Kirkland isn’t your average angler. He’s a little wild, a little edgy and quite the hip guy on the scene.

When he contacted us he said he wanted some of our “wild style” incorporated into his new look. Kirkland wanted to stand out from the other anglers and make a statement. The request was for something a little grunge oriented with bold colors. We began brainstorming and the following materials are the result of our efforts to develop a wild, aggressive brand identity for the “new kid on the scene” and get him noticed.

We started by exploring ideas for the development of his actual logo. Just because he is an angler we didn’t want the typical fishing related icons that most others in the sport use. We opted for a hook specific to his fishing style that actually wraps around his name surrounding it. The sharp hook symbolizes an aggressive angler that contains the name and makes it one entire piece. We decided to keep it a bit broken and grungy with a tattered style font that looks slightly broken apart with rough edges and a little spatter. The hook itself is clean, not rusty or worn while the name itself is very rough. This symbolizes that there is a level of perfection or pristine beauty within this “bad ass” angler who is out to get noticed.

The color palette is simple with a bold water like blue, black and some grey used to represent the hook itself. The blue makes an impact while making you comfortable and not being to over the top.

Once we developed the brand identity for Kirkland we moved on to some other print related materials for him including his business cards and thank you cards as requested. Check out some of those concepts below. As you can see we kept the format and overall brand identity consistent with the use

the same fonts colors, etc. Kirkland wanted the same style of grunge to be applied to the cards and other materials we developed. Take a look at how we conveyed that to these pieces below. We opted to go with the logo and text at an angle to add a little diversity and make his materials stand out from the others with standard alignment.

Of course being a professional angler you simply have to wear a flashy jersey that makes you stand out. We incorporated the colors and general theme into Kirklands 2014 fishing jersey as well. With this project we kept all branding consistent and added in his sponsors logos as requested. As shown you can see the consistency and level of detail we applied while still utilizing the color scheme and paint spatter we developed. We wanted his jersey to pop and get noticed and adhere to his brand identity. The jersey included both the front and back as well as the sleeves, collar and cuffs. All of these items will be printed using dye sublimation and pieced together to create the final product. Here’s what we came up with.

The next project sent to us was a new one for us. Kirkland decided he was going to use a mask, similar to one used in dirt bike riding or paintball to shield his face from the harsh winds experienced while racing down the open water to a fishing spot. What better way to stand out than to don a mask that matches your overall brand? We were up to the task. We worked with one of team members experienced in vinyl application and wrapping to assist us in developing a two dimensional template of the mask to apply the graphics to. The graphics, once designed on the template were printed in 3M heavy duty vinyl and applied to the mask. Instead of airbrushing a design on the mask we chose to use vinyl which will allow Kirkland to remove it at any time if sponsors change and simply reprint and re-apply. Take a look at how amazing the final product turned out and how well it fits with the overall brand identity we have created.

So, what’s the difference between vector and raster and what does each one mean? Let’s start by explaining what each one means.

Vector art itself is defined by Wikipedia® as is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon(s), which are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics.

Vector artwork is created with such professional graphics programs as Adobe Illustrator® or Corel Draw®. These applications will traditionally work in a 2 dimensional environment although some have additional capabilities to do some 3 dimensional work or manipulation.

Vector artwork itself is typically more simplistic and devoid of any complex elements such as glows, shadows and other photographic type elements that are traditionally used to style an item. This does not mean that a logo or brand identity can be completely free of artistic design or creativity.

In the simplest terms Vector art is scalable. This means that a vector based piece of artwork, such as your logo can be resized for various uses without losing quality or distorting it’s integrity. This is important when maintaining a consistent brand identity, especially if others may be using it in various applications.

Another great benefit to using a vector graphic is that Pantone® Colors can be applied. A Pantone® Color is defined as a largely a standardized color reproduction system. By standardizing the colors, different manufacturers in different locations can all refer to the Pantone system to make sure colors match without direct contact with one another.

In short, this means that when using this color system you can make certain that the color you have selected to represent your brand remains intact regardless of the printing process used.

We will discuss the benefits of a vector logo over a raster logo later in this article.

Raster art is defined by Wikipedia® as In computer graphics, a raster graphics image, or bitmap, is a dot matrix data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium. Raster images are stored in image files with varying formats.

Raster artwork itself is more like a photograph, which is resolution dependent, meaning they cannot scale up to an arbitrary resolution without loss of apparent quality. Raster artwork can be developed using any number of programs such as Adobe Photoshop® or Corel Photo Paint®.

Raster graphics can contain highly complex filters such as glows, drop shadows, 3d effects and a wide variety of other elements used to make an object look realistic. The downside here is that the object is defined by it’s size. Meaning that if you increase the size of the object larger than it’s created at you begin losing quality and the image will distort. This is not true with Vector graphics.

So why would someone want to create a more simplistic, less flashy logo using Vector rather than Raster?

Let’s start by assuming you want to take your brand identity or logo and use it to showcase your business on a billboard or perhaps a large truck. Either of those will be fairly large in size and will need a logo that is quite large to represent clearly to the viewer. If the image is distorted, unrecognizable or different than what your brand identity is defined as you have failed and a viewer will not make the connection. The key to successful brand identity is consistency. Maintaining that consistency everywhere you position your business is critical and often means the difference between gaining or losing a client.

In the instance above a vector logo can be increased in size or dimension to fit the application and will retain it’s integrity. Often times because of this a company developing the graphic itself will not accept a logo in raster format because they do not want to be held responsible for loss of image quality in the final output.

Developing a logo in a vector format is always the best place to start as you can always import it into a raster based program and add effects to it if necessary for different applications. Keep in mind that this will cause your brand identity to differ and no longer be consistent.

Raster versions of your brand do have their uses. Most websites do not support vector graphics with the exception of an .SVG file which is a form of vector. Raster logos can be made into a .PNG file with no background allowing you to place your brand over any background you choose. Various other raster files like a .JPEG can always serve their purpose where a low resolution version of your brand are needed. When placing your logo online for branding you want to have a file that’s size is small so the user can download or view it easily with little download time.

We always suggest doing preliminary sketches of your intended logo on paper to get an idea of exactly what it is you intend to create. This gives you a working model to refer to once you have made your final selection.

Both Vector and Raster have their uses however development of a logo in a vector environment is the preferred method for the advantages it provides.

Let EV2 develop a lasting brand identity with an impactful logo design that will establish your brand and clearly convey your message.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vector_graphics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raster_graphics