How To Present Your Next Logo & Identity System w/Maxwell Billings

[@jensroelant5129]

If I was the client, and I didn't like the logo, I still would take it. The way you sell the logo exceeds personal preference. Very well put together!

[@TheFuturAcademy]

that's the power of a professional presentation

[@ferengarajbrahma8532]

Ummhmm

[@SaMSUNG93sk]

The way he talks us through his design and the ideas he built from is outstanding. Could listen to his explanations all day, totally clear all the way through.

[@johnespino886]

For everyone watching, here’s a rough outline of the presentation Maxwell made in this stream. Hope this helps, as it’s a very well-structured and paced discussion. This could also be a check list of sorts-towards the end Maxwell was asked about his workflow, and he actually showed it in his presentation. I also added some other notes in there based on my personal experience. May this be helpful! 1. Evaluating current assets (Brand Homework) 8:19 - Research on the current identity, mark, color, livery, sub-brands, or even competitors’. Even if it’s a rebrand, it’s important to give a nod or acknowledgement to existing brand assets especially the logo and other distinct marks of the brand. This gives your redesign a foundation, respects the legacy of the brand itself, and allows you to carry on the tradition of the name. It’s a different process if it’s a wholly new brand or logo however, and you would have to really engage with the client about how they want the brand to look and feel, and what messaging do they want to convey. 2. Competitor research / color research 9:54 - Researching on current competitors in the space and taking note of opportunities where you could stand out, in this case by color, but perhaps also by shape, application, etc. Sometimes this process can lead you to be heavily influenced by the current design trends and strategy, so always take a step back when doing research. Is this aligned with the brand I’m developing for? Will this help the messaging I am going for? Yes it is cool to look at, but will it enhance the experience of the brand I am researching for? Really long way to say that, have a healthy skepticism when it comes to competitor research. (Nowadays, if you would look at fashion brands and automotive company rebrands they all seem very similar. I’m not saying that there was no research made, but I guess they didn’t veer too much from what they’ve already seen trending.) 3. Strategy 11:12 - Ideation and Branding Goals: ‘What does travel mean?’; ‘What is the magic behind it?’. Come up with branding goals, themes, or concepts, that would guide your work and your narrative as you go. I used to think of this phase as pointless, as it’s something that is obvious. But this has come to be a very helpful way for me connect with the client, and really get into what they want for the brand, and also communicate with them what I understand of the brief they’re giving me. If you’re aligned on this level early in the beginning, you can always get back to this discussion during the iteration/revision phases. I’ve lost lot of time working with clients and designers because we aren’t aligned with things as simple as ‘I want the design to pop’-it could ‘pop’ by color, or ‘pop’ by execution, or ‘pop’ by experimentation-there’s a lot! In addition, when it comes to the point where you present the brand for the first time it’s also creates a strong sense of ownership and connection-we set those goals, and this is how the design looks from these goals. Especially if the final work is something that the client really likes-they’d feel more proud of it knowing that they were part of the process in creating it! 4. Stylescapes/References/‘Pegs’/Moodboarding 13:00 - Research about references, images, experiences, touch points, etc., that you could use during the design process. Gathering a lot of inspiration does not mean that your outputs would be greatly influenced by what you’ve gathered together during this phase, though admittedly there’s a risk of being too carried away. More importantly however, the stuff you’ve gathered should help you get a feel for how you could potentially scale the brand through various applications, touch points, etc. 5. Sketching/Drafting (Round 1) 14:30 - Exploring directions, making sure to have as many concepts and ideas to start off from and not necessarily editing. Playing around with the themes and concepts surfaced in Strategy. Emphasis on just getting things out of your head, and not editing anything because when you get to the next round, if you’re ‘run out’ of concepts to play around with or refine, it’s going to feel like a solid wall of creative block. Allow your mind to wander, and maybe have a spectrum of ideas, from the wackiest the-client-would-never-approve-this to the more formal this-looks-too-derivative-but-safe. 6. Sketching/Drafting (Round 2) 18:00 - Building on the concepts and drafts in round 1 and playing around in your graphics software (where you could iterate faster). The goal is to iterate faster, in order to explore more applications/treatments that you can expand later. Have a 100, then whittle it down. Okay, you don’t have to have a hundred, but as Maxwell said it’s a muscle that you can exercise moving between rounds 1 and 2 of sketching and drafting. 