Anchor 1

Visual branding for Lokusdesign

A design language system and brand collaterals for a design studio.

Context

Graduation project for Lokus Design Pvt Ltd

Timeframe

Six months, 2015-2016

Role

Design strategy, creation of the visual system and designing the brand collaterals

Tools

Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Indesign

Mentors

Chandrashekhar Badve

Rochana Deb

The Challenge

My role was to understand the brand philosophy and new brand positioning of the organization and to translate it to a canvas of visual elements. The visual language had to be extended onto branding collaterals for internal and external communication. My tasks included conceptualization, creating the visual system, designing the range of print and web applications, defining the brand guidelines, print testing and installation of the prints in the studio space.

The Design Methodology

The Brand - Lokusdesign

‘Lokus’ is a derivation of the word ‘Locus’ which means ‘A center or source of power and activity.’ Lokus Design works to improve the performance of businesses and brands to enable them to achieve the desired impact. They combine analytical, strategic thinking with creative, humanist design to provide solutions that facilitate the growth of brands and businesses.

Old Brand Positioning

The logo with the tagline ‘The Growth Catalysts’ has been
the face of Lokusdesign since 2006.

Lokusdesign creates impactful design ideas that enable businesses to manifest and leverage their core business objectives by strategic innovation and design interventions. The catalyst efforts help enhance brand and product performances, resulting in business growth and efficiency.

Visual expression of brand

New Brand Positioning

While the catalyst personality of Lokus Design still remains, as a brand it now talks about ‘Connection’ as a value with ‘Connect to Impact’ being the new tagline with the original Lokus Design logo.

Lokusdesign draws connections between business acumen with humanistic design to identify untapped needs and opportunities and converge them into ideas & experiences that inspire lasting relationships. Thus, it enables its clients to bridge the gap between vision and the desired impact.

Visual expression of the brand

Magnetism as a metaphor

Lokusdesign is the magnetic source imparting brand charisma and business impact.

The idea of two polar opposites coming together to form an energetic, dynamic field is what represents Lokusdesign as brand-the polar opposites of a business-driven analytical approach and a human-centered creative thought process come together creating the required energy to bridge the gap between vision and impact.

The co-existence of the positives and negatives establish and sustain the connection between cause and effect, vision and impact. The bridging particles that enhance this field are the core values- Imagination, Dynamism, Empathy, and Authenticity.

Dynamic Symmetry in Magnetism

The visual language represents the idea of two polar opposites (a business-driven analytical approach and a human-centered creative thought process) coming together to create value and energy.

The idea was to show the interplay between two objects, being attracted to each another by a powerful magnetic force to form visually dynamic forms. The forms are displaced and do not directly overlap to show the tension between the two magnetic objects under the influence of a strong magnetic field just before they “click' together. The use of objects in pairs here is to show the duality, coexistence of polar opposites.

Dynamism

"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." - Andy Warhol

The energetic and dynamic nature of Lokus Design is represented by triangles and tetrahedrons. Power, positive aggression, direction and evolution are the ideas represented by this shape.

Authenticity

"Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. If it isn’t ethical, it can’t be beautiful." - Yves Béhar

The square and cube stand for a solid, stable core. Lokusdesign stands on a strong foundation of ethics and values. Authenticity, integrity, and stability are represented by the squares and cubes.

Empathy

"Learning is a result of listening, which in turn leads to better listening and attentiveness to the other person. In other words, to learn, we must have empathy, and empathy grows as we learn." - Alice Miller

Circles and spheres are soft and warm shapes that suggest connection, harmony, and interaction.

Imagination

"Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will." - George Bernard Shaw

A mix of the three basic elements - square, triangle and circle represent imagination. The endless possibilities by permutations and combinations of the three shapes and their 3D forms give the freedom of a large canvas for imagination.

The Identity

Due to business reasons, the logo was kept the same, but the tagline was changed according to the new brand positioning. The tag line “Connect to Impact” is set in the font Open Sans. The original font was tweaked to create the logotype: The characters were appropriately kerned, the font weight was adjusted and the spacing between the logo and the tag line was tested in various sizes before the logo unit was finalized.

Color Palette

Humanistic

Dynamic • Imaginative • Inviting

Professional

Authentic • Classic • Sophisticated

Primary Color Palette

C00 M40 Y100 K00

R255 G153 B00

#ff9900

C00 M00 Y00 K80

R51 G51 B51

#333333

C00 M00 Y00 K50

R128 G128 B128

#808080

C00 M00 Y00 K20

R204 G204 B204

#cccccc

C00 M00 Y00 K00

R255 G255 B255

#ffffff

Secondy Color Palette

C00 M00 Y00 K70

R77 G77 B77

#4d4d4d

C00 M00 Y00 K60

R102 G102 B102

#66666

C00 M00 Y00 K40

R153 G153 B153

#999999

C00 M00 Y00 K30

R179 G179 B179

#b3b3b3

C00 M00 Y00 K10

R230 G230 B230

#e6e6e6

Typography

Open Sans

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

1234567890

A ‘humanist’ typeface with a contemporary and corporate outlook that justifies the dimension of ‘combining business acumen and humanistic design’ was chosen.

Open Sans is characterized by open forms and a serious, yet friendly appearance. It is optimized for excellent legibility across print, web, and mobile interfaces.