Schweitz Design

In concluding my series of key command posts, I thought I would wrap up the exercise with some thoughts on what I took away from this project. I think there were three main design concepts that arose throughout the execution of this daily design project.

1) This exercise reinforced the value of form in design. The UPS, Kinko’s, and Delta logos especially operated as tools for me to examine the form elements that encompass a design piece (in this case, logos). Examining an existing logo and breaking it down into its basic shapes in order to recreate it was a valuable exercise. Additionally, throughout this process I was continually examining spacial relations in logo development in regards to how to integrate text and image to create a meaningful and powerful brand icon.

2) Another point that I arrived at was the overall importance of good typography versus just choosing a suitable font. In the case of the Nissan logo, I was able to download the Nissan font package (thanks to the rabid fans of the brand) and with minimal adjustments to kerning and letter spacing, duplicate the logotype. However, for the rest of these it was not so easy. Especially in the case of the U-Haul and Elmer’s logos, the thrust of work I put in was to match the typography without the actual logotype at my disposal. I was able to ape all of them pretty well I think by determining key characteristics (from the obvious serif vs.sans, to more complex issues like kerning, x-height, stem width, etc.), finding base fonts that match those characteristics, and then further modifying the type as needed to more seamlessly recreate the logotype. Ultimately the lesson we take away is one we already knew: typography goes infinitely beyond font choice.

3) A third point learned from this project which one might think I had in mind beforehand, but really came to light through executing this was the ability we must have as designers to distill a brand to its essence. That’s essentially what this whole thing was about and ultimately what I love about branding. When I talk to clients I always use the analogy that Nike doesn’t sell shoes, they sell sports. In the same vein, Disney doesn’t sell movies or amusement park tickets or plush characters, they sell the magic of youth. The potential exists to spend pages upon pages writing about brand essence, lifestyle branding, the effects of brands on popular culture and so forth, but that is for another time and venue. Ultimately, on this subject, what we take away is that UPS means packages rather than shipping and delta means flight rather than meaning airline. It’s these concepts rather than products that speak to what branding is and what any given brand means. “A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or company. It’s not what you say it is, it’s what THEY say it is.” ~Marty Neumeier, The Brand Gap