“Conceptual art has no physical medium: the medium of conceptual art is ideas, and any physical presence is merely the means by which the artist lets us gain access to his ideas…” (CRAY, 2014). Conceptual design is a term used to describe the framework for establishing the underlying idea behind a design and a plan for how it will be expressed visually (99designs, 2021).
This is the logo for Hull United Charities. Within this company there are four separate charities, working together to help the people of Hull (Hull United Charities, n.d.a). This is a good example of conceptual design because two ideas have been combined into one.
Alderman Ferries, Alderman Cogan’s Fund, Alderman Cogan’s School Charity and Almshouse Charity are the four charities within Hull United Charities: each have a separate focus, but they come together to help the people of Hull, which is why this is a good example of conceptual design.
The logo consists of two people holding hands in a way that also shows the Humber bridge, which is a monumental bridge to Hull and surrounding areas. The bridge has two points and that is where the two people holding hands comes in. The use of the green tones could indicate happiness and financial funding, which is what the charities help with. The charities also help with children and schools, which can be shown in the child-like sketching of the design. It’s a very minimal design, but the purpose of the charity is strikingly clear in this logo.
Upon researching the charity, the artist behind the logo was unknown. However, the designer of their webpage had been named — a company called Ghost Digital. The Ghost Digital website states that they provided web design and web hosting services for Hull United Charities, but still no information on the logo design (GHOST DIGITAL, n.d.).
Above is the logo for Mind, a charity that provides advice and support to people struggling with their mental health (Mind, 2019). This is a bad example of conceptual design because there is no meaning behind this logo and no two ideas have been combined to create concept.
Mind in Hull and East Yorkshire offer services such as one-to-one support, group support, accommodation and help with young adults (Mind HEY – Hull & East Yorkshire Mind, n.d.). There is no conceptual design within this logo and there is nothing within the logo to say what the charity does. The blue that has been used defeats the purpose of the charity; the deep blue shade is associated with unpleasant feelings and emotions, much like Picasso’s Blue Period.
The artist behind this logo is called David Jones (The Joneses, n.d.). No information was found about when the logo was created but Jones’ website does state that The Joneses Company was established in 2002.
This is a rough redesigned logo for Mind, this new logo shows who the charity is and what they aim to do. The design is quite minimal and has a hand-drawn approach to it, this is so it can still match the aesthetic and iconography of their webpage.
This is a finalised, more refined idea for the Mind logo, the brain has now been changed to a birds-eye view and shows the image of a heart. The brain shows that Mind help with mental health issues and the heart is to show the caring and helping side of the charity. The colour has now been made pink to represent the care they provide and to also make the charity seem more welcoming.
Bibliography
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