OUGD403 - Logotype - Rebranding - Start off research

Our task was to rebrand a logo of a well known shop or restaurant from the leeds city centre. We were told to visit the high street to choice a company to rebrand, we had to choose then go inside and experience the shops sounds, smells and general feel as a consumer. My first thought was to do Doc Martens, the classic shoe brand, as at first look I detested the logo. When I visited the shop I saw the aesthetic and feel of the shop which I thought was really nice, I looked more into the company and realised the logo in use was relevant and it grew on me. I then had to look at other shops which could use a rebrand, I looked at HMV the music and film retailers who's logo I feel does not truelly represent what the shop is and over recent years have struggled financially and also had trouble adapting to the modern digital culture I felt that HMV would be very suitable and so began to look into the company.

HMV stands for 'His Masters Voice' and was formed in 1890 around the same time the disc gramophone was invented soon after this formed the Gramophone Company, in 1907 the company opened a new dedicated record factory. It wasn't until 1921 that the first HMV shop was opened in Oxford street London, from the 1930s onwards HMV manufactured radio and television sets with the branding of 'His Masters Voice'.
Throughout the 70s HMV began to expand fast, opening many retail stores across the country, within six years HMV was the biggest music retailer in the UK. Seeing the success HMV had created rivals to the popular music store began to emerge, such as Virgin Megastores. To get ahead of competitors HMV opened new bigger stores, including a new flagship store in a new location on Oxford street, which at the time was the largest record store in the world, the company continued to rise.

In 2013 the company went into administration and forced the closing of many of its stores across the uk, all Ireland based branches were shut. They were taken over in late 2013 saw a lot of money invested in its retail stores, with the reopening of closed ones and new stores placed in Ireland. The store then saw a turn around in sales, as they began to stock digital devices, records and merchandise, the huge influx in sales of Vinyl records across the UK played a vital role in helping the stores sales.

The original logo is very image based, having the logo of the dog and the gramophone being the main viewpoint, in some versions of the logo the company name is in speech marks, like it is being quoted. The red and off white colours used work well together, I feel it the colours compliment one and other. Since the 50s the shop has used lighting for there signs and the current one has a similar feel through its neon look but it doesnt have the same effect as the old versions of the logo.

 I went to visit the leeds store and looked very tacky, the logo looks more like a nightclub logo than a music and film store, they still have some flicker of the original company with the dog and gramophone symbol on the door way yet the actual name and history of the company is forgotten with trying to make the store look too modern. Inside the leeds store the section for music is small in comparison to the section for DVDs and digital accessories such as headphones and merchandise. I feel the store should represent the music more as that is where the most money is made for the company, specifically Vinyl records over the last few years, which is what they started out in selling, these sales helped save the company. I decided to look around at independent music stores in Leeds to see what the competitors branding and logos looked like.

 I visited Crash Records, opened in 1985 is an independent music store in Leeds which sells new and old vinyl by huge musicians and little known musicians, Crash gives unsigned artists a chance to showcase there records and CDs. Crash specialise in rock, indie, alternative and creative genres of music. Crash also sell band merchandise and gig tickets for a lot music venues throughout West Yorkshire. The yellow and black logo looks modern but also has retro features through its typography, a san seriff font, I like the joining of the r and the a, I feel this gives it a retro sixties feel but the colours modernise it in a way, its eye catching and makes the letters look bold and standout. The shop sign and actual logo contains the word 'Records' in it making it clear to what they sell. Crash have always kept the same ethos of providing good music and a good level of quality personal service.

Again I visited local independent music store, Jumbo Records is another independent music retailers established in 1971 by Hunter Smith, the logo comes from the successful disco and DJ business he was involved in called Jumbo Mobile Discotheque. I am a huge admirer of this store, frequently going in as it has a more personal feel and always plays some great new music that personally I haven't listened too and makes you curious to ask what it is, with the staff friendly and approachable it gives the shop a great feel and is one of the reasons it is so popular. The store focusses on Vinyl and CDs yet has recently begun selling gig tickets much like Crash records. Jumbos logo is suitably retro and gives such a good feel through the vibrant colours and 60s/70s type, it shows what style the company upholds and takes the customer back to a time when vinyl records where the main source of hard copy music.

Norman Records, again an independent music retailer in Leeds. It looks to provide the most interesting music in vinyl form, with friendly and knowledgable staff. I really like the logo for this company, it is a basic san seriff font which is bold, clear, simple and still manages to look classy, especially alongside the small logo of a record coming out of its sleeve. The simple colours of black, blue and white work well and have a classy look. It isn't to modern or retro it would stand well in any era, it reminds me of swiss style art, with a Helvetica font and simple shapes, I shall look more into swiss design to see if it can further influence my Logotype design.

Virgin Megastore was once one of the biggest high street music retailers in the UK, HMVs biggest competitors. The First Virgin Record opened in 1972, selling only the latest releases of records. Since then Virgin has become one of the biggest brands in the world with a whole range of projects including travel, money and mobile phones.
I personally am not a fan of the logo, I don't think the type works, yet as it is such an iconic logo it has proved it works as a company branding.




There has been a huge rise in popularity for independent music stores with more opening, people enjoy the quirkiness and feel of these new style shops. One in particular is the Record Cafe in bradford which is a small craft beer pub which also serves fresh speciality meats, upstairs is a section full of records and CDs of a mixture of well known and new artists. It is one of the most popular spots in Bradford, it is a warm and friendly place and the logo is very simple but with a retro feel to it, which is a reoccurring feature in most of the independent music stores I have looked into.

Having looked at the original logo and also competitors logos I decided to look more into music and film posters to get a feel for related typography to influence my design, I looked through records, DVDs and CDs to see what sort of type was being used and was popular amongst these medias.
I looked at some of the new releases which were being advertised in the shop window and as soon as I entered the store. It focussed on modern music in the shop window but had a mix of genres once inside, this was different from the other leeds music stores I looked at who focussed on putting new bands in there windows for free publicity to them.

The advert for the new Demi Lovato album was in the window of the HMV store in Leeds, the album is called 'Confident' but the type is very small and out of focus in comparison to the image, it is a bold image and I think the kerning of the type is neat yet spread out to much to make it look like one long word. I think the type should be clear especially next to the imagery used as I would not know who's album this is before taking a closer look, it is unclear and to people who do not know of this singer would be unsure of what this album.

Once I went inside the store I came across this album, a vibrant coloured piece of album art. With a Futura like san seriff font in white and yellow on block, which really makes the type stand out. I found that this type style is widely used on more modern jazz records and also become a popular font in records of unsigned artists. It has become a representative of new and experimental music in a way. The bold colours and shape work well next to the simplistic type.