Personal Logo Again - Critique Please

[syberwolff]

So my first logo Bombed out (My teacher still loves it for some reason) and I decided to redo it with a completly different idea, I wanted it to be known that I was a designer just by my logo so I went with the RGB/CMYK colour boxes. Is this too... simple or.. too cliched?

Thanks.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/SyBerWoLff/Logo2.jpg

[morea]

This looks neat, but I don't know if it would work very effectively as a "logo."

bear in mind that a logo needs to be effective in a single color - if you ever wanted to fax it or engrave it on something, it would have to work in straight black and white (no grays or anything!)

It's probably best to hold off on adding color until you have already designed the logo... that way you can be more certain that your concept works.

Keep at it!

[syberwolff]

How about something like this? I know that a viewfinder doesn't go with design but I do a lot of photography too.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/SyBerWoLff/Logo2-1.jpg

And on designs that can use Colour, not Black and White, I could add those RGB/CMYK boxes from above.

[MD]

Neither design is working.

Your first one gives me a headache just looking at it. Too many colors that aren't the correct values. If you are going to represent print/web you have to match the colors exactly. Use 100% Cyan. Use 255 Red. If you really want to go in this direction google print company logos and took at how it is done tastefully.

As for your second one unless your design company caters to toddlers you have to nix the kiddie font. If the viewfinder has nothing to do with design why did you add it in your logo?

[Sketcher]

For your first design, I'm not a big fan of using multiple primary colors in a logo. They fight too much for attention. Also, using that many colors in your logo will raise your printing cost up quite a bit.

For your second design, there really isn't anything that's holding the elements together. Each element has a different weight to it and the negative space seems to be drowning out the elements.

[SharkFinStudios]

I have to agree. The first one isn't what I would even consider a logo. Like morea said, it has to work as a single color first. When it comes to logos I always remember what my instructors told me (however ancient they may be) when it came to logos. KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid. :) Now I am not calling you stupid, but I think you get my point. Don't try and incorporate a lot into one logo like you have been doing. Simple. One color. Try some new fonts. The ones you are using are tired and don't go with your flow of things. MD makes a great point - it's a kiddie font on the 2nd one.

Try www.dafont.com and test out some new fonts. Brainstorm and make some simple sketches and THEN get on the computer for your design.

Hope this helps! Cheers.

[mike936]

I agree with the others, I'm not going to reiterate what they just said, but here is some food for thought:

Keep in mind that a solid logo can (and should) be used with minimal colors.
- think of the color wheel, which part of the logo do you want to be noticed visually first/second...Colors are Important in a logo design

Having geometric shapes e.g. circle, square, etc. encasing the logo and holding the elements together can be important.

Keep in mind that a logo is a symbolic representation, what characteristics do you think of when you think of a symbol?

Consider the positive/negative space that forms (or break) the logo, or does the logo make the positive/negative space?

Think of your logo design and is it working to convey your message?

[syberwolff]

Thank you everyone for the comments, I see your points and I am trying to keep everything simple. I'm trying to go for a 'modern' look with the font. Which is what I was trying to go for in my first design (not the first one shown here) and I totaly bombed that. I know that I could use another font and build off of that but it just seems a bit too easy for me, although my graphics teacher suggests it I would rather work to get the look that I want, the problem is, I don't know what look I want other than "modern".

[KingVance]

i think my eyes are bleeding

those colors are harsh

make something in 50% gray...if it looks good in 50% gray/white...youve got a solid logo.

[budafist]

There is nothing in your fonts that says modern. I'm seeing late 80's early 90's...

[patkennedy78]

No offense intended here, but don't schools preach good typography anymore? I think lately there have been a lot of student logo postings, which is great, I welcome that. But the fonts used have been, um, unconventional. We had 1 main type book in school, "Typographic Form: Design and Communication" Our teachers said, "Only use the fonts in the back of this book. They are the classics, learn them, love them." Yes we did have a bazillion fonts, but we had to argue pretty hard to use anything out of the ordinary. I liked it :) I think having those hard and fast "know why there are rules before you break them" rules are great.

Just observing, again, not trying to be mean here.

[razuel]

No offense intended here, but don't schools preach good typography anymore? I think lately there have been a lot of student logo postings, which is great, I welcome that. But the fonts used have been, um, unconventional. We had 1 main type book in school, "Typographic Form: Design and Communication" Our teachers said, "Only use the fonts in the back of this book. They are the classics, learn them, love them." Yes we did have a bazillion fonts, but we had to argue pretty hard to use anything out of the ordinary. I liked it :) I think having those hard and fast "know why there are rules before you break them" rules are great.

