This is the Personal Branding that I came up with at the end of the second year / start of this year and I'm happy to work with it and craft it a little bit more until I'm fully happy with it to use as a solid identity. Currently, I'm using just the logo for all online presence as well as some makeshift business cards which again need to be pushed further. It's important to me that my branding is clean and clear and 'honest' if you like which relates to my personal statement. I wanted an identity which didn't really have it's own identity if you like. Obviously my branding needs to be a brand in itself, but I wanted it to be a fairly neutral look for my portfolio and everything else to sit on top of. At the end of the day, it's my work that should be what people base their opinion on, and my branding should be something that looks 'nice', but in no way takes on a particular style. It needs to be stripped back, simple and let the work do the talking, whilst also looking sleek, clean and professional.
Branding Developement
The PDF above, is my initial stages of pushing my personal branding a little bit further in terms of having a bigger concept behind it and brand system for it to work around. Below I'll explain how I've pushed the brand on a little bit...
Personal Statement
Heres my refined personal statement. I'm conceptually driven as a designer and I like to think that I'm always thinking creatively, in and outside of work. I believe of creating 'Honest' and 'Clear Communication'. This is important to me. I don't like to bullshit with clients and come up with concepts that are conceptual in a 'fine-art' kind of way. That's not what I'm about. I like to create communication that the target audience can engage with and fully understand. I also like to inject a little bit of humour and light-heartedness the work I create, when appropriate. I like to create 'Brand Stories' which make the target audience feel personal and individual. I do this by using the right tone of voice, and directing it at the right kind of people.
Brandmark
My primary and only brandmark consists of only type. I've decided to use my Surname as the brandmark in order to simplify things and hopefully to make a lasting impression. As I think my last name is a lot more interesting that my first name, I think it would make people wonder what the name or company might be. I think the simplicity is good. It sort of says that it's honest and timeless design. Not sticking to the latest trend, and being confident enough in my abilities to make this decision.
Typography
So as you can see here, a mixture of Minion Pro variants will be used for all typography around my branding. I will be using the same weight (8pt) for all my branded products too, apart form my brandmark of course. This will be a little nod to modernist groundings and instead to emphasise tittles etc. I will use either Bold, Regular or Italic.
Graphic Designer & ______________
Graphic Designer & is the 'tagline' if you like to my brand. This will be used on all promotional material and will often change depending on what the target audience is and the context of course. Using this little brand system allows me to be a bit more loose with my branding. It can be professional, but can also be used in a more friendly, casual way, which helps show a little bit more personality...
Graphic Designer &
As you can see above, this system is interchangeable, and I can start to be a little more playful with some of the ways it is used. When in a more casual context, it could relate to various different aspects and traits in my personality such as being Northern or being obsessed with Football.
Imagery
I like the idea of pairing the traditional looking serif typography with vintage imagery, but using the copy in a more humorous and personal, up-to-date way, to keep this juxtaposition between traditional influences and modern style. I like the idea of this because it's very different to a lot of branding for designers or studios today which often uses sans serif, and often tries to be a bit over-elaberate with the branding, which ultimately shoeboxes them into a particular style. I think again, this is pretty honest in it's approach, and hopefully also shows a little bit of influence, humour and personality.
Logo / Typography
You can see here how the logo and the typography work together and cohesively. I'm using different families of the same typeface to differentiate sections such as the website and email / phone number...
Graphic Designer & Letter Writer
The concept can be applied even further relating to the stationary and different printed collateral. For example, on a letterhead, invoice and compliment slip, the tagline can change to what is shown in the image above. Clever, I know.
Stationary
As you can see, the brand is easily and naturally applied to a basic range of stationary, with the intention to broaden this also. The type and layout has been laid out in a way which is consistant and snapped to a grid which never changes. You can see the logo is always the same size, and always sits in the top left of the printed item. The separate type can be moved around depending on the size and shape of the printed item...
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