Collaboration: Logo Design

We decided to work on a logo or set of logos that we could use to brand our work and our studio's blog. Since we settled on the name 'Knockout Studios' (abbreviated to either K.O. Studios or K.O.S.), we thought best that the imagery within the logo's design itself invoke matched the name.

Liv began with the initial designs, taking inspiration from neon signage and the bright colours found within them. This was also combined with colour palettes that would enhance their boldness.

Liv's initial design.

Karris took Liv's boxing glove and flame imagery and went on to create their own designs. They also developed the idea of an 'explosive' background to match the forcefulness of the studio's name. 

 Karris' exploration of the boxing glove motif and explosion background shapes.

Karris then proceeded to continue with this idea as well as combining it with new ones; this was done by looking at dizzy imagery, again playing on the 'punch' idea and incorporating stars to enforce this idea. They also began to experiment with text and how that could be interwoven with the logo's design instead of having it written external to the logo.

Designs using Liv's boxing glove imagery, combined with new ideas.

Using one of Liv's initial colour palettes as a base, Karris went on to block out the shapes of the boxing glove, switching the colours around to concentrate the red onto the boxing glove and the orange and yellow hues onto the flames. They also started to look at readability and impact of the design, again looking towards a more 'explosive' effect with the flame which also ended up working out to be a simpler look for the logo.

Karris started to look at a different version of the flame in efforts to simplify the shapes.

Liv started to consider animation on the logo, continuing to draw inspiration from neon sign aesthetics.

Liv's animation test of the flame flickering on and off.

Meanwhile, Karris started to mesh earlier ideas with colour to see what they'd look like.

Karris started to apply colour and block out some of the previous designs.

Still with a prominent focus on readability, Karris continued to look at new designs. This involved using aspects of previous ideas such as the star motif and seeing how the different flame styles impacted the overall shape, followed by settling more precisely on word placement.

Two more sets of designs focusing on readability and attempting to decrease clutter.

Karris then went on to begin to consider different colour palettes that could be used in case we didn't settle on the traditional red boxing glove and orange-yellow flame. Liv's beginning colour palette focused on purple, pink, and blue was also used as a base to create a potential newer palette;

Karris started to look at other potential palettes we could use.

Karris then took these designs and began to experiment further with how far they could be taken, creating a second set of distinctive palettes that weren't as eye-straining but still relatively eye-catching. This was done by altering the hue, saturation, contrast, and brightness. 

The altered versions of the previous palettes.

Shannon proceeded to take the red-toned colour palettes and work on more potential designs. Her main focuses were exploring a more 'comic-like' look and the sharp angles that were derived from Karris' second flame design. She also looked at holding the glove from a different profile angle plus the idea of the glove being propelled from a box with a spring in place of a flame.

Shannon explored designs involving the glove being held at a different angle.

Shannon also combined the two red colour palettes while she explored the concept of the logo being enclosed within a boxing ring. 

Shannon's designs of the boxing ring idea.

Liv began to look at rendered, cleaned up versions of Karris' earlier logo designs based off of the first palette, followed by a second animation test using the first and second thumbnails from the following set of designs;

Liv's refined versions of Karris' designs.

Liv's second animation test involving the text and stars.

Karris started to look at the new colour palettes and apply them to a design that we had settled on as the main contender alongside neon backlighting tests derived from Liv's neon sign aesthetic.

Karris recoloured the main design that we'd settled on with the new colour palettes.

 Neon backlighting tests.

We eventually settled on the second red-centric colour palette as the way forward, since it was still using the typical boxing glove and flame colours but with colours that weren't as saturated. Karris then took this design and did further neon backlighting tests, each with a slightly different palette; for the first, the desaturated and hue-shifted red palette was used. For the third, the first saturated red palette was applied, and for the second, a combination of both was used.

More neon backlighting tests with the chosen palette.

Eventually, we came to the decision that we wouldn't use the neon lighting and stick to flat colours. Liv then went ahead to create the final set of rendered designs using the new palette; we thought best that we use the first for the main branding of the blog, the second for the blog's header design, and the third for watermarks on work that the studio produces since it is smaller. 

Liv's final renders of the designs, each with a different purpose.