Just observing, again, not trying to be mean here.

At my college the extent of typography teaching was studying a font, but luckily I already had a lot of practice in typography.

[nclester02]

i agree with buddahfist, nothing modern about that brotha. needs work. best of luck... pick up a book or 2.

nate

[Sketcher]

No offense intended here, but don't schools preach good typography anymore? I think lately there have been a lot of student logo postings, which is great, I welcome that. But the fonts used have been, um, unconventional. We had 1 main type book in school, "Typographic Form: Design and Communication" Our teachers said, "Only use the fonts in the back of this book. They are the classics, learn them, love them." Yes we did have a bazillion fonts, but we had to argue pretty hard to use anything out of the ordinary. I liked it :) I think having those hard and fast "know why there are rules before you break them" rules are great.

Just observing, again, not trying to be mean here.

I took two typography classes in college, the first one we wern't even allowed to use a computer.

[budafist]

In my course we had a colour theory class too...

[morea]

ok, let's not give syber a hard time here folks, as I understand it he is a high school student *just* starting a design-related program at a vocational school part time in our area. Everybody has to start learning someplace, so let's not pick on the student or the program this early in the game.

I mean, the school year started in September, for heavens sakes, and I don't know of ANY program that will teach you complete typography and color theory in a month and a half... if anybody knows of one, please enlighten me, cause I'd love to take a refresher course.

Syber, one thing that a lot of us do as beginners is incorporate something into a project because we think it will look neat... especially with logo design, there should be a better reason for including anything you include.

Here are some tips that might help you brainstorm: Who does the logo represent? What sets them apart from their competition? What is their mission statement? How do they want to be perceived? Who are their targer customers? What impressions do they want their logo to make on people? What do they make or do? Think of key words that describe their company. How can you work those ideas into a logo design? How can you boil down the company's beliefs, values, mission, and everything that makes them a unique entity into one simple, identifying mark?

Before you even touch the computer, you should sit down with some paper and a pencil and scribble out ideas. Basic layouts, basic designs. You don't have to be perfect, just get the concepts and spacial relations down on paper. Don't be limited by your software. Just doodle and get thoughts down on paper. See which ideas are good, which don't pan out, what needs work, what shows promise. It's all about developing a successful concept at this stage.

I heard that BOCES has an in-house (err, in-school?) print shop - I presume that this is to get students some real world experience in printing. I would highly recommend looking into that, and picking up a prepress class if one is offered. A designer who understands prepress is a valuable designer indeed.

[Ned]

Morea, your last post should be a sticky in the resource section for people just starting out in design. These are key points that so many starting out don't learn, or aren't taught. Particularily having a purpose and reason for every part you put into a design, and to always start with a concept, not by throwing things together on a computer.

Thanks, Mor - you're my hero. :)

[morea]

lol, thanks Ned. :o

[(gra-ph!c-D'sig-nah)]

ok, let's not give syber a hard time here folks, as I understand it he is a high school student *just* starting a design-related program at a vocational school part time in our area. Everybody has to start learning someplace, so let's not pick on the student or the program this early in the game.

I mean, the school year started in September, for heavens sakes, and I don't know of ANY program that will teach you complete typography and color theory in a month and a half... if anybody knows of one, please enlighten me, cause I'd love to take a refresher course.

Syber, one thing that a lot of us do as beginners is incorporate something into a project because we think it will look neat... especially with logo design, there should be a better reason for including anything you include.

Here are some tips that might help you brainstorm: Who does the logo represent? What sets them apart from their competition? What is their mission statement? How do they want to be perceived? Who are their targer customers? What impressions do they want their logo to make on people? What do they make or do? Think of key words that describe their company. How can you work those ideas into a logo design? How can you boil down the company's beliefs, values, mission, and everything that makes them a unique entity into one simple, identifying mark?

Before you even touch the computer, you should sit down with some paper and a pencil and scribble out ideas. Basic layouts, basic designs. You don't have to be perfect, just get the concepts and spacial relations down on paper. Don't be limited by your software. Just doodle and get thoughts down on paper. See which ideas are good, which don't pan out, what needs work, what shows promise. It's all about developing a successful concept at this stage.

I heard that BOCES has an in-house (err, in-school?) print shop - I presume that this is to get students some real world experience in printing. I would highly recommend looking into that, and picking up a prepress class if one is offered. A designer who understands prepress is a valuable designer indeed.

YES!....I love this post! Much respect to you morea!