7. Time lapse 20:50 - Just showing the process of how the logo was created. Mostly optional, but it’s fun and instructive for both client and designer to walk through it together. Makes for a good reel too. And when you’re sharing with other people your work, this is one of the fun parts. I love listening to how designers come to a specific design decision or their anecdotes about how they came about this specific curve. Geeky stuff, but optional. 8. Logo Reveal 21:39 - Simple logo reveal, and the first time the client sees your logo, so first impressions matter. As you go on with the presentation this is also the slide that the client will ask to go back to again and again to verify/strengthen their impression. (So make sure it’s a great slide!). Mark, word mark, type treatment, color treatments, configurations/lockups. In this presentation, Maxwell presented the mark and word mark, customization of Gotham for the word mark, and one-color applications. (Sidebar: It’s clutch if you know After Effects, but really, if you have a Mac and you have Keynote, Keynote could make or break your presentation. What about PowerPoint? Sure I’ve used PP to create presentation decks, but the flexibility of Keynote is amazing. I’ve created entire video animations using Keynote when I didn’t know how to use Ae, and even today I use Keynote for simple text animations in videos!) 9. Branding Elements 26:28 - Based on your brand research, what can you expand on, reuse, or build upon that could act as secondary or tertiary elements of your initial brand? In this case, it’s making the waveforms from the brand jingle, and using a halftone texture application for other graphical elements. This is where your competitor research, brand homework, and mood boards would really help. More importantly however, if you only have to show a few examples, think about how your client or your clients’ customers would interact with the brand. This ties in with the next step in exploring brand applications and touchpoints because you could literally just tell the story of how a person might move through your brand. For example, a customer walks into the airport. What’s the first thing he opens up? The ticket app. What’s next? Signages to the check in counter. And then? Going to the lounge or the waiting area. What can you offer them while waiting? Branded entertainment, branded seats, branded coffee cups, etc. The plane arrives, what do they see? The livery. Oh it’s cool to see that message from the bottom! When they get inside the plan, what should they feel? Be soothed by calming lights and scents? When they seat, what do they get? Oh a cool logo on the head rest. Or a kit for everything they need on this trans-Pacific flight. Just listing down the potential user flow (crossover from UI design haha), can tell you what assets you need developed, how can secondary and tertiary or even more levels of branding elements communicate to the user about your brand (without having logo fatigue), or how can the experience transition from one screen to the next). 10. Branding Applications 28:55 - How it looks in real life. Mock-ups, livery, signages, etc. In this case, Maxwell presented samples of the plane livery (how the plane looks outside), application of the logo on white backgrounds, application on plane seats (head rest and stitching pattern using the jingle waveform), application for signages, application for business cards, application for apps, application for airport signages, application for in-plane lights and experience (using the colors of the brand), application for amenities, application for coffee cups). Maxwell knows how to edit and manipulate stuff in Photoshop that makes his samples look real and life like, and that’s a good skill to develop. There are really good high quality mockups that you can find online, and if you can afford them it’s a great investment. But if you want to look for free ones, I usually stop by Graphic Burger for their shirt design mockups. The key is putting an effort in using these mockups as well, not just pasting them in your presentation as is. Sometimes you’d have to create a ‘scene’ in your presentation, combining different mockups. - Really enjoyed this session! This is not a cut and dry workflow that everyone should follow religiously, it depends on the designer, and of course their experience. Hope this helps.

[@TheFuturAcademy]

That was Awesome!!

[@johnespino886]

The Futur Academy This episode is very engaging, got a lot of notes and tips from the presentation. Thank you for this!

