Logo Ideas- BEN RODWELL

I decided to create a logo for my CD cover. As well as adding the visual style of the CD cover, a logo is an important marketing strategy for an artist. A logo gives them an identity and improves their image as a standout and identifiable brand. it allows fans to quickly and easily show their membership to a specific fandom by showing this specific sign or symbol. A logo therefore has to be relatively simple, original and recognisable to one specific band or artist. I wanted a logo that represented the theme of duality portrayed in my music video. I also thought that a logo that created a reference the psychedelic elements of the band's music would work effectively and be popular with their fanbase. I created 3 ideas and then decided to evaluate them to decide on which is the strongest and therefore which one I should use for my CD cover

IDEA NO. 1

IDEA NO.1

Many reviewers of Bad Sound's song 'Avalanche' -for which we made a music video for- had commented on the clear 70s influence of the music. As vintage styles from decades such as the 70s and the 90s are popular at this point in time i wanted to try and incorporate some sense of this in to the band's logo. I knew that the combination of brown, yellows and oranges were typical of brands and artwork of the time and so decided to focus around this colour scheme. To combine this classic 70s aesthetic with something more mainstream and modern I looked to the trend of western companies using Chinese or Japanese symbols for logos. Companies such as 'Superdry' do this very successfully and I wanted to experiment with using asian writing to give the logo a very up to date look. The final idea used the simplified Chinese symbols for 'Bad Sounds' encapsulated by a circle. Everything in the logo was  brown with orange and yellow shadows, giving it the 70s aesthetic I wanted. This logo does not represent the theme of duality which is something I wanted it to do. It does however have links to the psychedelic art movement via the references to 70s culture. The logo is relatively simple and original and so would give the band a clear and recognisable image.

PROS: Bold, original, has links to 70s/psychedelia, modern style via use of Chinese writing, even shape resembling a physical stamp

CONS: No link to theme of duality, could be too complex to easily replicate

IDEA NO. 2

IDEA NO.2

I made this logo by editing the font 'Bebas Neue'. Firstly I made the font italic and then secondly I inverted it: making the bodies of the letters invisible and the spaces created by the letters highlighted. Instead of being an image or graphic, this logo would instead be the way in which the band's name is printed on the CD cover. Many famous bands and artists use a specific font as their motif and furthermore as their standout logo. For example Eminem, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and The Sex Pistols. I liked this idea as it meant my CD cover could have less on it allowing any artwork to standout more. Instead of having the band name, the logo, the album name and the artwork there could simply be the band name and the artwork. This logo is highly original and also engages with the audiences; they have to spend time working out what the text says. This logo also provides a sense of exclusiveness to the fanbase- they will know what it says but other people who aren't familiar with the band won't, making Bad Sound's target audience feel more involved with the band. This logo links to the theme of duality very efectviely. It portrays two sides to the font which links well to the portrayal in the music video of humans as having two distinct sides. The font is reversed creating a contrast to normality which again links well to the music video and the music itself's psychedelic influences. The only negative of this font is that some popes may find it too difficult to read however it could be argued that this intensifies the logos effectiveness as only fans of the band will know what it reads.

PROS: Original, strong links to duality, links to the reversal of normalcy (psychedelia), strong identity for the band, combines logo and band name resulting in a less cluttered CD cover.

CONS: Some may find it too difficult to read

IDEA NO. 3

IDEA NO.3

While my 2nd idea created links to duality, I wanted to see how clearly I could portray the intertwining relationship of the 'good' and the 'bad' which I had represented in the music video. In my third design I used the letters 'B' and 'S' from 'Bad Sounds' to portray this relationship. The letters are intertwined with the S curling in and out of the B. This represents how the good and bad in one person are not necessarily completely separate (a message also portrayed in the music video). In addition to this the use of black and white in the colours strengthens the portrayal of good and bad as they are two highly contrasting colours. This design is simplistic and could be easily replicated by fans. The box around it gives it and even, stamp like aesthetic as if all of the band's CDs had physically been branded. However this design may be too heavily reliant n the the theme of duality. For instance Im not sure how well it work on other CD covers that didn't need to have a link to duality. In addition to this I feel the design is the weakest in terms of how professional it looks. While I like the concept of this idea I feel this design lacks the professional image of the other two ideas. This design also doesn't give as strong an identity to the band as the other two designs. After evolution I think this is m weakest design.

PROS: Conveys duality very strongly, fairly simplistic and bold, easily replicable, references physical branding which is attractive in logos

CONS: Not as professional looking as the other two designs, may not work in other instances/too reliant on the theme of duality, doesn't portray as strong an identity to the band.



Chosen Logo: IDEA NO.2

I felt this idea was the strongest. It was original and therefore provided the band with a recognisable identity and image. It linked to the theme of duality strongly but wasn't bound to it so it could be used on other albums or adverts. It was exclusive to fans; they would know what it read but outsiders wouldn't making theme feel a connection with the band. It combined the name of the band with the logo meaning the cover of the cd would be less cluttered allowing for a more minimalist style. Although it isn't necessarily the easiest to  read this isn't an issue as audiences will spend tie trying to figure out what it says and therefore will be spending more time looking at the CD cover itself.