This was a joint promotion with TakePart.com. I wanted to create an identity that would not seem out of place on that platform. I felt that the identity needed to be bold, and read well on a mobile screen as well as scale up in print /HD.
As there were sponsors besides TakePart and DOC, I felt that the identity needs to be simple and legible so as to play well with other brands, yet communicate some essence of the myriad subjects of the stunt. I began looking at ‘humanist’ fonts and in particular a new style that has rounded forms and no spurs – the sharp ends seen on letterforms. These are very modern and are also very web friendly, important in a cross platform scenario. I chose “Cocon” for that reason.
Since the name incorporates the idea of “view”, I felt that needed to be incorporated as a visual component, as well as have a connection to the earth. Although the previous identity ( one that I also designed) used that motif, I want to retain the ‘point of view’ aspect, but open it up in order to evolve the brand – perhaps going from a “worldview to a more personal ‘macro-view’.
I explored a number of directions but felt that a commonly used image of the earth would not serve the stunt since it was very wide ranging — touching on everything from organic farming, coastline erosion to endangered species. I started to explore motifs such as foliage, seeds and then made the connection that I felt brought the sight and the ecological together.
I sketched many ideas but decided to focus my energy on my strongest solution which I feel captures the essence of “green” and of “sight”.
While looking at a leaf shape, I saw the similarity to the shape of an eye.. Adding a pupil made this visual connection stronger. This adds a much needed human connection as well as a little nod to the “green man”, a pre-christian folklore symbol for fertility. Splitting the shape into two colors helped reinforce the leaf form as as did the tapering of the ends.
Leaves are of course common to agriculture, the rain-forest and herbal medicine. The shape as rendered here is organic, which works well with the font and harmonizes with other elements and give a focal point to the other graphics.