[@passion8-follower]

Thank you

[@adedotunfakeye1613]

Thank you John!!!! Well put together!

[@funchie3533]

Thanks John! This was sooo helpful and well written. I appreciate you 🙂

[@khadimusyaffa3127]

in the beginning, i'm not really into the logo. but after he explain everything, dangg!! really love it

[@drewprezmusic]

Dude, it's annoying how good & thorough this guy is!! Lol 😆 He's like the super smart kid in school that you hate but only out of envy because he's so perfect! Great job 🙌

[@DavidMartinez-tw3cl]

This is sick!! I liked the preview that chris gave. Got me pumped for the actual reveal. The entire process, the explanation, was great 👍

[@TheFuturAcademy]

Awesome, thank you!

[@NikHem343]

Hot damn, that was an outstanding presentation in every aspect. When Jason Bourne does something, he does it right.

[@RahulAhire]

I'm now starting to appreciate how much thought process and efforts just goes into making a logo which apparently for a normal person's eye is just fancy peace of lines drawn over. Really great.. and even your efforts shows up in your presentation. I didn't imagined Maxwell could go as far to demonstrate his idea with after effects and indesign for that chair logo impression

[@andrevalente93]

Is this the best presentation ever? It is. Excellent work.

[@AdamGreasley]

Maxwell's presentation was amazing, totally went above and beyond with making a visual system. It's good to see how he would present and sell this concept to a client. I would have loved to see more of his process and development of the redesigned logo.

[@sevanyouhanna2491]

As a designer myself, I would stay away from gradient effect on logos. The new redesigned logo is not 100% there. However, the colors are a great choice, mockups are awesome, the process is also great and the presentation is beyond amazing. Thank you for sharing.

[@vishme_luck]

Wow really love the presentation, explaning of the mark , the half tone, airport mock-up blown my mind 🤯 , great work by Maxwell 👏🏻and thankyou Chris for the explanation while reading the comments.

[@GinDasCreative]

Such a great presentation...I love the process you undertook...so thoughtful and no design idea was just slapped on, everything was so well thought out. I learnt so much, thank you :)

[@alexandradelacruz1068]

Without a doubt, one of the best presentations I have seen so far! If Maxwell ever decides to create an online class, sign me up!

[@rahanme7906]

He is so good at presenting his logo design and his process to the client and to us. I would like to see another video featuring him

[@migmacam]

Got to be the best logo redesign in the series. Props to Maxwell for walking us through in his design process. Loved the presentation, learned a lot!

[@surya7776]

That little logo animation.. cherry on the top..✨

[@ConnorYamsek]

This is my favorite channel on KZbin. Just graduated with my Bachelors in Marketing and I have a passion/hobby for design on the side. Thank you for demonstrating time and time again that fine details and presentation really matter. Amazing work!!

[@PhenMas]

Amazing presentation. Maxwell did a great job telling the story, and showing the thoughtfulness behind his mark.

[@stephh_nz]

Finally got some time to watch this in its entirety - it’s AWESOME! Loved the presentation, so many take aways! 👏👏

[@dembeetsogoo351]

Billings's presentation Biemans's drawing Hadeel's thought process =Ultimate designer,

[@TheFuturAcademy]

You might be onto something

[@defutcha924]

this is a whole course I respect the depth and creative approach

[@rahanme7906]

I really like the seat with the window concept

[@anza3275]

Wow at the presentation skills! Would love to know how to find that balance between giving simple, easy to understand explanations to complex ideas and still sounding so professional. Or maybe the struggle is just in my head

[@jdanielortega]

Even though I don't love the logo, I would still take it because you clearly showed it is the end result of an outstanding process. And that's what wins in this game.

[@alex-650]

holy smokes, this is inspirational! An insane amount of details all woven together perfectly!

