Just Creative Design

Identity Design Process for Butterfield Photography

I’ve recently finished designing the identity for ‘Butterfield Photography’, a photography duo based in Southern Arizona, USA. In this article I share with you a bit about the process & decisions made while working around the constraints of this particular project.

Butterfield Photography is run by Maria and Robert Butterfeild, who both focus on two different areas of photography - wedding / family photography and commerical / sport photography.

Below you can see the old and new Butterfield Photography logos.

Design Constraints

Without going into too much detail, these were the constraints I had to work within.

• The logo design had to be elegant & sophisticated yet not too feminine (ie. had to be usable for both weddings, commercial & sport photography)
• The logo had to portray a natural, warm, friendly yet sophisticated style.
• The logo had to be be usable across a broad range of businesses (ie. the logo still could be usable for a construction business) and could have no association with photography.
• The logo had to work in one colour only as the logo had to be able to be used across a variety of applications such as clothing, vehicles, cameras, etc.

Brainstorming

Below you can see the very first stage of my very messy creative process - that of mindmapping and brainstorming. There were many more pages of these sketches however I thought it best to save your eyes.

Design Decisions

Minimalism: To work around these constraints mentioned above I decided to go for a very minimalist approach to reflect both elegance and sophistication. This would allow for the identity to be versatile and reflect those values stated above. I used the typeface ‘Gill Sans Light‘ to support these values.

Colour: The particular orange colour used in the Butterfield identity is fresh & vibrant and evokes Maria and Robert’s style of photography… natural. The colour is not too bright, nor too dull which allows it to give off an aura of warmth and friendliness. Do you know your colour theory?

Concept: After many sketches, concepts and experimentations I came down to the concept of using a burst of lines radiating out from the initials BP. Although this is entirely up to the perspective of the viewer, one could see the mark as a sun, a flower, a camera flash, a face, a camera lens, a light, etc. but what ever way one sees it, in the end, the mark still communicates a feeling of warmth, radiance and friendliness.

Delivery

Pitching a minimalist design to a client is quite a hard task, so it is best to show the logo in context. This may mean you will have to mockup some examples of letterhead, websites, etc.

You can view the PDF file I sent to Maria & Robert when pitching this concept.

After sending through the first PDF, Robert replied:

“I really liked the logo from the first time I saw it, simple (which is exactly what I was looking for), easily reproduced for embossing, stamping, embroidering etc. You nailed it right out of the gate…. GREAT JOB!!!”

The hard work paid off and no more revisions were made. It is important to note that you should only pitch your best logo design concepts.

Below you can see the identity system in use.

Business Card

Letterhead

Website Mockup (used when presenting the logo)

Mockup of fictional business (shows adaptability of logo)

The logo was also applied to a racecar of which you can see some of the pictures below.

1st Attempt

2nd Attempt

To be honest I was a bit disappointed to see the logo at such a small size and also to see the grey colour of ‘Butterfield’ changed to a dark orange (see second picture above) as the text loses contrast against the blue, however thankfully the owner of the racecar also agreed about this and they removed the stickers and reapplied them at a much larger size (see the last picture above) which I think looks much better. Maria also told me that the car came first place too which was great news!

The logo will also be appearing on a variety of other products of which I will upload when I get the pictures.

Testimonial

Below you can find the official testimonial from Maria Butterfield. You can read more of my client’s testimonials here.

We hired Jacob to design our new business logo and were beyond pleased with his professionalism and creativity. He took our ideas and needs and transformed them into a logo that reflected all of our desires. We were particularly impressed with the thoroughness in the questions he asked us concerning our wants and needs. Jacob exceeded all of our expectations! We have no hesitation in recommending him to anyone looking for branding that will truly reflect who they are.

- Maria Butterfield

There has also been great feedback from the followers of Maria’s blog:

I’m loving your new look Maria! So clean and fresh. Looking good.

- Angela

I’m loving the new look! Very modern.

- Rachel

Very very nice - I love the new design!

- Cheryl

Comments from my readers are always appreciated too - thanks for reading!

My work exhibited at Melbourne Museum

Back in early April I announced that I would be attending two Australian design conferences, one called Semi Permanent (that I reviewed here) and another called agIdeas which is in May.

Well the agIdeas conference (sold out) also had a side design competition called agIdeas NewStar that allowed you to enter some of your previously designed work for judging to see if it would be worthy for exhibition at the Melbourne Museum. Well I entered, and have just got word that my work got short-listed and will be appearing at Melbourne Museum! (For those not familiar with Melbourne, it is Australia’s second largest city.)

