DBA CAPITAL NORTH.
WORKSHOP DAY.
Today we went into uni to attend the Workshop day in which we were able to gain feedback from the 5 designers spear heading the design business association brief, on our current ideas. I was really looking forward to this day as currently we have a few different concepts and would like to gain advice on what to go forward with.
Before meeting up with the designers we discussed and determined the ideas we want to present.
I made a board communicating the logos I created which we currently have as the chosen logos.
Our two main concepts were created by myself and Sarah.
Firstly we discussed the idea of a continuous theme of evolving throughout the North. I explained to the team of designers that the North is constantly growing, and unlike its Southern counterpart has not fully evolved into the perfect place... yet. This is a theme that applies to every Northern city that is seeing massive regeneration projects take place to take cities from industrial based, to more service based places bringing in more business and tourism.
They seemed very impressed with this idea adding that no one else had come up with anything like it. I think this was due to the SWOT analysis I did on my own city.
We also pitched Sarah's idea portraying the concept 'Less is more, Less is North.' The idea would present the North in a positive way, but almost using reverse psycology. An example that Sarah came up with was 'Less cramped, more freedom' Less is North. Playing on the phrase Less is more. We were worried that the idea might come across too negative by constantly saying the North is Less, however one of the designers stated that it was this exact detail which helped to make the idea 'arresting', saying it caught his eye through shock, until he re-read the message and understood that the less, was the benefit. They also stated it was something that no one else had come up with. One of the designers advised in response to this idea that we try to think of a list of at least 5 things that the North is Less of in a positive way in comparison to the south, particularly London.
As we had only been working with a few simple logo ideas so far and a concept, the team asked us to start looking into visual and craft ideas to communicate our marketing and brand ideas.
After we spoke to the DBA team were were told that in 90 minutes one of the team members would return to work on our idea with us. In the mean time, from the two ideas above we must pick one which we would like to go ahead with.
Within the group we decided that If we could come up with at least five negative to positive benefits at the North, we would go with the second idea as it was the most captivating.
Below are the list of Less is more ideas I came up with:
1. Less smog watching, more star gazing.
2. Less being alone, more being together.
3. Less romanticised, more realistic.
4. Less staying put, more moving on.
5. Less there, more here.
As members in the group had come up with other ideas as well this solidified in Ian's standards that we could pull the idea off and it would be successful.
We also looked into visual ideas of a group and made a few design decisions.
In terms of design we all came to agreement that all aspects of the brand would be illustration based over the use of the photography, as like the concept these can be made more visually arresting through the use of colour and style.
In terms of style we also wanted to follow the less is more concept that we initiated for the campaign/brand idea. Therefore we looked for bright, colourful and minimalist illustration ideas. We were inspired by a few different sources.
https://www.behance.net/gallery/22541265/Serious-Icons
Here we found a sequence of Icons which had been simply animated to move and transform. We had previously spoken about the possibility of creating moving billboards which would list the less benefits of the North in a moving cycle. It was good to see how we could incoporate movement in the design however still keep the Less is more minimalist aesthetic spoken about previously.
We looked at further moving design:
https://www.behance.net/gallery/23369311/Hola-Chicos-
Looking at such example displayed to us how such simple ideas and illustrations could come alive.
Something more video by Hungry sandwich:
- Simple.
- Catchy.
- Clear.
- Attractive.
- Fun.
Feedback from Ian.
Ian from Arris the branding consultation came back to visit our group as he wanted to help us build on our brand/campaign strategy. He gave us lots of great feedback and it really was a pleasure to be able to speak to him and gain his understanding.
Ian said that our idea was captivating and that the strategy was a 'STONKING' method of catching the eye. However he said that it is pinnacle that with a strong concept we try really hard to execute it well. He liked the Less is more concept, however also like the theme of evolvement and so thought it was best that through the process of 'Less is More' we communicate the potential of the North.
We were anxious about people looking at the less is more concept in a negative light however Ian reassured us that the concept of reverse psychology was refreshing compared to the surrounding marketing and branding that tries to scream how good they are.
Ian provided us with a great model/ framework he uses to pitch any of his branding ideas/ concepts up against. It consisted of a quad venn diagram with the sections:
- Competition.
- Audience.
- History.
- Future proof
Competition - Our idea is different to the competition, in stead of listing all of the things we are more of, we list all the things we are less of in a positive light.
Audience - We are attracting the audience with propositions appealing to them, considering our vast demographic of tourists, residents, business people etc.
History - We take into consideration and Northern Heritage, demonstrating what is great about the North and what Heritage there is to be proud of.
Futureproof - We discuss the potential of the North and how the future is brighter than the present.
- Hunt down references (and other ideas) and express how you are different (on blog).
- Make the logo connect with the idea. Currently the logo and the marketing ideas are two separate entities... make them one.
(Possible idea: N is bursting with potential?)
- Make the logo look less corporate?
- Make it personable.
- Look at different applications and platforms. - Decide which options from the list you are going to work on.
- Focus on craft, the idea is great - now time to focus on the execution.
- Look at current train uniforms and see how the brands have been applied.
- Constantly check what you create against your audience/ audiences to make sure it is appropriate.
- Consistency across all posters, logo and brand elements.
- Look at York means business branding and how they use facts and figures to back up the points them make in a creative way. (Consider using facts and figures to back up the points you make)
- Look at Visuelle.co.uk/com to look at how to craft and present branding.
- Also look at BVD for branding presentation.
- Come up with a simple explanation for out brand / marketing idea so that a 5 YEAR OLD understands it.
Consider promise / experience/ memory. All successful brands do this, what are they for your brand?
____________
Overall we got some amazing feedback from Ian and he gave us a great list of things to consider.
He also sent a further email concluding his feedback which was also very helpful.
Guys, as you know I had a very early start yesterday so may have been a bit fuzzy yesterday, after a good nights sleep I just wanted to clarify a couple of points:
1. I didn’t want you to think you needed to rework the compass logo idea – it looked really strong and distinctive. The capital ’N’ is a perfect metaphor for “Capital North” and the simplicity of it as a marque would work well as a sign-off to a big headline for example. Plus on it’s own it would be recognisable enough to work across many applications from apps to posters.
2. The use of your up arrow/crown device (which made it look like a compass) could maybe explored further - to bring some dynamism into other applications. I’m thinking big and small, from use in headlines like 'MORE TH>N Insurance' to use as a pattern for ties on train uniforms, material for seating, even in a logo animation. These are just ideas to make sure you’re making best use of your brand toolbox (graphic elements), make your own decisions to how important, type, colour, image, devices are used and where and when.
You’ve got a great spirited central concept: The North is full of potential/opportunity (outake: we’re ready for you).
You’ve got some lovely messaging ideas, now let’s see it all pulled together consistently with some great design craft.
Good luck.
Ian.
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