April 23, 2012 at 6:11 pm · Filed under Case Study, Design Industry, India, Logo & Corporate Identity, Projects, Redhu
In December 2010, Flipkart got in touch with me for a logo re-design assignment and I was thrilled that one of my favorite Indian e-commerce companies would like to work with me!
They clearly mentioned they were also working with another designer / studio / agency for the very same project scope.
PHASE ONE
The process of developing the logo for the brand started with the creative brief being filled-in by the Flipkart team and some initial back and forth so that we were all on the same page.
There was mindmapping and keywording. (Click image below for larger)
To explain the concepts and my thoughts behind the design, I also wrote details like the following :
Some of the ideas / thoughts related to the concepts that can be used for the logo are as follows :
1. the letters f and k : not like a monogram because that would make the look elitist – but rounded letters, in bright colors – maybe in an abstract shape / symbol that, over time, will become like a stamp for Flipkart – a unique symbol that customers identify easily. The letters f and k might not be immediately recognizable but will form a unit of design that can also be applied on other media as a pattern – the repeated symbol would make a pattern for wrapping paper for example – and could be used in multiple colors to represent various product sub-groups that flipkart offers. For example, if it is a book being delivered, it could be a combination of red and orange repeated symbol on the wrapper; if it is a mobile being delivered it is a combination of red and orange symbols mixed with blue and black symbols, etc.
2. just the letter f : this is based on the above idea but also based on the f currently being used on various platforms as a favicon / avatar to represent flipkart. The f could be designed in such a way that is it not immediately evident that it is the letter f. In this concept and the one above, the trust angle can be incorporated using colors becasue as such, the shapes will represent it only if they are solid – like a solid f and k in a bold type, for example.
3. the letters f and k made of dots or other smaller shapes – to represent the various product categories that flipkart has to offer. The disadvantage of this approach will be that at small sizes, the dots will not be visible. Hence on favicons and avatars, this approach will make the f ans the k look like solid letters with no concept of the dots.
4. an abstract representation of the word “everything”. This approach would be preferred if you want to stay away from the ideas using the letters f and k. As an example, everything means the opposite of nothing – even something as simple as a circle can represent everything – so, there could be a circle made of smaller circles – or a circle with halves of letters f and k cut out of it, etc. Since flipkart aims to provide a wide range of products to its customers, an abstract symbol that represents everything would fit the brand identity. The ideas I’ve mentioned here on how to use the circle are just initial suggestions – if this concept is chosen, I will obviously work to create a unique symbol. Usually a combination of this abstract concept with the f or the k will help us yield unique results. We don’t want to end up looking like just another circle. We could also incorporate the idea of “flip”ping a circle – to include the flip with the everything concept – to represent the idea that Flipkart has all these products on offer – and buying any of those is as simple as flipping a coin. The circle is also a good symbol as far as trust is concerned – any solid shapes usually evoke stronger feelings of trust.
5. Taking the theme of “everything” further, we could also work on a theme of using the letters f and k in an abstract form and combine them with the infinity symbol – this, by far, in my branding expertise, is the strongest concept in all the above – all overlap to some degree but this one would be able to capture the essence of the brief as well as make sure the symbol developed is unique to Flipkart. Having a distinct symbol that is unlike any other also caters to the implication of trust. Apart from the shape of the logo itself, the colors used will further solidify what the brief captured.
PHASE TWO
The next stage was sketching and idea iterations.
PHASE THREE
I received some more feedback, which helped further refine this process of sketching and there was another iteration of sketching.
PHASE FOUR
By now I could sense that this was not going as planned. Feedback was slow and felt all over the place. I was no longer sure what direction I was pursuing. Even so, the nest round of feedback was positive and more concrete and produced the result I like the most so far.
PHASE FIVE
The team then asked me to go back to the previous phase, #four, and send them an idea of the semi-finished versions to let them see what that would look like.
PHASE SIX
I’m not entirely sure what happened after this – there was no communication for a while and then the new Flipkart logo was released in all their communication and branding online and offline. In the end, the project closed and Flipkart did not use any of my sketches or designs.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed working on it and am sure if I was locally present at the Flipkart office, I would’ve nailed this one.
