There may come a point in your career where you will be asked to produce something for an existing intellectual property. In the entertainment field this is incredibly common. It doesn’t always have to be in entertainment either, you could be working for Apple or Toyota, and each company, each property has its own specific visual identity. This is called style, and it works closely with design and branding to create a lasting impression on audiences. So what happens when you’re put on a team or freelance for an existing product? If they don’t have a style guide available to give you, it falls to you to closely analyze every little aspect of the product so you can work within the guidelines and produce something that fits in their world or product line.
What are some of the elements that you would want to break down? Here’s a short list of things to take note of when breaking down style.
How does the property approach line quality? Is it even present in their final product? Are there patterns in how the product uses their line?
What kinds of shapes are we seeing in the product? What kind of feeling is conveyed because of it? Think about the contrast of shapes as a point of style as well.
Points of contrast in color (Hue, Saturation, Value, Temperature) all serve to construct a palette which can create a distinct identity for your product.
Much like color palette, material use can be a wonderful identifying factor for your I.P. how is your product using material to construct identity?
Or the level of reality created in your product also serves as an element of style. Is your product hyper realistic or is everything done using flat color? Does the material indication accurately describe how something feels?
In a fictional world, the level of technology can tell you when and where a story takes place. In a product line, it can tell you what kind of budget to expect and how much it might cost to consumers.
One of the strongest and most abstract identifying elements of style. Is there a common thread of thought that you see present in the I.P. you’re creating for? How does it manifest itself repeatedly?
Both visual and abstract, user interface and how we interact with a product could be a powerful part of an I.P.s style.
Please note: your pages should be more fleshed out with clear sentences and proper graphic layout
These are just a few of the elements that can make up a style for any given intellectual property. Your task is to choose an I.P. and break it down to it’s identifying parts. Take existing images and analyze them using call outs, red lines, and anything else you need to describe its style. Don’t forget that what is not included is just as important as what is. The construction of this project could serve as a guideline for you to create for this product (or any designer). When constructing this document, make sure it looks and feels professional and addresses the 5 elements of design: Dominance, Sub Dominance, Rhythm, Balance, and Harmony. Use as many pages (11 x 17) as necessary to give me a complete idea for your I.P.