A little bit about the process…

This semester long branding project was completed in teams of three. The goal was to create a brand/company and develop their identity throughout a series of branded deliverables including brand guidelines, a stationery set, web advertisement, branded packaging and a guerrilla marketing campaign. All the work for this project led to the Brand Expo in which we would have a booth and present the brand to our family, friends, teachers and fellow peers. My brand was a travel agency that focuses on environmental adventure travel named Illo Adventures.

The Logo

Our type based logo works both as an icon and word mark. The bold but rounded letter forms were chosen to express an idea of friendliness and approachability while still addressing the bold and adventurous values of the brand. Furthermore, as a travel agency the sun rays included on the logo play on the association of the sun with vacation and travel. Additionally, the letters create the abstract image of someone (i) sitting on a seat (L) with an open window (o), implying the idea of transport int he form of planes and trains that often times have this seating arrangement.

Identity

Beyond the logo, our mascot Milo was created from the very same letters appearing in the logo. Originally Milo began as a logo option within itself but after evaluating methods of usage, my team and I decided that Milo was too unique to our brand and well-liked (by those who saw it in development) to drop completely. With that, our mascot was born, acting as both an icon for the Illo Adventures and a secondary logo. We also established that our brand’s colours would be light orange, blue and green because of their strong association to nature and how well they compliment each other in visuals.

As part of the stationery set, we needed to create business cards, letterheads and envelopes. In each aspect we decided to include alternate versions of the documents, each focusing on one of our brand’s colours. Furthermore, the illustrated pattern feature I created for the inside of the envelope was then used throughout our branding. Each pattern was meant to express a specific environment in a subtle and abstract way. The blue was meant to convey the ocean/sea, the green was for forests/jungles and the orange for the desert.

A little bit about the process…

Our guerrilla marketing campaign was to create a sense of adventure and curiosity about the brand by printing out several cutouts of Milo and displaying him throughout the school. Each cutout was tagged with a QR code and note that said take him with you. The goal was to create a game of sorts in which people could pick up a Milo cutout and displace it from its original spot so you would be taking him on an adventure with you. The QR code brought people to an Instagram page for Illo Adventures which explained the game with Milo and prompted users to take a picture of him in his new spot, which could then be shared on the account’s story. This campaign was made in the hopes of bolstering awareness toward the brand and creating engagement with people in a way they wouldn’t with a simple poster or flyer.

A Personal Project in Association with Illo Adventures

After having completing our work for this project, I had an idea for a series of posters (which could be displayed throughout the city and used on billboards or displayed digitally on social media. The intention was to create a sense of longing and inspiration for travel and adventure that would lead viewers to seek out Illo Adventures for these types of experiences. The posters’ tagline is “This Could Be You” and it displays the brand’s mascot Milo on a awe-inspiring backdrop. The pictures used for the background are all my own.