GRP224 | Identity and Branding

Assessment 3 | Designer Brand

SARAH
MICALLEF

SARAH MICALLEF
Digital Artisan
www.sarahmicallef.design
0401 311 108 | hello@sarahmicallef.design
Contents Page
Design Brief 3
Research
Gianluca Santoro 4
Ron Gibbons 6
Davy Dooms 8
Style Guide 10
Brand Touchpoints
Resolved Logo 20
Business Card 21
Desktop Website 23

Project Summary 26
Design Process 27
Reference List 37
Design Brief
Due to the anticipated upcoming emergence of Sarah Micallef as
a professional within the design industry, the development of an
aesthetically consistent set of brand touch points is required.

The purpose of these touch points is to represent Sarah Micallef

as a bold, confident and detail-driven design professional to both
potential employers and colleagues, through the development of
high quality business cards for distribution.

These cards will also serve to direct individuals to a secondary

touch point where they can find out more about Sarah and view
samples of her work, via a portfolio website.

The client’s visual identity needs to be sophisticated,

uncomplicated and showcase excellent attention to detail,
framing Sarah Micallef as a high quality, unique and meticulous
graphic design professional.

The touch points required include:

A logo that has been refined to a professional design industry

standard, and is suitable for use over a variety of applications
A double sided, full colour business card
A desktop website

It is anticipated that this project will take between 5 to 7 weeks

with regular submissions to the client for feedback, with a set SARAH
MICALLEF

completion date of Friday, June 1st, 2018.

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Research
Logo 1 | Gianluca Santoro
The application of Graphic Designer Gianluca Santoro’s logo
across his touch points, displays a high degree of consistency,
both in the limited colour variations of the logo used (Pantone
P 179-10U and P 179-2U) and the placement of the logo, which
either appears centre justified (website, stationary items) or left
aligned (business cards, letterheads). Santoro uses the same
colour palette across digital and printed touch points.

Santoro’s logo is coupled with a single sans serif typeface of

which two weights are utilised (DDT Heavy and Book). Matte
finishes are used throughout Santoro’s touch points, with
simplicity being maintained via the absence of specialist printing 1
techniques. The layout of Santoro’s business cards directly
reflects that of his website, with both touch points placing
their primary visual weight within the centre of the work whilst
providing the logo with an adequate border of space for clarity.

The designers choices in logo applications across their touch

points has contributed to the success of the brand by not only
creating a consistent aesthetic due to placement decisions, but
also by making his brand easily recognisable due to the careful
control of the carefully selected and implemented colour palette
in which the logo is featured.

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 2

3 4 5

6 8 9

5
Research
Logo 2 | Ron Gibbons
Graphic Designer Ron Gibbon’s application of his logo across
touch points displays consistency in the singular logo choice
utilised, but also offers variety in the use of the contrasting
colours choices of Pantone Black C and 2035 XGC which have
been selected to present the logo in, with the Pantone 2035
XGC version being utilised across the majority of touch points.

The placement of Gibbon’s logo varies, with top left hand

corner, bottom right hand corner and centre aligned versions all
being utilised. The layout of the front of Gibbons business card
mirrors that of his website About page, with the same 3 colour
palette, portrait layout and top left hand corner placement of 10
the logo occurring. Matte, uncoated finishes are used universally
over Gibbons touch points, as is debossing of the logo, adding
definition and emphasising this feature.

The designers choices in logo application across their touch

points has contributed to the success of the brand by creating
consistency, resulting in an aesthetic that is distinct enough to
be recognised via colour palette and logo. Improved consistency
in the placement of the logo across touch points could be
beneficial to the success of this brand by creating additional
unity.

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11 12

14

13 15

16 17

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Research
Logo 3 | Davy Dooms
The application of Graphic Designer Davy Dooms logo across
his touch points showcases exceptional consistency, with the
logo being featured only in Pantone Black C. Additionally to this,
the logo placement remains the same across all touch points,
always appearing in the top left hand corner, with a consistent
amount of clear space surrounding it. The only variation in the
logo is seen in its debossing on Dooms business card.

Dooms utilises matte, uncoated finishes over all of his printed 18

touch points, with his website also reflecting this aesthetic via
the use of a Cool Gray 3 C background which adds a sense of
matte texture to the work. Landscape layouts are used across all
touch points, with the layout of both sides of Dooms business
card bearing a striking resemblance to his website, in layout,
logo placement, and also in the sans serif typefaces used, which
are Neusa bold (headings) and Neusa Regular (body copy).

