OUGD403 Studio Brief 1 - Logotype

On Friday the 9th of October we were all briefed for our first studio task - logotype. We have to produce a series of logotypes for a re-brand of our chosen company. Experimenting with scale, stroke, spacing, contrast and alignment. 

I also need to consider:

• Who is the company?
• What do they do?
• Who is the target audience?
• Where will the logo appear?

I have chosen to re-brand 'The Perfume Shop'. It is 2nd in the UK as a perfume retailer and is growing larger as a company. This indicates to me that it needs to be branded so that it is iconic and no one will forget it. The current logo is too outdated and looks cheap, which does not reflect the high end brands it stocks. I also do not like the way in which it is stylised on the word 'Perfume' where it enlarges in the middle. I want to make a logo that is modern, iconic and reflects the brand well. 

Current logo.

About the company:

• UK founded in 1992
• Subsidiary of A.S. Watson Group 2005
• 2nd largest fragrance retailer in the UK
• Typically trades from smaller shops for better face to face interaction with their customers.
• Busiest period is Christmas
• Since 2010 - shop in shop concept at Superdrug stores which proved very successful.
• In 2011 they launched their own loyalty card scheme named 'Rewards Club'. Enables them to get to know their customers and monitor shopping habits so they could tailor for specific customers. Similar to other A.S. Watson companies.
• In The Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies To Work For in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
• Companies vision is to become the world's leading international health and beauty retailer.
• Aim is to exceed customer expectations in everything they do.
• Regular customer research
• Focus on "Price, service and range"

On Monday the 12th I went in to the shop in Leeds Trinity shopping centre, I was only allowed to take a picture of the outside of the shop. The reason I was not allowed to take a picture of the inside was because the brands they sell did not give their permission and neither do The Perfume Shop themselves. 

Things I noticed about the shop:

• Designer fragrances at affordable prices
• Professional advice - unbiased - individual tastes, needs and budget.
• Online website 
• Gift guide - catalogue
• Bright white lights
• Shiny
• Glass cabinets for ALL perfumes
• Split sections for men and women
• Red signs with white writing
• Clean
• BRIGHT
• Products on obvious display
• Minimal fuss - appeal to men 

These are my own photos of the shop in Leeds Trinity shopping centre, I wasn't allowed to take any others.

Staff + Uniform:

• Black top and trousers
• Girls black chiffon neck scarf with logo printed on
• Small black name badge
• Friendly
• Big smiles
• Really eager and happy to help

Competitors:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/08/Boots.svg/1280px-Boots.svg.png

BOOTS

• The UK's number one pharmacy-led health a beauty retailer
• Large destination health and beauty stores
• Purpose - To help customers look and feel better then they ever thought possible
• Boots UK is part of the Retail Pharmacy International Division of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc, the first global pharmacy-led health and well-being enterprise.
• There mission - "To be the first choice for pharmacy, health and beauty - caring for people, customers and communities everywhere".
• Established in Nottingham 1849 by John Boot 

Boots is primarily The Perfume Shop's major competitor as it is number one in the UK. Because of the heritage of Boots and how long it has been around, it is a trusted brand where customers may be more inclined to go. It visually has a strong brand identity because nearly everyone in the UK would recognise even just the blue oval without the text. The range and price at boots is similar to The Perfume Shops. However Boots usually have quite large stores which can be quite overwhelming for people who only specifically want to buy fragrances. This is where The Perfume Shop has the edge, with smaller shops specifically suited to work with the customers and make them feel in control of their purchase.

http://www.haymarketshoppingcentre.com/img/logos/fragrance-shop.png

THE FRAGRANCE SHOP

• Establish in 1995
• Privately owned, family run retailer with shops throughout the UK and online.
• Designer fragrances direct from fragrance houses, low prices and offers.

The Fragrance shop seems to be mimicking what The Perfume Shop does in terms of price, range and presentation. But The Perfume Shop are more recognised and has more shops opened in UK. My personal view is that The Fragrance Shop isn't memorable and doesn't look like a trustworthy company that sells high end products.

Re-branding within the health and beauty market:


THE BODY SHOP

• Founded in 1976 in Brighton, England
• Acquired by L'Oreal in 2006
• Offering high-quality, naturally-inspired skincare, hair care and make-up produced ethically and sustainably. 
• The first international cosmetics company to introduce fair trade to the cosmetics and toiletries industry in 1987. 

The old body shop logo:

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/logopedia/images/1/1b/198838_logo_300.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110829150036

The new body shop logo, re-brand:

http://theretaildatabase.co.uk/images/Logo/bodyshop.jpg

Handsome was the company that designed the re-brand. There task was to revive the brand and make it more accessible to be applied on the various products. The re-brand was really successful as sales increased. I believe also that it is a really strong re-brand being functional and adaptable. The redesign is refreshingly modern that could be timeless as it has become iconic and easily recognisable. I think that keeping some of the ideas from the old design is really important when re-branding a well known and established company. When coming up with designs I may take this into consideration although I am unsure which parts of the current logo I would keep.

An inspiring designer:

HERB LUBALIN

https://petergithinji.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/herb_lubalin2.jpg

•  American graphic designer
• He designed the typeface ICT Avant Garde, seen in logos created in the 1990's to 2000's.
• Wide range of projects - poster and magazine design to packaging and identity solutions.
• Best known for his succession of magazines - Eros, Fact and Avant Garde.
• Offices internationally in Paris and London.
• Signature style of expressive typography. 

