Archive for the 'Logo Designers' Category
10 Commandments for New Logo Designers
Every profession has its own set of rules and graphic design is no different. It is an ever evolving field, however the basics remain the same. We have stressed the importance of following a few essential rules time and time again. New designers (specifically) cannot do without these and avoiding basic rules can lead to an untimely death of your career.
Today we wish to imply the significance of these rules once again. New logo designers should consider these rules their 10 Commandments and live by them.
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October 24th, 2012
5 Design Traps to Avoid This Year
Graphic design is an ever changing, ever evolving arena. Every year pushes the boundaries of creativity and imagination a few steps further. Some become trend setters and introduce new concepts to the world, while others fall into a design trap and end up learning the hard way.
Let’s go through some of these traps to help novice logo designers (and even experienced ones) in becoming safe practitioners of this art and avoid making graphic design mistakes. Designers become victims of these design traps as a result of too much experimentation and imagination, or the lack thereof. While logo designers are always encouraged to be creative and try new things, it should never be done at the cost of losing basic fundamentals.
Design Trap #1 – Redefining the Predefined
This translates to slightly editing a pre-existing logo, created by someone else, with a few unique touches and calling it your own. Some designers create derivative concepts and steal ideas in order to save time.
There are no short cuts in graphic design. The entire concept of creating something unique depends on the designer’s ability. Don’t be remembered for work that was already done by someone else.
Design Trap #2 – Using Graphic Symbols
This is one of the easiest traps to fall into. If you have used any graphic design software, you have come across graphic symbols. These are free tools that come with the design programs. While the software itself is licensed the symbols aren’t, which means that every symbol uses the same brushes. This leaves the window of trademark infringement wide open.
Bottom line – Create your own logo designs and symbols.
Design Trap #3 – Opting For Graphic Brushes
Just like symbols, graphic brushes are tools embedded in most modern day graphic design software. Unlike graphic symbols, logo designers can get away with using graphic brushes if they are applied carefully and are only used as a supporting element.
Never base your designs on these brushes, too many uses can lead to trademark infringement. A good logo designer should only rely on his/her creative instinct to come up with new concepts.
Design Trap #4 – Choosing RGB & CMYK Color Standards
Versatility is one attribute that clients will not hesitate to reward you for. Using RGB or CMYK color schemes, when at times seems like a good option, there limitations. If a client receives a design in RGB or CMYK and wants to change the medium of their design, they will run into issues. The client will either have the designer redo everything from scratch or be forced to pay someone to adjust it.
Using the Pantone color scheme will give the client flexibility to print their logo designs on any medium they see fit. Similarly sending in raster files is a big no-no. You should send your client vector files as these are easily scalable.
Design Trap #5 – Adding Special Effects
Some new logo designers think that adding special effects will make their logo look extra special; this is not the case. Special effects generally make a logo appear childish and cheap. Avoid these effects, unless specifically requested by the client.
If you want to establish yourself as a serious logo designer, you need to stop making these easily overlooked graphic design mistakes. Protect your reputation and don’t fall for a design trap!
Did we miss out on any design trap? Help us add to this list. Send us your feedback.
July 11th, 2012
How Designers Can Deal With a Creative Block [Infographic]
Creative Block is known to render one useless. It’s feared and dreaded by all creative individuals. Even graphic and logo designers are prone to this. While this block can last for days and sometimes even months, today we aim to show you how to make the best of it. If you are a graphic or logo designer suffering from a creative block, here are a few tips and tricks that can help you relieve stress and get your creative juices flowing again.
Check out our infographic below and learn to determine the causes so you can deal with your creative block more effectively.
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July 2nd, 2012
How to Say More with Your Logo
Symbolism is a standard design features that will set an extraordinary logo apart from an ordinary one. They say actions speak louder than words, but when it comes to logos, symbolism speaks volumes.
Today we’ll go over a few symbols, decipher their meaning and see how they were made into a commercial success. We will talk about how symbolism helps a logo stand out as it is an integral component of many famous logo designs.
Distinction Between Symbols & Symbolism
Many people make the mistake of thinking a symbol is the logo itself; that’s not always correct. In fact, a logo is actually a collection of symbols merged together to form a graphic shape. This shape then becomes the symbol for a company (or what it’s representing). You can see how this may be easily confused.
Symbols Impact Humans Visually
The human mind is curious by nature. Our history is full of ancient symbols that we have spent decades deciphering in order to understand the message behind it. Using symbols in a logo design has a similar effect. It invokes the need to determine what the logo symbolizes and stands for.
