Exercise 4: Annual Report narrative

Due Thurs. Mar. 24

For the Project 4 preliminary work, students will need to create the narrative their annual report will tell. Your narrative will have a beginning, middle, and end, and be translated into the annual report you design for Twitter.

Narratives to Build: Each student will create three different and unique narratives for their Twitter annual report.

Methods to Use: format each of your three narratives in any of the following ways:

• graph: plot the beginning, middle, and ending, charting areas of excitement, repose, and then your conclusion
• index cards or sticky-notes: use these to either story board your narrative, or map out what each spread will look like; these aren't thumbnail drawings, but rather, what the key points in the story will be
• outline: order your narrative from I to X or any other sequence of numbers, writing out what you will show and tell the reader
• prose: write it as a story, with a beginning, middle, and end
• you can experiment and try some of the items above, or you can choose one of these methods and use it for all three of your narratives

Presentation: students have two options

1. Display your work using the RVRC Mac overhead display as a PDF. 
2. If you have hand drawn or written work, we will need to post it in the RUTL 220 classroom on the cork board.
3. You can also photocopy any of your work, and have handouts for the instructor and your classmates. 

 Exercise 4: worth 30 points total

• 10 clarity of narratives presented
• 10 uniqueness
• 10 appropriateness, relationship to Twitter

Project 4: Annual Report

Problem: design an annual report for Twitter, providing a look back on the 2015 year, and a look forward for what the company has to come

Content: students will use the assigned content, as provided by the instructor

Format: 24 page self-cover, printed book

1. 24 pages is the minimum, you may exceed that page count if needed and if approved
2. full color printed, bound, and built annual report book submitted to the instructor, and kept on file for the department archives; students are highly encouraged to make an extra copy for themselves
3. PDF in spreads, saved as "High Quality Print"
4. final PDF submitted to Turnstile2 > VCOM 453

Suggested content order below, you may deviate from this if needed and if approved

• content below, as "text heavy" is required
• "heavy visuals" could be photo or text illustration, or both, other image/visual

1. *1 page cover (with back, makes 1 spread*)
2. spread: (visual heavy) inside-cover; photo, or text illustration, other "high" visuals, could be quote or quotes
3. spread: (text heavy)  letter to shareholder
4. spread: (text heavy)  retrospective of company's past year
5. spread: (visual heavy)
6. spread: (text heavy)  current state of company - must also include charts, graphs, financial figures as information design
7. spread: (text heavy)  future of company
8. spread: (visual heavy)
9. spread: (text heavy)  philosophy of company, could be interview
10. spread: (text heavy)  employee testimonials, reinforce philosophy
11. spread: (visual heavy)
12. spread: (all text) - inside back cover, list company executive names and titles
13. *1 page back cover, mailing information, address, and website URL (with front, makes 1 spread*)

Final delivery during scheduled exam: Wed. Apr. 27 at 8 a.m.
See the class calendar for incremental review dates and progress critiques.

Project 4: worth 100 points total

• 20 craft and rendering of digital works, quality of built book
• 40 composition/layout, design appropriateness and uniqueness
• 20 concept, research, uniqueness
• 20 presentation, professionalism

Project 3: Spotify Redesign

Update: Final delivery and deadline Tues. Mar. 29th

Problem: redesign Spotify's brand identity, creating a new logo for the company, and a look and feel for their website, app button, and other touchpoints. This multi-part project includes various components due over the course of two class periods. This must be a wholesale, and complete redesign. It is not a simple modification of their existing design, logo, colors, etc. Keep the Spotify name.

A. SWOT Analysis

Due Thurs. March 3 at 9:30am: present a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis of Spotify with a minimum of 2 issues in each category. Consult your textbook to see if there are case studies you can use as examples to further your research, specifically your textbook's Part 2: Process. Consult examples online, researching Spotify to learn about them then and now, and in the possible future. 

Slideshow should be ready to present at 9:30am, so make sure it's on Turnstile_2 before then.

Your slideshow may have text and imagery.

1. Definition of your demographic
2. Identification of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; be sure to state why you've defined/identified those areas

Demographic. A snapshot of your demographic would work best, such as a persona. Give a general visual description of the type of person who would or should use Spotify. Information graphics can be included, but most importantly, this should be fact filled and easily understandable.

The research from your SWOT will inform your redesign. See below.

B. Spotify Brand Identity Redesign

Due Tues. Mar. 8 at start of class, promptly at 8:00 a.m.. This will be presented in our RUTL 220 classroom, not the RVRC iMac lab, so plan accordingly and have your presentation ready for use on the Dell Windows presentation station in RUTL 220.