[gr7ap2hi0cs]

keep trying! Take a look at some other logos just to see how they are built to get some inspiration.

I don't think there's anything wrong with starting out with a font and adjusting it how you'd like :o

[morea]

YES!....I love this post! Much respect to you morea!

lol, thanks. :o



I don't think there's anything wrong with starting out with a font and adjusting it how you'd like :o

nope, neither do I.

[Alan G]

A logo is a bit like a haiku or an epigram: you have to cram a whole bunch of meaning into a very condensed communication. The message is the heart of any design, any image, any layout. In a logo you have to pack the message into a single symbol, and figuring out just how to do that can be devilishly difficult but incredibly exhilirating. When you get it just right, it beats skydiving, car racing, or a first kiss.

Don't rush at it. Work out what you want to say. Write it all down, then rewrite it in half the words, then again in half of that, until you can get it down to a sentence. Play with dfferent ideas. Look for what other people have done that seem close to what you are looking for, and work out why they seem to succeed. (That's something you will do constantly throughout your career, if you're serious about being a professional, so now is a good time to start.)

In our field, logo design is one of the most difficult, most challenging and also one of the most lucrative (in no small part because it's difficult). When Steve Jobs started Next, he paid a designer $100,000 to design the logo. The intern who designed the Nike swoosh for $35 was honored last year with a large years-after-the-fact bonus and a presentation, because that simple, "nothing" graphic is worth hundreds of millions.

Don't try to get it all right the first time. You have a long and fulfilling road ahead. You will never stop learning, never stop growing, and I trust you will also never stop reaching for that ideal design, the perfect visual, which will always be just over the next hill.

[razuel]

A logo is a bit like a haiku or an epigram: you have to cram a whole bunch of meaning into a very condensed communication. The message is the heart of any design, any image, any layout. In a logo you have to pack the message into a single symbol, and figuring out just how to do that can be devilishly difficult but incredibly exhilirating. When you get it just right, it beats skydiving, car racing, or a first kiss.

Don't rush at it. Work out what you want to say. Write it all down, then rewrite it in half the words, then again in half of that, until you can get it down to a sentence. Play with dfferent ideas. Look for what other people have done that seem close to what you are looking for, and work out why they seem to succeed. (That's something you will do constantly throughout your career, if you're serious about being a professional, so now is a good time to start.)

In our field, logo design is one of the most difficult, most challenging and also one of the most lucrative (in no small part because it's difficult). When Steve Jobs started Next, he paid a designer $100,000 to design the logo. The intern who designed the Nike swoosh for $35 was honored last year with a large years-after-the-fact bonus and a presentation, because that simple, "nothing" graphic is worth hundreds of millions.

Don't try to get it all right the first time. You have a long and fulfilling road ahead. You will never stop learning, never stop growing, and I trust you will also never stop reaching for that ideal design, the perfect visual, which will always be just over the next hill.

Geeze, are you a teacher? I've already learned more from you in two posts than my entire time here at CCAD this semester. Atleast about graphic design.

[Alan G]

<Slightly embarrassed smile> No, raz, I'm not a teacher, but you flatter me deeply and I thank you. As you can probably guess, I am passionate about what I do. (Some would say "picky." They would be perfectly correct. I am notoriously and quite unashamedly detail-oriented.)

I'm very glad to be able to pass on lessons learned. If they help, then I'm happy.

[morea]

^ good for you! It's great to have a passion for what you are doing! When someone has a lot of enthusiasm for their job, they do better work. :)

You know, a lot of people I have met are scared to "share their secrets" because they worry about competition from others... but I have found that the really GREAT designers are the ones who share willingly because (a) they really love design and (b) they realize that the better people understand what they are doing and why, the more their work will be appreciated.

Jeff Fisher is a great example of this, too... I have seen him patiently and thoroughly answer questions that he must have been asked hundreds of times, and he is always friendly, encouraging, and helpful.

Thanks for sharing your insights, Alan. (Addicted to GDF yet? Ain't it great? :D )

[Alan G]

Well, it wouldn't occur to me not to share these "secrets" since they mostly weren't mine to start with. Thanks for the positioning, though. :)

I like GDF. With 23,306 posts(!!! -- Where do you find the time?) it would seem that you do, too.

[morea]

Bah, I've been at it for years.

My secret is that I am at my computer a LOT for work, freelance, research, job searching, etc, and I use a multi-tabbed browser, so GDF is always running in the background. It provides some much needed stress relief from what's going on in the other tabs. ;)

[(gra-ph!c-D'sig-nah)]

Morea...I love the halloween pic on your profile....