Boomers w/o Borders Project

Boomers without Borders Project

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:10:00 +0000

Graphic Design 2 students at UMD in fall 2007 will work in a small team on this design project.

Problem:
Create an identity and other design elements to be used by a new non-profit organization, Boomers without Borders. Work with client to define target audience and design logo and graphics to reflect mission statement. Design process to include brainstorming, many iterations of logo designs, refinement of final logos and application of logo to web and print graphics for organization use.

Boomers Without Borders MISSION STATEMENT
To offer a free on-line service that will encourage and support people over
40 to use their time and talents to contribute to, engage with, and learn
from communities outside the U.S. and to create a community of volunteers
willing to share information about their experiences.

GD2 Class Project Team

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:24:23 +0000

Graphic Design 2 students:
Katie Djerf
Kevin Marx
Scott Roby

Faculty:
Joellyn Rock

Client Notes #1

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:26:19 +0000

Some notes from our client, Jude Rosenberg:

Target Audience:
over 40, majority female, not necessarily very computer savvy, but enough to do email and web searches.
service-oriented with interest in volunteering, probably with some understanding of global issues.
looking to find some meaning in theirs
likes to travel internationally
wears or is starting to wear reading glasses
has lived though the 60"s and 70"s and vietnam war, etc

Design Needs:
Identity / logo for organization
i like visually interesting simple design, not too fussy or confusing.

should be simple, clear and eyecatching . it would be great if the logo conveyed the sense of service, global reach, something about being over 40, fresh and positive. if this isnt possible, than at least have a memorable look.

i'd like it to flow better with the banner, as if it were one thing, but still be able to pull out the logo part and use it separately on a business card and on letterhead. so the image and type size and font need to be readable in a smaller version. and readable by middle aged or older people who might need to wear reading glasses!!!

I'd like to coordinate the colors and typeface with the rest of the site, so i don't have to redo everything else. I'd like the whole design to work in DRUPAL, fix exactly in the existing image size,and not require much additional (costly) programming.

the banner could have cross cultural, ethnic, colorful look or merely and international look or whatever else the students come up with that looks great.

maybe it could play off the doctors without borders logo. there are now many orgs without borders, so it might be interesting to look on line and see what they have done..engineers without borders, teachers without borders, journalists without borders, etc.

PRINT APPLICATIONS OF LOGO
Suggested text for some print items found below:
1. BOOMERS WITHOUT BORDERS BUMPER STICKER
www.boomerswithoutborders.org
OR
www.BoomersWithoutBorders.org

2. BOOMERS WITHOUT BORDERS MAGAZINE AD
limited space
1/2" x 2" space
www.BoomersWithoutBorders.org-a free independent service
for people of 40 looking for international volunteer opportunities.

3. Boomers Without Borders MISSION STATEMENT
To offer a free on-line service that will encourage and support people over
40 to use their time and talents to contribute to, engage with, and learn
from communities outside the U.S. and to create a community of volunteers
willing to share information about their experiences.

4. BOOMERS WITHOUT BORDERS POSTCARD TEXT
LOGO
TEXT:
Over 40 and looking for meaningful volunteer experiences and dont know where
to begin?
Over 40 and wanting to take a career break and contribute your skills to an
international project that needs them?
Over 40 and searching for a way to "give back" with your time and energy?
Check out www.BoomersWithoutBorders.org.

Our mission is to offer a free on-line service that will encourage and
support people over 40 to use their time and talents to contribute to,
engage with, and learn from communities outside the U.S. and to create a
community of volunteers willing to share information about their
experiences.

Read original articles that can help you clarify your needs and make
informed choices that best use your skills. find service projects that work
with local communities in sustainable, respectful ways. Join an online
community of global volunteers, sharing their knowledge and experience.

5. BOOMERS WITHOUT BORDERS HOLIDAY GREETING CARD
LOGO
front:
Everybody can be great because everybody can serve ... You only need a heart
full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.
--Martin Luther King Jr.
inside:
MAY WE ALL WORK TO MAKE THE WORLD A KINDER, MORE EQUAL, GREENER PLACE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME
-the staff at www.BoomersWithoutBorders.org

Scott Roby > logo ideas > PDF

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 14:44:33 +0000

Download this PDF to view Scott's logo ideation and roughs
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IDEAS BY SCOTT ROBY

IDEA #1:

Pangaea
(see PDF Pages 1-3)
The basis for this idea is Pangaea; the single land mass that eventually broke apart to form the continents we know today. This was a land before nations and borders. I use it to symbolize the commonality of humanity—we all share one planet. In other treatments, the arrangement of individual continents are manipulated to convey the idea that organizations like Boomers Without Borders have ideas of the world that have less to do with geography than humanity.
In most of these ideations, the continents have the looks of unsophiticated paper cutouts. This is reference to movie posters created by Saul Bass in the 1950s and ‘60s including Exodus,The Man With the Golden Arm and Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo.

