®

Design from a

creative briefDesigner and client must

work toward the same goal. Here’s

how to do that.

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When 30-year-old Jennifer Diamond quietly passed away of appendiceal carcinoma, a rare form of cancer, on July 23, 2002, she left behind family, friends and a gentle legacy of gracefulness and love. And she left her father

Harvey with a mission—“to share the knowledge gained from this experience with others.” So was born the Jennifer Diamond Foundation, which would be “dedicated to helping people win the fight against all forms of cancer.”

Soon after, designer Karen Barranco was retained to give Jennifer’s foundation a public image. The beautiful logo she made is a textbook lesson in how to design for a client—and work to a shared, creative vision. The process begins not on a computer but face to face with the client, for as long as it takes, listening, building rapport, understanding—and sharing—the mission. Here’s how she did it:

Design from a creative briefTo know if you’ve reached a design goal, you must first know what the goal is. Here’s where to start answering that.

Write it down The creative brief is the blueprint for the project. It is a collaboration of designer and client. It includes a project overview, goals, messages, audience description, budget, schedule, and so on. The act of writing all this down means that everyone has talked through and agreed on what the design is to embody.

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ListenWhen you meet your client, your most important tools are your ears. Hear who they are and what they’re saying. As you proceed together, talk about the goals for the design. (Which is different from what the design should look like.) Develop the creative brief. Keep it short. Use clear headlines and bulleted lists.

Project description The project description is a brief summary of what we’re doing and why. Because dragonflies had sym-bolic meaning to Jennifer and her family, the deci-sion was made at the outset that a dragonfly would be central to the image, so it was included here.

Meanings What is the symbolism of the dragonfly? Don’t assume you know. Listen to your client. Participate; fill in the gaps with research, but check your results with the client. Think in metaphors, which helps you avoid becoming too literal. Avoid clichés.

project DeScrIptIoN This identity will capture the true essence of Jennifer Diamond’s legacy to help people with rare cancers to be strong, informed and promote healing through mind and body connections and will set the tone for all future design applications. This identity will use the metaphor and symbolism of the Dragonfly as the “healing messenger,” intertwined with the following meanings:

powerfulThe Dragonfly is an important insect in legend, where they are creatures with supernatural powers.

prosperity and HarmonyThe Dragonfly represents the powers of light and transformation, and the ability to see through illusion. The dragonfly teaches a free and joyful sense of being.

InformedThe Dragonfly teaches us to apply the art of knowledge to our own questions and situations—to remember things are never completely as they seem.

Ability to be positiveThe shifting movement, energy, form, and color of its iridescent wings open vague memories, reminding us of alternative perspectives.

communicatorThe Dragonfly is the essence of change, the messages of enlightenment and wisdom. It also brings communication from the elemental world, nature spirits.

Dare to DreamThe Dragonfly is the doorkeeper who allows the gates to the dream dimensions to be opened through the breaking of the physical illusion.

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AuDIeNce• OrganizationtoIndividual–nonprofit• CoreTarget:Individualsandfamilymemberswithrarecancers• SecondaryTarget:MedicalCommunity• TertiaryTarget:privateandbusinesssectorspotentialdonors

GoALS/project oBjectIVeS•Positionasapremiumnon-profitorganizationoperatingin

a niche market.•Attractinterestandrespect.

MeSSAGeS•Conveyconfidence,trustedguidance,credibility,professionalism• Projectgrowth,stabilityandtrust• Timelessness /nottrendy• Conservative,reliable,tasteful,elegant,subtle• Understatedsimplicity,Cleanandsimplewithminimal“lines”• Feminine,softandwarmwithoutbeingtoo“girly”• Welcomingandapproachable• Sophisticated,nottoorich,though.Embossingmaybetoo

“extravagant”fornonprofit;wecandiscuss.

