Client Name: ISB Fringe Festival

Background: This year will be ISB’s 2nd Fringe Festival of the Performing Arts. Last year was a big success, but the first iteration of the logo was slightly rushed and so it’s time for a proper effort.

Audience: ISB community – students, faculty, & families

Context: T-shirts, posters, web pages. Possibility of other contexts such as stickers, lanyards, etc

Key Words: Creative, community, fun, expressive, collaborative

Images for Aesthetic Direction:

The images for aesthetic direction capture the variety of aspects the Fringe Festival has. A logo for it should be more simple, in a way so that it can be applied to all the different events/acts/performances without clashing with each one’s own unique aesthetic.

Padlet of Inspiration

Generating Ideas:

4 selected ideas to turn into vectors:

 

This vector came from idea #21, though I changed the dragon to one that is upright because it fit better with the banner of text and allowed a better view for the dragon behind. I also removed the text at the bottom saying “of the performing arts” because it didn’t fit well with the new dragon and including it may impact how sizable the final outcome will be. This is also the design I used as my final product.

This vector came from idea #24, I added some detail that I was not able to draw in by hand such as the “ISB” in each section of the film strip. I also added the detail of the face to the white mask. I picked this design because I thought it captured everything in a fun way with icons, also making it one of the vectors I further developed.

This vector came from idea #10, I selected it because it creates a very different effect from the other 3 ideas I chose. I didn’t like this one as much because I felt it made the Fringe Festival seem as if it was only for film, and the use of colour would make it harder to create something cohesive with the other aesthetics in the inspiration photos from last year’s festival above.

This vector came from idea 20, I really liked the concept to begin with but I don’t think enough detail was added for it to be considered one of the final options. I think if legs were added the idea may look more finished, but I also felt the text was always in an awkward position, despite how I rearranged it.

Feedback Notes

Through the feedback I learnt that idea #24 was really creative and seemed well thought out, idea #21 seemed more mature and may appeal to an older audience.

Idea #24: Two pieces of key feedback I received was to keep the ISB film strip though it may seem like a lot, it clearly got the point through; and, to play around with the dancer since it was a bit hidden and confusing.

Idea #21: The main piece of feedback I received was to include “ISB” somewhere in the logo so those who may not know that a dragon is the mascot can make that connection. After experimenting, I also got the suggestion to not make the font size any smaller than the smallest font I already used to it was clear and easy to see. Later on, through the process of making mockups, I decided to create different variations on the transparency of the background so various options can be used in different contexts based on whichever works best.

Panda Book Award Logo:

This formative task we did by creating a logo for the Panda Book Awards gave me an insight to creating a logo. As I developed my skills, I understood more about which fonts work well and are easy to read as well as being able to expand my logo to not just something simple like a circle since I added more layers to my new designs for the Fringe Festival.

Mockup Trial

With the paper bag mockup, I had the opportunity to develop the skill to apply my logo to see it in a context. This was done with an older version of the logo, but I found other mockup templates to apply different variations of my final logo later on.

Exploration of the 2 Final Ideas

With the top idea shown (Idea #24), I experimented with including and removing the “ISB” in the film strip, the colours of the face on the white mask in an attempt to make the dancer more visible. In my opinion, it did not have the desired effect so I tried removing the dancer to see as well. One tool I learnt from this—though not shown in photo above—was to rasterize the strokes so that the eyes on the black mask will not shrink if I adjust the sizing. The skill has proven to be useful amongst my other design too by helping keep the border at a consistent thickness.

With the idea at the bottom (Idea #21), I experimented with different placements of the “ISB”. Some are too small to be seen from the photo, which is also a reason why I did not use them for my final product. Experimenting with the placing also got me to experiment with the position of the head of the dragon. I also changed the font from the original vector, which I think is more effective and easy to read. I experimented with having the “ISB” included in the outline, as well as excluded and through peer feedback and self reflection I decided to include it in the outline to make the whole logo more cohesive.

Ultimately, I decided on this design as my final. I created different variations of the logo—black, white, and transparent fill—creating a selection to choose from while applying the logo. The add, subtract or divide tools I tried with the help of the teacher did not work in removing the middle portion of the dragon so that the text could have a transparent background. Through many many trials and errors the only way we got it to work was to separate some of the curves and delete them node by node. I think that slowed down the process significantly but still has an effective outcome. The photos above show the logo and its different variations applied on a colour background to give an idea.

Final Logo Presentation (Including Mockups)

PDF Download Link: Fringe Festival Logo Presentation

Canva View Link: https://www.canva.com/design/DAEyxfXSL80/banHE9ZkaDPwJm1BNG9Qmg/view?utm_content=DAEyxfXSL80&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=shareyourdesignpanel

Reflection

I am happy with the outcome of my logo because it aligns with the original goal I had set for myself, which was to create a logo that is able to be coherent while applied in different contexts that have different aesthetics. Keeping it black and white created and easy way to do so, and the style of the logo is pretty set without anything from a specific extravagant aesthetic, making it easily applied. I also am proud of the different variations I was able to create to help the logo be better suited on different items/in different situations. I am a little worried about how small the logo can be without losing the details from the dragon, but I don’t think those details would be as necessary to have compared to something like really small font—which I eliminated from the final outcome. Overall, I think this logo can be successful especially with the different variations and easy to read text.