What did I do?
I had never branded a band before. I had not even though about bands as ‘brands’. However, it is wise to assume that in this mode of contemporary culture, bands can be considered brands. Love Creative created the One Direction brand, and it is undeniable that this type of brief would be categorised as a branding brief. I looked into successful rock band visuals. I also looked into the etymology of the word Suilven, it’s meaning in a broader sense, and it’s meaning to the band specifically.
Why did I do it?
I looked at band graphics to determine what was appropriate within this context. I found that within music, and within rock particularly, there is no right answer other that to deliver the tone of the band, and their current sound and intention.
I looked into the etmyology, in order find something I could use and aply appropriately as a visual direction for the brief. I held meetings with the band, to find their intention and personal feelings on the direction of the band.
What more could I have done?
I really struggled to see what type of research was appropriate here, due to the only real immediate success would be if the band liked it and wanted to roll it out as there design identity.
I think that I could have potentially looked into the wider music industry, rather than just bands that are based on the guitar based side of music. Perhaps looking into record labels, bands from other genres, and potentially even film, could have given me a greater insight.
What direction did I take?
I decided to look further into the etymology. I found that the name of the band is named after the mountain Suilven in Scotland. The word is of viking origin and I thought that this would be an intriguing direction to take due to the visual properties of Viking runes. I found that the Viking theme was something that the band was interested in. The music has a strong and thunderous quality that holds a relationship to the direction I proposed. The direction had links to nature giving it an older world feeling, making it look more visually organic.
Why did I take this direction?
I took this particular direction as I wanted to create an intriguing typographic style that would have a point of relevance. It is quite common for bands to talk about their name, or their arwork in interviews. I felt that having a background and context to every design decision would allow the band to talk about these decisions with confidence.
What influenced me?
I was influenced by viking runes and their overall forms. I did not thinking runes was particularly wise as it is a completely different alphabet. I instead wanted to take visual elements from these in order to create a typographic style that would hold the values that my research and design direction intimated.
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