Development

Initial Designs

These are my initial designs for the sugar skull element of my logo. I took inspiration for these from my mood boards and experimented on paper with different shapes of skull and different decorations. From these I found I preferred the ripple edged eye, smooth chin, split nose and a black gum outline around the teeth because I think these looked most effective and typical of a Mexican sugar skull.

Next I did some experiments with different materials:

Paint-
I made a watercolour effect for the background of the skull using watercolour paints and mixing them together on the paper. I like the effect of this but I'm not sure if it goes very well with the Mexico city theme because the colours of that are bright and bold and these turned out very pastel and subtle.

Next I used a dabbing motion with the paint brush to fill in the face. This turned out a lot bolder than the first one but I think it would be too much under the outlines of the sugar skulls features and would drown them out.

This is actually the template I used when making the pictures but I ended up liking the way it looked with the bold outline and pastel inner part. I also like the messy faded blue paint around the eyes and I could try scanning something similar in and using it behind the sugar skull on a clothing item e.g. tshirt.

I used a paper template and painted around the outline and then filled in eyes with dabs of blue and pink. I like the effect of the outline but I think the eyes are a bit much and would take over the whole picture so elements I could develop further from this picture is having the faded water colour style outline around the sugar skull.

I used the template to make a blue outline and filled in the eyes with blue paint. I dont really like the look of the neat line and block colour eyes so doing this helped me to see that if I want to use a painted outline under my sugar skull it needs to have a messier and thicker outline like the picture above.

Ink-
I used black ink and a fine paintbrush to make the outline of a sugar skull design. Although I think it turned out well I think if I wanted to use it for my designs maybe for the logo or a tshirt it would need refining because the edges are quite smudged and messy and from my research I found that mexican sugar skull art is generally digitally made with clean edges so it would have to be a variant design maybe just for clothing if I used it.

Charcol-

I used a stick of charcol to draw this sugar skull and I think it turned out ok because I still managed to get in all the detail but I think if I wanted a hand drawn sugar skull the ink would be the best option because I got the lines neater and the charcol smudged very easily so would neat a lot of touching up on the computer.

Ink and Paint-

For this sugar skull I did the same design as above in black ink and then I used paints to fill in the rest of the design doing an gradient effect for the main face. I like the effect of the gradient because it means I can get a bright colour in to the design without it taking over the whole design as the overall effect is a lot softer and I think the details work coloured in because Mexican sugar skulls are traditionally either black and white or coloured in with many colours. I dont think this would work on my logo because it is too much colour and detail for when the logo is small but I could make something similar for a clothing design and it might work well on its own on a tshirt.




 Logo Development

These are my initial designs for the development of the written part of my logo. I tried doing a simplified version of the decorative swirly fonts that I found on my typography mood board and I think these are simple enough to be placed with the sugar skull picture but decorative enough to be used on their own and still give off a mexican vibe so I will consider doing something similar for my final logo.

Next I made an outline of this logo so that I could take it on to the computer and see how it would look when made and filled in on illustrator and this helped me decide whether it work as part of my final logo and if it still worked as well on screen.

I cut out the outlines of letters, stuck them on card and then used black ink and dabbed it on using a paintbrush to create this distressed outline around the letters before peeling them off to leave the shape behind. I really like the look of this and although I don't think it would work as my final logo because its too bold to be used along side a sugar skull shape I could use it as a variant to be used on clothing e.t.c.



Development on computer

I then photographed the black ink logo and put it into the computer and used illustrator to neaten it up. I dont think I will develop this any further on the computer because the edges of the paint didnt clean up very well and it would need a lot of refining before it would be ready to use. I might consider scanning it in to get a higher quality image at a later time because it could still be used on a clothing item because I still think the outline of ink is bold and effective because it really makes the logo stand out and is very eye catching.

Next I made a mexican inspired logo that was my own version of some typography I found on one of my mood boards. I think this captures the theme well because it gives off a mexican vibe and is although the lines are decorative the strokes are very think so it keeps it simple enough to be placed with a sugar skull. This also causes a problem with having it as my main logo though because when made smaller it would not be that legible and would not stand out very much so I may have to keep this as a variant just for clothing e.t.c.

Next I made another sans serif font but this time a lot bolder. I was inspired by the tones of gray I had seen used in lots of sugar skull art so I decided to create a font using only layered shades of gray. I think this font is bold and would stand out but I think this time the stroke may be a bit too think along side the sugar skull and the whole thing could look too chunky, plus it would be hard to read when made to a smaller size.

