Two Tone Army - 3 Fictional Companies Project
In early 2019, I decided to start a new project to practice my design skills. The challenge I gave my self was to create three fictional companies, complete with a Motto, a Logo, and an Icon.
After setting the rules I started, I started exploring ideas for what these three companies would focus on. What would they sell? What items would capture a customer's attention?
I decided that these three companies should focus on apparel and accessories. I made that decision due to the large amounts of companies advertising their apparel and accessory goods on social media platforms like Facebook, and Instagram.
With this idea in mind, I dove headfirst into the first fictional company.
Here some examples of the apparel and accessory designs I created for the three companies.
I got a lot of ideas from having watched the X-Games as a child and as an adult.
Picking it up!
So this is my third and final fictional company. I felt that I focused a lot on ideas and concepts pertaining directly to the extreme sports mentality. This time around I wanted to try something different. So I started listening to music and brainstorming ideas. As I was listening to my songs, a genre of music that I am very fond of came to mind, Ska. This is a genre of music I have listened to for quite some time now, and I enjoy it very much. Music of this genre has also been used in many extreme sports montage videos and video games, so I felt that going with that route would be best.
I started brainstorming names for the company. I started with prominent phrases used in ska songs and then explored names based on the ska aesthetic. I even wrote down the names of songs that I felt might work. I landed on a name that I felt commanded curiosity, and action, "Two Tone Army". Two Tone pertaining to the rhythm if Ska music, and army pertaining to the group of people who enjoy the music. I was quite satisfied with this name. I also decided to stick with the checkered black and white design used in many ska merch.
I felt that a symbol wouldn't work for a company like this, so I stuck with the name and started exploring typefaces. This took me much longer than the previous two. I wanted to select a typeface that would fit the Army aesthetic, but I also wanted something playful and interesting to look at. I landed on four typefaces pictured above and further broke it down to the last two at the bottom.
A cartoony serif typeface and a stencil serif typeface. They both had features that I liked and didn't like. I further explored these typefaces and tried to make them into logos using some effects in Photoshop.
I still wanted the logo to have an army/official feel to it. Like something you would find on a crate, or perhaps a document. So I applied a rubber stamp effect to one logo and a stencil spray paint effect to the other. I deliberated a lot on which design I would decide because, in all honesty, I liked them both.
I then questioned myself, that if I was to make this a real company, which logo would have the best appeal, which one would command more curiosity? I decided that the army stencil spray paint aesthetic would have a broader more curious appeal for people.
Putting it down!
Now that's an official-looking design!
Now, this is still an extreme sports-oriented accessory and apparel company, so let's make a few t-shirts, a water bottle, and a skateboard design, shall we?
