The Importance of Colour in Branding

The importance of colour in a brands design it recognisable and stand out. Colour is the first thing we notice when looking at brand. Majority of people remember a brand by its colours. Colour communicates moods to the audience. It signifies different meanings and interpretations. When the audience first sees the corporate brand design they react to its colours. The colours of a corporate brand design can either make it memorable or easy to forget.

Whilst restocking the fridge at work I noticed a change.. Some of the drinks and packaging were different. At first glance I didn’t like the new designs, simply because there weren’t what I had expected and was used to. When I got home I googled these new designs to compare them.  This is what I found and my opinion of the new designs.

The first design I noticed was Powerade.
  

Old Design

New Design

They have kept the same colours but changed the logo and style of the bottle. The new bottle is more rounded and slimline. It looks nicer to grip and hold in your hands opposed to the original square rigid shaped bottle.
  The new logo is flat and straight, but this makes it look more stylish, contemporary and modern. The typeface is different to the original. The black outline effect and slant on the old logo looks dated. I like that they have kept the original colours as the previous bottles. This makes the brand still recognisable despite the design change that also makes restocking the fridge easy.
 I personally think that by keeping their original colours, the brand is still recognisable as Powerade, it is just a new modern look.
 The second design change I noticed was Cool Ridge. They too, changed their logo, but did not keep their original colours.
 

Old Design

New Design

Coolridge has also changed their bottle to a more rounded and slimline shape. They have changed the original blue to a deeper and richer colour. And then added red. I don’t like their choice of having red to resemble ‘Australian Water Springs’. I don’t know their rationale behind that choice either so I’m not looking at these designs objectively. But for me, I don’t associate red with water; I associate red with fire, heat, roses that are quite the extreme opposite of water.
 They have changed the typeface of the logo, the positioning of the words is slightly similar. I noticed that in the new design the ‘r’ is the only letter capitalised which is interesting. I personally prefer the original design, because it resembles water more then the new design does.
                   

As designers we are asked to all design sorts of things, sometimes we love the brief we are given, and sometimes we just want to cringe…for me, this was poster design. It didn’t matter how I tried to look at it I just couldn’t get my head around poster design. I mean why do we need to design on such large pieces of paper for a small amount of information anyway? I just didn’t understand what the relevance was.

However, once I started finding posters that actually inspired me—rather than making me cringe, I started to see how poster creation could actually be an art in itself. Here are a few posters I love and a little bit about how they changed my opinion from hatred to love.

My City—by Michelle Carlslund

http://www.etsy.com/listing/119795715/my-city-poster?utm_campaign=Share&share_id=5729584&utm_medium=PageTools&hmac=2cce125fccb6c1d8fad1d77d9891b9b44ee2e028&utm_source=Pinterest

This poster incorporates texture and pattern in order to create interest in the design. What I found interesting about it is how texture can be used in line with elements of distortion to create an image with depth. I also loved the colour palette used—which mixes soft and rich tones creating a contemporary feel to the design of the poster.

Save Trees Save Earth—by Flyerfolio

http://designspiration.net/image/417982228022/

This design was one that I fell in love with instantly. The poster promotes the environment using simple imagery and a fresh colour palette, as well as geometric shapes, which draw in the eye.

Built to Spill—by Justin LaFontaine

http://holykaw.alltop.com/clever-built-to-spill-concert-poster-design

This Poster was designed to promote the band ‘Built to Spill’ in one of their 2010 shows. The poster is extremely effective in promoting the band’s name through the illustration of an oil spill in the ocean, which has links to the name ‘built to spill’, and draws attention to the poster. I also loved this design because of the use of white space, which helps to emphasize the importance of what is said and doesn’t overwhelm the viewer, as well as the contemporary colour palette, which is calm and on-trend.

500 Days of Summer—Screen Play

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/e3/56/4c/e3564cfaddcf38f5b4702aaea9516184.jpg

This Poster uses Minimalism to illustrate distinguishing features of a girl and a boy in order to emphasize the concept ‘girl meets boy’. What I loved about this was the basic eye catching colour palette and illustration which is simple yet extremely effective.

