Tag: graphic design

Update on my Daily logo design

So far with my daily logo design I have not missed a day. I am very very thankful that I have not missed on yet. At times I felt like giving up to be honest. The beginning at first was pretty hard.

Then I started to gain traction. You know for example when you are running and you feel as if your a machine. There is nothing that can break your mental and physical focus and you just keep going. Another thing I learned is that I produce better results when I do the logo in the morning.

I have been focusing on local restaurants and businesses. A vast majority of them are pretty bad. More so a lot could use a lot of refinement. I was at first a little surprised at the response I was getting. The responses were from the actual companies. But even though I was getting responses I made sure to not let it go to my head.

And now here is the recent logos I’ve done.

To see more make sure to follow me here

 

If Companies Were Nations And Their Logos Were Flags

 

I recently came across this and I thought it was pretty funny. Because simply its something that you can easily see and it makes sense. Also its pretty interesting to see their logos used in such a way.

 

Stay tuned for next week I will be posting a series about? well you’ll have to wait and see. All I’ll can say its going to be something dealing with letters.

Knowing your work is not good enough

 

 

This is a realization that I came to the other day. Because over time while we post our work on our portfolio site it becomes boring. In other words we realize that its not good as we think it is. For example you have to pay attention to what people are saying.

If people are not saying anything that tells you a lot. The life of a project after getting posted can die a slow death. As humans we like to see knew and exciting stuff. If I did not update my blog 5 days a week you would go find another blog to read that constantly has new articles.

This is pertaining a realization that I need to update my portfolio section more. Really this is all in being honest with yourself. If you are like me and you’ve developed a better taste for design, then you expect more from yourself. So therefore the only way to get better quality of work is to make time to get better.

While you get off from your day Job whether you work as a designer full time or a day job like I do and design after your day Job get to work. You have to dig deep down to have energy to want to make that transition. Another thing I feel we experience knowing our work is not good by getting comfortable. One simple way to put it is being lazy.

But wait there’s one main point that I want you to remember is that:

Look at your current design work and then your previous work.  Are there things you see immediately that you did wrong? Now go look at your current work are there things you see you did wrong?

Those few questions will help you realize whether you’ve improved your work and also your vision of a completed piece and how its supposed to look.

Getting better with continued practice

When I first started doing calligraphy I had no idea what I was doing. But I knew that after learning more about it I wanted to continue pursuing it. Because I felt why not. My first couple pieces were lackluster. Which is going to be the case for starting anything.

But you know what I did? I kept practicing each day. Some days I would need to recharge and take a day off which I don’t really know if I did or not. But anyhow let me stay on topic. Above is the first calligraphy piece I posted to my instagram.

Below is my most recent calligraphy work that I posted to my instagram.

If you can notice how much cleaner and thought out this piece is compared to my very first one in which I used a dip pen. Because I and you know that the only way to get better is to do the work. Being disciplined is only a small portion of the journey. My words I said to myself in regards to improving my calligraphy was “why not keep going with it and use it as another skill with my other ones in regards to design and it seems more people are doing hand lettering compared to calligraphy”.

If you are not willing to sacrifice to be successful in whatever field you are currently working in or striving to work in remember you will end up getting ran over by someone who will make the sacrifice.

Knowledge is the new money

This could not be more true today then before. The more knowledge you have just think of how much more valuable you are. But as I have said before you can know everything in the world but if your not applying it then its useless.  Because you can procrastinate on that web design project or logo design project. Maybe your just lazy frustrated that you have not progressed in your work quality.

Well going back and reviewing the rules of design does no harm. Knowing the rules and etc will only help make you better. Then you have to realize that being just a graphic designer is not going to cut it. So therefore learn a skill that will help you create a niche for yourself. For me as you all may know I have been learning web design and calligraphy. Which I really just went to school for graphic design.

The reason I chose calligraphy and web design is because one calligraphy is not something you’d expect a graphic designer to be able to do. Also the upsurge of hand lettering coming back. So in the hand lettering niche I chose calligraphy to specify. Web design I chose it because its a skill that is needed now. Although at times learning web design can get frustrating I don’t give up.

