Studio brief 3: Final outcomes

Rationale

Our branding is based around the shaping of Leeds through a variety of events that have happened in the past or are still currently taking place. Leeds is home to a vast range of cultures and communities that in turn, have contributed to the development of the city. We wanted to make this our main focus, so decided upon the name ‘Shaped’ to reflect this. The triangle shapes within the logos are inspired by the shape of Leeds Library's roof, the building in which the exhibition will be held. The colour scheme uses CMYK which are the common colours used within traditional print, the way in which all of the prints will be produced for the exhibition. The use of this typeface, Avenir (Black) is due to the ease of legibility as well as the slightly rounded shapes linking to our theme. Textures within the triangles are relating to the buildings within Leeds as the city has a variety of architectural features throughout which means the textures link the city to our branding.

The Catalogue

The catalogue is a compilation of screen prints created by first and second year students about a celebratory event that has taken place in Leeds. The design of the catalogue fits the theme that is consistent throughout the other designs, the cyan, magenta and yellow triangles acting as the main visuals. Each piece is numbered in the same style that the to the wayfinding system has been designed so that people are able to easily locate specific pieces.

Posters
The poster design is based on the logo and the concept that the cyan, magenta and yellow triangles overlap to show how the different colours are made in the printing process. The poster has been designed in a way that the template remains the same throughout and the arrangement of the triangles change with each print. The registration marks replicate those that would be used in traditional print, acting as the area in which the triangles can be printed within on the poster. The poster advertises the location, dates, closing show and the identity for Room 700 and Leeds Library.

Flyers + Invites

The invitations and flyers for the exhibition are both small, postcard sized and easy to distribute. The triangles have been used to cover the entire front of the designs, adding an element of curiosity – if people were to see these on a table, they would be intrigued as to what they were. The underside of both designs is where the text is placed, with the name and date of the exhibition acting as the main focus. A hint of the front design is included on the back to add an  element of continuity. The same typeface is used throughout the designs, Avenir, in a variety of weights and sizes – this helps add consistency to the branding. Text is minimal and is kept straight to the point to avoid fuss or confusion. The slogan ‘be there or be square’ is included on the back of the invitation – this creates an element of humour and light-heartedness, whilst also playing around with the idea of ‘shapes’.  The flyers would be distributed and placed around the city, found in shops such as Colours May Vary or other similar independent stores. The invites would be sent out to other creatives as their own invitation, adding a friendly and personal touch.

Social Media

The whole aim of the social media is to create an initial buzz for the event by releasing bits of information through the use of gifs on social media (facebook, twitter, instagram). Initially starting with gif one, which gives very little away other than the logotype, CMYK colour swatch, and the triangle identity. In subsequent months another two gifs would be released announcing the date and finally the location. The final stage of the social media is to really create a sense of excitement by creating a countdown on instagram, which will then form the logo for ‘shaped’.

Wayfinding

The Wayfinding system was taken from the main logo of our branding, in which the screen-printed posters were split up into 3 different categories depending on the year of the event. The three different colours of the logo represent the categories. We decided to keep the triangle, as it is an appropriate shape for a Wayfinding system as it is directional. At each poster, there is a numbered triangle relating to the catalogue in which you will find the information about the print. At the end of the exhibition there is an interactive mural which gives the visitors an opportunity to place a sticker within an outlined shape of Leeds, this relates to the idea of ‘Shaping our city’.