adrienne's online visual diary

Image Analysis - Proposal

2008-03-11T15:55:00.000-07:00

Image Analysis 3A
Assessment 1: Proposal

I intend to research the process behind creating a brand identity; the name generation, the selection of an appropriate logo, the symbolism/semiotics of the logo and the legal implications when there is already something similar on the market.

I will research the processes of prominent pratictioners in branding, while specifically focusing on the example of the three ‘Apple’s’.

The 3 Apples

Apple Computers - Computer company
Apple Corps - Recording Company
Billy Apple - Artist

All three came up with the name ‘apple’, their business all have nothing to do with apples (or any other fruit) and all use very similar representations of the fruit as their logo’s. In my essay I want to explore;

The reason for choosing the name ‘Apple’
The semiotics/symbolism behind the Apple
The creation of their logos and their purposes
Their overall branding (brand loyalty and legality over similar logos)

Some references I intend to use in my research:

Laurel, B. (2003). Design research: methods and perspectives.
Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

Lupton, E. & Miller J.A. (1999) Design writing research: writing on graphic design. London.: Phaidon

Roberts, K & Lafley A.G. (2004) Lovemarks: the future beyond brands. United States.: Powerhouse Books

Rusell B &I. (2005) Visual research: an introduction to research methodologies in graphic design. Lausanne,Switz.: AVA

Wasserman, M. (2004) Rethink, redesign, reconstruct: how top designers create bold new work by re:interpreting original designs. Cincinnati: How Design Books.

And others such as The Beatles Anthology and various websites (http://www.billyapple.com,
http://www.thebeatles.com, http://www.apple.com/)

BAVI Year Three!

2008-03-05T19:21:00.000-08:00

Back into work this week.
Funny, first thing we have to do for Design 3A is to write a brief for a freelance project.
Lucky, since I've already done a lot of research of the subject, although more wouldn't hurt.

Found some new useful sites:
freelanceswitch.com - The Ultimate Design Brief
badlanguage.net - Better Briefs For Writers

I've decided to keep this as my visual diary for my two research papers this semester (Image Analysis 3A & Research Methods 3A)
Not sure whether I'll put anything from Design 3A in yet.

Final Thoughts and Evaluations

2007-10-18T02:18:00.000-07:00

I have come to the final phase in my project, that's Stage 5 - Presentation.
I found a helpful PDF on the website Computer Arts called 'Creating a Brand Identity'. The first thing it says is "Ideas/ Generate/ Experiment/ Evaluate", I've followed the first three steps and it's now my time to evaluate how the project has gone overall. A big question I have is 'Are my designs really suitable to the client?' and 'Have they got too much of a comic feel?'
Noir Bistro & Bar isn't a gimmicky Film Noir Theme Bar, with large framed film posters around the wall, it merely draws inspiration from that genre. After reviewing them for the final time I feel my designs are sophisticated and will compliment Noir well.

The brief was to design a definitive brand identity for Noir to enter the restaurant market with. Noir required a Logo, Business card, Letterhead & Menus. It's style & feel needed to be Edgy, Modern, Classy, Cool, Sophisticated, Stylish and related to Film Noir.
I fully feel I meet these requirements. The only part in this assignment that I feel I have not completed to my satisfaction is the printing/ production of mock-ups. What I mean by that is I have not researched the paper type I could use to print my work on. This is especially important since I have designed the envelope to have a fully black inner and letter head to have a black reverse, and I don't want anything to show through. I also didn't experiment with what paper to print the business cards which would need to be thick enough to use as a coaster, but thin enough to tear along the perforations.

The main reasons for these issues not being addressed is firstly, the time that was wasted after finding out there was another Noir and then a personal family problem that caused me take time away from my assignments.

I feel that without these hick-ups my time management skills increased greatly from last semester. I stuck to my timetable, spending a good amount of time at each stage (apart from inevitably running out of time to completely implement my design strategy). I especially made sure my research was relevant and didn't drag on wasting my actual designing time. Also this time I really knew what I wanted to achieve, and worked hard towards my goal, creating a new brand identity.

Final Concepts

2007-10-17T21:30:00.000-07:00

Business Card

I originally thought I really wanted the spiral to be at the back of the business card/ coaster, but as I experimented with placing the telephone logo in different positions I felt it would look good at the back.

Concept 1:

Concept 2:

Concept 3:

So I went with Concept 3 for my final design.

Letter Head

After making the decision to have the spiral on the front of the business card I wanted to keep with that theme in the letter head. So I chose Concept 3, the spiral is obscured, but you still know it's there.

Concept 1:

Concept 2:

Concept 3:

Menu

With the Menu's I wanted to see whether a plain black background would work better than the spiral.

Dinner Concept 1 & 2:

Dessert Concept 1 & 2:

But I chose both the spiral designs, except with the dessert menu I combined the two concepts together, as you can see below;

Final Designs

Research (Formating)

I found a really good website that gives you ideas when it comes to designing menu's;

Restaurant Menu Design
Restaurant Menu Covers

Another reference helping me to design the menu is Menucorp

After researching how to actually write the menu, I've decided to use the text from my original Design 2B menu (which I borrowed from Annie's Wine Bar & Restaurant and altered). See my earlier
post for what I ended up designing.

Research (Trends & Inspiring Designs)

I did like the overall theme of my Design 2B Menu, the matt black cover with spot gloss (vinyl), but I feel for the more edgy Noir needs a more edgy design. I still want to keep the dimensions of my previous designs, but experiment with new graphics and typefaces.

I found a screen shot of Regina Spektor's Fidelity Video on this blog, I agreed with what the blogger had to say about the set design, saying it included "black and white, vintage accessories, graphic patterns, even silhouette portraits". These are the same characteristics and styles that I want to incorporate in my menu designs.

Concepts

Concept Sketches
The Dinner Menu cover

The Dessert Menu cover

Developments

Just a few quick developments of my sketches, I have to keep working on these and then start on the inside of the menu.

Business Card

2007-10-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

Research (Formating)

I measured business cards and came up with 50 mm x 90 mm, but I kept coming across the measurements 2 x 3.5 inches when researching.

Then I found this on wikipedia, which explained things.

Those are the most common sizes, but below are some very different designs;

Research (Trends & Inspiring Designs)

I found these business cards in the Identity Solutions book, the description says that they look more like coasters than traditional business cards - and that that was exactly what the designer intended.

They've used perforations so it can be turned into a business card, or kept as a coaster. I think it's really smart - and I'm seriously thinking about borrowing the concept for my design.

There a quite a few interesting ideas at this website, like this 'forensic evidence' example;

I liked the image of the telephone, and the website also gave me the idea of using a finger print in my designs.

Concepts

I really like the business card coaster designs shown above. I've researched and found there are other things similar to them;

But none are as sophisticated as the designs by Morris Creative. I'm going to take/ borrow the round card with perforations idea for this project.

Concept Sketches
(Still with the original Hat Logo)

Developments
(With the new Telephone Logo)

Below is just quick idea, a possible concept for the final look of the business card;
(not accurate scale)

Letterhead

2007-10-13T22:01:00.000-07:00

Research (Formating)

Design Rules for Letterheads: Over 75 Examples from the Simple to the Spectacular By Roger Walton

This book has everything you need to know about designing letterheads, I was lucky to get it from the library. It has information on formats, folding, filing and faxing and as the title states over 75 examples.

And I found some Indesign Templates to help with designing the envelopes at adobe.com

Research (Trends & Inspiring Designs)

Simple & Elegant Designs;

More 'Busy' and Colourful Designs;

Interesting Shapes/ Sizes;

Concepts

I've decided to have a number of pictorial symbols for Noir's logo, one for the Business Card (Telephone), one for the Letterhead (Fingerprint) and the Hat and Spiral throughout all of the designs.

What needs to be on the Letterhead;

Name: Noir Bistro & Bar
Address: 123 Fake Street, Palmerston North
Phone: (06) 356 7891
Website: www.noirbistro.co.nz

Concept Sketches;
(Still with the original Hat Logo)

Developments
(With the new Fingerprint Logo)

Below are just quick ideas, possible concepts for the final look of the letterhead;
(not accurate scale)

How to Lay It Out for Presentation

2007-10-13T20:10:00.000-07:00

I'd like to have the layout of the final design's relate to the designs themselves, I think the examples below do this really well;

But with my design concepts only using black and white, maybe it would look better on a simple black background?

More Researching Brand Identities

2007-10-13T18:58:00.000-07:00

I was finally able to get these two really good books on branding out from the local library:

Graphic Design That Works: Secrets for Successful Logo, Magazine, Brochure, Promotion and Identity Design By Various

Identity Solutions: How to Create Effective Brands with Letterheads, Logos and Business Cards By Cheryl Cullen & Amy Schell

They both contains heaps of examples of interesting stationary, business cards and letterheads of all different shapes & sizes. Now It's time for me to start designing mine I wonder if thinking outside the box (the regular business card size) is right for this project or not. I found these business/ calling cards on adgoodness, made for a Greek Restaurant and think the idea is really cool.

I was thinking about what my design lecturer puts at the top of her briefs, how she tells us to push the boundaries now while we have complete freedom. I think this is another pro to the argument I've been having in my mind - whether a self initiated brief was a better choice than a real-world one. The Greek restaurant "business cards" above are inspiring, and they make want to explore radical ideas to do with stationary.

I'll start by returning to my research on Film Noir symbolism and see if I can come up with some interesting stationary concepts.

Logo Development

2007-10-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

My latest developments on the pork-pie hat logo:

Through several formal and informal critiques I narrowed down two possible arrangements to expand on from my set of concepts. I experimented with positioning of the hat, rotating it slightly, I like how the line of the hat follows the line of the N in NOIR in the bottom right corner example.

And despite the spiral being the least favoured of my concepts with everyone I've shown, I still wanted to give it a chance. What I think was holding it back the most was my drawing of the spiral I used for my intial concepts. I looked around on the web and found two that were much more what I was looking for. So I added the new ones into my previous concepts:

I found I liked the simple logo placed above the text, the same as with the hat.

These are my two final logo concepts:

I've come to the decision that the hat logo is the one to go with, it is most instantly recognisable as a film noir symbol. Although I do really like the new spiral and I think I will incorporate it into the place setting designs (which include the menu, coasters & serviettes).

I wish I had more visitors to this blog, or maybe had another critique where I could give out a survey to emulate the tactics of 72 dpi in the shade's 'logo bake off'

Noir Bar Reconnaissance

2007-09-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

I went to do some spying at Noir Bar (the competition). The decor of leather couches and crystal chandeliers was extremely lavish, but in my opinion the menu's and coaster designs were lacking. The menu cover seemed to made from black material stretched over board with the logo embossed on the front in silver (I say logo, but it is just Noir written a plain typeface). This cover was ok, but the inner pages were the same basic green paper with a century gothic family font that the restaurant nextdoor (Nosh) uses. Overall, the branding of the stationary is reasonably well designed, but not when compared with the surroundings of the bar.

I want to remember to think about the decor of Noir Bistro & Bar and keep that in mind so there is a cohessiveness throughout my designs.

After the Final Critique

2007-09-30T19:14:00.000-07:00

At the last critique I expalined how I'd changed my location to New Plymouth, members in my class asked if that was even neccesary, a question I had asked myself. This made me decide that my restaurant will stay in the Manawatu. It made me think how having to come up with your own branding project is much more difficult than if you managed to organise a real design job for this assignment, as another student has. Although in other ways it is better to have your own idea as you're able to change and mold your tasks perfectly to the assignment criteria. I'm thinking about what I'm going to do next year, do I want to continue researching branding, or do I want to do something different in the graphic design field.

Anyway, I'll think about that another time, once I've finished this assignment.
I showed my sketches and developments of the hat and spiral logo concepts during the critique. Most members of the class preferred the hat, they thought it was the most recognisable. I think I will continue to develop the spiral logo aswell though, and decide on the final one when they're both close to being finished.

I want to research the use of hats in logos aswell, here are some I've found so far:

And they're not all for hat makers;

White Hat Management is a leading provider of lifelong learning services, based in the United States.

The Panama Hat Company has provided finely woven, hand-made Panama Hats in the historic heart of old St. Augustine, Florida since 1985.

Tilley Endurables from Canada, makers of a range of clothing and accessories ideal for the outdoors and travel are offering a 15% discount off products in their UK range purchased by mail order or through the website.

White Hat Solutions, LLC is a Florida-licensed firm specializing in providing national assistance to companies in the areas of Corporate Investigations, Security and Risk Assessment

Now I have to get moving developing the logo, before I can move onto the letterhead, business card and menu design.

Trends in Logo Design (With Spirals)

2007-09-18T16:18:00.000-07:00

These are some of the logos from Slorp's spiral critique. They are all very similar, and some really have no major reason to be using a spiral in their design.

If I continue with the spiral design, it needs to stand out from the rest. I don't think I like the spiral I've used in my concept developments - its thickness and orientation aren't working, I want to work on refining it.

Concept Development

2007-09-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

Typeface

I had a look at the typefaces I used for my Design assignment, and after a little research on Film Noir I realised they weren't the most suitable - I found a couple in my collection that could be good and added them to my chart.

(They're BadaBoom BB, Bancol ITC TT and Brush Script MT)

Spirals

Pork Pie Hat

Concept Sketches

2007-09-18T14:10:00.001-07:00

Spiral (From Film Noir Symbolism in 'Vertigo' and 'Pursued')

Detective Hat (Pork Pie)

Wide Eyes & other symbols relating to Film Noir & Cuisine

These are my concept sketches so far, I like the idea of incorporating a spiral, not only because it would look good in the logo - but I already have concepts of how I could use the symbol in the Letterhead & Business card etc.

There is a problem though, spiral's are used all the time in logo's, usually with little relevance to the actual brand. I want the shape, size and position to be more original than those in use today. www.splorp.com has a critique about some of the logo's following the spiral trend. One blogger says there are "16 kajillion companies with dippy almost-identical spiral logos. Lazy, lazy designers.".

But they're almost all for technical (computer hardware/ software etc.) companies, but I haven't found any for Restaurants/ Bar's - but they must be out there. Now, if I continue with the spiral concept, I need to think of a way to differentiate my logo.

Final Critique

2007-09-18T00:06:00.000-07:00

Our final critique is tomorrow, we should have something to show by this time. As you can see from my posts, there's not going to be much, unless I start working right now.

What I want to present/explain tomorrow

• Where I am
• Where I'm supposed to be
• Show my influences
• Show my concepts so far

According to my schedule I should be at the Design Refinement stage (3), but I'm one before that, I'm still on concept development.

I'm going to go back to my work on process so I know exactly what I'm supposed to be doing, and to see what I've done so far.

Stage 1: Project Definition / Briefing
 • I had an Initial informal discussions between the lecturer and I, covering project objectives, timing and budget • Formal presentation to the class of the project in detail and clarify any technical issues including, timetable and corporate identity guidelines

As I've said before, I then found out Noir Bar already existed Palmerston North, so I was left with 3 options:

1. Noir somewhere else, other than Palmerston North 2. Noir Bistro & Bar, instead of Nosh Restaurant & Noir Bar 3. Rebranding Noir Bar

There was confusion between Mandy & I on what one I had chosen, and this combined with pressure from other assignments, cost me time. Once I had figured it out (I went with 1. Noir somewhere else) I began doing some Market Research on New Plymouth. I chose New Plymouth because It's close to where I'm originally from and I know it really well.

• I then reviewed the brief, background material and identity standards and made changes to accommodate for the new location.
• I decided to remove the word classy from my description of style & feel, putting more emphasis on the elegant and minimalist influences of Film Noir. Noir Bistro & Bar wont have giant chandeliers, plasma screens and leather couches like Noir Bar.

Above is I few ideas of my Impresion of what Noir Bistro & Bar would be like (Except everything with a black & white colour scheme)

• I thought that I would change the name to Noir & Blanc (Black & White in French). But decided not to as it would step away from the one four letter word trend that made me choose Noir in the very first place (kazu, zaza, chao, dill, sage, salt, soul, nosh, nero etc.).

Stage 2: Concept Development
• I further researched Film Noir and looked at the symbolism and typography deciding what I could use for a logo concept.

Symbolism used;
Gun
Smoke & Cigarettes
Lamp Posts & Alley Ways
Man & Woman (Detective & Femme Fatale)
Hats
Silhouettes & Venetian Blind shadows
Low Light/ High Contrast (dramatic chiaroscuro black and white photography)

Eyes
Spirals
I saw a lot of spirals used (mostly in covers for Vertigo by Alfred Hitcock, but others aswell)

Typefaces;

Some Noir-ish fonts include...

Reporter 2

FF Moderne Gothics

But they're both for sale, I will need to use free typefaces in my designs.
 • Now I need to develop some draft concepts and preliminary designs (logo, business card, letterhead & menu) for further refinement when I present the Visuals in the final Critique

These were my concepts for my Design Assignment - but I cannot use these (and don't want to) for this project.
I intended to completely re-work my Design assignment for this Visual Imaging project.

I like some aspects of my designs, like the simplicity and vinyl on matt black, but I want to explore other concepts. So now I have to prepare atleast 3 concepts to show at the critique tomorrow.

Update

2007-09-12T02:04:00.000-07:00

My meeting with Mandy 2 weeks ago went really well, and I'm now on my way...
What I've been doing since that time is wondering whether I should change the name slightly. I was thinking about Noir & Blanc, but as Mandy suggested that would be a step away from the one word (and four letter) theme.

That idea also means a lot more research, and at this time in the schedule I really need to be moving onto the concept stage.

I have decided on a change though, to differentiate between Novotel's Noir Bar, my restaurant will not be lavish and light by large chandeliers but be more minimalist and edgy (continuing with the film Noir theme).

I am behind in my schedule, but I feel like I can make it up. I need to have concepts ready to show the class in time for next weeks critique.

So now I have to get to work!

Answers for Mandy

2007-08-28T17:14:00.000-07:00

1. What are five key things I need to know about Branding?

What is a brand identity?
It's the visual and verbal expression of a brand, usually consisting of the following components; brand name, logo, letterhead, business card, packaging, web site, any other application needed by a particular brand

What types of branding are there?
• Consumer - Brand applications aimed directly at consumers
• Corporate - Created for corporations or corporate groups
• Organisations - Branding for organisations
• Cause-related marketing & advertising - Branding for corporations funding nonprofit or charities

What is the branding process?
• Brief
• Strategy
• Concept
• Applications
• Implementation

What do I need to consider when designing a brand identity?
• What the brand's value, voice and personality is
• How I can be both honest and appealing
• How I can position the brand in the marketplace
• How the competition is positioned
• How I can differentiate the brand
• How we can account for change and anticipate trends

2. What are five key things I need to know about the name Noir?

Meaning/ Colour associations
Noir means black in French
Words associated with this market include: Power, elegance, sophistication, formality, wealth, fear, evil, anonymity, unhappiness, depth, style, mourning, death (western culture), mysterious, underground, remorse, seductive, sexy and a good technical cobur. Wealthy, achievement orientated women tend to favour this cobur. It can also be associated with death, evil, anger, sadness and is associated with criminal activities, depression, demons, witches and blade magic in Western culture.
Film Noir

Other Companies/ Groups using the name

Noir - In darkness all colours agree
Le Chat Noir Gift Shop

Other Restaurants & Bars using the name
See my earlier post on other restaurants with the name Noir
And others like;
Noir
Noir Bar
O Noir
Dans Le Noir

Styles & Genre's using the name

Film Noir
Noir (anime)

3. What are five key things I need to know about Logo design?

Another quote from David Airey:

There are four critical elements that can be seen in every great logo design:
• It must be describable
• It must be memorable
• It must be effective without the use of colour
• It must be scalable i.e. effective when scaled down to an inch in size

And it must be able to be reproduced well in black & white

4. What are five key things I need to know about Letterhead design?

• Design to allow enough space for letter content
• Provide vital contact information
• Utilize consistent elements within the entire brand identity
• Make sure it faxes/ copies well
• Design a second sheet which does not require all information, maybe just the logo and some of the design elements

5. What are five key things I need to know about Business Card design?

• Provide vital contact information
• Utilize consistent elements within the entire brand identity
• Make sure it's legible
• Paper/ card selection
• Am I going to use a different shape, or use the back of the card?

6. What have I learnt in my initial Design 2B project and how am I going to expand on that for Visual Imaging?

In my project for design I rushed the logo design process as it wasn't the focus of the assignment. I learnt that I really need to follow the steps and do more research, development and conduct a semantic differential for the logo design, before I can move onto the business card, letterhead & menu designs.

7. What am I doing now?

• New Market Research - For the area Noir is going to be in now (Most likely New Plymouth)
• Look into the name Noir et Blanc or Noir & Blanc for an alternative to Noir?
• Define my “brand essence”
• Start on concepts for logo, develop them into 3 initial designs
• Write a semantic deferential to present to the class in next weeks critique

Indecision

2007-08-28T01:34:00.000-07:00

As you can see it's been 3 weeks since my last post, this is because I was really unsure exactly what I wanted to do in my project. In my last group critique I explained my situation in regards to their already being a Noir. I told them how I was now left with 3 options:

1. Noir somewhere else, other than Palmerston North
2. Noir Bistro & Bar, instead of Nosh Restaurant & Noir Bar
3. Rebranding Noir Bar

I was really busy with other assignments and left this decision until another time. This break stretched until 2 weeks later when I had my meeting with Mandy.
I told her how I pretty much didn't know what I was doing and we worked through my list to see which one would be best. I eventually settled on my first choice, that I would continue branding my Noir Bistro & Bar, but have it situated in another city.

She gave me a set of questions that I need to answer by our next meeting:

What are five key things about Branding?
What are five key points about the name Noir?
What are five key points about Letterhead design?
What are five key points about Business Card design?

I've added my own
What have I learnt in my initial Design 2B project?
How am I going to expand on that for Visual Imaging?
What are five key points about Logo design?

Freak Out

2007-08-07T00:32:00.000-07:00

In my meeting with Mandy last Wednesday, she suggested I make sure there were no other restaurants named Noir, and that she thought the was a one called Noir on Cuba Street in the Novotel Hotel across from Cafe Cuba.

I thought that it was called Nosh, I searched the phone directory to make sure there wasn't a Noir Bar or Bistro and there wasn't.

Then today during a walk down Cuba Street I saw a sign on the side of the Novotel that was advertising Nosh (Their Restaurant) and Noir (Their Bar).

I started to panic, thinking my assignment was over, so I emailed Mandy asking if I could come and talk to her. I told her I'd done a lot of work on this and that I didn't think I could change, I asked if saying it was somewhere other than Palmerston North fix it the problem. She gave me some ideas and made me feel a lot better about the whole thing, but it does mean that now I have to look into the process of re-branding. I also have to alter what I'm going to present to the class tomorrow.

Brief - Stage 5

2007-08-06T02:46:00.000-07:00

Stage 5: Strategy, Schedule / Deadlines

Brief - Stage 4

2007-08-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

Stage 4: Design Examples Examples for Logo Design
Noir would like a logo that is simple & sophisticated, using black & white /negative space such as in these examples by Designer Ivaylo Nikolov.

For the stationary & menu design, Noir would like to portray the same simple & sophisticated feel, the following are some examples that have the look Noir wants. The Magrette business card designs are on matt black paper, with the company's logo in a spot gloss, this is a look Noir would like to explore for their stationary.

Wine Down Logo Design
The Bakery Bar & Restaurant Design
Sophia Black Tie Menu Design
Magrette Business Card Designs

Brief - Stage 3

2007-08-04T20:26:00.000-07:00

Stage 3: Target Audience & Evaluation of Competition
Noir Bistro & Bar:

Licence: Fully Licensed
Cuisine: International
Message: Noir combines contemporary cuisine within dark, film noir themed surroundings.
Style & Feel: Elegant, Modern, Classy, Sophisticated, Stylish, Film Noir
Location: CBD, Palmerston North
Demographics: Male & Female's from 20 -50, Medium Income, Living in the Manawatu.

The Competition: (In Palmerston North)

Nosh Restaurant:
Licence: Fully Licensed
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Message: "Nosh it's - fresh, innovative, new! It’s about introducing new flavours & styles, teaming it with fantastic local produce, and bringing it together with a bit of kiwi flare.”
Style & Feel: "The stylish, modern yet relaxed environment is perfectly complimented by the New Zealand Cuisine menu."
Location: 175 Cuba St, Palmerston North

Mao Bar:
Licence: Fully Licensed
Cuisine: Café
Message: "We trust you will enjoy your cultural revolution, comrade..." Mao Bar is the fusion of oriental and western cultures, and a philosophy that cuisine has evolved as populations have changed.
Style & Feel: At its core is the desire to portray the strength of image created during the communist revolution in China under Mao, as distinct from the message behind the images and with no political intent.
The many images of Mao have become absorbed into popular culture in the same way as Fidel Castro and Ché Guevara have as icons of the Cuban revolution. MAO BAR seeks to expand this through a theme that encompasses eating, drinking and style.
Location: 76 George St, Palmerston North

Dejeuner:
Licence: Licenced+BYO
Cuisine: International
Message: Despite its name meaning "lunch" in French, Dejeuner had, within two years of opening, foregone the lunchtime café trade and become an exclusively evening restaurant.
Style & Feel: The cuisine is essentially an "Eclectic Pacific rim fusion" style, drawing influences from all over the world.
Location: 159 Broadway Ave, Palmerston North

Other Restaurants (With Noir in the Name):

Cafe Noir - Glasgow:
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Message, Style & Feel:Café Noir aims to offer classic Mediterranean dishes with some contemporary additions using the freshest local produce.
A wide range of expertly mixed cocktails are available, which can be enjoyed whilst listening to jazzy beats in our piano bar.
Location:48 Buchanan Street, Glasgow

Cafe Noir - New York:
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Message, Style & Feel: Located in the heart of Soho, Cafe Noir, part bistro, part tapas bar, has become a cherished neighborhood institution.
With its Mediterranean ambience and reputation for hip-rattling world music DJ sessions, Cafe Noir has kept a diverse crowd of "in-the-knows" moving and shaking for over ten years.
Location: 32 Grand Street, Soho, NY

Lechien Noir Bistro:
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Message, Style & Feel: Located steps from historic Market Square, Le Chien Noir features classic French bistro dishes and contemporary cuisine served in a relaxed, stylish atmosphere.
Location: 69 Brock Street, Ontario, Canada

Brief - Stage 2

2007-08-02T03:09:00.000-07:00

Here's Stage 2: Project Objectives / Goals

• Objective: To design a definitive brand identity for Noir to enter the restaurant market with.
• Requirements: Logo (Logotype or Symbol), Business card, Letterhead & Menus (With consultation on the use of the logo on Interior Signage & Uniforms)
• Style & Feel: Elegant, Modern, Classy, Cool, Sophisticated, Stylish, Film Noir
• Colour Preferences: Black and White (ONLY)
• Text Contents: Menu's to be submitted
 

Brief - Stage 1

2007-08-01T22:01:00.000-07:00

I've filled in the graphicdesignblog.co.uk form and I'm following all the guides I've read to write my brief.

This is Stage 1: Company Profile
 Noir Bistro & Bar is a new restaurant that is planning to launch in Palmerston North in early November this year, which requires an original brand identity. Noir desires a classic, yet contemporary, sophisticated look for their overall design, which will make for a branded dining experience that is highly differentiated from the competition.

Noir is French for the colour black, in many cultures this colour is accompanied with thoughts of evil and death, but it is also a colour which represents style, elegance and professionalism. Noir Bistro & Bar embodies the latter, combining modern cuisine with a refined atmosphere. Noir will be different from fellow bistro's and bars in that shades of black will be the only colour (apart from white) used in the restaurant, this includes the stationary, menu's, uniforms, interior & furniture.
Noir wishes it's look to be reminiscent of Film Noir, with a low-key black-and-white visual style, evocative and seductive.

Meeting with Mandy

2007-08-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

I talked to Mandy yesterday, mainly about the theory I need to back up my project, such as research on current logo designers, styles/ trends/ colours, message, target market and legal issues.

This gave me a lot to think about, as I wasn't able to answer all questions off the top of my head.

Some Webistes I've found that might be able to answer my questions;

General
LogoBlog

Trends
2007 Logo Design Trends
Branding trends as we head for 2007

Key Message & Target Market
ThinkCreation

Legal Issues
IMPACT®

Library Books

2007-08-01T18:14:00.000-07:00

The good news, I was able to find the following in the UCOL library;

Branding : from brief to finished solution / by Mono Design
Designing brand experiences / by Robin Landa.

The bad news is I also ordered two books from Whanganui UCOL, which never arrived and the holds were cancelled. They were;

Graphics real-world graphic design projects: from brief to finished solution / by Paul Murphy
How to be a graphic designer, without losing your soul / by Adrian Shaughnessy

Oh well, I think I have enough research on creative briefs and design process to write my brief and timetable. I have to present them to the class either next week, or the week after.

Writing The Brief

2007-07-29T02:05:00.001-07:00

I've now read quite a few guides on how to write a graphic design brief. I've learnt that they all basically break the process of writing a creative brief down into 5 main stages.

Stage 1: Company Profile
• What product or service you provide
• A company mission statement or philosophy
• Company history
• Describe your company niche and industry sector

Stage 2: Project Objectives / Goals
• Define the project and desired outcomes
Requirements: Type (business card, brochure, billboard); General layout; Number of pages; Size of advertisement etc.
Details: Keywords, Style & Feel, Colour preferences, Orientation, Text contents
• What your company wants to achieve eg. Enter a new market
• How these goals will be measured if testing or evaluation of the project is planned

Stage 3: Target Audience & Evaluation of Competition
• Demographics: Age, Gender, Income, Employment, Geography, Lifestyle of those you want to reach.
• Analyze the competition.

Stage 4: Design Examples
• Include a visual examples in the brief, describing what you like about the colors, imagery and typography.

Stage 5: Budget, Strategy, Schedule / Deadlines
• Give your designer a detailed and realistic schedule of how you would like the project to advance. Take the following into consideration:
Consultation (research, strategy, brief development) Creative (concept and design development) Production (artwork, printing and other production) Delivery

Design Process / Workflow

2007-07-29T01:34:00.000-07:00

I’ve been researching design processes and how to manage workflow, the main points can also be divided into 5 phases.

Stage 1: Project Definition / Briefing
• Initial informal discussions between the client and designer, covering project objectives, timing and budget
• Formal meetings to discuss the project in detail and clarify any technical issues including budget, timetable and corporate identity guidelines

Stage 2: Concept Development
• Review of the brief, background material and identity standards to ensure understanding of the project context and your corporate requirements
• Development of draft concepts and preliminary designs and selection of the most appropriate options for further development
• Presentation of visual solutions to the client
• Evaluation of the visual presentation against the brief

Stage 3: Design Refinement
• Amendment of the material as required and, if necessary, presentation of new design(s) to the client

Stage 4: Production
• Artwork forwarded to a commercial printer
• Viewing of the printer’s proof (pass it on to the client for approval)

Stage 5: Project Completion
• Approval of final designs, project sent to the printer

Helpful Books

2007-07-27T21:40:00.000-07:00

Creating the Perfect Design Brief: How to manage design for strategic advantage By Peter L. Phillips

Design Process Improvement: A Review of Current Practice By John Clarkson, Claudia Eckert

I came across these books while researching, unfortunately they're not at any of the 3 libraries I belong to. The links above are to Google Book searches, which have given me a bit of information on what is inside the books. The reviews and comments for them on other pages are also informative.

Mind Map & Statement of Intent

2007-07-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

This is just a very simple mind map to jot down each of the areas I have to focus on. I have written an initial statement of intent that I'm not completely happy about at the moment, but here it is;

"I intend to examine current design techniques and trends in the area of Branding, so I can then create a brief to develop the Identity of a new local Restaurant.
At this early stage in my project I will research the way a Graphic Design brief for a branding project is constructed.
I then plan to conduct market research on my client’s business to begin to create a branding solution.”

I will talk about restructuring, or entirely re-writing this in my meeting on Wednesday.

I've been researching more on the creation of design briefs and found the following site. It has heaps of useful information on all areas of design, the link below is to a page on "How do you write a graphic design brief?".

David Airey :: Graphic Designer

He says that it’s vital to write a detailed graphic design brief at the very beginning when you’re dealing with a graphic design project. It ensures that you know exactly what you want to achieve from your project and the brief acts as a point of reference for key points to focus on.

I learnt this the hard way last semester, my brief was vague and wasn't completed early enough. As Airey states, my sketchy brief left me not knowing exactly what I wanted to achieve from my project. This time I'm going to make sure my brief is as in depth as possible.

First Group Critique

2007-07-25T02:36:00.000-07:00

First Group Critique

We had our first group critique session today, I tried to explain my initial concepts and a class member commented that I was clearer and more confident when speaking.

When I explained how I was going to fill out a graphic design firm's form, as if I was the client, to try and create a more concise brief, It was suggested that I could go to a real restaurant. I told them that because it was based on my Design assignment (due on the 10th August), I had already come up with the initial concepts for the look and feel of the restaurant.

Mandy (the tutor) also questioned whether I had the theory to back my concept up, such as research of current trends, I said that I had already started looking into that.

I booked a time to talk to Mandy for next Wednesday to negotiate my brief.

My Ideas So Far

2007-07-25T02:23:00.000-07:00

I've decided to change to a new subject from last semester and focus specifically on want I plan to do after this course, which at the moment looks like print graphic design, especially branding.

I'm going to combine my first Design 2B assignment (Restaurant Menu Design) with the Visual Imaging 2B assignment.

I plan to create a complete brand identity for the restaurant, including the naming, logo, letterhead, business cards, place settings, advertising and obviously the menus.

So far I've come across lots of people saying that assignment briefs given to students are really different from ones in the real world. I've found a checklist one designer gives to their clients to get them to express what they want.
I'm going to use this, putting myself in the position of the client.

Getting my brief right last time was probably my biggest problem, so this time I'm going to work on it to get it right straight away.

This Visual Diary

2007-07-25T01:26:00.000-07:00

Firstly, I'll explain why I've chosen to have my Visual Imaging 2B visual diary in the form of a blog

• It saves money on paper & printing
• It's a way to write down all my thoughts & feelings, while keeping my process work book (that I'll show the client) professional.

I think a visual diary blog will work quite well, here are some other examples I've seen where designers are using their blog to track their process;

Bare Naked App
Userscape
Rohdesign

The above blogs are all documenting logo design, from sketches to rough concepts to the final product.