at the top, with a grid structure container being created to host the main web content

03/08