For this font I used negative space by filling the lines of text with a pattern. I like how this turned out because it is legible and has a very mexican vibe to it because of the mexican prints I used for the fill but I think it would be too decorative and over complicated when placed along with the sugar skull image so I dont think I could use it on my main logo but there is a possibility it could be a variant.

I also scanned in my black ink sugar skill drawing and live traced it on illustrator. I managed to neaten and refine the edges but Im not happy with the actual design of the sugar skull because I think it is too long and the detail still needs to simplified and it needs to be refined further to have a more professional look to it.

I also tried the sugar skull in white on a black background and the same with the font and placed them next to each other to see how they worked together. I think the font works better in white on black because it makes it stand out more and there is more of a contrast in the colours but I think the skull was better with a black outline and this is because the thicker strokes give the white a lot more contrast with the black and this is too much and hurts your eyes.

I tried incorporating the pattern logo with the sugar skull logo by using the skull as the 'A'. I dont think it works that well because the patterned type is already very decorative so the skull is not standing out against it and gets lost.

I wasnt happy with the sugar skull I had drawn in ink so I made one on illustrator instead and simplified the face, details and head shape. I think this skull works a lot better because it looks neater and more refined and more professional and because it is simpler it will now work as part of the logo.

Next I tried putting this sugar skull with some of the logos I had already made. Again I think the patterned logo is too decorative to be used a long with even the simplified sugar skull and I think if I am doing the sugar skull in gray and white then the text should be black so that it blends in better with the logo and they look part of each other. The first logo works slightly better but is still too much to be used with the skull.

Next I tried adding in the skull with the mexican font and I found I really liked the look of it replacing the 'A' because the strokes are similar widths so they blend well together but it doesnt overpower the font and isnt overpowered by the font so although I dont think this would work my main logo I will consider using it as a variant.

Because all of my decorative fonts were clashing with the sugar skull and they were too much when used together I decided to use a much simpler pre made font instead. I ended up really liking the middle logo because I think the font and skull compliment each other but the font still manages to stand out slightly against the skull because I made the stroke slightly thicker. I think this would work really well as my main logo as it would work well smaller for stationary and buisness cards and also bigger for clothing designs.

Next I made a variant logo by using the same font as above to write 'sugar skull mexico city' inside the eyes. This wouldnt work that well on smaller designs because the writing wouldnt be legible but I think it could work really well blown up on a clothing design because its a way of doing an image based logo with the name still incorporated but not the main focus.

I also made a coloured version using two of the colours from my colour mood board. I chose blue and pink because they contrast well and in my research I found that contrasting colours are often used in mexican graphic images and also in the colours of mexico city in the festivals e.t.c. I could use this as a variant of my logo because I think it could work on its own on a clothing item to add some colour to the brand.


Final Logo and 3 Variants

This is my final design for the logo and the three variants. Overall I am happy with how these turned out because I think the main logo would work well big and small and the font is simple enough to be used with the sugar skull which is what I wanted to achieve. I also think the variants work quite well because they could be used for a variety of different purposes with one that is very type based and two image based.

Mood Boards

For the second part of my research I made some mood boards for inspiration for the style, colours and images for my logos e.t.c.

Mexico City Mood Board

The city I chose to base my brand around was Mexico City because I thought this would go well with the sugar skull name as Mexico is where they come from originally. I found some images of the city that I thought would be helpful to me like the colourful fabrics and bold outfits they where in their festivals  and I also found some art to help me with the style of my designs. Inspiration I can take from this mood board is the bright colour scheme with pinks, blues, reds, oranges and yellows and also the style of the art which has thick black and white strokes and is very 2d and cartoon like and I could design my logo in this style.


Day Of The Dead Mood Board

 
 

 

 Next I made a mood board of images from the Mexico City festival called the 'Day of The Dead' where they honour their dead and celebrate their lives and pay their respects to them. I chose to do this mood board because the sugar skull is a big symbol in this festival and decorative skulls are what represent the day of the dead. Inspiration I can take from this mood board are the colours as with the Mexico city mood board and also the bright, fun and lively atmosphere the festival gives off because I can make my designs fun and lively. I can also take the image of the sugar skull to go along with the name of my brand and use the image of a sugar skull as part of my logo.

