Branding the built environment: graphic design workshop

This blog post is written by Project Assistant Ellen Pye.

July's workshop session focused on graphic design - this was a first for the programme - and we were joined by inspirer Derek Edwards from Patwa Design.

The session kicked off with the young people sharing examples of graphic design/logos which they liked. We had: the Mastercard logo, the toblerone logo, Aston Martin, HMV, dreamwork, studios Ghibli, Ellese, Nasa, Beats, podcasts, Nike and Dunkin Doughnuts! All very different and interesting examples of good graphic design.

Derek discussed why we like those logos - was it the logo itself or is it the thing it represents. He also talked a bit about how strong logos are so simple and recognisable that they can be stripped back to the most basic elements and we still make the association with the brand, e.g the nike logo being just the black tick.

Derek then went on to give a presentation about his route into graphic design. He started out with a love of art in school, but where he grew up in Manchester doing art as a career wasn’t viewed as being a viable career choice. He wasn’t really aware of the possible career paths in the arts and after exploring some options, decided to do a b-tech, then diploma in art and design at college. He then went on to art school in Stockport, which was renowned for graphic design. Following that he tried to find work in London, which was challenging at first. He was sleeping on friends sofas and was technically homeless for a while. He started out designing in-house publications and marketing for communication and media departments at the Financial Times and moved on to working for full service creative agencies after that. After moving to Bristol he worked for Real World Records. This was designing record sleeves and branding for WOMAD festival.

After 14 years working this way he realised he decided to set up a business model and work for himself. Derek described having a love/hate relationship with graphic design. It’s sometimes a struggle to keep coming up with ideas under pressure and to meet deadlines,but the rewards are really worth it! To see your work out there and to see your client happy, it balances things out. He finds the answer is to keep going and approach ideas from different angles to find inspiration and fuel his creativity.

Q&A with Derek

What does a typical day for you involve?

There’s no real typical day, it changes all the time. I could be sketching out ideas, designing stuff, talking to clients or freelancing for other design companies.

Do you have a favourite design for a brand?

The Whitney Gallery in New York has a flexible logo that can fit into any space you put it in. I also like the tate logo which is also flexible , and could be seen to be reflecting the variety of the art it showcases.

If you could give one piece of advice to the Shape My City group, what would it be?

Enjoy being 16! You won’t be 16 again. Get some work experience in areas you are interested in or chat to people who do jobs you are interested in, find out everything you can. If you’re interested in being a designer remember you don’t have to be good at drawing, and you don’t have to have ideas that come straight away. UWE is a good place to study design but of course university isn’t the only option, there’s lots of different routes, including apprenticeships.

The Brief

The design challenge for this workshop was based on the proposed Soapworks development. Plans are currently underway to redevelop the former Gardiner Haskins site near Temple Meads and Old Market to create a thriving new £175 million 'quarter' where people will live, work and play. The developers of the site, First Base, plan to revitalise the area with a mix of modern workspaces, homes and amenities.

The young people were challenged to create an outline graphic brand for the development which responded to key words which describe the aspiration for the development:

vibrant, city centre,industrial, high quality, creative, culture, contemporary, rejuvenate, destination, iconic. They were also encouraged to consider themes such as: brand values/identity, target audience/demographic, combination of contemporary and heritage, colour, shape and typography.

Derek advised the young people not to get too bogged down in detail and to write down everything they come up with, as ideas trigger ideas.

The group divided up into smaller groups and worked up a diverse range of design ideas, which they presented to Derek and the group:

The ideas

1. The first group looked at the shape of the building, using the ‘W’ shape of the roof as the ‘W’ in their logo (representing 'WORKS').They also thought about products/merchandise they could incorporate this idea into, such as bespoke soap shaped like the building.

2. The second group explored using a futuristic type face, influenced by the geometric shape of the building. They again used the shape of the building in their design and highlighted the top window in a magenta circle. They thought about how this circle could carry the design through across the branding, connecting everything back to the main logo. They also designed a version of the campaign using the Pride rainbow (to connect with the nearby LGBTQ+ nightlife scene in neighbouring Old Market,, showing how the logo could be adapted for other campaigns and uses.

3. The third group thought a lot about colour and created a colourful logo to attract young people and express something modern and vibrant. They also thought about how they could use the new logo on the building itself.

4. The fourth group incorporated a city skyline into their logo. They thought about how they could use animation online showing lights coming on and off and people having fun in the windows of the skyline, showing a bustling, busy and exciting area to live.

5. The Fifth group used the idea of Work, Live, Play to inspire their branding. All areas being represented by a different colourful cube that are also animated to come together to show how the building can work in all these different ways for people.