02 Panel Discussion

My progress this time has been pretty much in terms of quantity, however, when looked as something which is final, there is only one logo symbol that has been finalised. Since I have been spending all my energies in creating an effective type integration, I have paid little attention to the other aspects of the branding project. Alison suggested that I work on things simultaneously, and even if the visual language has not been figured out completely, I could work on other things like the content flowchart for the website, or things that do not require the visual language to play a major role.

They had a look at my rejected logos, and liked the graphic design tool kit idea a lot. If some personalised DKM specific icons could be created, it could be taken forward in terms of application. They also liked the cluster idea, in which many DKMs seem to be fluttering... they suggested that it would look nice if the logo was disseminating like that.

Looking at the book of rejected logos, many ideas emerged, and the four of us brainstormed a little on how there could actually be booklets of my rejected logos, since they kind of show how much work goes into making the identity, and how the evolution of the final logo could actually be a flip book. If put simply, the process could be a collateral. Alison showed a poster that she had done which was an infograph on the making of the museum. Danika suggested some websites which print these booklets at a cheap price.

As far as the application of the visual language is concerned, they like the idea of visual collages a lot, since the logo too is a collage in a way. There should be stories behind each of these graphics, because that automatically adds value.

The review panel thought that I was thinking at various levels, one being the logo and the identity, one being the experience of creating a visual language for DKM, and one being the long term promotional ideas, which actually wont be part of my project, but they are still part of my thinking. I should perhaps, make a choice now. I should either start thinking of the "me" bit in this project and the "he" bit... if for any reason, the collateral and work is not enough then I should make collateral on my own, heedless of whether its taken forward as final production or not.

Mr. Ravindra suggested that it was time for me to define objectives and ask him a few questions, which though I have considered before, I haven't asked him properly. How much is he planning to expand? Is he planning to expand in terms of business or services? I should get his statement of "purpose".

And most importantly, I should chalk out my deliverables and the whole visual application alongside.

As part of the visual application, I was wondering if there could be a series of posters which everyone in the studio could produce on a particular topic. This would show variety and would be an interesting contribution. This would also show how the medium changes the message. This idea too was liked.

This meeting was also very important in terms of me familiarising the panel with what dev kabir malik design is all about, and the kind of work they do. This helped in everyone understanding the scope of the project.