Final Project
Approach/initial thought process:
Long story short, this Final Project (FP) was tough. Despite having free reign over what project choice to focus on/what elements to use/what color scheme to follow, there was so much content learnt over the semester to incorporate. It was daunting, but as always, my approach was to include as many concepts as I learnt as possible to create a nice and meaningful final project to end the module on a good note.
I was quite interested in doing a brand guide for CNM. Having spoken to some of my friends, it seemed as though many of them were set on doing the personal branding guide, so choosing the alternative was a chance to stand out. However, after much more thinking, I decided to do the self branding project as I understood myself more than I understood the CNM department, and I believed that would help me create a better output for the FP.
Before coming up with ideas, I had to figure out what I wanted to convey through my brand guide. Thus, I looked through the lecture slides for inspiration and chanced upon the pyramid below. I thus decided to follow the model to help refine any ideas I had.
With that done, I had my work cut out for me:
- My logo should not use existing fonts (i.e. create it from scratch)
- The logo would preferably be a drawing/icon that represents who I am and what I study (Business + FASS)
- The brand guide should be formal but still be able to showcase my creative side
Logo ideation process:
I took some time to sketch some logo ideas, and I initially settled for an abacus that I drew by applying the concept of abstraction.
Initial Sketches
Abstraction process of an abacus
However, I was concerned that the logo may not look like an abacus, especially if the abstraction process is not shown to audiences. True enough, some of the critique I received during the group critique session in Week 11 confirmed my fears - some even said my logo resembles satay!
Furthermore, after watching the lecture on Gestalt Principles, I felt like incorporating these newly-learnt principles into my designs, and thus I decided to do more sketches, as shown below.
Revised sketches that incorporate Gestalt Principles
Choice of color scheme:
Unlike my first draft for Assignment 3, I wanted to use more subdued colors so that the FP would not be too harsh on viewers' eyes. This explains why I went with a pastel-like palette - to instill sentiments of peace.
Blue gives off a peaceful, tranquil, and secure vibe, which totally encapsulates my identity. This explains why my first color of choice in the palette was blue. Next, to apply concepts learnt in our lecture on color, blue and yellow are complementary. Naturally, I had to include yellow in my final palette as well, which is shown below.
Final palette consists of blues, yellow and green
Choice of typographic system:
I chose "Mytupi" for the headers and the Bahnschrift family for the text. This is because I wanted to stick to my theme of a structured and clean aesthetic. These 2 fonts were perfect for creating such a vibe.
Other comments:
I did not want my elements to look plain by having solid colors as backgrounds. I thus learnt how to create gradients in InDesign with the help of various online tutorials. It was a tough process initially but I slowly got the hang of it! It involved selecting the desired colors to be "blended" together, as well as using the gradient tool.
Gradient created!
I also utilized the "pages" function to help me plan my layout and work efficiently.
I also learnt that simply copying and pasting elements from Illustrator (such as my logo) into InDesign created blurry images. To mitigate this, I had to undertake a series of additional steps. Namely, I saved my logo in Illustrator first, before using the "Place" function in the "File" dropdown list. Then, I also had to ensure that "High Quality Display" under "Display Performance" was enabled.
"Place", not "Paste"
Ensure that "High Quality Display" is selected
Resulting extremely sharp graphics
Critique/suggestions received on LumiNUS:
1. Make the negative space of my logo transparent instead of white to showcase the color gradient on the first page of my brand guide
2. Be more consistent with my use of rounded edges and sharp edges in my logo
3. Try to use more visual representations in my resume to make it less wordy
4. My role was not stated anywhere on my business card or resume
5. The typography section did not state what each typeface was used for (i.e., Headings, Subheadings, or Body Texts)
Further changes made:
Though critiques 1 and 2 were valid, I chose not to adopt those suggestions. The main reason was that they critiqued the design of the logo (which is very subjective), and I personally liked the way my logo turned out. Besides, if I had adopted the second suggestion and decreased the number of sharp edges in favor of curved edges, I feel that the resulting logo would lose the "structured" feeling that I wanted to get across to audiences.
Moving on, I did adopt the 3rd suggestion and incorporated more icons into this brand style guide. For the business card, I did this by first editing the icons in Adobe Illustrator, before using the "Place" function to transfer them to InDesign
Added icons (and my title) to the business card
As for the resume, I felt that the original looked too barren. Thus, I added room for more information in the final version. I also decided to leave a space for logos of the respective companies I have interned in and schools I have attended. By including logos, it serves to enhance the visual element of the brand style guide, and viewers will be able to quickly identify the companies/schools upon first glance.
Updated portion of resume
I included a section for a short description, as well as added icons beside my personal details
Commentary and Reflection
With this project spanning around 4 weeks, it was intense and the stakes were high (35% of the total grade!). I tried to remember and apply everything I learnt to this final project, from the initial InDesign techniques taught in the first tutorial (like pulling the corner of the artboard to create a guideline) to the various color theories taught later during the semester. Granted, I was not able to incorporate everything, but overall, I feel that I have applied the theories accurately to develop a piece of work that I can be proud of.
I am also glad that I thought out of the box and applied Illustrator and InDesign techniques that were not covered in class. For example, to overcome my issue of not having sharp images after copying and pasting from Illustrator to InDesign, I had to do some external research to find the solution. After all, one of the main reasons for me choosing to take this knowingly difficult class (especially for someone with no prior Adobe experience) was to push myself and finally learn how to use Photoshop/Illustrator/etc. At the end of the day, I can safely say that I am confident in my ability to use the Adobe suite to do basic design tasks - be it for a personal project or even in a professional setting.
All in all, I am extremely glad that I took NM3217. I was exposed to the whole new world of media design and this
exposure module definitely did its job of piquing my interest in a topic unrelated to my home degree (business). I might even pursue a hobby in media creation, who knows? Designing infographics and creating the final brand style guide gave me a sense of freedom and adrenaline that I do not usually feel when dealing with the structured, repetitive nature of spreadsheets and financial statements.
To conclude, I feel that there are so many media designs that go unappreciated or are underappreciated. For example, Assignment 2 made me realize how hard it is to craft a good story board, yet in reality, we may mindlessly critique films without acknowledging the efforts taken to produce them. Sadly, not many of us appreciate
good designs, especially in the fast-paced world we live in today. After taking this module, I will try to appreciate media designs more, and I am certain that I will always look back
with fondness on the memories made, friendships forged through the Zoom tutorials and the LumiNUS forum, and the important lessons that this module imparted to me.
P.S. Thanks Merlin for the great semester! 👍
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