Pitch for Lee

On January 25th 2011 at 9:!5 am we had a meeting with Lee where we had to pitch our name and logo ideas to him. We were told that there would be a group of the music students there as well, but in the meeting it was just my group and Lee. My pitch went well I think, Lee seemed to like my ideas. By the end of the meeting/pitch Lee would have chosen one idea each which he thought would work well and ask us to expand on this particular name and logo.

We had to ask Lee questions about our logos:

1. On each name choice, which is the best/most feasible and why?

2. Why do the other logos not work so well?

3. What should be developed further for the chosen name logo?

The first ideas that I pitched to Lee were the Laboratory Records logo's, where he said that the logo is a good idea, but it makes him think of hip-hop and the record label that he is starting is going to release all genres of music, he also said if he did decide to use it he would want to make the beaker less 3D and make it more simple.

The next idea's that I pitched to Lee were the Unison Records logo's. He said that is a good logo idea, a bit similar to myspace, but he was not keen on the name and didn't think that it would work well as the record label name because it doesn't sound fresh, cool and original.

The last idea's which I pitched to Lee were the idea's that I created for Peak Records. Lee said that the first logo looked rubbish and he didn't really know what it was but the second logo of the rectangle with the circle in it was his favorite. He liked it the best because it just rolls off the tongue and it is very simple and he thinks it would work well and be produced nicely on lighters and t-shirts, etc.  He also like the phrase that I used whilst I was backing up why I chose Peak Records and this was 'top of the pile'. To develop this name and logo further he asked me to see if could rotate the circle up the other way and maybe change the font. 

The next meeting that we have with Lee is on 2nd February 2011, at 9:00am, where we will have to pitch out final ideas to Lee and then after that we will be asked to actually make that final name and logo.  


On the 16th February 2011, we had our second pitch meeting with Lee. We had to pitch some more logo designs for the name that he chose for us to use in our previous meeting. The name which Lee chose for me to use was Peak Records. I pitched 3 different logo designs which I created for the name Peak. 


The first design I showed Lee was a very simple design which Lee said was good and easily recognisable but he thinks that it is a bit boring and doesn't really appeal to him. He also said that it doesn't look very interesting because there is no colour and the font is simple. He did say that he thought that it would look good on the merchandise that he wants to sell alongside the record label.

The next design which Lee looked at is very similar to the previous design except for it has curves instead of straight lines. He didn't really like this design because he thought that the font that I used was very weak and didn't stand out as much as the others. He also said that it is a bit messy and all over the place, and he didn't think that this design would work well as the record labels logo. 


The final design which I showed him was the design which he liked the most. He said that he liked the two colours which i used a lot which are red and yellow. He likes that it's bold, eye catching colours and they contrast well together. He said that he could actually see it being printed onto t-shirts, lighters, etc. He also said that he thinks it would look really good on an album cover or on myspace or facebook as a logo. He likes that it is very eye catching and very recognisable, he also likes the idea that it will be doodled by students, etc into the back of a notebook, or something. To improve this design he would like me to make the whole thing more symmetrical and try and put it into a circle shaped outline so that it fits together well. He would also like me to make it a bit more straight and tidy it up a bit because it does look rushed and like it was just quickly made in 2 minutes. But overall this was his favorite design and he would like me to make it look more professional and pitch this in the next meeting which will be on the 02/03/11 at 9:00 am.

After our second pitch meeting with Lee, I came up with some other ideas for the logo design, which I done using the feedback which Lee gave me in the previous meeting. For the next pitch meeting I had to choose a final logo design which I wanted to pitch to Lee. On the 8th March 2011, we had our final pitch meeting with Lee where I pitched my final logo design to him and he once again gave me some feedback to help me just make the logo look more proffesional. He said that he liked the new colour that I had used, which was green instead of red because I think the green and yellow work better and look better together instaed of the red and yellow. He also said that he like the way that I put the circle around the outside to make it more of a whole shape and he also said that he liked that it is now symmetrical and staright. He said that he could see this logo on a plain white t-shirt, but he dosen't think that it would look as good on a lighter or MP3 player because when it is shrunk down some of the letters look a bit to bent and look like they will be cut out. Lee said that it reminded him of an early 1990's drum and bass record label logo which he therefore thinks that people will see this logo and think that his label is a drum and bass when it's not. But overall Lee was happy with my final design and just asked me to see if I can sort the letters out which are a bit to bent so that it will be able to be produced on merchindise and still be clear.

