Stretch tasks R094 TA1: Developing a Visual Identity

Round 1: Quiz Blitz

1. The visual elements that make an organisation recognisable It also communicates what the organisation stands for.
2. wordmark Google and Coca-Cola use wordmarks.
3. Lettermark A lettermark is made of initials.
4. The symbol can later stand alone, once people know it The name teaches people what the symbol means.
5. False It must be legible at 16 pixels and sharp on the side of a van.
6. Brand loyalty Consistency builds familiarity, and familiarity builds trust.
7. As exact values, such as #1F6F50 Exact values keep the colour the same everywhere.
8. The empty margin kept around a logo Nothing may crowd the logo inside its clear space.
9. Working at its smallest size; Working in one colour Test it on real backgrounds too.
10. At least six Quick thumbnails come before three distinct concepts.
11. Analysis, not collection A screenshot with no comment is worth nothing.
12. slogan It is one of the elements of a visual identity.

Round 2: Quick Fire

1. • Recognition: people know who it is at a glance
   • Values: what the organisation stands for
   Model answer

   Brand recognition means people know who the organisation is at a glance, even before reading the name. Brand values are what it stands for, such as being friendly or sustainable, which the identity communicates through its colours and type.

2. • It must work at its smallest size, such as a favicon
   • Fine detail disappears when small or in one colour
   Model answer

   A logo must work at its smallest size, such as a 16 pixel favicon, as well as on a van. Fine detail disappears at small sizes and in one colour, so detail is removed until the mark stays legible everywhere.

3. • Exploring alternatives is assessed
   • The first idea is rarely the best, so comparing improves the work
   Model answer

   Exploring alternatives is part of what is assessed, so a single concept limits the marks. The first idea is rarely the best one, and comparing genuinely different concepts against the brief leads to stronger work.

4. • The assessment rewards analysis, not collection
   • Annotations say what competitors do and how that informs the design
   Model answer

   The assessment rewards analysis, not collection, so a screenshot with no comment earns nothing. An annotation explains what a competitor's colour and type are doing, and what gap that leaves for the client, which then informs the design.

Round 3: Big Think

1. • Research competitors and the audience
   • Mind map, mood board, thumbnails and three concepts
   • A combination mark, such as a wheel forming a leaf
   • Simplified to work small and in one colour
   • Green for the environmental message
   • A warm accent, such as orange, for friendliness
   • Colours given as exact values
   • A rounded, legible sans serif
   Model answer

   I would start by analysing three competitors and the audience, then use a mind map and an annotated mood board before sketching at least six thumbnails and developing three distinct concepts. The logo would be a combination mark, perhaps a bike wheel forming a leaf beside the name, simplified until it works small and in one colour. The palette would be a deep green, for the environmental message, with a warm orange accent, for the friendly energy of a volunteer project, each defined as exact hex and CMYK values. The typography would be a rounded sans serif for headings, which feels approachable, with a plain, legible sans serif for body text.

2. • The logo and its versions
   • Clear space and a minimum size
   • The colour palette as exact values
   • The typefaces, their uses and licences
   • The slogan
   • Rules for how the logo must never be used
   • So anyone applies the identity the same way
   • Which builds recognition, trust and loyalty
   Model answer

   A style guide shows the logo and each of its versions, such as stacked, horizontal, icon only and one colour, with the clear space around it and its minimum size. It gives the colour palette as exact hex and CMYK values, and names the typefaces with their uses and licences. It includes the slogan, and rules for how the logo must never be used, such as stretched or recoloured. It matters because anyone, from a printer to a new designer, can then apply the identity in the same way, and that consistency builds recognition and, over time, trust and loyalty.

This or That

1. Abstract mark A shape with no literal meaning is an abstract mark.
2. Pictorial mark A recognisable object is a pictorial mark.
3. No: link it to the brief Every decision should be traced to the brief and the audience.
4. Three distinct concepts Genuinely different concepts show alternatives were explored.
5. Keep them as evidence Rejected concepts are evidence of exploring alternatives.
6. #E8772E Exact values keep the colour consistent everywhere.
7. The mood board The mood board fixes the look and feel before design starts.
8. Yes, on real backgrounds Test it on white, the brand colour and a photograph.

Memory Match

• A 4 Visual identity: What makes an organisation recognisable
• B 5 Wordmark: The name itself, styled
• C 6 Lettermark: A logo made of initials
• D 2 Combination mark: A symbol paired with the name
• E 1 Clear space: Empty margin kept around a logo
• F 3 Style guide: Rules for applying the identity

Sort It

1. Pictorial mark Apple's apple A recognisable object is pictorial.
2. Abstract mark A shape that means nothing literal That is an abstract mark.
3. Lettermark BBC Initials make a lettermark.
4. Wordmark A brand name in a custom typeface That is a wordmark.
5. Wordmark Coca-Cola The name in a distinctive script.
6. Abstract mark Pepsi's circle An abstract shape.
7. Pictorial mark Shell's shell A recognisable object is pictorial.
8. Lettermark IBM Initials make a lettermark.
9. Pictorial mark A simple drawing of a real object That is a pictorial mark.
10. Lettermark Initials set inside a box That is a lettermark.
11. Wordmark Google The name itself, styled.
12. Abstract mark Nike's swoosh A shape with no literal meaning.