Monday, 4 March 2019

research for the logo

I looked at different simple logo designs, I know that a good simple logo should be clean and can capture viewers focus easily. Hence, I found that most of the photographer/photography logo usually used a bold font on their logo because it looks easier to capture focus.






Generally, these logos are really simple which exactly fits what my friend want the logo to be. By looking at these examples, it gives me a lot of inspiration, for example, the colour consideration, typeface selection, etc.
The purpose of a logo is to represent our brand with a visual mark that will convey our company’s message. All the marketing materials such as photography website, business cards, email signature, and in some cases even the watermark provide an opportunity for the brand to be remembered.

Hence, a simple logo should be a classic case of the “less is more” rule which shouldn't contain too much text, colours or objects, etc.

There are seven factors that "What’s hot and what’s not" for the logos.
1)Simplicity
There is one more reason to take the sleeker path, the number of people that will visit the website from tablets and smartphones (i.e. small screens) is growing. Hence, the logo needs to minimise and simplify.

2)Geometric shapes
A simple line, a triangle or a polygon can go a long way. As photographers, they are especially fond of squares and circles that can imply a simple structure of a camera, lens, or a frame.

3)Negative space
Negative space is the space between or around solid colour elements. A certain combination of shapes can form an optical illusion of another shape in between.

4)Cropping 
Cropping a small part of a letter, while keeping it recognisable, will turn the simplest of words into an intricate typographic design.

5)Handwriting
Handwriting is personal, effective, and doesn’t require too much effort.

6)Black & White
B&W is classy, bold, simple, and straight to the point.

7)Gradient
A gradient can create delicate transitions between softer tones, will attract any colour-loving eye.

Live brief from a Photographer in Hong Kong intro

Recently, I received a call from one of my friend who is a Photographer based in Hong Kong, he just started his career a few years ago, however, he didn't has any logo for his brand yet. Therefore, he asked me to help him design a logo for his brand so that more people can know it.

He asked me if I can finish his logo in a week so it is a little bit rush and quick brief for me but I think this is a really interesting brief because it is a great opportunity for me to test myself whether I could finish everything within a week and be able to produce good production. Also, as he is one of my best friend in Hong Kong, I really want to help him by using my specific technique. Furthermore, due to the fact that I will definitely go back to Hong Kong and work after graduation, hence, I would rather work for a client from Hong Kong. If someone like the logo that I design for him later, it may be a good chance to get more clients.

I asked what is the main key thing that he wants the logo to be, basically, he wants the logo to be simple and clean, not to be too detailed and complex. Therefore, I will make a logo that looks simple and clean only.

Saturday, 2 March 2019

Publication outcome


At the first stage, I did three mock-up version of publication (Black & White, Colour tone and Colour tone on recycling paper), however, I made a little mistake, I didn't use a thicker paper for the cover and the backside, also I left some blank pages before the last page so I made another one with a better layout.




Using the digital guillotine makes me more convenient because it cut and trim better than hand process so that the outcomes look perfect cut.


The final version of the publication which used a thicker cover.


What I have learnt from this research brief

Overall this research brief, I know I am a huge fan of Japanese animations and manga, however, I didn't really know that much information about the history/evolution of the Japanese anime industry. After I did the brief, I know deeper in the Japanese anime industry, if I have a chance I would like to work in this industry either in Hong Kong or Japan. Therefore, I think this was a really great opportunity for me to enhance my knowledge in order to benefit my future.
It was good to know the reason that some studios being a success and how is their work like they influenced and inspired me a lot. To be honest, I am not really good at character illustration especially colouring, however, I would like to push myself to practice more because it is my favourite thing in the design industry. Hence, I always practice when I have free time, usually, I tried to illustrate some characters that I really like from some animation/manga, it gave me a lot of inspirations and chance to practice.




My favorite Japanese animation

Since being a huge fan of Japanese animations and manga, I watched or read a lot of Japanese animations and manga, I have quite a lot of favorite anime characters and story. In this blog post, it is about my sharing, for example why I love that animation a lot, what attracted me the most, etc.

First of my favorite animation is "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny(機動戦士ガンダムSEED DESTINY)", it is a 2004 anime television series directed by Mitsuo Fukuda. It is a sequel set two years after the events of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. The producer was Sunrise Inc(株式会社サンライズ), the reason I really like it is because of the products from this animation, such as toys and games. The most famous product from the anime is "Gundam Model", almost every boy has one or more, it is similar to LEGO which people need to build the model by themselves. Therefore, the products bring me to watch this anime and I really like the story behind and the characters and gundam drawings which I think is really attractive, my favorite "Gundam" from this anime is "ZGMF-X10A Freedom", the colour worked really well on the model.

Mitsuo Fukuda

The toy model of "ZGMF-X10A Freedom"

Main characters from the anime



Another my favorite animation is "SLAMDUNK(スラムダンク)", even though the anime was about 20 years ago but it is still popular nowadays in Asia because of the realistic story. The reason that I started to play basketball is because influenced by this animation. The anime was premiered since 1993. It is produced by Toei Animation. Directing the series is Nobutaka Nishizawa. 

Basically the story is about a man called Hanamichi Sakuragi, who is a delinquent and the leader of a gang. Sakuragi is very unpopular with girls, having been rejected an astonishing fifty times. In his first year at Shohoku High School, he meets Haruko Akagi, the girl of his dreams, and is overjoyed when she is not repulsed or scared of him like all the other girls he has asked out. Haruko, recognising Sakuragi's athleticism, introduces him to the Shohoku basketball team.

Even though there are some remake version of the manga, the colours and characters looked more realistic and modern, however, I still prefer the oldest version which produced in 1993 because it is the most original.

Nobutaka Nishizawa

Main characters from SLAM DUNK

1993 version of the manga

Remake version of the manga

It is true that being a fan of Japanese animation/manga, I have a lot of animation and manga that I like and I can't introduce all in here. Generally, I like those animation and manga are because of the background story are really attractive to me and I like how the characters be illustrated which is the style that I like.

Outcome idea

Simply, I want to make a small publication to show what I have done over the research because I believe it is the best way to show what I have learned through the research. For the publication, I decided to put both languages (English and Japanese) because it is the main theme(Japanese anime). Moreover, some illustrations/photographs will be added on the publication so it will be more clear.

Toei Animation

In stead of Ghibli studio, another big Japanese animation company is Toei(東映アニメーション株式会社) primarily owned by Toei Company. Most of the famous animations were produced by Toei Animation, for example "Dragon Ball", "One Piece", "Digimon", etc.

Toei Company Ltd., since its foundation in 1951, has been supported by a broad range of fans for over half a century. The company focuses on providing high quality, comprehensive entertainment through the production of theatrical movies, TV dramas, direct-to-video productions, and anime, as well as a diverse range of businesses based on film production.

TOEI's logo

Dragon Ball