ILLUSTRATION

AND BRANDING

a SYNC School x Fat head studio

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1
A brief introduction
about the author and
history of branding
INDEX

Schools of illustration
and utiliziation for branding 2

Portfolio build-up
and assignments 3
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About
Fat Head Studio

We are a design studio based in Cairo excelling

in illustration, branding and graphic design.

We do cool stuff like packaging , our own

products, brands, master-visuals and more...

Founded by Akram William with more 15 years of-

experience in advertising and graphic design with
agencies like JWT, FP7, Circus and more while
working on clients as Vodafone, Redbull, Orange,
Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonalds and many others.
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Let’s talk
BRANDING

According to Marty Neumeier, author of the

“Brand gap” book:

“To talk about branding we have to understand what

branding isn’t”

- Branding is not a LOGO

A logo is a symbol that resembles the product

-Branding is not a product’s PROMISE

providing a service from a product is not what you
call a brand either.

-Branding is not a CORPORATE IDENTITY

Doing mock ups and having a certain color palette
is not what makes a product..a brand.

BRANDING
DESIGN
The concept behind the logo design
The colors that expresses the pro-
duct or the service itself
Logo design art direction
Layout design and graphic elements
Typography
Web Application
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Is the sum
of three pillars
EXPERIENCE IMPRESSION
The quality of the product or
service How the customer sees the product
How the brand deals with its or service, either it’s good or bad
customers after seeing the design and having
How the brand handles problems an experience with it.
related with its product
How good it is with competition
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Now that we know Pottery and Wall art:
what is a brand, Greek artists and craftsmen
embeded their own art as
let’s talk history symbols on pottery and walls

Hot iron stamping:

Stamp cattle and horses to
claim ownership

Personal advertising:
People used their own names
after they make products to
claim ownership specially in
the united states

BRANDING
Brand names
People used names that describe
products to claim ownership

TIMELINE
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FREE RESOURCE
FOR BRANDING
HISTORY

BRANDING
TIMELINE https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-1-349-26070-6.pdf
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So how to make
a GOOD looking brand as a designer?

AUDIENCE VISUAL COLOR CLEAR

KNOWLEDGE CONSISTENCY SCHEME OBJECTIVE

Make sure you know Once you choose a certain Color choices must Your brand is on its
what age your target art direction, make sure reflect what the product way to failure if the
group is as interests to use elements that sells or strong emotions design does not comm-
ALWAYS vary due to age do not stray away from it that the product or unicate what the product
which directly affects by using new elements service delivers to sells or does which leaves
the art direction which don’t belong its audience the audience confused
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LOGO
CALI- ILLUST-
GRAPHY RATION

OLD SCHOOL
LOGO DESIGN HOW IT WAS
MADE IN EGYPT
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OLD SCHOOL
LOGO DESIGN HOW IT WAS
MADE IN EGYPT
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An inside job

Before defining the branding industry, most companies in

Egypt tend to do their advertising in-house...and the term ILLUST-
“Branding” wasn’t very refined back in the 1950’s and 1960’s
so often most branding were comissions to illustrators and
Calligraphy artists to do the whole identity in hand written
RATION
words and logo types while collabing with various illustrators
to come up with a logo....often the company founders were the
ones to put up the brand tone, marketing, branding and even
advertising on their own before it became it’s own science in
Egypt with the arrival of the Tycoon Tarek Nour in 1978.

OLD SCHOOL ADS

OLD SCHOOL BRAND
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BRANDING
as it’s own
industry

Since the launch of Tarek Nour in the 1970’s in Egypt,

Brands were not made by clients anymore, they were
made in-house in Advertising agencies with the likes
of Fortune Promo Seven, JWT, BBDO, Leo Burnett,
Oglivy and many more to be the core source of forging
brands while ALSO making brand identities as an extra
for the clients, however the industry improved and the
first key player to shout out and claim itself as specialized
branding agency in Egypt was matter...and then followed
a hefty load of players to join the game

Lunar
Jetman
 LET’S TALK
ILLUSTRATIONS
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Let’s talk
ILLUSTRATION

Illustration has been playing a KEY ROLE

in branding as it is often defined as an extension
of the brand and the tone it carries by being carried
into different mediums as packaging and mascot
creation.

