Brand Corporate Identity - Task 2
TASK 2 Brand Guideline with Elements, Icon, Mockup
WEEK 01 - WEEK 09Aina Ahmed Aleem | 0355701 | BDCM
- Lectures
- Instructions
- Brand Guideline Development
- Logo Usage System
- Colour and Typography Application
- Brand Asset Moodboard
- Brand Asset Sketches and Exploration
- Final Visual Assets
- Pattern Development
- Photography Direction
- Corporate Applications
- Mockup Applications
- Final Visual Identity Board
- Final Presentation
- Reflection
(Updated Lectures are available on the Task 1 Blog)
Task 2 focused on continuing the RIYA identity developed in Task 1 and expanding it into a more complete visual brand system.
The task required the brand concept, USP, logo, colour palette, typography, personality, and tone of voice to be applied consistently across supporting visual assets and mockup applications.
The task included several main stages:
Brand Direction Recap:
Reintroducing the approved brand direction from Task 1, including
the brand name, industry, product, target audience, USP, concept,
personality, tone of voice, logo, colour palette, and typography.
Brand Guideline Application:
Developing rules for the primary logo, secondary logo, logomark,
favicon, minimum size, clear space, colour application, typography,
and visual direction.
Brand Asset Development:
Creating a minimum of ten visual assets that support the RIYA
identity, including moodboard research, sketches, exploration,
digital development, final icons, and a supporting pattern.
Mockup Applications:
Applying the identity system to relevant real-world touchpoints. The
mockups needed to use the actual RIYA logo, colours, typography,
visual assets, and pattern rather than simply placing the logo onto
random templates.
Final Visual Identity Board:
Presenting the complete identity system in one polished layout that
shows the logo, colour palette, typography, visual assets, pattern,
mockups, and overall visual direction.
The final deliverables included the Brand Guideline / Brand Book, Brand Assets Folder, Mockup Design Folder, and Presentation Slides.
For Task 2, I continued developing RIYA using the brand foundation created during Task 1.
RIYA is a contemporary lifestyle clothing brand offering breathable and lightweight everyday wear designed for hot and humid tropical climates.
The brand is inspired by the Maldives and focuses on creating clothing that responds naturally to tropical heat, humidity, movement, and everyday island living.
The target audience includes creatives, remote workers, and local residents living in tropical climates who value comfort, function, and considered design.
RIYA’s USP is the combination of climate-responsive clothing with an authentic Maldivian cultural point of view.
The main concept remains “Move With the Climate.”
The name RIYA means “sail” in Dhivehi, and the idea of a sail responding naturally to the wind continues to influence the identity. The same idea of movement, airflow, adaptability, and connection to the environment was carried into the visual assets, pattern, photography, and applications.
The logo system developed during Task 1 was expanded into a more complete set of usage guidelines.
The primary logo combines the RIYA wordmark with the tagline “Move With the Climate.”
The secondary logo uses the RIYA wordmark without the tagline for situations where a simpler application is needed.
The logomark was created from the letter “A” within the RIYA wordmark. Its flowing form reflects movement, breathability, and connection while creating a compact and recognisable brand symbol.
The favicon is the most simplified version of the identity, allowing the brand to remain recognisable in small digital applications.
I also established minimum size requirements for the logomark, wordmark, and full logo. This helps protect legibility and ensures that the custom letterforms remain clear when reproduced at different scales.
Clear-space guidelines were also developed to prevent surrounding text or graphic elements from interfering with the logo.
The RIYA colour palette developed during Task 1 was maintained and applied consistently throughout Task 2.
The final palette includes:
Primary Burgundy – #76232F
The main brand colour, creating a strong and grounded identity while
maintaining a connection to Maldivian cultural references.
Secondary Off-White – #F5F2ED
Creates softness and breathing space within the identity.
Accent Ochre – #D19A4A
Represents warmth and sunlight within the tropical environment.
Functional Olive – #8A8B55
Adds a natural supporting tone inspired by the surrounding
environment.
Background Light – #FAF8F4
Used as a soft neutral background.
Neutral Dark – #2E2E2E
Provides contrast for typography and functional information.
I also tested how the RIYA logo functions across different colour combinations to make sure the identity remains flexible while maintaining sufficient contrast.
For typography, I used Avenir as the main type family.
Its clean and modern structure balances the organic and expressive RIYA logo. It is also highly readable and works well across digital, print, stationery, and product applications.
