Today I started to create some potential logo designs. From looking at my research and inspiration, I really like the idea of a head, so in Adobe Illustrator a drew out an outline with the paint brush tool. This is the head look that I ended up with. Number 1 is the basic outline, while 2 was an effect I found and I thought the outlines of it were really cool, however, it shows where the breaks in the drawing are with the little arrows. 3 is just a thicker outline of 1, as I thought this would be easier to see if it was on a colourful background. From evaluating each one, I think that q would be the best to go forward with, and it is plain and simple and represents what it is well enough.

To develop the outline further, I coloured the heads in with the different colours from the colour scheme. From doing all the different colours it will make it easier to then apply any of them to any coloured background, as I already have a sample of them to work with. This the made putting it on a background easier. I went for a gradient look from the colour scheme, as from my research shows that gradient helps to make it look more modern. From this I took the contrasting coloured head and but it on a background. From looking at the sample, I feel that it looks very dated, or looks like it came from the 90s. To start I think it could be from the design shape of the head or the background clashed with the colours of the head. I tried to adapt it to see if I could make it look any better. To improve it I tried to use the title to break it up, and have the background the same colour as the head. I still think this design looks very dated.

 

Even so, out of all the designs I have been through, I think this one is the best, as the gradient looks like its light shining down upon him. The colours go well together. However, the title is hard to read still.

 

We deciding the colour scheme for my project, I first did a little research on the different type of emotions that they represent, as this will help me decide what will be the best colours to aid being calm and positive. When looking at this poster I tried to mostly consider the positives as, this is all part of CBT, which is trying to look at everything in a more positive light.

Possible consideration of colours:

Blue – this represents tranquility, security and peace. This would be helpful as, these are three aspects that calm a person, knowing that they are safe and in a calming environment.

Green – Healing is the key word that caught my eye, as this is what the service is I am aiming to get to.

Yellow – Warm, Energetic and Happy. This will help to contrast the other colours as, it should bring happiness, this could bring their mood up.

Pink – Healthy, Happy, and Playful. Again, these colours can be used to juxtapose, from the green and blue to give a lighter heart look.

 

From this I then looked at different colour swatches that were both calming and happy. I found this quite hard to look for as, sometimes the colours did not go together, or they were way too dark and looked depressing. From the eleven I found, my target audience then went through and told me which swatches they liked the best. This lead to the final four. These swatches are quite similar in a sense, as most of them feature greens and blue. However, I feel that 4 maybe too brightly coloured and could look quite dated. 3 I am not sure on the about the two different types of oranges in there. In 2 the purple maybe too dark, but the use of the lighter orange could contrast that. With 1 the colours are quite similar, which means they will blend together easily, and one colour will not stand out from the rest.

 

From deciding that the final four still needed work, I mixed the colours up that I liked and thought went together into a new swatch.  I think that these colours complement each other well, as I had two darker shades of green and purple to contrast the lighter shades of green and blue. This means that the lighter green and blue could work well as background colours while the darker colours could be used as texts to stand out. The cream colour is useful, as it helps to separate the dominate colours, and goes well with each one. I showed this final one to my target audience, and they agreed that it was the better choice.

 

From looking at different typefaces these are the nine that I cancelled it down to. From this I showed it to my target audience to see what they prefer and what was more calming.  From the feedback, I received the most popular were, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7. From these I then picked the ones that I thought would be more appropriate. I agreed with them that 3 was not very calming, as it was very “in your face”, and 8 and 9 were too fancy, which meant that they could not really read them.

This was then the final 4 that I thought were appropriate from what the target audience had picked out. Personally, I think that either 3 or 4 would be a good title font to have as by having the S different gives it an interesting look. Also, I think by having the S different enhances it more, as S is a calming letter. Again, I got a few from the target audience to pick what would be a good title font and what would be a good body font.

This is my final selection of font that I will be using for my product. I feel the title type face helps to differentiate itself and is a little quirky. The Heading font is clear and easy to read, which links into the body font. The roundness of the letter has a calming effect, which is simple to read.

 

 

 

I chose the title of Serenity, as it means the state of being calm, peaceful and untroubled. I feel this this represents what the product is aiming to do well, and explains what it does to the user. Also, I think that name is very interesting, and could draw the audience in.

 

Today I started off my research by looking at different kinds of mental health apps that are already out there, but I was mainly focusing on their logo designs. This is a page full of logo designs. Personally, I think they are very plain and simple. The simple part can be effective as, it is the easiest way to communicate to the user. The ones that I like the most are the green B, eCBT, Catch It, the sun one and Talks pace.  I like them because, they look the most modern and portray what the app does the most. The colour pallet seems very similar, with green, blue or orange. This must be because, they represent calming colours and orange for positivity. For my colour scheme I think I would like to stick with calming colours but have one colour that is positive as a dominate colour, this will help it to stand out more, instead of blending in the background.

From looking at these it has shown me that for the logo it needs to represent positive connotations as well as linking to my aesthetics. Also, I would like it to look fun, calming and modern, as this will entice my target audience.

 

This is another mood board I made of logos of mental health that I really liked. They are very simple and have very efficient representation. My particular favourite in the tree at the bottom that looks like a brain. I think this looks very interesting as a piece of design and art, because it means so many different things. However, for a logo perhaps it maybe too intercut, and will not be as, effective on different platforms. I also really like the montage of heads with different art work in the middle as a silhouette. This looks really interesting, I think I would like to play around with a similar concept for my logo.

My concept for this project has developed. Firstly, I changed the name of the product from Harmonize to Serenity. This is because, Harmonize has an underlying assumption that the product will be about music and harmonies, as a result I felt that it gave a misconception of what the app is really about. From this I then made a list of names with potential which were; Bloom, Synchronized, Serenity, and Rejuvenate. From this I then asked my target audience which name they preferred and what fitted the concept idea more. They chose Serenity. I was very happy with the name as it means, the state of being calm, peaceful and untroubled, this is the connotations that I wanted to portray within the product.

Also, the product developed more towards the app concept, rather than having virtual reality and augmented reality. I discovered from my research that virtual reality would not be suitable for he mental health issues that I was focusing on, as depression, anxiety and panic disorders are more organising their thought process, and virtual reality would not assist this because, they are escaping to an artificial world, and from papers I have read it is better for them to practice new techniques within reality. Also, from looking at what is available to my target audience, VR is very hard to be accessible to everyone, as this technology is very exclusive. Augmented reality did not work for my concept idea, as I originally thought about having an AR human talking them through muscle relaxation or breathing techniques, but I thought that this would be better for an older target audience, for them to feel more engaged, but for my target audience, they are mainly focusing on teaching them a more positive way to think, and how to develop a healthy mind.