ApproAcHeS• Donotuseacronyms:JDF• Use“JenniferDiamondFoundation”• Donotinclude“inc.”• Doesnotvisuallyrelatetocancer• Minimalist/simplisticapproach• Horizontalformat(preferred)• Typographicalsolutionwiththeintegrationofasymbol/mark• Exploreusingthedragonflyasasymbol• Uptothreecolors,opentomore?• Mustbeusedincolorandb/w

Audience An image that has meaning to one group may be meaningless to another. Understand who the audi-ence is. Let your client guide you. Don’t assume you know the audience or what it is like. Keep in mind that the first audience is the client himself and his employees and volunteers. They must enjoy their logo and be proud of it and what it represents. Seriously.

Messages A logo is a signature, not a marketing program. It does not need to “tell the whole story.” Nevertheless, it has a story to tell. The logo may picture the product or service. It may be only the name. But it will always convey an intangible—perhaps a vision or attitude or feeling. In this, it is similar to clothing; a red suit says something different from jeans. Write down every-thing you imagine. This is the artistic step. We must say visually what words alone cannot.

Approaches This step is more mechanical than artistic. Write down what can and can’t be done. This helps you and the client approach the conceptual stage with better clarity and focus.

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Get to workA dragonfly will be central to the logo. A dragonfly in real life is beautiful but complex, and the logo needs to be simple. One way to achieve simplicity is to use a silhouette. A silhouette must have just the right pose . . .

Side view It’s a beautifully engineered creature, but sticky little insect legs say bug, not warmth, femininity or welcome.

Front view What is this? It’s hard to tell at a glance, and you probably don’t want it crawling on you.

Top view This is the strong view. Simple, symmetrical, graceful. No legs, no body parts, all attention is on those wings.

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Get artisticThe logo must convey many intangible qualities. Fill in the silhouette, then begin working out lines and shapes; each small variation will “say” something different.

Angled edges Flattening the curves yields somewhat crystalline shapes. The idea is interesting, but here it appears heavy and masculine, which we don’t want.

Abstract Sharp points and flat head look too much like a nail or a plant. The tapered body, however, shows potential; it lightens the weight of the silhouette, a feminine quality.

Rotate Upright orientation is natural to our eye, because it’s the most like us. In this position, the dragonfly appears balanced, motionless, stable, “standing” like an object to be admired, almost as if we’re viewing a statue.

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Continuous line, simplified The complex, single line is replaced with a simplified line, which often yields bet-ter results but here does not. Yet while the single wings look nothing like a dragon fly, they do suggest an angel.

Abstract, outlined Pointed wings take the angel idea further. Four wings say dragonfly, but the image has now morphed into a symbol and is no longer an insect. The lines can also be seen as single wings in motion. The taper has returned.

Continuous line Single line makes a fluid image, sweeping and graceful, like a spinning ballerina. This image is light but fairly abstract—we’re losing the sense of a dragonfly—but its attributes are desirable.

PushBecause lighter is better, push that direction. Lighten it more by outlining the silhouette. Listen to what the lines are saying. As you work, pay attention to small improvements.

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Arms added Two curves become arms that are open in gentle welcome . . .

. . . and a circle becomes a head. The body is widened into a tapered diamond—which, of course, has its own symbolism—and the image has become beau-tiful. This sketch was shown to the client, who loved everything except one detail . . .

Converging lines are deleted because they reminded Harvey of the tubes that were attached to Jennifer at the hospital.

ExpandTwo lines and a circle are a breakthrough. The image not only has dragonfly symbolism but acquires that of an angelic figure, too, clearly feminine.

Flat head The wings are sleek and pretty, but the blunt “head” still looks like a nail. Although unfinished, key at this point is that the design has developed a clear direction.

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RenderRefine on the computer. A single line weight lends strength and posture and ties the two chief images—Jennifer and dragonfly—together.

Floating like an angel Tapered base conveys weightlessness.

Position of arms Open arms welcome; clasped “hands” portray care, watchfulness.

The finished symbol is a beautiful blend of images, simple, engaging, timeless, powerful. It connects on many levels—inviting, caring, confident, dignified, angelic and so on.

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TypeMighty Trajan, first inscribed in stone on Emperor Trajan’s column in Rome, has the dignity and stability that befits a premium cancer foundation.

