GR604: US Forest Service Visual Development Guide (Student Project)

US Forest Service Module 7 // Nature of Identity

Book 2: Visual Development Guide

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US Forest Service

Table of Contents 3

Brand Description

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Preliminary Logo Exploration

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Refinement

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Development

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Logo Inspiration

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Leveraging Inspiration

65 Sources

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US Forest Service

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Visual Development Guide

U.S. Forest Service At Our Core The US Forest Service (USFS) manages

climate, combating invasive species and

and preserves 193 million acres of public

diseases, and managing the supply of

forest and grasslands across the United

forest products to our nation. These

States of America, while also assisting

efforts extend beyond what one may

the nation’s 11 million private forest

initially think of as a “forest”. The USFS

owners with technical, educational, and

studies, manages, promotes, and

financial assistance. With a concern for

improves national forests, urban forests,

both the present and future state of our

minerals and geology, plants, rangelands

country’s natural resources - especially

(from wetlands to desert ecosystems),

water, air, and soil - USFS efforts are

recreation and stewardship, land resto-

concentrated on utilizing science and

ration, water resources, wildlife and fish,

technology to focus on the improvement

and more.

of natural resources, sustainability and

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Mission

US Forest Service

To create a healthy and sustainable future, with a focus on natural resources, for our country as a whole.

Module 7 // Nature of Identity

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US Forest Service

A History of Our Original Logo

The USFS logo was designed out of necessity. In 1905 Gifford Pinchot, the agency’s chief forester, saw a need for the agency employees to have a badge of authority that was unique to the service. Pinchot and those leading the Forest Service knew the work being done and the new laws being enforced for the protection of the national forests and the natural resources that reside within them were vital and recognition of such works and authority was also important. Despite many design proposals, there wasn’t any movement on a logo until Edward T. Allen and William C. Hodge, Jr. determined the best authority symbol was a conventional shield.

Visual Development Guide // Brand Description

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US Forest Service

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Visual Development Guide // Brand Description

Frank Harmon recounted the birth of the USFS logo in his article What Should Foresters Wear?:

In the spring of 1905, the two men were

the bottom of the shield, leaving a space

together in Allen's office or, perhaps, at

between them. Hodge, looking on, was

a railroad depot in Missoula, Montana.

inspired to sketch a fir tree on a sheet

Allen, who was attracted by the type of

of "roll-your-own" cigarette paper he

shield used by the Union Pacific Railroad,

took from his pocket. He then laid this

began tracing an outline of the shield

between the U and S. The two men

(from a Union Pacific timetable) on a

then quickly wrote "FOREST SERVICE"

sheet of paper. He inserted the large

across the top and "DEPARTMENT OF

letters U and S halfway from the top to

AGRICULTURE" across the bottom.

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US Forest Service

Preliminary Logo Exploration Community Strength comes from the teams of people working together toward one goal.

We must work toward a shared vision based on healthy, resilient forests—forests that can provide all the ecosystem services that Americans want and need while supporting a forest economy that creates jobs and local economic opportunities. - Tom Tidwell

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Resourcefulness

Thrive

Utilize the resources available to you.

The only way to flourish is to protect what we have.

Optimism is a good characteristic, but if carried to an excess, it becomes foolishness. We are prone to speak of the resources of this country as inexhaustible; this is not so. - Theodore Roosevelt

A nation that destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. - Franklin D. Roosevelt

US Forest Service

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Round 1 Initial Exploration

Community Strength comes from teams of people working together toward one goal. Our brand focus is on empowering all citizens of the US to preserve and protect our nation's natural resources to ensure a strong and promising future for all living things.

Visual Development Guide // Logo Exploration

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US Forest Service

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Round 1 Initial Exploration

Visual Development Guide // Logo Exploration

Community Cont.

Strength comes from teams of people working together toward one goal.

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US Forest Service

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Community Strength Comes from teams of people working together toward one goal.

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This design was one I chose to explore because of the symbolism of the representation of each element of resources

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The exploration of a natural and spiritual connection to nature was one that was intriguing, placing it within a shield shape making it representative of the protection of nature was a way to tie it together.

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Hands holding a leaf was representative of the USFS carefully handling the future of nature.

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A significant symbol of the USFS is Smokey the Bear, to pay homage to that character I chose to explore the design of a bear silhouetted around a tree was the motivation for this logo design.

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This design utilized leaves within the letterforms to tie the significance of Forest Service and their tie to nature.

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These logos were made up of the natural elements of air, water, and soil - the natural resources the US Forest Service works to protect.

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This logo design is representative of the natural footprint the USFS concerns itself with.

