Summer research 01://

Just going to post as often as I can in short bits over the summer with inspirational design/ non design related things, that are influential towards my design strategy and direction for my 3rd year.

So here's the first one:

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I'm well aware that I'll need to start thinking about my own identity for use on print and web to establish myself as a practising graphic designer. So recently I've been taking more notice towards branding, letterheads and rebrands etc. This also ties in well with my dissertation topic. Here are a few that I've come across in the past few days.

Girl Scouts - Design by OCD 

A very well polished rebrand for the Girl Scouts by OCD. The original logo was already very well established and a great piece of graphic design in it's own right, so the decision to refine as opposed to coming up with something completely new was a decision well made (in my opinion!). The overall identity works well in all applications, it's evident that every tiny little detail has been considered with this rebrand. Possibly one that I'll need to come back to and look at properly for my dissertation research.

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The work of Michael Freimuth from New York City has come to my attention recently with some slick identity work that's has been nicely photographed by  Bob Martus. What I like about this is that the logo itself isn't as prominent, it sits comfortably but doesn't dominate, it has been applied to different applications effectively, utilising the red and blue identity colours to establish itself.

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Another great piece by Michael Freimuth; Glass Shop identity and design direction. A Brooklyn based coffee shop that wanted to establish themselves as being fresh and local. Freimuth did the brand callateral, promotional material and the interior / exterior signage. As shown from the photos, the identity looks great, especially across a range of different applications. I particularly like the signage on the glass, with the logo inverted. Not quite sure what the line below the 'O' is for though but interesting to find out. 

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Society Identity & Packaging / Design - Sanderson Bob
The design studio of Bob Sanderson who was formerly the Art Director at The Designer's Republic.

The identity itself for Society is relatively simple, but what makes it work is the way it has been applied and the choices of printing techniques and stock considerations. It reminds me that when it comes to working on brand identities myself, I should constantly be considering the ways it would be applied etc rather than just thinking about the appearance of the logo by itself. 

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Brand identity for Tribe Studio Architects by Danie Freytag; a UK based Graphic Designer. Thought I'd blog this up aswell as not only is it a minimal piece of graphic design, but also because it uses the Letter 'T'! Referring back to my own identity, I'm still undecided on whether to use my initials for it or to have something completely different. Something that I'll have to consider in conjunction with my website, business cards, letters heads and promotional material leading up the end of year exhibition and graduating.

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Simone Rocha identity by Conor Cronin
A simple identity that was developed from a weighting scale, the main thing I like about this is the use of a wax seal for the envelope which adds a nice authentic touch to the finish.