Monogram case studies

I have decided to research a couple of case studies that are based on the design and rebrand of monograms for well known brands. This will therefore give me more knowledge on the power that monograms can hold when it comes to the design of a brand and how it is perceived but the public.

Case study No.1

Andrew Lloyd Webber theatres- Rebrand

The intial sketches and iterations

Below is an image of the designer I initial ideas and it is evident that they were exploring with the initials of each of the theatres and how the letters could link together seamlessly.

The Concept & Final outcome

The below image shows the final logo and monograms for the company and each of the 6 theatres.

The Concept

The initial concept was to include a line-and-dot that was supposed to reference the “stage and spotlight” of theatres, this is clearly evident in the final outcome in the LW Monogram. This idea and concept is a homage to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s artistry and passion for all things architecture and art! Elmwood has designed , six unique logos for the theatres and these six theatre logos actually work as a group. They are all typographic, with some being monograms, some of the 6 feature two initials summing up the theatre names, and the others feature just one initial. They are integrated, to different degrees of success, through a negative space element that breaks into the letters.

Colour palette

A primary colour palette of black and white has been used for this re-brand, which I think fits perfectly for what the team initially wanted for this brand, they wanted sophistication, luxury and elegance and with the colour choice of classic black and white you can’t go wrong.

Extended colour palette

The designer states that this brand has a secondary colour palette which is meant to consist of pink, red, orange, grey and blue. I took to Adobe Colour to pick those colours from the companies musical posters and the above palette was the end result, you can clearly see the use of those tones within the poster in a simple and subtle way. I think that this subtle extended palette compliments the striking black and white colours that is the brands main colours and they pair nicely together, especially for this print work.

The typefaces

There were six typefaces that were used for this project for each individual theatre and they include:

1. Chiswick Sans for The Adelphi
2. Neutraface for Cambridge Theatre
3. Tiempos Headline for the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
4. Knockout for Gillian Lynne
5. Domaine Display for The London Palladium
6. Portrait for her Majesty’s Theatre.

Their monogram in action

This project inparticular took on average six months to complete, and the new brand is currently rolling out on a range of touchpoints, including the new and improved website, as well as staff uniforms, building signage, business cards, and customer merchandise such as coffee cups and bags.

What I loved about this case study is the use of the monogram in a number of different elements and touchpoints, for example the use of the new and improved monogram on the wall in the picture above in my opinion works very well, its bold and striking but still gives off a sophisticated and elegant look. Certain aspects of the monogram are increased in size and enlarged and this creates a subtle yet effective 5th element to this brand, this is visible on the envelopes. This is something that I could look into further and I would like my brand to have a monogram that I am able to manipulate and experiment with for different touchpoints for my brand, e.g. envelopes, letter heads and even maybe furniture one day!

My opinions on the new monogram design?

Personally I find this concept hard to see in the logo initially, once pointed out it is easy to understand but if you were not made aware of the stage and light concept in the LW logo I find this difficult to connect and visually understand. However each logo and monogram is still visually elegant and grasps the theatre roll and personality well, the use of the monogram in various touchpoints is also very successful. Overall I think that the rebrand of this group and it’s the theatres was a complete success, the designer has taken into account all of the aspects that Andrew Lloyd Webber wanted to include and the outcome of both the monograms and the typefaces tie together seamlessly.

Case study No.2

The Gatewick Express rebrand

The Gatewick Express is a high frequency rail passenger service between London, Gatwick Airport, and Brighton, and is a well known brand. They were introducing a new and better train and with that they wanted a better logo and a complete rebrand! This brand initially wanted to simplify their image and they wanted to bring a sense of calm to their tone of voice and overall image.

Old brand

The original logo for the Gatwick Express is blocky and definitely doesn’t give off that high end feel. Personally to me this logo comes across very loud and quite disruptive and those aren’t the quality and words that a train service wants to be giving off to the public. It is clear that this brand was out of date, passengers felt that at such a high price they should be experiencing a higher level of luxury and a better overall brand experience, therefore making the brands pricing unjustified and not worth it to many passengers. From looking at this logo alone it makes sense to me that they wanted a calmer and more sophisticated design.

Early exploration and iterations

Below shows the designer’s initial thinking and iterations for the new and improved design, it is clear to see the development and exploration with the letters G and X here. The brand wanted to bring a sense of clarity to their image, a swell as calmness and luxury and the chose font of these letters represents that idea well. The Gatewick team stated:

“We lost the clutter and made our new logo all about clarity. The mix of cusps and curves brought a sense of calm to the brand.”

After

This re design ties in with the language of the brand and it’s tone of voice and what a brand wants it’s customers and audience to associate with them, what kind of words and phrases would they want people to use. For Gatwick they wanted the public to think of luxury, efficiency and high end. I find it fascinating that a change in monogram/ logo can completely change the way people view a brand and what sort of words they associate with it, the power of using simple but sophisticated type and letters is astonishing. I think that the rebranding of Gatwick has 100% made people see its high end value and it has made the high price worth it for the customers, they are finally getting that luxury experience that the Gatwick express promises to its passengers. The G and the X fit seamlessly together and they connect in a simple and effortless way and this monogram presents a traditional personality but the missing areas of the letters gives off a modern twist, the paired font is slick and modern and it contrasts the monogram. they have kept the red and white colour palette and each component when put together feels right and has bettered the brand overall image.

What did I learn from this?

• I thoroughly enjoyed reading these case studies and researching further into the power of a monogram and how a well designed on e can complexity change how the public perceive the brand and it can clearly show the brands values and persoanliriy.
• Sketching is key, in each case study they highlighted the importance of sketching ideas before making it digital, sketching ideas leads to better and more suitable outcomes!
• I learned that less is actually more, the design of each monogram in both case studies focus on the use of typography, with certain areas removed or manipulated slightly and this can actually add to this simplistic approach of the monogram design, this is inspiring and eye opening! This has showed me that I don’t need to over complicate the process and a simple clean monogram will always work.
• I have learned that the use of colour should always be minimal too, in both case studies the colours for each of the monograms are very minimal but the end result is still impressive. I have learned that I don’t need copious amounts of large colour palettes to make my brand stand out/ be noticed.

How can I apply this new knowledge to my own work?

I have to take this knowledge and apply it to the design of my monogram, the overall look of my monogram tells the audience immediately what my brand is about as this will most likely be the first thing they see. The audience will be able to gauge a few of my brands values and its tone of voice from my monogram and they will immediately associate certain words with my brand according to the design I chose to go for. I want the words they associate with me and my brand to be modern, sleek and professional, therefore I need to design a monogram that reflects these words and values.