Loot the World #4: The Evolution of Loot the World’s Logo

Author:

Introduction

With gameplay locked and extensively playtested, our focus shifted fully to what players see first: artwork. I believe artwork is the single most important feature of a modern board game. How many times have you purchased a game based solely on the fact that it looks great? Countless times, and my wallet can attest to that.

Bottom line: Great artwork draws players in. Great gameplay keeps them.

Let’s dive right into it

Logos are a chance to tell a story to customers in split seconds. What is Loot the World about? What’s the tone? What’s the genre? What’s the theme?

Concept A: This concept was built to pop from the outset. We took the primary colour of the board, a rich, gem-toned teal, and pushed it front and centre. From there, we leaned into the visual excess of the Victorian era. Gilded edges, ornamental flourishes, and the general gaudiness of the age. But crucially, we wanted it to feel fun, something that told our audiences: “this game is supposed to be a little bit silly”. (Peep the old studio logo which was promptly scrapped!)

Concept B: This concept leaned heavily into tradition. The frame around the words is reminiscent of Victorian era portraits and picture frames, while the typeface is akin to those found on world maps of the age. At a glance, it looked correct. Polished. Respectable. The kind of logo that wouldn’t feel out of place on the cover of a 19th-century atlas or the letterhead of a trading company with far too much power. But that was precisely the issue. It took itself too seriously.

It was at this point we decided to evaluate the direction we wanted to head in. Did we want something grandiose, prim and proper in true aristocratic fashion, or did we want something fun, a little silly and a tad more playful? The answer was obvious. The game is inherently satirical and, while it can be played seriously and ultra competitively, the theme is supposed to be an outrageously candid take on Victorian era capitalism without frills. Therefore, concept A was the right direction.

Then we brought in Dan Skrypnik, one of the two artists for Loot the World (the other being Ana Farnham). Dan is an expert in art direction and got right to work:

He realised that we needed more expression and less structure. Dial down the rigidity, and dial up the playfulness. But crucially, we wanted the kind of playfulness that wasn't overly childish. It’s a fine line! For example, concept A fails in that regard. While playful, it teeters on the edge of being childlike. In Dan’s snapshot above, we settled on the option with the most expression and boldest read (bottom right/top right).

However, the typeface on its own, while telling a story, was missing the bells and whistles that could truly sell that story to customers. This is where the enclosure comes in.

We took inspiration for the enclosure from a niche Soundcloud remix album cover. Below is what that cover looks like:

This cover delivered the precise vibe and had all the right motifs that we wanted in our logo: it’s flowy, it’s fun, it’s bright, and it’s almost as if it could have been the logo for a Victorian era travelling circus.

With that in mind, Dan came back to us with some stellar ideas:

We honestly could have chosen any of these to be our final logo as they’re all spot on. But in the end, we opted for top left and bottom left, with bottom left being the front-facing logo and top left being a logo we could use for non-front-facing components.

Final Output

I couldn’t be happier with where we’ve landed and I hope you agree.

If Loot the World looks like your kind of chaos, sign up via the homepage. We’re offering a 30% day-one discount for the first 24 hours of the Kickstarter campaign. By signing up, you'll receive a notification on launch day so you don’t miss out on this limited time offer.

See you in the next design journal entry,

Lloyd