Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Product Range and Distribution // Logo Crests
For the re-branding of my Don't Flop Logo I've been looking into existing branding that uses the them of crests, and how crests work as identity.
These are an unused series of crests designed for contributors to the new DDBº UK website.
Product Range Distribution // Dead Poets
Dead poets are a team from peterborough, a duo containing teacher Mark Grist and MC mixy, together they are dead poets and both feature on Don't Flop. Mark Grist's Teacher Vs Student Battle is one of the most watched Don't Flop Videos and was being posted all over the internet. I prefer their style of rapping in comparison to alot of other freestylers seen on Don't Flop purely because they don't tend to use bad language and its all about being witty with words rather than offensive.
http://www.deadpoetry.co.uk/
http://www.deadpoetry.co.uk/
Below are a couple of Videos of them in action;
Mark Grist
'My name’s Mark. I’m a poet and Educational Consultant based in Peterborough. I became Poet Laureate of Peterborough in 2008, Chief Bard of the Fens in 2009 and Edinburgh Fringe Slam Champion in 2010. I’ve recently been on two national tours, whilst also completing an MA in Creative Writing at Goldsmith’s University in London.
My double act, Dead Poets, appeared on BBC 6 Music with Steve Merchant, was shortlisted for the Wooda Arts Award, received six different 4 star reviews at Edinburgh and went on to tour nationally with Phrased and Confused.'
A couple of Marks Poems;
Alchemist
One night, believing myself big enough,
I crept out of bed to neck my Father’s mouthwash.
The mixture ripped my throat,
Leapt from mouth and nose
As bottle dropped,
Upended across the lino. I gasped
Then moved; Fearing discovery, I stuffed toothpaste,
Talcum powder, Head and Shoulders, Calpol,
Pills, Savlon and bleach into the bottle,
Then shook it till it settled almost exactly as before.
Later that night, as I lay awake in my bed,
I knew that when my Father drank it
He'd drop down dead.
And knowing the smack I would get for owning up,
Still I made no sound; just welled in the dark
At how diluted I was
when held up against him.
Ogre
You kept us in check, alright. Hugged us
With a thuggery unrivalled on our street.
A bellow from the doorstep; you framing the fortress,
Knuckling at dusters; rubbing spit upon faces;
Tormenting the dishes. You were clatter,
The business, and if one of us resisted,
Your words had the power to
Lift the spines from our backs.
One afternoon, while you slept, I moved closer,
Ran my fingers along the red scar in your side;
The one that I’d made. Deep as the Earth’s crust,
Still nowhere near deep enough to be the end of you.
Product Range and Distribution // West Yorkshire Cypher
The West Yorkshire Cypher, Is a spin off from Don't Flop featuring most of the main freestyles from Don't Flop who are based up North. These are organised events where a range of freestyles come together to pass bars around, based in Synoptic Studios. It's not about who's better than the next person and its not about being judgemental but instead just enjoying the quick off the ball rhymes passed round the room to homemade Instrumentals.
Product Range Distribution // Vintage Crests
Below is a bit of visually research I've conducted around crest logos as the re-branding of my don't flop logo is going to stick to quite vintage approach, alike to 1920's crests. Interlinking Lettering and coats of arms, I want to communicate that Don't Flop is a British Company.
Product Range Distribution // 10 things that people who don’t go to don’t flop events think about don’t flop events
Found this Article By Pete Cashmore on the Don't Flop Blog and It really highlights some social stereotypes that are related to Don't Flop. If you're not informed about what the events are about or just caught it in passing whilst browsing youtube opinions could be made at face value, when realistically Don't Flop is more than just a rap battle league, you just have to be a part of it to understand it. Its judged like any other professional competition, after all this isn't just two guys laying into each others mothers, it's about wordplay, style, flow, influence punchlines and cleverness.
Pete Cashmore looks at ten misconceptions that people have about Don’t Flop events…
1. THEY THINK THAT IT IS LAIRY. Seriously, it’s the first thing anybody ever says to me when i say I’m into rap battles, and I tell them all the same thing – it’s just not like that. I’ve never seen anything approaching trouble at a Don’t Flop event (although I admit that this is because I wasn’t at all of them).
2. THEY THINK THAT EVERYBODY WEARS HOODIES. You may see the occasional one, but that’s it, and the reason is simple and to the credit of the league – the events are now too rammed to permit the wearing of hoodies. Seriously, you just won’t need one, you’ll roast.
3. THAT THERE ARE NO WOMEN THERE. Okay, it’s still a predominantly male pastime but you will still find plenty of ladies in DF battles. And most of them want to meet Micky Worthless. And he is usually more than happy to meet them.
4. THERE ARE ONLY HIP-HOP FANS IN THERE. Amazingly, not a bit of it – look at the T-shirts that the crowd wear in a DF jam and you’ll see emo, punk, heavy metal… Alex who runs this blog is, he tells me, is straight edge, and when I started doing a fanzine, we had Dodgy as our first main interview. I probably shouldn’t admit to that.
5. EVERYONE IS IN THEIR TEENS OR EARLY TWENTIES. Well, as you probably know, not everyone is if I happen to be in attendance. But the age range is broad. I’m sure that Tony D and Enlish won’t mind me revealing that their ages begin with a number 3, likewise Mark Grist. I’m hoping that June 7 2013 is on a Saturday so I can battle on my 40th birthday.
