Micro Music Genre: Development, Pin Badges

In order to further my idea generation I've chosen three of the strongest concepts/ideas to develop in order to explore which would best represent the genre. Consequently this lead to the exploration of fan memorabilia, particularly pin badges (see figure 1), leading to the development of a pin badge to commemorate the origins of football chants. Liverpool FC are said to have brought football chants to England after stealing the idea from Brazil Fans during the 1962 World Cup, as the following season Liverpool fans created the 'clap - clap chant'. Due to the limited lyrics of this chant I focused on the hand movements of clapping, drawing different hand shapes in order to see which was most effective (see figure 2). Personally I felt the hands featured on the badge experiments (see figures 3-4) where the most successful as they communicate the motion of clapping with out the hands/fingers looking distorted which occurred in some of the earlier experiments (see figure 2). In order to create a pin badge that could be easily recognised as belonging to Liverpool FC I looked at older pin badges taking inspiration from their shape (see figure 1). The use of a experimenting with a circle (see figure 3) allowed the hands to be the main focus of the pin as well as being similar to more traditional badges that I researched, speaking to the tradition of football chants within fan culture. Furthermore I took inspiration from the Liverpool FC crest as this created a more obvious visual link to the club (see figures 4-5) creating a visual more closely associated with football. In regards to the typography used I initially used Levenim MT (see figure 3) a modern sans serif typeface similar to the those featured on the pin badges seen in figure 1, however I decided to experiment with the typeface traditionally used by Liverpool FC in a lot of its branding, Albertus Medium to see if this created a closer visual link to the club (see figure 5). Upon reflection of these designs I think aesthetically the strongest designs the use of Albertus Medium within the circle pin badge (see figure 3) and the use of Levenim MT in the crest pin badge (see figure 4) as the use of Albertus Medium within the crest experiments looks too heavy and bold whereas Levenium MT subtly complements the design allowing the hands to be the main focus. In relation to the circle experimentation I think this is strongest overall as the simplicity of the circle allows the hands to be the main focus whilst not being overpowered by the use of Albertus Medium for the text surrounding. In order to see how they would look as physical pin badges I've mocked the designs up too see how effective they would be (see figures 6-7). I plan to gain more feedback on these designs in order too see how they can be developed further.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7