The stable center Centered type reinforces the symmetrical symbol. Centering is robust, stable, motionless, which strengthens the sense of permanence.

Secondary typeface The simple forms of modern classic Futura Book are crystal clear and nearly style-neutral. Because of this, Futura makes an excellent complement to Trajan and many other typefaces as well. Note its panoramic letterspacing (left).

Main typeface It’s seen a lot of use in recent years, but Trajan is timeless—strong, permanent, a direct connection to the ancient past. Its default letterspacing is like the engraved column, above. It can be looser but should not be tighter than this.

foun

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Spring greens Vibrant colors are pretty but too “new” and inap-propriately active to use here. The solution is to desaturate, which replaces hue with gray and yields muted, dusty tones. Note above that the original colors were eye-droppered from the image.

Subdued blues The client prefered to use blue, which sug-gests lightness, healing, medicine. Desaturated blue was applied only to the logo, not the type. The colors work naturally together because they’re analogous (side by side on the color wheel) and mainly gray.

Too bright

Desaturated

ColorA colorful dragonfly suggests bright, spring hues, but they would be too active. Muting the colors conveys softness, professionalism, trust.

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Our report cardAs we have seen, the creative brief gives everyone goals to work toward. And now that we’re done, it provides the measure by which to judge the outcome. Keep in mind that many goals —“professional,” for example—are subjective, and that the client gets a vote.

Does the logo meet the goals? From the creative brief . . .

• Captures the “true essence of Jennifer Diamond’s legacy to help people with rare cancers be strong, informed and promote healing . . .”

• Attractive to “individuals and family members with rare cancers, plus the medical community and donors”

• Dragonfly This central feature is clearly visible in the outcome.

• Conveys “confidence, credibility, professionalism”

• The image is that of a “premium non-profit organization.”

• It “attracts interest and respect.”

• Conveys “stability, trust, credibility”

• Appears “timeless, not trendy”

• It’s “conservative, reliable, tasteful, elegant, subtle.”

• It’s “feminine, soft and warm without being girly.”

• It’s “welcoming and approachable.”

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President

Harvey Diamon d

Vice President

Matthew Diamon d

Secretary

Rachel Farle y

Treasurer

David Jackel

Board of Dir ectors

Harvey Diamond, Chair

Matthew Diamon d

Rachel Farle y

Marshall Gelfand

1880 Century Park East 16th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067 phone 310 551 0800 fax 805 379 291 3

www.jenniferdiamondfoundation.org

1880 Century Park East 16th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067 phone 310 551 0800 fax 805 379 291 3

www.jenniferdiamondfoundation.org

1880 Century Park East

16th Floo r

Los Angeles, CA 9006 7

Harvey Diamond

President

1880 Century Park East, 16th Floo r

Los Angeles, CA 9006 7

phone 310 551 080 0

fax 805 379 291 3

harvey@jenniferdiamondfoundation.org

www.jenniferdiamondfoundation.org

Envelope White logo on the printed flap is an impressive touch that draws full attention to the message it wordlessly conveys. Manufacturing the full-bleed flap requires that the envelope be printed flat, then assembled.

LetterheadLight colors and small, light type convey a sense of peacefulness and dignity. Top logo and bottom address are far apart, but centered alignment keeps them connected. Key personnel are on the far left; wide line spacing sustains the airiness.

Letterhead, envelope and business card are designed as a package; note the logo and type are the same size

on all three pieces.

Business cardVertical format heightens the sense of a floating angel. Aligned-left copy repeats that on the enve-lope and letterhead.

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Article resources

Typefaces

1 Adobe Garamond Italic

2 Frutiger Roman

3 Futura Book

4 Trajan Pro

Images

Images: iStockphoto

5 (6980328)

6 (7339555)

Colors

PMS 550

PMS 7539

7

8

Harvey Diamond

President

1880 Century Park East, 16th Floo r

Los Angeles, CA 9006 7

phone 310 551 080 0

fax 805 379 291 3

harvey@jenniferdiamondfoundation.org

www.jenniferdiamondfoundation.org

7 8

1 2 3 4 5 6

Special thanks to the ever-impressive Karen Barranco for allowing us to morph her beautiful work into a design lesson. Developing an image of this caliber is neither as easy, nor as linear, as a condensed, 1–2–3 article makes it appear and often involves nail biting and sleepless nights. And, of course, a true brand is about much more than a logo. Nevertheless, the principles shown here are correct and in good order and have a lot to teach us.

