Brief 8: D.S.M Design Boards and Evaluation

This was a brief set by visiting professionals, Something More. The purpose of the task was to take a topic/subject, which is considered dull, and make it exciting. Initially, when I received the topic of recycling I was pretty disappointed. I had taken part in recycling briefs in both first and second year, and felt that all my ideas seemed predictable and uninspiring. After spotting an image of a 3D recycling structure, the idea process became a lot clearer. I wanted to develop the type structure in to an actual company, project and campaign.

In the initial meeting with D.S.M, the feedback was really positive towards my idea. I think this project would have really benefitted from more time and focus. Due to carrying out multiple projects at one time, I felt that the brief did not reach its full potential. I felt rushed to complete the concept in time for the final presentation to D.S.M and the rest of the recycling group. The name I originally chose for this was ‘Patch’. The logo consisted of a bold, capitalised font placed inside a yellow circle with a stitch-like stroke around the edge.

When re-assessing the final design choices of this brief, I decided to re-visit it, completely changing the name and visual approach. This was due to feedback where it was pointed out to me that the name ‘Patch’ did not clearly suggest a concept of large, bold, three-dimensional structures in urban environment. The logo was instead suggesting a type of sewing company.

The new identity of this project was called ‘Form’. The logo was created as an optical illusion to add emphasis to the three-dimensional focus of the structures. I would have like to have explored building my own three-dimensional logo to place into different potential environments. As there was a limited amount of time, I decided to develop the hand-drawn logo and mock this up in Photoshop.

Although I was pleased with the concept of this brief, I felt it needed t be pushed further to place it into context and convey the message more clearly. It would have also been great to design a flyer including information about the brand values and the reasons for placing these interactive recycling structures around various cities. I feel that in terms of the requirements of the brief, the concept was effective, but this lost impact in the final outcome.