The NewStar exhibition will be on at Melbourne University from 24 April to 24 May (10am to 5pm). I will also be in Melbourne from May 4th till May 7th so if you’re in the area and want to say hello, please do let me know!

More info about agIdeas 2009 NewStar

agIdeas NewStar is an awards program for design students and new graduates. The Collie Print Trust Award’s the winner with a 2 week international scholarship including flights, accommodation and 2 weeks work experience at one of the following studios: (Ahn Sang So Korea, Browns UK, Guerilla Games The Netherlands, OJ South Africa, Pentagram USA, Prologue USA, SeymourPowell UK). [Fingers crossed I win this]

agIdeas NewStar Exhibition is part of the Designed to Inspire program at Melbourne Museum. The program offers public recognition of the work of talented emerging and practicing designers. The role of the museum is to increase design literacy in the general public, to broaden national and international awareness of the quality and diversity of contemporary Australian design, and to enhance Victoria as a centre of design excellence.

Entered Pieces

You were allowed to submit as many entries as you wanted however each entry had to have 3 pieces in it. I only submitted one entry (with 3 pieces inside) and you can see them below. I assume all three pieces will be on display at the museum as I haven’t been told otherwise.

FITTUCI Custom Windows & Doors Logo Design

Description: FITTUCI Custom Windows & Doors is a comprehensive source for superior custom doors & windows. They specialise in luxury state of the art doors & windows. The logo depicts an illusion of either windows or doors.

I wrote about the design process of this logo in full here.

Wedgetail Premium Citrus Vodka Bottle & Packaging

Description: Brand and identity development, 3D rendering, packaging and photography for Wedgetail Distillery’s Premium Citrus Vodka Premix alco-pop marketed towards 18-25 year olds.

I wrote about the design process of this project in full here.

Photoshop For Right Brainers

Description: Book cover design for a book targeted towards creatives who wish to use Photoshop for photo manipulation. The illustration depicts a man’s right side of the brain and the vertical text forces the viewer to tilt their head to the right to read the name of the book (hence right side of the brain). The word Photoshop also depicts an exclamation mark.

I was approached by John Wiley & Sons (one the world’s largest book publishers) to design this book cover back in September last year.

Now fingers crossed I win the Collie Print Trust Award!

Check me out in these magazines!

Back in January I wrote the cover article for Layers Magazine on the topic of ‘Negative Space’ and now I am back again, but this time in the form of a poster boy - well not that kind of poster boy.

If you have a quick look though the April/May edition of Layers Magazine you will find my little mugshot on one of their advertisements along with some of my CD artwork. See the image below.

You may also be interested to know you can test drive Layers magazine by grabbing a free copy over at their site or you could look through their last issue online.

Also, check me out in next months edition of the mag, I will be appearing in their “Instant Inspiration” section with an interview and a showcase of my work.

I will also be appearing in the Photoshop and Illustrator tutorial sections over the next few months of which I will post on here once they are available. Stay tuned!

Computer Arts Projects Magazine (Issue 122)

After posting this article, I was told by Chris Spooner (big thank you) that I’ve also been featured in Issue 122 of the Computer Arts Projects Magazine -  three times!

A big thanks to Chris Spooner for sending me the pics below.

The front cover of the magazine.

The inspiration directory page.

Tips for marketing yourself page.

Personal recommendation from Paul Wyatt! Thank you!

DG Magazine Portfolio

Update #3 - Just got word that my logo got approved for the “DG Portfolio 8″ magazine. See the pics below!

Front Cover

The page that I am on.

Close up of my logo.

Wolda 2008 Annual Arrives

Back in October 2008 I announced winning two major logo design awards - the ‘Best of Continent’ and ‘Best of Nation’ for my Just Creative Design logo (the logo you see at the top of this blog)…

and then in December I announced receieving the actual awards in the mail of which you can see below…

And just today, the actual book arrived in the mail… it is a great little publication and a real keeper! Below you can find photos of the book and my logo being showcased (got onto 3 pages which was great!)

Wolda is now accepting entries for the 2009 Wolda Annual so get in before the first deadline of June 31st.

The Design Process Of Creating A Corporate Identity For A Beer Label: Part 3 - Annual Report Design

Over the past 14 weeks I have been developing a corporate identity for a new fictional beer label called Gruen. Over three articles I am outlining the process and decisions made while creating this identity.

This is part three - annual report design.

Read more »

The Design Process Of Creating A Corporate Identity For A Beer Label: Part 2 - Billboard Design

Over the past 14 weeks I have been developing a corporate identity for a new fictional beer label called Gruen. Over three articles I am outlining the process and decisions made while creating this identity.