About Karen we can say this—that if we were in need of a designer, she would be on our short list of people to phone. See more of her work—and read about her process—on her Web site, www.specialmoderndesign.com. Visit the Jennifer Diamond Cancer Foundation at www.jenniferdiamondfoundation.org.

®

   15 of 15 | Printing formats

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Before & After magazine Before & After has been sharing its practical approach to graphic design since 1990. Because our modern world has made designers of us all (ready or not), Before & After is dedicated to making graphic design understand-able, useful and even fun for everyone.

John McWade Publisher and creative directorGaye McWade Associate publisherDexter Mark Abellera Staff designer Before & After magazine323 Lincoln Street, Roseville, CA 95678 Telephone 916-784-3880 Fax 916-784-3995E-mail mailbox@bamagazine.com www http://www.bamagazine.com

Copyright ©2009 Before & After magazine ISSN 1049-0035. All rights reserved

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Wh

en 30-year-o

ld Jen

nifer D

iamo

nd

qu

ietly p

assed aw

ay of ap

pen

diceal carcin

om

a, a rare fo

rm o

f cancer, o

n Ju

ly 23, 2002, she left

beh

ind

family, frien

ds an

d a gen

tle legacy of

gracefuln

ess and

love. An

d sh

e left her fath

er H

arvey with

a missio

n—

“to sh

are the kn

owled

ge gained

fro

m th

is experien

ce with

oth

ers.” So w

as bo

rn th

e Jenn

ifer D

iamo

nd

Fou

nd

ation

, wh

ich w

ou

ld b

e “ded

icated to

h

elpin

g peo

ple w

in th

e fi ght again

st all form

s of can

cer.”So

on

after, design

er Karen

Barran

co w

as retained

to give

Jenn

ifer’s fou

nd

ation

a pu

blic im

age. Th

e beau

tiful lo

go sh

e m

ade is a textb

oo

k lesson

in h

ow to

design

for a clien

t—an

d

wo

rk to a sh

ared, creative visio

n. T

he p

rocess b

egins n

ot o

n

a com

pu

ter bu

t face to face w

ith th

e client, fo

r as lon

g as it takes, listen

ing, b

uild

ing rap

po

rt, un

derstan

din

g—

and

sh

aring

—th

e missio

n. H

ere’s how

she d

id it:

Design

from a creative b

riefTo know

if you’ve reached a design goal, you must fi rst know

what

the goal is. Here’s w

here to start answering that.

Write

it do

wn

The creative brief is the blueprint for the project. It is a collaboration of designer and client. It includes a project overview

, goals, messages, audience

description, budget, schedule, and so on. The act of writing

all this down m

eans that everyone has talked through and agreed on w

hat the design is to embody.

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efore&

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Design

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ust

be on

the sam

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Design from

a

creative briefD

esigner an

d clien

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st w

ork toward

the

same goal. H

ere’s h

ow to d

o that.

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AU

DIE

NC

E• O

rganization to Ind

ividual – non p

rofi t• C

ore Target: Ind

ividuals and

family m

emb

ers with rare cancers

• Secondary Targ

et: Med

ical Com

munity

• Tertiary Target: p

rivate and b

usiness sectors potential d

onors

GO

ALS/P

RO

JEC

T OB

JEC

TIVE

S• Po

sition as a p

remium

non-p

rofi t o

rganizatio

n op

erating in

a niche market.

• Attract interest and

respect.

ME

SSAG

ES

• Convey confi d

ence, trusted g

uidance, cred

ibility, p

rofessionalism• Project g

rowth, stab

ility and trust

• Timelessness/not trend

y• C

onservative, reliable, tasteful, eleg

ant, subtle

• Und

erstated sim

plicity, C

lean and sim

ple w

ith minim

al “lines”• Fem

inine, soft and w

arm w

ithout being

too “girly”

• Welcom

ing and

app

roachable

• Sophisticated

, not too rich, though. Em

bossing

may b

e too “extravag

ant” for non profi t; w

e can discuss.

