Graphic Design 2.1: Professional Practice, Project 7: ‘Cultural Identities’ Assignment 7
Assignment 7: Unlikely Alliances
To complete this assignment you will transform the visual identity of one of the subjects in List 1. Inform your design process by drawing upon one of the influences in List 2.
List 1: Subjects
Standard Post Box and postage stamp (from any country)
Ambulance service or police force vehicles (from any country/district)
Your Local Football Club (you can choose an alternative sport – just make sure it is local)
A local restaurant (this could be a chain, for inspiration see: Eye Magazine | Feature | Burger, fries, no logo
Bus shelter and signage
A local nightclub
Street, road and avenue signage
List 2: Influences
Norman Wilkinson’s Dazzle Ships (see: Peter Blake: Everbody Razzle Dazzle | Tate
Alexander McQueen
The Designers Republic
Margaret Calvert
Paula Sher
Shawna X
Design Research Unit
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Le Corbusier
Vivienne Westwood
Bibliothéque Design
William Morris
Or, if you prefer, select your own influence.
What You Will Do
You are required to re-imagine and redefine your chosen subject (list 1) and produce a range of suitable graphic materials (choose at least two), which might include (but are not limited to):
Decorative graphics (e.g. mural/wall art, window decals, surface pattern, interior design detail)
Clothing/uniform design
Magazine or website concept
Screenprints/artworks for premises
3-Dimensional object
Time-based solutions.
Transform to Improve:
Think about the purpose, provenance and present state of your subject from List 1. Analyse this research and decide how you will change your subject’s visual appearance, identity, and reason/purpose. Aim to challenge convention.
Opposites Attract:
Think around the concept of unlikely alliances / opposites in harmony / change through surprise / turning the world on its head / challenging convention — all the qualities that have made design progress.
Invent and Innovate:
By using an inventive alliance of contrasting subjects and influences, your thinking can develop in a non-linear and individual-yet-practical way.
Initial experimentation:
Your initial development work should be in any media whatsoever, be that photography, drawing, sculpture, Play-Doh, Lego, found objects, calligraphy, performance, sound or whatever you feel is worthwhile experimenting with - to change things.
Distinct Development:
Process your experimentation through Adobe Creative Suite and any relevant media to make it fit for purpose.
Target Audience:
Identify the target audience by researching your subject. Essentially, you need to convince the audience or client that this is how their world should look, according to your own individual design aesthetic and process.
Final Outcomes:
The final outcome should employ digital media to visually render your design ‘in situ’, i.e. presented in a real world situation: e.g. your designs Photoshopped into a photographic image of an actual existing premises or location, or on a 3-D model.
I began this task by choosing a subject and an influence. I decided to choose one of my favourite artists, Robert Rauschenberg and one of my favourite restaurants, Turtle Bay to create my visual identity for. The concept of ‘unlikely alliances’ really interested me and I was looking forward to planning and experimenting with design ideas. I started with researching the restaurant and the artist, collating visual references and information for both.
FIGURE 1:
The Turtle Bay brand is very colourful and full of energy as shown via their website (figure 1) and social media (figure 2). I made notes of re-occurring colours and visuals to help inform me of my design choices when re-designing with the question: ‘how similar do I want it to be?’ in mind. The brief doesn’t specify that the brands current energy/vibe has to be carried through with the new ‘unlikely alliance’ design but I must decide on a target audience and then consider these factors.
FIGURE 2:
I collated some of my favourite work by Rauschenberg, selecting some prints, paintings , sculptures and screenprints. Whilst researching I made notes on similarities and areas of Rauschenberg’s work I can take inspiration from when designing.
Rauschenberg uses colour extremely well and only where necessary. This contrasts from Turtle Bay’s current branding which is full of colour. Perhaps I could try a more minimal style but still try to convey a fun energy?
Notes 1 shows some general notes made whilst researching and ideas to expand upon as I considered the target audience- young-mid adults (vibrant colours, fun imagery etc). Notes 2 is a related word list to Turtle Bay and Rauschenberg. I have found this method useful with idea/image generation in previous tasks and have used it again here to help begin to generate ideas.
Notes 3 is a brief spider diagram expanding on my initial ideas and deciding which areas of the restaurants brand I will create designs for. I decided to move forwards with the restaurant’s sign, menu, apron/uniform and a poster/mural.
