TYPEFACE// Submission Boards

DHR// Evaluation

At the end of the day this became a much larger brief than I had anticipated, and it still only resulted on a single outcome. I believe this is because of the interaction with the client here, my attempts to get something that sounds so simple, absolutely right for them.

The success of these cards comes from the exploration of an unusual design style and the pressure of a set brief with deadline and live client. I stepped into a more corporate world and I'm pleased that the result is still colourful and dynamic. Also by following a set brief and setting limitations the focus of finding a suitable design over a trendy one really simplified and refined the final result. I am also pleased that the client was happy with the design. I believe that this was down to the use of there visual identity found in the colours used within the design. Also the simple and professional, straight to the point, tone was appreciated and accepted as the best option.

Incorporating a strong visual DHR identity. The colours of the snowflake are taken directly from the globe segment of the DHR International logo, whilst the typeface I have chosen, Museo Sans, is used extensively on the DHR website. The DHR logo is immediately identifiable as an integral part of the design.

Reflecting the DHR business and values. The concept of the snowflake is of many parts coming together to create a beautiful image, celebrating teamwork, diversity and a successful outcome. Like DHR, the various diverse parts interact and support each other, providing a strong yet dynamic structure; the overall shape references the global reach of DHR.

Avoiding visual clichés whilst remaining seasonal. The stylised snowflake evokes an icy winter theme, but also contains warmer colours like pine green.  It creates the right emotion without relying on a kitsch Christmas scene. This also facilitates using the card for audiences with a range of cultures and beliefs. 

Balancing simplicity and detail. The message is direct and straight to the point. The snowflake is recognisable but contains many patterns which offer a level of complexity and depth. In terms of design this allows the card to remain both interesting to look at and professional in manner. 

DHR// Applied as a New Identity

In addition to the DHR Snowflake being used In a Christmas card I have also considered its use as a new identity for DHR itself. I believe that the current DHR logo is out of date and that this design would make a great replacement. Here I have included an example of how the next identity could be presented. The new identity not only works as a logo, but as a pattern and shape, it is truly versatile and can be applied to a wide range of objects. In the future it would be interesting to take this idea further and present it to DHR as a complete re-brand.

DHR// Final Designs

This is the final design submitted to the client for the DHR Greetings cards brief. Considering the constrictions of the brief as well as the nature of the topic, I think the result was both aesthetically sound and functionally relevant. The feedback I received for the design was positive across the board with both the marketing manager and localised MD's.

The first, English, design is for both the English and American offices to use. This card used the 'Seasons Greetings' after a lengthy debate focusing on cultural and religious sensitivity. We decided that 'Seasons Greetings' combined the right message in a friendly but professional manner.

I Ended up producing two french cards to give the french office the choice between the two. 'Excellente Annee 2014' is more direct but less celebratory. The longer Joyeuses Fetes...' was indicated to be the most professional seasonal greetings suitable for the audience of clients and executives.

The Dutch card was unusual in the fact that the Dutch type consisted of much longer and more Hefty words. This means that to balance the proportion of text and image I was required to stretch out the design. If I did not do this the card would display a single word per line resulting in an uneven right flank.

MORE LANGUAGES TBC....

The success of these cards comes from the exploration of an unusual design style and the pressure of a set brief with deadline and live client. I stepped into a more corporate world and I'm pleased that the result is still colourful and dynamic. Also by following a set brief and setting limitations the focus of finding a suitable design over a trendy one really simplified and refined the final result. I am also pleased that the client was happy with the design. I believe that this was down to the use of there visual identity found in the colours used within the design. Also the simple and professional, straight to the point, tone was appreciated and accepted as the best option.

DHR// The DHR Snowflake Part 2

The Dutch team has expressed a desire to have a mixture of languages appear on the card to symbolise international unity. I carried out some experiments to see how this would look. Including them as large text would not be a good idea as a decision would have to be made as to which languages get included. To be honest even disregarding the design, it is a bad idea to do this. DHR is an international company and there will always be some which are left out. In terms of design is creates a mess on the page and should not be included in the final design.

This design is the one which I will pitch to the client. It cut away all the unnecessary clutter and displays a bold and colourful design. The simple message is straight to the point and direct to the receiver. Finally the DHR logo is clearly visible, the card does not state 'From DHR' but it is still clear that they are the sender from the positioning and scale of the logo.