AP

PR

OA

CH

ES

• Do not use acronym

s: JDF

• Use “Jennifer D

iamond

Foundation”

• Do not includ

e “inc.”• D

oes not visually relate to cancer• M

inimalist /sim

plistic ap

proach

• Horizontal form

at (preferred

)• Typ

ograp

hical solution with the integ

ration of a symb

ol/mark

• Explore using

the drag

onfl y as a symb

ol• U

p to three colors, op

en to more?

• Must b

e used in color and

b/w

Au

die

nce

A

n image that has m

eaning to one group may be

meaningless to another. U

nderstand who the audi-

ence is. Let your client guide you. Don’t assum

e you know

the audience or what it is like

. Keep in mind

that the fi rst audience is the client himself and his

employees and volunteers. They m

ust enjoy their logo and be proud of it and w

hat it represents. Seriously.

Me

ssag

es

A logo is a signature, not a m

arketing program. It

does not need to “tell the whole story.” N

evertheless, it has a story to tell. The logo m

ay picture the product or service. It m

ay be only the name. B

ut it will alw

ays convey an intangible—

perhaps a vision or attitude or feeling. In this, it is sim

ilar to clothing; a red suit says som

ething different from jeans. W

rite down every-

thing you imagine. This is the artistic step. W

e must

say visually what w

ords alone cannot.

Ap

pro

ach

es

This step is more m

echanical than artistic. Write

down w

hat can and can’t be done. This helps you and the client approach the conceptual stage w

ith better clarity and focus.

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Listen

Wh

en yo

u m

eet you

r client, yo

ur

mo

st imp

ortan

t too

ls are you

r ears. H

ear wh

o they are an

d w

hat th

ey’re sayin

g. As yo

u p

roceed

togeth

er, talk ab

ou

t the go

als for th

e design

. (W

hich

is differen

t from

wh

at the

design

sho

uld

look like.) D

evelop

th

e creative brief. K

eep it sh

ort. U

se clear h

eadlin

es and

bu

lleted lists.

Pro

ject d

escrip

tion

The project description is a brief sum

mary of w

hat w

e’re doing and why. B

ecause dragonfl ies had sym-

bolic meaning to Jennifer and her fam

ily, the deci-sion w

as made at the outset that a dragonfl y w

ould be central to the im

age, so it was included here.

Me

an

ing

s W

hat is the symbolism

of the dragonfl y? Don’t

assume you know

. Listen to your client. Participate; fi ll in the gaps w

ith research, but check your results w

ith the client. Think in metaphors, w

hich helps you avoid becom

ing too literal. Avoid clichés.

PR

OJE

CT D

ESC

RIP

TION

This identity w

ill capture the true essence of Jennifer D

iamond

’s legacy

to help p

eople w

ith rare cancers to be strong

, informed

and p

romote

healing throug

h mind

and b

ody connections and

will set the tone for

all future desig

n app

lications. This identity w

ill use the metap

hor and

symb

olism of the D

ragonfl y as the “healing

messeng

er,” intertwined

with

the following

meaning

s:

Po

werful

The Drag

onfl y is an imp

ortant insect in legend

, where they are creatures

with sup

ernatural pow

ers.

Pro

sperity and

Harm

ony

The Drag

onfl y represents the p

owers of lig

ht and transform

ation, and

the ability to see throug

h illusion. The drag

onfl y teaches a free and joyful

sense of being

.

Inform

edThe D

ragonfl y teaches us to ap

ply the art of know

ledg

e to our own

questions and

situations—to rem

emb

er things are never com

pletely as

they seem.

Ab

ility to b

e Po

sitiveThe shifting

movem

ent, energy, form

, and color of its irid

escent wing

s op

en vague m

emories, rem

inding

us of alternative persp

ectives.