Finally I tested the logo viewing from different distances, digitally editing the texture so it doesn’t effect viewing the shape as a turtle from either further away or at a smaller icon size.
When researching Rauschenberg’s work, an idea for designing a typeface came to mind when I came across some of his writing/poems. Rauschenberg’s signature I feel is quite iconic and looking further at his handwriting it felt really interesting and an integral part to his work and him as a person. This brought forwards the idea to develop a hand drawn typeface based off of his letter forms.
Viewing his writing I copied his style of lettering, creating different versions of his letters/icons using a broad tipped pencil. I then took this into Illustrator, created a vectorised version and chose/tweaked the ones I felt were most effective and resembled his writing style.
Using ‘Fontself’ a programme I had used for the first time during a previous task, I created a useable typeface, adjusting the distance between letters until it was similar to Rauschenberg’s handwriting.
I printed some of the images I had collated shown in figures 36-41 using a xerox printer. I then brushed some acetone onto the backs of them and using various materials such as a pen that had ran out of ink, printed them onto paper. I did the same using various words included throughout Turtle Bay’s website that represent and describe Turtle Bay as a restaurant.
I then scanned these images and made them transparent in Photoshop, ready to be used to create a poster. Instead of creating singular posters completely by hand, I decided to create these images and various painterly textures/use ones I already have created in order to have designs that are easily edited and manipulated.
After finalising the information on the menu, breaking it down into 4 sections with pricing and using my custom typeface, I realised that this limited my options composition wise. The menu still had to be functional and legible whilst referencing both Rauschenberg/Turtle Bay.
Using some tactile paper/cardboard rip textures and paint roller markings I created a background inspired by Rauschenberg’s abstractions and layered the type over the top. Here was where I considered changing the typeface despite it working well referencing Rauschenberg as it was quite thin and less legible than a more bold sans serif typeface would be. I chose a more bold black colour as this stood out more, which I felt allowed the typeface to work better, being more easily legible.
Referencing Rauschenberg’s screenprints and other print work from figures 25,26,31,32 in particular I layered my printed imagery with otehr hand printed textures, changing the colours to a more muted yellow/green tone, also inspired by Rauschenberg’s ‘Dante’s Inferno’ works.
I really enjoyed this assignment and the idea of ‘unlikely alliances’. I particularly enjoyed creating the typeface inspired by Rauschenberg’s handwriting.
Each Turtle Bay restaurant is unique and includes varied styles of art/decor but radiates the same energy. A mural or poster for either outside or within the restaurant could be a good way to merge Rauschenberg and Turtle Bay.
Turtle Bay uses a lot of varied signage. Shown in figures 18-21 there are a few styles of signs including a wooden and a neon one. These could also be good options to design for.
Various techniques are used throughout Rauschenberg’s work, many of which I can try to integrate into my designs such as printmaking and image transfers.
Figure 33-35 shows some hand written notes/poems by Rauschenberg. This sparked an idea for a typeface design that I will explore further.
Referring to my words list I found related imagery suitable to use for any visuals needed such as for the poster or menu design (figures 37-41, figures 42-46, figure 36). I found these images via google, using Midjourney AI image generation or from Turtle Bay’s website.
The first area of re-design I decided to move forwards with was Turtle Bay’s logo and wordmark. The imagery of the Turtle works really well but I felt included too much unnecessary detail such as the indents on the flippers and I also don’t like the angle of the turtle itself, it looks flat and not as interesting as alternative angles. Referring to the images collated in figures 37-41 I quickly sketched some versions at different angles. I decided on a different angle design of the turtle that could work well printed with added texture (inspired by Rauschenberg’s screenprint work). I then took it to Illustrator and cleaned up the sketches and vectorised it.
Next, I did some typography experimenting, seeing which style of type works best with the new logo. I felt that a sans serif typeface would work best, both representing a modern and fun restaurant chain as well as referencing Rauschenberg’s bold print work and use of strong bold typography. Despite the fact that a lot of Rauschenberg’s typography used were excerpts from newspapers and were serif typefaces, I felt that the slightly more stylised and heavy sans serif typeface worked well in referencing this as opposed to a more thin, less stylised typeface.
