OFood: Design Challenge

The task was to design a modern app icon for a food delivery project called OFood to create strong brand recognition, attract users to use the product and make the product stand out in the market.

Research & Insight

I began by organising my thoughts to fully understand the project brief. The next step was to research logos in the local food delivery industry to understand the trend/design styles. This was necessary to start visualising how to differentiate OFood's app icon from existing competitors.

Next line of action was to consider a set of guidelines:

• OFood will be known for on-demand food delivery simple and efficient service for people in Lagos and the icon needs to reflect that.
• Creating a strong recognisable brand requires the use of consistent brand elements that the general public can identify as OFood.
• Food delivery is a flexible service and therefore OFood needed an icon that was adaptable.

With a defined set of guidelines, I proceeded to the design phase.

Design

The easily recognisable Opera O is the primary element of my icon design. It is simple yet memorable and distinctive by its shape and color. However, there is room for improvement while sticking to the core brand DNA (i.e. it’s shape and colouring).

Design does not start on screen. Therefore, the creative search started with a few hand-drawn sketches/doodles. This was to get some generic ideas out of the way and digitise options with the best potential.

Some mediocre sketches

I digitised the doodles, showing iterations of the Opera O and food elements in black and white to compare and decide.

The second option is simple and cute but I decided it was too similar to a half eaten donut. Didn't want the icon to be misunderstood for a pastry shop. I decided to further develop the second option as it seemed to be the most logical direction for a great food app icon.

Concept

The user should instantly recognise a great app icon on his home screen. With the push of a button, OFood will efficiently deliver food from various local restaurants to Lagos residents. This simple and human-centered serviced is the story of the app icon.

Construction

I used a grid system, for balanced and consistent output.

Colour Options

Once I designed the suitable icon for OFood, I tried it in different colors to ensure that the icon is easily recognizable. The local food delivery market is saturated with flat red, orange and blue, OFood needed to be different. I decided on a bright red/orange gradient and that preserves the energetic tonality of the iconic red Opera O. The gradient also sparks visual interest.

Testing

A great app icon should be instantly identifiable regardless of it’s context.

The app icon has been designed according to iOS and Google's Material Design Guidelines.

Colour Palette

Finalising the App Icon

The simple and modern app icon was completed and now required wordmark. I chose Basis Grotesque for it's modern and friendly sans-serif aesthetic that is adaptable for dynamic environments. Also kind of looks like modern Helvetica, doesn't it?

Implementation

As part of the deliverables for the OFood projects, I also have to design social media banner and flyer for promotional use based on the app icon. This is necessary to preview how the branding could be applied to marketing promotional material.

A good brand identity should be a powerful marketing tool that helps the brand stay dynamic yet stand out from other competitors, consistency matters in visual design. This was considered during the design process for the app icon.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Food is visual, therefore images of food will communicate the service of helping customers discover and enjoy good food around them. It puts good food at the forefront and also targets where it matters most, your eyes and stomach!

Promotional Flyers — The O circle serves as a visual cue for OFood, combines strong imagery with the graphic approach of the visual language. The use of gradients communicates the modern, urban and friendly approach of the brand. These visual constants are adaptable and distinctive.

Promotional flyer

With a defined set of visual identity components, I can now proceed to design a banner for social media use. My aim is to create simple, identifiable design that attract users to use OFood and make the product stand out in the market.

When creating marketing promotion material, it’s imperative to note the goals applicable to a specific marketing channel.

Graphics to stand out on social media feeds and encourage app dowdnloads.

While square orientations may be appropriate for some social media channels, other channels may require different orientation, i.e. horizontal.

GIFs help to grab followers' attention.