OUGD403 - study task 01 - logotype

After the rebranding brief where I worked in a group to redesign the cross water logo; we were set another brief to individually redesign a logo from a shop of our choice. The company must have multiple stores worldwide and have at least one situated in Leeds.

I decided I wanted to choose a company that I was less familiar with. This would give me a fresh start to the designing process allowing me to move away from the original design and focus on the design of my logo. Because of this I have chosen to redesign the logo for high-end clothing store: The Kooples.



Despite having what I think is an already successful logo using the an adapted version of the typeface cooper black to portray their identity, it is, in my opinion, a more playful logo than other san serif based logos due to the thickness of the characters. I don’t think these playful features work with the overall theme of the company being so expensive and exclusive. Because of this I plan to experiment with a number of more formal typefaces to create an identity that I believe is more appropriate for my brand. The Kooples have altered the kerning of cooper black and have twisted the 'oo' slightly. This works well as the oo's don't contrast the other letterforms as much.

The Kooples is based on the idea that people in relationships share clothes and so they choose models that are actually together. This is added to the fact that the word ‘kooples’ is based on couples. I hope to try and incorporate couples into my design process.

The Kooples logo can be found in numerous places. But due to it being a minimalist shop with little advertising The logo is only found in places such as the website, in store and on clothing. Despite this they hint the logo in various places such as details on labels and embossing onto coat hangers. These small details add to the high end imagery of the shop. I must focus on the small things such as this within my design and also make sure my logo is adaptable across areas such as these hidden touches.

The brand is directly focused towards 'trendy couples' with this being it's main target market however it is predominantly based at those willing to spend more on clothes with numerous celebrities such as Anne Hathaway, Jessica Alba and Amanda Seyfried being spotted in such clothes. The idea that the brand is aimed at those with money can also be shown by the placement of their stores with locations in only large cities around the country and the world. This makes the brand more exclusive and more desirable to those who can afford it with the need to travel to buy the clothes.

_____________________________________________________________________________

A key part of my research has been visiting The Kooples store in Leeds. This has given me a closer insight into what they stand for as a brand and how they use their logo throughout the company. As such a formal brand they have limited branding and type in store and use a colour pallet of predominantly black, white and grey. I wanted to keep the same aesthetic within my own work by not using any bright or too eye-catching colours. This would completely contrast their already iconic and successful image. Because of this it was important to start with similar sketches and designs on illustrator as would help lead me in the right direction for the brand.

I first started experimenting with bold and eye-catching designs, often changing a typeface so it was bolder and then manipulating the kerning and positioning of letterforms so was still easy to read. Other high end brands such as Acne use the same idea to show off their company. After looking more intensely at Acne I noticed similarities to The Kooples so looked into them as research. They have a similar mindset to the Kooples and so could help with my work. I decided to look at other brands with similar ethics, target markets and clothes. Such brands include Supreme, Dr Martens and Diesel respectively. These companies know their target market like The Kooples so a lot can be learnt by how they sell themselves as companies. They will be an integral part of research, helping with inspiration for my overall design process.

I tried to create sketches of my logo that appropriately described the brand. I looked at various fonts and found one called Afta Sans. When typing 'The Kooples' I noticed that the typeface joined together. This placement of 'o' especially intrigued me. I did some more designs using Afta Sans but didn't think it's playful design was appropriate for my logo. This inspired me to link the two letterforms together as if they were interlocking rings with other typefaces. This again linked to The Kooples base on couples. I thought this idea worked really well so continued using this placing of the 'o' within my other design ideas. I experimented with a number of typefaces that I thought best suited The Kooples. These were mostly serif fonts as I decided they worked best in conjunction to the way the brand is perceived.

I moved the 'oo' to various places around the logo but decided that they worked well next to each other as best resembled the interlinking of wedding rings. This incorporates The Kooples and couples. I kept this going throughout more designs with the changing of typefaces regularly. After much experimentation I decided to use Baskerville to communicate my ideas within the logo. The formal serif typeface suits the sophisticated ideas The Kooples shares. With correct kerning and adjusting of type, Baskerville will suit The Kooples and work as a successful logo. 

