My first motion design creation
As part of a school project dedicated to a rebranding of Radio-Canada/CBC, we had to create a moodboard expressing the direction we were taking for the future logo and image of this public institution. Since R-C/CBC is mostly known for its television broadcasting, I decided to compile our team research into a video clip. I taught myself the basics of Adobe After Effects CS5 in a day and took a weekend to create this simple, yet effective motion design clip. The original clip was made in HD, but I had to downgrade the quality for a more appropriate upload time. I will post the result of the rebranding, when the school project is complete.
School project S5 – Beer branding part 1 : The logo
For this branding project we have to develop the visual identity, the packaging and the advertising campaign for a beer. Here is part 1 of the creative process behind this project.
The logo
After several hours of brainstorming an idea came to me. The concept of a craft beer from Quebec was created around the word Yâble (french-canadian slang for “devil”). The devil (Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub), is a symbol rooted in folklore and in the history of Quebec due to the religious authority which our ancestors lived by. The Devil is also the subject of many legends and is often associated with temptation. In the case of this beer, the temptation to drink and the pleasure associated to it.
Instead of a logo, the Yâble will use a word mark (logotype). The letters of the word mark have been reworked to make it more representative of the devil (pointy horns and forked tail). The Y is the most important letter because it will be reused individually later on as the branding strengthen. The overall look also reminds us of the early colonists of Quebec. Scarlet red letters were chosen because it is the traditional colour associated with the devil and because the colour also represent strength and interdiction, two concepts conveyed in this branding.
copyright Dany Pepin 2011
School project S5 – corporate website
For this project we had to design and code a corporate website for a small to medium enterprise (real or not). We had 20 pages of content to create and each of them needed to be adaptable for smartphones and tablets via media queries CSS stylesheets. The teacher also wanted three flash banners inserted in the website.
I contacted my cousin to know if I could redesign the website of her casting agency for kids and teenagers and she gladly agreed. Now the work began. We had three weeks to create three maquettes, a prototype and the final 20 pages cross-platform website. In my case, I also needed to create a logo because the agency didn’t have one. Surprising since the agency is successful.
Here are the two logos I designed for this project.
Even if this project was focusing on corporate websites, I had to design one that would reflect the casting company I was working for. In this case, a business that is targeting kids, teenagers and parents and shows how fun acting for TV and movies can be at a young age. It needed a younger look. Below are the three maquettes.
The client gave me her preferences and I adapted the second maquette. Most of the hard work was from this point on. The prototype was fairly easy to do but doing different stylesheet for the smartphones and tablets was a bit harder. Hiding flash banners, showing new divs, moving divs and content around without screwing up of the other platform was frustrating at time. Below are the three version of the website. I still have some problem with IE8 and earlier versions which don’t support media queries. I’ll try and fix this problem and other fine details at the end of the semester.
copyright 2011
School project S4 – Annual Report
For their 100th anniversary, the Caisse Populaire Desjardins Rideau asked the graphic design (GD) and public relations (PR) students to help them get ready for this benchmark year by preparing a marketing campaign (PR) and by creating a logo and an annual report layout (GD). The annual report was to include a section about the history of the financial institution along side the usual numbers, budgets and tables. The student who’s design will be chosen will have the opportunity to do the official 2011 annual report and his historic section will be included in the local french newspaper.
Since this is a financial institution, I decided that most of the report would be very simple and straight forward with the exception of the cover and the historic section which would contain more visual elements. The cover is the “pièce de résistance” where a black and white mosaic of the different buildings and locations of this institutions are included along side the founder Alphonse Desjardins and the peace tower of the canadian parliament. The backdrop gives the effect of charcoal particles flowing in the wind toward the future. Small transparent hexagons flow along with the particle going from black and white to color.
The historic section inside the report mimics the cover and include a timeline that goes from 1912 to 2012. Again, a transition from black and white to color includes monochromatic images of the different buildings through out the years.
Below are some pictures of the annual report. The latter can be seen in its entirety through this flash book. Drag the lower-right corner to flip through the pages.
copyright 2011
School project S4 – Logotype study
This project focused on the design of a logotype for a movie / band / artist / etc. we liked. After hesitating between a couple of movies, I settled on “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer” again (i.e. this project) because of the organic and vapory quality of perfume I could exploit for this logotype. Below is the study from sketch to application. If you haven’t seen the movie, rent it.
copyright 2011
School project S3 – Team logo
For this project we had to design a football team logo for the school and create a banner. We couldn’t use the existing name and logo of our school sport teams (the Coyote). The objective of this project was to learn how to prepare a file for silk screening and for large size printing.
copyright 2010
School project S3 – Cité Femmes : Logo
For this project, we needed to design a new identity that would refresh the image of “Cité Femmes” the Women’s Health and Safety Committee of our college. This was the second competition of the semester with money prizes for the top three chosen by the Committee. Click here to see the design study for this logo.