Below is my final logo design which I pitched to Lee.

My Different Logo Designs

I have decided on 3 different names for the record label. They are:

- Laboratory Records

- Unison Records

- Peak records

I have created some logos for each of the different names so that my client has a range to pick from instead of just one. The first name that I have created some logos for is Laboratory, where I have written the name in a circle and added a beaker in the middle because they are one of the things that are associated with a laboratory. I chose the word Laboratory Records because it is a place where all different elements are mixed together to create something new and exciting. I would like to see that the record label will create new and exciting music which everyone will enjoy. Down below are my differnt logos which I have created for Laboratory Records. 

The first logo at the top looks very simple and like it was made by a child. It is suppose to be a science beaker because it relates well with the label name. The logo below is better because the beaker looks good the way its placed in the center of the circle, also the font is better than the top logo. It is also much eaiser to read than the first logo. The name on the second logo and the beaker have a darker stroke than the previous logo.

 

 This is my next idea using the same name and general idea as before using the beaker in the center of the circle. I do like the bottom logo but I think the previous logo is better because it's not so in your face as this one. The font on this logo has a darker stroke which makes it a lot more black and bold which I don't think works that well with the picture in the middle being the same, it is a dark logo and a bit boring to look at. I don't think that this would work as a record label name and logo.

The bottom logo on this one is my favorite. This is because although it is still the same as the previous ones in terms of the picture and font, but this one does not have as much stroke and looks a lot better with a bit of white in the middle of the writing. It makes it easy to read and I think that it would work well with the record label.

The next name that I chose was Unison Records. I chose this name because unison means to do something at the same time all together, which is what I thought the record label would be like everyone helping each other out and creating fresh new music together and collaborating together on different tracks. Down below are some of the logo ideas that I have come up with for the name Unison Records.

This top logo is suppose to be a group of people but other people who have seen it say that it looks like a present but I think that it looks good and would work well and be easy to produce on lighters and t-shirts. They are very similar to the myspace logo which suggests when I pitch this to Lee he might not pick it. 

This is my favorite logo that I created for Unison Records because it is not a dark as the previuos logo and also I prefer it with the writing around the picture, it makes it look more professional.

The last name that I chose for to create some logos for is Peak Records. I chose Peak because it means the top of a mountain or volcano which hopefully one day the record label could be at the top and very successful. I also think that this is the name that would be used as record label because it just rolls of your tongue and sounds fresh and new. 

This top logo is suppose to be a volcano exploding but again it looks like it has been drawn by a child and doesn't look very professional. This is the logo that I hate and I don't like it because it's boring and doesn't look original and fresh.

This logo is a logo that I just created randomly using the different shapes on Illustrator. I think that it looks good and would be the easiest to produce on lighters, flyers, etc. I think the way that the circle is in the middle of the rectangle is good and the font looks good because its not to dark or to light it works well with the picture.

Outline of the Brief

Throughout this term we will be taking part in a project called Commission. Our first task is to create a record label name and logo for an online independent record label that Lee Martin is non profit. The record label will release singles and compilations of artists on the record label. The label is open to releasing any genre of music as long as it's good. 

The record label will be promoted through social network sites facebook and myspace. Artist and bands that are signed to record label will also promote the label at their gigs. Also the logo design that is chosen will be put on to flyers, t-shirts, lighters, album covers, etc.

Eventually Lee hopes that facebook and myspace became a meeting place for producers, songwriters, artists and musicians to meet different artist to collaborate with on songs, recording, artwork, etc, he can then put the label logo on the finished work upload and distribute it. 

My task is to come up with a name and logo for the record label, and then present my ideas for each name in a pitch meeting with Lee. It is very important that the name and logo look good on album artwork, flyers, t-shirts, lighters and be immediately recognisable. The name and logo for the label must have a clear identity, for some different ideas he gave me four different record labels to look at, Sub-Pop, Island, Factory and Trash Aesthetics. The record label is not a college label and should be treated as such. Music from college bands may be released on the label but it must get past the selection panel. 