This version was an experiment to see if the current snowflake could look more intricate and detailed if each segment was separated by a white line. The issue here is that it lessens the balance between image and text within the design. This is an unnecessary addition to a design that looks good finished.

TYPEFACE// Evaluation

The final set of characters contains a short list of letters, numbers and glyphs compared to many typefaces, however this was a short brief and an investigation into a style of typefaces which usually contain only one weight and a small set of characters. I’m not sure if I like or dislike this work for the following reasons; I understand the brief and I do believe that I have completed what I set out to achieve given the time frame, however stylistically I don’t think this has any role outside of what it has been designed to do. Essentially I think that this has been an interesting experiment into how I draw and construct characters on a page, as well as an interesting look into typefaces within graphic novels and comic books. On a more positive note, I am pleased with the way that the typeface works in the right context. Had I spent more time on this project I would have liked to develop the characters in a completely different way, going into more depth, and taking what I have learnt from the construction of characters in my own handwriting and applying that to a Gothic sans-serif typeface. However, this would have been a much more substantial undertaking.

DHR// Final Pitch E-Mail

Hello Lauren, Frank and Ron,

The DHR Snowflake is my concept for the 2013 DHR Seasons Greetings card.

I understand that the practice of sending greetings cards at this time of year serves a higher purpose than just well-wishing; it is an important marketing tool, an opportunity to improve relationships and spread a positive message about the company and its values amongst clients and the DHR team.
With this in mind, my main focus is to deliver a professional and personalised message.

The card achieves this aim by:

1. Incorporating a strong visual DHR identity. The colours of the snowflake are taken directly from the globe segment of the DHR International logo, whilst the typeface I have chosen, Museo Sans, is used extensively on the DHR website. The DHR logo is immediately identifiable as an integral part of the design.

2. Reflecting the DHR business and values. The concept of the snowflake is of many parts coming together to create a beautiful image, celebrating teamwork, diversity and a successful outcome. Like DHR, the various diverse parts interact and support each other, providing a strong yet dynamic structure; the overall shape references the global reach of DHR.

3. Avoiding visual clichés whilst remaining seasonal. The stylised snowflake evokes an icy winter theme, but also contains warmer colours like pine green.  It creates the right emotion without relying on a kitsch Christmas scene. This also facilitates using the card for audiences with a range of cultures and beliefs. 

4. Balancing simplicity and detail. The message is direct and straight to the point. The snowflake is recognisable but contains many patterns which offer a level of complexity and depth. In terms of design this allows the card to remain both interesting to look at and professional in manner.

In terms of using multiple languages the design is very open for that, I can just alter the 'seasons greetings' text.
For any personal messages I would advise that you write them below the image, I will demonstrate how the overall E-mail would look below:
If you have any other questions or comments it would be great to hear them too.

Thanks again,
Luke.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear X,

This is where you would write your personal message.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ac vestibulum erat.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Sincerely,

Consultant Name

Title and role

DHR International

Location and Address

T: 000000000 ext. 000|  F: 00000000 | xxxxx@dhrinternational.com

For over 20 years DHR International has been a leading, privately held provider of executive search solutions with more than 50 wholly-owned offices spanning the globe.  DHR’s
 renowned consultants specialize in all industries and functions in order to provide unparalleled senior-level executive search, management assessment and succession planning
services tailored to the unique qualities and specifications of our select client base.  For more information on DHR International, a “Top 5” executive search firm,
visit http://www.dhrinternational.com

 

DHR// The DHR Snowflake

The DHR snowflake is a new idea/ avenue that I would like to go down on this DHR Greetings Card brief. The concept is to create a pattern that the globe segment of the DHR logo can be impressed upon in a stylised way. In this image I have already begun to mess with the colours of the globe within the hexagonal design.

The aim to to continue to refine and expand upon the original image until the design reflects the shape and colouration of a snowflake. Here I have started to include the arms of a snowflake by altering the tone of each segment in the smaller hexagonal shapes.

With these two images I have tried to see if the snowflake can look more or less like the globe icon found in the DHR logo.

I have also been experimenting with different combinations of colours and backgrounds for the cards. Although I believe the snowflake appears much better on white it is part of DHRs identity to use this muddy blue colour as a background for everything.

Here are a few images of the extremes of how the snowflake could be uses. Both turned out looking terrible however it is an interesting experiment to push the image to the edges of its usage.