The new identity below represents the different aspects of “Cité Femmes” : security, multiculturalism and women.
The woman aspect is shown on the logo by the silhouette of the woman’s face. This representation is easily identifiable and not implying any particular nationality.
Safety is shown by the simplest form of a house, a triangle atop a square with rounded corners. The house stands for protection, but also the openness and hospitality of this committee. It is implied that the house is the College and its infrastructure.
The various entanglements of colors show multiculturalism. It identifies these intercultural relations within the College. This identity can be used with or without color and with or without the superposition of different pieces that make up the house’s shape. To represent the woman, a sans serif typeface was chosen for the softness and the curves of its letters without losing combativeness of women expressed by the boldness of the font. The placement of the text is a virtual extension of the roof of the house and avoids cluttering the silhouette.
Finally, this modern and trendy identity clearly demonstrates the mission of “Cité Femmes”.
copyright 2010
School Project S3 – Restaurant menu
For this project we had to design the evening menu of a French cuisine restaurant called “Le Tartuffe” including the revitalization of the logo. Below is the design study of the menu with the final result at the end.
Evening Menu “Le Tartuffe” – The Logo
Theses two logos are inspired by the era of Louis XIV (Rococo), the same where Molière’s play “Tartuffe” was written and performed for the first time. Many floral and decorative elements reminiscent of the “rocailles” adorn the restaurant’s new signature typography.
Evening Menu “Le Tartuffe” – The Logo treatment
The two types of treatment I considered for the cover logo was embossing or foil stamping as shown below.
Evening Menu “Le Tartuffe” – The cover
The cover can be of different colors. Red is more harmonious with the existing décor of the restaurant while the dark blue and black make better evening menus. The finish is simple cardboard with or without a texture reminiscent of the floral logo. A dark leather finish is also appropriate. The menu can be bound like a book or secured with extender screws.
Evening Menu “Le Tartuffe” – The menu layout
Both layout are bilingual with the English menu on the left and the French on the right side. The page is divided in two column separating the “entrées” from the main course. The first layout is bound like a book and is composed of a floral pattern background with the menu page snuggly inserted in corner holders. This makes replacement easy if the menu is changed or damaged. The typography used for the courses in this layout is the same as the square logo. The second layout is attach to the cover via the screws. This is more sturdy and still easy to replace if needed. This layout had the second logo in mind hence the script typography for the courses. Both menus have sans-serif typography for readability and contrast with the courses title.
Evening Menu “Le Tartuffe” – The final product
The new signature and typographical ornaments are reminiscent of the days of Louis XIV and the “Tartuffe” play. Royal blue with floral patterns increases the classic look of the cover and is suitable for a evening menu. In addition, screw binders allow you to change the menu inside if necessary.
The interior is simple and classic. The English menu is arranged on the left while the French is on the right side. The typeface with serifs used for titles is reminiscent of the new logo, while the description of the menu is composed of a highly legible sans serif typeface. The content is arranged in two columns to clearly separate the “Entrées” from the main course, while a separator inspired the decorative logo divides the different services.
copyright 2010
Blast from the Past : My first Identity
In 1982, I was 10 years old (fifth grade) when our primary school ran a contest to determine its new identity. All students from every grade were invited to submit a logo. I took out my ruler and compass, and designed a logo with the letter E (for École) and C (for Champlain) merged together. The smiley face was added to represent a fun and inviting school. The teachers and the Principal were impressed with my design and I won the contest. I didn’t chose the type face but they kept my logo and color pretty much the same.
As I went to Sherbrooke (Québec) to see my parents this summer, I drove by the school and the sign and identity still stand after almost 30 years! I don’t know why I didn’t pursue a career in graphic design after this early sign. As the saying goes, you are never too old to follow your dreams and now as a design student, I can appreciate more the work I did then even if it was a logo designed with feeling not technique.
copyright 2010
Blast from the past : Logos
These are three logos I created between 1999 and 2006. They were done with photoshop 5 or 7. First, the design for a Star Wars fan club & website. It was used for T-Shirts and pins. Second, the banner/logos for my audio production company. Third, a logo I used for personal projects.
copyright 2010