The target audience that the record label will be aimed at is 18-28 year olds, people who are likely to download the music, buy the merchandise and go to the live gigs of the label bands the south west but not exclusive to this area. Lee does not want to attract dad blues bands, to the label, he wants original, fresh enthusiastic musicians and forward think passionate collaborators who want to get their work out there.

Different Record Labels

Sub-Pop: Sub Pop is a record label which was founded in 1986, in Seattle by Bruce Pavitt and Johnathan Poneman. Sub Pop first started to achieve fame in the late 1980's where they signed popular bands from the Seattle music scene like Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney. They are known as the first record label to popularize grunge music, and have continued to achieve great success up untill the present day. In 1995 Johnathan sold a 49% stake of his share in the label to Warner Brothers Records.





Island: Island records is a record label which was founded in 1959, by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. For many years it was based in the United Kingdom and is now owned by Universal Music Group. The label now operates as a division of The Island Def Jam Music Group in the United States (where it is now a largely rock oriented label) and as a standalone label in the United Kingdom (also known as Island Records Group or Universal Island). Since 2007, there is also a frontline local artist and repertoire label in Australia known as Island Records Australia, run by Universal Music Australia. Current artist and bands that are signed to Island are Bon Jovi, Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Devlin, Florence and the Machiene, N-Dubz, Tinchy Stryder and Amy Winehouse.

Questionnaire

Questionnaires

I created a questionnaire to understand what a good logo is and looks like and how it helps a brand to be recognised.

The first question I asked was – are there any recording artists (past or present)that influence you in any way at all, if so please name them and why and how they have influenced you. Only four people that completed my questionnaire answered this question with different answers such as DJ Shadow, Run DMC, Nickleback, Britt Nicole, Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd. 

The next question that I asked in my questionnaire was – if you were asked to design a logo for an independent record label, what factors would you think are most important, then below I added four different choices, Size, Colour, Font and Image. The answers I got back were mainly the image and colour. Only one person ticked the size which shows that most people don’t think that the size is as important when creating a logo.

I then next asked what they liked best about each of the four record label logos and why. The four different record labels were, Sub-Pop, Island, Factory and Trash Aesthetics.  The logo for Sub-Pop got different answers such as simple layout, bold and attracts the eye, makes a point, contrast between black and white, has the negative effect and the letters are spread out which is good. I got some different answers for the logo for Island like simple but good, the palm tree relates to an island, the use of vectors fits the theme well, the bold writing, the use of a simple picture and relaxed. The next logo for Factory got answers such as pollution, boring; the text fits nicely underneath the image and the shapes. The final logo, which people answered about, was the logo for Trash Aesthetics. Some of the answers that I got back were, memorable, American feel, the style of font, the different colours, the way that the ‘T’ and ‘H’ are stretched out are good and the fonts effective.

The next question that was on my questionnaire was what do you think of and why when you see these different record label logos? I got a range of different answers such as:

Sub-Pop – Nirvana album from 1990’s because this is the record label Nirvana are signed to, similar to Top of the Pops logo because of the layout, a music channel logo.

Island – An Independent record label, a holiday destination because of the palm tree, freedom, reggae music, laid back and relaxed, sunshine.

Factory – Urban location, producing, and most people put a working factory or workplace because of the factory, which is in the logo.

Trash Aesthetics – Metal, a label on a tin can, sports, punk, cheap, American truck stops.

After that I asked the question, why do you think it is important for a record label to have a logo? There are a few different answers for this question and some of them are, so that their records/merchandise are easily recognised, to attract the eye, good for the business, to get their name out there, because it gives the record label an identity, and finally to promote the record label.

The final question on my questionnaire is, if you had to choose one of the following record labels to design a logo for, what label would you pick and why? The answers, which I got for this question, were a mixture, and some of them are:

Sub-Pop – 3 people chose Sub-Pop – some reasons why: because of the music that they release, pop music is my favourite genre of music.

Island – 5 people chose Island – some reasons why: because it has a ring to it and you could be really creative about the logo design, easier to come up with a logo like a desert island or just the outline of an island.

Factory – 1 person chose Factory – the reason why: because it has a lot of possibilities in terms of the music and ideas it could represent.

Trash Aesthetics – 1 person chose Trash Aesthetics – the reason why: because you could have fun making designs for that sort of name.