The designers choices in logo application across their touch

points has contributed to the success of the brand by creating
complete consistency through placement, colour choices and
layouts, resulting in a brand which is both instantly recognisable
and wonderfully professional and polished in appearance.

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 19 20

21 22

24

26

23 25 27

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Sarah Micallef | Style Guide

SARAH
MICALLEF

Version 1.0 | May 2018

10
Contents Page
Sarah Micallef Logo 12

Boundary Specifications 13

Size Specifications 14

Logo Colour Variations 15

Typography 16

Signatures 18

Prohibited Logo Use 19

11
Sarah Micallef Logo
The Sarah Micallef logo represents Sarah Micallef as a creative 1.
professional and aims to convey the qualities of precision, clarity,
creativity and passion. Precision is conveyed via the exact logo
measurements and alignment, clarity in the typeface choice,
creativity via the use of a custom made graphic element and Symbol
passion through a strong and vibrant master logo colour choice.

1. Figure 1 is the Sarah Micallef master logo which is a

combination mark, containing both a symbol and a wordmark.
This logo is the preferred logo for representation of the Sarah SARAH Wordmark
Micallef brand due to the presence of the two elements which MICALLEF Gotham Light
work together to promote brand unity and ease of recognition.

2. Figure 2 is the Sarah Micallef secondary logo which only

2.
features the Sarah Micallef symbol. This logo variation is ideal
for use in situations where the logo is required to be used at
a very small size, comprising text visibility, such as a website
favicon. Additionally, this logo version may also be used where Symbol
the brand name is otherwise noted and does not need to be
further repeated, such as within presentations, or where the logo
is being used as display piece, such as on business cards.

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Boundary Specifications
X X
There must be a border of clear space around the Sarah Micallef 1. SARAH
logo at all times in order to ensure that the logo does not come

X
MICALLEF
into contact with other elements, including text and images.

This border of clear space also applies to both digital and

physical applications of the logo, and indicates the amount of
clear space that should exist between this logo and the edge
of the material which the logo has been applied to, including
signage and stationery. SARAH
MICALLEF

1. For the master logo, the minimum amount of clear space that

X
should surround the logo is equivalent to the combined height of
the words ‘Sarah Micallef’ as displayed on the logo. SARAH

X
MICALLEF
XX = The combined height of Sarah Micallef X
2. For the secondary logo, the minimum amount of clear space
that should surround the logo is equivalent to half of the height 2.

X
of the outermost (vertical) stroke of the SM symbol, as displayed
on the logo.

X
X
13 X = 1/2 height of outer stroke of SM symbol
Size Specifications
In order to ensure the visibility and visual impact of the Sarah 1. 2.
Micallef logo, the below standard and reduced size specifications
have been formulated.
23mm
Master Logo
37mm
SARAH
1. The absolute minimum size this logo should ever be used at is MICALLEF
23mm | 86.92 pixels in diameter.

2. The ideal minimum size for this logo to be used at, for
effective visual impact is 37mm | 139.84 pixels in diameter.

Secondary Logo

3. The absolute minimum size this logo should ever be used at is 3. 4.

4mm | 15.11 pixels in diameter.

4. The ideal minimum size for this logo to be used at, for
effective visual impact is 30mm | 113.38 pixels in diameter.
4mm 37mm

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Logo Colour Variations
Colour | Flat Colour | Rendered Colour Palette

Opaque White
C=0 M=0 Y=0 K=0
SARAH SARAH SARAH SARAH R=255 G=255 B=255
MICALLEF MICALLEF MICALLEF MICALLEF
#FFFFFF

Black and White | Flat Black and White | Rendered

Pantone 2347 C – 100%
C=0 M=100 Y=100 K=0
R=237 G=28 B=36
#ED1C24

SARAH SARAH SARAH SARAH

MICALLEF MICALLEF MICALLEF MICALLEF
Pantone Black 6 C – 100%
C=100 M=79 Y=44 K=93
R=16 G=24 B=32
#101820

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Typography
Gotham Light is the chosen font family of the Sarah Micallef 1. Gotham Light Regular
brand, and must be used consistently across all brand touch
points for both internal and external materials. Gotham Light is abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
widely available both within and outside of professional design ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
programs. 0123456789!@#%&*()$?
Gotham Light is available in a variety of different weights and
styles, making it a versatile choice and is highly legible, reflecting
the clarity and longevity of the Sarah Micallef brand. 2. Gotham Light OTF
1. Gotham Light Regular is to be used for all body copy.
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
2. Gotham Light OTF is to be used for headings and emphasis
text, instead of underlining.
0123456789!@#%&*()$?