I looked at adding an area of negative space around the rings to clearly show they're interlocking. This is one late idea that worked well. There are other ideas, however, that haven't worked and that I haven't pursued such as the inclusion of a box. Although this logo contained the type within a selected area I believe it is very similar to other clothing brands with boxed logos such as Supreme and MKI. Despite a box logo not working I felt the type should be connected in one way or another so experimented with the use of a line below the text. This worked well, especially when I split the line into two parts which made room for the descender or the 'p'. Because of this I used it in all following designs.

By this point in my design process I knew I had nearly finished my final logo however, felt that it needed to stand out. I played a little with the size of the stroke but found Baskerville looked too condensed when thickened. Because of this I experimented with a font similar to Baskerville and one I had used earlier within my design process called Ventura. This typeface has small differences to Baskerville such as more curved serifs and an obscure eye in the 'e'.



Below shows my final design. I believe I have created the modern, high-end logo I first set out to do as well as using the interlocking rings that work well with The Kooples own ideas. I have used photoshop to edit my logo onto an advertisement for the company as well as onto one of their high-street shops. This gives me a better understanding on how my logo will look in the real world.

The Kooples store with my design

I wanted to see my logo in context and also how it may be seen commercially. Because of this I created some mock up designs containing my logo in Photoshop. These worked well and seemed to portray the logo successfully. To confirm this I decided to ask someone who had not seen either design before which logo works best in their eyes. I wanted them to compare one of my mock ups to the original poster to see which works best in-conjunction to the brief whilst being based on research gathered about The Kooples. He said the logo he thought worked best was the serif design I created. This was mainly down to the bold, eye-catching design it  displays

As well as the first photo I created a shop front for The Kooples. I did this by photoshopping my own logo on to an existing store of The Kooples so keeps the same aesthetic.This worked well as I was able to see how my logo would be placed in the environment. I had mixed feedback and found that the legibility of the e could be an issue. The eye was found to be too small combined with the a thin stroke at the bottom becoming almost invisible especially from a distance away. This is something I would try and improve if I continued with the project. Overall, from feedback received and my own assessment, I feel I have produced a successful response to the brief as I had hoped to do at the beginning of the project.

The Kooples advertisement with my logo

_____________________________________________________________________________

The Last Crit session of this brief was aimed at us reflecting our work and collating the opinions of others about how the work has gone. And how I can improve in continuing projects. I asked a number of questions and those reviewing would write down feedback next to my questions.

I wanted to ask questions that both directly related to my brief and my actual logo. I believe I have successfully done this, collating both positive and constructive feedback that has helped me to understand what I could improve as well as the highlights of my work. The questions asked are seen below alongside the answers from an anonymous person that were most detailed and most constructive.

What is your favourite feature of my design and why?

I really like the subtle underline. It draws your eye along the word without being really obvious and would give the logo an impact statement when printed on receipts or bags.

Which idea do you think works best in conjunction with the brief; the development or the final design?

Final design works best. It's more subtle than the development/ original joining of the 'chunky' o's

Do you think my re-brand still successfully portrays the kooples as a high end brand. Why/ why not?

The brand looks so much more high-end! I didn't like the original logo (never have). It looks like the cooper black font off word. New one is sleek without being too upmarket for its target audience. Connected 'o's' look great and add an extra layer of interest visually.

Does my logo successfully communicate the idea that The Kooples shop is based on relationships and couples? (why?)

Yes, the couples idea comes across well, the connected idea is clear without being 'tacky' or 'cute'

As well as feedback from other students I received it from tutors. This has better helped understanding design process decisions as their experience will influence more constructive and sometimes a more valid evaluation of my work. The following feedback is from John and does exactly that:

"Instantly seeing logo/mark in context is intriguing and makes the brand understandable. The conjoining of the 'o's' works well to illustrate the brand name. Does it need the underline? Yet it works on shop front. Interesting font choice-works well because of it's individuality and can get away with lower case as suggests contemporary confidence. Great element that can appear on it's own too!"

John's feedback has inspired me to look at cutting down my final designs into separate elements once they've been drawn. For example, I could use the 'oo' element on bags, coat hangers and other elements of the brand. This can improve my overall idea and would be good to show clients as could in turn lead to more work on different elements of projects such as websites etc.

_____________________________________________________________________________