Utilizing Symbols In Logo Design
A symbol can be anything, but a good symbol will be easily associated with a specific company. The meaning of the symbol will also be easily conveyed. Animals are a great example of symbols within logos.
Take the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) logo for instance. The organization uses the image of a panda to stand for its message of peace and preserving life. People can easily look at the logo and understand the relation of the company to animal welfare. A panda, being a loving and rare animal, also gives the feel of welfare and safety. In the same way, objects can be used in logos to convey a theme and a message. Another example of this is the table lamp in the Pixar logo.
The Target logo utilizes the symbol of a target, including the bulls-eye. The symbol represents a variety of things including precision, aim, goal and win.
Most are familiar with Nike’s logo. Even without the text, the swoosh alone is instantly recognized. The swoosh design has many meanings such as accuracy and speed. The most important meaning being ‘right’ or ‘correct’ as in the right choice, or the right way.
Apple’s logo is another great example of symbolism in logo design. Today this logo symbolizes sleek and innovative Apple products. The apple is a slightly controversial symbol. Many associate it with Newton’s Apple, the forbidden fruit from the ‘Garden of Eden’ or the fruit from the tree of knowledge and so on. Some may see Apple’s logo in a different light, but in the end it stands for knowledge.
The E!TV logo is one of my favorites. It is so simple and unique and its symbolism speaks volumes. The logo is a simple exclamation point and can be taken in a literal sense. Symbolizing excitement, importance and urgency of the news the channel spreads. Gossip and celebrity news tends to be exciting, don’t you think? 
Final Word
To get a better understanding of symbols, graphic designers should browse through brand logos that are internationally recognized. Understanding the client’s niche and industry is also a very vital component of logo design. It can help you create a symbol that the audience can relate to. Symbols are one of the most dynamic tools available to logo designers today. They should be used to create a brand identity for a company, since they go a long way in capturing a target audience with their depth, message and theme.
June 24th, 2012
7 Design Tools for Productivity Boost
When it comes to graphic design, it can be safely said that if you don’t know your tools, you will not last long in this field. While creativity and vision are two of the most valuable attributes for any designer, if you aren’t familiar with the latest tools you will not be able to achieve the designs you want.
With that being said, we’ve put together a list of five productive design tools that every designer should master before embarking on any projects. These tools have been tested in the field and are guaranteed to boost your productivity.
We might as well start with the basics. Mastering Adobe Photoshop should be the very first thing on any designer’s list. Photoshop allows designers to create website templates, new or modified graphics and also to edit pictures. These features make Photoshop an invaluable tool. For the technically inclined, some of the advanced features of this software include layering, color correction and more.
What you can’t do with Photoshop, you can easily do with Illustrator. This is the bread and butter for designers today and an absolute must when it comes to boosting graphic design productivity. Using Adobe Illustrator, you can tackle large-scale complex projects that rely heavily on cool nifty graphics, make amazing graphical reports and create logos.
If you are a web designer than you should already be using this tool. It’s easy to use and since its release it has become the primary tool for web design. Fireworks allows users to work with a variety of images, giving them a blend of vector and bitmap tools, safe file import options and built-in prototyping options. Designers can use the full range of options for creating beautiful designs.
Adobe InDesign is a versatile page designing and publishing application. It gives graphic designers complete control over graphic design, whether its print or digital. Its close integration with Flash Professional has helped simplify making web versions of documents and its latest versions help create e-books and adapt content for tablets. InDesign has simplified exporting and supporting various image files, adjusting resolution and image sizes, and tagging audio and video files for e-publishing.
Creating, modifying and altering images are some of the tasks that come as second nature to designers. Shrink-O-Matic is a great tool that enables resizing an image as you see fit. This tool has an extremely simple UI and can handle many of the popular image formats such as GIFs, JPEGs and PNGs.
6. Blender
If you ever find yourself working on 3D animation projects, this should be the first design tool that you get your hands on. It has a number of features that helps designers create breathtaking 3D animations. By default, the software comes with a node-based compositor, stimulation tools, textures and much more. Blender has a very user friendly UI and best of all, it’s completely free!
7. Dropbox
Dropbox may not be a graphic design tool but nevertheless, almost every designer uses it. This cloud-based data storage service can sync multiple hard drives at multiple locations. This makes it easy for designers to carry their work around. It saves time and time is money.
We hope that you will find the above tools to be useful and beneficial to you. There are dozens more to list, however for new and experienced designers these design tools will provide a multitude of help.
