Module 9 - Field Journal

Corporate Identity Program – Flextronics

Note: Although my Module 8 Field Journal also dealt with a corporate identity case, I want to share information on another identity program, which I was unable to complete before the last module deadline.

Yesterday I was fortunate to interview Catherine Blades, Chief Marketing Officer for Flextronics.  Flextronics, headquartered in Milpitas, California, is a $30 billion, global manufacturing company, employing 260,00 people, and operating in 40 different countries.  Catherine recently launched the first and second phases of a new corporate identity program for Flextronics. The following is information Catherine shared with me about the process she experienced in developing, and implementing the program.

Background

When Flextronics hired Catherine Blades in February 2011, the company had 180 different logos in use around the world, and no corporate identity program.  After performing thorough external marketing research, it became apparent that Flextronics’ image was “watered down” in the marketplace – Flextronics customers, the financial market and in the media.  Creating a corporate identity program became a clear priority for Catherine, the benefits of which she was able to communicate to senior management.  All design work was done in-house.

Objective

Create and implement a comprehensive, visual identity program for Flextronics that will give the company a solid, unified presence in (1) the external market – customers, financial market and media, and (2) internal market – internal communications.

Brand Identity

Flextronics is -

1.             State-of-the-art technology – cheaper and smarter production

2.             Financially strong

3.             Has a strong workforce

4.             Practices sustainability

Corporate Identity Architecture

1.             A “parent logo” was created to unify identity

2.             16 sub-logos were created to identify each business within the company

3.             Each of the sixteen sub-logos was divided into the four brand identity categories

4.             A Style Guide was created giving clear direction on rules to follow when creating company visual pieces, from embroidery on baseball caps, to requisition templates, to print advertising.

5.             A website is in development.

Design Considerations

1.             Logo design – an emphasis on the “X”, (three dimensional implied by cut-out “X”) was made to allow for flexibility of use, and the bold, san-serif Flextronics font (created for Flextronics) expresses the strong technology and financial position of the company.

2.             Different paper sizes outside the United States – a consideration when designing universal templates and other printed materials.

3.             Color – Flextronics Blue, PMS 289 U, and Flextronics Grey, PMS Cool Grey 9 U, is the primary color palette used to unify identity, with a limited palette of secondary colors for sub-categories.

Launch Strategy

1.              External identity program launched first.

2.              Internal program was soft launched (test market) in three different corporate locations in order to work out problems.

3.              Internal program was fully launched using an 11 minute video explaining the new program to all employees.

4.              The marketing team was available to handle employee questions and concerns about the program.

Challenges

1.              Although senior management supported the new program, other employee levels had a difficult time accepting the changes.  They had a hard time understanding the benefits of the program.

2.              The comprehensive nature and international scope of the program required a vast amount of considerations, and great attention to detail.

Module 8 - Field Journal

A Modern Day Corporate Identity Solution

After learning about corporate identity and visual systems this week, I chose to investigate a more recent example, and find out, from a designer’s perspective, how a solution was developed.  I came across a corporate identity case study that involved the rebranding of the Martha Stewart Collection.  Unlike the Olivetti, CBS and New Haven Railroad examples, the Martha Stewart Collection had an established corporate identity program.  However, because of legal troubles involving its figurehead Martha Stewart, a failed television program and subsequent business losses, the company decided to reinvigorate the corporation by creating a new visual corporate identity.

Stephen Doyle, of Doyle Partners (New York) was hired for the assignment.  Excerpts taken from an online AIGA article entitled, “Case Study: Rebranding Martha Stewart” (www.aiga.org/case-study-rebranding-martha-stewart/) outline the strategy, and considerations he used when creating the new design:

1.             Examine the brand value statement – Doyle says that the “brand value statement is a very helpful guide for shaping a new identity…We paid close attention to whether or not our design was an actual embodiment and visualization of some of the words of the statement.”