 Mexican Graphic Image Styles Mood Board

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 



I made a mood board with Mexican style graphic images to help me when designing the images for my brand because they can give me inspiration for colour schemes and also drawing styles and inspiration for symbols/patterns. The main inspiration I can take from this is the use of bright contrasting colours like the pink and orange symbols and the style of the images is very 2d and cartoon like and the two sugar skulls and pink skeleton especially have a very 'cut out' style to them with little or no outlines and use of negative space







Sugar Skulls Mood Board


Next I found images of sugar skulls because this will be very helpful when designing the sugar skull for the logo so that I know it looks like an authentic Mexican sugar skull and is easily recognisable as one. The main inspiration I can take from these is the 2d cartoon style they are done in and also how decorative and illustrated they are. Although most of them are very colourful and decorative the bottom left image shows how it can be simplified and toned down and I think this style of sugar skull will be perfect for a logo so I can use this image as my main inspiration for my logo with the two simple colours of black and beige and the basic 'cut out' style of the decorations.


Mexican Typography Mood Board

I made a mood board of Mexican style typography to help me when designing the typography for the logo and the variant logos. From this mood board I found that sans serif and slab serif are the most popularly used for Mexican style type and I also found some very swirly style script fonts that have a Mexican vibe to them. Because of this I will try experimenting with these three style of typography and the images I can take most inspiration from are bottom right because of the swirly script style with the added decoration and I think this might work for the logo and also bottom middle with the use of  negative space and Mexican pattern. I could also take inspiration from top left because I really like the Mexican vibe this typeface gives and its decorative and bold so I think type in this style might work well for the logo.


Colour Mood Board

Finally I made a mood board of colours I associate with Mexico City to help me when designing the colour scheme for the company. I took ideas for all of these colours from images from my previous mood so that I could be sure they fit with the Mexican theme. These will be a very helpful reference when designing so I can be sure I am sticking to my theme and I can go back to them when I need to use colour and choose all my colours off this palette.




 

Research

1)These designs are done in a hand made style with the hand painted style text and images. I think the colours used are really effective with the bright pinks and greens contrasting with black and white and I will look into using a similar bright contrasting colours colour scheme as those are the colours associated with mexico city and the day of the dead festival.
2)These designs are done in a basic 2d outline style and are digitally made. I think the use of basic patterns underneath the 2d block shapes works well because it adds more colour and helps the main images to stand out. They have also used this pattern as accents like on the side of the bag and the roll of the coffee cup and this would be a good idea for getting the style of the brand onto smaller items without having the pattern take up the whole space but still getting the brand identity on to it and this is something I could try.
3)These designs are a mix of digitally made text and lines and a hand drawn pattern/design used in the envelopes. I think the idea of putting a pattern or a repeat pattern of graphic images associated with the brand identity as accents e.g. inside the envelopes like this is really effective and this could also be done on letter heads or on the back of business cards. I think I could try something similar with my designs by using a print of sugar skulls as an accent. The colour scheme is also effective with one bright colour and simple black text and this helps give a clear brand identity as this is the only colour associated with the brand so people will see that colour and think of the brand.
4)These designs are digitally made and use bright colours with simple shapes and lines. The use of bold coloured line behind the text is effective because it draws attention to the designs making the text stand out and packaging/branding done in this way would stand out and catch peoples attention. I will be using a bright colour scheme so I could try using this technique to get my logo to stand out.
5)These designs are digitally made and use simple 2d pastel graphics over a block cream coloured background. The text used for the logo is very simple with the graphic image underneath being the main focus and I think I will try something similar for my designs because the sugar skull is quite a detailed image so will need simple text so that it isn't too over powering. The text in the logo still has it's own style and character and I want mine to have this too so that it is still recognisable without the graphic image and is part of the brand identity.
6) These designs are digitally made and use bright gradient colours with very simple text layed over a triangle. I don't think I want to design something in this style because I think the background colours over power the very simple and subtle logo and because this isn't the main focus it doesn't have a strong and easily recognisable brand identity.
7)These designs are digitally made and use bright, bold contrasting colours using very basic but bold text and graphics and block colour backgrounds. I think this looks really effective and would catch peoples attention in a shop and these designs have a very clear and individual style and brand identity and the inspiration I can take from this is using bold and contrasting colours with simpler images so that it is not too over powering but still stands out because of the colour scheme.
8)These designs are digitally made and are made up of large, bold text with smaller graphic images which just illustrate the text leaving it the main focus. This does help all the designs to look part of  a set as all of the packaging has been designed in this style, but the brand logo cannot be seen so it has no brand identity because people would not know which brand this packaging is associated with. This will help me when designing because I know that the main logo/graphic image representing my brand needs to be the main focus above everything else so people know to associate the product with that brand.
9)This design is digitally made using a simple script style logo with a basic beige, black, and white colour scheme and a bright, colourful, and bold pattern as an accent. Inspiration I could take from this is using a basic colour scheme for the main backgrounds and then using the pattern as an accent like on the back of a box or letter so that the pattern does not overpower the design.
10)This design is digitally made using a simple script style logo placed over block pastel colour backgrounds with white line accents. I think the contrast of white against colour works well to help the logo stand out. Inspiration I can take from this is having an easily identifiable brand identity (which for these designs was the script logo and the lines) which then would allow me to use a variety of colour schemes and colour backgrounds whilst still having the designs be easily associated with the brand. This would allow me to experiment with different mexican themed colours without having to put them all in to one design allowing me to create simpler designs that aren't too over powering.