3. Gotham Light TT Italic is to be used for captions.

3. Gotham Light TT Italic

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
0123456789!@#%&*()$?

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Typography
In conjunction with the Gotham Light font family, the Sarah 1 Pantone 8104 C - 100%
Micallef brand has a chosen font colour palette of 3 colours C=51 M=49 Y=55 K=17
which must be applied consistently across brand touch points. R=127 G=127 B=126
#7F7F7E
These colours, when applied correctly, provide excellent visibility
over both light and dark backgrounds whilst also creating a 2 Pantone 10102 C - 100%
unified and professional brand aesthetic. C=5 M=5 Y=9 K=10
R=195 G=197 B=196
#C3C5C4
1. Pantone 8104 C is to be used for all text appearing on light
coloured backgrounds. 3 Pantone 2347 C – 100%
C=0 M=100 Y=100 K=0
2. Pantone 10102 C is to be used for all text appearing on dark R=237 G=28 B=36
coloured backgrounds. #ED1C24

5. Pantone 2347 C is an accent colour for headings only and

can be used on either dark or light backgrounds. Headings
should consist of either Pantone 10102 C or Pantone 8104 C and Text Heading
Pantone 2347 C with the last word coloured in Pantone 2347 C.
Where the heading is one word, Pantone 2347 C only should be Body Text
used.

Text Heading
Body Text

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Signatures
Signatures are a key touch point for the Sarah Micallef brand 1.
and must be used consistently across both digital and physical
mediums in order to ensure not only the integrity of contact SARAH MICALLEF
details provided, but also the sufficiency and appropriateness of Digital Artisan
these details. 0401 311 108 | hello@sarahmicallef.design
www.sarahmicallef.design
1. Signature 1 is the standard email signature that is to be used SARAH
MICALLEF

within all email correspondence. Links to the Sarah Micallef

LinkedIn, Instagram and Behance pages are included within this
signature. 2.
2. Signature 2 is a multipurpose signature that is able to be SARAH MICALLEF
used across a variety of touch points including documentation Digital Artisan
(digital and physical), and can be applied as a letterhead or in
0401 311 108
any other circumstances where contact details and a logo are
required. SARAH hello@sarahmicallef.design
MICALLEF

www.sarahmicallef.design
3. Signature 3 is designed to be applied in situations where
contact details are required separately from a logo, such as
within presentations or as a document footer. 3.

SARAH MICALLEF
Digital Artisan
www.sarahmicallef.design
0401 311 108 | hello@sarahmicallef.design

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Prohibited Logo Use
The Sarah Micallef logo must be used consistently in order 1 4
to promote brand integrity, maintain professionalism and
ensure optimal logo visibility. The below listed applications and
alterations of the logo are prohibited and must not occur.

1. Removal of the circular background from the logo. SARAH

SARAH MICALLEF

2. Alteration of the logo colour. The only acceptable MICALLEF

colour variations are those on page 4 of the style guide.
3. Skewing or distortion the logo. 2 5
The logo should remain circular at all times.

MICALLEF
SARAH
4. Placement of the logo over images.

5. Rearrangement of logo elements.

SARAH
MICALLEF
6. Removal of logo elements. The master logo should
never be altered, with the secondary logo instead being
used when required.
3 6

SARAH
MICALLEF

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Brand Touch points | Resolved Logo

SARAH
MICALLEF
SARAH
MICALLEF

20
Brand Touch points | Business Card

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Business Card Rationale
90 x 55mm
Double sided
Full Colour
450 GSM
Matte celloglazed finish (both sides)
Raised spot UV (logo on front, text on back)

My business cards were designed with both visual engagement,

memorability and clarity in mind, with the final front design for
my card being inspired by the back of Ron Gibbons business
card, which only features his logo on it, allowing the logo to be
displayed without distraction from other elements. I believe that
Front
this is an effective method in allowing the audience to engage
directly with the piece, allowing for it to be remembered.

The back of my card drew inspiration from the business card

of Davy Dooms, which despite using lines of text which are
different lengths, still manages to convey a sense of visual
balance, which I what I have sought to achieve via my text
placement. The low opacity symbol in the background is
inspired by Gianluca Santoro’s letterheads, which use this
effectively to add further depth visual interest to the work.

I feel that this touch point is an effective representation of my

creative practice due to the careful attention to detail employed
in its alignment and construction, the use of a simple colour Back
palette and a single, clean sans serif typeface, and the clarity
and ease of viewer engagement that this piece promotes.