Original brand value statement:  The handmade, the homemade, the artful, the innovative, the practical, the contemporary, and the beautiful
            
We are not just about lifestyle, but about essential tools for modern living.  Not just about the how-to, but about the why-to.  We aim to inspire the creativity that can transform homemaking into domestic arts, or a simple dinner into an occasion-filling our lives with a little more quality, a little more permanence, a little more lasting beauty.  We are not just a company, but a laboratory for ideas and a community celebrating the art of the everyday.

2.             Words embodied in the visual design – these were taken from the brand value statement, “…the handmade… the homemade…the beautiful…more quality…more permanence…more lasting beauty.”

3.             Developing the logo: “Martha Stewart” or “MarthaStewart” ? Should there be a space between “Martha” and “Stewart”? Some of the staff believed the lack of a space could help transform the person’s name into a corporation.

How would the one word read in press releases and newspapers?

Most importantly, how did the consumer see the subject – as the woman or the corporation?

4.             Aura of a name – a name “can nurture tremendous power”.  Doyle believed that the words “Martha Stewart” carried a lot of emotional weight and that adding anything to the them as part of the logo design would diminish its effectiveness.

5.             Creating a distinctive and proprietary way to present the words – Doyle started with the words making a “circle” shape, symbolizing a homemade wreath.  He later called the symbol a “coin” shape, symbolizing “quality, permanence, and lasting beauty…subtly suggesting that this company was valuable, dependable, and bankable.”

6.             Graphic design elements – Doyle started with the letterforms of Trajan, but settled on a version of Optima.  The advantages of Optima:

Letters could be reproduced in miniscule applications, (buttons or tacks).

Letters would maintain handsomeness when shown carved or embossed.

Letterforms were drawn repeatedly to grow away from rigidity, adding a handmade, homemade and artful quality to the letterforms.

Reasons for selecting aqua blue as part of the corporate identity, an integral part of the program, is not mentioned in the article.

Logo ideas during development:

Here are before and after images of the Martha Stewart Collection logo.  It is used on everything involving the company, from photo album punches to the corporation’s website, www.marthastewart.com.:

New logo in use:

Website

Lighting Products

Rug Products

On book spines

Was the new visual corporate identity successful? Criticism varies.  Here are a few: 

Positive - "To a certain extent, when I experienced the brand while shopping, the blue/green colors take an equally weighted role in establishing Martha's new brand -- in partnership with the type treatment circular logo. The clean design aesthetic of the collection's consumer items is open-ended, simplistic design at its best, and really lets the packaging color take the brand the step further that it needed beyond the logo."

Negative - "I disagree with this design as the lettering is too close and the ability of the human mind to word play could find displeasing words in this circle it needs to be more clear at first clance leaving an imprent more recognisably"

My impression of the design is that it's "ok". The letterforms are contemporary, well spaced.  The round shape to me represents the "world" of the corporation's products, and the color is clean and beautiful.  However, I think the circle could cause viewers to see other words in the logo.  Perhaps a sybol using the initials "M" and "S" would have worked better to convey the "MarthaStewart" name as a corporation. 

For those interested, I also discovered a very informative graphic design article that details the design strategy, or  identity architecture for a brand extension, (different products within a brand). The article written by Rob Wallace, titled, "Blood, Sweat and Tiers: Building Optimal Brand Identity Architectures" is also located on the AIGA website, (hhtp://www.aiga.org/blood-sweat-and-tiers-building-optimal-brand-identity-arch/).  It describes a design formula using hierarchy of color, shapes, numbers and words in developing the architecture. I found it to be very informative, and potentially useful for future design projects. 






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Sources:

www.underconsideration/martha_stewart_circling.php

www.underconsideration.com:

Module 7 - Field Journal

Modernism in American Graphic Design


After reading this week about the European immigration of graphic designers during the 1920’s and 30’s, I couldn’t help but think about how lucky we are as a country to experience the talents, passion, hard work, and ingenuity that immigrants have contributed to the United States.

