Research Questions:
1. What was your perception of Vietnam before you came to Vietnam?
2. What excited you the most before and after coming to Vietnam?
3. How did your view of Vietnam change after coming to it?
4. What did you struggle the most with after coming to Vietnam?
5. What was an experience you made in Vietnam that you will always remember?
Research from Interview Questions:
When my interviewees spoke of what had formed their experience of Vietnam, I came to discover some shared views. The environment in urban areas such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city are described as chaotic. But through the people, their personality and their ties to nature, to culture, that my target audience felt welcomed and never lost. The people and their harmony became an anchor for my target audience to hold onto amidst a strange land.
The insight gained from it was backed up by culture shock theory. Culture shock manifests as people feel frustration and difficulty integrating to a new environment because their previous life experience and expectations did not match up with their new ones (Javidan et al. 2010)(Stewart and Leggat 1998). The way to reduce culture shock is to allow the person to engage with the local culture, community and people gradually before integrating fully into it (University of Adelaide College 2019). From this insight, my big idea was formed: “Cultural Grounding.”
Moodboard
Brand Personality:
Coming to brand personality, the brand’s personality and image was inspired by the image of a rural Vietnamese person: honest, down-to-earth, casual, easy-going, and always have an appreciation for the smaller things in life. “Xin Chào!”, the brand should have a down-to-earth, sincere and casual image. “Xin Chào!” should also encourage engagement with the local culture but always at the target audience’s pace while providing shelter and comfort to them.
Logo Creation Drafts, 14 were formed but only 1 chosen, number 14.
The process from which the Final Logo was born.
Final Logo
Logo and Slogan
Logo and Name
The logo takes inspiration from a dragonfly. In Vietnamese culture, a dragonfly predicts rain and hunts disease-spreading mosquitoes (Nguyen Thuy n.d.).
RMIT Red and Blue are the brand’s connection to RMIT University (1000Logos 2022). Island Green was chosen to introduce the natural element seen in Vietnamese people's connection to nature and culture through combination of a leaf and a Vietnamese accent mark. Bright White is a neutral text color that helps form the illusion of a dragonfly’s wings.
The eyes help signify a bamboo dragonfly, a simple toy in rural Vietnam.
The “O” connected to the dragonfly’s curved body and head forms a “!” that can be seen from either direction, signifying intercultural connections that also resembles a sheltering roof.
The “X” forms the dragonfly’s wings, separated into four parts to represent RMIT’s four main schools (Business, SCD, SET, English).
Noteworthy font is used to emulate sincerity and simplicity.
Noteworthy font is used to emulate sincerity and simplicity.