[@akstrak1254]

Thank you so much Chris for this series. Outstanding videos, first it was Hadeel's work that inspired me and now Maxwell. Great process and information for the people who wish to learn. I have been in the product design space for a few years and been doing some brandings and re-brandings for various clients. Moving step by step and learning from you guys. Hopefully, some day I'll also be able to present on such a level with this quality of work. Hope you have a great day. Thanks.

[@guylaineregimbald2914]

Awesome presentation. This was a MasterClass in brand thinking and execution. Thanks to the futur and Maxwell.

[@adedotunfakeye1613]

Awesome Presentation. The redesign is so beautiful!!!!

[@novirahmatika]

Woah! The redesign team got a new member! I think the battle between him and Hadeel had to be set soon.

[@walterwhite5249]

the final was really great

[@brianivandertp]

This is super thoroughly thought! I really love all of the presentation and storytelling

[@paolynlorrainelazo5456]

Lots of insights love your work. Im thinking how can i be like you for someone new on this career.

[@MarkAnthonyPadal]

When I first saw the revised mark versus the current ones I thought that was an amazing design. But I remembered that Saul Bass' design. In my opinion, he really did an amazing job and it feels like you are watching a paid course or something. The design thinking was superb, the presentation and everything.

[@RocknRollCEO]

Fantastic stuff, with a lot of great insight into process. I think this is an example of where the process takes you to maybe not the correct solution. I prefer the old logo. Simply, this one, ,imo, doesn't convey the sheer size and strength of UA (in fact the opposite), one of the largest airlines in the world. It doesn't have "presence". Blue and Red are American and needed to be there as primary. Also, not sure how relevant the Northern Lights are to UA or the US... Maybe more suitable for Icelandair...

[@nickorafael3887]

Amazing! Love the presentation

[@MyHannie123]

Im about to rip his presentation techniques and skills for my portfolio class. This was an extremely clean and satisfying presentation/execution.👍👏👏🙉

[@felixquansah5214]

Just going to go ahead and click that like button before even watching!

[@KitKat4K]

This is so well done all I can say is FUCK what a job well done. I wonder if it was one of those moments of passion where the idea was so powerful this man just couldn't help himself but show us every bit of brand usability (haven't watched the full video yet so he might say whether it was a passion project or just one he really wanted to design something to market himself better during this collab).

[@mousaamery]

I really enjoyed the stream. Thanks a lot for the best contents..always.

[@TheFuturAcademy]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@skb875]

Who else thinks he looks like Matt Daemon? Amazing job on creating this new system, by the way! Would love a video series on creating mockups.

[@AzeemNasir71]

✋

[@MrZojim]

I would like to think that the old united logo at 35:10 left on the trashcan was on purpose lol

[@5fakta580]

Airlines are one of the company that has many aspects that designers loves to play with. From logo to merch. 💰

[@jodierizky-]

I’m glad Matt Damon is a design guy

[@AzeemNasir71]

i was searching for this comment. Glad someone else also felt this 😂

[@alex-650]

Jason Bourne? Delete this before you blow his cover!

[@tayyubahmed1646]

This is some gold content♥♥

[@greatndabai]

Awesome Session!

[@zwko1967]

Loved this 🔥🔥💪🏽⚡️

[@cristianotcunha]

Beautiful work!!

[@mohammedsadam8747]

Everytime i design a logo i keep the future Video playing in the Background it helps alot .. Idk why but it do .

[@JibrilQuincy]

The revised look is like something I can relate to.

[@filipeas17]

How can I come in and show the work I did with the new national soccer team? Really good series! Keep it up guys

[@myksweet]

Very cool. Air travel is as much about he sky as the destination. The thoughtfulness here elevates the airline off the ground (and Continental globe). The very, and appropriately subtle, Easter egg musical and graphic heritage nods are inspired and fun to in-the-know. Also, re the technical comment about interior lighting. Airlines can and do. Google: planes with colorful interior lighting.

