CONTENTS

02 INTRODUCTION

05 RESEARCH

09 EXPER IMENT

23 THE AVOCADO

25 CONCEPT

29 EXPLORE

39 REF INE

43 BU ILD

57 EXECUTE

61 REFLECT ION

64 B IBL IOGRAPHY

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INTRODUCTION

This book is a time-line of documentation for my senior thesis project. My thesis project is the brand identity for a vegetarian restaurant called Ahimsa. It is an experimental brand identity design project that explores the processes, materials and functions of restaurant design. The goal for my work is to solve a likely problem given by a restaurant client, and create a visually appropriate, engaging and reflective brand identity in response to it. I set out with a plan to gain a larger understanding and ability to market a thoroughly researched and developed brand with real-world applicable design thinking.

As an emerging graphic designer and firm believer in form follows function, I design with a purpose. This thesis was created by posing problems and answering questions. My process

and technique are products of reflecting the core values of a problem onto it’s resulting design. I tend to make work that is quite neatly, and simply compact. I think that design quality is clean, organized and give a sense of hierarchy. I aim to never leave unanswered questions for my viewers. My work aims to be as easily understandable as possible, as I believe that graphic design is a mission to make clear sense out of heavy information. Although my completed work appears simple and distinctly divided, the process in which I arrive at a final piece is actually a lot of trial and error, researching and developing ideas, as well as stripping away excess forms and information. I’ve taken hierarchy to a very literal level. None of my thesis work is meant to hide or construe the message I am putting out. My intentions are always to convey the core values and messages

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that a real client would request through a brand identity, and to give a company an edge against competition, and to help create richer experiences for users.

The materials included in my thesis work are quite typical to most graphic designers mediums. Print work and digital work is where my design usually lives, and in this project, it has also broken into the realm of objects. The content of my work is varied from project to project. Each assignment or job has a different problem to solve, and the most appropriate physical form to solve each problem is based upon the research conducted during the creation process. This idea, that the solutions to every design problem relate directly back to

the problem, makes a perfect discourse to the topic of my thesis. My goal is to rethink many of the design problems of a certain experience.

The problem was to create a brand identity that emanates a feeling of freshness, quality dining and an enjoyable experience. The result was a physical installation of the project for the 2014 Index Show at the Maine College of Art.

The following pages document the process I followed from start to finish.

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RESEARCH PHASE: 1COLLECT INGAs I began to delve into researching for my thesis project, I knew I would be acting as both client and designer in this process. Because “owning” a vegetarian restaurant is something I’ve never done or studied, I decided to put my focus on the design aspects of the brand, and less on the parts that a client would be in control of. I made some select “client”

decisions early-on like the kind of food, the name of the restaurant and the style of dining, and those seemed to stick throughout my searches.

My research began to reflect the kind of restaurant look/feel I wanted to achieve. I started to develop an idea for how I would introduce typographic styles, create a logo, and implement the rest of the brand components.

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AHIMSAARUGULAGARDENGARDENFEDGRAINSGRASSFEDGREENGREENSPLANTFOODVEG

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RESEARCH PHASE: 2NAMINGOnce I’d gotten a feel for the realm of design that my brand could begin to relate with, I used my research and collections of imagery to guide me in a direction of naming the restaurant. I knew that it would need to reflect the vegetarian food that would be served there, but also give a sense of the kind of atmosphere and personality that the restaurant would have.

I started with the ideas off the top of my head, dipped into some word-mapping, linking words with some meaning to synonymous words and eventually landed on “Greens,” “Grass Fed,” and

then finally, “Ahimsa.” Ahimsa was a word I’d never heard of before, but I found it by researching the core of what my restaurant was about. Vegetarianism is often quite literally translated to the morality of not harming animals for food. Ahimsa meant just that; the non-violence toward all living things. I played around with pronouncing it, using it in a sentence “Let’s go to Ahimsa for dinner,” and tried it out in a number of potential executions. This name made the most sense to me as I began using it. I learned that researching backwards- from definition, to word- rather than trying every word I could think of, was actually a very effective way to name a restaurant.

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EXPERIMENT PHASE: 1TYPOGRAPHYWhile I was simultaneously toying with names and concepts, I started to experiment with what a logo could look like. I tried various type lock-ups with a couple different names I had listed, and started to visualize how the name could

be seen. This process, initially, was very messy. I worked in broad strokes and just tried out what I thought could work based off of my preliminary research. These developments are what I would consider my “sketches.” Loose, experimental, and sprint-like.

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EXPERIMENT PHASE: 2IMAGERYAs typography progressed, I added some experimentation with form, symbolism and imagery to start to get a feel for what iconic logo-mark would best

represent Ahimsa. I played around with a variety of plant-like forms, food images, and shapes. It was important to keep the key aspects of the restaurant brand in mind, in order to choose something appropriate and engaging.

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T H E AV O C A D O :

The avocado made the most sense to me as a logo, a symbolic icon and a food item. It’s form took the shape, originally of a simplistic, modern image. With experi-mental process and peer feedback, the form pushed limits of hand-drawn, and organic shapes. This direction pushed the brand as a whole, into new territory.

After weeks of working with the aesthet-ic of the avocado logo, I felt I had ex-hausted it. I ditched the wonky, organic personality of that concept and returned to the simple, refined, bold look that I’d started with. With a little perfecting of it’s proportions and shape, I landed on the perfect avocado. Yum.

