For this exercise the challenge was to create an illustration that would be used on a menu card, but also - if suitable - could be used as a logo on stationery and vehicles. The illustration would be used on a menu at a scale of 4cm x 4cm.
Due to the varied uses of the illustration, and the large difference in sizes I needed to make sure that the logo would scale well. There are two ways to make sure that happens: create the work at a very high resolution, or create a vector artwork that can scale infinitely.
To start with I created a mind map of options, then pulled from that mind map to sketch out ideas in my sketchbook. As I progressed through different ideas and options, I tried to experiment with the style and rendering quality. The restaurant was one that aimed for fine dining, and so needed to exude a sense of quality. In sketching razor clams I had a sense of familiarity in its shape. It felt like the blade of a knife. I had also been looking at reference images of lobsters (as they are expensive and associated with fine dining). In my research I discovered that langoustines are related to lobsters, not shrimps as I had first thought. They are also treated as a delicacy in Europe. I reflected on the shape of their tail, and it reminded me of the curve where a fork extends to its prongs.
In experimenting with these ideas I tried out making the shellfish look like a knife and fork. It wasn't as much of a success as I would have liked, but I had thoughts about the razor element, and tried to see if it would work as a cut-throat razor. It was OK, but was moving away from the brief, in my opinion. I left it for a few days, and when I reviewed my work later I realised why the knife/fork metaphor wasn't working - they didn't fit together well, so I did a few small sketches to play with proportions and layout. When I flipped the fork horizontally, the shapes fit together so much better.
I then started doing observation and a little sketching of langoustines to really observe how they are put together as an animal. Once I had got to this point I felt more comfortable trying to put this idea into rough form.
The knife itself I planned to exemplify the contours through shapes, so only did a rough outline. For the langoustine however I needed to take the complex organic realism and distil it into more simple shapes. In doing this I realised that the position of the shellfih along the handle needed to be re-thought from my sketch stage. In my rough I moved it, and then re-addressed how well it fit as I was constructing the vector lines. You might notice that it looks a little incomplete - this was because I intended to mirror the shapes to create a symmetrical design that I hoped would give it a clean, contemporary feel.
Above you can see the final illustration. You might notice I made some design choices along the way:
I decided to narrow the body at the thorax to help it feel slimmer, and more like a fork handle.
I changed the style of the fork prongs to specifically be a fish fork.
I put a stronger curve into the razor clam to simulate the concave shape of a fish knife.
I moved the legs forward on the body. Whilst not as anatomically correct, it kept the overall width of the handle in check.
I used negative space for the wings of the tail to give the impression of the shape. As it was enclosed by the fork head, using lines would actually make the tail feel too small.
I copied the flourished end of the fork handle onto the knife to better pair them together, and stop the knife from being a bit too simple and boring.
I placed the logo in the context of a menu card, and printed it out at its intended size to check its legibility and silhouette. It's not a square logo, but I see this as an advantage, as it is more flexible. You can put it with text below, as you can see on the left. You can also put it with test to either side if vertical space is at a premium (for example if you wanted to create a letterhead).
Overall, I am really pleased with my efforts. I ended up feeling really inspired, and I would love to see this on the side of a van someday! I think it's really flexible, and would work in inverse making it really flexible where palettes are concerned. I think it hits the brief for being contemporary, luxurious and yet light.
Edits & Updates
In my tutor feedback, she remarked:
"Let's see your design in (faked) context a bit more. E.g: side of a van, shop front etc. Then you can visually test it and see if alterations need to be made."
Taking this feedback on board during my selection process for assessment, I thought it would be fun to do these extra mockups:
I can see how doing extra mockups can be really useful. When doing the bistro exterior, it challenges me to make the logo work in different positions, aspects and thinking of other colours. The dark blue had little contrast against the darker grey colour, so I swapped it for a white colour after experimenting with a few other options.
I also had to adjust the logo layout at the top of the bistro to a wide version. I had designed the logo to be able to do this, but it was useful to practically do this, rather than leave it to theory.
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