6. THAT THE RHYMING IS OVER BEATS. A simple mistake to make, as most people’s perception of rap events will have been formed by 8 Mile, but 9 times out of 10 (at least) it’s strictly accapella. I hate to break it to people but we don’t all do last minute rehearsals in the toilet either.
7. THAT THE ATMOSPHERE IS QUITE OPPRESSIVE. Again, you can chalk this up to the 8 Mile effect, which shows everyone ice-grilling each other and half the crowd seems to have shot someone. At Don’t Flop events, the atmosphere is ribald and celebratory, and people don’t thug it out, they just hug it out.
8. THAT THERE’S CONSTANT MOTHER-DISSING. It’s not like it’s totally eradicated or anything – Lord only knows, I couldn’t resist it in my battle with Alex – but there seems to be a general consensus that mother jokes are getting pretty tired, and the best MCs don’t need them. That’s why I was forced to use some, obviously…
9. EVERYONE JUST SHOUTS AT EACH OTHER. There seems to be a perception that we all holler in each other’s faces, but there’s actually a multiplicity of styles. Softly-spoken MCs? Well, off the top of my head there would be JC, Olde English, my man Big J, Token, Enlish, Cruger, Tony D (who is the perfect example of a measured delivery), obviously Mark Grist, Two Can, Rikky Wiley… Basically, going in hard and shouting are two different things.
10. IT’S VERY HOMOEROTIC. Nah, just kidding. They don’t really think that, that’s just me ending on a gag.
Pete Cashmore looks at ten misconceptions that people have about Don’t Flop events…
1. THEY THINK THAT IT IS LAIRY. Seriously, it’s the first thing anybody ever says to me when i say I’m into rap battles, and I tell them all the same thing – it’s just not like that. I’ve never seen anything approaching trouble at a Don’t Flop event (although I admit that this is because I wasn’t at all of them).
2. THEY THINK THAT EVERYBODY WEARS HOODIES. You may see the occasional one, but that’s it, and the reason is simple and to the credit of the league – the events are now too rammed to permit the wearing of hoodies. Seriously, you just won’t need one, you’ll roast.
3. THAT THERE ARE NO WOMEN THERE. Okay, it’s still a predominantly male pastime but you will still find plenty of ladies in DF battles. And most of them want to meet Micky Worthless. And he is usually more than happy to meet them.
4. THERE ARE ONLY HIP-HOP FANS IN THERE. Amazingly, not a bit of it – look at the T-shirts that the crowd wear in a DF jam and you’ll see emo, punk, heavy metal… Alex who runs this blog is, he tells me, is straight edge, and when I started doing a fanzine, we had Dodgy as our first main interview. I probably shouldn’t admit to that.
5. EVERYONE IS IN THEIR TEENS OR EARLY TWENTIES. Well, as you probably know, not everyone is if I happen to be in attendance. But the age range is broad. I’m sure that Tony D and Enlish won’t mind me revealing that their ages begin with a number 3, likewise Mark Grist. I’m hoping that June 7 2013 is on a Saturday so I can battle on my 40th birthday.
6. THAT THE RHYMING IS OVER BEATS. A simple mistake to make, as most people’s perception of rap events will have been formed by 8 Mile, but 9 times out of 10 (at least) it’s strictly accapella. I hate to break it to people but we don’t all do last minute rehearsals in the toilet either.
7. THAT THE ATMOSPHERE IS QUITE OPPRESSIVE. Again, you can chalk this up to the 8 Mile effect, which shows everyone ice-grilling each other and half the crowd seems to have shot someone. At Don’t Flop events, the atmosphere is ribald and celebratory, and people don’t thug it out, they just hug it out.
8. THAT THERE’S CONSTANT MOTHER-DISSING. It’s not like it’s totally eradicated or anything – Lord only knows, I couldn’t resist it in my battle with Alex – but there seems to be a general consensus that mother jokes are getting pretty tired, and the best MCs don’t need them. That’s why I was forced to use some, obviously…
9. EVERYONE JUST SHOUTS AT EACH OTHER. There seems to be a perception that we all holler in each other’s faces, but there’s actually a multiplicity of styles. Softly-spoken MCs? Well, off the top of my head there would be JC, Olde English, my man Big J, Token, Enlish, Cruger, Tony D (who is the perfect example of a measured delivery), obviously Mark Grist, Two Can, Rikky Wiley… Basically, going in hard and shouting are two different things.
10. IT’S VERY HOMOEROTIC. Nah, just kidding. They don’t really think that, that’s just me ending on a gag.
Product Range Distribution // Don't Flop Clothing
Part of my concept is the re-branding of the Don't Flop online shop, there website and youtube account have a consistent visual trend, (within the youtube limitations). However their online shop is part of their online status that I feel could be put together in a much more appealing way. Below is a bit of research into their clothing and their online Big Cartel Shop.
I think one way to improve the Don't Flop online shop would be to have it at a separate address to Big Cartel as their online shop building has a lot of limitations to the layout and interactive elements of the site.
The range of clothes that they have on sale to the current date;
Product Range Distribution // Tom Clements
A link to A blog that has provided me with unreal amounts of opinions and information relating to Don't Flop. This guy analyses the scene perfectly and gives some good links to related subjects surrounding U.K Hip Hop.
Product Range Distribution // Don't Flop Blam
Blam is a new open mic and freestyle night occurring monthly in Manchester run by don't flop. This is another branch out from Don't flop and some of the promotional material for it can be seen below.
Battle Predictions:
