UCO Design Foundations

Symbol Set - Project 4

Assignment

What is the visual essence of something, and how much detail does it take to represent it? Can you simplify the representation without destroying its meaning? Can you simplify it to its geometrically purest form? Can you make seven different symbols that feel like they match each other? In this project we will explore the principle of economy even further, and we will create a set of symbols that define a visual language.

Outcomes

- find the distinguishing characteristic of an object and then remove detail while maintaining readability/recognizability (i.e. to create icons)

- create unity through geometric alignment

- create multiple icons with a similar of visual language

Process

- Begin with a topic/store chosen from the grab bag. (e.g. a pet shop or an electronics store)

- List at least 15 objects/items/products that make sense given your topic (fish, cat, dog, dog house, bone, leash, etc..)

- Sketch at least 5 doodles of each symbol to create 75 thumbnails. They should be done fairly quickly, but each should identify and highlight the distinguishing characteristics of the item (e.g. a chicken has feathers, a beak, a comb, and clawed feet whereas a duck has feathers, a bill, webbed feet, and perhaps a darker head than body). These are visual notes to yourself. They do not have to be fully resolved.

- With the help of your instructor and your peers, select best prospects from your initial sketches. You will also research approaches to logo design (aka their visual style). Each student will present the visual vocabulary that is indicative of an approach that they find interesting. The information should have been documented by design professionals/historians, and your informal presentation to the class should identify your source. Both the Los Logos book series and the Logo Lounge book series in the UCO library are great sources of information. They categorize logos based on their visual language, and this is a perfectly acceptable source and level of depth for your research for the purposes of this project.

- Develop your loose ideas into symbols based on your research. You should create at least 9 variations of at least 8 items for a minimum of 72 more thumbnails. (9 dogs, 9 dog houses, 9 collars, etc). Consider what the object looks like drawn "flat" vs. drawn in perspective. What does it look like if you reverse the black and white (black collar with a white buckle vs a white collar with a black buckle). What does it look like if you draw with lines? What if you draw with only shapes? Get inspiration from the different professionally designed logos that were presented during class.

- With the help of your instructor and your peers, select the best ideas from your sketches to create a unified set. Use one or two of your symbols to guide the visual language, and create multiple versions of the other symbols where necessary. You should present 14 to 18 roughs.

- You will also choose a conceptually appropriate symbol for the entire store from your thumbnails and start to develop a rough mark (often called a "logo" but it is technically called a "mark" as in trademark.) The mark should use the same "visual language" as the other symbols. They should look like a unified SET.

- You will also develop a rough logotype (the written out name) for your store. It should work well with the visual language defined by your symbols (fat lines or thin lines? white shapes or black shapes? geometric or organic? textured or smooth? etc.)

- Continue to develop the set as well as the mark into their purest form without destroying their meaning or individuality and refine your symbols, mark, and logotype into a single unified set of tight roughs (7 symbols plus the mark and the logotype)

- Make final changes to your project based on feedback from your instructor and peers and then render your designs using the required media. Create a loose cover with the logotype and the mark on the front and identify yourself on the back using the final media. Wrap a black rubber band around the cover to keep all of the symbols together, and submit your final designs.

Deliverables

- All process work listed

- Seven symbols rendered with black ink on Bristol. You should also put your name and what the symbol represents (e.g. dog bone) on the back of each page. (check with your instructor if you think your requirements were different)

- Logotype and mark rendered with black ink on the front of the Bristol cover

- Your name, the project name, and your instructor's name hand lettered ink ink on the back of the cover (check with your instructor if you think your requirements were different)

- a small scale version of all 7 symbols on the back cover (check with your instructor if you think your requirements were different)

Specifications

- Pages: 5" x 5" pages

- Cover: 5" x ~10 1/4" (depending on thickness)

- Black rubber band for the binding

Value - 100pts

- Points are earned by doing all of the process work (30%)

- Level of craft on the final (20%)

- Composition (40%)

- Professionalism (10%)

Download the Rubric

Specification Details