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Visual Development Guide // Logo Exploration

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US Forest Service

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Round 1 Initial Exploration

Resourcefulness Utilize the resources currently available to you. This is a phrase we keep front of mind. In order to ensure a promising future for our nation, we must be resourceful in our approach to the preservation of our natural resources. Our goal is to develop a symbol that reinforces this message.

Visual Development Guide // Logo Exploration

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US Forest Service

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Round 1 Initial Exploration

Visual Development Guide // Logo Exploration

Resourcefulness Cont.

Utilize the resources currently available to you.

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US Forest Service

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Resourcefulness Utilize the resources currently available to you

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The symbolism of hands holding the tree is significant to the delicate and vital way the USFS takes care of the nation's forests.

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Displaying the USFS letterforms as the left side of the tree is symbolic of the fact that the US Forest Service is a key player in the structure of national forests.

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The letterforms in each logo explore natural elements of trees: leaves, branches, and sticks.

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These logos were designed working the 'F' into the shapes of a leaf and trees, signifying the way the USFS is a key factor in the life of the nation's forests.

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This emblem style logo shows the wordmark residing within forest elements. A clean style emblem logo still conveying the importance of the fact that the Forest Service is a significant player in our nation's natural resources.

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This design combines the Forest Service wordmark with the hand and tree symbols – the hand supporting the Forest Service and the tree nested within the words.

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Visual Development Guide // Logo Exploration

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US Forest Service

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Round 1 Initial Exploration

Thrive The only way to flourish is to protect what we have. Our brand is focused on protecting our natural resources for generations to come. We want this to come through our logo, to reiterate our drive to protect our resources and the well-being of all.

Visual Development Guide // Logo Exploration

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US Forest Service

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Round 1 Initial Exploration

Visual Development Guide // Logo Exploration

Thrive Cont.

The only way to flourish is to protect what we have.

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US Forest Service

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Thrive The only way to Flourish is to protect what we have

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The emblem and shield are refined takes on the current USFS logo.

Utilizing the symbolism of the protection of the nation's forests.

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The combination of symbols connected to the US Forest Service wordmarks makes the name of the brand and their connection to the nation's natural resources clear.

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The stamp shape of the logo encapsulating the brand name and a tree symbol growing off the word Forest embodies the cohesive work of the Forest Service and the future of the forests.

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These designs all tie the wordmarks to natural symbols noting the importance of the work of the US Forest Service.

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Visual Development Guide // Logo Exploration

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US Forest Service

Stewardship Round 2 Refinement

Considering the significance of each keyword, it was decided to combine the keywords into one, stewardship. The United States Forest Service's focus is on preserving and conserving the country's natural resources to ensure a positive and healthy future for all. The best way to sum the US Forest Service's primary focal point up is with the word: Stewardship.

In the following pages, you will see further sketch refinement of the ten top logos gathered from the previous three camps.

Visual Development Guide // Refinement

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US Forest Service

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Round 2 Refinement Further Exploration

Visual Development Guide // Refinement

Exploration of more refined sketches of logos that better represent the message of stewardship.

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US Forest Service

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Round 2 Refinement Further Exploration

Visual Development Guide // Refinement

Exploration of more refined sketches of logos that better represent the message of stewardship.

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US Forest Service

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Round 2 Refinement Further Exploration

Visual Development Guide // Refinement

Exploration of more refined sketches of logos that better represent the message of stewardship.

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US Forest Service

Symbol exploration Sketches

Visual Development Guide // Refinement

The definitive symbols to be used in the USFS logos are trees, shields, and leaves, in no particular order or combination in this initial exploration. Following these sketches, the symbols were pieced together to create the following computer refinements.

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US Forest Service

Visual Development Guide

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Development Round 3 Development

In this step, there were multiple promising logos that moved on to the digital exploration phase of development. Of the previous sketches, those with a simple iconography and others with a strong emblematic feel were the most eye catching and quickest to convey the USFS goal of taking the country's natural resources into our hands, and defending the future of the nation's forests.

The current USFS logo is a shield with a tree containing the words US Forest Service Department of Agriculture. The symbolism of the shield is one that is very significant, and one that needed to be retained. The circular emblem is another design element that carries a similar significance.

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US Forest Service

Initial Computer Roughs

Visual Development Guide // Development

The following logos are the initial computer refinements resulting from the previous rounds of exploration.

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US Forest Service

Initial Computer Roughs

Visual Development Guide // Development

The following logos are the initial computer refinements resulting from the previous rounds of exploration.

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US Forest Service

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Emblem Logos

Visual Development Guide // Development

The following logos are the initial computer refinements resulting from the previous rounds of exploration. These logos clearly symbolize the significance of the US Forest Service

on our natural resources. The colors shown are common colors found within our US forests.