Co

mm

unicator

The Drag

onfl y is the essence of change, the m

essages of enlig

htenment

and w

isdom

. It also bring

s comm

unication from the elem

ental world

, nature sp

irits.

Dare to

Dream

The Drag

onfl y is the doorkeep

er who allow

s the gates to the d

ream

dim

ensions to be op

ened throug

h the breaking

of the physical illusion.

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Ge

t to w

ork

A d

ragon

fl y will b

e central to

the lo

go. A d

ragon

fl y in real life is b

eautifu

l bu

t co

mp

lex, and

the lo

go n

eeds to

be sim

ple. O

ne w

ay to ach

ieve simp

licity is to u

se a silh

ou

ette. A silh

ou

ette mu

st have ju

st the righ

t po

se . . .

Sid

e vie

w It’s a beautifully

engineered creature, but sticky little insect legs say bug, not w

armth,

femininity or w

elcome.

Fro

nt vie

w W

hat is this? It’s hard to tell at a glance, and you probably don’t w

ant it crawling on you.

Top

view

This is the strong view

. Simple, sym

metrical,

graceful. No legs, no body parts,

all attention is on those wings.

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Ge

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any in

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egin

wo

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An

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d e

dg

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hat crystalline shapes. The idea is interesting, but here it appears heavy and m

asculine, which

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ant.

Ab

stract Sharp points and fl at head

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eight of the silhouette, a fem

inine quality.

Ro

tate U

pright orientation is natural to our eye, because it’s the m

ost like us. In this position, the dragonfl y appears balanced, m

otionless, stable, “standing” like an object to be adm

ired, almost as

if we’re view

ing a statue.

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sign

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esign fro

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riefB

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U

Co

ntin

uo

us lin

e, simp

lifi ed

The com

plex, single line is replaced with a

simplifi ed line, w

hich often yields bet-ter results but here does not. Yet w

hile the single w

ings look nothing like a dragon fl y, they do suggest an angel.

Ab

stract, o

utlin

ed

Pointed w

ings take the angel idea further. Four w

ings say dragonfl y, but the im

age has now m

orphed into a sym

bol and is no longer an insect. The lines can also be seen as single w

ings in m

otion. The taper has returned.

Co

ntin

uo

us lin

e Single line m

akes a fl uid im

age, sweeping and graceful,

like a spinning ballerina. This image is

light but fairly abstract—w

e’re losing the sense of a dragonfl y—

but its attributes are desirable.

Pu

shB

ecause ligh

ter is better, p

ush

that d

irection

. Lighten

it mo

re by o

utlin

ing th

e silho

uette.

Listen

to w

hat th

e lines are sayin

g. As yo

u w

ork, p

ay attentio

n to

small im

provem

ents.

®8

of 15D

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Arm

s ad

de

d Tw

o curves becom

e arms that are open

in gentle welcom

e . . .

. . . and a circle becomes a

head. The body is widened into

a tapered diamond—

which, of

course, has its own sym

bolism—

and the image has becom

e beau-tiful. This sketch w

as shown to

the client, who loved everything

except one detail . . .

Co

nve

rgin

g lin

es are deleted

because they reminded H

arvey of the tubes that w

ere attached to Jennifer at the hospital.

Ex

pan

dTw

o lin

es and

a circle are a breakth

rou

gh. T

he im

age no

t on

ly has d

ragon

fl y sym

bo

lism b

ut acq

uires th

at of an

angelic fi gu

re, too, clearly fem

inin

e.

Fla

t he

ad

The wings are sleek

and pretty, but the blunt “head” still looks like a nail. A

lthough unfi nished, key at this point is that the design has developed a clear direction.

Be

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Re

nd

er

Refi n

e on

the co

mp

uter. A

single lin

e weigh

t lend

s strength

and

po

sture an

d ties

the tw

o ch

ief images—

Jenn

ifer and

drago

nfl y—

togeth

er.

Flo

atin

g lik

e a

n a

ng

el Tapered base

conveys weightlessness.

Po

sition

of a

rms O

pen arms w

elcome;

clasped “hands” portray care, watchfulness.