These are the final ideas for today, with the first card on the left and a new DHR logo idea on the right. I have manages to work the letters DHR into the isometric grid that the snowflake creates. This would be great to pitch to the company if I hadn't created this as a Christmas card. Perhaps I should see how they react to my Christmas card idea before I go that far.

TYPEFACE// Type Specimen Photos

DHR// Second Card Development

This is the second idea I have been working on for DHR.  The Idea here is to step away from the directly religious message of 'Happy Christmas' and work with something which could be viewed in many cultures as a peaceful image of Christmas. I have taken the globe from the DHR logo and placed it at the top of a stylised tree. Blue is one of DHRs identity colours so it is used here, also reflecting on the icy weather of winter. I have also looked at placing the image on a blue background and with the card message from previous as an experiment. Although this detracts from the message of the new card somewhat.

DHR// Breif sent to client.

Below is the brief as I have put it to the clients, DHR.
I have tried to outline what I think they want within the time constraints of this relatively short brief. I have also tried to use neutral language and outline the rules of the brief in a simple way. For example I have offered for an additional 5 languages to be given.

 

Hi Lauren, Frank, Ron

 

I have just been catching up on the e-card brief, I have discussed the details of the brief as follows – please do review and let me know if you want to change any aspect of this –

 

·         E-card will go from DHR consultants to their clients, BD targets, candidates

·         Card will be available for all to use, globally, where the theme is appropriate

·         Standard wording will be ‘Season’s Greetings’ – keep it holiday neutral as per Lauren’s email

·         Theme will be holiday neutral too – ‘winter’ theme

·         Aim will be professional and clean, using DHR colour (blue) if possible, and incorporating the DHR logo within or under the image

·         Will be a flat image, no animation included, designed and developed by myself.

·         E-card will be produced in English language

·         I can create a version in other languages if this is required - max 5 languages additional, will need to be short two-word greetings and these will be provided by DHR to myself.

·         E-card will be seen in the body of the email by preference, so easy to view by recipient

·         At this stage I am not planning to use any ‘paid for’ images but will let Lauren know if this changes   

 

And a few questions for you please Lauren, 

·         I am planning to make the e-card compatible with Outlook - does everyone use Outlook? 

·         Are there any restrictions on which typefaces I should use?

·         Any other points to bear in mind?

 

L

Luke
   

 

DHR// First Card Development Part 2

So I have taken my work from yesterday and attempted to work it into a more interesting card format. This is a short post about what I have come up with.

I'm liking these designs slightly more now that they have some extra decoration. I've obviously used red and green from that standard holly pallet which is used in everything for Christmas so the colours could do with some updating. 

I have also looked at some icons to add to the card. These are representative of the different things that DHR does, for example, searching for people, signing contracts and being a global business. From here on I am simply working around the layout and format of the card so see which version I could send off for approval or criticism.

DHR// First Card Development Part 1

Today I have started a new brief for a company called DHR who supply recruitments services to large companies. This has been an unusual process to begin and I'm not very happy with the days development. These are a few of the ideas that I have been working on.

My aim is to provide a card which will be sent in an email all over the world to multiple clients so I want to develop something which is simple and clean in terms of design. I have started with a more typographical card.

I'm not so happy with these designs and I think that it will be a few days before I can get back into the right mindset to solve this problem. At the moment I just think that this looks too average.

TYPEFACE// Type Specimen

So to contextualise the final edition of the Prototype typeface for graphic novels I have made a short type specimen. This will be a short A5 format booklet that lays out the type in a simple way and has a very short story in the back so that the typeface has a chance to be used. Once the document is printed I will post some photos...

PROP HOUSE// Identity 3 Part 2

This is the final logo for submission to Mark. As this identity is based on blues music I have added the logo to an old wooden backgorunf to get that delta blues feel. The idea is to display these three different identities that I am developing to Mark such a way that he can see where each one will go as development continues. Propagation house records mainly rock and folk musicians, heavily influenced by blues so this identity, although less refined than the others, may well be the most suitable.

PROP HOUSE// Identity 3 Part 1

The third identity that I am working on for Mark is inspired by old folk and blues musicians and the hand drawn posters and identities that they held. As a result the development of this logo has focused on the digitisation of a hand drawn idea. The images here show the development of this from the sketched version to a final vectorised logo.