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Brand Touch points | Website

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23
Brand Touch points | Website

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Website Rationale
My website was designed with clarity, ease of use/navigation Website Favicon | 16px
and visual engagement in mind, as well as a determination to
Website Favicon | Enlarged View
ensure that this website was consistent with my other brand
touch points. My logo is applied to both the header of the site
and as a favicon.

The layout of the home page of my website is inspired by the

home page website layout of Davy Dooms, which has seen me
positioning my logo on the left hand of the screen in, order to
allow the menu bar to exist as a distinctly separate element
further towards the right of the screen. I adapted Dooms use
of a tiled home page featuring projects to suit my own current
needs, instead using the space to display new design pieces.

The layout of the About Page of my website is inspired by the

About Page of Gianluca Santoro, which utilises a small amount
of text and a photo to create excellent engagement. Whereas
Santoro has opted to present his information vertically, I have
chosen to do so horizontally, as to keep viewers engaged by not
requiring them to repeatedly scroll down to access information.

I feel that this touch point is an effective representation of my

creative practice due to not only the consistency in type and
colour palette that exists between this piece and my other touch
points, but also the strong emphasis on clarity within this work.
Additionally, this piece focuses on quality of construction rather
than quantity of elements, which is a core value of my creative
practice that I believe this touch point effectively conveys.

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Project Summary
The original goals of this project as listed in the project brief, were to
create an aesthetically consistent set of brand touch points in order to
represent Sarah Micallef as a bold, confident and detail-driven design
professional. These touch points were to include a logo refined to a
professional design industry standard, suitable for use over a variety of
applications, a double sided, full colour business card, and a desktop
website, all of which would be suitable for distribution to and viewing by
potential employers and other design industry professionals.

It is my strong belief that the goals of this project have been met,
with all produced touch points not only conveying the qualities of
sophistication and clarity but also showcasing an excellent amount of
attention to detail in their precise and meticulously crafted construction.
The logo produced is not only of a professional standard, but due to its
simplicity of elements and shape, is also suitable for application over a
wide variety of applications, resulting in a touch point that offers true
longevity and will grow with me as my professional needs change.

Although my outcomes are what I had in mind upon the

commencement of this project, I do believe that great benefit
would come from investing further time and commitment into the
development of my website, which is currently a live site housing my
portfolio of works. I am confident in the presentation of my business
card and logo, but am less so in my website, and believe it may
be advantageous for me to experiment with this further. Although
functional and tidy, this website could use an added element of SARAH
MICALLEF

dynamism, with the current layout being too structured and rigid.

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Design Process
Logo Initial Sketches

27
Design Process
Logo Refined Sketches

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Design Process
Logo Digital Roughs

SARAH

MICALLEF

SARAH
Sarah Micallef
MICALLEF

SARAH

MICALLEF

MICALLEF
SARAH MICALLEF
SARAH

Sarah Micallef
Sarah Micallef

M
M
Sarah
Micallef
SARAH Sarah
Sarah Micallef

SARAH MICA L LE F Mical lef

MICALLEF

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Design Process
Logo Digital Refinement

Sarah Micallef

30
Design Process
Further Logo Digital Refinement

A B C

SARAH SARAH SARAH

MICALLEF MICALLEF MICALLEF

D - Original E F

SARAH SARAH SARAH

MICALLEF MICALLEF MICALLEF

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Design Process
Further Logo Digital Refinement
Dark Original Gradient | A B C

SARAH SARAH SARAH

MICALLEF MICALLEF MICALLEF

Light Original Gradient - D E F

SARAH SARAH SARAH

MICALLEF MICALLEF MICALLEF

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Design Process
Logo Evolution

SARAH SARAH
Sarah Micallef MICALLEF MICALLEF

33
Design Process
Business Card Design Process

SARAH
MICALLEF

34
Design Process
Website Design Process - Home Page

35
Design Process
Website Design Process - About Page

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Reference List
Airey, D. (2015) Logo Design Love: A guide to creating iconic brand identities (2nd Ed). Pearson Education, USA.