 1)These designs are digitally made and use a bright coloured gradient and simple, bold black outline shapes. The use of colour is effective on these designs with the contrast of the black against the pink/purple gradient and I like the idea of having a softer background with bolder text. I think the layout of the letter and business card works well too because the font is simple and legible and the stripe of colour links it with the brand identity.
2)These designs are made digitally and use the contrast between black and green. The black paper is really effective and I might consider using it for my designs because I think there would be a good contrast between the sugar skull outline and the black. The simple pops of colour also work well and they have been added in subtly by using small lines and dots making it subtle but still linking it to the company's brand identity.
3)These designs use a basic font and illustration inside the envelope. I think the use of colour is really effective with the basic black and white and pop of orange because this keeps the stationary simple and legible but adds brand identity . I also like the idea of having the main logo/graphic image of the company on the front of the business card and putting the details on the back because this means that the logo can be bigger and wont take up the space of the information.
4) The designs are made using the contrast between black paper and white text/images. I think this is effective because it makes the logo really stand out and I also like the idea of having a graphic image associated with the company on the stationary like on the bottom corner of a letter or envelope.

 These bag designs incorporate an image from/related to the company that is incorporated with the handle of the bag. I like the idea of using a large graphic image on the carrier bags instead of a written logo but I could also combine both like #3. I also like the way the handles have been incorporated with the designs as it makes the bags fun and interesting to look at.

 1)This design uses a photograph inside the outline of the text logo of the company. I think this is effective because it uses the company name and logo so is easily associated with it but is very versatile because you could do a large variety of designs based on this idea just by changing the image behind.
2)This design is very simple and uses just the logo of the company. I chose this design because I thought I could take inspiration from using a simple white outline logo/image for some of my designs.
3)This design incorporates the text and image logos of the company and I can take inspiration from using a pattern inside the graphic image because I think this is really effective as like with #1 you can make a wide variety of designs to suit a lot of target audiences and I can also try to use the sugar skull image along with the logo instead of separately.
4)I chose this design because I thought the placement of the graphic image over the text logo was really effective and works well for smaller spaces. I don't know if I could do this for my designs though because both these logos are very simple and mine are much more detailed so it would be too much.
5)This design has a painted/watercolour effect and I think the use of colour is effective where they have used shades of one colour to make a detailed design simpler. I also like the hand crafted painted effect and I could try something similar on my designs as I experimented using paint when developing my sugar skull image for the logo.
6)This design works well because although they have only used one colour the text logo has been done in block colour and the logo has been done in a scratchy hand drawn way which adds texture and means the design is still interesting and eye catching even though just one colour has been used.
7)I chose this design because I thought I could take inspiration from the basic colour scheme using shades of one colour and I also like the way colour has been added to the background of the tshirt along with the main image and logo and I think this makes the tshirt stand out more and
a variety of designs could be made using the same logo and image with different background colours and designs.

1)I chose this tag because I can take inspiration from using a different shaped tag instead of a basic square or circle tag. I think this would work really well with my designs because of the sugar skull image associated with my company and this tag shows that a skull works well as an effective tag.
2) This design is effective because of the bold but simple colour scheme using just one colour and it is in the shape of the logo which as above would work well with my designs. I could also take inspiration from using one basic colour to make the logo bolder and more legible.
3)This design caught my eye because it is very bold but extremely simple making it very effective as it is eye catching but legible and is immediately associated with the brand identity. I can take inspiration from this because I think my design would work well in black outlines and this will help the tag stand out.
4)I chose this tag because I thought the simple hand written logo was effective because it shows the brand identity and I thought I could do something similar by using just my text logo on the tag without the sugar skull image and this shows me it can still be effective.
5)This tag uses just text as with the one above and I think the colour scheme of this tag works well with one bright colour and a basic background colour and I could try something similar.
6)This tag can be a big inspiration to my designs because I could use the text logo on the front and the sugar skull image on the back. I also like the idea of using black, white and one colour because it adds more dimension to the design but is simple enough not to be too complex for a tag.
7)I chose this tag because I think using the outline of text/images with patterns and photographs to fill them is very effective and I could do this for the outline of the sugar skull or my text logo.