DUBS Andrew Nangpi Self-Initated Project Graphic Product Innvation
Brief.
To rebrand or create an identity for a car culture to enhance its identity and awareness for car enthusiasts and car owners. In a positive way, it must make the particular car culture much more engaging where people feel like it is well established and a culture that takes its lifestyle seriously for the serious petrol heads.
In the genre of cars, it can get very technical and very scientific if you were to become an enthusiast and a person of car interest. It can go as deep as modifying and building your own car by putting better car parts for better performance or for better styling and looks for the car. Thankfully because of the many genres of cars, they are narrowed down to specific car styles, which over time has become a culture and a trend till today. The culture isn’t just appealed to new drivers but to anyone who has a passion and love of cars. I was inspired to do this because I am a car enthusiast myself and I take modifying seriously fun. It’s a way of expressing yourself and a way to enjoy the community of others that share the same interest as me. Even better, I get to drive something unique and special to me.
What is DUBS?
DUBS in particular, is a modifying style. Its usually filled with German or European branded car companies but its not to say that other car brands are welcome. There isn’t a particular background history behind this car culture but rumour has it that it all started off with the first ‘MK1’ Gof GTI which a german tuning company decided to lower it and add big wheels to enhance its performance and styling due its sucessful build - Hence why it tries to aim at the German/European branded cars. Until this day, DUBS has developed over the years since the MK1 Golf and because of the development of technologies in better performance enhancements and the release of new car parts, fabricating has never stopped the endless possiblities of modifcation. Because of this new looks are always made but the DUB culture has kept its styling consistant over the years. Today, DUBS is all about being different through conducting my research. Today, anyone can put a new set of wheels on their car but the ideology of being different is actually a challenge to classify you being ‘DUBBED out’. Surely putting new wheels and tinting your windows is being different but to what extent? What kind of composed limits would you go to make your car as unique as you possible. Here are some examples of the cars you don’t regularly see or dont consider to be the average day to day car. Opinions are both positive and negative.
Defining the Car Culture
Retro cars. This plays a big part in keeping the history of where it all started. The skill to recondition a car and to also tune and modify it the DUB way is a very worth-while effort. Seeing an old car today is like bringing back a person from the dead.
Euro look. smoothening or altering the body in any way including unique paintjob. Also known as ‘Flushed’. This is more simply known as a clean and simple look which could involve removing curves, plastics and filling in spaces of the body of the car.
These are the only common styles that are recognised but the culture still isn’t defined as such. These styles are what more or less makes up what the DUB culture. The particular cars that are shown here aren’t just applied to these models. German cars have a very wide variety and range in which they can also be modified in the DUB style.
Original Equipment Manufacturer. (OEM), modifying with car parts that are only from well established branded car companies. For example, you could buy a standard small engined car and modifiy it using original manufactuered parts to make it look like its top of the range model in its range. It could be a VW with Lamborghini parts
Stance The act of creating less wheel gap between the wheel arch and the tires on the wheels. Achieved by changing the stock suspension to air suspension also know as ‘air ride’ or coilovers (sports suspension) also know as static stance. ‘Down n’ Out’ Putting on the widest of the wheels normall achieved through deeper dished alloys to give of a wide stance at the same time being lowered. The point of this is to achieve ‘supercar’ stance as many supercars appear wide and low. w
Modifiying newly released cars Always a challenge as when a new car is released, not many infact very few modifying parts are available not until after a few years later tuning and modifying companies release them. To modify a new car is an even jaw dropping feeling for enthusiasts.
My Design
I have created a visual identity to establish the DUB car culture. Giving it a visual logo will enable enthusiasts to be familiarized with the car culture but also to make it more aware to the people who aren’t an enthusiast. Within my process of developing this visual identity, it was a very long and many ideas had to be generated to take place as pin pointing the correct visual representation was very difficult due to the different styles and looks. I wanted to create a simple and yet aesthetically appealing logo that any DUB car enthusiast would relate to. More importantly trying to convey the significance of DUB: to be different. The logo is influenced by some of the most significant and common modifications that represent the dub culture or what is most commonly seen is used. I found out that ‘stance’ is mostely influenced in the culture and the enthusiasm of expressing yourself through cars. The colours are supposed to connotate the meaning behind being different, in taste and style. the colorful scheme creates an aesthetic aspect to the logo.
DUBS
Influences
‘Coilovers’ (A sports suspension upgrade) has been influenced to be used as the main and central part of the logo. The interesting pattern of the spring is widely recognised and used and as an enthusiast it is known that to lower your car even more you would need to modify your car by changing the springs or the whole suspension leg (coil overs) to get it lower and achieve that stance.
