YSP Symbol Feedback

Yesterday we had our studio critique workshop we we could have feedback from other peers in order to improve our symbols for YSP. I brought with me a few photocopies of my work so it would be easier for the others to analyse it.

This is the symbol I presented followed by the notes I took from others' advice:

Things to improve:

- The logo would look better without features.

- Using just one colour would make it stand out more.

- Try and see if it could work without the face (a bit spooky)

- The 'Y' is not seen straight away, make it a bit wider so it can be more noticeable.

- If not removing the face, try less prominent features.

Positive feedback:

- Clever integration of the 3 elements: Yorkshire, sculpture and the park.

- Nice presentation with photocopies instead of using a laptop.

- Good use of negative space.

Once at home I started to work on the symbol again keeping in mind the fixes I was told, which I was agree with most if not all of them.

I tried to soften the face to make the features less prominent, so I decided to give it a more feminine appearance decreasing the size of the nose. It could be also an appropriate metaphore to represent the mother nature. I also changed the colour to just one instead of a gradient. I tried different colours in a range between brown and green, and I believe this dark turquoise works very well for an artistic exhibition, as it conveys modernity and nature. Even though, I was not completely happy with the result. I do not know how to explain it but somehow it was not working. It could be the lack of a chin that makes the face look fat and vulgar or the shape in general.

I decided to follow John's advice and get rid of the face. Adapting the Y and the shape of the leaf, this was the result:

I am now way happier with this outcome! I like that it is not that blatant and obvious, but ambiguous and delicate. The 'Y' it is not just a 'Y' made with the negative space, it now could be seen as a path, as a statue of a person raising both arms or anything else the audience might see. The negative space is now the main protagonist in the design with the leaf, not the face. I also took care of the space between the edge of the leaf and the 'Y' so both were even, setting my own rules, following Vignelli's teachings.

Even though I had a better shape now, when trying to put it into context (like the website) it seemed to me that the elongated shape was not sophisticated enough, so I placed it into two different basic shapes: a circle and a square. I chose the circle to keep the shape of the original symbol and keep it familiar and also a square to make it more stable and reliable, conveying peaceful and rightness. It could also be the right way to convey a modernisation of the gallery using a sharper shape as a square is. I also widened the leaf and the veins to make it stand out in small scales.

When putting this new final outcome into context, the result was much pleasant than just the leaf, as it really feels like it is an art gallery now, rather than just presenting the leaf, which could be confusing. It also makes the logo more flexible and if the background is affecting the visibility of the leaf it can be left as white.

I think this critique sessions are not just to find a way to a final outcome, but they are very useful to learn from each other's perspectives. It is also very helpful that a tutor is with us leading that workshop and giving his own professional opinion, which make us also understand how this is in the real world.