The next stage was to develop a visual asset system that could strengthen RIYA beyond the logo.
I began by creating a moodboard inspired by the natural environment and visual ideas connected to RIYA.
The main references included:
- sailing,
- ocean movement,
- sunlight,
- coral,
- shells,
- palm trees,
- coastal forms,
- organic patterns,
- and simplified natural symbols.
I wanted the assets to connect to the Maldives while avoiding overly literal or tourist-style imagery.
The visual direction therefore focused on bold, simplified, organic forms rather than realistic illustrations.
This also helped the assets connect visually to the flowing shapes already used within the RIYA logo.
After developing the moodboard, I began sketching different visual ideas.
I explored symbols based on:
- sail,
- sand,
- flow,
- horizon,
- sunlight,
- palm tree,
- wave,
- thread,
- coral,
- and shell.
The earliest sketches were more recognisable and illustrative.
As I developed them further, I simplified the forms and removed unnecessary details.
The final direction used bold, filled silhouettes with soft organic curves.
I wanted all ten assets to feel like part of the same family, so I kept consistency in:
- fill style,
- visual weight,
- rounded forms,
- simplified proportions,
- spacing,
- and overall shape language.
During this process, I also experimented with flowing organic lines, which later developed into the final supporting pattern.
The final visual asset system consists of ten elements:
Sail
Represents the meaning of the RIYA name and connects directly to the
main brand concept.
Sand
References the Maldivian coastal environment.
Flow
Represents movement, airflow, and adaptability.
Horizon
Connects to the island landscape and relationship between sea and
sky.
Sunlight
Represents warmth and the tropical climate.
Palm Tree
Connects the visual identity to the natural island environment.
Wave
Represents movement, water, and the relationship between the
Maldives and the ocean.
Thread
Creates a direct connection to clothing, fabric, and textiles.
Coral
References the natural marine environment surrounding the Maldives.
Shell
Adds another organic coastal symbol while maintaining the same
simplified visual language.
Together, the assets create a recognisable visual vocabulary for RIYA.
They are not intended to function only as decoration. Instead, they help communicate the brand’s connection to movement, tropical living, clothing, and the Maldivian environment.
In addition to the ten icons, I developed a flowing graphic pattern.
The pattern was inspired by water movement, airflow, waves, and organic coastal forms.
It uses the same soft, irregular, flowing shape language as the logo and icon system.
This allows the pattern to feel visually connected to the rest of the RIYA identity.
The pattern can be:
- repeated,
- cropped,
- enlarged,
- recoloured,
- used as a background,
- applied to textile prints,
- or used as a supporting graphic element.
This gives RIYA a flexible visual device that can appear across different applications even when the full logo is not present.
The photography style was based on three main principles:
Effortless Silhouettes
The clothing should look natural on the body rather than overly structured or styled.
Natural Light
Warm sunlight and muted tones create a soft and atmospheric mood.
This supports RIYA’s calm and understated tone of voice.
Breathable Fabrics
Lightweight fabrics should be photographed in coastal or tropical environments to communicate airflow, movement, and the relationship between the product and climate.
Overall, the photography should feel natural, contemporary, warm, and effortless rather than highly staged or overly saturated.
I created a letterhead and document cover to demonstrate how RIYA could work within more formal brand communication.
The letterhead was kept minimal, using the logo and large amounts of negative space.
This reflects the brand value of simplicity and ensures that the document remains functional.
The cover allowed the visual identity to become more expressive. I used the supporting pattern as a larger background element together with the logomark and brand typography.
This showed how the RIYA identity could adapt between minimal and expressive applications while remaining consistent.
For the business card, I used the primary burgundy, off-white, ochre, logo, logomark, and cropped pattern elements.
The front uses the full logo and a stronger graphic composition.
The reverse is more functional and includes the logomark and contact information.
The pattern was cropped differently on each side so that the identity remained consistent without repeating the exact same layout.
The RIYA website brings together several parts of the visual identity system.
It uses:
- the RIYA logo,
- Avenir typography,
- the approved colour palette,
- photography direction,
- flowing pattern,
- and spacious layout style.
The layout is minimal and editorial, with generous negative space.
This reflects the brand values of simplicity, comfort, and breathability.
The flowing pattern is used as a supporting graphic element, while product photography remains the main focus.
The website messaging, including phrases such as “Clothing That Adapts to Nature” and “Made for Warmer Days,” reinforces RIYA’s climate-responsive positioning.