The key from displaying an illustration with a brand

is to IDENTIFY IT’S VALUE AND ATTITUDE

Aside from value, giving a brand an illustration system

provides a language that fits any situtation, sub-brand
or event related to the branding itself while still being
relevant and on point with the art direction itself

Here’s a couple of examples

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Red bull
The Unmistakable style of Red bull illustrations was
done on purpose to present many target groups that
can consume the energy drink as it shows in the care-
free illustrations, the idea of this art direction to be as
friendly as possible to reach as much audience and not
only limiting it to the younger generation as other brands
tend to do which made it stand out perfectly, Red bull also
engaged in specific illustrations for more active events but
still remained loyal to its original art overall
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Kimo Cono
Created by the late Hani Elmasry who worked with Disney
on the prince of Egypt, Hani executed a character design
done to represent a younger target group while being
friendly and having an adventerous spirit to resemble
the target group the ice cream is often sold tov
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Flo Water
Designed by matter branding, the design was very
artistic while mixed with Black and White color scheme
to give it a more elegant look as it reflects a higher
function than regular water brands in the market because
of its nature as Alkaline water.
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Pepsi Cola
Illustrations instead of using imagery helps a lot of
brand to maintain both an attitude while giving the
smart advantage of being on with the guidelines when
dealing with a tight color scheme besides replacing
photography on packages which can make the product
look poor if not executed properly
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ILLUSTRATION UTILITY
IN BRANDING

L
L
MASCOT ADVERTISING/ PACKAGING LOGO
DESIGN SOCIAL MEDIA DESIGN

Mascots are commonly Creating key visuals Art stylization which may Often used to describe
used for Food products, with illustrations are often vary from Cartoony to the brand activity in
E-sports, Fast food, Cl- used in billboards, TV ads Realism sets the person- a colorful aspect or to
eaning products and even which include animation ality for a product when it’s highlight a key service or
mobile applications and Social media content used for packaging to character that is used
determine the brand tone frequently within’ a brand

MASCOT DESIGN
why use a mascot in the first place?
BRAND TONE
AND PERSONALITY
Mascots can EASILY establish
a sense of humor or seriousness
when it is directly used in advertising
or social media campaigns to connect
with the audience by having the
mascot directly narrate a certain
action or advocate a brand service
which gives an idea to the consumer
how the product is approaching them
UNIQUENESS
Depending on the character
design itself behind it gives an edge
above other brands to stand out
or avoid repition completely as
the regular consumer is provided
with thousands of brands daily so it
makes it way easier to be unique
in design than others
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INTERACTIVE/
MERCH SUPPLY
Mascots can be a MAJOR role player
in being physically present in events
which tightens the bond between
consumers and brands as well as
developing a sense of ownership
if the consumer likes the brand by
buying physical products provided
by the brand for their mascot.
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ADVERTISING
Illustrations in Advertising

From a client’s point of view

an illustration is prefered to
execute better than phtography
or other media for the
following reasons:

-Cost effective:
Saves a lot of budget when it
comes to photoshoots or props.

-Easier to deliver concepts:

Very easy to capture a certain
feeling or message

-Guide-line friendly:
Easy to apply color schemes and
layouts that can deliver the
message and logo positioning

-Avoid being niche / reptitive:

avoiding boring imagery from
stock images make it even more
appealing to use illustrations
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PACKAGING
Illustrations in packaging

Packaging is used mainly for

brands that allow illustrations
in thier design ecosystem inc-
luding what is called a
“Branding illustration system”
which brings the following
aspects to the product:

-Over the shelf impression:

A catchy packaging often can
affect the buying decisions of
the consumer at stores...etc

-Differentiation above other

brands:
As multiple brands exist, pack-
aging provides uniqueness from
competition

-Communication and bonding:

Good communication through
packaging can easily establish
a bond with the brand
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BRAND NARR- TARGET PROD-

TONE ATIVE AUDI- UCT
ENCE RANGE

How does Do I have a What age Do I have

my brand communicate story to tell is my any physical
with people? my clients? audience? products?

