Origin regroup - start of final week

Today we regrouped and began by sharing the research we had done and some initial ideas. There were a few logotypes around but nothing set in stone. It had been agreed that the logotype would be an important thing to have today as we started to develop our brand identity. I had developed the bellow placeholder, which was fairly well received but there was a general consensus on all initial ideas that we needed to develop logotypes further. The red is taken from a museum in research and it was agreed that this is the sort of colour pallet we need to go for. The placeholder is inspired by the fusion of the old typeface Bodoni with a more contemporary looking highly geometric face, highlighting the coming together of a range of genres and times. This element of universality is also portrayed through the fact that it looks like a globe.  

There had been a lot of interesting research into Darwin and the way he set out his journals so it was agreed that we should try and work as close to this as possible to accommodate the theme and give concise and visually interesting outcomes. With this in mind, we settled on Bodoni as one of our typefaces and began to design the exhibition guide, posters and of course the branding. 

Later in the morning, I came back with the bellow logotype, using Bodoni and the same circular cut. The main changes from the previous placeholder came as suggestions from Ben as we altered the half circle to allow for room in which relevant imagery could be placed and the colour pallet changed slightly to navy and gold. Also pictured is an example of how the circle could be used on a heading. The circle could be transient and divide up into smaller pieces for function. We also discussed how the room could be split into say fifths of a circle with segments against the walls of the room and corresponding genre or continent or time cards supplied in the middle of the room. 

I then started working on an original design based on Bodoni that was less pretentious and slightly more contemporary. They culminated in the bellow logotype and typeface. The design incorporates Bodoni and more linear typewriter faces to create a highly legible, clean and elegant face that doesn't have the fussiness of Bodoni. This development was well received by the group and it was agreed that we would go with it as out final logotype. Allowing us to move on with other elements of the project. My task for the rest of the day was to continue with the typeface. 

  

However, after the session, there was a discussion about things which could be improved design-wise. There was some feeling that perhaps we had strayed too far from making the circle the centre of the exhibition" and making it the most consistent and flexible item of design. The highly structured designs we were producing didn't fit with an Origin 'O' concept leading us to question identity. We had already set ourselves on a museum vibe and perhaps we have already gone too far.

The type-heavy design for the exhibition guidebook seemed like a bad decision as it makes everything very serious and lacking in energy. It doesn't seem to be very innovative and contemporary, therefore more focus on design using colour, symbols or pictograms could be a way of improving the exhibition design. 

There was definitely a discussion to be had so we decided to wait for some outsider input from Orlando in the morning.