603 - Brief 01 - Initial Identity Ideas - Type

I starting thinking about potential ideas and directions for the logo - this would be the main reference point of the brand, featured on all media and outputs so it needed to ensure it was going to be relevant for an underground music platform brand, striking, to the point, and easily recognisable.

Boiler Room are the father-figures of this industry, their very simple and circular logo showing how less is more - especially as then when the brand grows, as can the themes and experiments..







- bold and trendy - stand out / recognisable on any medium.

- circular to reflect the dance music industry - that of 7 & 12" records and how it developed into the standard shapes for album arts.





- Now I had the finalised name - with reference to the bins 
- how could I consider a stencil style typeface to link back to this hidden justification?




This provided us with a unique justification point and hidden story behind the identity of the brand, which can be something that the DJs and party people can be interactive with and work out for themselves upon visiting the house for our various events, etc!

Can also be reflective of the word 'aviate' - to fly or pilot an aircraft - referencing this idea of flying high with our favourite music - it is out of the this world!






But firstly, I needed to decide on a typeface to represent the brand, I needed to ensure I have royalties to this typeface for use across all platforms and especially on the web. 
This typeface would need to be hard-hitting thus strong and impactful for use in the actual logo as well as the logotype, and preferably in various weights and styles for use across body text and headings, etc (alternatively pairing it up with a lighter typeface).

- I am intrigued by how I can incorporate this stencil style into the logo, therefore I have tried to consider a few of these styled typefaces, but I am under the influence that this can be something I can modify myself afterwards.

I tried to consider a range of typefaces including both bold, sans serif typefaces as well as more decorative styles - such as outlined, shadowed and a few serif typefaces.

The serif typefaces immediately didn't feel appropriate for the underground scene, as it was too sophisticated / traditional. 


I am attracted to a few of the weirder ones, but I think the best direction for this style of brand would be a thick, impactful sans serif typeface (potentially oblique - to infer movement, speed and eagerness) that can be developed further through a stencil or linear fade style..

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From the initial typeface experiments, I narrowed it all down to these 11 typefaces which would best represent a current, underground music platform in my opinion.

I analysed these with a few of my peers to better separate out the potential of each..

1. The slab serifs actually work in quite an impactful way as the form is very regular like a sans typeface yet it invokes authority through the serifs.

2. The bizzare form of Savate feels very trendy and current but is not impactful enough to represent the whole brand / underground scene. When you think Bassline, etc you think extended, brash type not weird artisan.

3 & 4. Love the shift towards the stencil, feels impactful, almost military-esque

5. Almost too bold of a typeface as deducts from the legibility - especially at a small scale

6. Intrigued by the strike-through from the previous type, applied this to 'Eurostile' - Its wide forms with squared curves are reminiscent of the shapes of cathode ray tube televisions, or the windows of airplanes and high-speed passenger railcars. By these associations, but also by its own careful composition, Eurostile has sustained the ability to give copy a dynamic, technological feel. It works well for headlines and short bits of text, poster work, and, on the side of space-going vehicles (Very industrial and underground). The family spans three widths: Condensed, normal, and Extended, in three weights each. Its normal width includes companion obliques. This adds additional versatility across all medias, with an outline style to also accompany the family.

7. Really fond of Eurostile and the applications / justifications it carries as quite a techy, impactful industrial typeface - I feel it fits the underground industry and mood very well. I experimented with this previous strikethrough effect - especially fond of the last option.

8 & 9. But then pushed this typeface further and thought about how it could fit together to start creating some of the ideas from my initial sketches. Especially love how the smaller 8 gives it this new form and attracts attention in a completely different way - maybe enhancing this whole scientific/futuristic yet industrial feel -  referencing the periodic table and elements and compounds, etc.

10 & 11. Are very futuristic, sharp type styles. They are impactful but not necessarily representative of the sectors of the music industry I will be mostly experimenting within - maybe a crazy robotic Jump Up DnB at a push!
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Was sold on Eurostile and its justifications of being dynamic and quite technological feeling. I could completely relate to the reference to space travel and how it fits perfectly into this more industrial market, which in itself links to the brash and bold vibes coming from the underground music industry nowadays. - I can imagine pushing this even further through the stencil idea and maybe giving it a stamp/letterpress eroded quality too it to really enhance the grungy feeling.

Started to actual push these forms together and see how they can fit to create new shapes and feelings from the brand.
- How could this fit inside a circle perhaps? 

- Experiments with my favourite forms - applying the fade away, linear strikethrough 

- Are these going to be bound by a box or shape?