June 21st, 2012
Inexpensive Ways to Increase Your Design Knowledge
Staying competitive in today’s market is a mandatory requirement for all working professionals, graphic design is no different. Designers have to be on top of their game if they are going to survive in this cut throat job market. A very basic and fundamental way of staying competitive is by being on top of the latest developments in your field of expertise. In other words, improve your designer knowledge.
We are highlighting 5 very simple and cost effective methods that graphic designers can use to improve themselves as expert craftsmen. So without further ado, here they are:
1. Follow the Gurus
Graphic design is a field where self proclaimed gurus don’t last long, which is good news for the average logo designer. There are a handful of big names in the graphic design industry who are worldly renowned for their craftsmanship, vast knowledge and practical experience. People like David Sherwin, Jacob Cass and David Airey are the heavy weights of the graphic design industry; they actively post content online and share their experiences. Follow them on social media websites and learn from their experiences. It will be worthwhile.
2. Attend Webinars
Webinars are a great source of information and can expand a designer’s knowledge. Seminars are also a great option; however they usually cost money and only take place in specific locations worldwide. Webinars are mostly free and those that do cost money tend to be very affordable. The additional benefit of attending a webinar is that you attend from the comfort of your home.
3. Graphic Design eBooks
The internet has completely changed how we do things today, particularly when it comes to learning. Buying expensive books and hauling them back and forth seem to be a thing of the past. In comparison, graphic design eBooks are extremely cheap (if not free) and easily accessible from the internet. Plus, you can carry them around in your iPhone or via USB flash drive. There are many websites that you can download free eBooks from, which are loaded with good information.
4. Follow Graphic Design Blogs
You will find no shortage of graphic design blogs online but not all of them provide worthwhile content. There are only a handful of good ones that have established themselves over the years as an authority platform on the subject of logo and graphic design. Subscribe to their email newsletter or follow them on Twitter and other social media sites.
5. Affordable Design Tutorials
This is one of the best methods to not only learn new things, but also to check and recheck your existing knowledge. YouTube is one of the best places to find affordable graphic design tutorials, along with various blogs and forums that provide such info. There are many Edu channels on YouTube for graphic designers and videos available online which you can easily benefit from as well.
We hope that you will find the above given information helpful. If you are a graphic designer, you should already be practicing these methods. These approaches are meant to set you apart from the competition and give you an edge over other designers who are also competing for the same projects as you are.
May 8th, 2012
Opting for FREE Graphic Design Brushes and Symbols
Everyone loves free stuff. After all it’s free right? Well, sometimes these freebies can end up being extremely costly. Take graphic design for example. Logo designers can easily find dozens upon dozens of graphic design brushes and symbols on the internet absolutely free. They’re great. They’re fun. They make the creative process easy and save designers time. With so many advantages, it may seem like a no-brainer to use free graphic design symbols when designing professionally, right?
Wrong. In fact free graphic design symbols and brushes come with potentially career ending risks that many designers ignore, overlook or underestimate. And that is the risk of trademark infringement.
Don’t Design a Nightmare Scenario for Yourself
Trademark infringement. These are the two words that keep every graphic designer up at night. It is a scenario no designer wishes to be confronted with because even such a simple allegation can bring a designers career down tumbling.
Graphic Design Brushes – Limit Your Use
Free design brushes are NOT trademarked; meaning that anyone can use them in their designs. This is why graphic design brushes should be avoided. However, if needed, these should be used scarcely and only as a supporting element. Don’t heavily depend on them. Instead, only use them for giving slight touches or adding effects in a logo. Your overall design should be unique in every sense. Graphic design brushes can be used to provide the finishing touches (if you will) to further compliment your design.
Graphic Design Symbols – Avoid at All Cost
Brushes are one thing. Graphic design symbols are another. These should never be used. Period. Graphic design symbols come free with any licensed graphic software thereby creating a false impression among some designers that the symbols are licensed as well. This is not the case. Every graphic design software comes with the same free symbols by default. Using them is an open invitation to copyright infringement.
So What Should Logo Designers Do?
What you should be doing in the first place is to come up with your own designs, symbols and your own brushes. This will give your design drafts the one element every designer strives to achieve – uniqueness. Avoid free brushes and symbols all together. Using them can lead to a bad habit of taking short cuts and utilizing and manipulating existing design patterns to your advantage.
Graphic designers must always remember that there is no place for free symbols and brushes in professional graphic design. Designers are encouraged to browse samples, experiment with certain brushes and symbols and then come up with their own unique ones to compliment their work. Being unique is worth its weight in goal and should be second to none.
April 18th, 2012
