roryjohnsononline

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The Brief//

We were to create a visual identity for ourselves as a brand. Along with the VI we needed to have the mandatories, such as a business card, letter head and complimentary slip. (normal stationery)

My Solution//

When figuring out my Visual Identity  I realised that I don’t want to promote myself as an agency or a season professional, so with I worked towards a simple look and feel based more on typography seeing that I was promoting myself as Rory Johnson and nothing more or less. The colour scheme is simple, black and white with simple bold type faces that contrast in the negative space. As a designer I wanted to promote not only my layout, typography, logo creation and idea generation skills but also my ability and passion to illustrate. This is why on the business card i have illustrated myself in a simple style, the illustration highlights my creative side and the structured typography showcases my strategic ability. The illustration on the business card is a die cut of myself… If the recipient cuts me out, they can sit me on their computer, desk, steering wheel, where ever they want. Its just a simple and fun leave behind to show my creative abilities. 

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The Brief//

As a group, we were to increase ABSA’s internal sponsorship awareness by the end of 2012. To demonstrate ABSA’s relevance to the design community before the 2012 indaba, by producing interactive activations that increase awareness. Invite consumers to live the ABSA brand. To create a memorable experience through innovative and creative activations representing ABSA’s brand attitude. To communicate and help consumers experience ABSA’s new brand promise. The Challenge//

The creative challenge was that people attending the Indaba don’t see the relevance of ABSA being at the Expo as they are a bank and have no real purpose to be there. Our main objective was to make ABSA relevant and pushing the idea that ABSA supports a networking platform for creatives.

Who are the Young Fun Rubix?

Young Fun Rubix (YFR) is a full service design agency. We regard ourselves as being a new model agency that is proudly South African, where creativity is at the heart of our business. We work on systems and process put in place to ensure “creative logic” is at the core of every brief we take on. This allows us to incorporate creative design with strategic marketing which develops big ideas and delivers success.  "Creative logic" Our Solution// 

Visual identity:

The visual identity formed around the concept of 6 degrees is in line with ABSA’s desaturated look and feel, it also gives off a very clean monochrome look that is very popular in emerging trends, the simple and sleek look gives the visual identity a youthful feel. The contrasting colour in the visual identity is the rich red that is incorporated inside the letter 6, the red breathes life into the monochrome as the color represents energy and virility and this reinforces the idea of ABSA, strengthening and energizing the design Indaba, the Indaba itself can be seen as the monochrome and the color red can be seen as ABSA. 

Concept:

The concept that was decided on for the Design Indaba 2012 is “6 Degrees of togetherness.”  This is based on the imperative element identified through thorough research which is networking. Networking is “A group or system of interconnected people or things.”  Our concept is based on the theory of 6 degrees of separation; this refers to the idea that everyone is at maximum six handshakes away from each other, which again emphasizes the idea of networking. 

The concept also aligns itself to our agency composition, where we are made up of six specializations being: Visual Communications, Multimedia Design, Copy writing, Brand Strategy, Public Relations and Strategic Advertising.   We felt that it was appropriate due to the nature of the Design Indaba as it is a Mecca for meeting and rubbing shoulders with knowledgeable delegates.  ABSA strengthens the platform that the Design Indaba has produced for creative’s and designers to network.  This is done through financial support, a crucial element in making the Indaba happen.   

6 Degrees of togetherness also aligns itself with ABSA’s message of “Today, Tomorrow, Together” / “Better Together”. 

Executions// Print advertisement: The print ads are inspired by an artist called Katie Lewis. The main picture on the advert is of a South African map constructed by the use of pins, cotton and mounted on cardboard.  We made use of white pins that represent the main cities of South Africa and the population that exists within each city.  The red cotton strung around the pins represents ABSA strengthening the networking platform that is the Design Indaba. Networking is one of the key factors of the Design Indaba, and is most appropriate amongst the delegates.  This is in line with the concept that is to be rolled out for the 2012 Indaba, the concept of 6 Degrees of Togetherness. Copy that is to be used on the advert is simple and to the point, stating the main facts of the Indaba, i.e. 29 February 2012, at the CTICC.  The print advertisement can be placed in the magazine before the Design Indaba, to create hype around event.   Placement is key in this instance, to maximize reach of the right target audience.  The Design Indaba magazine is the chosen medium from which to place our advertisement.  This can be bought from any book shop, such as Exclusive books or CNA.  To create these print adverts, we had to create wire art using pins and cotton, below is what the final art piece looked like. This was created by Robyn Lategan. Competition Poster: A2 posters will be put up around all three Vega campus`- Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.  These will be put up at the beginning of the fourth term which will commence on the 26th of September.  This will give the students five months to complete the networking project. The use of bold, clean imagery and eye catching font will explain all the details of this independent competition.  It will also be visually appealing to young creative students.  

