July 31, 2006 at 11:13 pm · Filed under Article, ASIA, Design Industry, Redhu, Theory
Well, this is probably the first time that I’ve been “e-published”.
Wacom has launched a Community website for the Asia Pacific region and had asked me to write for their “Pro Column”. I have written an article on the subject of “Business of Design“.
By the looks of it, Wacom is trying the online route to getting customers and it feels like a sincere effort too – there’s a lot of new stuff coming up on the community website and we should be reading more from designers and experts from the Asia Pacific region.
A great thing for the designers on the Asian continent!
Popularity: 1% [?]
July 30, 2006 at 3:31 am · Filed under Case Study, Logo & Corporate Identity, Projects, Redhu
I am currently working with Mr. Anuj Babbar to develop a corporate identity for his watch brand. The name of the parent company that needs a logo is TimeMakers and the development process is outlined below.
I e-mailed the creative brief, customized for this particular project and received the filled-up document within a couple of days. After another round of clarifications, I started working on the sketches.
The preliminary sketches were put into a concept sheet [ PDF document ] and e-mailed to the client – following are those sketches along with the concept explained:
Anuj liked the first concept [ which is a ligature ] as well as the fifth one and asked me to work further on those. To do that, I picked up the creative brief again and started research on colors to figure out suitable colors for the keywords picked out from the brief. One of the mistakes that I made in the above process was that the keywords suggested by Anuj were for the child-watch-brand that I was also working on – while most of the values are common, it was definitely an oversight on my part but thankfully it did not affect the TimeMakers logo development process.
The following are the images I submitted for the second round after color suggestions and font suggestions. The aim was to pick out the correct direction of logo development – otherwise what happens is that as a designer, I tend to have a different vision from what the client has in mind and that causes the designer and the client to go into totally different tangents. Hence, I submitted very few ideas and awaited feedback :
My personal favorites are number five and number three [ but since Anuj has specifically requested for colored options, I recommended number five.
The feedback received was that Anuj was extremely disappointed with the second rounds. He mentioned it felt like "colors have been slapped onto the logo and presented". He also mentioned that he was expecting me to work further on the logo shape itself. Another point that he was not convinced about were the fonts and that he wanted the logo and the company name embedded together. He suggested I take a look at font websites online and suggest something suitable.
While I am not sure of the specific meanings of all the above requirements - we have tried to resolve what each means visually, but as a designer, I am still not sure what Anuj is expecting. Instead of going headlong into another round of design, I am going to first try and fix a font and style of logo presentation. Following are the looks I am suggesting - you are seeing it here first - even before Anuj will see it - hopefully we will be able to move out of the blockade and develop the logo : [ they say that we should not give a client too many options otherwise there will be a lot of confusion, but sometimes, it might just work and this is the first time I am deliberately giving too many options ].
The aim here to pick something and then work with it. You might not completely like any of what you see – but just pick one and then I’ll work on – pick one based on the layout of the logo [ where the name is written, the ratio of the name to the logo ].
I would suggest keeping the shape as simple as possible – but again, that is the client’s prerogative – if they want a complicated, intricate logo, that can be made as well. [ If there is a particular image that you like - please mouseover to read what number it is and leave that in the comments section. ]
I will update this space as the project advances.
UPDATE I : 31st July 2006
The font has been selected.
The name of the font is BonJovi and this is what it looks like:
I will of course have to work out character spacing and create a vector file.
The layout and placement still needs to be worked out. I will be posting some more examples soon.
UPDATE II : 31st July 2006
The following are what I am submitting for round four of semi-finished logos. These are again to arrive to a logo layout and placement decision, colors are still open to change.
UPDATE III : 31st July 2006
The final selected logo is as follows:
Colored Version
Black and White Version
Popularity: 1% [?]
July 29, 2006 at 5:55 am · Filed under Design Industry, Personal, Pricing, Redhu
Seth says:
Letting your customers set your standards is a dangerous game, because the race to the bottom is pretty easy to win. Setting your own standards–and living up to them–is a better way to profit. Not to mention a better way to make your day worth all the effort you put into it.
But what does one do when the client tells you “Hey, I really like your work and I want you to design my logo just the way you think would be right for my brand.” And then they go right ahead and backseat drive?
It’s the same with prices – decide what you are worth and charge that – create a bottomline that you WILL NOT go below – if a prospective client pushes you too much to go under your bottomline, you can be certain that this particular person does not care much about your skills or your design abilities and if you do take them on [ which will happen most probably out of guilt on your part ] – you WILL MOST CERTAINLY regret it.
Popularity: unranked [?]
July 28, 2006 at 11:50 am · Filed under ASIA, Design Industry, Pricing, Redhu
Here’s something I got from Gautam’s blog [ reposted here in full ]:
“Presently, I am working in the US and am planning to return back to India. I have about 8+ years of experience would like to know the compensation levels offered to professionals like me in the IT field, who have extensive experience in Project/Program Management, Information Security, and Information Systems Audit. Of late, as you would agree, the Indian Market has seen an exponential and excellent traction in terms of opportunities and employment. The rate has been terrific and almost every one in abroad (whether USA or UK or Europe or Australia) are making their way back to India due to this. One important component here has been the salary/compensation and benefits package, which seems to be going at or beyond par with International markets. I have a few questions in this regard and would like to obtain your views on this.”
Without revealing too much, from personal experience, I can confirm the same about the scene of the design industry in India / Asia as well.
Popularity: 1% [?]