IDEA #2:

Fallen Wall (PDF Pages 4-6)

The basis for this group of designs is the idea of the fallen or crumbling wall. Many boomers saw the Berlin Wall built, and almost all of them watched it fall. It’s a very strong symbol of the elimination of borders. The shape of the O in the Cholla type is echoed in the shape of the “bricks�?.

IDEA #3:

Bese-Saka
(see PDF Pages 7-10)

This series of designs is inspired by a West African symbol called bese-saka, seen at the immediate right. The mark represents unity and togetherness, as well as abundance and affluence. Each design is a variation on the theme of the bese-saka, to remove a tight connection to Africa specifcally, and commuicate a broader message of diversity. The lobes of the bese-saka, in many of the versions, become stylized human figures of reaching in, working on a common goal.

MORE IDEAS FROM SCOTT:

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Simplified Bese-Saka (pdf page 1)
These are simplified versions of the Bese-Saka symbol, that have taken slightly different forms.

The first is many people, reaching to the center, and forming a flower as they do.

The second and third are stylized humans trying to lift "the world", helping to support the planet and putting its welfare above their own.

The fourth and fifth are more echoes of the Bese-Saka lobes, with helping hands.

Years (pdf page 2)
1946-1964 are the boundary years for the Baby Boomer generation. These ideas take those numbers and play with composition.

Fallen Wall, part II (pdf page 3)
THis is another take on the original fallen wall idea. This time using a color gradient to illustrate the dissolving wall.

Eyeglasses (pdf page 4)
Reading glasses as a symbol for the baby boomer generation was discussed early on, so I tried to have a little fun and see what I could do with them.

Kevin Marx > logo ideas > PDF

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 14:46:59 +0000

Download 2 PDFs to view Kevin's logo ideation and roughs:

Download file

IDEA #1

On page one I started out with the very minimalist idea of just a gestural circle in blue to symbolize the earth. I wanted to use a more gestural style in making this circle to give the feeling of it being without borders. Throughout the first row are some iterations of this circle idea.

IDEA #2

We then jump down to the third row. This compass idea came second. I did some research and found that the lotus flower was a symbol in many cultures meaning rebirth and spiritual growth, and so I created a compass rose that resembles a lotus flower to show the idea of rebirth through volunteering and traveling the world. The first one I had made was in the section A3 on the sheet, this I thought looked too religious pointing straight up and down, so then I just added a tilt to it so that none of the points on the compass point directly upward. Also after I had made this compass, I found that the red hued one looks like an explosion which could signify "boomers" also.

Row two on this page is a hybrid between the globe idea and the compass idea. Just adding the compass into the globe makes for a strong feeling of worldly travel.

IDEA #3
The ideas on page two were more playing with the actual letter forms. It had started out in row 1A with taking the capital "B" from the Cholla font and just filling in the negative space in the letter form to create an interesting b shape. This shape is just mirrored to create the square shape seen in the top row. In 2A I just took one of the "B" forms and tried a few logos just using that.

IDEA #4

In the third row I took the letters a little further into American Sign Language. I used the hand sign forms for the letters BWB. This idea brings the hand image back into play but with a more meaning to it. Row 3B is just the "W" letter from, I just think that this hand gesture is strong and could work by itself. In the last one, 3C, I just refined the idea of using "BWB" in sign language into a better visual aesthetic. I reversed the B hands to there is one left and one right hand, this also resembles the hand gesture for describing a butterfly. The butterfly in many cultures is a symbol of rebirth which I think describes the "BWB" well, because you have people looking to enrich their lives by volunteering.

Brainstorming > Ideas for logo

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 14:49:26 +0000

Our team met and brainstormed the logo / identity project for Boomers without Borders...

ideas included>
challenge of boiling down large umbrella concept into single image
imagery to appeal to female audience with color + feel
imagery to reflect global / multicultural content
imagery to stand for person > hand, face, hats, tools...
use of pattern, textile, circular imagery
use of grid to contain diversity
warmer color harmony > add to the blue / green

Webgallery of LOGOs from other without borders orgs:
http://www.d.umn.edu/~jrock2/borders/

Scott Roby > round 2 > logos

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:06:11 +0000

Scott Roby's Exploration Round 2

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.pdf Page 1
I tried to simplify the "without borders" idea, and in the first couple of rows I have the name of the organization actually moving boundaries aside. The organization can't be contained by the borders of the box and circle. That same idea is worked into the capital B of the Boomers and Borders. In the bottom two rows are a revisit to my first dissolving wall, this time using just a line or two of "bricks".

.pdf Pages 2 and 3
There is a quotation on the existing Website by Robert Louis Stevenson, " Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but the seeds you plant." The idea of the seed, and it's promise and potential interested me. So here are some seeds, some sprouting, most not.

.pdf Page 4
These are some more images of items we discussed last time. The globe with glasses has been made to look a little more like a sketch, lightening the feel of the mark a little. Next are the flowers-by-people. I tried to get these to look less like atoms, and more like flowers. The beginning of the third row takes a suggestion from the fact that Boomers Without Borders is an online service, so I suggested that by using your keyboard, you could have access to the whole planet. And the last are re-works of Pangea, this time organized into a more contained, unified shape.