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The Brief//

The brief was to create a concept for the branding of a typographically themed restaurant. It should be a thorough appraisal of the possibilities of not only the visual identity but how the typographic theme could permeate all aspects of the place.  What are the possibilities for the exterior and interior? How can it be promoted? Use print, screen, combined media, as long as it has a solid idea, informs and shows your typographic skills. Remember that words and language are our collateral and that your submission should be essentially typographic.  The Creative Challenge//

The challenge is to create an innovative restaurant using typography, the look and feel of the restaurant should have ‘flow’ and should work with the menu, food, interior and uniform, synergy should be carried out among all contact points. The creative challenge lies in the fact that this is not just a typographical brief but also a branding and conceptualizing exercise that emphasizes synergy among contact points as well as restaurant experience. My Solution//

The Logo:

vou Déchiffre translates to, “you decipher” and is a reflection of the themed restaurant. The colours represent the French national flag and if you are unsure of the type of food served, the sub header exclaims that it is simple, french cuisine. Déchiffre is broken up with phonetics, this is to help pronounce the unfamiliar word as most French speakers are not a majority in South Africa. When looking for a name for my restaurant, I looked at many  clever puns, but when translated from English to french, the short puns became long and undesirable restaurant names. I then went simple and described the process of reading a phonetic and a menu, you decipher.

The Restaurant:

When I visit a French, Italian, Thai, Portuguese restaurant, I always find it a learning experience, absorbing the music, the smell, table cloth and even art work on the walls and of course the food that is ordered. All is a learning experience that adds value to the cultural experience when visiting a restaurant.

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Background Info//

Umthombo is a registered South African nonprofit organization, founded in 1998 and an unique South African street children organization, which aims to change the way that society perceives and treats street children through educating society as to the realities of the street child experience and through developing and implementing informed, working strategies to address the issue in South African cities.

Umthombo's ultimate goal is to change the way that society perceives and treats street children in South Africa. It has two main programs, one focusing on grass roots action, the other on strategy development.

The Brief//

To create an identity for either, Umthombo Surf, Umthombo Arts/Drama or Umthombo Soccer Stars.

The Challenge//

The CREATIVE Challenge:

Umthombo is a Non-government Organisation that isn’t recognized among the general public. One has to create a logo that relates to a program as well as have synergy with the established Umthombo identity (green and black tree). The identity should not be cliché nor too conceptual. In the case of Umthombo Soccer, the logo needs to be used as an emblem for the kit, stationery is not required as it is a sports extension of the original Umthombo brand.

My Solution//

The logo:

The Umthombo Soccer Stars logo is comprised of three different elements that form an emblem. The shield that outlines the logo represents protection, care and love, this is the foundation of the logo.  All the typefaces are hand generated to create a ‘home made’ and ‘African’ look and feel. The colour ties back to the original Umthombo logo which will help with Umthombo brand identity.

Logo inspiration:

Looking at many soccer badges and logos internationally and local I noticed that the emblem or badge was a strong characteristic of all the logos. The badge represents pride and passion, a trait that Tom Hewitt and his colleges aims to teach the street children of Umthombo, turning them into young adults with ambition and to be proud of who they are.

The Kit:

The Umthombo Soccer Stars kit was inspired by the Cameroon kit of 2002, this kit caused controversy as FIFA deemed it a vest and not a shirt. I used the idea of a vest because the weather in Durban gets very hot and humid, playing in short sleeves keeps you cool as well being eye catching, making the Umthombo Soccer  Stars stand out from their competition.

Sponsorship:

Due to Umthombo being a Non-government Organization, they lack the funds to produce or purchase a kit for their up and coming stars, so it is vital for a sponsorship to come in and support the foundation. There are many local kit manufacturers, Mr. Price Sports could sponsor a kit, boots and balls, not only will this be a good place for CSI (Corporate Social Investment) but will also boost the young mens attitude as they are being noticed and could ultimately be drafted into local teams in better leagues or find jobs relative to the knowledge they have gained on and off the field.

Creating Awareness//

Branding concept:

Branding concept:

The concept behind Umthombo branding is based on spending as little money as possible but maximizing as many media channels as possible to create brand awareness. Seeing that Umthombo is an NGO, they do not have a lot of funds to splash out on advertising and depend on sponsorship and help from the public.

The main concept behind the campaign is to create awareness of what Umthombo does for the kids, what it has to offer for them and what they have to offer for us.

Branding spaces:

In this day and age, conventional advertising is expensive and sometimes over looked, so it was important to highlight all three of Umthombos programs for children  with out spending too much money. Alternative advertising was used to communicate on as many different mediums to create awareness on a larger scale at a cost effective price.

Online//

Umthombo online:

For both these sites to work, they need to be linked to the Umthombo.org site. After minor tweaks on the home page, internet users will be able to browse from Umthombo.org to either the blog or Youtube channel via hot links.

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The Brief//

Launch ‘A Frame’, Umbro’s lifestyle footwear collection, to a young, football inspired, audience.

    Background//

Umbro is the original Manchester based football brand that invented sportswear and sports tailoring. Umbro’s first major football kit was made for Manchester City’s 1934 FA Cup victory. The company’s heritage is in sports tailoring, creating ground breaking and iconic football apparel, footwear and equipment that blend performance and style. Today and in the future, the brand continues to be integral to modern football culture, creating insightful, smart, crafted performance and lifestyle products for a life on or off the pitch – tailored by Umbro.

My Solution// CAMPAIGN  CONCEPT: As it was Umbro’s first range of smart/ casual footwear, it was important not to communicate in the same tone as their competitors. Nike had exhausted the ‘fun/ young/ party’  tone, Puma has a bright and colourful tone as to how ordinary life can be fun and Adidas use celebrities to endorse their products accompanied by a hip hop/ rockstar lifestyle.

Execution//

So looking further into the heritage of Umbro, I found out that during WWII, Umbro closed their factories and started tailoring uniforms for the soldiers as an effort to aid the war. So the theme became loosely based on vintage and war time poster campaigns/ propaganda.