During our last term we were invited to a number of live briefings. With an incentive of gaining experience working for a live client, myself and Liam, both a colleague and housemate, selected to pursue and opportunity offered by UWIC - creating an identity for the ‘i-zone’.
i-zone;
The i-zone is a facility being opened at the university at the beginning of the next academic year, so unfortunately we will no longer be at university when the identity goes live. However, we set to work with visions of ‘leaving our mark’ on the campus we have studied on for the previous three years.
The i-zone will be a facility that condenses the complex array of administrative services offered by the university into a single entity. Areas including student finance, accommodation, careers advice and assignment submission will all become a part of the new amenity.
concept;
We began to break down the nature of the i-zone into a more digestible metaphor, pulling key words from the brief such as; ‘service, information and inclusivity.' With these themes in mind, we struck a metaphorical high note when realising the conceptual similarities between the i-zone and that of a pyramid.
pyramid;
‘to arrange or build up as if on the base of a pyramid’
‘increase rapidly and progressively step by step on a broad base’
These definitions capture the purpose of the facility very well, emphasising growth and progression. The layered construction of a pyramid also gives reference to the number of services offered.
These ‘layers’ of services remain differed in their purpose, but still exist as a single structure, again enforcing the relevance of their association.
As we explored our concept further, we began to realise that the pyramid is not only an effective metaphor for not only the i-zone, but university life in its entirety.
live work;
Throughout the design process, we had regular meetings with the client. Initially presenting our concept, rough visuals and suggestions for a dynamic visual system, the meetings began to take the form of conversations regarding minor visual tweaks, as they were convinced we had developed a strong concept.
The final visual we produced gave us an insight into the commercial presentation of identity, as we provided a complete set of marks in an array of instances. Including monochrome and bilingual versions for a focus group.
summary;
In reflection, a worthwhile exercise that has strengthened both my portfolio, and my attitude towards identity design, I’m sure Liam would agree.
Images coming soon.
