OUGD603 - Brief 05 - Event Identity - FLAC: Development & Experimentation

In response to the name FLAC I have researched into a wide variety of areas online. By doing so I have found that FLAC was created in 2001. Inspired by this, I have made a variety of initial ideas that revolve around design in the 2000s and other relevant areas.

Typography - By researching into typefaces of the 2000s, a selection were found and experimented with. Archur & Gotham were very popular typefaces created by the renown type foundry Hoefler & Co. - Gotham was particularly prominent, with its most famous use in the Obama presidential campaign. As these typefaces are fairly simple in style, further research has been made to find typefaces with more character.

256TM Type Foundry released two typefaces in the 2000s - Garaje & Minuscule 2. These are vastly different to the Hoefler & Co. typefaces, offering more freedom to experiment with. As FLAC files are preceded by a dot, experimentation was made to try and integrate dots into the type to make it more unique. Feedback has suggested that the lowercase Garaje typeface was the most popular, particularly the bottom left one created with the dot integration.

Logoshapes - Informed by the early research into logoshapes and how important they are I have made a variety of illustrations. These are all informed by FLAC or an aspect related to the 2000s.

The first logoshape produced can be seen below. This is informed by the use of black lines in rave posters and the secrecy motif behind our event. By combining the two, a lock icon was produced.

The second two logotypes produced is informed entirely by research into FLAC files. Audio sources encoded to FLAC are typically reduced to 50–60% of their original size, similar to other lossless formats, though the final size depends on the density and volume of the music being compressed, and, with some music, file size can be reduced by as much as 80%. Inspired by both statistics, two icons have been created. The first is a circle with another circle inside it, scaled at 50%. The second is a combination of 8 and 0 overlaid, linking to the 80% statistic. This visually also resembles a speaker.

The third logoshape produced can be seen below. This is informed by research into the year 2001 - when the FLAC format was created. 2001 was the year of the snake; therefore, a spiral-style icon has been made, making reference to this year.

The shape that people think links the most to a night event is the moon. This is informed by research into synthesisers, and how the Korg Triton was believed to embody the sound of the 2000s. Research into Triton highlighted that it is also the only large moon in the Solar System with a retrograde orbit, an orbit in the opposite direction to its planet's rotation. Inspired by this, the icon has been produced.

Posters - By using the Garaje typeface and moon logoshape, a variety of posters have been made. One batch of posters take reference from old rave posters, using high contrast colours, black lines and rave imagery, whilst the other uses the moon as a logoshape, with the Garaje logotype as a foreground focus. 

The two poster ideas have been presented to the team and young people for feedback. The moon idea has been favoured as people think that the combination of a logotype and logoshape works really strongly to make the brand identifiable; but, it has een pointed out that the use of a moon is too similar to that of another event called Night Bass. For this reason, the moon logoshape will not been developed. Instead, the typeface has been taken forward and further experimented with to produce a final logotype and logoshape.

OUGD603 - Brief 05 - Event Identity - Final Name & Concept

Luke and I have been inspired by the rave concept of receiving tickets through a text or phone call. Because of this, we have researched into terms and words related to mobile phones. By doing so, we have come across the term 'FLAC', which is essentially an audio format/file similar to MP3. Audio sources encoded to FLAC are typically reduced to 50–60% of their original size, yet are still the same in quality.

This resonates with the overriding concept of our night - essentially, whilst we will be much smaller than big nights and have less funding, we believe that we can offer the same level of quality, if not better, with our events. This link has inspired us to choose 'FLAC' and present it to the team and others. Feedback has been very positive - people think that the name is unique, very different from the names of existing nights and very well informed in regards to the word meaning.

For this reason, we have chosen to develop a range of further ideas revolving around the name 'FLAC', keeping the concept of staying humble and secretive in focus.

OUGD603 - Brief 05 - Event Identity - Play Down: Experimentation

The team and I have gone on to experiment with a variety of visual ideas related to the 'Play Down' concept. I have focused my ideas on logoshapes, and how they could be used to accompany a logotype.

The main source of inspiration has come from the play symbol on CD players. The right arrow is a symbol for 'play', which allowed me to pair it with a down arrow to visually represent the name. Experimentation with different icons and combinations were made with this idea.

The idea has also been developed by taking references from rave design. Black lines were popularly used in 90s posters; therefore, I have experimented with vertical black lines, symbols and type.

