FVS

Flexible Visual Systems
The Design Manual for Contemporary Visual Identities

One of the reasons for making this website was to make the content of the book Flexible Visual Systems available beyond Europe. For reasons beyond my publisher’s control, the English and Spanish versions are inaccessible in some parts of the world. This page wants to change that. Beware: This is not a copy of the book. It is an evolved and evolving version of it. Bit by bit, I will upload more content.

Table of Contents

  • 7 Things I Learned
  • Glossary
  • What Is a Visual Identity?
  • How to Design a Flexible System?

INTRODUCTION

  • Stop Fixating on Logos
  • Identity Design Is Complex, Systems Can Be Easy
  • Corporate Identity ≠ Corporate Image(s)
  • A Little Head Start On Designing Flexible Systems
  • What Is a Visual System?
  • Spoiler Alert: In 3 Out of 4 Cases You Need a Flexible System
  • Does Every Visual Identity Needs a Visual System?
  • Get Into the Right Mindset 
  • How to Think and Work in Systems?

HISTORY

  • The Manual
  • The Stencil
  • The Building Blocks
  • The Program
  • The Tool 
  • Are Visual Systems a New Thing?

CONTEXT AND PROCESS

  • Forget about the Shortcut
  • Where to Start and Where Not to Start?
  • When Does the Design Process Start?
  • What Type of Designer Will You Be?
  • Definition of the Communication Problem
  • How to Write a Design Brief?
  • The Process
  • What Is the Communicative Range of Your FVS?
  • How Flexible Does the System Need to Be?
  • Visual Language: Iconic References
  • Visual Language: Symbolic References
  • Precedent Models for Visual Systems 
  • How Do Flexible Systems for Visual Identities Work?
  • Model for Flexible Systems for Visual Identities
  • Form-Based FVS
  • Transformation-Based FVS
  • Mapping the Key Variables in a System Can Help You Focus
  • Too Many Options? Do You Need Help to Focus?

FORM-BASED VISUAL SYSTEMS

  • Construction of Components and Assets
  • How to Develop Your Components and Assets 
  • Using the Assets 
  • How to Use Your Assets? 
  • Regular Application on Different Formats
  • How to Apply the Assets to Different Formats? 
  • Irregular Application on Different Formats
  • Same Principle, Different Aesthetics
  • Identification through Composition, Color and / or Fonts
  • Working without Assets
  • The Colors of This Book
  • What about Color?
  • Identification through Rules and Tools
  • Working without Grids
  • The Advantages of a Grid 
  • Which Advantages Does Using a Grid Have?
  • Create Grids with Geometric Shapes 
  • How to Create a Grid with Different Geometric Forms?
  • Using Grids 
  • How to Use Grids?
  • What Kind of Grids Do I Need to Design Modular Letters?
  • Font Construction
  • Font Construction with Custom Components
  • Form-Based FVS 
    Circle | Right Triangle | Acute Triangle | Square | Pentagon | Hexagon (Right Triangle) Hexagon (Acute Triangle)
  • Object-Based Flexible Visual Systems
  • Interaction-Based Flexible Visual Systems

TRANSFORMATION-BASED VISUAL SYSTEMS

  • Transformation-Based Flexible Visual Systems; Circle: Gradation, Rotation, Repetition, Mirror; Triangle: Gradation, Skew, Shift, Mirror; Square: Gradation, Skew, Shift, Mirror
  • Transformation-Based Flexible Visual Systems; Transformation: Objects; Transformation: Reproduction and Recording 

EPILOG

  • How this book came to be
  • Acknowledgments
  • Bibliography

FVS Essentials

When in doubt, zoom out. If your old methods seem inadequate, inefficient, or ineffective, it’s time for an update. In the FVS Essentials section, you’ll find fundamental lessons that challenge and refine our design processes, helping you regain focus.

The FVS Mindset

Get into the right mindset before starting your design process. Designing the design process is design.

The CAA Method

The dynamics of the design processes of form-based visual systems. This module accompanies the course The CAA Method.

The FVS Manifesto

The extended version of the FVS Manifesto explains why we need to think about and work with systems.

Arguments for FVS

Do you need to convince your clients, your students and maybe even yourself of the benefits of Flexible Visual Systems? This module will help you.

Types of Designers

What kind of designer do you want to be? A reflection on the options we are given and an invitation to think differently about our function as Flexible System Designers.

How to Write a Brief

You cannot design something functional if you do not know your design’s function. Unfortunately, this function can be quite complex.

FVS Case Studies

Case studies are great for learning from real-world examples. They provide detailed insights into specific situations, showing what worked, what didn’t, and why. By analyzing these cases, you can gain practical knowledge and apply those lessons to your own challenges.

Stacked Components

This is a footnote to the course The CAA Method. In the course, I do not discuss the possibility of stacking components. Here are a couple of case studies of visual identities using stacked components.

Case Study

Case Study

Case Study

All the references from the book are now clickable and sometimes even downloadable!