I continue to bust my budget buying books on the Flipkart platform. You can follow them on Twitter @flipkart and they are on Facebook as well.
Popularity: 1% [?]
March 14, 2012 at 12:21 am · Filed under Artwork, Case Study, Design Industry, India, Logo & Corporate Identity, Packaging Design, Photography, Print, Projects, UK
Knottytales is my wedding photography venture and although I haven’t developed a logo yet – because the brand name works quite well for the target audience and because I have a lovely typeface to use instead – I do have an excellent [ IMO ] set of business cards ordered via MOO.com.
They recently introduced LUXE business cards on 600gsm Mohawk superfine paper and I had to try them out.
Each card features a separate images from my wedding photography portfolio and while I am not going to show you all of them, I do want to show the great branding of MOO’s cards. The packaging, the logo and applications and the quality of the materials used, all work really well for the MOO brand. The unboxing, usually associated with tech / geek gadgets, is quite an experience with the MOO Luxe cards as well.
I have ordered thrice previously and the cards have always arrived before time – and for this order, the delivery due date was 2nd of April 2012 – but I received them on 13th of March instead. Great example of underpromise and overdeliver and further strengthens the brand.
Full marks to the MOO packaging and branding on all levels. Not only is the product – my business cards for Knottytales – of excellent quality – the presentation and unboxing in itself is quite an experience. When I travel, I carry a box with me and these are so exquisitely crafted that I would not mind showing off even the boxes themselves!
If you have not purchased from MOO yet, they have multiple variants of what you can do with your cards, more about the LUXE business cards here and this is my affiliate link http://www.moo.com/share/8yywy8, which will also get you a discount if you are a first-time customer.
All photography by Naina.
MOO is @overheardatmoo on Twitter and this is their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/moo.
Popularity: 1% [?]
October 7, 2011 at 5:11 pm · Filed under ASIA, Case Study, Design Industry, India, Logo & Corporate Identity, Theory
Amrutanjan is an Indian healthcare company and are considered pioneers of pain and congestion management – since 1893.
Their TV ads with catchy, simple jingles of “It’s gone!” enthralled me as a child. The message was clear even to my pre-teenage mind : “If you apply Amrutanjan balm where it hurts, plain will be gone!”
I’m not going to dig into the re-branding per se and why they did it and the pros and cons of throwing away the “It’s Gone!” and bringing in “Pure Healthy Essence”. [ I don't know how the latter replaces the former but I'm sure there must have been a brief. ]
The old Amrutanjan logo that has been replaced looked like this :
Image from http://amrutanjansince1893.blogspot.com/
Compared to the new logo that has been released, I still prefer the old one. It is simple, it works in black and white, is easy to remember and focuses on the “Since 1893″, which, for a household brand like Amrutanjan, is a key factor in enabling trust. The solid shape, while not unique, accords it integrity, as does the solid color.
The old logo on Amrutanjan products used to look like this :
Image from http://www.drugneed.com/amrutanjan-health-care-amrutanjan-pain-balm25gm-amrutanjan-p-2256.html
Image from http://www.ayurveda-beauty-care.com/en/balms-oinments/ayurvedic-pain-balm-amrutanjan-strong-9-grams-p-762.html
As seen from the above, the application of the identity was simple and could be further built upon to differentiate the various sub brands. Moving on to the new identity – I dare you to believe this is real.
The Amrutanjan website explains it using the following image / description [ click for larger view ]:
To my eye, it seems that Amrutanjan, in an effort to get back the customers it has been losing, is trying to do only one thing here : attempting to position itself as a brand for young people by using colors and shapes that Amrutanjan thinks the young people like and identify with. Light greens and blues and shiny glass ball. I can understand this – their hearts are in the right places but their designer isn’t. The designer could have translated this need / part of the brief into a much better visual design. Instead, the logo designer has gone ahead and included all possible cliches in the worst visual representation possible.
