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.