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CONCEPTROUND: 1The first direction I took with this brand, was simple and clean. My work up until this point has been often of this style. I love this aesthetic, and the effects it has on a brand. When I started designing this first logo direction, I thought of it in

the various executions that it would be used in: website, menu, signage, etc. Originally, I thought it would work well in those places, over images, as well as with pattern. To help visualize the resulting brand, I mocked-up a menu, a website and a color palette.

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CONCEPTROUND: 2This second direction came about in the feedback I received during an early critique of my research and concept

work. My peers pushed me to work on the quality of hand-drawn imagery and typography. So I ran with it and developed this second variation of the avocado logo.

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EXPLOREPHOTOGRAPHYAs I continued to work with my second concept direction, I started to plan what other components I would need to complete the brand. As I was working on writing a menu for the brand, I chose to select five items, and set up a photo shoot of the entrées, and start a collection of high-quality photos to use across the rest of the project. What I loved about these

photos, was how much they reflected my vision for the restaurant. These images helped me to define the next big move that I made with the brand. The essence of these photographs helped me to ditch Concept #2, and narrow my design work down to one, suitable direction. Concept #1 reflects the lushness, vibrancy and quality of the brand, and with the help of the pictures I took, creates a more complete and comprehensive brand.

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EXPLORETYPOGRAPHYOnce I made the decision to narrow my designs to Concept #1, I started getting familiar with a variety of typefaces that I could implement as headline, primary, secondary and supplementary text styles. I did a range of type studies and

looked at text in different sizes, and weights, and tried them in sample text, and with the logo. Ultimately, I chose Proxima Nova, a very simple typeface as the primary font for the brand, and paired it with Baskerville, in a few select instances to give a little variety and differentiation to the brand.

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PROXIMA NOVA LIGHTPROXIMA NOVA REGULARPROXIMA NOVA SEMIBOLDPROXIMA NOVA BOLDPROXIMA NOVA EXTRABOLD

Proxima Nova LightProxima Nova RegularProxima Nova SemiboldProxima Nova BoldProxima Nova Extrabold

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BASKERVILLE REGULARBASKERVILLE ITALICBASKERVILLE SEMIBOLDBASKERVILLE BOLD

Baskerville RegularBaskerville ItalicBaskerville SemiboldBaskerville Bold

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REFINEOnce the logo, photography, and typography were headed in a good direction, I started to look at them as a whole. I began solidifying the components of the brand, and was able to see how each piece would be used. This was all in preparation to begin constructing the various pieces of the physical brand like

the menu, the signage, business cards, apron, website, and specials board. Before anything could be put together, I had to narrow the brand down to it’s specific rules. This is the same way that a designer would present the guidelines of a brand to a client in a brand book, or style guide. This way, there would be no inconsistencies across the brand.

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BUILDAs the completed brand styles and logistics were realized and wrapped up, It was time for me to start implementing them on objects. I wanted to create everything that I would for a real

restaurant client. I made plans to create a table setting, seating, a menu, a website, business cards, a specials board, an apron and a brand style guide, and I documented everything I created along the way.

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INSTALLATION DEADLINE:

THURSDAY,MAY 1 , 2014

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EXECUTENearing the date of installation, my thesis project appeared to (finally) be coming together. Once my files were sent to the printer for the last time, my prints had been pulled and my installation space had been assigned to the front window of the June Fitzpatrick Gallery– I was ready

to see it all together. I mocked-up the dimensions and composition I wanted to implement, and prepared a plan for the window of time I had to install. Between this time and the first day of the thesis show is what I would consider the most work I’ve ever completed in one month’s time. And 100% worth it.

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REFLECTIONThis semester has been one great, experimental, and exciting process. Being the creator, designer, and ultimately the driving force behind an individual project like this was a very empowering experience. Having control of every detail of this brand identity has taught me the ability to answer my own questions, and which questions to ask. I’ve been able to develop conceptual brand directions, delve into details,

flesh out ideas, say yes, say no, and I’ve become a better designer because of it. I’ve been able to gain an understanding of a broad variety of the components of brand identity, and I’ve been able to master skills that will help me to market myself as a designer in the future of my career. I’ve truly enjoyed this project, and it’s lead me to further my design thinking in the world of branding, and has given me a lot to look forward to and discover.

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MOMThank you for your ongoing support and love. You’re truly my

hero and my very best friend. Love you, always.

JACKThanks for putting up with my late nights in the studio and for

being there for me every step of the way. I love you.

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B I B L I O G R A P H Y

1. “The Bauhaus Building by Walter Gropius (1925-26).” : School Building : Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau / Bauhaus Dessau Foundation. http://www.bauhaus-dessau.de/the-bauhaus-building-by-walter-gropius.html (accessed March 19, 2014).

2. Objectified. Film. Directed by Gary Hustwit. New York City: Swiss Dots Limited, 2009.

3. “Creative Bloq.” The easy guide to design movements: Modernism. http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/easy-guide-design-movements-mod-ernism-10134971 (accessed March 19, 2014).

4. “Dieter Rams: ten principles for good design.” VitsÅ�. https://www.vitsoe.com/us/about/good-design (accessed March 17, 2014).

5. Glaser, Milton. Interview by author. Personal interview. Milton Glaser Inc. New York City, March 20, 2013.

6. “Tobias van Schneider.” Tobias van Schneider. http://vanschneider.com/ (accessed March 19, 2014).

7. “Bond is a creative agency focused on branding..” BOND Home Comments. http://www.bond.fi/ (accessed March 19, 2014).

8. “Bēhance.” Online Portfolios on Behance. https://www.behance.net/ (ac-cessed March 19, 2014).

9. Wheeler, Alina. Designing brand identity: an essential guide for the whole branding team. Fourth ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2012.