Les Americains—by Robert Efurd

http://www.graphic-exchange.com/04cd.htm

This design is calming and beautiful to look at, and has been extremely effective in promoting the band ‘Les Americains’; giving people a taste of what their music is like. The typography used is easily legible and allows the subject matter to take the focus and draw attention. What I really loved about this design is it’s ability to be bold yet calming all at the same time.

Market research can be fun?

Over the weekend That Design had the opportunity to do some market research for our clients Signs Publishing. The focus group we conducted was held over an afternoon tea. Having this relaxed environment surrounding the group helped it to be less awkward and afternoon to run smoothly. As you can see from the images the afternoon was a success!! We were so excited to have the opportunity to host this for Signs. After a couple of hours talking and eating with our focus group we were able to draw together some very valuable research. Who knew holding focus groups could be so much fun, we had a great time. Thanks to all involved.

Poster Design—A love hate relationship

As designers we are asked to all design sorts of things, sometimes we love the brief we are given, and sometimes we just want to cringe…for me, this was poster design. It didn’t matter how I tried to look at it I just couldn’t get my head around poster design. I mean why do we need to design on such large pieces of paper for a small amount of information anyway? I just didn’t understand what the relevance was.

However, once I started finding posters that actually inspired me—rather than making me cringe, I started to see how poster creation could actually be an art in itself. Here are a few posters I love and a little bit about how they changed my opinion from hatred to love.

My City—by Michelle Carlslund

http://www.etsy.com/listing/119795715/my-city-poster?utm_campaign=Share&share_id=5729584&utm_medium=PageTools&hmac=2cce125fccb6c1d8fad1d77d9891b9b44ee2e028&utm_source=Pinterest

This poster incorporates texture and pattern in order to create interest in the design. What I found interesting about it is how texture can be used in line with elements of distortion to create an image with depth. I also loved the colour palette used—which mixes soft and rich tones creating a contemporary feel to the design of the poster.

Save Trees Save Earth—by Flyerfolio

http://designspiration.net/image/417982228022/

This design was one that I fell in love with instantly. The poster promotes the environment using simple imagery and a fresh colour palette, as well as geometric shapes, which draw in the eye.

Built to Spill—by Justin LaFontaine

http://holykaw.alltop.com/clever-built-to-spill-concert-poster-design

This Poster was designed to promote the band ‘Built to Spill’ in one of their 2010 shows. The poster is extremely effective in promoting the band’s name through the illustration of an oil spill in the ocean, which has links to the name ‘built to spill’, and draws attention to the poster. I also loved this design because of the use of white space, which helps to emphasize the importance of what is said and doesn’t overwhelm the viewer, as well as the contemporary colour palette, which is calm and on-trend.

500 Days of Summer—Screen Play

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/e3/56/4c/e3564cfaddcf38f5b4702aaea9516184.jpg

This Poster uses Minimalism to illustrate distinguishing features of a girl and a boy in order to emphasize the concept ‘girl meets boy’. What I loved about this was the basic eye catching colour palette and illustration which is simple yet extremely effective.

Les Americains—by Robert Efurd

http://www.graphic-exchange.com/04cd.htm

This design is calming and beautiful to look at, and has been extremely effective in promoting the band ‘Les Americains’; giving people a taste of what their music is like. The typography used is easily legible and allows the subject matter to take the focus and draw attention. What I really loved about this design is it’s ability to be bold yet calming all at the same time.

Time Management

When asked to write a post for the blog I immediately thought, ‘I need to add that to my list.’ So with that came my topic: time management. 

Time management plays an important role in design (and life in general) that can often be overlooked. It is a skill that can be learnt and make balancing tasks and life a lot easier. So here are some things that come to mind when trying to be organised and efficient with your time.

The first thing I do to keep myself organised is making lists. Whether it is in a diary, notepad, stickies, phone or all of them, lists assist in keeping you on track. When I write lists I priorities tasks in order of there due date so I know which ones I need to get done first and how long I have until they are due.

Making use of free time will also help manage time. Do things straight away or as soon as you think of it. Or perhaps surround yourself with Nike; ‘Just do it!’ 

Reward yourself! When completing a task give yourself a reward so that you are motivated and continue getting through your tasks. 

Take breaks! To avoid feeling overwhelmed give yourself a few minutes between tasks to relax and get away from what you are doing. Have a cup of tea, go for a walk, stretch or have some chocolate. :)

As much as I love technology, diaries are a great way to keep on track. Physically writing down each task on their deadlines will help it to stick in your memory.