This is part two - billboard design. “Part One - Beer Label Design” was posted last week and “Part Three - Annual Report Design” will be coming soon.

Below are the briefs of the three projects that we completed at University.

PART 1. Beer Label & Bottle Design

Pitch two beer label designs to the class > the class will vote on the best design for you to pursue > create mock ups of the chosen design.

PART 2. Creative Billboard Design

Pitch two creative billboard designs to the class based on the chosen beer from project one > the class will vote on best billboard design.

PART 3. Annual Report Design

Pitch two concepts to the class for the Gruen Brewery annual report design > the class will vote on the best annual report design.

Project 2: Creative Billboard Design

In project one, it was decided based on class votes that I would use the brown beer design rather than the green design. It was now time to move onto the next project… to create two creative billboards.

The Design Brief

You are required to produce 2 creative concepts for an advertising campaign which does not rely upon exaggeration, deception or hype. Your aim is to successfully promote Gruen Beer based on objective truth. Produce 2 advertising campaigns for a billboard design.

The campaign will have graphic consistency with the product and must include an image of the product. This may be a photo-realistic rendering or an actual photographic product shot. Each of your campaigns should take a unique approach. The class will then vote on the best design.

My Process

As I am also studying Design For Advertising this semester (just finished) and had already done a billboard design recently, this part of the process came quite naturally to me.

The main general rules to remember in billboard design is to keep the copy (text) under 7 words and to ensure the message can be understood within a few seconds… that is all the time you have to read a billboard when traveling on a road at high speeds.

Concept 1

After some brainstorming and sketching I came up with these two creative billboard concepts of which I then put together in Photoshop. The first billboard was based on the fact when you drive along in Australia, you see many ‘watch out for kangaroos’ signs. These signs usually have ‘NEXT 5km’ written underneath them… I took this concept and changed the one kangaroo to two kangaroos reflective of the Gruen Beer brand.

I then added the text “Next Pub in 5km” so that the drivers would stop at the next pub for a Gruen Beer, something that would be needed in the desert… which is subtly in the background.

You may also want to check out some more creative advertising here.

Concept 2

In this billboard I played on the ‘double’ idea again. This time I played on the fact that when you drink alcohol you get double vision and see two of one thing… which also reflects the Gruen brand of two kangaroos. I made the second beer in the billboard blurry to suggest this fact of blurred vision. The white text on the black background makes it very easy to read at a long distance, something which is essential in a billboard design.

The Verdict

90% of my classmates chose billboard number 1 which I also thought was the stronger design… it grabs your attention and makes the unfamiliar, familiar - not only that but it will make the viewer buy the product 5km down the road… which essentially is what advertising is for.

Poll:

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In the next post I will outline the design process behind creating two annual report designs. Subscribe to my article feed so you don’t miss out. As always, constructive criticism and comments are welcome.

FREE Books For You + Me As A Featured Designer

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to be a featured artist for the Wiley Book Cover Challenge and for my efforts I was rewarded with 14 various books that I got to choose from a quite varied list and guess what? I’m giving them away for free (inc. postage) here on Just Creative Design.

My Book Cover Design

You can view my cover design below or on the actual featured artists page here - please ignore the orange border that they have placed around my design on that page. The concept of my cover was to stand out from the other Photoshop books that were so busy and crowded… I went with a nice simplistic approach that reflected the name of the book and would look great in print.

I also emphasised the ‘right-brainers’ theme of the book by making the text sideways so as to make the reader turn their head to the right to read the text of the book - subtle, I know. There is also a subtle exclamation mark made with the word Photoshop. Did you see that one? The font I used was Meta, which is one of the best 30 fonts that every designer should know / own.

Anyway, you may be wondering, how do I get my free books? Well over the next few months I will be having various small ‘challenges’ or ‘tasks’ in separate blog posts starting with the first one now.

The first book I am giving away is Teach Your Self Visually: Photoshop CS3 and that comes with free postage to anywhere in the world.

Your Task: Facebook

1. Befriend me on Facebook.
2. Join The Just Creative Design Facebook Group.
3. Leave a comment on this article stating why you want the book.
4. Come back to this post to see if you have won. I will leave this thread open until Thursday 8.30am GMT+11

2x Teach Yourself Visually: Photoshop CS3
2x Teach Yourself Visually: HMTL & CSS
1x Digital Photography Workbook For Dummies
1x Color Confidence: Digital Photographers Guide To Color Management
1x Color Correction for Digital Photographers Only

This isn’t the only giveaway that is coming… I have got another $6000+ worth of prizes for my 1 year blog birthday bash coming up soon. Watch out!