A gauge is also portrayed in the logo to appeal to the audience that are also into performance along with the DUB looks. That way the logo doesn’t limit itself with just lowering and style. Similar to the image above the gauge is positioned at the top corner of the logo as most modifying gauges are positioned at an angle. It’s also a very recognizable modification icon and to enthusiasts.
The colour of the logo plays a significant part of the logo. The fact that the colours are different from each other is more than enough to say that it’s about being different. Colour is a modification that is also part of being unique.There are so many different colours that anyone can choose from; matte to two or three tone or simply metallic. Choosing these colours is a colour balance between the warm and cool. Notice that the colours are full and interesting.
‘EUROSTILE’
(bold) The typeface is clear, simple legible aswell as readable. It is sans serif font that I think matches with the logo and reflects the car culture. It brings down the craziness of modifications and also calms down the logo as it doesn’t shout or give off any impressions to the viewer.
Further on from creating a visual identity of the car culture, I got a number of stickers produced. The aim of the stickers is to stick them on their modified DUB car to represent the car culture and send out a subtle statement to be said to other motorists and enthusiast. The sticker appears transparent which is good for sticking on windows and even suitable on bodywork. At the same time the effect is even greater on great sunny days as when the light shines through them the transparency of the colour is very vibrant making the sticker very appealing.
Local DUB Communities Initially, I started off trying to rebrand a car community called ‘Eastern DUBS’ but in order for me to focus on them, I had to create a visual identity as the term DUB is used very internationally not just for that one community. There are many small communities that hold local car meets to show off their cars and to show off what kind of modifications they have come up with. Eastern DUBS is a very good example of a local community meet as it invites any car enthusiast around the east end of London. The meets are held in a large shopping car park and inivitations are
only given out through the forum; that’s if you’re a member. There has been some attempts to create invitations digitally but it doesn’t really appeal to a wider audience if they are just posted up on forums. By doing this, the numbers are kept low and numbers wont go up resulting the meets possibly not becoming a very good outcome. The images below show an example of a digital invitation and some screen shots on how the meets are arranged and how they are planned. It doesn’t seemed to be advertised very well.
After designing a general logo that is familiar with everyone the logo is then placed within smaller communities and below are examples of how they may use the composition with the logo to dif� ferentiate each community. The Eastern Dubs community meet is rebranded with my new logo design. It’s a logo that uses a language that is familiar across the whole nation
EASTERN EASTERN
DUBS est. 2008
DUBS
est. 2008
Here, I very simply took the information from the local Eastern DUBS meet and designed some 6" x 4" inch flyers on which one side is glossy and the other is flat. The flyer contains all the essential information such as the address, time and location with the relevant images from some actual Eastern DUBS meets to not mislead the reader. Just like normal flyers they will be handed out at the meets and advertised across many platforms andplaces.
Styles and Trends
Further on from the leaflets, going back to the section of defining the car culture, there weren’t really one particular style. Hence I decided to move this forward by keeping the styles and enhancing them more by creating some particular styles that the DUB enthusiasts can aspire to. The aim of the styles is to create a sense of platform for any enthusiast starting off and to also help advertise DUB’s identity. This was a chance for me to play around with the typography and choose what suits best on the particular mood or emotion of the style. For example. ‘Retro’ is a serif typeface which indicates old and aged. This may help in the DUB culture for people who love their old and retro cars who are modifying them today.
N A E L C O R T E R t e e r t s
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Poster Designs
When it came to the poster designs, my main aim was to use very striking images that speak for itself and very minimal text. The images should capture the viewers’ eye in which case should amaze them. There are narrower posters for the particular DUB styles to engage their interest deeper and also to make them aware of the other particular styles that are advertised. Hopefully this should help improve with the brand identity.
Development
Visualisation of how the poster will look on billboards.
Conclusion In conclusion, I have tackled a very difficult branding brief, as I realized I was branding a culture: which wasn’t easy. The definition of a culture is very broad in terms of mean� ing, content and perception but by stripping it down to its elements and analysing its significant factors the logo was then able to designed. In terms of creating a visual identity, narrowing the significance down to one logo was very challenging. However, at the end of this project, it has made me realise that the connotation behind the logo is just as important as the aesthetics and also the end user must like and enjoy the logo. I found the logo and also the process to be very playful and experimental due to the number of values the culture holds. I wanted to create an established car culture that will in time keep its original styles. The logo that I designed will establish the culture more by bring other small local communities together and as a whole its identified under one visual logo and recog� nised all over the world where it is used. Whether it is Eastern DUBS, London DUBS, American DUBS, they are all now well established and can use the same visual logo with the added name even on their print media as shown with the ‘Eastern DUBS’ Community meet. I wanted to create something where the enthusiast are proud to be different, are proud of their love, and hard working efforts they put into personalising their car how ever they want to and more importantly proud of being in the culture they chose interest in.
End.