Children young
fun bold serious Brand teens
story Food/
boxes beverages packs
Aware- client Teens
ness reviews
casual emotional Adults Seniors

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

BEFORE ILLUSTRATING
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TO MAKE BETTER
DECISIONS FOR
YOUR BRAND

The best reference to educate designers on

how to manage their brands

BRAND
STRATEGY
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ILLUSTRATION MOST COMMON
SCHOOLS TECHNIQUES
TRADITIONAL MODERN
ILLUSTRATIONS ILLUSTRATIONS

Hatching
Cross hatching
PEN AND INK Stippling
Contour

Circling Flat
Cross hatching Line art
PENCIL Stippling VECTOR Gradient
Scumbling Gradient Mesh

Dry brush
CONCEPT ART
Glazing
WATERCOLOR Wet on wet DIGITAL DIGITAL PAINTING
RETRO/VINTAGE
Flat wash

Dry Brush Low poly

Washing Sculpting
ACRYLIC Stippling 3D Stylized
Dabbing Voxel
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PEN & INK TECHNIQUES
TRADITIONAL
The use of Traditional ink / Technical pens along with various surface papers

HATCHING CROSS HATCHING STIPPLING CONTOUR

Horizontal or Horizontal AND Multiple dots covering Horizontal lines with

vertical lines repition vertical lines crossing shades or even spacing between the
one another the whole illustration lines and big thick lines
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PENCIL TECHNIQUES
TRADITIONAL
The use of graphite pencils on papers

CIRCLING CROSS HATCHING STIPPLING SCUMBLING

Lines that goes in Horizontal AND Multiple dots covering Lines that take different
a circular rotation vertical lines crossing shades or even direction with random
and repititionv one another the whole illustration intensties
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PENCIL TECHNIQUES
RECOMMENDED CHANNELS
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W.COLOR TECHNIQUES
TRADITIONAL
Water soluble ink on a range of thick to light paper

DRY BRUSH GLAZING WET ON WET FLAT WASH

Very low amount of paint Adding different layers Gives a muddy look for Flat areas of colors
and water to maximize the of water color to give the colors and illustrations without degradation
paper’s texture a transperant look as if it is smudged
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W.COLOR TECHNIQUES
RECOMMENDED CHANNELS
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ACRYLIC
TRADITIONAL
The use of pigmented paints made from water, acrylic resin and pigments

DRY BRUSH WASHING STIPPLING DABBING

Very low amount of acrylic Allows different Multiple dots covering Dabbing adds texture
paint to maximize the colors to be semi- shades or even to a painting by using
paper’s texture transperan the whole illustration a soft sponge
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ACRYLIC TECHNIQUES
RECOMMENDED CHANNELS
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VECTOR ILLUSTRATION
MODERN
Illustrations that obey the bezier equation softwares that do not pixelate

FLAT LINE ART VEXEL GRADIENT MESH

Vectors with flat colors, Vectors that used Highly stylized vector As realistic as vexels
No strokes used often in lines either filled with (or raster) illustrations that but uses gradients
many brand illustration colors or not are ususally used in sports to create color tones
systems (EG Bank for example) packaging
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VECTOR ILLUSTRATIONS
RECOMMENDED CHANNELS
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DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION
MODERN
Using raster based softwares to mimic traditional means

CONCEPT ART DIGITAL PAINTING RETRO

Drawing enviroment Technique of mixing Using old color palettes

and even characters in a colors with different mixed with older texutre
certain preset, used for media for realistic and inking methods
ads and movies or semi-realistic effects or even halftones
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DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION
RECOMMENDED CHANNELS
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3D ILLUSTRATION
MODERN
Using polygon based softwares to create semi or realstic imagery

LOW POLY SCULPTING STYLIZED VOXEL

Low polygon Used to create High polygon counts with Easy to learn technique
Count, often for realistic characters very specific art by building square polygons
cartoonish projects on softwares like directions like lego to shape forms
or simple ones Z-brush
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3D ILLUSTRATIONS
RECOMMENDED CHANNELS
ILLUSTRATIONS
FOR DESIGN 101
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Color
Theory

When you think about colors and their role

in an illustration while serving a brand think
of the emotions you want to communicate with
your clients through colors...excitement, fun,
Tranquility....etc as it will deeply impact the feeling
you build up with your consumer to get a fast grasp
of what the brand or product feels like