1. Spotify logo redesign which will be a wholesale redesign of their logo/mark, may also include new typography treatment too; show your logo in a positive (black on white), negative (white on black), and with color (may be singular, multi-color, or splashes of color, as this is open); you must show static graphics, but can also show it animated; apply your new logo to the following
2. Website landing page (for desktop web, not for mobile), redesign of look and feel; composed with a browser edge to show that it's a website; mock up with real text as it would appear on the website
3. Email newsletter, or email announcement mocked up with real text
4. App Button redesign shown among various other phone apps
5. Brand board, such as a poster, app splash page, or other supergraphics intended to be viewed large, animated, etc.
6. One additional touchpoint of student's choice, that extends the brand

Format all final works as a high-quality, high-resolution PDF with each item on its own PDF page; RGB color, format dimensions should be no smaller than 6-inches in any one direction; resolution should be no smaller than 300dpi. Submit your SWOT assets at this time also.

Work presented and delivered on Mar. 8 will be handed in for a grade at that time. After your presentation is done in RUTL 220, be sure to put your PDF files in our Turnstile_2 folder VCOM453.

Project 3: worth 100 points total

• 20 craft, rendering quality
• 40 composition/layout, design appropriateness and uniqueness
• 20 concept, research, uniqueness, use of SWOT in redesign
• 20 presentation, professionalism

Project 2 Response Writing

Due Tues. Mar. 1 before the end of class.

Create a letter-sized, portrait Word Document, or other text-based document, and include the following in the header:

• your first and last name / your Winthrop email
• VCOM 453 / Corporate Identity / Response Writing 2 / Spring 2016

For questions 1-6, students will review another student's Carmine's work.

• Andréa reviews Anna
• Anna reviews Chris
• Chris reviews Karis
• Karis reviews Anthony
• Anthony reviews Andréa

1. State the name of the student whose work you are reviewing. Use three adjectives to describe their Carmine's overall visual aesthetic, stating why you've chosen those adjectives.

2. Why do you think the designer created their solution using the presented aesthetics, form-language, style, and color? Support your answer citing elements from their design(s).

3. When you look at their Carmine's designs, what other restaurant immediately comes to mind and why? It should be a real restaurant. It does not have to be an Italian restaurant. Supply an image for visual reference.

4. How do you, the reviewer, think the designer's solution would be received by Carmine's, and why?

5. Aesthetically and formally, does the designer's solution have an appropriate look and feel for the audience(s), and for Project 2's directives? Why or why not?

6. Based on all of the design work, what part of the designer's process do you think worked out for the best, giving them successful results? What part for the worst? State why and cite elements found in their work, or elements lacking in their work. Consider evaluating their craft, which you can evaluate based on the results you see, and assess based on your knowledge of production software or tools. You could also evaluate the concept, theme, message by looking at their Exercise 2 research, their moodboard and demographic.

The final written document will be saved to Turnstile_2 as a PDF, and also printed out and delivered to the instructor before the end of class.

Worth 30 points

• 10 points for answering all of the questions completely
• 8 points for citing examples to back-up your answers where requested
• 5 points for writing, spelling, grammar 
• 5 points for overall clarity and logic of statements, and strength of written argument
• 2 points for formatting, following directions

Mid-Term Content

Students are responsible for the followings terms, principles, and content, as described and defined in our textbook, and will be tested on it during our Thurs. Feb. 18 class.

1. Examples of Brand Touchpoints
2. Definition (in your own words) of Brand Touchpoints
3. Brand Identity, defined in your own words
4. Examples of: wordmark, letterform (lettermark), emblem, pictorial mark, abstract/symbolic mark, dynamic mark
5. Company's name on the web, such as .com, .net, and how it impacts brand value
6. Companies merging
7. Raising money for a new company
8. Reasons to Invest in Brand Identity
9. Stakeholders, and examples of each in any given company
10. The Branding Process diagram
11. Effective Name Attributes
12. Taglines, what they are, and examples of them
13. When to "Start the Process"
14. Stakeholders

The exam will include:

• multiple choice
• fill in the blanks
• True or False
• short written essays

We will have a mid-term exam review Thurs. Feb. 11.

