All finished up...

these are some changes and comments presented to me in class...

Click on images to enlarge.

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5x5

• Add shadow to top of wheels
• Maybe incorporate another skate to make a pair

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8x10

• Try the logo in white to match other layouts
• Darken mud under front wheel

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3x10.5

• Maybe increase gradient. Its hard to see under all of the items.
  

Ad Templates

These are my three ad design templates without there finished photos. In each I have treated the logo a different way.

5x5
This ad will house my sneaker + skate wheels creation. The tag line in this size is my least favorite. I feel like I should spend more time working on a different phrase. I still want to encompass that the reader thinks it and they build it for them. Something from imagination made into something tangible.
I also need to rework the body copy and alignment of the logo to it. It's very tricky in this small space.

3x10.5
The feel of this ad is my favorite. The gray gradation is very sleek and mod. I still believe I am going to do a check list but I am being drawn towards doing something more complex and dynamic. My thought was to possibly make a fan out of each item. For instance, making several boards and fan them out like playing cards, the same for the trucks and wheels. This is still a thought.

8x10
I used Clarissa's suggestion for the 2 columns for a checklist & I'm very happy with the results. This ad will feature the old bike in the center. I'm going to ad a thin base line above the contact info, just like the one in the 3x10, to help separate elements and anchor the information.

Ad Design Brainstorming

My goal in designing 3 various sized ads for Skate Escape is to increase the amount of customers that the store brings in. They definitely need more clientele.

Each ad will contain a tag line describing the photo displayed.
This line will be in a handwritten type-face.

5x5
For this size I want to emphasize CREATION
The tag line I'm thinking of going with is "Create your escape"
Under this line will be a photo of a sneaker converted into a roller skate + body copy + logo & contact info

3x10.5
For this size I want to emphasize SELECTION

8x10
For this size I want to emphasize REPAIRS

Final Mailer Designs for Critique

Click here to enlarge image

Notes for Revision:
reduce line weight of writing space for emergency contacts
make emergency numbers more visible against green background
remove white boxes on magnet
rework text on magnet
use bleeds/try to make mailer thinner; 1 sheet thin
1 sheet thick = no holding tabs for freebies; try using weak glue dots for back of freebies to hold them in place instead.

Preliminary Mailer Design

Long time no see...
Spring break is over now, sadly, and now it is time to get to WORK.
This is the material I brought to present today as my mailer mock-up.
The mailer is going to be a tri-fold and self-mailing. It will be sealed with a clear circular sticker on the right side of the front cover. The freebies I will include are a MAGNET and a MAP. The body copy is just a paragraph or so explaining what skate escape is all about and what they do. I plan on adding more pertaining to the outdoors and getting the message across to the reader that Skate Escape loves the outdoors and they want their customers to do the same.
Enjoying the outdoors is the focus of my mailer, trying to get people engaged in skating and cycling is it's goal.

After my partner discussions and a quick discussion with our teacher, I got several suggestions for changing minor details. Including [for the mailer itself]: minimizing the website and recycle logo on the back, changing the background of where the freebies are held to something less frantic and jarring, changing the shape of the middle panel to a circle and making a stronger arm connection between the three panels,

The back of the map will include a blank area with line space for written addresses and phone numbers in case of emergency. the front will re-oriented in terms of hierarchy. I don't believe any changes were suggested for the map itself.

Critique Material

I believe my critique went fairly well.
I got some good advise that I will definitely take into account for my resubmission.

The New and Improved Logo

I've changed the logo from it's original form when it was submitted in class. I achieved this with multiple adjustments to the text in both lines, fixing the sheared angle, and reshaping the wheel under the name.
I tapered the right end of the wheels fill to mirror the curve of the letter E. I also added a line of negative space to the center on the spoke, to emphasize its structure. I also varied the width of the tire from side to side.

Stationary Revisions

Business Cards 2 and Letterhead 1

Business Cards 1 and Textures

Here are some of my initial design ideas for the business card.

Click images to enlarge.

Above were the last pieces I've worked on. the two in white, on the left, were an initial idea. The color streaming out randomly across the card really had no purpose though, so I moved on. I kept the shape of the card consistent, with one corner rounded, and decided to head in a different direction. As you can see, I incorporated the vector wheels into the design. I believe it creates a very nice motif. It leads your eyes to and from the logo vertically.

I also worked with the two texture samples: Grip tape and Gravel/Asphalt.

I know that if I decide to keep this idea I'll definitely need a higher res picture for the final piece.

Tinkering...

Just to make a few adjustments to the logo: I extended the wheel up and pushed the word skate over to fill in the prior negative space more. I made the spoke in the middle of the wheel larger and I still kept the beginning of both words staggered.

Ideas for texture elements

1. Grip Tape - an adhesive backed, friction-surfaced material usually attached to the deck of a skateboard to give the rider more friction to control the board. similar to sandpaper.
   



2. Asphalt - The surface in which people commonly ride bikes, skates, and skateboards. Symbolizes the streets.
   

Business card inspirations

These are just a few of my favorite card designs from recent search results online.

