Project by Derek Lancy
Project Purpose
To create a brand that promotes a lifestyle that free young adults from the ideologies and deceptions that prevail in our post modern society.
The project
To accomplish the purpose I opted into creating a blog that will can become the grounds for exposing the wrong ideas that many of my generation believe. The project will focus on the initial design and provide a couple of short examples of blogs/essays that can be published on the website.
Link to the website (must sign in with byui.edu email)
Challenges
One of the greatest challenges for this project was gaining access to the right tools. I am mostly experience with Adobe’s Creative Suit and had the expectation that that resource was goin to be available for me. As I found out that I was not going to be able to use it for me project, I had to pivot. I looked for other resources. One that I was able to use was canva.com. There I was able to work on, and experiment with brand creation.
Another tool that was out of reach was the right web builder. I started out with WordPress.org to create the website for the blog. Though I was able to get it working really well I realized that the changes I needed to make (including the color scheme) was going to be an added cost to the project. I had to improvise and landed on Google Sites. Google sites gave me the flexibility I needed to create a simple blog for free.
Project processes
For the first half of the project I focused my energies on creating the brand. For the brand, I wanted something simple, honest, and straight that aligns with the blog’s values. With a name like Paradise and Prison a lot of creative ideas spring up immediately. Combining those two elements in the logo became central to the design. Here are various iterations that I made:
The typography needed to be in line with the logo. As I communicated with my mentor during the project. We landed on chose a main font that was sans serif and imitated the logo’s blocky lines.
Colors need to demonstrate that basic contrast of paradise and prison, light and dark, black and white. I chose a soft beige that represents the sand of a white beach. I chose a warm charcoal to contrast it. And then a red that pops out of the design that represents the alertness we need to live in this dangerous world.
For the second half of the project I focused on implementing the design on the blog’s website and writing up some short essays that represent the core ideas of the blogs.
Overview
As I was developing the initial ideas of the project I was able to gain a lot of inspiration from events and societal issues in the United States. The lessons I have learned in life and the knowledge I have of the truth motivated me to push back on ridiculousness that is found Gen Z/Millennial TikTok and Reels.
To catch the attention away I needed good branding. Although I am personally not a branding expert, I was able to rely on the expertise from my mentor to keep the brand in line with design principles. I received rely good feedback on making my design elements consistent and my website visually interesting.
Takeaways
The most important insight that I was able to internalize during the project is making things interesting.
The design needs to be interesting. The logo, colors, and typography needs to provide depth and cohesion. The branding decisions should flow out of the values that it holds.
Blogs need to be thought provoking. The ideas that I shared need to either be original or phrased in a way that will provide a new perspective. Using imagery and bold language can drive an idea deep enough to be taken with more intentional consideration.
- Written by Derek Lancy. Published work: paradiseandprison.com