OUGD603: SAC Ampleforth I // Logo Development

I wanted to kickoff the rebrand by redesigning the logo for SAC Ampleforth. 

OUGD603: Brief 11 - Dr. Me // Workshop

We were luck enough to have the design studio Dr. Me to come in and do a workshop with us. We were asked to do some quick fire briefs, which were to be done in one day. I worked with Caitlin. 

The first brief was to create a 12" inch vinyl sleeve from Evian Christ's new track. The song sounded quite ambient, with an almost industrial undertone. It almost sounded suspenseful, like an aeroplane turbine. It also reminded us of the music you hear as a background track to either a timelapse or a slow motion video. 

The track sounded organic and industrious at the same time, so we reflected this through our designed. Below is our first sleeve cover - which I think we ended up going with. Replacing the skyline with a flipped shipping scene - which was reflected through some tapping sounds in the music, almost like a boat engine.

Our second sleeve, which featured an organic picturesque boat scene, paddling across a submerged city. The contrast between the natural and the industrial. In both sleeves, we kept the type very clean. Using Bebas Nue - which is often overused these days, but we're rolling with it. We adjusted the tracking of the type so it sits in a more ominous fashion on the page.  

The second brief - we were asked to create some posters for 'Odonis Odonis'. The brief was very simple, it included the required copy, and that was it. Which left us with freedom for expression, letting us really do what we wanted. We tried a black and white background image, using some selection distortion to break up the image. Keeping the type centre aligned and justified using various type sizes. 

The alternative, the one we ended up going with is very colourful - abstract. Using the same type as above. The colourful abstract nature of the imagery reflects that of the existing posters and artwork used by Odonis Odonis. 

Finally, for the third brief. We were just told to make anything, something original. I dug out some imagery I've used in the past and put it together. I ended up making a lemur on the hover board from Back To The Future. 

It was an interesting workshop, certainly a change of pace from what I'm used to. But it was a chance to open up and be slightly more creative with my work that I usually am. A lot of my design work is very serious - to the point. I really enjoyed it in all, and I'll try to use more analogue methods in future. 

OUGD603: Brief 1 - SAC Ampleforth I // LA Fitness Research

I've continued to look into existing fitness brands, which I will evaluate and determine what works, what doesn't work. Generally getting ideas for what I can apply to SAC Ampleforth's rebrand. I've looked at LA Fitness - they were a client of Bloom. 

Below is an image of their website. 

LA Fitness are to launch a new range of classes under the 'Primal Series'. PS involves getting back to basics, the primal primitive movements. Working your body like nature intended. Which then splits into a range of classes under this theme. 

Below you can see the list of classes and their associated imagery. All of which have their own unique colour, this allows each class to stand out amongst the others, by relating to a colour. So you'll think Primal + Blue = Primal Core. 

OUGD603: Brief 2 - SAC Ampleforth // Virgin Active Primary Research

I managed to get some photos of the interior elements of my gym - the wayfinding and the signage. To investigate how it fits in with the brand. 

Below is an example of some of the signage in the gym - I apologise for the terrible photo, but it will suffice. It's really simple, and really clean, bold statement followed by some slighter, smaller type - which uses some satire to lighten the mood. 

The signage which conveys information about general overall health on the left, and the personal trainer profiles on the right. The documents are using the three distinctive brand colours - red, white and black - inkeeping with Virgin Active's visual identity. 

The brand colour and logo is used vigorously throughout the health club.

Stylised type is also used as part of promotion within the club. 

OUGD603: Brief 1 - SAC Ampleforth // Gym Brands

I've undertaken some quick research on existing gym brands - just taken from behance. I've done this to get an idea of some smaller less corporate brands and how they present themselves visually. Which I might be then able to interconnect with the reworked visual identity for SAC Ampleforth. 

The first gym brand I've looked at is Platinum Gymnasium. I'm not entirely sure if this is the rebrand that has been used, however it covers all the bases for my research. The logo is pretty simple, using clean gothic type for the most part. The subtext which reads 'gymnasium' has had the tracking altered so the type sits better under the logo, with arrows coming off each side aligned with the word 'platinum'. The symbol above which is okay. The idea behind it is good - using the mirrored shapes to represented the P of Platinum and the G of Gym. However, I don't think the stylisation of the symbol - the drop shadows and highlights work well, it doesn't fit with the type. 

The designer was nice enough to leave the grid system on his behance. 45º angles have been used to create the logo. Some elements of the logo don't line up, multiple diagonal guides have been used only a slightly apart - I don't think this was necessary. 

The flatter version of the logo applied on imagery. It stands out, although the white slightly transparent type doesn't sit too well over the content in some areas. 

Alternative version of the logo using colour.

Better examples of how the logo sits on the imagery. Although, the designer has used a slight drop shadow or an outer glow to make the logo stand out more from the background. 

I also looked at the brand for Underground Fitness. Using a similar colour scheme to Virgin Active. The logotype is clean and modern, using a hierarchy system by adjusting the weight of the type to establish the order of importance. 

Really ace collateral, using the colour scheme consistently throughout the brand. Another good example of how the designer has paid attention to the hierarchy of the type within the design. Using different sizes and weights of the same typeface to create the sense of importance. 

The iconography used within the wayfinding is fantastic. Incorporating elements of the symbol into the icons. It's fun, and I think it's hilarious. 

