“Brand Awareness Assignment Description –  Find three brands/logos that you like – can be for any organization, for-profit or non-profit. Include the design in your post along with a brief statement about why you find it appealing, and what features and treatments allow it to succeed. Include links to the organizations website and examples of any basic collateral materials – briefly describe how the brand has been applied in both online and print, and give impressions of the effectiveness. Any prescriptive advice on improvements is also encouraged.”  Taken from the mktgmediacomm.com website

I have pulled three images which speak to me for many reasons but mainly for a sense of nostalgia and the personal value I assign to each brand.

1)  The Globe Theatre, or as the logo states, Shakespeare’s Globe plays off of the their name.  Circular like the earth and the namesake of the theatre where a number of Shakespeare’s play were performed.  A bold red color with white negative space makes it stand out and evoke a sense of urgency, passion, desire, or excitement.  The name of the theatre wraps around a simple silhouette of the physical structure and is balanced evenly, the first and last S mirror each other.  The logo is also easily transferable to use in printed materials such as tickets, programs, t-shirts, or souvenir coins.  If someone was to be shown this image, they should instantly understand what this pertains to without having to go back and find the history of this theatre. Something I also notice is that it seems similar to the Underground symbol, possible correlation?  I have visited Shakespeare’s Globe and while it is a replica of the original, the foundations of the original Globe are a few blocks down from the current stage, it is an incredibly detailed space and where I would like to work in the near future.

2)   My childhood hero, Rainbow Brite!  This is a very layered image as you have every color of the rainbow represented.  The banner beneath our heroine is made up of the primary colors only and the primary red to show her name.  The placement of the characters above the rainbow draws you eyes to the name and notice how Rainbow’s ponytail and Twink’s outstretched arm balances them, to a degree.  I find my eyes drawn to her face mostly and I think it may be due to that at the time of run of the cartoon series I could identify her by her face, clothing, and hair before her name as I was still learning to read.  The use of the rich colors makes it attractive for young children and plays into what was current in the 1980s.

A bit of back story, Hallmark (the card makers) developed this character for the use of cards but there was a lot of popularity for the character that she had her own TV series and several movies.  Rainbow Brite has become an icon for women in their late 20s to mid 30s for she used the power of light and color to make the world a better place.  I would know, I have gone to conventions dressed as this character and I see some of the happiest faces on people.  There is also a community of artists who have created fan art either placing the character(s) in various styles of dress (Steampunk, prom, etc) or at different ages.  A search of Deviant Art will show you what others are generating to fill a void since the show no longer airs.

 

 

 

 

 

The image on the left of the screen is myself and four of my friends cosplaying as Rainbow Brite (me), three Color Kids, and one of Rainbow Brite’s friends, Moonglow.  The image on the right is of me in a running version of Rainbow Brite’s costume with some modifications.

3) Similar to the logo from Shakespeare’s Globe, it is round and has information going around a focal image.  Here we get the name of the company, Free Shakespeare in the Park, and a location that encompass and fairly iconic representation of Shakepeare’s face.  To fill in space there is a decorative border of leaves and flowers, possibly to reenforce the concept of park or outdoors.  The green also implies nature and an earthiness to the organization.  It also very easy to see on business cards, PSAs, posters, and letterhead.  [Insider knowledge: This organization does go back and forth with their logo having more negative space, it generally depends on whether they want the inverse of Shakespeare’s head for use on certain colors of t-shirts.]  This image has yet to be as large for banners across Willamette St or on the side of an LTD bus but the potential is there.

I would like to consider re-vamping this logo to see if information can be expressed more simply.  I have been involved with Free Shakespeare in the Park since 2003 and am continuing to work with them as they transition into a 501(c) (3).  I have a deep love and appreciation for what they have given me in the way of exploring many facets of the performing arts that I want to help strengthen their brand in our community as they only do one show a year and while this is a very attractive and informative image, I want to see if I can do something that is more simplified yet informative.  Though, I may have to be careful about what I design, I may want another tattoo to compliment the first one.  [See image below]

 

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