- Earlier we discussed
the history of branding and identities.
Let me jump back there for a second.
Until the 1960s,
people were just fine with following directions,
listening to authority and adhering to a standards manual.
But just when it seemed that this branding concept
was buttoned up and clear with set boundaries.
Things changed.
The 1960s counterculture movement opened the door
to breaking the rules.
Now sticking to one logo in black and white and using the
same blue stripe on everything seemed dull.
MTV broke new ground with an identity system
and brand communication that was radical,
rock and roll and always changing.
The logo could be made with any pattern or image.
It could exist in any setting from the moon landing
to an animated bebop environment.
This gave the designers in-house
and other agencies a sense of freedom.
It allowed them to incorporate their own vision
without completely losing the message and core visual.
Since then many branding systems incorporate the idea
of a flexible logo and visual system.
I use this approach with Nickelodeon
and a huge library of possible shapes.
As long as the color was the right orange
and the letter forms remained the same.
The sky was the limit.
One could apply a blob, monster, or log.
It was entirely up to the individual designer to choose.
I follow this logic from my own online publication,
Burning Settlers Cabin,
the content range from graphic design to film
Disneyland and Walt Disney World,
even my family history.
One logo didn't seem to do justice to this.
So I created dozens of variations.
The consistent element is the name it's unique enough
that the viewer will connect it to the brand
regardless of the style,
it lived online in a screen environment.
I could use any color I wanted and even make it move.
I didn't need to worry about it
reproducing on cheap newsletter paper,
the only hard line rule
was to give the logo breathing space.
Alexander Girard followed a similar approach
for the La Fonda Del Sol identity.
To set the Mexican Restaurant apart
from a traditional and expected establishment.
Girard designed a system with multiple icons of the sun
and an interchangeable color palette of vibrant tones.
The system carried through onto the stationary,
advertising coasters, dinnerware, restaurant interior,
and furniture design.
It's a great example of a designer managing every possible
point of contact for a brand.
The approach of a flexible identity makes sense
when a brand's message is exuberant varied or irreverent,
it requires consistency with one element.
This can be the shape, color, name, or typography.
It won't work
if the client has limited internal design capabilities
or you are relinquishing control to someone else.
But if you know some decent designers
who will be using the system,
give them some freedom,
but not too much.