Digital logos sketch dump

(NB: This is a really late post which I forgot to post ages ago)

This week I have been working on redesigning logos that either I feel could use it, or in one case has been commissioned to me.   As I mentioned in one of my early posts, I had seen a lot of really badly generated logos on sites that offered them for sale, and it would be a good exercise for me to have a go at re-designig them while considering the brand they might represent as a whole.  

Itech logo

Fig. 1 - iText, which I changed to ITech because I had the idea to go with the name

Fig. 2 Itech initial sketches and mindmap

I envisioned a company that made devices and customised them to people's requirements, much like Motorola's project Ara but across a range of devices.  I wanted the logo in particular to suggest both the technical and personal aspects of the brand.  For research I firstly looked at logos and logotypes of technology brands - a quick few screen grabs from the technology section of Brands of the World (see Fig.3) showed that the brand identity of most tech companies are refined, sometimes very paired down and never very decorative.  Notice that almost all the typefaces used are sans-serif, which often gives a square or rectangular shape impression in the gestalt line of things.  The overall look for a lot of these logos could be described as rigid, with the exception of a few more fluid looking ones in  Fig. 4.

Fig. 3

Fig 4

I had plenty ideas for the ITech logo, not all of them were great but I tried to put across the creative angle of the fictional company while still having some visual associations with the styles shown in Figures 3 and 4.   In my mind, ITech was a personable company who cared about catering to a customers' individual tech needs.   I played with a lot of ideas that directly linked to art practises like painting, stitching and folding, to get across that the custom-made devices were "crafted".  This might have relied a bit on visual rhetoric but overall I came up with a few solutions I felt I could take forward that would say what I wanted to about the brand.  

Fig. 5 Itech logo sketches

Fig. 6 - ITech initial digital drafts

The logos above were taken forward from the sketches in Fig. 5.  and some were developed during the digital tests.  I was really keen on keeping the stitched elements in there, which was created with the dashed line in Illustrator and I felt was a reference to the crafted and more personal element of the service.  I also brought a paintbrush in to represent the design element of ITech.  It took a while for the idea of the cogs to come about - I was originally going to go for the second from left on the top top, or the logo in the bottom left corner, but I realised that this would translate as a design service rather than a technical design company.   By adding the cog shape to the logo at the bottom left, I made a logo that I felt combined the right elements to represent the company as a stand-alone logo.   The paintbrush was put in the centre as an "I" for ITech.  

Fig. 7 Logo iteration (wee error, whoops!

Fig. 8 Logo iteration 2

Fig.9 Final iterations. 

Above are final iterations.  I chose the logo on the left as the Baron Neue font was pared down enough to go with the logo.   Currently I am laying out how the app for the company would look which I will post soon.  I wanted to create a whole visual theme for the brand as an exercise in keeping a consistent brand identity.

Sunday Soundtrack for The Music Brewery

The Music Brewery asked me to create a small piece for them for their new feature #SundaSoundtrack, consisting of a record player in a similar style and font to the logo.  I created the options ins Fig. 10 for them, adding in a cassette tape as I thought that might be a fun option that was more recognisable than the record player to people of our age, aka The Music Brewery's target audience.  They ended up liking that option better than the original idea and asked me to add colour to the black-filled cassette tape, which they then placed on a photo of their choosing.  I feel like the illustrations are quite 

See initial sketches in Figure 11 (below)

Fig.11 Sketchbook page

Revive Glasgow

Revive, who are an eco-driven company working from Strathclyde University,  needed a logo update (see Fig).  They recycle used coffee grounds and sell them to farmers as compost, and therefore specified that the logo keep the green and brown colour scheme as shown in the original logo.  
I had a lot of ideas for this one so the team are in the process of choosing between a design of mine and some other people who submitted solutions for their new logo.   I played around a lot with the imagery of green plants growing from coffee beans in order to give a literal indication of the service Revive provide.   Personally the one I feel works best is the coffee cup with the plants growing from it, perhaps because this is the one I think has the most depth at the moment.   However I also think the one to the right of it could work as a stand-alone logo for the company.

Fig. 12 Revive new logos - under consideration

Fig. 13 My personal favourites, could use some tweaking

Fig. 13 Revive original logo

My research has since taken me a bit away from the kind of work shown here but this was early development so was still important to post.

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Images

Fig. 3, 4.  Multiple authors, unknown, 2014. [online image] Available at:
http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/logos/categories/technology
[Accessed 2nd October 2014]

Fig. 13.  Moore, Fergus, 2013. Revive logo [online image] Available at:
https://www.facebook.com/ReviveFertiliser/photos/a.549618665084171.1073741825.549616035084434/549761398403231/?type=1&theater
[Accessed 21 October 2014]