Some of his typographic logos:

http://www.designishistory.com/images/lubalin/logos.jpg

I find Herb Lubalin's work to be really inspiring how he pushed the boundaries of typographic design and became a pioneer for a new age of design. He rejected the rules of traditional typography and rigidity of modernism, creating more expressive type. The way in which he structures and lays out his typographic logos is compelling and interesting, they are all bespoke which adds an edge to the logos he has designed. He used a process called phototypesetting which was new at the time, where type is projected onto film for printing. This allowed an experimentation with unusual kerning and larger scales.

Initial Ideas:

These are some quick initial sketches to try and get my ideas flowing. I would say initially I did struggle to get some ideas, but I have decided to move on and look at it from a digital point of view with the few ideas I have.

First I tried out different typefaces and layouts in reference to my sketches.

My favourite was Futura BQ Regular. I chose this because I think futura is a timeless typeface and it is very versatile. I think BQ Regular gives it a bolder dynamic look that enhances the original typeface. I proceeded then to decide on the use of capitals.

I found that working all in uppercase my eye was repeatedly drawn to it, over the others it had more energy.

After recently learning about kerning I decided to play around with this a little, the picture above shows what I found to be most satisfying on the eye. It is closely kerned which I believe helps it become more punchy and sharp.

I wanted my logotype to have an extra element to make it bespoke to the brand so I came up with the idea of turning the 'O' into a perfume bottle. This proved a little difficult as I played around with different designs one of the problems was that it looked like a diamond ring. I think I managed to tackle that by putting 'liquid' and a line indicating the spray plunger. The second problem I faced is that the type no longer worked closely kerned, so I had to adjust the kerning between the words to allow for the design.

I then lastly experimented with a little bit of colour. I didn't really like the bright red that their logo already has, so I tried to steer clear of this and stick with a more sophisticated black and white theme. However on reflection I feel I probably should have experimented with colour more and kept all three original colours of the logo in my design as it makes the brand recognisable.

Final Design

This is my final design for the logotype to be used on bags, catalogues, signs, posters etc.

Shop sign:

Website:

Self reflection and evaluation:

I believe that my logotype is bold and unique to the brand. It reflects a fragrance shop showing how it is contextually informed and people immediately engage, recognising exactly what that brand does. I think that it is a really cohesive aspect of the design that people when just seeing the logo as well as the name, that it is clear what it is. Although there may be a problem with scale, when applied at a smaller scale the perfume bottle might not be recognisable. I took inspiration from The Body Shop's re-brand and I think this is reflected within my final design. I found this a challenging task as I always struggle to come up with ideas for logos, I find it hard to try and represent a whole brand within one small piece of design. I have also realised through doing this brief that I do not experiment with my ideas enough and this proves to be very limiting. I really need to work on this, but hopefully I will try and focus on that for the next brief, really developing my ideas thoroughly.

In reference to the brief I believe that I did focus on the manipulation of original letter-forms and considered who the company are within my final design. However I should have considered looking to 'refresh' the brand as it already has a reasonably recognisable logo. And one of the major things within the brief that I did not do very successfully is experiment. Overall I think the design turned out well and does meet the brief but I would not say it was 100% successful as I need to make sure I do meet all the brief requirements.

Evaluation from others:

Do you think the logotype is appropriate for a back-lit shop sign and why?

• Overall yes
• Stands out, bold, simple, easily legible, eye-catching
• Experiment with different colours
• Experiment with various kerning techniques

It is appropriate for the brand and why?

• Overall yes
• Clear what it is selling by the symbol
• Upmarket feel
• Not too formal
• Reminds them of the body shop

What target audience is this re-brand aimed at?

• Women
• High end, upmarket audience
• 20+
• Maybe name change?

Can the logotype be used in multiple contexts and why?

• Overall yes
• Simplicity
• The 'O' will not translate well at a smaller scale
• Versatile and easily recognisable 

How do you feel the brand has changed in terms of direction (upmarket etc.) and why?

• Simplicity of the type and accurate kerning created a more high end brand
• Would look more high-end if the writing wasn't as bold and more effective without the full stop.
• A more professional approach 
• Classy and stylish

Do you feel I chose the appropriate typeface (Futura BQ Regular) and why?

• Overall yes
• Bold, eye-catching sans-serif type face, easier to read
• Friendly feel
• Modern, versatile, legible, clean - uppercase correct design decision
• Make it less bold
• Full stop not needed

Would you have chosen a different initial design?

• Unsure of final design for the perfume bottle 'O' looks cluttered
• Try variations
• Need to work with scale
• White on black for the final logo is effective
• Think about shape - dimension/scale
• Perfume bottle element not sure if it works or if it is necessary

Would you visit the shop and why?

• No, looks too expensive
• Don't buy perfume but looks appealing

I wanted to modernise and bring a more sophisticated feel that looks less cheap and more upmarket. Do you feel I have achieved that and why?

• Yes, symbol of perfume in the 'O' works well and creates a playful welcoming feel while still being simple and sophisticated with the sans serif font.
• Should try and incorporate the red into it
• Nice and clear use of perfume symbol - bold
• Isn't gender specific which shows its for men too
• The top of the perfume bottle looks like it is floating - try and revise the 'O' in another way to look like perfume.

Conclusion:

From the feedback I have received it is clear that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to my logo to work well as a cohesive, transferable, modern and ageless piece of design. The main issues seem to be with scale and whether the perfume bottle design was appropriate or needed. I have found this really useful because if I was to take this design forward and work further on this I feel I can address some of these problems and make more informed design decisions.