In the context of this class, the contributions of European modernism to 20^th century graphic design were enormous.  I’d like to focus on two modernist editorial design pioneers, Lazlo Maholy-Nagy and Alexey Brodovitch by comparing work by the designers (on the left) with present day examples from the November 2011 issues of Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue magazines, (on the right).*

Lazlo Maholy-Nagy:


Multiple exposure/motion (photography)

               

Texture (photography)

Integration of type and shape

Alexey Brodovitch:

Affinity for white space and sharp type on clean open page

Contrast (photography)

Photo enlargement and cropping

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Sources:

Maholoy-Nagy image credits:
Mobile still/in motion - terminartors.com
Oskar Schmlemmer, Asconia, 1937 - chagalov.tumblr.com
Typophoto - rici-art.com

Brodovitch image credits:
White space and sharp type - arterritory.com
Contrast layout - benseary.blogspot.com
Girl in Hat - katydwyerdesign.com

Module 6 - Field Journal

Il Lissitscky

After reading about Il Lissitsky (1890-1941), I wanted to know more about this graphic design visionary and his work, and how it is seen in design today.  I decided to research the transformation of his work as he was exposed to, experimented with, and synthesized his work with artists of the western European Dada and De Stijl movements.

As noted in the textbook, the Constructionists renounced art for arts sake, and were intent on devoting themselves to art that served the new Communist society; a move from laboratory to practical application.  Lissitsky took this idea further, and according to Meggs' History of Graphic Design, states he believed that ,”the artist/designer…would forge a unity between art and technology by constructing a new world of objects to provide mankind with a richer society and environment”.

Lissitsky’s dedication to these ideals led him to become a “conduit” between western European and Russian art movements.  He lectured, disseminated new art trends through international periodicals such as Veshch (written in Russian, French and German), collaborated and studied with Dadaist and De Stijl artists, and made frequent visits to the Bauhaus.  By doing all of this work, Lissitsky unified the new art movements into an international collective.

There are three stages I chose to focus on while developing a transformational timeline of Lissitsky’s work.  The first is from his early days when he developed his architectural background, up until 1919.  The second phase is during his directorship of the graphic workshop at the Vitebsk Art Institute (1919 - Unknown) where he met Malevich and developed his PROUNS style, (projects for the establishment, or affirmation, of new art).  And, a third stage takes place during the early to late 1920’s when he travelled to Germany and the Netherlands, collaborated with Dada and De Stijl artists, and participated in a range of experimentation. 

First Stage (up to 1919)

Solntse na izlete. Vtoraia kniga stikhov, 1913-1916

1916. Cover with letterpress illustration on front

U rek vavilonskikh. Natsional'no-evreiskaia lirika v mirovoi poezi

1917. Cover with letterpress illustration on front

Sikhes kholin. Prager legende

1917. Overall design; cover with letterpress illustration on front

Second Stage (1919 – Unknown)

Untitled from Proun

(1919-23). One lithograph with collage additions 

from a portfolio of six lithographs, two with collage additions, composition

Neuer (New Man) from Figurinen, die Plastische Gestaltung der elektro-mechanischen Schau "Sieg über die Sonne" (Figurines: The Three-Dimensional Design of the Electro-Mechanical Show "Victory over the Sun")

(1920-21, published 1923). One from a portfolio of ten lithographs, composition

Study for a page of the book 

"Of Two Squares: A Suprematist Tale in Six Constructions" (1920). 

Watercolor and pencil on board

 Proun 19D

1922? Gesso, oil, paper, and cardboard on plywood

Third Stage (1920 – 1930)

Kurt Schwitters

c. 1924. Gelatin silver printing-out-paper print

Ravvi

1922. Letterpress

Broom, vol. 4, no. 3

1923. Cover with letterpress lettering

Self-Portrait, 1924. Gelatin silver print

Arkhitektura VKhUTEMAS. 