Moving forwards I printed various versions of the logo and typeface using acetate designed for a xerox printer and an ink jet printer. The ink then lies on top of the acetate, instead of being heated and becoming a part of it, allowing it to be printed onto any surface. I then printed them onto paper and using my hands or a roller pressed on the back with different forces, creating varied textures. I aimed to create an effect with this printing method that resembled Rauschenberg’s screenprints.
Figure 22 shows a good example of some of Rauschenberg’s lithographs and xerox prints.
Using either glossy magazines or a xerox and acetone, Rauschenberg printed images using varied materials such as pens that had no ink left to create a scribbled texture, roller and carving tools. These prints would then be reproduced using a lithography machine and painted over.
I then began to experiment with collaging the images in Photoshop, referencing my mood-boards of Rauschenberg’s work, I added layers using various hand made textures to form a poster/art that could be used within the restaurant. This was more solely experimentation and seeing which colours/compositions worked together.
I also tested various colour palettes with the logo and word mark to see which conveys the core feelings of Turtle Bay being a fun, Caribbean inspired restaurant, as well as being within Rauschenberg’s style.
Figure 48-52 shows some inspiration for composition/use of illustration/colour for restaurant menus. I then made some quick sketches of layouts to reference when designing (notes 4 and 5).
I continued to experiment with colour, debating which colour pairings worked best. I eventually decided on a green, yellow, cream and black colour palette and moved forwards using this to design with.
I moved onto designing an apron for the staff at Turtle Bay. I wanted the designs to look cohesive across all parts (menu, apron, poster, signage), considering this I arranged and re-used elements from the menu and initial poster experiment with an aim to create a fun apron that the staff could wear which was visually interesting and of course representative of both Rauschenberg and Turtle Bay.
After designing the menu and apron, I went back to my poster experiment and created a new design that was more aligned with the colour palette and design.
Looking back at my final results, I feel that they are representative of both Turtle Bay, their younger target audience and Rauschenberg’s art works, but there are many areas that I would improve upon.
The colour palette works and references Rauschenberg, but is perhaps too muted, the yellow and creams could be brighter, which would be more inviting for a restaurant and especially a restaurant that is usually very vibrant and fun.
I could’ve integrated the typeface further, maybe into the apron design, or even experimented further with creating a brand pattern and applying this across all elements in some way in order for all of the designs to feel more cohesive.
Resources:
Figure 1: Caribbean restaurant & bar (no date) Turtle Bay UK. Available at: https://turtlebay.co.uk/ (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 2: Turtle Bay (no date) Instagram. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/turtlebayuk/ (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 3: Croydon (no date) Turtle Bay UK. Available at: https://turtlebay.co.uk/restaurants/croydon (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 4: Camden (no date) Turtle Bay UK. Available at: https://turtlebay.co.uk/restaurants/camden (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 5: Turtle Bay Bar & Restaurant officially opens in Glasgow (no date) Glasgow Chamber of Commerce : Turtle Bay Bar & Restaurant officially opens in Glasgow. Available at: https://www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com/news/news/2023/december/08/turtle-bay-bar-restaurant-officially-opens-in-glasgow/ (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 6: Turtle Bay (no date) Happycow.net. Available at: https://www.happycow.net/reviews/turtle-bay-birmingham-263785 (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 7: (No date) Tripadvisor.co.uk. Available at: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g186299-d2184878-i208440712-Turtle_Bay_Southampton-Southampton_Hampshire_England.html (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 8: Bosley, K. (2023) I went to Turtle Bay to see why it was chosen as The Guardian’s ‘best place for breakfast’ in Birmingham, Birmingham Live. Available at: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/went-turtle-bay-see-chosen-27074200 (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 9: 92661625 - online store (no date) Bestvidear.best. Available at: https://bestvidear.best/product_details/92661625.html (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 10: Antes de continuar (no date) Google.com. Available at: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fevenangelsfall.