17th- 21st April 2017

This week, I have finally finished my researched and I have concluded that I need to create a brand that focusses on Weston's architecture because it is a key feature that is unique to the town. One advantage to this art deco style is that the logo will come out as modern as well as welcoming and friendly, which is the key approach to this rebrand as many visitors fail to see the welcoming atmosphere that locals experience.

I have also been researching a few more artists regarding logo and typography design. One is from Landor Sydney Office, they have designed an iconic vibrant 'M' for the city of Melbourne, which represents a modern version of the city and gives it more personality. The other artist is a freelance designer from Mexico, who focuses on the Art Deco aesthetics, which I found very inspiring because it has allowed me to consider what characteristics in this art movement I need to use (or what I could use) and has given me an insight on the atmosphere this movement creates and what general personality that is achieved. I was particularly interested in the typography as I was mainly researching for typography that had an art deco influence but a mixture of geometric/modern aesthetics with it in order to appeal to the young generation. I have experimented with this designer's use of typography, which I think is very suited to the town and its current state, however, I would like to create a symbol like the iconic 'M' designed by Landor; a symbol would be recognisable to consumers, and changing the typography of the town isn't a discreet identity that shows the consumers what the town has to offer and showing the name of the town means that the viewers don't have to remember the name of the town.

The photos shown on the left side are sketches of my ideas and exploration of typography. I am interested in potentially creating iconic symbols like the 'M', however, a simple 'W' will not be enough to represent Weston Super Mare as there are other towns will the same initial and the town's name is to long to go by one letter, so I might need to use three letters instead (W.S.M); it will be recognisable to the consumer.

My research has lead me to decipher how I can represent the town and what I need to avoid whilst doing this. I have come to the conclusion that the town is safe, however, like any other towns or cities, the night time is often filled with individuals that do not consider others and put them in danger. The town is seen as  family orientated, however, visitors and locals both agree that the town could do with a few more activities for all ages, which is currently under development. I need to show the town's university status without ignoring the family atmosphere and the town's unique quality. I also need to avoid placing too much emphasis on the imagery of a beach resort because they are often seen as a tropical beach with clear blue skies, and with experience of living in the town year by year as well as researching the statics, it is clear that I am unable to represent the town as warm and sunny; otherwise it will break the brand promise and destroy consumer trust.

Next week, I am going to explore my logo designs and see how I could represent the town through a single symbol.  I am considering manipulating shape in order to create my own typography; geometric shapes are key features within this movement, and I have found that exploring typography that already exists isn't as thrilling as creating your own and it doesn't capture everything you want to say about the client. After achieving this, I will look into the symbolism and psychology of colour in order to create ambiguity within my logo as well as a positive response from the viewer; this will allow the logo to stay simple and easy to look at whilst being able to interpret that towns personality and purpose.