[@Blank00]

My childhood airline was actually Continental during the 2000s. The revised logo has nothing from good old Continental and I hope he can create branding for if there was a Continental Airlines relaunch to recreate that good old airline from the 2000s

[@diristovski]

The logo is decent, but dude... This guy can sell. Well done!

[@fergoico7774]

How much time do you guys give the designer to present the redesign?

[@TheFuturAcademy]

As much time as they need.

[@fergoico7774]

Thanks I like the redisegn logo but didn't love it, but with that level of presentation he could sell me a turd and I will buy it. Kudos to you Maxwell!

[@arne.munther]

You missed a Continental logo on the garbage bin @35:23 ;)

[@souryavarenya]

Very impressive mock-up presentation but the logo itself feels very similar to Udacity logo.

[@mohammadbilalshaikh4239]

Initially I didn't like the logo but I'll take it. He is a very clever designer.

[@AloneVal]

I'm doing graphic designing for 5 years but still today when I see a logo like that I feel like I'm still a beginner

[@PineSaga]

Invaluable resource

[@EPHONIC]

This is great. This is why he can live up to his name, “Max Billings.” When you’re this comprehensive and deliver value in high-caliber thinking, you can charge a bit more. :-)

[@arvindnv1795]

Amazing!!

[@tjmarx]

When I first saw the redesign idea it felt familiar. Not in a nostalgia inducing good design kind of way, but like I've seen it before. So I had a look at some of my suspicions, and I was correct. It's very visually similar to the old uSwitch logo from 2000-2011. When I say very, I mean they used an arrow head instead of a star and that's the only meaningful difference. For those who do not know uSwitch is a UK based comparison service for utilities. It's also quite visually similar to the perhaps more sector relevant trademark wise, Pattaya's U brand luxury resorts targeted at the millennial influencer market and includes the same colour palette. I bring this up ONLY to draw in on the point about getting paid to research. White the logo looks nice and has a story attached, if actually pitched to a brand like United it would be rejected without consideration based on the fact it would not survive trademarking. If your pitch is to try marketing as not just a plane, but a flying hotel playing a little in that hospitality space you have to look to hospitality in your research as well. If it had, Pattaya would have been identified.

[@TheCds777]

this is very inspiring

[@mustafaj.fteita4859]

WOOW!!

[@njanadesign]

good job

[@simplyruben3184]

As much as I want to love this design I highly doubt a airline would take on such a radical change, the logo has almost nothing from the old one which makes it a hussle to proper get that brand recognition back (would take alot of advertising) but that's not the main issue I have as I'm sure they have the money to do good advertising projects. The main issue is when he shows the gradient aircrafts, especially the full color gradient one, planes are white because it reflects light and thus doesn't heat the airframe which is crucial, having a full colored plane will reduce aerodynamics and could even lead to significantly reduced performance on the plane itself as it would require more paintjobs and maintenance to make sure it is safe for each trip. this project has potential but I really feel the design of the airplane wrap needs to be rethought. to make it more appropriate to become a actual wrap because in it's current state with the reason i mentioned above, they simply won't go for this as it would increase price costs per flight substantially.

[@TheFuturAcademy]

Thank you for the feedback

[@simplyruben3184]

@@TheFuturAcademy No problem, I usually study the limits of why a product looks the way it does prior to getting my hands to sketching this helps me from wasting time on designs that possible would negatively impact the efficiency and or other features. I love the design though it's very different and would really help them to stand apart from the rest but the airplane wrap is the only bottleneck in the project, this designer has amazing talent, I'm sure he will find a creative solution to make the wrap work.

[@jukestaposition]

I didn’t like the void on U under the star. I think harking back to the italic U would have made the star feel more dynamic and have motion.

[@materiprueba2793]

Revised! the best! the new one!

[@AD_RC]

i loved the whole branding until you came to the livery then i exhaled a single "MEH" but the rest is genius, props to you! btw... brand design and livery design are the same thing, but still two different beasts, you have to treat them very carefully

I couldn't help but getting a little of a Ubiquity vibe, but a great mark nevertheless

[@EmmaR]

Love the tweaks to the type but am I the only one who thinks the logo feels a bit 'empty'?