The

fi nish

ed

symb

ol is a beautiful blend

of images, sim

ple, engaging, timeless, pow

erful. It connects on m

any levels—inviting, caring,

confi dent, dignifi ed, angelic and so on.

®B

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0 of 15

Type

Migh

ty Trajan, fi rst in

scribed

in sto

ne o

n E

mp

eror Trajan’s co

lum

n in

Ro

me, h

as th

e dign

ity and

stability th

at befi ts a p

remiu

m can

cer fou

nd

ation

.

The

stab

le ce

nte

r Centered type reinforces the

symm

etrical symbol. C

entering is robust, stable, motionless,

which strengthens the sense of perm

anence.

Se

con

da

ry type

face

The simple form

s of m

odern classic Futura Book are crystal

clear and nearly style-neutral. Because of

this, Futura makes an excellent com

plement

to Trajan and many other typefaces as w

ell. N

ote its panoramic letterspacing (left).

Ma

in typ

efa

ce It’s seen a lot of

use in recent years, but Trajan is tim

eless—strong, perm

anent, a direct connection to the ancient past. Its default letterspacing is like the engraved colum

n, above. It can be looser but should not be tighter than this.

FOU

N

Be

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2 of 15

Ou

r rep

ort card

As w

e have seen

, the creative b

rief gives everyon

e goals to

wo

rk toward

. An

d n

ow th

at w

e’re do

ne, it p

rovides th

e measu

re by w

hich

to ju

dge th

e ou

tcom

e. Keep

in m

ind

that m

any

goals

—“p

rofessio

nal,” fo

r examp

le—are su

bjective, an

d th

at the clien

t gets a vote.

Do

es th

e lo

go

me

et th

e g

oa

ls? F

rom

the

crea

tive b

rief . . .

• Captures the “true essence of Jennifer

Diam

ond’s legacy to help people with

rare cancers be strong, informed and

promote healing . . .”

• Attractive to “individuals and fam

ily m

embers w

ith rare cancers, plus the m

edical comm

unity and donors”

• Dra

go

nfl y This central feature is

clearly visible in the outcome.

• Conveys “confi dence, credibility,

professionalism”

• The image is that of a “prem

ium

non-profi t organization.”

• It “attracts interest and respect.”

• Conveys “stability, trust, credibility”

• Appears “tim

eless, not trendy”

• It’s “conservative, reliable, tasteful, elegant, subtle.”

• It’s “feminine, soft and w

arm w

ithout being girly.”

• It’s “welcom

ing and approachable.”

®B

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agazin

e.com

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re&A

fter i

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1 of 15

Sp

ring

gre

en

s Vibrant colors

are pretty but too “new” and inap-

propriately active to use here. The solution is to desaturate, w

hich replaces hue w

ith gray and yields m

uted, dusty tones. Note above

that the original colors were eye-

droppered from the im

age.

Su

bd

ue

d b

lue

s The client prefered to use blue, w

hich sug-gests lightness, healing, m

edicine. D

esaturated blue was applied only

to the logo, not the type. The colors w

ork naturally together because they’re analogous (side by side on the color w

heel) and mainly gray.

Too bright

Desaturated

Co

lor

A co

lorfu

l drago

nfl y su

ggests brigh

t, sprin

g hu

es, bu

t they w

ou

ld b

e too

active. M

utin

g the co

lors co

nveys so

ftness, p

rofessio

nalism

, trust.

