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Brief

Following all the guidelines talked about in class and the methods learned in previous classes, you are required to re-design the Google Classroom Logo, incorporating a symbol. The symbol needs to represent this education app.

The symbol and logotype should be designed to be one element, not a pictogram next to the words or letters, for example. Think about the positive and negative spaces created within and around letters, and how these may be utilised to create a symbol of some sort.

The logo must be created in an Adobe software program – Illustrator or Photoshop.

You need to follow the Design Process and include evidence of this in your Visual Diary. (Brief, Research, Concepts, Development, Final Solution and Evaluation)

Evaluation

Google Classroom Logo Redesign: GC

Google Classroom's current logo, like the blackboard it incorporates, is in need of some updating - this task was focused on changing just that. The key specifications for this task include the use of a symbol, that it should not be a pictogram, and that it should be made in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, in which I chose to use Illustrator.

The above image(s) are the final designs I have devised for the redesign. It presents an initialised 'Google Classroom' (GC) in the colour scheme of the current Classroom logo of the blackboard. The focus I had was on the symbolism and whether it reflected the purpose of Google Classroom and its target market.

Classroom is targeted towards the school communities, and the main obstacle I encountered was selecting the symbol. For teachers, students and staff, Classroom covers a big niche and therefore cannot be represented by a typical symbol such as a tassel hat, book or school bell. This was when I realised that symbolism does not necessarily apply to such objects, especially when Classroom has established the reputation it has. In other words, Classroom has done two things since its launch: defined its own niche and ensured loyalty from its consumers (a ridiculous amount of loyalty). Therefore, the logo should be standalone and independent, for Classroom's identity is a memorable symbol in itself. So, while initialised-logos are considered generic, I chose to use Classroom's initials because Classroom's reputation allows it to break away from this 'stigma' of the 'too boring' or 'generic'.

In terms of graphic design elements and principles, the 'GC' logo aims to be like Google's existing logo(s): simple and sleek. To do this I only focused on two design elements: typography and colour. When it came to typography, I used Futura (a Google typeface) as to familiarise the logo so it fits into Google's family of products. As for colour, I used the original (four) Google Classroom colours to make the connection between the present Google Classroom logo and this redesign, for the school communities have associated their Classroom experience with those very colours they see very often. I also organised the colours in a grid to have the top-down shading effect (like how the brighter orange is above the darker) - another visual motif of Google's logo. Furthermore, these original colours go well against both white and dark backgrounds, which allows room for future updates to incorporate the 'trendy' dark theme that Google has already been using in other products like YouTube.

The overall intention was that I hoped to create a new, refreshing, niche-based logo to suit Classroom's target market while keeping to the task's specifications. For this logo, I hoped not to venture too far away from the original, memorable design as to keep the sense of emotional connection.

If I were to improve this logo, I'll go into more detail with the typography. In fact, while Google's current logo is closest to Futura, its logo has subtle changes (see the 'Google' image in the research section). By changing it this 'GC' logo can truly fit into its family of Google products and represent Google and its target market better.

From your freelance designer to you, have a nice day.

• Teri

P.S. though it wasn't on the task, below two bonus designs with the pictogram with the 'Google Classroom' text every Classroom user should be familiar with.