For this inspiration post, I went to the web site drawn.ca and found the site www.lettercult.com which did some features on the best lettering of 2009 that was created custom for certain projects or events. Continue reading ‘An Interesting Look at Lettering’
I’m at this point where I’m really trying to think of you, my audience. I’m really trying to place myself in your shoes. So, ideally, you stumble upon this blog because you’re a student and you’re thinking, “hey, graphic design–what’s that all about?” And I’m considering at which aspect of graphic design should I start? The basics, right? Should I spout out some terms and explanations or shove some pictures at you and say, “This–this is graphic design!” Well, I personally don’t think I should do that. So, I will back up just a tad. My last post I thought, we’ll just jump right into your first logo design, which really is an excellent suggestion. If you haven’t started making a design for a logo, start. The best way to learn design is to practice design. And each product of design, like a logo, really does have a purpose–this is the topic I really want to get to.
It’s true, graphic design is about being creative and clever. It’s about matching up fonts and creating appealing color schemes. It’s about layout, white space, and images. But, when you get down to the bone of all of what graphic design is, it’s really a way to solve problems. Continue reading ‘The Logic to Emotional Appeal’
Here are a couple logos that embody several good examples of logo design. Look through this list to learn of a couple things you can implement as you start creating some of your very first logos.
Use something familiar in an unfamiliar way. This logo uses portions of the actual number eight to write the word eight. The repetition and consistency in typeface give a lot of strength to the design because of the familiarity of the number eight.
Use your space wisely. The FedEx logo uses a lot of white space and color contract in their logo are create some good visual emphasis. Their company is all about organization and movement. This logo embodies that in the consistent type which breaks in color to seperate the fed from ex bt buts them up together to say they belong together and remain distinguished. They also show movement by aplifying the -> symbol naturally created between the “E” and “x”.
Complete a puzzle. Logos are a way to tie in a company and what they’re about. It is to be the symbol by which they’re known. The Hartford Whalers logo compiles two major parts in their business: their initials and their association with whaling. So does the ED logo for Elettro Domestici -Home Appliances which includes the “e” and “d” through the image of an electrical plug
Tell a story. The Nike symbol symbolizes the wings of NIke, the Greek Goddess of victory. People now associate it with motion and movement.
This morning, I poured a couple packs of apple cider into this blue thermos I inherited from an old roommate and headed out the door for class. Walking from my car toward campus, I realized the thermos I was holding was from Starbucks. It’s an awesome thermos, but I did grow a little concerned knowing I would sport it in my classes.
The logo position was just above the grooves were my hand fits around the container and opposite the opening where I drink from. Naturally, anyone looking my way when I took a sip would see it’s from Starbucks. This is good branding with strong logo association–the down side: I go to a LDS affiliated university, where I’m sure several students are strongly opposed to cafinated beverages and the likes of Starbucks Coffee Houses.
Anyway, I made it through the day with no conflicts. Phew.
And now I’ll just segue into talking about branding and logo development.
The LogoFactory.com says two things make a good logo: (1) Concept (2) Execution.
Concept: This phase is primarily about discovering what your client or company wants to say. Consider these questiosn as you brainstorm logo concepts:
Execution: Artwork is important, fonts and design are important. A logo needs to be able to function as a stand alone and in a variety of context and still convey strong association to the affiliated company. Here are a couple things to keep in mind when considering the execution of a logo:
Look forward to my next post with examples of excellent logos and what they say about their company.
In my last post, I wrote a bit on finding inspiration. Every once in a while I’ll share projects I find by a variety of designers, not just in graphic design, that might help influence some great inspiration for a project you might be working on or in coming up with a new project. Each of these types of posts will be under the category titled inspiration.
This is a video created by Ross Ching, an incredible still photographer who has put his photos in motion by slicing series of shots into a video to create motion with his photos. So this video is comprised entirely of still shots. It’s actually quite similar to what Bart Benton did with type in the video from a previous post. It’s really very cool.
If there is one thing alone that could convince me of God’s existence it’s the world we live in and the creations on the face of it. After watching this video I feel pretty inspired. I hope you enjoy it.