Figure 1. Santoro, G. (2015) Gianluca Santoro logo. Retrieved from http://gianlucasantoro.net/gianluca-santoro-per-

sonal-branding

Figure 2. Santoro, G. (2015) Gianluca Santoro personal branding | stationery. Retrieved from http://gianlucasantoro.
net/gianluca-santoro-personal-branding

Figure 3. Pantone Colours. (n.d) Pantone Colour Chart - Pantone 179-2 U. Retrieved from http://www.pantone-colours.
com/

Figure 4. Pantone Colours. (n.d) Pantone Colour Chart - Pantone 179-6 C. Retrieved from http://www.pantone-colours.
com/

Figure 5. Santoro, G. (2015) Gianluca Santoro logo. Retrieved from http://gianlucasantoro.net/gianluca-santoro-per-

sonal-branding

Figure 6. Santoro, G. (2015) Gianluca Santoro website. Retrieved from http://gianlucasantoro.net/

Figure 7. Santoro, G. (2015) Gianluca Santoro personal branding | business cards. Retrieved from http://gianlucasan-
toro.net/gianluca-santoro-personal-branding

Figure 8. Pantone Colours. (n.d) Pantone Colour Chart - Pantone Black 6 C. Retrieved from http://www.pantone-co-
lours.com/

Figure 9. Pantone Colours. (n.d) Pantone Colour Chart - Pantone 10390 C. Retrieved from http://www.pantone-co-
lours.com/

37
Figure 10. Gibbons, R. (2016) Ron Gibbons logo. Retrieved from http://www.rongibbons.co/

Figure 11. Pantone Colours. (n.d) Pantone Colour Chart - Pantone 485 C. Retrieved from http://www.pantone-colours.
com/

Figure 12. Pantone Colours. (n.d) Pantone Colour Chart - Pantone Black 6 C. Retrieved from http://www.pantone-co-
lours.com/

Figure 13. Gibbons, R (2014) Ron Gibbons personal branding | website mockups. Retrieved from https://www.be-
hance.net/gallery/14041337/Personal-Branding

Figure 14. Gibbons, R (2014) Ron Gibbons personal branding | business cards. Retrieved from https://www.behance.
net/gallery/14041337/Personal-Branding

Figure 15. Gibbons, R. (2016) Ron Gibbons logo. Retrieved from http://www.rongibbons.co/

Figure 16. Gibbons, R (2014) Ron Gibbons personal branding | stationery. Retrieved from https://www.behance.net/
gallery/14041337/Personal-Branding

Figure 17. Gibbons, R. (2016) Ron Gibbons website. Retrieved from http://www.rongibbons.co/

Figure 18. Dooms, D. (2013) Davy Dooms logo. Retrieved from http://davydooms.com/

Figure 19. Dooms, D. (2014) Davy Dooms personal branding | business cards. Retrieved from http://davydooms.com/
personal-branding/

Figure 20. Dooms, D. (2014) Davy Dooms personal branding | business cards. Retrieved from http://davydooms.com/
personal-branding/

Figure 21. Dooms, D. (2014) Davy Dooms personal branding | business cards. Retrieved from http://davydooms.com/
personal-branding/

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Figure 22. Dooms, D. (2014) Davy Dooms personal branding | business cards. Retrieved from http://davydooms.com/
personal-branding/

Figure 23. Dooms, D. (2013) Davy Dooms website. Retrieved from http://davydooms.com/

Figure 24. Dooms, D. (2014) Davy Dooms personal branding | stationery. Retrieved from http://davydooms.com/per-
sonal-branding/

Figure 25. Dooms, D. (2014) Davy Dooms personal branding | invoice. Retrieved from http://davydooms.com/person-
al-branding/

Figure 26. Pantone Colours. (n.d) Pantone Colour Chart - Pantone Black 6 C. Retrieved from http://www.pantone-co-
lours.com/

Figure 27. Pantone Colours. (n.d) Pantone Colour Chart - Pantone 179-6 C. Retrieved from http://www.pantone-co-
lours.com/

Figure 28. Behance. (2015) Ultimate Business Card Mockups. Retrieved from https://www.behance.net/gal-
lery/22552115/Ultimate-Business-Card-Mockups-Free-Download

Figure 29. Pixeden. (2016) Cinema Display PSD Mockup. Retrieved from https://www.pixeden.com/psd-mock-up-tem-
plates/cinema-display-psd-mockup

Figure 30. Pixeden. (2016) Cinema Display PSD Mockup. Retrieved from https://www.pixeden.com/psd-mock-up-tem-
plates/cinema-display-psd-mockup

Wheeler, A. (2013). Designing Brand Identity: An essential guide for the whole branding team (4th Ed). Wiley, New
Jersey.

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 “A brand is the promise of
an experience.” - Alexander Isley

SARAH
MICALLEF

SARAH MICALLEF
Digital Artisan
www.sarahmicallef.design
0401 311 108 | hello@sarahmicallef.design