A really refreshing use of imagery within the layouts. Using bold or semibold weights within the copy to overemphasise words and phrases - making them stand out, drawing you in. 

I also looked at Odin Crossfit - a more stylised brand using the 'god' factor to make their workouts and programmes seem 'godly'. 

Odin have branded various sets of equipment, such as kettle bells and weighted jerry cans. Which is almost like brand reinforcement, seeing the logo everywhere you go - always being reminded where you are and what equipment you're using. 

Finally, I've just grabbed a shot from fitness box. Mainly because I like the style of iconography used, really simple and not too complex. The logo is a cube, but it's been designed isometrically, so you're able to see three sides of it - each one has been coded with a different tone of grey. Which could represent the three specialisations of the fitness centre. 

OUGD603: Brief 1 - SAC Ampleforth I // The Competition - Virgin Active

As part of this brief, I want to see good examples of existing, well branded, gyms. Analysing what they do - what works, and what doesn't, and seeing how visually I can set SAC Ampleforth apart from these brands.

I've looked at Virgin Active, the gym chain I'm a member of term time. Part of the global mega brand; Virgin Group Ltd. Which also offer: Banking, Beverages, Travel, Video games, Consumer electronics, Financial Services, Films, Internet, Music, Radio, Books, Cosmetics, Jewellery, Houseware, Retail, Mobile Phones, and Commercial spaceflight. All of which has consistent branding across the board, but I am only going to focus on Virgin Active.

The Virgin active logo, which incorporates the overarching Virgin logo, using the iconic red colour scheme. Behind which is a heart rate/pulse icon, which reflects the health aspect of the brand. The logo has been distorted in a manner to suggest motion - moving, keeping healthy - being active. 

The club splashes the red everywhere. Pictured above is some of the equipment used in their London clubs. Bosu balls and the covers on the benches for example. 

To avoid looking extremely weird, I visited the page of my health club and took some screenshots of the interior. The signature red is used extensively throughout the interior and exterior of the club - from the reception to the gym floor. 

The club samples certain walls and applies the bold red to them, matching with the surrounding furniture to create an impactful zone within the club. 

Other elements of the clubs are the wayfinding and signage, which I will be looking at in the form of primary research - as I will be attending Virgin Active, in The Light, this afternoon. 

Examples of the illustrations used as part of the wayfinding within the club. These are fairly basic.

OUGD603: Brief 2 - OAC Photography // Contact Page

Today I worked on the contact page, this page will be one of the major portions of the page as it will be used to arrange bookings - the main source of income for the business. It's important the user experience on this page is fluid, so the user can easily input their information and contact OAC.

The contact form fills the majority of the page. Spanning across it, split into two columns for the entry points. Mainly because you can't miss it, and that's fairly important. The boxes use a 50% grey so they almost blend into the infrastructure of the page, without standing out too much. 

The contact form uses the basic information I've seen in other contact forms. The type uses the same colour as the content boxes which surround them, as they will be replaced when the user enters their own detail. I've used an impromptu 'Say Hello' as a pleasant greeting to the section. With the title, also greyed out 'contact us' above, to make it clear what the section actually is. 

I added the contact us button below the section, left aligned. I adjusted the tracking of the words slightly, a gentle amount so it allows the type to fit the content box ever so slightly. 

I wanted this button to work as a rollover. Rollovers are a great way to show the content is interactive, to show that this section is actually a button rather than any other piece of content. Throughout the website, the rollovers fill themselves with the wine colour and the type/content goes white - which is what I've done here to assure the website is consistent. 

I also planned to add a Google Maps section to the website, I know these can be done relatively easily, and they're fairly customisable. I used a screenshot of York, where OAC photography is based from Apple maps as a placeholder, as I can't embed Google maps into a photoshop file. 

I used a clipping mask to add the map to the design. The advantage of using layer masks, such as clipping masks and vector masks is that they are nondestructive so they can be edited later on. I also used a hue/saturation adjustment layer to desaturate the image, so it fits in with the page, as the consistent theme throughout is greyscale. 

You can see the google maps section in the page. To add some variation on the width of the page, I've allowed this content to extend to the edge of the document. I also added a location symbol, which I based on that I saw in VW adverts. 

When working at Bloom, I spent a lot of my time doing web design. I learned that you have to show how everything will work. So, what happens if someone doesn't fill out the mandatory fields in the contact form and then submit? The black fields' type goes wine, which draws attention to them, so the user is able to fill it out properly. 

I also demonstrated what happens after you submit the information into the contact form and then send the information. The contact form will disappear, and you will get a thank you message. Using the similar grey type to the title, so it blends into the page. Removing the contact form prevents the user from submitting the same form multiple times. 

Overview of the contact page. 

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I ended up making some quick amends upon review, reflexing on what the client said initially. The page looked too serious. The clean white space factor, which is what we're after is working, prioritising the content, however the black and white colour scheme pulled it down.

I ended up adding some colour to some headings, using the business alternative colour. Which really draws you into the type. 'Say Hello!' is quite a friendly introduction to the section, which sets the tone of the page.

And also adding the colour to the type and the outline of the submit button. Which now works as an invert when you roll over it - as per the rest of the website. Making it much more consistent with the rest of the website.