Westman Button Mash logo concept
Fast Facts
Project Results
My final logo could be used to promote the event, appeal to the target audience, and establish the event's tone and styling.
Background
This was a logo I created to potentially use for the Westman Button Mash, an esports event being put on at Assiniboine College by Michael Lamb.
Lessons learned
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Creating content under a tight deadline
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Using the design process to rapidly generate ideas
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Creating designs with very few guidelines
Software
Case Study
Overview
This project was introduced to me by Michael Lamb, who was working on a new esports competition that would become a recurring event at Assiniboine College.
Michael requested the assistance of a few design students from my program in creating a logo for the event. There were little to no guidelines in terms of the logo's style, colour, or fonts. It only needed to communicate the event's purpose, and be versatile enough to appear in multiple mediums (online, on posters, on apparel, etc.).
Multiple students worked on the project, each creating their own logo, with Michael making the final decision on which one to use. Although my logo wasn't chosen for the event, the experience was still a valuable one that helped me develop skills needed to create content with a quick turnaround.
The Challenge
The challenge this project provided me with was to create a logo for a genre I'm not familiar with, while under a tight deadline. The original project timeline unexpectedly changed from almost a month to just one week.
Not only did I have to learn about esports, I had to utilize the design process in a rapid manner to ensure I would have something to deliver before the deadline.
Design Process
1. Research and inspiration. Before this project I wasn't very familiar with esports, so to gain inspiration for my design I used Pinterest to look at lots of ideas relating to video game competitions, cybernetic styles, and retro colours.
2. Ideation. I began sketching out rough ideas, drawing anything and everything I could think of relating to video game competitions:
I felt some of these ideas were a bit too generic, so I started thinking more about what's iconic about Westman (Western Manitoba). Bison are commonly seen there, so that idea guided some of my next sketches.
Wheat was another idea closely tied to Westman, as the area has a large agricultural industry, so I created a couple designs featuring it.
I showed these ideas to my client Michael, but none of them were quite right. A group supporting the event already had their own bison logo, and the wheat felt too closely related to the town of Brandon rather than Manitoba as a whole.
With this feedback I decided to shift my focus on my ideas. I came up with concepts leaning more into buttons, and drew sketches of other animals common to Manitoba, such as beavers and dragonflies.
I sent these to my client, and he liked the concepts of the shattered button and robot beaver. Between these two, I decided the shattered button design would be best suited for the event.
While the robot beaver could be a cute mascot, shattered buttons are more reminiscent of aggressive, energetic gaming, a theme the event would center around.
3. Digital Prototying. Using Adobe Illustrator I digitized my shattered button concept and experimented with colour palettes:
I showed these to my peers for feedback, and made note of the 4 palettes they liked best.
I presented these options to Michael, and his favourite was #3.
4. Finalization. I made a few adjustments to my design, giving the text colour and smoothing out a few edges of the icon itself.
I took this logo and created a 1-page display, which also included the colour palette and alternate colourations.
Michael really like my logo concept. But in the end, he ended up choosing one of my other classmate's designs to use for the event. I didn't mind this, as I had a lot of fun working on the project and still managed to create something worthwhile.
Lessons Learned
-
Creating content under a tight deadline
-
Using the design process to rapidly generate ideas
-
Creating designs with little very few guidelines