Logo Designs
I had used Adobe Illustrator in college and may I say, I hated it. I deemed it as my least favorite program! Granted, I was so used to Photoshop that I didn't think I really needed to know Illustrator. I've since eaten my words. I use Illustrator for so much! I've even come to love it.
I do want to share the one tip one of my old college peers taught me at the end of the semester. When it comes to the pen tool, pull the arms farther out for better control. Guess what? It makes A LOAD of a difference!
Anyways...I had the assignment to create 5 different logos, and each logo had to have 3 layouts (i.e. horizontal; vertical; and black and white).
First I needed to come up with a concept or "company" for each different logo. One, I decided to design for my own photography. Another one is for Chantry's Pantry, my sister-in-law's vegan food blog. The others were completed made up and are in no way affiliated to anyone or anything.
Let's start out simple with my set of notes, this includes any and all information I may need for the project. This is when I discovered that my projects would start to need more notes, including quick thumbnails to full colored designs by hand before creating them in Illustrator.
After making the notes needed, and some of these notes are created during the process of making the logos in Illustrator. First, I did a little bit a research. I was once told a person is only as smart as the research they do. I know some may find "research" as an option, I find it very helpful. I can get a better idea of how to create a logo that stands out from the others. What colors are normally used, and an overall idea of how to create a memorable logo. What logos are easily identifiable? Nike, Apple, Windows, American Eagle, Coca Cola, etc. Most logos are not more than 2, maybe 3 colors. In my opinion, some the best and easily recognizable are only one color! But the logo is easy to identify and remember.
Next, I needed to create sketches. Now this is where things tend to get a little crazy. The amount of sketch ideas I had before finally settling down on one for each. It just blows my mind sometimes!
Now this is where I'll do my best to explain the next part of my process.
After drawing up several small sketches for each logo, I chose one of each to then create in Illustrator. These could either be in black and white, or if I already had an idea for a color scheme in mind, I would use that. This was just the first draft, so nothing needed to be perfect in case I had to completely change my concept.
Remember when I said I only needed 5 logos? Yeah, even I miscounted how many I actually had. Honestly, it worked out perfectly! One of my original logo ideas turned out to be a bit of a bust. The concept would take too long to create and my ideas of blending two concepts into one for a logo wasn't my best idea. I also only discovered this when I sought out feedback.
I've learned through the years to seek out feedback on my art. I once heard a quote from, I believe it was Peter McKinnon, who said, "If your friends never critique your work, you'll never grow." I also know I'll never remember any of the feedback if I don't write it down. So you better believe I'm the weirdo who's taking the time to write down all the important bullets of suggestions from my peers, friends, and family on how to make something better.
Once feedback comes in, the next steps are easy! Now this is when I threw out my idea for "Hot Spice Hispanic Chicken". My idea wasn't coming across and that's ok! Don't ever be afraid to change a concept or even just throw it out. It doesn't mean I can't do it. I like to think of art as creative problem solving. There are multiple different solutions for one problem. The adventure is finding the best solution! So I took my feedback into consideration. Made a few revisions to a select few logos before creating my final logo and their respective layouts.
Second draft
