California Institute of Arts

Brand New Brand

This course is the culmination of the Graphic Design Specialization and gives an opportunity to tie together the acquired knowledge and skills into a single project: a brand development guide for a company.
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Length 1 to 3 months
Effort 3-5 hours per week
Price Free
Subject Design
Level Intermediate
Languages English
Video Transcripts English, Spanish

This course takes you through the entire design process, from ideation to creation to presentation. Through the guide, you will be creating and giving a visual identity to an imaginary start-up company, and applying that visual identity to a number of forms. You will also develop a logotype and accompanying graphic palette to visually represent your company, as well as apply that design to a number of different applications to see it at work.


Note: Only learners who have earned a certificate in the four previous courses in the Specialization are eligible to take the Capstone.

What you'll learn

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

  • Apply brand design that showcases a company's identity

  • Compose mood boards to show a brand's look and feel

  • Create a brand's logo, typeface, and color palette

  • Develop brand naming ideas

Course syllabus

WEEK 1

Ideation: Invent Your Client

In this module you will choose an area your start-up company works in, create a written (fake) history of your company, define company idealogical goals and philosophy, brainstorm for naming ideas and name your company.

WEEK 2

Visualization: Make Your Fake

In this module you will carry out visual research of reference material for your start-up's identity. You will create digital “mood boards” to show the look and feel and visual direction of your company's identity.

WEEK 3

Logotype: Brand Your Brand

In this module you will learn how to create a logotype for your company, with emphasis on finessing typographic forms.

WEEK 4

Palette: Expand Your Brand

In this module you will be extending the palette of your brand identity by creating a suite of elements for your start-up company: color palette, visual mark, secondary typefaces, imagery/forms and a secret ingredient.

WEEK 5

Application: Apply Your Brand

In this module you will be using your extended palette, or suite of elements, to create a set of design pieces that showcase the identity for your imaginary start-up company.

WEEK 6

Publication: Display Your Brand

In this module you will be reworking and refining your identity components. You will be finishing and refining the design of your Brand Development Guide and submitting it for the final.

WEEK 7

Final Review

We will be wrapping things up this week and reviewing our peers' work.

Meet the instructors

Michael Worthington

Faculty, Program in Graphic Design

School of Art