Hey Bloggees, Sorry for the delay in the blog post. I took some time off to spend with family. I hope you all had a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend.
Well, I'm back and ready to conclude the four part series of the R.E.A.D Method. Just to recap, R stands for Research, E for extract, and A for Application. The final stage is...(Drum roll please)…DESIGN!
The design stage is where final experimentation and design development takes place. I take the best sketches that I have and scan / photograph them to my computer. From the sketches, I experiment with various layouts, shapes, and fonts. To
help choose an appropriate font, I develop a list of potential
canidates. The list allows me to evaluate and chose strong font candidates (and even, on some occasions, discover a totally different idea. Timing always varies in this stage. Sometimes, I do the design in one sitting. Other times I set the work aside and come back to it later and reevaluate it. All the while, I try to keep the overall concept and usage in mind. The goal, in the end, is a final design that effective, attractively, and accurately coveys it's message.
TWA Application
I snapped photos of the sketches to be used and dropped them into Illustrator.
From there, I experimented and explored various design options ranging from various shapes to color palettes. I tried to stay with TWA's red to pay homage to it's history and bringing continuity to the design. When it came to the font I wanted a contemporary sans serif font that would reflect the forward, innovative nature of the airline. To that end, after perusing various font options, I selected Aller, a rounded, modern sans-serif. The font's design implies strength without being too chunky, or rigid. Aller's font family of various weights and styles (a great thing to keep in mind when choosing a font) helped solidify the decision. The chevron shape developed through various rounds of experimentation (as well as some inspiration from the British Airways design. The directional shape of the design implies the company's innovative thinking. The chevron, made of two different reds, represents how the company started as a merger of two airlines. The final design works well both in color and black and white, and in various sizes from pins and business card, to billboards and aircraft.
Next time I'll show you the application of the design. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions on this or on another topic, feel free to leave a comment here on the blog. Hope to hear from you all! 'Till next time!
Welcome back to Week 3 of our little mini-series of the R.E.A.D. design method. We have covered the "R" for Research and "E" for Extract. We now come to "A" for Application (or Brainstorming, but it would have come out as R.E.B.D….not exactly memorable). So let's dive in.
WORD LISTS
In the Extraction phase, we distilled our Research down to a slogan / or three words. From there we form lists for each word. Any word will suffice. The point here is to flush out any bad / cliche ideas and spark new ones. Once the lists are made (10-20 entries) look for exact or similar words in each. Note those words and make a new list from them.
SKETCHES
Now that you have descriptions to go by, start sketching away ideas. Aim for at least 25 different ideas. The exception to this if you hit on a solid concept early on. If you do, try to come up with a couple of more options to consider. Don't be discouraged if you don't come up with something in the first sitting or the first few days.
HOW "A" APPLIES TO THE TWA PROJECT
As you can see, I made lists from the three words I extracted, as well as the name and the similar / exact descriptions (see below).
From there I started sketching out ideas. I experimented with different concepts for travel, direction, and globe. I also tried to keep in mind what the design would be use on from pins and business cards, to terminal signage and aircraft. I definitely did plenty of sketches. From these sketches, we'll develop the final logo in next weeks entry...DESIGN.
Next week, we'll wrap up with "D" for Design. If you have any comments, questions or thoughts, I'd love to hear from you. Please leave a comment on the blog or at my twitter @jepegdesign. 'Till next time.
Hey Bloggees Welcome back for the second installment of the R.E.A.D. method of design. Last time we covered Research (probably one of the most underpracticed steps in the creative process). This week we're tackling "E", Extract. The point of extraction is to distill all the information through company history, (if applicable), company goals objectives (new or existing company), and market designs down to the essentials.
A couple of methods could be used to extract the information. One method is reducing down the information to a slogan, a phrase that encompasses what the company is about or what it is trying to achieve. A good way to do this is to summarize a common characteristic in the company's history. The other method is using keyword. This method condenses this concept down to just three words (or four if you're struggling). Keep an eye out for repetitive words (i.e. innovation, first, quality, class, etc...).
These methods could help you distill the information not only from the heritage, but also with the goals and objectives of the client, company goals, and even the design. The key is to find common elements that could / should be used. It also helps to study the competition for common elements, as well as find out what will work and what won't.
Project Application: Based off the research I discovered that TWA lead in airline innovation and had strong aviation history with Charles Lindbergh and Howard Hughes. Using the slogan method, I distilled it to "A Heritage of Innovation". Narrowing it down even further with the three word method results with "Innovation, Heritage, Legacy". When studying the logo's history, the common elements that emerged were the color (red), and a sans serif font.
Here is a list of rival logo designs as well as the general characteristics...
This distilling of the facts will help guide the Application portion of the process, which we'll cover next week. If you have any ideas for future blogs, I'd love to hear from you. Please leave a comment, thought, or suggestion on the blog site. 'Till next time Bloggees!
Hey Blogees, still waiting to here from you. In the meantime I want to take you through one of the methods I use for the design process, the R.E.A.D. method (Research, Extract, Apply, Design). We'll go over each stage of the process over the next four weeks. To demonstrate this process we'll create a redesigned logo for a defunct airline, TWA.
RESEARCH
Research, the first stage of R.E.A.D, provides direction and resources. This direction can be determined through questions and study. Questions can gauge the goals of the company and/or reason for the redesign (new business, new direction, changes in ownership, refresh, etc.) These questions could help determine what direction to take. While questions determine direction, study can provide a vast resource to pool ideas from. If possible, research the history of the company, and evaluate previous logos. This study can spark ideas, determine what works, and what doesn't.
Project Application:
To begin we need to find out more about TWA. For this fictional assignment, I checked out several websites to study the airline's history. I also researched the logos of rival airlines to get a general sense of design. We'll distill the information in the extraction portion of the process.
Websites Used:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_World_Airlines
http://www.twaflightattendants.com/liftoffhtml/historytimeline.html
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/chasingthesun/companies/twa.html
The Challenge:
American Airlines wants to revive TWA as the "Airline of the Future". TWA would serve as the economical, environmental alternative in international travel. It would utilize the latest in technology to reduce waste and pricing, without sacrificing comfort, space, and style. TWA will not compete with American but would serve as their international travel partner.
