Let Loose. Roam Free. Then Work Deep.

◆ Oldschool. Outdated?

◇ PvE Map Wizard.

◆ (Visual) Long Island Iced Tea.

◇ Keep watering the plant.

◆ "Stop! Ha... nd over time!"

Nowadays we have all kinds of fancy digital tools used during this creative project called branding.

There are even tablets that mimic the "feel" of paper like reMarkable

Yet after trying most of them, I still go back to my trusty pen & paper. It just feels right.

Also:

• It's way easier to operate this combo. Tweak things. Add, remove or simply store.
• "Navigating" through all my notes feels almost like a side quest to feed my imagination during the process. Extra gold coins!
• A small notebook fits literally everywhere ready to rock whenever I need it.

The last point is especially relevant:

?? Write down every single idea that comes to your mind. Sketch it down if visual. Do not assume you'll memorize everything. You won't.

Believe me, I did that several times. Regrets still haunt me to this day. Having a piece of paper in my jeans back pocket would save me long hours of work.

And even more money...

Oh, did I mention it takes way more time to run out of ink than battery?

The next step might feel a bit tricky as it's usually the messiest.

?? Imagine yourself creating a map for your new game using the most relevant & value-carrying words describing the product.

Personally, I place myself inside Tibia world (yes, I used to play it for hours!). Depending on where you travelled, you saw:

Different map parts → different cities → different vibes & style. Each single visualized uniquely.

So if I palnned a "swamp", I imagine spiders & grass theme. A "dwarf mine"? Rocks & gold.

It's the same with branding: a word-to-image association game to fill the space.

Here's my map of Gymmielandia:

The more (visual) pieces you come up with per each word, the better. Just try to keep it semantically related with your main kingdom aka the project name.

Here's another advantage of a simple A4 sheet over a digital device: it limits the available drawing area.

That means no wandering off for days - you're forced to squeeze in the essence and essence only.

At this point you start to see patterns & similarities.

?? Now it's time to mix your visual ingredients together. As many as possible. While keeping it "drinkable" for eyes.

It's worth trying to:

• Stack
• Blend
• Crop
• Stitch
• Extrude

Elements with each other.

Start with separating them one by one to reposition freely. Then move around between each other. Play with it.

As many combinations as you can come up with.

But don't try to do it all in just one go. Like with retouching photography - you need to stand up for a quick break for your eyes to freshen up.

Here's one of the sprints I did for Gymmies:

Also, remember to give yourself enough time.

Everyone knows drinking a long island iced tea too quickly is not such a great idea...

After a couple of sprints, it's time for a small, internal retro.

Place all of your combos side by side. Try to pin-point what's working together and what's not. Narrow your focus. If needed - reevaluate & calibrate. Develop even further.

Just watch your back - don't fall for everlasting re-do's!

The goal here is to move quickly. The more you dwell on this, the less likely you end up with something "better".

Here's an extra tip I use to this day:

Always keep your drawings, no matter how weird & "all over the place" they may look.

Keep in mind this is purely creative part - it doesn't have to be pixel perfect at this stage.

Why even bother?

?? When presenting work to a client, it's an amazing asset to help you showcase your thinking process & work progress that's way more (eye)pleasing than just talking about it.

Then you can frame all of these drawings and add as an extra during hand off.

Most business people develop an emotional connection with their company/project/product branding so having these hanging on their office wall only adds to its overall value & story behind it:

"Here's how it started..." -like narrative.

A neat example of understanding their business needs + under-promise but over-deliver.

Personally, I use these: https://www.ikea.com/pl/pl/p/roedalm-ramka-bialy-80548944/

And yes - the sketches you saw above regarding Gymmies are going to my private gallery as well!

So what's the next step after mixing all of these?

The Mark. The Symbol. The Final Logo(+type).

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