In the upcoming slides we will understand the meaning

behind choosing certain colors and their effects
on branding.
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COLOR THEORY
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COLOR THEORY

Hue is the true value of Shade is adding BLACKS Tint is adding WHITES
a color without adding to the hue value of colors to the hue value of colors
blacks or whites
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COLOR THEORY
MEANING OF COLORS
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COLOR THEORY
COLOR USAGE IN BRANDS

Energy drinks, sports, Educational channels,

News channels, bands, Financial Services, Natural
Cars, Electronics products, Veggie products

Fun foods, Fun beverages,

Premium food, Loyality Creative field products
brands, Services Pet stores

Banks, Social media services, Juices, Kids Channels,

Financial Security apps Radio channels, agencies
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COLOR THEORY
CREATING COLOR COMBINATIONS

Color palette formed Color palette formed

Color palette forming
from a square selection from two colors opp-
from one color
from the color wheel osite to each other

Color palette formed Color palette formed Color palette formed

from a Triangle selection from colors placed Four colors opposite
from the color wheel next to each other to each other
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COLOR THEORY
CONTRAST IS YOUR FRIEND

Contrast ensures that

you highlight the focal
point/element in your
illustration

If two colors are too

identical in values make
sure you alter
your shade or tint value
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Rules behind
a good illustration

A good illustration is built behind the following:

-Storytelling
-Composition
-Color Scheme

Once you master these and know how they function

you can craft an illustration with ease
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ILLUSTRATION 101
STORYTELLING

Not all illustrations have to carry a story, but giving a story to your illustration
enriches the visual and most importantly establishes emotions like a movie
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ILLUSTRATION 101
STORYTELLING

1
Action
2
Make sure there
is an action going
on, it can be very
simple as actions
deliver the ideas
behind illustrations

Emotions
with colors

How the are or the

scene is setup can
determine the na-
ture or standard of
the elements in the
illustration
Scene
Set-up
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ILLUSTRATION 101
COMPOSITION

Composition is the alignment of graphic elements within an

illustration to make an appealing visual
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ILLUSTRATION 101
COMPOSITION

BALANCE

How elements
are evenly
distributed
across the
whole visual
STRUCTURE

How elements
FOCAL POINT are organized
within’
one another
The first thing
a viewer sees
in the visual

ILLUSTRATION 101
COMPOSITION / FOCAL POINT
SATURATION
The saturation of colors can play a huge
part where the eye focuses on the brighest
or darkest color in comparison with
other colors in the palette
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CONTRAST
Contrast either with the size of the focal element
or with the colors also makes the viewer captured
by the biggest or smallest element in contrast
with other elements in the illustration
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ILLUSTRATION 101
COMPOSITION/STRUCTURE

RULE OF THIRDS PYRAMID SYMMETRY

By evening out the illustration The composition forms Two identical or semi-
to three thirds and putting a pyramid in structure by identical halves of the
the focal element in one aligning elements more to less illustration
of those three parts either upwards or downards
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ILLUSTRATION 101
COMPOSITION/BALANCE

Balance makes sure that many elements are the same size (doesn’t have to be every element) while
also manitaning empty spacing to be equally balanced
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Illustration
for logos

Logos that involve illustrations mostly depend

on the following three factors

-Holding Device
-Color Scheme
-Typography

We will discuss how each can impact the logo design

with the exception of Color Schemes as it has been
already discussed
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ILLUSTRATION 101
LOGO ILLUSTRATION/HOLDING DEVICE

The holding device is a decorative option that carries the typography

and the illustration (or one of them) to maintain the logo’s composition
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ILLUSTRATION 101
LOGO ILLUSTRATION/HOLDING DEVICE

COOL LOGO COOL LOGO COOL LOGO

L
OL O
CO

GO

COOL LOGO
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ILLUSTRATION 101
TYPOGRAPHY

Sans Serif
Used to give a subtle look not too serious or too
sarcastic, most service providers go Sans Serif

 Most Elegant or premium brand go for the Serif type

to indicate stylization from an older era

funky Mostly young brands with cool products or a fun persona

Handwritten Used a lot by individuals like actors or photographers to

mimic signatures

VARSITY Broadly used in sports and E-sports due to the edgy

nature of the typography

Curly Used by brands associated with younger audiences

as kids and babies