Remember this and you’ll be alright

Don’t wish it were easier wish you were better – Jim Rohn

The Enemy of Creativity

The enemy of creativity is good taste. If you are a designer developing good taste can be something that seems impossible. Because when you are starting or it could be currently your situation of producing work that you know that is not at the level that it can be. Being creative is something that has to be disciplined and structured.

When your creativity is structured you are able to developed what good tastes is. The same thing can be applied to having a Honda or a Bentley. There you can see that the brand of each car details a certain level of taste. When you are designing you should look closely at the details of work that you drool over each day.

You know when you sit on behance or tumblr, instagram or wherever study the work. By study I mean to learn and look about what it is they did to come up with the design. While you are looking at the work start to look at placement of things and how they can work together.

Expect better quality of work from yourself and your work quality will improve.

My Design Process

When I start any project my first thing I do is to not go straight to the computer. Because it is so easy to get comfortable with relying on the computer thinking that you will be more creative there. Maybe you even feel as if you will be able to finish faster. But you cannot rush creativity or you may be able to do so. Let me get back to the the topic of my design process

The design brief/goals

What is the end goal of the project. Also what is the project for and what industry is it for. Also asking questions that will help me learn what the goals will be. Knowing what to do and avoid helps with the project at hand. If there are any questions that I do not ask at the moment I will always ask later on the in project.

Research

Doing research on the project of the industry is critical. I do whatever it takes to get vital information in regards to the industry I am designing for. Then I will find out what is going on at the moment and then find out what has happened in the industry previously.

Mind-Mapping

I choose a word from the industry and use words from that to continue finding something that is similar throughout each web. Doing this helps with finding a direction to go in with the design.

Sketching

Sketching concepts in every type of way helps me get out the ideas that are coming to me. Because this helps with moving towards a concept that is best suited and has the most strength visually.

Type and color Studies

I will choose various types of fonts and continually decide which ones work best together. Then chose a variety of colors that are best representative of the goals for the project. After choosing colors and fonts to use I will decide which font and color or colors are best.

Digital Roughs

I put together a digital version of the project seeing how it will look before completion. This process shows a vital part of the project completion and also can vary from project to project. Because not every project will require

Revising

After deciding on which rough to move I will begin revising. Making sure each aspect of the design is cohesive. Doing the best to not miss any detail of the design. This can range from kerning, spacing, height and etc.

Finalizing

Preparing files for completion and saving them in RGB 72 DPI PDF,JPEG and etc (Web) and CMYK 300DPI press quality PDF  (Print)

This is an overview of my design process that I use for projects. I use this as a vital part in completing my projects to the best of my ability that I can. If the project does not require certain steps in this process I will more or less use these steps.

Promises Network

Promises Network is an organization that is for the support of the legalization of Gay Marriage. Throughout the project the goal was to not have overall completed design significantly for the Gay community.

1. Sketches

After doing a good amount of research I began sketching out ideas to capture the overall idea for the branding that would not just be strictly for the gay community. I first came across the idea for using a pink triangle in the design. But after learning more about the history and felt as if its history was not very positive.

Narrowing it down

After deciding the use of symbolism would be very powerful and the best idea to continue forward with. Because the symbol I use has a wide range of meanings and also the history behind it is more positive then the pink triangle. Deciding upon the placement of the symbol with the typography was very important. Because I wanted to create a cohesiveness in the remembrance of the symbol with the typography.

After deciding upon which logo is the strongest structure wise to move forward with. Also creating a Facebook cover photo,Google Plus cover photo and other social media profile branding.

You can see more of my Portfolio here

Learning While Learning

IMG_0405-Edit

This is a principle that will help you see things in a more clearer perspective. For example you may have a thing that you want to learn or are learning. A good example is learning web design. While your learning web design you should practice what you are learning.

Putting into what you are learning will help you retain and see what you are learning. When you take the time to notice the little things in your process or steps you will be more appreciative. Honestly all of this depends upon you. You and me both have came across a person that claims to be able to do anything.

But honestly what are they good at. They tried to cheat the way learning a skill works. This is the same principle that I apply to skateboarding. You may be able to do an unlimited amount of tricks on your skateboard. But the real question is how often can you land those tricks.

So do not get frustrated with learning and continue to put into use what you learn.

Have a good Monday