These remind me of dog-tags or pills. I like the double rounded edges.

A round card may work for my company... I also like the perforation so that you can rest it in a card holder.

The orientation of the logo and the company name on both sides intrigues me. I may do something similar.

I love the bright colors in these 2 and the shape of the card above is pretty dynamic.

I found these pictures @:

http://www.allgraphicdesign.com/graphicsblog/2008/08/the-coolest-business-cards-beautiful-unique-business-card-designs-part-4/

http://freelanceswitch.com/general/18-smokin-hot-business-card-designs/

COLORS!

My first color choices were red and blue. Warm colors tended to jump around in my mind when I thought of what color I wanted to choose for the store. But then, when I thought of the store further, I got a mellow feeling, a homely feeling. The shop itself is q quiet place, besides all the cars passing by. No one really frequents the place any longer. I immediately wanted to work more with blues and cool colors.

I chose Green and Purple as my color scheme for the logo. Some reasons being:

• To emphasize the mellow feeling you get when your around or in the shop (without directly jumping to the color blue).
• To use colors that are frequently used in modern skate board and roller skate models and clothing.
  
• To pay homage to their shops buildings original colors - teal and purple (again without using a blue).

Click to enlarge

The outlined, middle row showcases different variations of those 2 colors. I like the logo in column 3 the best. With the purple on top, I think escape pops more, 'escaping' from the whole.



Although column 1's logos were cleaner and crisper, I realized that they don't reflect the shop that much, which is really dirty and jumbled with colorful stickers and posters. (they didn't allow photographs inside, soooooo i couldn't really take any.) Anyway, I chose to stick with my original design because the type faces carry so much PERSONALITY and I think that's what Skate Escape is all about. They may not have a lot of customers now a days, but they have helpful employees with tons of personality.

More Designs

^^^ These were an idea I got from the Skateboard aspect of the shop and NIKE SB brand skateboards. The swoop of the wisp and the wheel together were to form a skate, or a foot/shoe on top of a wheel. The shape is the 'E' in Skate inverted and modified. After looking at this design for a few seconds, the 'skate' in the background started looking like a number 3. :(

I also briefly played with the idea of negative space at the top left but I didn't like it at all and scrapped that idea.


^^^ in these I kept the type the same and played more with the 'wispy skate' logo. I ended up reducing it to a singular wheel shape. The 3rd orientation is my favorite. The colors though, do remind me of Burger King. I'm definitely not going to use red and yellow!



^^^ With these, I finally figured out what direction I wanted to go. I decided to use the same wheel motif, shear the shape to make it more dynamic, and extend the right side of the wheel up to the E in escape to allow more fluid movement from the viewers eyes. I also...

• Removed the movement lines from the back of the first letters in Skate and Escape
• Added a half skewed circle to symbolize the spoke in the wheel.
• Removed several breaks in the type from 'Escape'
• Lowered the crossbar in the 'A' in escape
  

^^^ In these I worked with the typeface of Escape. The 2nd variation (3rd down) is my favorite. The font is Bank Gothic. It really refreshes the whole look and feel of the entire logo. It gives it a chance to 'breathe' in a sense. I really like this idea and I may stick to it, due to the fact that I may have trouble with the original 'Escape' when the design is translated to smaller formats.

Initial Designs

The variation in red is the logo I presented in class first. Its S form ran into the K so closely that the whole word started to read as 'mate'. So, I rendered the E in Skate to resemble an S, thus enforcing the wheel and curvy aspect of the type.

I played around with the C in escape for awhile. I ultimately decided to scrap this typeface all together and make the 2 words in separate fonts to allow more freedom. Next to the red logo are some of my choices that I've narrowed down to for 'escape'. A more geometric feel is what I went for. So I chose the second one down.

Initial Sketches for Skate Escape LOGO

So, these are my first few sketches in determining which direction I want to go with the shop's logo. Corporate Identity is something I enjoy doing and I hope I can solve the puzzle of not being too literal yet get the whole "skate shop" feel across.

^^^ I really enjoy the modern feel from the bottom font face with the check next to it. It reminds me of Tony Hawk video games.

VVV That's their business card. WOW :) what are the clouds for??

My Re-branding Client

I chose a Triple Pro Shop on Piedmont Ave. called Skate Escape for my Semester long re-branding project.

Skate Escape sells, repairs, and rents out roller skates and bikes. They also sell and repair skateboards. The shop sits right across the street from Atlanta's Piedmont Park. It's premises are split into two tiny buildings, a bike shop and a skate shop. The bike shop building is teal in color with purple accents, while the skate shop really has no connection to the rest of the theme. It is a tan building with a purple door and windows. Skate Escape really doesn't have much of a logo besides the type centered on the front of the bike shop.

When I went to speak with the store owners, I was greeted by Janice, one of the co-founders. She and her business partner Bob founded Skate Escape in 1979. She explained that the store's staff were very friendly and service oriented. She said the colors of the building were reminiscent of early roller skate shoe boxes, that's why they chose purple and a teal green.