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F10%2Fimg_7258-scaled.jpg&tbnid=e0xhQeQCL1nQVM&vet=10CBAQxiAoB2oXChMIoKv0s8D2hgMVAAAAAB0AAAAAEBk..i&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fevenangelsfall.com%2F2020%2F10%2F02%2Fdate-night-at-turtle-bay-bournemouth%2F&docid=IjEDXrwgRl_aEM&w=2560&h=1920&itg=1&q=turtle%20bay%20MENU&ved=0CBAQxiAoB2oXChMIoKv0s8D2hgMVAAAAAB0AAAAAEBk (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 11: Turtle Bay (No date) Overflowinglibrary.com. Available at: https://overflowinglibrary.com/2017/06/turtle-bay-norwich-new-menu-review.html (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 12: OHalloran, L. (2019) Trying the new menu at turtle Bay, Me, him, the dog and a baby! Lyndsey OHalloran. Available at: https://mehimthedogandababy.com/trying-the-new-menu-at-turtle-bay/ (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 13: Hudson-NEC, G. (2015) Turtle Bay restaurant in the Northern Quarter, Manchester - Photo credit: Vincent Cole, Chronicle Live. Available at: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/business/gallery/turtle-bay-restaurant-northern-quarter-10174051 (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 14: Cat (2017) Turtle Bay, Newcastle review, Rock and Roll Pussycat. Available at: https://rockandrollpussycat.co.uk/2017/08/turtle-bay-newcastle-review/ (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 15: Locations (no date) Turtle Bay UK. Available at: https://turtlebay.co.uk/locations (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 16: Chester (no date) Turtle Bay UK. Available at: https://turtlebay.co.uk/restaurants/chester (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 17: Chelmsford – turtle Bay (2020) Walking. Gossip. Travel. Available at: https://www.julianwhite.uk/chelmsford-turtle-bay/ (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 18: Turtle bay, derby (no date) FUSION Design & Architecture. Available at: https://www.fusiondna.co.uk/turtle-bay-derby/9p17e4ok6gadv503shsyej2di5tr8k (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 19: Turtle bay, derby (no date) FUSION Design & Architecture. Available at: https://www.fusiondna.co.uk/turtle-bay-derby/9p17e4ok6gadv503shsyej2di5tr8k (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 20: Turtle bay, derby (no date) FUSION Design & Architecture. Available at: https://www.fusiondna.co.uk/turtle-bay-derby/9p17e4ok6gadv503shsyej2di5tr8k (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 21: Turtle bay, derby (no date) FUSION Design & Architecture. Available at: https://www.fusiondna.co.uk/turtle-bay-derby/9p17e4ok6gadv503shsyej2di5tr8k (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 22: (No date) Moma.org. Available at: https://www.moma.org/artists/4823 (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 23: (No date) Moma.org. Available at: https://www.moma.org/artists/4823 (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 24: (No date) Moma.org. Available at: https://www.moma.org/artists/4823 (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 25: Page 10, Paragraph 3 Short Stories by Robert Rauschenberg on artnet (no date) Artnet.com. Available at: https://www.artnet.com/artists/robert-rauschenberg/page-10-paragraph-3-short-stories-a-DTsfH1xE-xHHRodP8nRNng2 (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 26: Robert Rauschenberg Quote 1990- Offset Lithograph by Robert Rauschenberg on artnet (no date) Artnet.com. Available at: https://www.artnet.com/artists/robert-rauschenberg/robert-rauschenberg-quote-1990-offset-lithograph-a-F3uRaSH_NdUk6XyMIG60FQ2 (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 27: Dwan Gallery Poster by Robert Rauschenberg on artnet (no date) Artnet.com. Available at: https://www.artnet.com/artists/robert-rauschenberg/dwan-gallery-poster-a-0oXKRXoFWLXZXOPHdWsWYQ2 (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 28: O.T. by Robert Rauschenberg on artnet (no date) Artnet.com. Available at: https://www.artnet.com/artists/robert-rauschenberg/ot-a-qapD5xsfcTuOnAWEl882oQ2 (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 29: Untitled Hoarfrost by RobertRauschenberg (no date) Artnet.com. Available at: https://www.artnet.com/artists/robert-rauschenberg/untitled-hoarfrost-XSqLr1purzuJFZ4yk6A6fA2 (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 30: Zodiac bloom summer glut by RobertRauschenberg (no date) Artnet.com. Available at: https://www.artnet.com/artists/robert-rauschenberg/zodiac-bloom-summer-glut-hELAgoMAADmPhstZheq1AA2 (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 31: Rauschenberg (No date) Artsy.net. Available at: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/robert-rauschenberg-metropolitan-museum-of-art (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 32: Gilbert, G. (2017) ‘The hell of modern media: on Robert Rauschenberg’s Dante series’, The Art newspaper, 9 September. Available at: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2017/09/09/the-hell-of-modern-media-on-robert-rauschenbergs-dante-series (Accessed: 23 June 2024).
