DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

Typography 
In order to take a step back from the design I started laying out some different typefaces in order to get a feel for a written logo. This allowed me to decide what style typeface I wanted to use in the logo design. I had gone into a vector image as a logo but I thought maybe taking a completely different approach would give me some fresh ideas. Using different fonts i played around with the layout of the words to see what had the most effect.

I incorporated these typefaces onto my existing kola nut vectors but I didn't think any of them really worked as a finished logo as the vector is too simple. The logo has also lost its cooperate feel.













I decided to do some new drawings of a more detailed kola nut in order to see if this worked better for the concept of the logo. The feedback I received was that this shape was really effective, but none of the text that I had put in really worked alongside it. I also tried to make custom text to fit into the individual parts of the nut but this doesn't have the clean feel i am going for with the cooperate identity. 

From the initial shape of the kola nut I received some feedback on where I should go next, I was told that the the use of the shape was really nice and I should explore this further maybe in more detail as the current designs are quite simplistic. Feedback also stated the colours work well as they are vibrant but still have the feel of cooperate identity. I needed to fid a better way to incorporate text into the images. 

I also tried taking a step back and simply placing the drawing and the text next to each other to keep it simple. This was effective but still a very basic approach to the brief and doesn't leave anything to the imagination. I need to think out of the box to come up with something less black and white. 

My next idea was to start cutting up letters in order to make the typography part of a logo. This would allow the logo to be a bit more imaginative than my current attempts. I think this look is quite corporate as well. 

I progressed this idea by adding part of the kola nut back into the design. Factoring it into the gaps between the letters filled some negative space and worked quite well. I am still not sure it is really the right tone for an investment architecture firm. 

CREATIVE ADVERTISING COLLABORATION

Brief
I am working with a girl called Laura from Creative Advertising and Migle from my course to create an advertising campaign for Shake n Vac. The advert needs to revive the product and make it appeal to a new audience. When we were briefed on this project we were given three products to choose from, but we thought Shake n Vac had the most scope to make a strong campaign for. The campaign must be comprised of 3 different elements of your choice from a TV ad to ad shells in bus stops. 

13th November 2018
Laura and I met up to discuss the brief a week after it getting set. Lauras role in the group is come up with the idea and concept behind it; while me and Migle will do the visual delivery of the brief. She brought some of her initial ideas to show me as she has to have 10 initial ideas before a crit on Thursday. We talked through the ideas and i added to her ideas. So we have refined 10 ideas for her crit on Thursday. 

Ideas
-making life easy
-fragrance
-masking smell, not wanting to clean, hide something

15th November 2018
We met up as a group after Laura's crit to discuss the feedback she got and to decide on the next steps for the brief. The feedback showed that we should stick with the humorous side. The idea of 'save the peg' or putting a film over the disgusting smells 'we cant hide the body but we can hide the smell' so the next step will be to develop these ideas.

INITIAL IDEAS

As a starting point for my designs I have started to explore the shape of the kola nut. Using my Wacom tablet I started drawing some shapes from pictures of the kola nut that i had collated. I started off very basic just getting the outline shape of the nut before going in too deeply because I think the logo needs to fit the corporate image and be quite simplistic and swish. 

initial sketches

After I had done some simplistic sketches I decided I wanted to incorporate more of the inside of the nut. The sketches above do not really appear recognisably as the Kola Nut. I did some more sketches and then started playing around with the fill of the shapes to get different effects. I really like the way the fills look because it means that you need less lines and the image can become more refined without loosing any dimension. 

Although i liked the previous drawings i wanted to continue to push the use of the kola nut by doing some different style drawings to keep my options open. Going back to the basic shape of the nut to see if I could unlock a more refined shape. Neither of these were successful as they do not describe the nut very well.

KANKAN MOUSSA LIVE BRIEF

Studio Brief 1- Live Brief- Deadline 26th November- 2 week Brief

Kankan Moussa is a new company that want a logo design inspired by the Kola Nut. The nut has a very distinctive pink colour and an interesting shape with a shell incasing the nuts together. This could have some symbolism of a company in the sense that the nut is made up from lots of things in one shell. 

Some visual research into the look of the nut, I am drawn in by the colours and the shapes 

The Kola Nut is the fruit of the Kola Tree Native of the rainforests of Africa. The Nut contains Caffine and is used in flavouring drinks, Most famously Coca Cola. In Africa cultural traditions of the Igbo people, the presentation of kola nuts to guests or in a traditional gathering shows good will The book, Things that fall apart states 'He who brings kola brings life' 

Kola Nut Colour Scheme Ideas

The Kola Nut has a really distinctive red colour incased in a dull brown exterior shell. The colour scheme for the logo has a lot of scope to be vibrant and fresh while still incorporating the idea of the nut. 

Shape
My first idea for the logo is to incorporate the shape of the nut and possibly show the inside components and how it is made up of lots of pieces.

Architecture 

Like a well-crafted alliance, the kola is composed of two parts harmoniously inlaid and closed to all impurities. A statement that allowed the wise men of Mandé to retain this fruit as the symbol of an infallible solidarity and a frank collaboration between two people, two villages or two clans.

Flavour

Kola has this curious reputation of being a very bitter fruit. This remark is based on hasty judgment. By crunching a piece of kola, the bitter taste gradually gives way to sweetness, thus rewarding the patience of the consumer. Thus, this virtue is one of the most indispensable to maintain any lasting and sustainable alliance over time.

Culture behind the nut
In many West African cultures, it is chewed and it is believed to restore vitality and ease hunger pangs. Kola nuts are an important part of the traditional spiritual practice of many cultures and religion in West Africa, particularly Nigeria. 
The Breaking of the Kola Nut ceremony is to ensure the visitors will feel they are welcome. People are more than willing to explain the ceremony, and where there is no kola nut available, the host will need to do the explanatory apology to his visitors. The kola nut tradition is used for a variety of events, but principally to welcome guests to a village or house.The ceremony may vary depending on the occasion and people present at the ceremony, but there is a common understanding in the traditional way of breaking them. To illustrate this delicate ceremony, I will take the occasion of welcoming a group of visitors to a village. The host presents a plate with a number of Kola nuts (ranging from two up to sixteen) to the leader of the delegation, who will take the plate and shows it to the most senior member of his entourage. To acknowledge that he has seen the plate, he briefly touches the plate with his right hand, before it is shown to less senior members and so forth till most members have taken a glimpse of the plate. After that, the host gets the plate returned from the visitor and takes one of the kola nuts and gives it to the visitor while saying: 'when the kola nut reaches home, I will tell where it came from'