While I might be able to make peace with the above explanation, I am unable to wrap my head around the typeface usage. Their “Know more about our identity” page explains : “Cursive typography to bring in modernity for easier brand recall and youth connect.” Unfortunately, just using a “cursive” typeface does not do much. The placement, the particular style of cursive selected, the size of the font, etc. are huge determinants of how the final logo will look and who the final identity will appeal to.
It does work on the level of easier brand recall though – because it is so badly executed.
The “shiny ball” is being called the symbol for nature’s essence. Probably because it has blue and green – which are supposed to represent the sky and the green earth and some yellow thrown in to maybe represent sunlight and the red to maybe represent blood. [ These are just guesses, I do not have access to the creative brief. ] Overall, the “shiny ball” ends up looking like a marble. But children in India no longer play the game of “kanchaas”. On a more practical note, if the company / logo designer believes that this approach with multiple colors and shades is feasible in terms of translation and application across all media, then they wouldn’t mind some shading in the logo [ this will become relevant below ].
This logo re-design engagement looks like one of those where the designer probably will not show the work in their portfolio because the client picked the bad design. Of course I am being generous but it could be a possible scenario because I have not been able to trace the agency / designer who did this.
Here’s what I would have done [ and this is without the brief, so please excuse the wild guesses ].
Since Amrutanjan – as a brand name – is very Indian and constitutes a meaning – approximately “something that is pure / like ‘amrut’” – I would have included that in my design brief. The additional “Pure Healthy Essence”, which avoidable, could also be represented by the same shapes / colors as used to represent the Amrutanjan name. I would have kept the design “Indian”.
To make the logo more friendly – with respect to the typeface – I would make it a lower case brand name “amrutanjan”.
For the logo, I would have kept the shape simple and the base colors simple as well and included shading to bring in the “modern” and “youthful” look that Amrutanjan was looking for. Something like this maybe. [ disclaimer : this is just an idea for the Amrutanjan logo - I have not been in communication with anyone at Amrutanjan or their branding agency. This design is representative of what could have been done. I haven't spent more than 30 minutes on the concept discovery and sketching and final design creation in Photoshop as opposed to my upto 30 working days timeline with multiple permutations and combinations after the concept and creative direction has been finalized. ]
I know this rendition is not perfect but this is only attempt number one and can only be taken forward when there is feedback forthcoming from the brand, which in this case is non-existent. For a brief description on keywords and ideas used to come up with the above : pure, health, essence, element, healing, nectar / amrit / amrut. The symbols elements used represent these keywords and represent Amrutanjan as a more modern brand / company than before and still keeps some of the trust / integrity / solid shapes and colors from the old logo. The typeface gives it an old-world / traditional look while maintaining a formal look without completely giving in to shapeless cursive employed earlier. As a healthcare brand, in my opinion, they should hang on to some form of formality.
Short blog post on the branding aspect can be read on Strategic Moves. I also believe that their ads on the company homepage of Amrutanjan are in bad taste [ there's a small square-boxed arrow on the bottom right of the shiny-ball-logo on the green Amazonian photo panel ]. Bordering on sexual connotation. Made me uncomfortable.
What do you think went wrong with the Amrutanjan logo re-design? Do you have inside information on how the project progressed?
Popularity: 2% [?]
September 29, 2011 at 10:30 pm · Filed under Artwork, ASIA, Download, Illustration, India, Personal, Photography, Redhu
Here’s a desktop and mobile phone wallpaper for your personal computers, your Android devices and your iPhones. Happy Diwali!
Diwali wallpaper : 640 x 960 for your iPhone 4
Diwali wallpaper : 960 x 800 for your Nexus One
Diwali wallpaper : 1024 x 768
Diwali wallpaper : 1280 x 960
Diwali wallpaper : 1440 x 900
Diwali wallpaper : 1920 x 1080
Diwali wallpaper : 2560 x 1600
The previous years’ Diwali Wallpapers are available here : 2010, 2009, 2008, 2006 and 2005.
A very happy, prosperous and successful year ahead to all my readers.
Please keep in mind that these are made available only for personal use on your desktops and phones. For commercial usage, please contact Naina on naina@aside.in to discuss usage and payment terms. The image used in the wallpaper has been shot by Naina.
Popularity: 2% [?]
