Task 4 Brand Guideline (30% Individual)
Timeframe: Week 10 – Week 12 (Deadline Week 13)
In task 4, we were instructed to create a brand guideline based on our brand created from the previous tasks where we utilize the logo, brand positioning information, and application created as content for this task.
Content Requirements:
1. Brand Profile
Brand Story
Mission + Vision
Target Audience
Brand Value
Unique Selling Point (USP)
Brand Personality
Brand Positioning Statement
2. Visual Guidelines
Logo System
Logos Do's + Don'ts
3. Application
Corporate Stationery
Collateral
Digital Presence
Environmental Graphics
TASK 4 BRAND GUIDELINE
Week 10 / Grid Structure & Initial Layout
In week 10, we had a group consultation where we each shared the chosen grid structure and initial layout designs for brand guideline slides. I had a misunderstanding at the beginning of this task where I misinterpreted the document size, so I resized my document to the correct size of 1366* 768px. I decided to go with a 6*6 grid style for the grid structure.
Below is my initial layout design of the brand guideline for my brand "Music Box.". The design of the contents page is inspired by the retro diner menu as my brand's initial idea of a music truck was derived from a food truck. The dot pattern was also derived from the two eyes of Music Box.'s logo.
Fig 1.1 Initial Layout Design & Grid, Week 10
Week 11 / Brand Guideline Design Drafts & Adjustments
In week 11, we checked our draft designs of brand guideline slides. Ms Lilian commented that the overall design of my draft seems too corporate which does not reflect my brand's identity. She suggested adding more quirkiness to my design by changing the font or utilizing more brand patterns in the design.
She also advised me not to place the application photos of my brand in the earlier pages before introducing Chapter 3 (Application) as it might interrupt the fresh first impression of these application photos.
Below is my design for brand guidelines (Draft 1) before the feedback session:
Fig 1.2 Brand Guideline Draft 1, Week 11
After group consultation with other classmates, I acknowledged that my designs heavily lack visual aspects such as photos placed by side as an example of my brand. To improve this, I went to Pixabay for visual examples to put next to my content in the first chapter.
Fig 1.3 Visuals, Week 11
Navigation Redesign
For navigation, I wanted to add a visual element that reflects the idea of a truck or a music box. At first, I placed the navigations horizontally at the top of the page, but it made it seem that there was too much information cramped up at the top area, so I moved the navigations to the bottom right corner to separate the navigation and contents area. I also utilized the dotted line to create a partial frame onto the visual example to add more fun to the overall design. The two eyes on the top right were added as buttons for the next/ previous page.
Changes to the header font were also made from Gill Sans Bold Condensed (Uppercase) to Gill Sans Bold Extra Display (Sentence Case) to reduce the feeling of corporate and stiffness.
For the navigation to be utilized more easily, I used bold font to indicate the current chapter.
Fig 1.4 Navigation before and after, Week 11
Landing Page Redesign
Fig 1.5 Truck Illustration on Adobe Illustrator Week 11
Fig 1.6 Chapter landing page redesign before and after, Week 11
Instead of using the truck element on the navigation, I decided to use it for my chapter landing pages where it indicates the chapter name and its contents. I used Adobe Illustrator to create the truck silhouettes and used the vinyl element as wheels which was extracted from my logo.
Application Photos
I fixed the error I made from a previous task where I misplaced a few of other elements onto the logo on the truck application:
Fig 1.7 Truck Application (Environmental Graphics), Week 11
Fig 1.8 Digital Presence Mockup Applications, Week 11
I realized I did not create the mockup applications for digital presence (Instagram and website) in the previous task, so I made new versions of these applications using Adobe Photoshop to put in my brand guidelines.
Week 12 / Final Check & Updates
Week 12 was our final week before the submission of Task 4. Below is the final layout draft design for my brand guideline (with text filler). Ms Lilian commented the updated designs reflect Music Box.'s identity much further compared to the previous version.
Fig 2.1 Brand Guideline Design Draft 2, Week 12
After getting confirmation and feedback from my draft version 2, I filled in the description for each content and also finalized the navigation links. The final version was then uploaded to the InDesign server to be viewed with working navigation and buttons.
Fig 2.2 Final Version of Brand Guideline for Music Box., Week 12
FINAL SUBMISSION
Fig 3.1 Music Box. Brand Guideline, PDF, Week 12 (12/12/2024)
FEEDBACK
TO WEEKLY FEEDBACK LIST: CLICK HERE
WEEK 10 25 NOVEMBER 2024
FEEDBACK
Utilize the whitespace when laying out the contents on the page.
When branding, think about the conveyance of the gut feelings of the brand itself rather than putting visual attractiveness as the priority. Make sure the brand identity is solid in those designs first.
Use the correct document size of (1366*768 px), the 6x6 grid suggested looks good to proceed through.
Utilize the chosen colour palette wisely when placing the background colour for pages, and make sure it does not seem too repeated continuously as it could cause
Name and other task info is not necessary for the cover page, putting the year and the brand name should be fine.
NEXT PLAN OF ACTION
WEEK 11 02 DECEMBER 2024
FEEDBACK
Add a bit of description/ body copy next to the visual guideline/ application explaining its features.
Overall layout design seems too tidy and does not reflect the brand’s identity. Try to add more visual elements/ visuals that support the brand’s services and make sure to reflect the quirkiness of the brand.
Experiment with whether the horizontal line as a divider works well or with different visual elements.
When using visuals for the first chapter (brand profile), utilize a different photo rather than using the application photo as it could lead to repetition.
NEXT PLAN OF ACTION
WEEK 12 09 DECEMBER 2024
FEEDBACK
Save the final work as an interactive pdf when submitting your work on Drive (interactive)
Publish your InDesign file into the Adobe server (submit link in google doc)
Deadline for drive (Friday at 8am), Blog (Monday 8am)
Create a final compilation post on blogger.
Ms Lilian commented that the improved versions of layouts hold much more personality compared to the initial version; good use of dotted frames on the side of the visuals & brand pattern as navigation.
NEXT PLAN OF ACTION
When making a final page, make sure the company information such as phone number, webpage, social media handles etc.
Add highlighted texts of the current chapter when placing navigation.
Experience
My overall experience of completing this task was insightful. I got to visualize and present the brand I have been building in the past tasks from the module on Brand corporate Identity. By doing this, I had a chance to explore different design styles and how my brand can be seen more effectively and appeal to viewers. It was also my first time creating an interactive document where there are navigations that link one page to another.
Observation
Making sure the overall design of this brand guideline matches my brand well was also one of the challenges I faced while completing this task. I started off with something more of a simple and stiff design, but from some experiments with different styles, I was able to come up with a design that brings up my brand's identity and reflects how I want my brand to be seen. Comparing those layout samples was also important to ensure the overall experience of the flow of reading and both the visual comprehension does not seem so repeated.
Findings
While making sure that there is more variety when placing these contents according to the chapter, I learned that keeping my brand's visual identity coherent was also crucial as overdoing the action of inconsistent variety could cause a break in the flow of the reading experience. Keeping these two balanced was one of the key point to be focused on while completing this task.
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