Self branding

clydebankcoyle

New Member
Self branding project for college. I struggle with type more than anything else.

Also if anyone knows the fonts would be great as Ive lost the vector file for it this is just a jpeg (the i and d in studio have been altered slightly)

cktzEg.jpg

I know the s in Services should be a capital for consistency.
 
Look up what the font and what is font.

Other than that your logo is generic, there's nothing emotive going on. Could be a logo for glue, or for actual sticks.
 
I tried what the font and what font is to no avail.

the simplicity of the logo is based on my research of other graphic design company's most of the big guys logos are simple logo.png landor_logo.jpg meta_Meta_Logo1.jpg like so. What would you suggest ??

appreciate the help
 
Last edited:
The fonts are:

Stick = Benton Sans ExtraLight & isn't 'Studio' just Helvetica Bold but poorly altered in places? And obviously with the dot of the 'i' easily being replaced with a circle rather than it's standard square.

While I completely agree with the above comment, I also struggle with it's current format. Have you explored what it would be like on a single line like this:

StickStudio.jpg

But this may chance once you come up with another design. I would suggest you do much more thorough research that is appropriate for your project.
 
No mate Its not helvetica, I would have rememberd if it was. Sorry I made a mistake its onlythe i thats been altered.

Ive pages of it moved about into diffrent positions. Its a college piece so Ive got 34 A3 pages of research and development. I prefered it on two lines but maybe im wrong. Still cant understand why graphic design companys dont use their logo to showcase their talents, still never found an answer for that.
 
Actually I was wrong, on closer inspection the 'Stick' font is not Benton Sans ExtraLight, but it is very similar. If 'Studio' is not an altered version of Helvetica Bold (with the exception of the'i') it is very close. Since this is just for a college project, you should get away with using fonts that are almost identical, apart from the subtle differences, to your brand type. Helvetica is a nicer and more complete font than that of the 'Studio' font anyway... Not that I would use Helvetica in branding.
 
Still cant understand why graphic design companys dont use their logo to showcase their talents, still never found an answer for that.

Mainly because it's incredibly difficult to demonstrate what a design studio does in a single mark without falling back on tired and obvious cliches like light bulbs, brains, pencils, etc, but also because branding is more than just a logo. There's a lot you can do in terms of branding using just a name and a type-based visual identity (check out this example – Stu the Copywriter | Telling Stories)

A simple approach means there's more options for additions to the branding, rather than simply focussing on a fancy mark. Most clients honestly couldn't care about your logo, it's the work you do for others (and can do for them) that they're interested in.
 
For College and portfolio expectations, perhaps you should think of something creative and confidently explain it in your rational.

I understand you did research on major design firms with stimulating company history, but how does your self-brand compete with them?
What about researching local and small agencies, studios and freelancers?

Could you experiment designing a distinct monogram style logo?
Or an element that helps make up your logo?
 
Thanks paul, thats a great explanation and will greatly improve my sketchbook.

I had a look at some smallish Glasgow graphic design company's too, wish I had a scanner to show you. My favorite was madebrave, you will find them if you google that.

Something that I noticed today is that my name David Coyle, starting in a D and ending in a D then second name Coyle starting in a C migh t give me scope to focus on the DC in the middle and graphic ending in a C and design starting in a D could maybe give me something to explore. I hope this makes sense as Im not on a computer that I can create an example and its only in my head right now.
 
I had a look at some smallish Glasgow graphic design company's too, wish I had a scanner to show you. My favorite was madebrave, you will find them if you google that.

You effectively have complete freedom over the name you use and the logo you design so take advantage of this. Don't feel tied to use your own name (unless the project brief specifies it). There's no reason why you can't come up with a studio name that you can work under that will allow you to create the logo and branding you want. Hell, you could even design the logo first them name your studio afterwards (just make sure your research suggests a thought process).

It's not what tutors want you to do, but you'll be surprised how often a rationale is applied AFTER a design is done. ;)
 
I wasnt intending on using my name but when I relised that idea I thought it might be a shout.

Heres a 2 second quick mock up of the idea I mean. sadf.jpg (not played with colour position tracking leading font ect.) just to show you the idea I mean. Think thats worth exploring ?
 
Don't think it will work in black and white (it will read David Esigns Graphic Oyle) but could work with light grey instead of black.
 
I think you've gone back a step with that one. You need to think of a concept and setting on it for focus, rather than thinking of random design concepts. Apply some structure to your creative process. You can be really creative with college self-branding projects: what are you really passionate about (apart from graphic design?), what is your favourite hobby? Something unique about yourself? You can use something interesting about yourself or something you do, that could be unrelated to design and use it as a concept for your own self-brand.

This would be far more interesting and thought provoking, rather than thinking of a company name for a design studio, or implementing your name & surname as your brand.
 
... you'll be surprised how often a rationale is applied AFTER a design is done. ;)

True. This can work when you're genuinely trying to outline what you think was happening on a subconscious level but, more often than not, a rationale prepared post-execution includes a lot of nonsense and is easily rumbled by an all-too-obvious mismatch between the two.
 
Back
Top