Creativity and Design: The Brand of Me

This year, Advanced 3D Design (AD3DD) students are creating their own Google sites that will function as digital portfolios for their designs. To give each site a cohesive look and feel, students took on the challenge of creating a style guide and logo that would communicate their values as a designer.

 

Students learned about the subtleties of branding in class, discussing and writing about companies that use branding well, and those that don’t. Director of Marketing and Communications Erin Sullivan also visited the AD3DD classes to talk about a brand that the students know well—Fay School! She shared Fay School’s style guide and discussed the components of the Fay brand, including colors, typefaces, and graphic elements. Erin shared some of the critical elements of a brand for students to consider, such as the ideals that their brand represents, the unique offering that makes their brand different, and what their brand promises to deliver every time. She also shared insight into the best practices of logo creation, noting that companies often use multiple logos for different purposes, such as the Fay crest and the Fay athletics logo, but that a strong logo should always be presented consistently with the same typeface, colors, and graphics.

 

Students were asked to create ten logos to start. “Most students came up with significantly more than that,” notes Design Teacher Andrew Shirley, as they brainstormed multiple logo designs. “We talk a lot about being able to turn off the inner critic in order to brainstorm, and then turn it back on when you need to refine your ideas.”

 

For their style guides, students created a document that included their logos and a description of their usage, their color palette with the precise hex color codes and an explanation of their color choices, their typeface selections, and an explanation of their brand identity. Creating the logo and style guide encouraged students “to articulate how they see design and to put that on display so that the audience will understand who they are and what they value as a designer,” says Andrew.

 

“I love design and computer science, so I want my brand to represent design in the modern world. I decided that my brand should be clean, modern, and simple-looking. My logo represents me because it represents design and modernization. The “G” is an arrow going in circles, which represents the design process. The letter “Z” represents me because it is simple. The logo can be changed to any color, which represents my adaptability.”

 

“My brand represents a vintage style while also expressing my youth. I chose to use a record as my logo because I love music and vinyl. I chose upbeat colors because I admire neon and bright shades. As a designer I think outside of the box and try to face every challenge head on, and my brand represents my creativity and directness. My initials are right next to each other, as if they are mirroring one another. The mirroring shows that while they look opposite to each other, they still represent the same person.”

 

“My philosophy is ‘It is a good design when there is less design.’ Simplicity can be calming and make the viewer go straight to thinking about the brand. My logo is a combination of the letters ‘m’, ‘j’, and ‘c’, my initials. The color palette is monotone except the accent colors; I think monotones bring simplicity to the design.”

 

“The essential idea of this logo is ‘Inspiration,’ learning from others while being creative. I chose this design because the number 17 is known as the ‘Angel’s number’ – it represents awareness, wisdom, and influence, and in stories, whenever this number appears in a person’s life, they are guided by an angel. I chose the color forest black because it relates to the idea of nature. This color reminds me of the early evening of a dark oak forest in a polar region, where everything is silent except for the wind. I chose to put the number 1 in the middle of the image because of two reasons. First, it makes the design more proportionate. Second, the shape forms a letter “P” in the middle, for the first letter of my name.”

 

“4tune is intended to leave a bubbly and calming impression on viewers. Its goal is to be a welcoming and fun brand that makes you smile when you see the logo because you know that its content will brighten your day.”