We have met as a team to review all the individual ideas made and have come to the decision that the work produced is too obvious and not strong enough overall. Whilst it was a difficult choice to make, we agree that another name should be found. We want to keep the concept roughly the same; yet, want to produce a different range of visuals to see if there is a better option to go down than 'Play Down'. We are going to go away and generate more name ideas.

OUGD603 - Brief 05 - Event Identity - Idea Generation & Feedback

Idea 1 - This is inspired entirely by the research made into 90s raves and rave culture. The idea is to advertise the night differently to current nights by having a secret lineup and location. There would be a limited amount of tickets and people would only be able to get one by texting/ringing a number.

The branding would also be inspired by 90s rave posters and design, and the whole idea would be to put on small, exclusive parties that are more about enjoying music than seeing specific DJs - how many raves used to be. Feedback highlights that the uniqueness of this idea is great, and should be developed forward; however, people think that the term 'rave' should not be referenced to, as it has connotations to illegality and drugs. For this reason, the marketing aspect will later developed in the concept stage. 

Idea 2 - A variety of names have been created, as seen in the mind map below; however, one name that I think holds the most potential was Oval. The research into logoshapes highlighted that ovals project a positive emotional message, suggesting community, friendship and unity - aspects that I would like the night to revolve around. By having a name that is also a shape, the night would be able to be visually identified through type and form, similar to how Printworks uses circles. Feedback highlighted that the combination of type and logshapes is definitely a strong, effective way of making a night recognisable; however, the team is not keen on the name, as they think it would be too closely linked to Oval Space, a large nightclub in London. For this reason, the use logoshapes has been developed forward. 

Idea 3 - Informed by the relevance of three research, I pitched a variety of possible night names that had 3 syllables in them. Feedback received agreed that three syllable words are easier to pronounce; however, it is more important to get a strong concept than just a name. For this reason, the relevance of three isn'g going to be considered too highly when moving forward. 

During the feedback sessions Luke proposed the idea of highlighting how we would be starting from grassroots. After considering various names, 'Play Down' was voted as the most popular by the team and various others, linking to the idea of staying humble and keeping it secretive in regards to the rave ideas presented and how lineups and locations used to be undisclosed. This will be developed in the following stage.

OUGD603 - Brief 05 - Event Identity - Research

Initial research has been made individually. This has allowed the team to bring different aspects to the table in the idea stage. The areas that have I researched into and presented are as follows:

Logo Shapes - Our subconscious minds respond in different ways to different logo shapes. Straight lines, circles, curves and jagged edges all imply different meanings and so a skilled logo designer can use shape to infer particular qualities about the brand. Many of the big brands use a combination of typography and shapes to make them identifiable and memorable. Some examples of this found have been found.

In terms of music, a few examples can be highlighted. Printworks uses two dots throughout their branding, and other clubs, such as Fabric and Ministry of Sound, also use recognisable shapes. Nitsa, a club in Barcelona, has a circular revolving dance floor. This infomed their branding, where they also use a circle to rotate type, visually linking to the club floor.

Rave Imagery & Current Appropriation - Recently, there has been more of a trend to use retro imagery with futuristic typography, grids, checkered patterns and high contrasting colours. Looking back, it is clear that many of these designs have taken inspiration from 90s rave posters. This style of design is still very minorly used; however, events that have used such a style really stand out from the crowd because of how different they look in comparison to other branded nights. As our night aims to attract people who are more into the underground scene and genres, this style of graphic design is one that will be considered when later developing digital designs.

Rave Marketing - Today, almost all live events are advertised in the same way; there is a lineup of DJs or bands, a given location/club and the online sale of tickets. Furthermore, the majority of events are hosted on Facebook, with social media advertising being very popular. Looking back to old raves, many posters and adverts did not disclose who was DJing - illegal raves particularly did not even advertise the event, they instead require people to ring or text a phone number to receive the location. This is one aspect that has inspired me regarding the marketing of the night, and the element of secrecy.



The Relevance of Three - Many sources online suggest that 3 is the perfect number. It is believed that trisyllabic names and names with three words are memorable and very easy to pronounce. Some of the largest nights and clubs, such as Acetate, Boiler Room, Canal Mills, Jungle Jam, Ministry of Sound, The Warehouse, WHP and White Hotel use such names, and there are a large majority of DJs who also use names revolving around the number 3, such as Andy C, Armin van Buuren, Avicii, DJ Zinc, Fatboy Slim, John Digweed, Paul van Dyk, Peggy Gou, Sub Focus, Tiesto and many more. There are of course many names that this does not apply to; however, it has me to consider names for the event.