Project Overview
This project originated from a real-world collaboration with my college's fashion department. Our goal was to establish a strong brand identity for their upcoming fashion show, "Reverie," which aimed to raise awareness for the department and generate funds through ticket sales. Within this collaborative environment, I participated in all stages of the project, from initial creative briefing to final design delivery. As I was in charge of logo design, this case study focuses on the logo design process for the "Reverie" fashion show.
Key Data
Role: Designer
Team: 8 people
Eric Menk (Project Manager), Steven Hughes (Creative Manager),
Aleksandra Ilski (Brand Manager), Justin Mireles (Content copywriter),
Samuel Uko (Social Media), Brian Dekle (Merchandise),
Reilly Salness (Designer), Hitomi Endo (Designer)
Timeline: 16 weeks
Tool: Illustrator, Photoshop, Adobe stock, FigJam, Notion
Process
Phrase 1: Creative Brief
Phrase 2: Moodboard
Phrase 3: Logo design
Phrase 4: Merch design
Phrase 5: Poster, Splash screen, signage. poster designs
Challenge
The challenge involved navigating the differences between client expectations and our design thinking. It was crucial to bridge this gap by effectively understanding the client's true vision. This involved actively listening and strategically translating their desires into a design that adhered to established design principles and remained aligned with the initial creative brief. By fostering open communication and collaborative exploration, we ensured everyone was on the same page throughout the design process.
Goal
The goal is to raise the awareness of fashion show to increase the ticket sales which goes to department’s fundraiser.
Target Audience
Primary: Friends, family, and industry professionals
Secondary: ACC community
Creative Brief
To truly understand the client's vision for "Reverie," we interviewed them directly. Through the conversation, we were able to grasp their meaning behind "Reverie." Capturing this essence in words as "a sense of dreamy, euphoric imagination" became a springboard for expanding our design ideas in the next phase.
Moodboard
To visually explore the "Reverie" theme, each team member created a mood board that captured the essence of dreaminess and euphoria. Through a collaborative review process, we then identified the most compelling elements from each individual board. By combining these strengths, we were able to collectively create a unified mood board that represented the team's shared vision for the "Reverie" project.
Logo
Research and Sketch
Drawing Inspiration from the Mood Board, I embarked on developing 2 directions of logo concepts. One direction explored incorporating fashion elements like needles or buttons, directly referencing the industry the event supported. The other direction aimed to capture the "Reverie" theme itself, utilizing elements like bubbles and stars to evoke a sense of dreaminess and euphoria.
Typography
Reflecting the "dreamy, euphoric imagination" emphasized in the creative brief, I selected "Angelic Bright" typeface as the ideal choice for the logo. This modern serif font boasts unique curves and a low x-height, characteristics that reinforce the desired sense of dreaminess and class.
Initial Digital Draft
Following the research and sketching phase, I digitized two logo directions for further exploration. The first concept incorporated a needle to subtly represent the fashion industry connection. The second concept featured stars to evoke a daydream-like atmosphere. After receiving the feedback from client, we selected the star-based logo for its potential to achieve a unique and memorable visual identity for the "Reverie" fashion show.
Problem: No light feel
While the star-based logo direction aligned well with the client's desire, I felt it lacked the dreamlike quality. The initial design looks stable and heavy appearance due to the overall letterforms in "REVERIE."
Solution
Incorporating client and teammate feedback, Their insights proved valuable, prompting me to integrate stars around the "REVERIE" text. This strategic placement not only enhanced the logo's visual appeal but also introduced a sense of movement and dynamism. Furthermore, incorporating stars within each "E" reinforced a sense of unity and established a consistent visual element throughout the logo.
Final Logo
The final logo is for both monochrome and multicolor versions. Using the color palette established in our collaborative mood board, I ensured consistency between the logo and the overall visual identity for the "Reverie" fashion show. This approach fostered a sense of brand cohesion across all design elements.
Fahion Show
Final Design
We designed more than just the logo for the "Reverie" fashion show. We made the posters, program, signs, social media posts, and merchandises. The culinary department also joined in the fashion show event by making cool ice balls with the logo on them.
Archived the goal
Our design contributions significantly impacted the success of the "Reverie" fashion show. The event's achievement of rising the around $7,000 fund was a highlight, and VIP ticket was sold out. This response underscores the impact of thoughtful design in creating a memorable event experience.
Lesson learned
Vision Differences
One of the challenge was to work on the differences between client expectations and our design thinking. Everyone has different image for “Reverie,” and it was crucial to fill the gap between us by understanding the client's true vision. Personally, my initial vision of Reverie and final derivable was has a huge differences. This taught me the importance of listening and communicating with the clients to bring their version of image.
Collaborative Environment
Unlike the individual class assignment, “Reverie”project is collaborating with the teammates to establish the designs. When I felt stuck, the classmates always gave me the great solution or key that helps the designs. Working with team is sometimes challenging as everyone has their own opinions, but collaborative environment gave me opportunities to learn other designer’s perspective and made the design better.