After initial brainstorms and individual iterations, we were starting to get an idea of the direction in which we were headed for the design process. The branding ideas we came up with to include, were as follows:
- neutral imagery
- colourful/playful design
- inclusive design (not singling out a particular disability)
- memorable brand
From our continued readings of the brief, a number of questions began to arise, which started to restrict us effectively moving forward with any actual designs.
After hearing from Lyn in our first meeting, a number of our questions were answered and the design brief became clearer. From this meeting and our collective brainstorming and research, we all went off to complete a number of iterations.
The option to rename the brand was spoken about in the meeting. This was one area taken under consideration. It was decided that we would create iterations based off the existing name and other iterations if new manes could be thought of.
Our iterations are as follows.
These concepts further led to more brainstorming whereby we were led to 2 very different dynamic concepts:
- The Animal or Mascot Concept
- Network Concept
We decided this meeting to focus on developing these concepts. Each concept in its own way represented different forms of the business and provided a fun and interesting approach to the notion of Disability Research.
The Animal or Mascot Concept
- Based from the idea that animals have a number of qualities similar to humans, or can synonymously express a number of qualities
- ie. a Lion- connection to strength, Elephant- connection to memory and caring for their young
- Silhouette approach was chosen, being both simple and elegant in design
- After discussions in class, it was advised to focus more on Australian animals rather than African. Finding Australian animals which were easily synonymous with human characteristics was quite a challenge
- ie. Cockatoo- representing wisdom, Eastern Grey Kangaroo- representing sociability and inclusion
- These animals are not as easily recognised, but it is something of consideration and development
The Network Concept
- Based off a similar concept seen within other forms of branding- Anagrams made from the letters of words within a business
- Utilised this concept to create taglines which represent the business ideas and actions
- Creating shapes via the connection of the letters in the formation of the word, allowed for the fun notion of ‘dot-to-dot’ to be created
- A connection for people of all ages is created, as with a sense of nostalgia
- Opaque shapes are created, which can be made into a main logo, representing all the major forms of the business
These two main concepts formed the basis of our return brief, whereby two other older concepts were also included, to offer more ‘simplified’ variations.
Challenges…
Overall we have not yet been faced with many challenges that we could not overcome. At first it was daunting to approach this project, but as time has progressed we have felt more comfortable with the project and ideas have been flowing and interacting nicely with each other.
In the beginning it was difficult to find an approach which did not involve any cliched elements relating to disabilities, but I believe (so far) we have adequately provided some approaches which represent positivity, connectivity, fun, and development amongst this vast community.
POP COLLECTIVE 