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US Forest Service

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Final Logo and Color Theme

R: 139

G: 145

B: 101

R: 194 210 B: G: 210

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Visual Development Guide // Development

The new USFS logo pays homage to the original design, with a nod to the logo's well recognized fir tree. The Forest Service is devoted to the future of our country’s natural resources and as a result, our citizen’s wellbeing for generations to come. In the new USFS logo the conventional shield design remains, with a more symmetrical and structured tree symbol.

R: 238

G: 191 B: 119

R: 40 G: 76

B: 92

R: 78 G: 86

B: 45

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US Forest Service

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Visual Development Guide

Logo Inspiration Trees, shields, and emblems are all very common design elements, especially when considering their symbolic meanings. Identifying existing logos that contain these elements is vital to ensuring there is a significant difference in the design of the new USFS logo design.

Design Elements

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Trees

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Shields

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Emblems

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US Forest Service

Tree Inspired While some of these logos don't necessarily represent brands that have a focus on conservation or preservation of resources, they are an excellent example of the ethos that tree symbols can exude.

Visual Development Guide // Logo Inspiration

Shield / Emblem Many of these logos are easily recognizable, establishing just how utilizing a shield or emblem style can enhance brand recognition,

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US Forest Service

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Visual Development Guide

Leveraging Inspiration In this next section, I have gathered visual inspiration from established brand standards guides. These guides have helped me to gather a stronger understanding of what I believe qualifies as good and inspiring brand development regarding visual standards. I have pulled inspiration regarding the following topics:

Areas of Inspiration

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New Identity Introduction

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Logo Anatomy

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Type Specs

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Main ID Colors

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Logo Don'ts

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Alternative Versions of the Logo

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Grid Use

US Forest Service

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New Identity Introduction Electrolux

This introduction is from Electrolux's brand guide and it does an excellent job of defining exactly why the brand required a new identity. It discusses and pulls imagery from previous brand deliverables as well as imagery that clearly defines the new direction they are moving in. It is clearly laid out and does a great job of also visually laying out where the problems previously lied and how they will be corrected.

Visual Development Guide // Leveraging Inspiration

Logo Anatomy Devon

The Devon logo anatomy is very cleanly broken down. The logo is very simple and would be very difficult to interpret incorrectly, however, the brand guide defines the importance and expectation of the clear space around the logo. This emphasis ensures the logo will never be hindered and will always stand significantly apart from its surrounding typographic and visual elements.

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US Forest Service

Type Specs Devon

The type specs that are defined by Devon are clear, strict, and impossible to misinterpret. The defined number rendering is the element that most strongly jumped out at me. The selected typeface, KievitOT, has multiple ways to render numbers and Devon ensured that it defined when each rendering is most appropriate to be used.

Visual Development Guide // Leveraging Inspiration

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Main ID Colors Symantec

Symantec understands the importance of color and color variation, as there are times when one specific shade of a color may not pair as well as another shade of the same color. With this knowledge, Symantec defined far more than a single color palette. It defined what tints of accent colors are required and when it is appropriate to use such colors.

US Forest Service

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Logo Don'ts BCCB

BCCB does a nice job of defining their requirement of not allowing for any variation of their signature mark, primary mark, and icon. Graphic and typographic elements are not to be shifted in any way, and the company does a nice job of visually defining what a "shift" looks like.

Alternative Versions of Logo Encore

Encore is a brand that utilizes its logo in multiple alternative ways. Acceptable alternative uses are clearly defined within their brand standards guide. Both visual and written explanations are given as to exactly what expectations reside in utilizing the logo in different ways.

Visual Development Guide // Leveraging Inspiration

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Grid Use Devon

Devon allocated multiple pages of their brand standards guide to proper grid usage for both print publications and brandline placement. Such specifications ensure all materials are cohesive from page size to gutter size.

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US Forest Service

Our rebranding is progressing, now that we have a new logo and identity direction, we have a strong sense of where we are headed. Our next step is to determine how we will be perceived and ways we can expand our brand to ensure positive perception across the nation.

Module 7 // Nature of Identity

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Sources

Visual Development Guide

Images and References

The USDA Forest Service The First Century www.npshistory.com/publications/usfs/fs-650/sec2.htm www.fs.fed.us www.fs.usda.gov www.foresthistory.org www.nps.gov www.unsplash.com www.stock.adobe.com Timberland Manufacturing Company Origins Skincare Dollar Tree The Green Hand Land Management and Consulting Mulberry Urban Green Labs Element Greenlabs Web Development UPS Warner Bros Harley Davidson Motorcycles National Hockey League 99designs.com — Emblem Logos

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US Forest Service