Love Photography NI Branding

I apologize for taking so long to upload this one! OK, so, during the summer, I found my first real client! The company was called 'Love Photography NI' and was looking for a simplistic, recognizable brand identity. I was told that the three colours which the client wanted were; red, black and white, with a heart incorporated somehow. The first two images below show my initial experimentation, where I kept the three colours and heart emblem, playing around with different styles and textures. I was attempting to create a modern, but not oversimplified design.

I sent these to the client, but she seemed to dislike all of them, so I tightened the idea to making the heart resemble a camera lens, thereby making the brand encompassing both the name and the type of company it was. My designs became more focused on this concept, which helped inform the stylistic choices. I decided to keep an all caps, sans-serif font for the main word 'love' and opted for a cursive, more freehand styled font for the 'photography NI' part of the brand. I was quite happy with how these turned out and thought that the idea could be worked into an effective brand. However, the client still did not like my idea.

The client sent me a mockup design and told me to keep it as close to this as possible. I continued experimenting with the brand, altering the layout and even tried adding an emblem of a camera. The client seemed more responsive to these ideas and liked the second set of experiments.

However, I was told to keep it as close to the mockup as possible and therefore tried removing the letter 'O', trying to let the heart emblem act on its own, which I would say is more effective looking. Once again, the client asked me to copy the concept and to put the letter 'O' back in.

Shown here is the final logo, which was done in black on white and white on black. I also cropped out just the letter 'O' with the heart inside it, which the client wanted to have as a watermark to add to photos. I was also asked to add a small 'TM' to the side of the brand.

This was my first real client and my first real branding project. Whilst I had a lot of fun experimenting with layout, fonts and negative space, I personally am unhappy with the final result. Throughout the branding process, I consulted some of my peers, did plenty of online research and also asked for some advice from professionals. I made sure to make use of what I had learnt about branding during my time at university and was sure that some of my experimentation would have been welcomed by the client. Unfortunately it was not and the final logo is identical to the initial mockup. It was a learning experience, however. It is yet another piece for my portfolio and I can say that I have worked in branding for a live client. I was also advised that, from now on, I should explain what a graphic designer does to any future clients and explain that it would be in their best interests to take some of my advice and experience onboard. Live and learn!