The final selection of alternative logos include products and services in areas of food, drink, hospitality, travel, skincare, jewellery, shoes, clothing, stationery and communication. Most importantly, they all involve people, which confirms the importance of hand lettering in terms of engaging and emotionally relating to personal experiences.
I kept all accompanying images and secondary slogans in the same colours and typefaces, so the association with the brand isn't too distant. I also decided to position the text and images in the same way the original logo is for the same reason.
The hand drawn version consists of two continuous lines, separating ‘air’ from ‘bnb’ to highlight their services related to travel and hospitality. The continuity represents the ongoing travel that Airbnb can provide through their accessible online booking service which allows customers to browse easily to choose their destinations. Their entire brand is focused on a growing community and connecting travellers around the world in a place they belong. Rounded corners and open counters give a sense of space and suit the brand’s existing logo image, the belo.
Taking the rounded edges from the typefaces on their promotional material and products, I was able to create a unique composition which includes connections of letterforms within the word. Two ‘n’s have an extended foot looping under and supporting other characters in the logo, and the curved aesthetic runs across the whole logo keeping the negative space between forms open and engaging, reflecting their healthy products in a cheerful way, suitable for all ages within their target audience.
Taking inspiration from script hand writing and lettering as well as existing Italian brand identities, an original composition and letterform combination was produced which highlights the brand’s services more appropriately than a thick, block, uppercase font. The flow of the word represents the steam and swirls of coffee production and aesthetic, and the varied size letterforms split up the pronunciation of the word.
The reasoning for my alternative version for the LUSH logo stemmed from a handmade approach to lettering using organic strokes and marks, not unlike the company’s core values and use of organic ingredients in their products. It was important to retain the natural flow of each letterform rather than modifying the end result repeatedly to achieve a fabricated design.
Following the brand’s concept of their charm bracelet, the hand lettered logo has slightly uneven line weights across each letterform, adding emphasis to certain areas to give the impression of depth and a wrap around effect.
The chunky handwritten style works as an individual alternative to the above typeface, and is appropriate to the brand’s unique jewellery for each person based on the possibility of each charm bracelet being completely different. The crown element remains to reinforce the existing brand and maintain the reference to jewellery products.
Keeping the linked element in the ‘s’ I was able to maintain aspects of the existing brand, though the rounded letterforms fit together more efficiently to suggest the fitting of a shoe. The middle letterform extends the foot to slide under the ‘u’ and connects the word together without linking the letterforms. The stride away from uniformity within the word suggests that the brand accommodates a variety of customers with different needs. To maintain the brand’s identity and to relate to the target audience, the colour palette remains the same.
Taking into consideration Scotch’s reputation as a high quality, durable brand, I used their primary and most well known product of sticky tape to mold the letterforms in the logo. The angular edges connote strong and sturdy characteristics, and the crossbar of the t overlaps the ascender of the h to symbolise the product’s purpose. Again, colour scheme is kept the same as the original, though I have left the texture of clear tape showing through the colour so it is more obviously created from this material.
Keeping the smiling curve as a main feature in the alternative logo, I was able to connect this into the type by using hand rendered processes. The letterforms are open and organic, not unlike the values and products that the skincare company imparts. By linking both aspects of the logo together it unifies the stamp into a symbol that represents the organic qualities of their products.
Taking the cloud element from the existing logo I altered the type to connect through a continuous line, encompassing representations of a cable and a cloud in one integrated image, merging the modern elements of communication. The continuous line reflects Skype’s mission to connect people around the world, and with their free services this has the scope to become used more frequently, keeping users in constant connection with one another.
I developed a handwritten style for the alternate logo which links all letterforms aesthetically, keeping each character unique and in it’s raw form. An added element to the hand drawn version is a subtle suggestion of a star within the joins of the k. Inspired by the campaign Starbucks introduced (involving staff writing the customer’s name on their drink with each order), this gestural aesthetic conveys a typical form of handwriting.
Building on Subway’s bold brand, the alternate logo was hand drawn in paint marker to solidify the strokes and keep a bold aesthetic. This fits with the brand’s ideal of fast, fresh service - a meal on the go. The italicised slant is also similar for this reason.
Due to TED’s nature of sharing ideas human to human through visual video conferences and live talks, a quick hand style seemed appropriate for the brand to contrast with their use of Helvetica and the primary medium of video and web content. The bold colour works well to reinforce the brand so I maintained a solid block of colour rather than including texture of the pen marks.
By using a flat nib calligraphy pen to create a high contrast in line weights, the stems following the same direction are highlighted. The forward slanting diagonal lines mark the stems of each character and are the prominent visual, creating a unique pattern that can be applied to the whole brand as a distinctive image. The parallel aesthetic represents the uniformity of precision, which links to the brand’s reputation of high quality products in all sales areas including clothing, bags and home.
Overall I would say that the alternative, hand drawn logos show how some of the most well known brands can be represented effectively through a hand rendered style. Even though the original typeface choice works for several of the logos I chose, it can be modified to become more suitable to each unique brand, which is sums up my investigation into the relevance of hand lettering in the modern age. Some of the final decisions ended up pretty similar to the original logo, mainly the ones that have such a strong brand identity anyway, though the handmade aesthetic adds originality to companies with appropriate values.
