Google by Tom van de Velde

ASSIGNMENT
We were instructed to rebrand one of three organisations: Google, NASA or the ICA. The Graphic Design course at Brighton University has little to no emphasis on brand/identity design, it's far more directed at "image making" in my opinion. As such, this is a small and quick project — quite quick, actually, just in 24 hours. No further restrictions.

SCHOOL
University of Brighton
Brighton, England

COURSE
Graphic Design

INSTRUCTOR
Martin Andersen, Siobhan Keaney and Chris Bigg

Approach

Google is one of those untouchable brands, if such a thing indeed exists. It’s truly awful but at the same time it’s appealing, though I can’t explain why. The letterforms bother me much more than the clownish colour-scheme. It’s particularly the “G” and “e” that I dislike. I chose to evolve the current mark rather than starting from scratch. This seemed more realistic (mathematicians don’t like change) and harder to pull off (to avoid this becoming a bit of fun instead of a serious effort). Using the “g” from Soho Std Light, the rest of the letters were drawn in Illustrator using the same proportions throughout. A bit of gloss and gradient on the letters to give the mark a sense of depth and plasticity. The mark would be supplemented (or even replaced, dependent on context) by bold illustrations.

Sketches and Process

Solution

Final logo, with the “Hamburger” Spacing Method.

Google services unified.

Above and below: Bold, abstract illustrations that could replace the logo.

Final rendering with additional gloss and gradients.

Tom van de Velde’s Website