Designing a Brand Identity In 8 HOURS. How did I do? 😅

Summary

In this video, the designer takes on the challenge of creating a full brand identity, including a logo, guidelines, business cards, and mock-ups, for a company called 'folio' in under a day. The process involves mood boarding, mind mapping, sketching, refining in Illustrator, and using tools like Gen C and Assets 4D to streamline the workflow. The video demonstrates the intense effort and creative strategies employed to achieve a high-quality brand identity within a tight deadline.

Takeaways

• 🚀 The challenge is to design a full brand identity, including logo, guidelines, business cards, and mock-ups, in less than a day, a process that typically takes around a month.
• 📝 The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding the client's needs and the target audience, which in this case is a portfolio website called 'folio' aimed at creative professionals.
• 🎨 The design process begins with mood boarding using Miller note to gather visual inspiration and establish a color scheme and brand atmosphere.
• 💭 Mind mapping is highlighted as a crucial step often overlooked, which helps in connecting different ideas and creating unexpected connections for new design concepts.
• ✍️ Sketching on an iPad using Procreate is preferred for speed, allowing for quick iteration of ideas and refinement of the 'folio' wordmark.
• 🔍 Attention to detail in typography is critical, with adjustments to letter spacing, line thickness, and optical balancing to ensure the logo is consistent and visually appealing.
• 🌟 The inclusion of a star in the logo design serves as a unique brand visual, blending vintage and modern elements, and potentially doubling as an icon when combined with the letter 'F'.
• 🎨 A color scheme is developed with a focus on a distinctive purple hue, chosen for its historical significance and association with creativity and superiority.
• 📐 The use of a brand guidelines template in Figma expedites the creation of brand guidelines, incorporating the finalized logo, colors, fonts, and usage do's and don'ts.
• 📇 Business cards are designed using a template and personalized with the brand's elements, demonstrating how the logo and colors translate to physical materials.
• 🔗 The project is managed and tracked using Gen Z, a tool that streamlines client communication, project proposals, and payments, which sponsored the video.

Q & A

What is the main challenge the speaker is undertaking in the video?

The speaker is attempting to design a complete brand identity, including a logo, brand guidelines, business cards, and mock-ups, all within a single day, a task that typically takes around a month.

What tool does the speaker mention for managing freelance design projects?

The speaker mentions 'gen C' as a tool that helps freelance designers work with their clients, including customizable project proposals, a client briefing system, project communication, and payments all in one place.

What is the name of the company for which the brand identity is being designed?

The company's name is 'folio', which is a portfolio website designed to be a professional platform that does not use generative AI to scan the website for data modeling.

What is the unique aspect of the 'folio' brand that the speaker emphasizes?

The unique aspect of 'folio' is that it does not use generative AI to scan the website and does not allow generative AI to use the images uploaded by users for data modeling.

What is the purpose of mind mapping in the brand identity design process according to the speaker?

Mind mapping is used to connect different imagery in word form to create new ideas. It allows the speaker to create unexpected connections and transform verbal connections into imagery.

What tool does the speaker use for creating mood boards?

The speaker uses 'Milanote' for creating mood boards, which allows taking images from the web and organizing them into boards to establish a color scheme and vibe for the brand.

What is the significance of the color purple in the brand identity design?

The color purple is chosen for the brand identity because it represents creativity and a superior type of Instagram. Historically, purple was difficult to create and was associated with royalty, adding a sense of exclusivity and prestige.

What is the importance of creating 'do's and don'ts' in brand guidelines?

The 'do's and don'ts' in brand guidelines are crucial to ensure that the client does not misuse or misrepresent the brand's design. It serves as a 'Bible' for maintaining the integrity of the brand's visual identity.

How does the speaker plan to create the business card design?

The speaker plans to use a template downloaded from Envato or the InDesign store, and then bring it into Canva to make it editable for the client, ensuring it aligns with the brand identity.

What is the speaker's final step in the brand identity design process?

The final step is to go back to 'gen C' to show the client the completed work, create a cover image, upload it, wait for approval, and once approved, upload the final files to complete the project.

What does the speaker conclude about the quality of work produced under time constraints?

The speaker concludes that while it is possible to complete a brand identity design in one day, the quality of work could be significantly better if given more time, such as a week or a month.