Have a weekly/monthly planner. Being able to see how many days/weeks you have until a task is due should help to get yourself into gear. 

Concentrate on one thing at a time. Do one task, complete it or work on parts of it, then move on to the next.  

Set personal deadlines and try to keep them. Having alarms on your phone for reminders really helps.

If you can, work in a team and delegate responsibilities. 

Make a place where you can go to work on tasks to get you in the zone. 

Avoid procrastinating and making excuses. Funnily enough if I am procrastinating I will tidy and organise things. Ill organise files on my computer, delete things I don’t need and re-organise my already organised lists. It’s a little obsessive but it distracts me from the task at hand. Once I’ve got nothing left to organise I get back to my work (or eat, have a tea then do my work). I guess its sort of win-win.

With all that in mind, we still need to have some sort of social life so delegate time for work and other activities to have an even balance. Make other activities your reward for working hard to meet deadlines.  

My Favourite Album Covers

I’ve tried all methods of procrastination to avoid writing this blog post.
Cleaning, exercising, organising, and socializing in all areas of my life not relating to the work I’m meant to actually be doing. I even try telling myself that I can’t actually get stuck into my work until I have built up a playlist to last me the extensive hours I will be spending completing the work.
That’s when I had an idea.
Whilst I’m building up this 7 hour long playlist, why not choose my favourite album covers and share them with those who appreciate good design most?
So, without further ado, here are my top 10 album covers as found in my iTunes library (in no particular order). 
(That's a lie, they're in alphabetical order).

2004-2009 – The Getaway Plan

This album art  is closely linked to it's predecessor 'Other Voices, Other Rooms', which also features an iceberg, but this cover looks better (which is why it made the list...). This album was released after the band decided to call it quits in 2009, hence the release of this 'best of' album, and the art will always remind me of my young 19 year old self.

Glorious Ruins – Hillsong

Don't tell the other albums in this list, but this is my favourite album cover of all time. Daytime fireworks (which look just as amazing in real life as they do in the album art) and gold foiling make for another successful production from the designers at Hillsong, and we all know how much I'm inspired by their work (see my previous blog post).

Homesick - A Day To Remember

When you compare all of A Day To Remember's album covers, you notice they all feature this identity-less figure. I'm not sure what the statement is that they're trying to make with this concept, but I'm a fan of the continuity it brings to their albums.

Love. Angel. Music. Baby. – Gwen Stefani

The first album I ever purchased when I was 14, there's something about the distortion and mess of colour that sucks me in and makes my mind want to discover what is happening in this artwork. Well done Gwen, you've managed to find an album cover that looks as you sound (which is a great thing!).

Plagues – The Devil Wears Prada

If you've really been reading this post, you may have noticed that this cover, and the Homesick cover look very similar. And you would be right in that assumption. The artists name is Dan Mumford and his work seems to be a reoccurring favourite of mine (he's made a number of my favourite album covers that didn't quite make the list). Dan, you're a creative genius.

Singularity – Northlane

I don't know whether it's the beautiful fusion of colour featured in the sky, or the weird ritual happening in the foreground, but I just love the album cover for Northlane's latest album.

On second thoughts, I think it's the sky that I like about this cover.

Sound of Melodies – Leeland

If I were to hone my illustration skills, this would be very similar to my own personal style. I guess that's why I like it. That, and my OCD smiles at the symmetry.

The Flood Deluxe 2 – Of Mice & Men

An ampersand that looks textured and 3D. Need I say more?

United Paper People – Kisschasy

A personal favourite of mine was listening to Debaser's presentation at AgIdeas 2013. They are responsible for this album cover (which is apparently based on oil paintings). This cover was a favourite of mine when it was released in 2005, and still continues to be. I guess that speaks volumes about the creative geniuses behind this artwork.

What Seperates Me From You - A Day To Remember

I couldn't decide between this and the Homesick cover, so I decided to feature both in my list (that's the reason why there's 11, but I'm sure you didn't notice that, right?). The figure is featured again, as is a few of the bands acquaintances, as people walking behind the hourglass.
I'm a fan of this illustration style.