Be

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fter | w

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3 of 15

President

Ha

rvey D

iam

on

d

Vice P

resident

Ma

tthe

w D

iam

on

d

Secretary

Ra

che

l Farle

y

Treasurer

Da

vid Ja

cke

l

Board of D

irectors

Ha

rvey D

iam

on

d, C

ha

ir

Ma

tthe

w D

iam

on

d

Ra

che

l Farle

y

Ma

rsha

ll Ge

lfan

d

18

80 C

en

tury P

ark E

ast 1

6th

Floo

r Los A

ng

ele

s, CA

90

06

7 phone 3

10 5

51 0

80

0 fax 8

05 3

79 2

91

3

ww

w.je

nn

iferd

iam

on

dfo

un

da

tion

.org

18

80 C

en

tury P

ark E

ast 1

6th

Floo

r Los A

ng

ele

s, CA

90

06

7 phone 3

10 5

51 0

80

0 fax 8

05 3

79 2

91

3

ww

w.je

nn

iferd

iam

on

dfo

un

da

tion

.org

18

80 C

en

tury P

ark E

ast

16

th Flo

or

Los A

ng

ele

s, CA

90

06

7

Ha

rvey D

iam

on

d

President

18

80 C

en

tury P

ark E

ast,

16th

Floo

r

Los A

ng

ele

s, CA

90

06

7

phone 31

0 55

1 08

00

fax 80

5 37

9 29

13

ha

rvey@

jen

nife

rdia

mo

nd

fou

nd

atio

n.o

rg

ww

w.je

nn

iferd

iam

on

dfo

un

da

tion

.org

En

velo

pe

White logo on the printed fl ap is an

impressive touch that draw

s full attention to the m

essage it wordlessly conveys. M

anufacturing the full-bleed fl ap requires that the envelope be printed fl at, then assem

bled.

Lette

rhe

ad

Light colors and small, light type convey a sense

of peacefulness and dignity. Top logo and bottom

address are far apart, but centered alignment keeps

them connected. Key personnel are on the far left;

wide line spacing sustains the airiness.

Lette

rhe

ad

, en

velo

pe

an

d

bu

sine

ss card

are

de

sign

ed

a

s a p

ack

ag

e; n

ote

the

log

o

an

d typ

e a

re th

e sa

me

size

on

all th

ree

pie

ces.

Bu

sine

ss card

Vertical format heightens

the sense of a fl oating angel. A

ligned-left copy repeats that on the enve-lope and letterhead.

®B

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4 of 15

Article

reso

urce

s

Type

face

s

1 Adobe G

aramond Italic

2 Frutiger Rom

an

3 Futura Book

4 Trajan Pro

Ima

ge

s

Images: iStockphoto

5 (6980328)

6 (7339555)

Co

lors

PM

S 550

PM

S 7539

78

Ha

rvey D

iam

on

d

President

18

80 C

en

tury P

ark E

ast,

16th

Floo

r

Los A

ng

ele

s, CA

90

06

7

phone 31

0 55

1 08

00

fax 80

5 37

9 29

13

ha

rvey@

jen

nife

rdia

mo

nd

fou

nd

atio

n.o

rg

ww

w.je

nn

iferd

iam

on

dfo

un

da

tion

.org

78

12

34

56

Sp

ecia

l tha

nk

s to th

e e

ver-im

pre

ssive

Ka

ren

Ba

rran

co fo

r allo

win

g u

s to m

orp

h

he

r be

au

tiful w

ork

into

a d

esig

n le

sson

. D

eve

lop

ing

an

ima

ge

of th

is calib

er is n

eith

er

as e

asy, n

or a

s line

ar, a

s a co

nd

en

sed

, 1–2–3 a

rticle m

ak

es it a

pp

ea

r an

d o

ften

invo

lves

na

il bitin

g a

nd

slee

ple

ss nig

hts. A

nd

, of

cou

rse, a tru

e b

ran

d is a

bo

ut m

uch

mo

re th

an

a

log

o. Ne

verth

ele

ss, the

prin

ciple

s sho

wn

h

ere

are

corre

ct an

d in

go

od

ord

er a

nd

ha

ve

a lo

t to te

ach

us.

Ab

ou

t Ka

ren

we

can

say th

is—th

at if w

e w

ere

in

ne

ed

of a

de

sign

er, sh

e w

ou

ld b

e o

n o

ur

sho

rt list of p

eo

ple

to p

ho

ne. S

ee

mo

re o

f he

r w

ork

—a

nd

rea

d a

bo

ut h

er p

roce

ss—o

n h

er

We

b site, w

ww

.spe

cialm

od

ern

de

sign

.com

.

Visit the Jennifer D

iamond C

ancer Foundation at w

ww

.jenniferdiamondfoundation.org.

Be

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