Summary of the design work of the life main vision and mascot of NetEase automobile channel Elm Car

Article Description: NetEase automobile channel Elm Car life Main vision and mascot design work summary.

This paper is a summary of the main vision and mascot design work of the project which just ended recently, the Automobile channel "Elm Car Life", combing and reviewing the problems encountered in the design process. Take out and share with you, welcome to the children's shoes to participate in the discussion.

Project Introduction
In order to closer to market demand, enhance the readability of the content of the channel, interactive and interesting, NetEase car requirements to adjust the content of the channel, the program proposed "Elm Car life" of the whole concept, intended to change the past for professional reports, the industry content-oriented framework, the revised content tends to close to users, more attention to people, cars, Life three levels, better for the general User Service.
Mascot, as an important part of the brand, is the product of the brand development to a certain stage, its role is: to strengthen the brand personality, highlighting product characteristics, is to enhance brand awareness and close to the target consumer group distance effective way to be heavy enterprises and brand adoption.

Through communication, we understand that the focus of the design work around the "Elm car Life" slogan for the main visual design, the program needs to reflect the revised channel after the happy, easy, Easy-to-use features, the mascot as the main visual core elements, requirements reflect the slogan "Easy" and "music" literal meaning. ebay + happy = Elm car life.

The mascot starts from the beginning of the project to design, until the end of several stages, and then I will follow in turn.

Mascot positioning
With the channel related person in the process of communication, we basically identified the mascot design of several major points.

1. the mascot wants to design two. A biased industry (focus on industry consulting, automotive expertise); A partial entertainment (convey car life content)
2. follow the meager small easy logo for the mascot basic design.
(as the originator of NetEase meager "octopus version" small logo, in the dissemination of well-known, therefore, we recommend NetEase's mascot or virtual role should consider the consistency of brand communication, to avoid the brand risk of a further alternative). Meager small Easy logo as shown:

3. establish the name, tone and character of the mascot, namely:

Small Easy (red ~ netease standard color, male)
Role setting: Automotive experts, representative channels to the user to disseminate automotive consulting, industry reports and automotive knowledge and other professional consulting services
Xiao Le (orange, male)
Role set: Lively, naughty, convey the car channel ebay, easy and happy car life counseling.

On the whole, small Yixiao two characters, respectively, representing the two major categories of NetEase automotive channel content, play to the user to introduce the function of NetEase car, which requires us to do in the design of easy to understand, lively and lovely, as far as possible to reduce user acceptance threshold, close to the vast number of users psychological feelings.

First edition

We initially tried a few possibilities.

1. the "Octopus" version of the small easy to human appearance.
2. Xiao Le as a new role to join, hope he and small easy different, in the program, we will distinguish points on the face.
3. props on the design of a mouse car, one is to contact the car channel properties, the second is to highlight the concept of network media.
4. the mode of expression is determined to be PS fine painting, in order to express the high quality of the product.

This program soon got the channel affirmation, and then the next discussion, but also slowly found some shortcomings, roughly:
A. Why should the small Yixiao use the different modelling, Unify uses the small easy shape to be possible to differentiate?
B. at present, two characters are ambiguous and easy to be confused.

As to the questions raised by the channel, our next move will be improved in other directions.

The second edition we avoid the previous problems, face modeling unity for small easy style, and will be the focus of the design of props, hope to distinguish their characteristics through props. As shown in the picture, small easy to hold a race flag, used to relate the event, the industry consulting experience; Xiao Le is holding a pair of binoculars, hope to embody relaxed and naughty temperament ... After the proposal, the channel's response to this plan is not very satisfactory.

Design to this point, props become our search for breakthroughs and distinguish between the different ways, but also become a temporary bottleneck. The reason is that the choice of props need to contact the car, and think of such as steering wheel, race flag, mouse and so on. Can not embody the channel content of the mascot each to express. Repeated attempts were unsuccessful, for which the team was in a brainstorming session.

How can we find a breakthrough in the absence of many mascot design experiences?

Third edition

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