Figure 33: The rules of art according to Rauschenberg (no date) Org.uk. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/rules-of-rauschenberg/ (Accessed: 25 June 2024).
Figure 34: Archives (no date) Rauschenbergfoundation.org. Available at: https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/art/archives/collections (Accessed: 25 June 2024).
Figure 35: Facebook (no date) Facebook.com. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/RauschenbergFoundation/photos/a.196023823830668/3278800775552942/?_rdr (Accessed: 25 June 2024).
Figure 36: Leicester (no date) Turtle Bay UK. Available at: https://turtlebay.co.uk/restaurants/leicester (Accessed: 25 June 2024).
Figure 37: Wikipedia contributors (2023) Turtle Bay, Oahu, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Turtle_Bay,_Oahu&oldid=1161303016 (Accessed: 25 June 2024).
Figure 38: Turtle Bay (2013) St John Beach Guide. Available at: https://stjohn-beachguide.com/turtle-bay/ (Accessed: 25 June 2024).
Figure 39: Turtle Bay Resort (2023) Audley Travel. Available at: https://www.audleytravel.com/usa/hawaii/accommodation/turtle-bay-resort (Accessed: 25 June 2024).
Figure 40: Sea turtle swimming (no date) Smithsonian Ocean. Available at: https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/reptiles/sea-turtle-swimming (Accessed: 25 June 2024).
Figure 41: (No date) Etsy.com. Available at: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1009030358/turtle-swimming-in-hawaii-under-the-sun (Accessed: 25 June 2024).
Figure 42: Birds Flying Beach images – browse 350,105 stock photos, vectors, and video (no date) Adobe Stock. Available at: https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=birds+flying+beach (Accessed: 25 June 2024).
Figure 43: Midjourney (Created: 25 June 2024).
Figure 44: Midjourney (Created: 25 June 2024).
Figure 45: Midjourney (Created: 25 June 2024).
Figure 46: Midjourney (Created: 25 June 2024).
Figure 47: Currier Museum (2021) Currier From Home Art Activity: Rauschenberg inspired rubbing activity. Youtube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n0lWWkDvS4 (Accessed: 26 June 2024).
Figure 48: Turtle-Bay-menu2016-A3-Web (no date) yumpu.com. Available at: https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/55490485/turtle-bay-menu2016-a3-web (Accessed: 26 June 2024).
Figure 49: Premium Vector (no date) Freepik. Available at: https://www.freepik.com/premium-vector/digital-restaurant-menu-with-delicious-meals-vertical-format_10212965.htm (Accessed: 26 June 2024).
Figure 50: Menu (no date) Pinterest. Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/20547742045854250/ (Accessed: 26 June 2024).
Figure 51: Menu (No date) Whatnowatlanta.com. Available at: https://whatnowatlanta.com/muchacho-now-open-reynoldstown/ (Accessed: 26 June 2024).
Figure 52: Santo Domingo branding by the hungry design co (no date) Theinspirationgrid.com. Available at: https://theinspirationgrid.com/santo-domingo-branding-by-the-hungry-design-co/ (Accessed: 26 June 2024).
Apron mock up: Realistic free hanged apron mockup PSD (2019) PsFiles. Available at: https://psfiles.com/realistic-free-hanged-apron-mockup-psd/ (Accessed: 28 June 2024).
Sign mock up: rawpixel.com 190. 98k assets (no date) Download Blank Billboard Mockup for free, Freepik. Available at: https://www.freepik.com/free-psd/blank-billboard-mockup_2736943.htm (Accessed: 28 June 2024).
Menu mock up: (No date) Mockupbee.com. Available at: https://mockupbee.com/free-menu-in-hands-mockup/ (Accessed: 28 June 2024).
Poster: Poster in restaurant mockup (PSD) (2018) Unblast. Available at: https://unblast.com/download/40403/ (Accessed: 28 June 2024).
