final project – first logo drafts

Here are some drafts I’ve come up with so far.  First I wanted to take a look at the text I was using for the logo.  I have a number of options here:

Right now I’m leaning towards the top two, keeping the fonts a little more simple, so that it’s still clean, calming and easily readable.   However, I think this will highly depend on how the font fits in with the rest of the logo design, colors, etc.

Here are some first thoughts for logos.  Again, I’m still deliberating about which fonts to use, and of course what the overall logo would look like!  But I started trying out a few combinations:

The six bottom squares are the color palette I’m looking at using.  I wanted to pick a shades of brown to use to represent each different kind of chocolate.  The other colors I feel like could represent different flavors (reddish for raspberry, green for mint, orange for cinnamon or orange , etc.)  Overall, I wanted the color palette to be calming, and also pleasing in terms of food – colors that make the hot chocolate look appetizing.   (Right now as I’m posting this, I hope these colors look the same as when I worked on this at home, since I have CS2… ).

So far I’m leaning towards the square designs.  I think the text layout I have so far lends itself well to this, and it’s a versatile  shape to use on any marketing items I come up with.  I’m leaning towards the brown text as well, only because I think it evokes more of a chocolate feeling, but I’m still definitely in the early stages.  I’m very open to feedback, and hopefully between the blogs and crit tonight, I’ll have a solid direction to start taking this project after tonight!

final project – product/company detail

After a good bit of deliberation, I think I’ve come up with the concept for the final project.  I knew I wanted to work with a product I was familiar with (so the details of the packaging – size, ingredients, etc.) would be accurate, but I wanted to certainly come up with my own brand and new idea.  Hopefully this concept will work!

The store is called “hot! chocolate.” and it of course specializes in hot chocolate, and other drinks.  What differentiates this store from your typical Starbucks is first, that it will specialize in different flavors of hot chocolate, and it will actually allow customers to customize their type of hot chocolate if they are getting a drink made in the shop.  For example, someone can chose the type of chocolate (e.g. milk, dark, or white), and then you can also chose additional flavors (e.g. raspberry, mint, hazelnut, cinnamon), and then of course type of milk, soy milk, etc.  The store will also sell its “specialty mixes” (like raspberry dark chocolate or white chocolate mint) for customers to take and make at home, and that’s where I will focus my packaging design.  These will basically be like the packages or cannisters of hot chocolate you can get at the grocery store (add water or milk and make yourself), but with more of a specialty twist from the unique flavors.

I think this store should appeal to a mass market, though still have a bit of an upscale or luxury feel.  It’s not somewhere you might necessarily go everyday, but it’s a nice escape, and a calming place to come relax with some good hot chocolate.  It would be marketed to all ages and appeal to any chocolate lovers.  This is a store that takes good chocolate seriously, and also allows the customers to have some flexibility and creativity with their orders, so that their drink can really cater to their tastes.  And again having the “specialty mixes,” this will give customers ideas for things to try, or they can be more creative and create their own drinks.  Overall, I feel like some words and thoughts to capture this shop would be calming, relaxing, creative and unique.