Zion – Hillsong United

Yes, I wrote about this last time. Yes, this is the eleventh album cover when I said there would only be ten. Yes, it is another album cover from Hillsong.

I can't help myself! The designers at Hillsong may as well be a unicorn. They're mystical, magical, and poop out rainbows like this album cover.

So there you have it. My favourite album covers, and the blogpost I thought would never happen. 

"Album design will exist as long as music is being produced." – Debaser

Blog post by Danelle Morton

AgIdeas Conference 2013

Hi all!
Last week that design went to the beautiful city of MELBOURNE for a creative conference called AgIdeas, and listened to some inspiring designers from different creative industries. Although it was only for a few days, there was so much to learn and soak up. I myself am still processing it all, and the knowledge that so many shared with us will be something I won’t forget.
So what did I learn? I wouldn’t even know yet how to put it all into words yet, However I have found 8 key points which were talked about which have left me with more to think about.
—
No. 1
DESIGN IS CULTURE
In our world we are surrounded by design, where it is good or bad. In a message from German designer Herbert Birnbach he stated:

“It is designers who teach us our culture”.
This shows the importance in the work we do in communicating to the public. Culture is something that we learn from what we see, and it is important that as designers we remember this when we create for the general public. Soren Luckins also said:
“We guide the public… do something that is good and contributes”.
He also explains that it is our job to guide the public.
—
No. 2
DESIGN SHOULD BE FUN
Although communicating culture is something which creates a level of seriousness in what we do as designers, we also need to make sure that our design process and the message we communicate is fun. This seemed to be something touched on by a few speakers. Herbert Birnbach emphasized that:

“design should be fun, for the client, and for the people who make it”.

If we do not make designs which are fun, how can we expect to engage with our audiences?

—
No. 3
LEARN ON THE FLY

Soren Luckins began skeaking about this topic with a statement: “I’ll end my time on this earth still learning”. This process of learning needs to be embraced in order to gain from it. We will never know everything, but this is a good thing. When we are always learning we create new things and develop concepts.
“To create new you need to be soaking up new”.
Andy Stalman also stressed the importance of this learning process in his message. “You cannot discover a new world with an old map”. He also talked about our comfort zones and the need for us to step outside these in order to learn. You are never in your comfort zone, as designers we need to think of new things and push further. He then goes on to explain that in learning, it is also important that we learn together as a team. “We is the new Me”.

—
No.4
TELL STORIES
When we tell stories, and believe in what we are saying, we are one step closer to making other people believe. Our job as designers is to make our client believe in the design and that it is what they need. Soren Luckins spoke further on this and explained that work needs to have a narrative and a story to give it strength. This Strength is what sells things.

—
No. 5
NOT ALL CLIENTS WANT GREAT WORK
This is an ugly truth about the industry as stated by David Nobay. Great is something which is open for interpretation and what we think is great is not always what someone else thinks is great.

—
No. 6
DESIGN WITH EMOTION
George Poonkhin Khut’s work in biofeedback encourages us to take something which is found inside and externalise it. In doing this we need to find an experience which is felt inside a person and express it in a way which can be communicated with others and understood.

—
No. 7
BE EXCENTRIC ABOUT THE DESIGN YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT
This is something I learned from listening to the beautiful Gemma O’Brien who is a typographist and illustrator. Gemma’s love of typography is something which has inspired me to be excentric about the design which I’m passionate about. Her love of typography has lead her to think outside the square and create designs which people want. It even lead her to write over her entire body and walk down the streets of Sydney in a campaign to promote writing on designated graffiti spaces rather than someone elses property.
Youtube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz3lXu3VxVg
Be passionate in what you do!
—
No. 8
GET GOOD AT BEING REJECTED
The Voice design studio, Scott and Anthony:
“Sometimes a great idea doesn’t work out intellectually and clients reject our ideas, leaving us on our arses”.
Rejection of designs is something we all have to deal with in our careers, this doesn’t mean we are bad designers, it just means that the client doesn’t want their ideas represented in this way. When our ideas are rejected, it is important not to give up and to pick ourselves up.
—
So what do I take away from this experience?
That is something which I am still figuring out. But I hope that the inspiration I’ve gained and the things I’ve learned will help me in pushing my ideas further and becoming a stronger designer.
Blog written by Amy Sonter