Process Book 1
Designing for a Designer
Josie E. Henry After working side by side with her for the majority of my college life, Josie Henry has become someone I have seen far too often I am not able to have an unbiased opinion about her. When taking steps to create a logo and a brand for Josie, I had to try to forget the snide remarks we make at each other every day (in a playful manner, of course) and begin thinking of Josie as a client. After erasing my mind, I took a moment to learn more about Josie, and this is the information she provided:
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The people I’m looking for, I guess, potential clients, want to be represented through my style: hand crafted and tactile; classical, rough, maybe even modern. I want to bring in clients who might not experience such work, and sell them on the looks. I think that I can do “handmade” well. I am not as proficient in web design, but enjoy tactility, and even moving that digitally to witness the juxtaposition. I feel stuck sometimes because of my lack of the knowledge in the computer side of things. I think I am able to
see different aspects in designs and I work in detail. I want to be represented in a fun way, not like home-made country store. Not kitsch. Not really country, but hand made. I want to like my logo! I want it be able to represent myself; to embody what I make, and the person I am. I grew up in a big family, overseas. The environment of a family is nice, be I also need space. As a child, I would make doll clothes or sew, and I’ve always been a bit of a hoarder. My younger sister was always my partner in crime and we would paint spoons and dress them up. Coming into school, I lost that feeling of creation of fashion for spoon dolls but I still hold a passion for that kind of creativity. I enjoy doing what I did before.” When I asked her about some of her other design accomplishments as a child, she told me of bead works she made using rolled paper, and how fashion was important. Sewing was something she enjoyed, and she even made three dresses for a church in Belize. 3
Once the interview was over, I took time to sit around at Josie’s Desk and do some outside research on her. She certainly did not lie about being a hoarder. She collected several jars, various pieces of wood (most of which was unprocessed), and various others tools and utensils. What inspired me most were just the colors around her desk. It had a natural feel. To compliment this, there were also prints she had created. Each one had a very strong hand-drawn feeling. The texture and feeling gathered from this environment and the conversation made in our interview made my next steps apparent. Josie’s Desk
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First Iterations Part 1
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First Iterations Part 2
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Rethink and Redesign After the first iteration of Josie’s Logo, It appeared as though I was accomplishing the hand-made nature of Josie’s design work, but I was leaning a little too close to the country-craft-store feel of things. I found myself personally displeased by my inability to find a well-working script type, and decided to use Josie’s own handwriting for the second presentation. I felt this would add more personality to the logo, rather than using some generic font to represent her. Just as well, I asked for images of her clothing. I felt texture would be important, and her clothes have many different floral patterns that I felt strongly represented both her work and her personality.
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Josie’s Clothes
I also found a couple of images while searching around the internet and thought that both images were representative of the look and feel of Josie’s work. I took inspiration from them. In the end, I derived a color palette that felt a little more natural, but still had a modern pop to it, and decided to use it in the second iteration of the Logo.
Online Images and Color Palette
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Second Iterations Part 1
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Second Iterations Part 2
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Simple Simple Simple The second set of logos for Josie received praise for being representative of her as a designer and person, but they still had minor flaws in the details. There were issues with the surrounding containers, and the pinkish-red color needed to be lost. Just as well, the last iteration of the logo needed to lose the textures. I relied on them too often as being a part of the logo, rather than as supplementary elements. Furthermore, the text itself needed refinement. The hand-quality was recognized through the script-like writing, but smoothing the edges of the words helps to make it feel more modern.
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Supplemental Patterns for Third Iteration
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Third Iterations
Overall, from the first rendition to last, my process consisted of pairing down the logo in order to create something simpler, yet still powerful in representing the message Josie wanted to deliver. I felt this was a successful representation of Josie Henry.
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The Logo in Use
printer, artist,graphic designer, illustrator, craftsperson, muia 865.123.456 7 jhenry@email.org
www.josiehenry.com
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The Final Logo
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451 Design 2013