Studio Brief 01 - Logotype (Research)

For this brief we were given a random word out of a hat, with the task of creating a brand/company with the word as the name. The finished product will be a logotype using one of 6 typeface choices we were given. 

Definition of moonless: lacking the light of the moon

Initial Ideas:

Independent jewelry shop

Night club
Coffee Shop

First known use of the word: 1506

Popularity: Bottom 30% of words

Things I need to think about when researching competitors branding are personality - impact - concept.

I am going to go with coffee shop as I believe this to be the least obvious, but interesting option and have started looking at companies such as Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Pret A Manger, Caffe Nero and also independent coffee shops in Leeds and Liverpool. The idea behind naming a coffee shop Moonless is the saying 'Black as midnight on a moonless night' the coffee and tea used in this cafe will taste that good there will be no need to add milk for flavour. My target audience is young professionals and students on the go - looking for a cheap alternative to a chain coffee house.

The first thing I looked at was the actual logo that they use, along with the signage and branding, how they all relate to each other and what colours and typefaces they're using, along with any symbols featured in their logo. I will analyse a few of the logos for known chain cafes and sandwich shops etc on the high street and pull comparisons then look at independent shops.

I read an article on thedrum about how Pret is using design to tell brand stories and a sentence really stood out to me: "But Pret really hasn’t. It still feels bold, it feels proud and it feels as ‘Pret’ today as it did yesterday. Quite a challenge." Spoken by James Cannell. This stood out to me because he highlighted that although some packaging, uniforms and other things have changed over the years the brand identity hasn't; it is still bold as ever and inviting customers in.

So with this logo you can see clear similarities to the Starbucks logo - mainly being that it is circular and include the name of the company around the inside of the shape - with an illustrative image in the centre. The costa symbol is a more obvious one just being coffee beans but I guess it is straight to the point with what it specialises in. The colour used, obviously red in terms of psychology is associated with warmth and positivity - relevant to a hot drink cafe, somewhere friends and family gather to socialise. 'Red is energising' 'It is also strong-willed and can give confidence to those who are shy or lacking in will power' all of these colour qualities are cleverly transferred onto Costa, coffee containing caffeine is known for giving people energy and revitalising those tired whilst busy working away - giving people confidence to carry on and get work done after a short coffee break - or when meeting friends or new people giving people the confidence to be talkative and comfortable.

There are a few similarities in terms of colours used in these logos - mainly red and green. I will definitely take notice of this as it seems to work largely in the coffee house company world. I also noticed alot of the logotypes are in a bold font - it makes you take notice and jumps out at you on the high street - something it has to do with all of the competition around. Another similarity found in Pret, Starbucks and Costa is the use of a circle, the logotype either within it or in a circular shape.

This is an independent coffee shop on Bold Street in Liverpool, at first the shop front was a fun painted type, however they have since rebranded with a san serif uppercase typelogo. The new logo is more refined and professional, making it look more like a legitimate shop.

This research so far has been very informative for me, I am now going to look into the different typefaces that are available to us, focusing on the serifs - although a lot of my research shows the use of sans serifs I want to create the impression of an established known brand:

Garamond- Serifs are influenced by calligraphy.
Bodoni- Highly influenced by geometry, it is a display type - ornate & complex.
Century- Specifically designed for the magazine century - each glyph has it's own characteristic.
Futura- Form follows function, no contrast between weight, basic typeface.
Times Roman- Specifically designed, text typeface favourite.
Helvetica- Neutral typeface, rounded sans serif, large x height, no distinguished feature.

I'm going to experiment mainly with Century as I believe the fact that every glyph has its own characteristics goes nicely with the idea that everyone's order in a coffee shop is different.
I will also experiment with a sans serif - Futura just to get a feel for the two different types, to see which works better for the letters and the personality I'm trying to get across.