.pdf Page 5
Experimentations with the type layout. Although not all of the words are the same size, I tried to give them the same visual weight.

.pdf Page 6
This is some more experimentation with the online-service aspect of Boomers Without Borders. This time the needle of a compass is replaced by a mouse pointer.

Kevin Marx > round 2 > logos

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:24:18 +0000

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Idea 1
On the first page, I started working with just using the shapes I derived from the capital B of the Cholla font. I worked with just making a double B image that would stand for Boomers without Borders.

Idea 2
In this I started working a little bit more abstractly with the B letter form creating a lowercase B out of the shapes I had derived from the uppercase B. The color scheme on this icon can be changed depending on use, and each shape can either be the same color or two different colors.

Idea 3
With this I took the shape a little further. I had been told that the shape with only one 90 degree angle on it looked like a speech bubble, so I took that idea and played with it. These logos are to give the feeling of people who had volunteered in the past talking about their experiences with Boomers without Borders. The center row, B, is a series of logos that could be used, each on a different piece; such as one for the stationary, one for a business card, one for an envelope, etc... Otherwise any of these on this page could be used as a stand alone logo also.

Idea 4
This was a revisit of the globe idea, trying to refine it. The top row is the globe in solid colors, the text can either be black or the color of the icon itself. The second row, B, uses 2 and 3 color in the icon. The third row, C, shows ideas for what the logo would look like in black and white. And lastly row D is using a loosely drawn grid to symbolize the latitude and longitude lines.

ONE MORE FROM KEVIN>>>

Katie Djerf > Logo ideas

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:32:23 +0000

The main concept behind all of these logo ideas is going with the globe/world not having
borders. I played with the idea in more of an abstract way trying to keep it fun, clean,
fresh and new. Each globe/world is not really a complete whole but has some sort of
breakage or unconnectedness to it indicating the no borders aspect.

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Scott > round 3 > logos

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:05:54 +0000

ROUND 3 PDF from Scott:

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Roby_10A
This is more work with the busted box logo. The basic composition is the same, but the lines of the box were given different qualities. Some are softer, some are more sketch-like, and some have taken the shape of the letter B.

Those that are rotated just a little have taken on a look much like stamps in passports, which could reinforce the idea of travel.

Roby_10B
The shape of the actual Pangaea super-continent has been abandoned, and the arrangement of the individual land masses has been crafted to give a more cohesive shape overall. And I've looked at using the stand-alone shape and a white knockout of the shape in a box.

Once I found a shape that seemed to make the most sense, I moved on to coordinating the typography with the shape.

Kevin > round 3 > logos

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:12:24 +0000

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I focused in on one logo theme throughout this time. I worked this logo up in many different ways textually to try every different possibility. I settled on a final color scheme to be used with the logo.

On page one there are a couple iterations using different color arrangements along with different type treatments.

On page two there is a few more type treatments. I settled on the final color locations on the logo itself. Also on this page is a few small logo ideas for when the logo would get too small to see the type used on it.

On the third page is just some mock ups of what the logo could look like integrating photography into the logo form. Also I did a few mock ups of the banner for the website, bear in mind that these will not be the final images used nor the final arrangement of photos.

Katie > round 3 > logos

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:13:21 +0000

View Katie's newest PDF s >> 4 pages
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ONE
Globe concept

TWO
This was playing off the uneven circles and the abstract person a bit more. In the
circles I added some arrows to try and create some movement and the idea of spinning. The
person was a little busy in the original so I tried to simplify it a little more without
losing the person quality.

THREE & FOUR
I chose the letter B for Boomers and Borders and just played around with it to see what I
could come up with. I also tried to incorporate the shape inside the B as well.

FIVE
Concept of circle or globe with the unfinished or undefined border. Also through in some
different patterns into the mix to just see how it would look and maybe help convey some
of the different patterns from around the world.

Scott Roby > Halloween round

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 15:09:05 +0000

Scotts_10.29.07

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Page 1: These are three versions of the opened-box design. From left to right, we have the clean, machined version. The next two are distressed, and the far right is closest to what a passport stamp may look like. (see PDF)

Page 2: These are more human abstractions. Hugs, arm-in-arm, that kind of thing. (see jpgs below)

Page 3-7: These are website mock=ups, using the logo along with the photos you supplied. (see PDF)

Katie > Halloween round

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 15:21:10 +0000

People logos by Katie

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Kevin > Halloween round

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 14:20:00 +0000

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On the first page there is a couple of new logos using a boot print. With this I was trying to give the human feeling without actually showing a person or anything that resembled a person, So rather I went with what is left behind from one's journey. On the lower half is a few more iterations of the last logo I had done.

On the 2nd page is just showing how my favorite logo of the bunch holds up in different sizes.

Page 3 is the logo mocked up into the masthead of the website along with a few ideas for imagery. I wanted to make it so that the logo colors could be changed so that it could be used as a navigation point on the website.

Page 4 and 5 are the front and back of an idea for a business card.

Page 6 is an idea for the envelope design

Page 7 is a proposed design for the letterhead

And page 8 is how each of the parts fits together to create the logo.