Griffin & Green - AS Level Graphic Design Exam: April 2013

Saturday 6 April 2013

Darvel Music Company Logo

This logo has replaced the letter 'v' with, not a music note, nor just a musical instrument (unlike Classic FM, Ultrasound or Sonica), but with a silhouette of a person holding a guitar. Whilst this works well for Darvel, the design is not as easily applied to Griffin & Green. In addition, I am very keen to include a griffin within my design, and I highly doubt I'll be able to make a griffin look like a letter.

Songbird Logo 2

This logo is an alternative design to the first Songbird logo. I prefer this design as it has incorporated the music note into the bird, rather than it just being something with the bird. In my interpretation of the design, I used music notes to create the wings of a griffin. The idea of using music notes to create the image of the griffin is one I will develop further.

Friday 5 April 2013

Boosey & Hawkes Logo

This logo is similar to Classic FMs in a way, due to it's simplicity. The reason why I looked at this logo is due to the brands name. Though a relatively bland design, the '&' symbol has been embellished to draw attention to the centre of the logo. Perhaps in my designs I could make the '&' the focus of the logo.

Songbird Logo 1

This logo incorporates a music note too, but not in place of a letter. I like the use of combining a theme from the brand name, 'bird', with a music note. In my interpretation of the design, I used a griffin with a music note. With more development into griffin designs, they will most likely feature in my final piece.

Classic FM Logo

I specifically looked at this logo due to it featuring a forte, which is the 'f' in the logo. I like the idea of using music notes within the logo.

In my interpretation of the design, I used the forte note within 'GRIFFIN'. To explore the use of music notes further, I could have used a treble clef. Using music notes in place of letters is something I will explore further.

Whilst this design is clear and clean, I feel it is lacking in substance. This logo is one that could much too easily be forgotten. I want a logo that stands out.

Reel Farm Logo

I like the way the logo has combined both parts of the brands name into one image. The use of reels as the tyres is very smart. I also like the styling of the logo; the rugged, not quite fully coloured in tractor gives the impression it's an image from a reel of film and the picture quality is low. The choices of colour also give the impression the image is from an old film reel, hence the black and white. In addition, the font used is well suited to the picture. It doesn't quite sit neatly on one line, again giving the impression that it's rugged.

In my interpretation of the logo, I used an image of a griffin. I could have used a green coloured pen to incorporate both aspects of the brand's name into the logo, but I followed the theme of black and white as used in the original. I would like to include a griffin in my logo design. I will continue to experiment with different themes and ideas including griffins.

The Rock Room Logo

This logo design also features a guitar. However, unlike Sonica's logo, the guitar is only featured as a background image rather than incorporated into the text.

I like the sketchy outline's of the guitar to make the brand seem edgy. I also like the use of capital letters for 'ROCK' to draw attention to it and make it stand out from the other words. The outline around it too adds impact and separates the word from the others. The use of a relatively plain font for 'the' and 'room' makes it seem as if the 'ROCK' is bursting through, demanding attention.

In my interpretation of the deign, I replicated the guitar in the background and the style of fonts. However, instead of using 'griffin' and/or 'green' as the words with impact, I made the 'AND' stand out. This did not work in making the name's more visible, though it does provide contrast. The word in the centre, jumping out, draws the eye.

Tuesday 2 April 2013

Music Company Logos

Click here for my analysis of this logo

Click here for my analysis of this logo

Long Neck Music Logo

I really like Long Neck's logo. I like the clever simplicity of it. My interpretation of the design does not work anywhere near as well as the original does. This is most likely due to the simple fact griffin's aren't designed with long necks, whereas giraffes most certainly are. In addition, the first thing you see in the original image is the base of the note, and then your eye follows down to read 'LONG NECK MUSIC'. It's only upon second glance do you notice the giraffes head at the top of the music note.

I think the font works well with the image. Despite the logo being entirely monochrome, it still contrasts with the music note. In addition, the bold 'LONG NECK' contrasts with the 'MUSIC', which draws attention to it despite it being of less impact.

Sonica Music Company Logo

This logo also features a musical instrument in it, similar to Auckland Music. This instrument, however, has been used as a letter, rather than part of one as Auckland did. I like this idea, though I did find it hard to replicate. In the original design, the guitar blends in very well with the text. In addition, the font of the main text matches the design of the guitar to make it blend in further.

In my own interpretation, I also used a guitar to become the Gs in Griffin & Green. Though I feel this works well, the guitar doesn't blend in with the text. Perhaps a different instrument or even music note would have worked better. I will develop this idea.

And just like the other logos I have looked at, the text below the image contrasts with the design.

Auckland Music Logo

Similarly to Music Roasters, Auckland have combined the first letters of their brand name to create the main focus of their logo. In addition, they have used a quite plain font so the image of the A and M are the first thing people see and recognise.

The A and M have been combined to look as if they form mountains. Auckland is a mountainous region of New Zealand, home to Mount Eden. I like the idea of involving themes within the logo, and may apply the idea to designs for Griffin & Green. The colour choice may have been influenced by Mount Eden also, as it is largely grassland.

In my interpretation of the design, I replicated the instrument aspect of the logo. I think the idea works well and I will develop this concept further in my own designs. I also like the fonts Auckland have used. The capital letters spelling the brand name are clear and easy to read, being the second thing you look at when observing this logo. However, I particularly like the lettering spelling 'music in my veins' as it offsets the brand name, contrasting its curves with the sharp edges of 'AUCKLAND MUSIC'.

Overall, I think this logo design is very clever, and many aspects have been considered in its design. I hope my own logo will also show how much thought went into its design.

Music Roasters Logo

I like the idea of having a picture logo with the brand name below. The brand 'Music Roasters' has successfully used this concept to create a simple, elegant and eye-catching logo. I like the use of highly contrasting bright colours. I replicated the design using pen.

In my own interpretation, I used pen also, but used a bright green instead of red. This links into the name of the brand. I really like the first letters of the words merging into one. It is shown more successfully in Roasters, but I feel this is an idea that could possibly be developed and/or incorporated into other designs.

I also like the idea of using a relatively plain font to offset the logo picture more so. This concept contrasts with most of the logo research I have done into guitar brands, but Mosrite, Yamaha and Paul Reed Smith use similar designs. I think a Serif font works well to offset logos that are quite rounded, as Roasters is. Perhaps I will explore the use of Sans Serif fonts with more edgy designs.

Griffin & Green - AS Level Graphic Design Exam

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