Brand Identity | VC III

奇怪 | DARK COFFEE

Predicated upon the intensive research and concept development from the first half of the semester, my pseudo brand ‘奇怪’ or ‘DARK’ was born.

DARK is a coffeehouse that sells and serves traditional coffee. Our brand is inspired by the Chinese heritage of filial piety, reunion and kinship. We understand that traditions have their merits, and it is this spirit of “honouring our heritage”, that motivates us to uncover the hidden customs and best practices of traditional coffee. We hope to serve you & your loved ones the most authentic cup of coffee to reunite and connect over.

DESIGN CONCEPT | HERITAGE OUR SECRET INGREDIENT

 

Chinese Heritage     +     Modern Expressions     =     Relevant Traditions

 

LOGO DESIGN | FADING CIRCLES

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Coming Full Circle
The circle is being used in the logo as it represents brand concepts of filial piety, reunion and kinship.

Secret in Fading
Playing with opacity to suggest ‘revealing something’ either by fading in or gradually materialising. This method will be used in place of colours.

COLLATERAL DESIGN | PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS

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BRAND IDENTITY | HERITAGE IN YOUR CUP

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The Care Project; more than just a Fold; Deliverable 1a) | VC II

A VISUAL COMMENTARY

‘more than just a Fold’, the first of a three part deliverable series that targets the issue of homelessness in Singapore. The poster title is a pun on the word cardboard. Something synonymous with the homeless and ties in with my second deliverable.

A bright yellow sheet of paper smacked right in the centre of the poster contains the details of an event (deliverable 2). Having a ‘Wet-Glue’ texture, the poster is akin to the art styles we see on the streets. The sheet of paper very much blocks out the underlying photo; alluding to the fact that although visible, we tend not to see the full picture.

The poster also offers the viewers something more. Though obscured by the yellow sheet of paper, it is clear that the background image is of a homeless elderly man who seems to be going about his daily routine – cardboard collection. Intentionally monochromatic, a halftone filter is also applied over the photograph; both is meant to induce a sense of dissipation and ‘hard of seeing’. The elderly man back faces us, and even though we cannot see his face, we can tell from his ragged attire and exhausted posture that he is just trying to get by.

The poster is a call to action for volunteers to offer their help and services.

Attachment to high resolution pdf:
more than just a Fold

The Care Project; Pseudo Website; Deliverable 1b) | VC II

Attachment to high resolution pdf:
The Care Project (Landing Platform)


Individual Slides

Attachment to high resolution pdf:
The Care Project (Individual Slides)

I strongly recommend viewers to download the high resolution pdf for better viewing purposes. With that being said, the above few images are a mock up of my pseudo website for ‘The Care Project’. It features various functions and acts as a landing site when users scan the QR Code from my preceding poster.

Following which, users can peruse the website and find out what exactly is it that we do. Also a good opportunity to expose the brand and generate awareness to both our online presence and cause.

 

LINKING PAGE to deliverable 2

I would of course like to draw our attention to our upcoming events. For now, the website names a few examples and I foresee this to be scalable even in the future; holding talks or workshops and even raising awareness to children in schools, these are all future possibilities.

So what happens when users click on ‘READ MORE’?

Users will then be taken to an alternative web page that would focus and provide more information about that particular event. This is also an example of how the website can alter its layout to fit a function or purpose.

Example below:

Attachment to high resolution pdf:
‘More than just a Fold’ Subpage

The Care Project; Care Package; Deliverable 2 | VC II

Packaging NET

Attachment to high resolution pdf:
Care Package Net

Packaging Components



Attachment to high resolution pdf:

Package Design (Cover)

Attachment to high resolution pdf:
Package Design (Back)



Attachment to high resolution pdf:

Transparency Print

FINAL Mock Ups

Attachment to high resolution pdf:
Care Package (Closed)

Attachment to high resolution pdf:
Care Package (Opened)

 

Conclusion:
My third and final deliverable is a care package – an attempt to conceive some of the concepts and ideas from deliverable 1. Unfortunately due to the restrictions that followed Covid-19, I was unable to get the physical product out for a proper photo shoot. I did however finalise the material choice and printing treatment for my packaging:

– Compressed corrugated board (Pressing cardboard using the Foundation 2D print press machine)
– YUPO Sticker (MATT Finish) to overlay final artwork after die cutting
– Spot UV print treatment for typography portion so that they shine and glisten


(Top: Corrugated Bottom: Compressed)   


(Spot UV treatment) ~ Photo credits Colortallahassee

Thank you Michael for guiding and sharing your experience through the course! I have greatly benefitted from your class and will take them forward to the next! Have a blast at Lab4Living!

Typographic Poster Design; Keong Saik Festival | Type 1

Task II  |  Typography I

For this assignment, we had to envision a mock festival/event that was going to take place within the space of research we did in task 1; for me, Keong Saik Street. We had to create a series of poster designs that would serve as publicity for out imaginary event. There were four guiding principles we were to adhere to:

1) 6 content element:
– Title
– Sub-text
– Address/Location
– Date of event
– Website
– Body-text/Information

2) Use of only 1 Typeface:
– Serif or
– Sans-serif

3) Purely typographic base posters:
–  No images
– Visual patterns had to be derived strictly from typographic forms only

4) Progressively coloured:
– 1st Poster (B&W)
– 2nd Poster (2 Colours)
– 3rd Poster (3 Colours)

Process Journal

Attachment to high resolution pdf:
Click here to download Process Journal pdf

Final Posters

Attachment to high resolution pdf:
Click here to download Final Poster pdf

Brand Imaging; Keong Saik Festival | Type 1

Task III  |  Typography I

For our last brief, we would have to create a set of A5 cards situated in the context of an event give-away package. The cards would either be based on the neighbourhood or on the pseudo event itself.

The aesthetic of the cards would have to follow the overall ‘look & feel’ of one chosen poster design from task 2; this included both typography and colours used. The idea was to practice information continuity and in the process of it, aiding the development of a critical mind for information management that relates back to typography.

Lastly, we were also to create one set of collateral/merchandise in-line with the theme and aesthetic of the event. The collateral, same as the A5 cards, would be part of the “event give-away” package.

Deliverables

1x A2 Print of chosen poster design
10x A5 Event cards (all different designs)
1x Set of event collateral/merchandise


Chosen Poster Design

Attachment to high resolution pdf:
Click here to download A2 Poster pdf

A5 card DesigN

Attachment to high resolution pdf:
Click here to download A5 Cards pdf

Collateral Design | Professional Photos

Logo Design; Mindmap and Moodboards | VC I

The field of Quantum Physics and its various subsidiaries was a bit much to take in, especially when most terms were utterly alien to me. The term ‘wormhole’ was probably the only familiar concept, but unfortunately, Ina advised me against pursuing it as many others were already on it.

MIND-MAP

After reading up online and doodling up a mind-map regarding the various concepts, I realise that many of these terminologies were somehow intertwined and linked to one another. In other words… complicated beyond measure! Instead of running the risk of excessive overthinking, I decided to streamline and focus my efforts onto two intricately linked concepts; entanglement & paradox.

MOODBOARDS & INSPIRATIONS

 

Logo Design; Sketches | VC I

Sketches + Progression

Ina suggested that we stuck to a more simple illustration instead of over-complicating the design with too much; we could leave that for poster design instead. In the coming week, I focused more on expanding my designs, in various forms, styles and colour.

Preliminary Ideation

R&D (Refine & Develop)

Ready for digitisation!