Purpose
Applying basic design principles outlined in Lupton's Thinking with Type, Kimball and Hawkin's Document Design for Technical Communicators, and Williams and Tollett's Robin Williams Design Workshop, this assignment sequence asks you to create a consistent and unified visual identity system for a small business (Blue Caliber Innovations) and one of its products (the Jimmy Hook). You will use the client's direction to design a suite of documents that is rhetorically meaningful and aesthetically pleasing. Working with a small team, you will develop the following:

• Part 1: Short written analysis of client needs, rhetorical situation, and evaluation of competition (individual)
• Part 2: Spec sheet/style guide (include logo, color palette, typefaces, and other specifications) (team)
• Part 3: Business card and product label (team)
• Part 4: Poster/Flyer (team)
• Part 5: Brochure (team)
• Part 6: Final Reflection Memo (individual)

In addition to learning to use Photoshop for image creating/editing and InDesign for page layout you will also write a reflection memo in which you explain and justify the design choices you made in relation to the readings. Producing this suite of documents will give you an opportunity not only to get more comfortable with relevant software but also to figure out ways of adjusting design elements to the needs of varied documents while maintaining a consistency that unifies the collection.

The multiple parts of this assignment are worth a combined 65% of your final grade.

Directions
Visual Identity Package
Part 1: Short written analysis of client needs, rhetorical situation, and evaluation of competition
We will begin by discussing project needs and intended audiences for our client. Working for a client provides you with rhetorical and contextual constraints for shaping your approach and tailoring it to a target audience. The first step of this project asks you to write up a brief account of client needs and the rhetorical situation for which these documents are intended. Additionally, you will find and evaluate the materials of two similar small businesses and/or garden products similar to that of the client and provide a brief written overview of their design and communication approach. Your competition evaluation should analyze what works and doesn't about the communication materials and the kind of tone and ethos they portray.

Part 2: Spec sheet/style guide
As a team, you will create a spec sheet/style guide that can be implemented throughout each document in your Visual Identity Package. You will create separate materials for both Blue Caliber Innovations AND the Jimmy Hook. Your final style guides(due at the end of the semester) will include a logo, a color palette, typefaces, and other specifications for the overall design of communication materials for both Blue Caliber and the Jimmy Hook. The draft of this part should include a minimum of three logo variations for both the business and the product on which to get feedback. Based on commentary from peers, the instructor and the clients, as well as internal group discussions, you will decide on and refine one logo for each entity.

Part 3: Business Card and Product Label
Using the graphic elements and specifications your team created in Part 2, you will design a business card for use by the client (Blue Caliber Innovations) and a product label that could be attached to the Jimmy Hook for display and at retailers.

Part 4: Poster/Flyer
Using the graphic elements and specifications your team created in Part 2, you will design a poster or flyer for the Jimmy Hook that could be used to advertise the product to potential consumers. The clients specified particular audiences and uses for this piece of communication during out initial meeting. This includes use at the Farmers' Market, on relevant community bulletin boards and at local independent hardware stores.

Part 5: Brochure
Using the graphic elements and specifications your team created in Part 2, you will design two brochures (one for Blue Caliber and one for the Jimmy Hook) that can be used by the clients for relevant venues and purposes.

Part 6: Final Reflection Memo (individual)
Describing, analyzing, and justifying the choices you make in creating a unified visual identity helps you to be more purposeful and explicit about your design decisions. Your 2-3 page reflection memo should not only articulate your choices but should also work to connect these with what you have learned through course readings. Additionally, your memo should also address the following questions:

• What was your experience with the software you used?
• What gave you the most difficulty and why?
• What about the project are you happiest about and why?
• What were the biggest benefits and challenges of working with a team? Please discuss the contributions each member of your team made to the design process and the overall final products.