Studio Brief 1: logotype research

History of time:

The history of the methods of telling time was the starting point of my research. The first ever method was based upon the appearance of Sirius. Sirius is a star system and the brightest star in the Earth's night sky. The ancient Greeks observed that the shining of Sirius indicated the hot and dry summer. The brightness of Sirius caused it to appear to twinkle and anyone to witness this was described to be "star-struck".

The symbol for Sirius

Figure 1
Stonehenge

Ancient civilisations relied on astronomical bodies such as the sun and moon, to determine times, dates and seasons. The first calendars were thought to have been created during the last glacial period, by hunter-gatherers, relying on tools such as sticks and bones to track the phases of the moon or the seasons. Stone circles such as Stonehenge (figure 1), were created as a way to predict seasonal and annual events such as equinoxes and solstices.
The shapes, forms and structures of Stonehenge could be incorporated into the design of the logotype in a way that it isn't necessarily obvious to the target audience, but with research it would become clear and symbolise something historically meaningful and relevant.

Figure 2

Figure 2 is an image of Stonehenge that I edited to black and white so that I could see the main structural features and see how I could link this to my design. 

The vertically standing stones, could create a pattern one of the letters of 'Adjourn'. It may look effective standing for the 'O'. It could be designed to appear slightly 3D as this will make it stand out much more. 

Sirius made up of Stonehenge sketch

The middle section stands up to form a 'C' shape which is similar to the right end of the Sirius symbol. I could design the Sirius symbol out of stone-like shapes to represent both 'the brightest star' and also Stonehenge. This may look effective when drawn accurately onto illustrator. This would make the design much richer in terms of meaning as it links to two historical ways of telling the time. 


Existing branding:

Figure 3 shows some of the research undertook on high-end watch brands and fashion labels. The majority of the brands have serifed writing as I think this portrays sophistication, high-quality and good style. A lot of high-end watch companies use either thick or thin line widths, suggesting consistency. The high-end fashion brands however, tend to use the typefaces with higher contrasts  between the line widths. Bodoni is a font that could work, as it is serifed and has high contrasted strokes. It will be important to produce the type with a simple presentation to maintain the level of quality; evenly spaced and uppercase.

The primary research was in the Victoria Quarter of Leeds, home to luxurious fashion brands. This gave the opportunity to compare the fonts of the high-end brands and look for any common features. The main observation was that a lot of them have fairly large spacing, increasing the look of sophistication and quality. 
In an exclusive arcade like this, it would be important that the brands in it have a strong enough identity without the need for certain colours. This arcade is themed with black and gold decor. This highlighted the importance of a black and white logo with a strong design that would become easily recognised. The logotype would need something unique about it so that small square pop-out signs can just show the symbol and not the whole word. 

The serifed writing in 'Tiffany & Co' appears to represent a brand that sells high quality and desirable products. There is a very high contrast in strokes which is something I would look to include in the brand I am creating as it is one that should sell stylish products. 

Figure 3

The research into existing watch brands showed that the majority of companies had 
the name and then a small relevant symbol either below, above or to the side. The brands symbol will be focused on Sirius as companies appear to be of higher quality when a lot of history is invested into the design of the products. 

Common features of high-end watch brands:
-serif typeface
-spaced kerning
-uppercase
-word and symbol
-high contrast line widths

There are many obvious similarities between the watch brands when having a quick glance. The typefaces used are all simple, evenly spaced and the majority use all capital letters. The name is then often accompanied by a small symbol which could then stand alone on the products.