Project 2: Carmine's

Due Tues. Mar. 1

• Multiple in-class reviews and critiques will take place
• Consult the class calendar for those dates

Goals: to use research and conceptual content from Exercise 2 and apply it to a comprehensive branding project; to research the competitive landscape, identifying brand and design opportunities for a new Italian restaurant; to design a brand identity for a new Italian restaurant, and apply it to a range of collateral, communication tools, and other visuals

Final Delivery: all content below shall be digitally presented, and rendered as a high-quality PDF, with each item on its own PDF page; RGB color, format dimensions should be no smaller than 6-inches in any one direction; resolution should be no smaller than 300dpi

1. Brand identity, aka logo: may be a mark, letterform, wordmark, emblem, etc., should include the Carmine's name along with any mark
2. Menu Cover with logo applied
3. Menu layout using provided dinner text
4. Website home page and website menu page
5. Exterior signage of building facade with logo applied
6. One page full color ad - to appear in South Park magazine
7. Napkin - cloth preferred
8. Letterhead
9. Envelope, number 10
10. Business card

Menu Text:

Dinner Menu

First Plates

Antipasto
5
cured meats, olives, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, provolone, mozzarella, Prosciutto, Crostino

Calamari
6

Caprese salad
8

Stuffed Artichokes
6

Bruschetta
6

Soup
Italian Wedding Soup
Minestrone
Pasta Fagioli
5

Cesar Salad
5

Garden Salad  
4
capers, pine nuts, salami


Main Plates
served with focaccia

Osso Buco
29

Veal Parmigiana
29

Beef Brasato with Pappardelle and Mint
25

Mushroom-Sausage Ragù 
16

Baked Rigatoni with Sausage and Fennel
20

Grilled Fish with Artichoke Caponata
27

Shrimp Scampi
20

Potato Gnocchi with Garlic Butter, Mushrooms and Snails
24

Eggplant Parmigiana
22

Eggplant Napoleon  
20

Lasagna  
16

Torta Rustica
16


Project 2: worth 100 points total
20 craft, rendering quality
30 composition, layout, design
30 concept, research, message
20 presentation, professionalism

Exercise 2

Due Tues. Feb. 2

Project 2 will require you to design a brand identity, aka logo, and apply the logo to a select group of applications for a new Italian restaurant. Your restaurant will serve meals ranging from $12-40, and be located in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the South End. The restaurant, named Carmine's, boasts "The Best Italian Food in Charlotte."

Restaurant Information

• Takes Reservations, Yes 
• Delivery, No 
• Take-out, No 
• Banquets, Yes
• Accepts Credit Cards, Yes 
• Good For, Dinner 
• Parking, Private Lot, Valet Optional
• Bike Parking, No
• Wheelchair Accessible, Yes 
• Good for Kids, No 
• Good for Groups, Yes 
• Attire, Dressy 
• Ambience, Classy 
• Noise Level, Average 
• Alcohol, Full Bar 
• Outdoor Seating, Yes 
• Wi-Fi, No
• Has TV, No 
• Dogs Allowed, No 
• Waiter Service, Yes 
• Caters, Yes

Selected Dishes Include: Seafood Alfredo, Veal Parmigiana, Eggplant Parmigiana, Chicken Parmigiana, Variety of Gnocchi Dishes, Variety of Risotto Dishes, Lasagna, Ravioli, Cannelloni, Alfredo, Mushroom-Sausage Ragù, Baked Rigatoni with Sausage and Fennel, Torta Rustica, Spaghetti and Meatballs, Pupa Toscana, Sausage & Peppers & Onions, Bow Ties with Sausage, Focaccia, Minestrone, Bruschetta, Stuffed Artichokes, salads including Caesar Salads, Calamari, Antipasti

For Exercise 2, create a mood board that includes the following, all of which will evoke the brand identity you will create for Carmine's. Format your mood board on a 17-inch wide by 11-inch high format, exporting it as a PDF to view during critique.

1. Two types of Menus with Cover - cover may be leather, canvas, metallic, or a combination, these menus could be prototypes to be used for your logo and applications, to be designed in Project 2
2. Color swatches for the logo
3. Color swatches for the restaurant's interior design
4. Cultural references, that relate to the country of Italy, its architecture, and its people, in the form of 2 images from each of the aforementioned.
5. Photograph of an interior element: hosting booth
6. Photograph of an interior element: bar
7. Photograph of an interior element: open kitchen
8. Wine Bottle, red
9. Wine Bottle, white 
10. Two to three typefaces that evoke the restaurant's brand image 
11. High quality images of at least 5 of the selected dishes listed above. 
12. Conduct a competitive audit, following guidelines and inquiries presented in your textbook, and identify 3 competitors in the Italian restaurant industry, showing their logos, and stating 5 key elements that define the competition.

Due Tue. Feb. 2
Exercise 2: worth 30 points total
10 uniqueness
10 appropriateness
5 depth of research
5 professionalism/presentation