I often use architecture as a method for making decisions. Usually, the goal is to quickly and accurately gauge where the audiences’ eye will travel when viewing the poster, mailer, billboard, or LCD screen. Then direct their eye to where and what design elements will transmit the message most clearly and efficiently.
In this project, I was tasked with changing a fairly long headline into a logotype. The first order of business was to find the hierographic apex in the headline. The word ‘money’ can reliably be determined to be the most important in any casino piece. I chose ‘sound’ over ‘free’ as my number two. The word ‘free’ is important but colorless. Having already chosen a strong but flavorless word for my foundation, I needed to put some paint on the walls. ‘Sound’ implied the theme of the piece so it was next.
‘The’ and ‘of’ fall into line next. The placement of those two words is used to ensure proper reading more than any other design imperative. After the logotype is hierographically in order the art treatment was next. I chose a silver and gold metallic appearance that was fairly straightforward.
Next, I created the hook — an interesting visual element that should make the audience spend just a bit longer with the piece. In this case, it is an old fashioned phonograph with a record made of money. It is essential that the weight of the hook be in correct proportion to the logotype.
Finally, I created the stage on which the logotype and the hook will be presented. Ideally, the logo and hook image will be able to stand on their own without any background art. The design to this point has been created over negative space and it should be able to exist there and still communicate effectively. However, leaving the design in this state would be like building a house and leaving the yard bare dirt. It usually does not take a lot to complete the background. The only rule is to make sure the background, the stage, remains negative space. The work would be for naught if the background art jumps up and steals the show from the logotype and the hook.