Raboty arkhitekturnogo fakul'teta VKhUTEMASa, 

1927. Cover with letterpress typographic 

Amerika. Die Stilbildung des neuen Bauens in den Vereinigten Staaten 1930. Cover with lithographed lettering and photographic illustration on front

Present Day Graphic Design with Lissitsky Influence

Piece for Museum Metadata Exchange

Australia's Museum Collection

IDN Magazine, Volume 18, No. 4 - 2011

Piece from 'Make Something Cool

Every Day' Project, Marius Roosendaal (designer)

IDN Magazine, Volume 18, No. 4 - 2011

Survey: Americans and Their Money

Page Design

Discover Magazine, October 2011

Illustration for article entitled, "Hard Decisions 

for Learning Disabled", Margaret Riegel (designer)

New York Times, "Education/Life" section, 11/6/11

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Sources:

(MOMA) website, http://www.moma.org under the subject "Il Lissitsky"

Module 5 - Field Journal

Periodicals of the Art Nouveau Movement

Rapid, international spread of the Art Nouveau style was undoubtedly fueled by two forms of mass communication media: the poster, and periodicals.  While I’m very interested in the poster and its importance to Art Nouveau, the periodicals also sparked my interest.  Following is additional information to the readings, which I found after researching The Studio, Jugend, and Ver Sacrum.  My research also led me to investigate graphic design art journals available today. 

The Studio

·   Journal of the British Art Nouveau movement

·   First published in April 1893 under the title The Studio: An Illustrated Magazine of Fine and Applied Art

o   Most successful fine art periodical in the English-speaking world

o   Featured works from: Beardsley, Charles Rennie Mackintosh

o   One of first art magazines to adopt photomechanical reproduction

o   Located in Leicester Square, London

·   After World War I, The Studio contained information on Impressionism, Futurism and Cubism

·   Early in World War II, the Luftwaffe bombed the Leicester Square offices. Significant back stock and old records were lost

·   Post war, magazine was redesigned, and its title changed to Studio International

·   In 1968 The Studio won support of British Council, and Arts Council of Britain giving it stature

·   Mid-1970’s, art critic for The London Evening Standard transformed Studio International into a highly respected, contemporary art journal

·   2000 – Studio International become one of the first art magazines to become an e-journal.

·   2011 – the online journal has worldwide readership, 85,000 readers/month, and over 1.5 million page views/year.  It is now published by The AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities & The Studio Trust

·   The web address for an e-journal version of Studio International is http://www.studio-international.co.uk/

·   The Studio/Studio International front covers throughout the years -

Jugend Magazine

·   Journal of the German Jugendstil movement

·   Launched in 1896

·   Gave its name to the Art Nouveau movement in Germany, Jugendstil

·   Was at first a 20 page, weekly cultural publication – art and literature of up and coming artists of the time

·   Featured works by Ernst Barlach, Julius Klinger, Peter Behrens, and Hans Henrich Christianson

·   Each issue featured a large drawing or painting on a fold-out spread
·   Examples from the first year of publication -

Ver Sacrum

·   Journal of the Viennese Secession

·   Published from January 1898 to October 1903 (monthly until 1899, then bi-monthly)

·   Mix of art theory and practical examples

·   Contributions by domestic and foreign authors

·   Featured works from Gustave Klimt, Koloman Moser, Josef Hoffman and Alfred Roller

·   After 1900, Ver Sacrum was only published as an internal journal for members of the Vienna Secession

·   Its square shape and wide borders provided a flexible template for presenting a wide variety of examples

·   The format of Ver Sacrum was a uniquely different than any other periodical of the 19^th century

·   Examples from the first year of publication –

Graphic Design Art Journals of Today
The website, www.youthedesigner.com, recommends the following graphic design magazines for today’s designers:

·   Print – bi-monthly graphic design magazine about visual culture and design

·   I.D. – leading critical magazine covering the art, business, and culture of design

·   HOW Design – information to help designers fun successful, creative, profitable studios

·   Communication Arts – art and design magazine, eight annual issues including the Design, Advertising, Illustration, Photography and Interactive annuals

·   Computer Arts – advice for freelance designers of all levels

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Sources:

http://www.studio-international.co.uk/about_studio.asp

http://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2010/02/23/jugend-magazine-revisited/

http://arh346.blogspot.com/2007/10/jugend-magazine-was-cultural-weekly.html

http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/vs1898?sid=b5a56b6d72f574bb5c927fc307c94996

http://diglit.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/jugend

http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.v/v297491.htm;internal&action=_setlanguage.action?LANGUAGE=en