[@designbyodo]

Well in design, simple is perfect. A logo doesn't have to explain the business, But to represent.

[@muhammadganda24]

Sangat keren

[@AzeemNasir71]

When Matt Damon is your Logo Design teacher. 👏

[@brockman562]

logo is a lot better than original, but it's not great. I like Saul Bass's logo the best. Maxwell's 'U' logo almost looks like union's bank logo or ubiquiti's logo. the only thing that really stands out is the brand extension with the secondary graphics, presentation, and storytelling. I prefer logo option 'C' by Bass.

[@mhmdzahin]

42:28 just mark this for the wise words.

[@Someone38482]

Envato elements

[@stevewill3572]

Kinda looks like the UM logo. Or Unilever

[@TheMightyFonz]

The mark doesn't matter as much as how it's used.

[@METTI1986LA]

This guy Kind of reminds me of Matt Damon Great graphic Designer with really unconventional ideas

[@zigiozz]

B

[@MrStalingonzalez]

Don't kill me about this, please! "United Arab Airlines"

[@seamasmanly2685]

His new logo is way cooler.

[@mahanly]

I prefer the logo as a mono-color. Not the color version with the gradient. That logo looks too Disney. As a mono, its a classic.

[@kalahiki808]

The only good logo for United is the Saul Bass or Pentagram Tulip.

[@Почемувыопятьнепонимаете]

u need to start using discord)

[@Adimondinthesky]

You have to incorporate the fact that there are a lot of Continental employees that merged with United. We are very sentimental about Continental as you are United. Just because time has passed doesn't mean you can forget about the merging of two airlines that means a lot to all of us. Back to the drawing board for you!

[@TheFuturAcademy]

Thank you for the feedback

[@poppyorangeflower]

I don't like it when the logo gets too meta. Just make it look nice and let the viewers insert their own meaning into it.

[@nevillevector]

If he only designs as good as he talks.

[@skuiff7578]

A)

[@mounirdev9560]

God is a designer.

[@PJ-yy5mi]

I thought he was a singer

[@tjmarx]

This idea that luxury travel won't come back is a naive overreaction based in fantasy. Luxury travel will return simply because there is a market for it. Almost every sector that there was a market for before CoVID-19 as will eventually come back. It might take a little time as we're looking at another year of CoVID-19 realistically, and the players might chance, but the market will return and so will the services. Someone who is going to overreact to a downturn like that doesn't have nearly as much to tell me about branding as this hour long video wants to pretend

[@Ritermann]

I don’t like hin and the logo. For the simple fact that he is a salesman. Would fit right into what apple does. Work is okay, but not enough for a trillion dollar company. Also, bringing stars into airlines language is promising too much and taking away what the space industry actually delivers. Liked the process though.

[@TheFuturAcademy]

Thank you for the feedback

[@ethanparker7900]

i don't get why people are so pissy and desperate to eliminate the globe. This new logo honeslty does not look good and has no meaning whatsoever. I mean the globe has such a big meaning to it. To me it represents earth really cause the earth is a globe and they are trying to unite the whole world together right? I mean its great people have creative ideas but altogether they are just wasting time cause they know their ideas will never happen. And altogether its jsut annoying as hell to see people bitch and complain simply cause of a LOGO like why do you care so much? I mean the tulip can't last forever and 2010 they felt like it was time to get rid of it I mean it was nearly 40 years old at that time while the globe wasn't even 20 years old yet. People are so emotionally attached and resist the littlest change. Change is inevitable and it is bound to happen at some point and 2010 was that time. Nothing can last forever hell even the globe will disappear eventually in the next 20-30 years prolly so. it is just funny but also sad to see how soft people are and so many people in general waste so much time with this type of stuff.

[@kalahiki808]

This guy is ripping off the University of Miami logo and adding the Polaris star NEXT

[@otiwills2912]

B