Notes: The Third Installment (Logo, Branding and Identity- Developing an understanding of the branding framework.)

*What is a brand?
     - 'Brand' is the "perceived" emotional corporate image as a whole, it is the reputation both claimed and perceived.


*What is branding?
     - An organizations brand or branding is essentially their public image.

     - A designer can create the framework for a brand, color, font, artwork, style... but the audience completes the brand through an emotional reaction with it.

Branding Example:
     - Apple is an IT company that projects a humanist image, positive corporate ethics, and the support of good causes.

     - When people use the products, they connect to the product emotionally.

*What is Identity?
     - Corporate Identity is comprised of the visual aspects that form the brand.

     - Close attention is paid to executing a consistent experience for the viewer.

*What is Identity Design?
     - The corporate identity includes strict usage of colors, font families, graphic elements and other guidelines, usually detailed in a corporate identity guide.

     - The identity can include the logo, its variations, business cards, labels, envelopes, letterhead stationary, advertisements, TV commercials, packaging, ect.

*What is a logo?
     - A logo is for identification.

     - A logo is the simplest way a company or organization can represent itself, which is through the use of a mark or an icon.

Summary:
     - Brand: The perceived emotional corporate image as a whole.

     - Identity: The visual aspects that form part of the overall brand.

     - Logo: Identifies a business in its simplest form via the use of a mark or icon.
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*Why vector art?
     - We create logos as vector art because it is flexible, powerful and easily edited. This is important when clients want to make changes.

     - Vector art can be scaled up infinitely without losing quality.

Pencil to Vector:
     - Creating a logo design requires many phases.
   
     - Many meetings and review sessions are required to arrive at a design that works.

     - Converting a simple pencil sketch to vector art requires establishing graphic style, color, line shape and typography.

Final Art: Graphic Style
     - Decide what your "graphic style" will be.

     - Will it be bold, simple and cute? Sleek, technical and sedate? Cartoony, funny and cool? High-tech and 3D?

     - There is a wide range of styles to choose. Choose what fits your concept and market.

Final Art: Line Quality
     - Line Quality refers to the smoothness and precise nature of your lines.

     - We use the Pen Tool to create perfect, smooth lines.

Final Art: Line Shape
     - If you have line art in your logo, your line shape is #1 priority.

     - Wanna make your own lines? Try a custom "Art Brush" from the Brush Library in AI.

Design Styles:
     *Style 1: Typeface focused. This style relies on a typeface to create the logo design, creativity is utilized in the proximity, contrast, color, and customization of the letter forms.

      *Style 2: Mixing typefaces. This style uses 2 different type faces to create the logo design. Strive to create a balanced design, typefaces that are too similar will lack contrast in style.

      *Style 3: Typeface + graphic element. This style uses simple graphic elements in addition to the typeface to create an emphasized and balanced design. Graphic elements remain abstract.

      *Style 4: Typeface + shapes/symbols that are balanced. An even balance between art and typography is achieved in this style.

      *Style 5: Graphic focused design. In this design, the graphic elements are not the focus or dominant aspect of the design, the typeface plays a supporting role.