OUGD504- Brand/Identity Development

Logo Development

Once I had decided on the name for my bar I started to sketch some rough ideas for the logo.

I tried a few basic horizontal variations first then tried some vertical as this was something I noticed to be popular in the Japanese design research I collected.

I wanted to try a more illustrative approach to the logo for these designs. I experimented with letterforms that represented Japanese calligraphy,

 Because the style of food is on a stick I thought about incorporating this into the logo.

The logo above i thickened the stems to represent the chunks of meat on a stick.

With these two logos I focussed more on the type to portray a futuristic aesthetic that is associated with Japan. I don't think this works to well because it looks a bit harsh and isn't very legible.

With this logo I tried to imitate a Japanese symbol as a whole by separating the name into two sections. I think this could work well as it has a playful feel to it.

Next I tried using a circular design. I think this could work well in regards to be transferable across a variety of media.

From this came the logo above. I think it works well because its easy to read and it can work without the type because of the hidden 'T' within the negative space. The three bars in the center represent the grill which is the signature of the bar.

Although I liked the design I wanted to further explore the possibilities to make sure it was the right design. However, I am happy with the original design because I think it best fits the target audience with it being contemporary with a strong concept behind it. 

I felt it was necessary to design to a grid for the logo as it will keep the dimensions consistent. 

After some more thought, I decided to use the three strips for the identity. The menu consists of three main sections so the each strip can relate to a specific part of the menu. I will need to choose a strong colour scheme for this to bee successful. The stripes can be used to keep continuity across media.

Fonts 

Cinzel:
Bold

 Regular

I chose this font because I think it communicates the style of restaurant through the harsh edges. The Regular will be used for the logo and the bold for headings.


Tw Cen MT:
Bold

Regular 

Colour Scheme 

I think these colours will work well as there quite traditional but still in keeping with a contemporary style.


Digital Development 

I re-created the grid in illustrator, this will help to keep the three strips into the middle third. 

I created a circular path line so the text would flow around the logo smoothly.

I tried the type with two spaces between each letter to make it span better across the top half section of the logo.

I repeated the process with the lower text at a different size but I think it looks to top heavy.

I made the lower type the same size. It gives the design a more balanced overall layout.

I wanted to see what it would like with a banner round the type so I tried variations. I don't think this works, the logo needs the negative space to allow the eye to read the type better.

Colour Channels

I asked a few people in the class which colour way they thought was most appropriate and the two above were favourites. The red version was suggested to best represent a Japanese themed establishment because of connotations to the Japanese flag. I agree with this so I am going to use this for the final logo. 

I originally wanted the three stripes to correlate to each section of the menu by using colours but this didn't best fit best the logo so I have had to make the decision so disregard this idea. However the lines will still work as an identity to display across media.