OUGD603 - Brief 4 - Offcut Visual Identity - Development - GIF and Website Banner

GIF and Website Banner

Website Banner Development 

- It was considered that for the digital elements of the identity the scattered arrangement of brand shapes was more effective than a structured layout of the shapes which was perhaps to perfect for the odd and varied materials that would be sold on the site.

- Using only the brand colours was allowed the colours to work well alongside one another however the design looked quite flat and perhaps less inspiring than the designs using the materials within them.

- Placing the Offcut logo within on of the shapes creates a link between the digital elements and the positioning of this within the print elements e.g. the packing slips.

- Using the light grey rather than a texture allows the branding to stand out more when overlaid on the shape and looks bolder within the design. 

- Using the light grey as a background is most effective with the other colours in the colour scheme and the textures as they all stand out against the colour and it complements them.  Using the peachy colour or the golden brown perhaps means some elements become lost within the design, however this could be altered to use textures and colours that do work on the colour.

- Using one of the plain materials that has a consistent texture as the background e.g. the denim and grey board created a subtle background that allowed the other coloured elements and typography to stand out, whilst still reflecting an element of the materials on offer. Placing texture on a textured background was perhaps too busy however the colour scheme overlaid on the textures worked well.

- The pine texture was perhaps a little too busy for other elements to then be placed on top of this.

- Having the logo out of a shape allowed it to be scaled up and made bolder within the design, without it cluttering the design.

- Using the light grey as the background was the best at allowing all the textured shapes to stand out, and placed the focus on the materials. 

- Positioning text to the left or right of the banner shape allowed elements to then be scattered around the this without the design becoming cluttered and still creating a minimalist feel to the design. 

- Centrally aligning the text allowed this to become a compact shape in its own right which worked well alongside the other shapes and on the background. 

- using simple phrases on each of the slides allowed the key aspects of Offcut to be explained in a clear and simple way. 

- setting the type all in lowercase created a sense of playfulness and accessibility within the typography suggesting the the materials can be used by anyone and for anything.

GIF Development

- A GIF was created to show what Offcut does and to reflect some of the products that Offcut would sell.

- It was considered that perhaps one brand shape could be used per frame however this would only allow a few different materials to be shown. This may also look a little clunky because each frame would be changing completely each time. Each frame could have a different word to reflect an aspect of Offcut within the design. However for people to read each frame the frames would have to be left up for certain amount of time and if the shape is staying the same texture through this time the GIF might look a little boring.

- It was considered that perhaps using a similar design to that of the website banner would create consistency across elements within the brand whilst it would also work well animated.

- Using the scattered background idea, but adapting this to fit a square format would make it appropriate for platforms such as Instagram.

- Within each frame multiple shapes with different textures would be shown, allowing the breadth of materials available at Offcut to be seen. 

- Each frame would change with the textures moving from one shape to the next so that when animated the shapes were constantly changing and adapting within the design creating a more playful and exciting aesthetic to the GIF.

- Using short sentences within the GIF allowed Offcuts message and purpose to be shown in a clear and succinct way. 

- To allow people to be able to read the text each section of text was repeated across three frames with the backgrounds still alternating.

- Using black text for the design allowed the text to stand out and be clearly legible over the materials and background. 

- Placing a question at the end of the GIF and the website banner creates a link between this and the viewer making them think about how they could use the materials. This creates engagement through a direct question which is more personable.