The clothing tag brings the brand identity directly into the product experience.
The garment label uses the full RIYA logo with the tagline “Move With the Climate.”
The hang tag uses the logomark, the RIYA name, the phrase “Inspired by Island Living,” and the flowing pattern.
This allows even a small functional product detail to communicate the wider RIYA identity.
The use of off-white, burgundy, and the organic pattern keeps the application consistent with the established visual system.
EMBROIDERED PATCHES
The embroidered patches were developed using selected elements from the RIYA icon system.
Instead of repeatedly applying the full RIYA logo to garments, the icons can work as smaller recognisable brand details.
The patches use combinations from the approved RIYA colour palette while maintaining the original organic shapes.
This application demonstrates how the visual assets can become physical product elements rather than remaining only as digital graphics.
The embroidered texture also makes the icons suitable for apparel and creates a direct connection between the visual identity and the clothing itself.
SLEEVE DETAIL
For the sleeve detail, I used the RIYA logomark as a subtle embroidered signature near the cuff.
I chose the logomark rather than the full wordmark because I wanted the detail to feel understated and integrated into the garment.
This creates a small recognisable feature that could become associated with RIYA over time without making the clothing feel overly branded.
The application also reflects the brand’s understated and purposeful personality.
The flowing RIYA pattern was also developed into a textile print.
I used a tone-on-tone burgundy treatment so the pattern would feel integrated into the fabric rather than appearing like a graphic placed on top.
This demonstrates how the identity system can influence the product design itself.
The repeated flowing forms reinforce the concepts of movement, airflow, water, and adaptability.
This application was especially important because it shows how RIYA’s visual language can become part of the actual garment rather than only appearing through logos or labels.
At the end of the project, I created a final visual identity board to bring the complete RIYA system together.
The board includes:
- primary logo,
- secondary logo,
- logomark,
- colour palette,
- typography,
- final visual assets,
- pattern system,
- website,
- clothing tag,
- embroidered patches,
- sleeve detail,
- and fabric print.
The purpose of the board was to show how the different elements work together as one complete identity.
The same visual language appears across every touchpoint through:
- flowing organic forms,
- warm and grounded colours,
- clean typography,
- muted photography,
- minimal layouts,
- and climate-inspired graphic elements.
This helped demonstrate that RIYA can remain recognisable across different applications without relying only on the full logo.
After completing the brand guideline, visual assets, and applications, I prepared the final presentation for Task 2.
The presentation began with a short recap of the RIYA brand direction from Task 1 before moving into the full brand guideline system.
I presented the logo system, colour palette, typography, asset moodboard, sketches, final visual assets, pattern, photography direction, corporate applications, fashion-related mockups, and final visual identity board.
The presentation showed how RIYA developed from a logo and brand strategy into a more complete visual identity that could function consistently across different physical and digital touchpoints.
One of the most important parts of the process was making sure that each new element connected back to the same RIYA concept instead of creating visuals only because they looked attractive.
Observations
Throughout the task, I noticed that consistency became much more important once more elements were added to the identity.
When I first started exploring the icons, some of the designs felt too illustrative or different from one another.
Simplifying them into bold filled organic shapes helped create a stronger relationship with the flowing forms already present in the RIYA logo.
I also realised that the pattern became one of the most useful parts of the identity because it could be adapted across many different applications.
It worked on stationery, the business card, website, clothing tag, and fabric print while still maintaining the same visual language.
Another observation was that the applications became stronger when the branding was integrated into the product rather than simply placing the logo onto a mockup.
For example, the sleeve embroidery, embroidered patches, and fabric print showed how the visual identity could become part of the actual clothing itself.
Findings
RIYA became more recognisable when the same ideas of movement, airflow, tropical climate, and Maldivian environment were repeated consistently through the logo, icons, pattern, colours, photography, layouts, and applications.
I also learned that supporting brand assets can communicate identity even when the main logo is not present.
The icons and flowing pattern created another layer of recognition that could be used more subtly across clothing and digital applications.
The process also reinforced the importance of connecting every visual decision back to brand strategy.
The sail concept, climate-responsive USP, Maldivian identity, organic logo forms, environmental icons, muted photography, and clothing applications all became stronger when they worked together rather than independently.
Overall, Task 2 helped me understand how a logo develops into a complete brand system and how consistency across different touchpoints can create a stronger and more professional identity.
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