Pre-Production: Logo Design Progress

Introduction

As previously mentioned, I will be creating a logo to be used as a way to brand our project, as well as use it for our title sequence and web-series. I have currently done research on similar mockumentaries and have come across typical conventions, which are:

   - Simplistic design and structure: nothing too fancy. The majority of the mockumentaries I
     researched had a basic structure with basic fonts.
   - Paralleling colour brand. For example, Modern family was black and orange and Trailer Park 
     Boys was black and red
   - Basic animation. Most had simple fade ins/outs and simple transitions.
   - Including the location in which the mockumentary is based in. For example, People Just do 
     Nothing showed a multi-store building which hints to us to be based in the city.
   - That the logo doesn't always have to hint to the type of show. For example, we learn nothing from
     the Trailer Park Boys logo or People Just do Nothing logo on what the program is around (except
     from the actual title)

What Do I want the Logo to look like/signify?

Now that I've researched into similar examples, I can now keep in mind these conventions whilst designing our logo. Nonetheless, below are some ideas on which I want the still  logo to include/look like:

    - A parallel in colours. I aim to use black against red due to them being very contrasting, and
      because the red can hint to the key colour of a theatre (as the curtains are typically red, potentially
      hinting that our show is primarily based on a stage)
    - Including iconography on what you expect to see from a stage. For example, I aim to have stage
      lights which hang from our the title, hinting that our production is based at a stage
    - A simplistic yet bold font. Unlike The Office UK and US, I feel that the title must be bold, as this
      can hint to the bold nature of our project, as it is a drama theatre production group. However, I
      don't want the logo to seem too bold and distinctive - all it needs is capitalised writing and a large
      serif font.
    - Perhaps emphasising the 'down' in Downstage in a comedic manor which can hint that this is a
      mockumentary. For example, the 'down' could literally be positioned 'down' with one letter after
      one another.
    - Anything that can give the title a slight comedic tone, so that the audience can immediately look
      at it and understand that our production has elements of comedy and even hinting that it is a  
      mockumentary.

In terms of animation, I am wanting to include:

   - A simplistic transition. For example, a simple fade in and out, dissolve, sweeping from the side.
   -  Perhaps having a stage light flickering as if the bulb is about to blow, being metaphorical that our
      company is amateur-based and that there are elements of comedy within our show
   - Anything that remains a simplistic transition to remain conventional to mockumentaries.
   - As mentioned in my title sequence post, the logo will appear once a stage light blinds the camera,
     hinting that the location is based in a theatre/school.

Potential Logo Choices

Below are some logo designs which I've been working on. Some of them aren't completely finished due to me working out which design looks the most preferable.

Logo Design 1

Logo Design 1. This was the first logo which I created and was mainly for experimental uses

More of an experiment than a design, I wanted to see whether the logo would look good by having the 'down' literally going down with the stage going across. The font however was one I was interested in as it has a stage and theatrical look, hinting to the audience on what our production could possibly be. Nonetheless, I feel that this structure isn't entirely effective due to it taking up a large amount of space, and having nothing in the centre of it.

Logo Design 2

Logo design 2 - the font seemed effective and iconic so i then decided to experiment
by adding in iconography to the logo, which you can see from the stage lights

Using the same font, I decided to position the 'Down Stage' like above purely so that it remains easy to read and conforms to similar conventions of the examples I've looked at. Additionally, i've added in stage lights below where it says 'stage' to make it seem like there is a lighting rig hanging from the bottom of the title. This also hints to the audience that our production will have something to do with a stage because of the lights, as well as the font helping to reinforce this.

I then wanted to see what it looked like by adding the stage lights at a different angle

Nonetheless, I then positioned one of the stage lights to the right hand side of the logo, more to experiment on how it would look. Personally, I feel that this logo is quite effective and could look better after working more on it. Nonetheless, the only problem it faces is that it may seem unconventional when compared to The Office UK due to it not being a basic and simplistic structure. However, I will be keeping this design in mind whilst experimenting with other designs.

Logo Design 3

Logo design 3. Here I experimented with a different font and
 added a gradient, inner and outer glow. 

I then decided to change the font and alter the structure slightly by changing the position of the lights.  To me, I feel that having the lights hanging from both the 'Down' and the 'Stage' seemed effective - you can clearly work out that the stage lights may conform theatre connotations and having them on each side gives the logo a nice balance and structure. Nonetheless, adding a fade to the colours slightly dampens the contrast between the two colours. Additionally, the font itself may seem slightly childish and less professional despite it seeming more apparent and relevant to our production.

Logo Design 4

Logo Design 4 - This was the basic design without adding any contour to the logo. 

This logo design to me seemed to be the most effective - the font is reasonably simplistic and seems more professional yet casual compared to the previous design. Below is a second draft of the logo - as you can see i've made the logo much bolder so it stands out by adding inner and outer shadows and glows. I've also added a fade to centre the middle of the 'down stage' almost so it looks like it is being brightened by stage lights. 

Here I was experimenting with the contour - adding a slight shadow and gradient however it
effected the parallel 

I then experimented with adding colour to the lights and removed the gradient.

However, after talking to Kate we came to a conclusion to remove the fade completely so that the red and black contrast against each other better which generally makes it seem more effective. I've then added in coloured lighting for each of the lights. Nonetheless, adding the colours was only an experiment and if I choose this design then this will be altered to look more realistic.

Logo Design 5

Kate then mentioned to see what DownStage looked like positioned next to each other, and whether
adding a lighting rig underneath looked effective

As I feel this font is the most suited, I then decided to alter the structure of the logo, which you can see in the image above. Sticking to the idea of having a lighting rig positioned underneath the logo, I wanted to see what the logo looked like with DownStage positioned next to one another. This looks quite effective nonetheless Kate and I came to an agreement that the previous design stood out more and that the lights added to the logo look more suited compared to the lighting rig

Which design will be used?

To conclude, Kate and I both came to an agreement to use 'Logo Design 4'. This is mainly because it covers most of the conventions which I've researched - the logo is bold and obvious whilst remaining simplistic, and it contains iconic content (i.e. the stage lights) which hints to the audience that our production may have links with a stage or theatre. By having this design, I will also be animating the stage light coming from the 'down' so the light bulb flickers, as discussed in my earlier aims. Nonetheless, we are going to proceed with this design and I will continue to alter the logo until we come to a suited agreement to use it for our marketing purposes and for our title sequence (which will soon be updated onto a different post).

The chosen design. This however will be edited and published once we come
to an agreement on how to have it i.e. what colour the lights will have, etc.