Tiny Tots is a coupon book which features in children-related discount products such as toys, games, and clothes. The original logo is fine, but just nothing special, and kind of ugly with the typesetting with a baby face inside the "o". The typeface seems to be Century Gothic which is elegant but also too geometric, lacking of friendliness. In addition, the logo does not have any cohesion as if falling apart on its own. The worst is that it does not impress me (maybe does impress others). I decide that its identity should be redesigned.
First of all, I consider about its target market. Yes, the products are about children, but the buyers are their parents. A good balance between childish fun and mature professional styles. I do not worry about the childish fun part because it has to be done to match the theme of the coupon book. What I concern is, how much amount of mature professional style I can add to the logo. What I know is grown-ups tend to more trust corporate style for mass production products. It is simply and clean, so-called minimalism.
As for typeface, I choose a soft smooth friendly "creamy" one just like milk, the lowercase italic Cronos Pro, but which also has an incredible feel of corporate style. I tighten the type so that it has strong cohesion, in contrast with the original logo.
I make the logo look like a stamp, just like a stamp saying "discount" loudly. To me, stamp and coupon match very well. The oval is corresponding to the roundness of the type. I let "coupon book" sit on the outside of the oval because I do not want it to interfere the main name "Tiny Tots".
The new logo impresses people by its shape instead of colours. As I know the coupon book issues and expires on different dates of the year. Using different colours for different seasons, monthes, or themes has more fun, more impressing people.
Wow, I keep talking about impressing people for this indentity design. Branding is like giving a personality, exactly like a real person: happy, sad, honest, evil, fake, cocky, ignorant, high-hearted. People do not see the process behind an identity; they judge by impression and feeling which is intuitive. I think a good designer should try his best to make an identity give the best impression instead of doing too much rational consideration.
This is my make-up identity design for Tiny Tots.
Yes! Never underestimate something might look like garbage but having potential value, just like, never underestimate a designer and his wage. My dear designers! Are you agree? Sometimes you are just willing to work for someone because he or she is a nice person instead, ignoring the "modest" pay. I sometimes dream of digging out a strange piece from the closet which is actually worth a lot in auction, similar to finding a weird job which leads me to a great and "prosperous" designer.
One of the identities that I design for real clients. The company is about healthy eating, so I chose yellow and orange, the pumpkin and carrot colours, healthy colours. The logo is a swashy "stick man"; although kind of cliche, the client likes it. In all the logos of different ideas, she picked this one, the one I liked the least. My favorite one was a man reaching an apple in a tree.
This is a mockup brochure for Vancouver Aquarium. I use the rough cut-out style to give a little childishness. It took me so much time to make those cut-out images, even in computer. The logo is redesigned as well. It is an abstract form of "Vanaqua", which intends for a future style. Intentionally, I added some "awkwardness" to the design. Now it seems awkward, but in the future will it become commonly acceptable?
