The making of the Babymafia logo

Overview• Process

Client: The shape and the content are for you to decide based on the target audience described below and your creative approach. The company name, if present in the logo, will only be in English, Babymafia. The logo will be used on packaging, website, exhibition booth, in documents, booklets and advertising. We are also planning to launch our own manufacturing.

Product: toys and products for children (0 to 14 years old). B2B wholesale, developing a distribution network. Right now we are importing the products, later we are planning to start producing ourselves.

The target audience is 75% women, 25–37 years old, first child, mid-plus income.

The distribution network comprises retail (both individual toy stores and chains of universal/children stores) and online stores (universal/children). Decision makers: category manager, supply manager, head of the commercial department, commercial director.

First designer: 1. Children like to play and often their games don’t fit adult standards: for example, a floor covered in paint or marker drawings on wallpaper. This kind of thing is their version of being gangsta. A naughty tag-inspired logo that can be placed on various backgrounds.

b b — legs, children can find anything interesting, even drawing on the ground with their leg.

babymafia process 01

Art director: We need more ideas.

Second designer: 1. To draw it simple and crooked, like a child would.

2. Write babymafia in an adult style but then cover it with drawings, same way children do with everything.

3. A stylish child. Because members of the mafia always have to look sharp. But we’ll need to draw the child properly, he looks like a thug in the sketch.

4. Simply a child and the letter b. He plays/sleeps. Also a poor sketch to illustrate the idea.

babymafia process 02

Art director: Not what we’re looking for.

Second designer: We can look at the world “mafia” as a name of some secret society with its own atmosphere and rules.

Children resemble such a society with their world of games not accessible to adults.

Secret messages and codes.

babymafia process 03

Second designer: A desperate idea about secrecy. It doesn’t appear too logical.

babymafia process 04

Art director: Number 1 is secondary. Number 2 is better.

First designer: The company supplies educational toys. The logo is a set of parts. It’s not necessary to put the letters B and M straight, the child is only learning now. The logo can be put on different planes and the parts can be more colorful. It’s about unconventional thinking, constructing. Right now the colors may be too much and we can search for a better style.

With embossing the logo can have additional volume on business cards.

babymafia process 05

Art director: Not bad. But the colors aren’t too good.

Third designer: 1–2. A game of soft and round, something “childish.” An attempt to give some sort of a story to the letters.

3–6. More teenage designs, an association with rebellious American cartoons for kids. You can quickly cut it out, use it and throw away.

babymafia process 06

Art director: Everything is pretty banal.

First designer: 4. Letters B and M as devices for developing motor skills and savviness. The diagonal line goes up.

5. A colander worn as a hat.

babymafia process 07

Art director: 4 is better for a children’s theme so nothing goes into anything.

Number 5 reminds of the revolution in Ukraine.

Second designer: B as glasses, M as a a nose.

Can be either for better eyesight, to reference the educational theme, or cool-looking for the mafia theme.

babymafia process 08

Art director: Yeah, the middle one in the bottom line looks like a promising direction.

Second designer: Like this for now.

babymafia process 09

Second designer: Another design about codes but probably not too great.

babymafia process 10

First designer: Added more details to the design, otherwise it looked a lot like Razinkova. The letters are just a sketch for now but if you like it we can make them better.

1. Which layout is better?

2. What about the colors?

babymafia process 11

Second designer: Variants.

babymafia process 12

Art director: Maria, this design will do (1 with additions). Let’s finalize it.

First designer: What about mine?

Art director: Nikita, they aren’t bad in their own right but not as cool as Maria’s.

Second designer: Minimal differences.

babymafia process 13

Art director: No, that pig’s tail is not what we need. Put something else there. The mustache from 1 will work. Also try to make the glasses dark coupled with a frame of various colors.

Second designer: Hair styles.

babymafia process 14

Second designer: Color.

babymafia process 15

Art director: 1 is OK, just bring the hair up higher.

Second designer: Here.

babymafia process 16

Art director: 3. Just bring the hair up higher.

Second designer: 2 designs.

babymafia process 17

Art director: 2.

Second designer: I sketched some examples of how the logo will be used. We can print stickers. Children will attach them everywhere and parents will look at them and remember about the store. Also, while working I realized that the broken lines between white and yellow resemble egg shell and a chick somewhat. A child is like a baby chick in a way.

The box looks a shoe box right now but it’s only a concept to demonstrate the principle.

babymafia process 18

Art director: OK.

Second designer: Cleaned up the curves, asked Nikolay Nedashkovsky to see if the text can be improved any.

babymafia process 19

Art director: Good.