Creating the “Look”

There are so many iconic looks out there. From Apple’s minimalistic design, to Microsoft’s sleek design, how do you create a solid look for your brand? Well, let’s start with logos, this is what people are going to associate with your company or work. In this presentation, we will dive deeper into the design principles that go into creating a logo that will set the stage for your company.

Before we jump into creating the logo in the computer, let’s see how it will look on paper. Sketching your ideas really helps you focus on what style you are going for. Without color, you can see your designs at the very basic level. What’s the best advice for sketching your ideas? Repetition. The more you design, the better your ideas will become.

I wanted to use the idea of laurel leaves, and computers somehow in my design. These are some example of the designs I came up with.

Now that we have talked about sketches, let’s bring them into the computer. When creating logos, Adobe Illustrator is a great tool. It is a vector based program so you will get clear images and clean lines with your work. Logos are mainly created out of simple shapes and lines to create something that looks familiar to us in real life. For example, drawing a square with a triangle above it resembles a house. Houses in real life are much more complicated dsigns, but simplifying the shapes helps us identify them quickly. Let’s take a look at some examples of icons that will help us when creating a logo.

Most of the tools I used were the pen tool, shape tools, and the pathfinder tools. One of the most important things about creating logos, is to be consistent. In the first image, all the examples are consistent in an “outline” look. And the second image is consistent with a “filled” look. Whatever route you choose, stick with it.

Use lines and shapes to create something familiar or abstract that will represent your brand.

Logos usually include text in some form or another. Let’s take out knowledge about icons and add some text to create logos.

Using the idea of laurel leaves and computers for my design, I started creating some logos that would display my brand. They were first created in black and white, and then I started experimenting with color. I was consistent (there’s that word again) with using a script font somewhere in the logo and using my brand name. I created icons and tried to tie them in with the logo. For example, I created an icon of a computer mouse. Since it was advertising digital design, a mouse would accurately display that. I also used an icon of a leaf to create a laurel wreath or vine. Using the script font, I manipulated the text using the direct selection tool to further expand my design. It’s not enough to slap on text and some over-used icons. You want to make it unique. Make it your own.

Use icons and text to make your design unique. You can even manipulate text. In this example, I changed the curves of the letters to blend in with other elements of the design.

Now let’s talk about color. Color can make or break the design. Your logo should use color in a way that supports the look and feel of the brand your are selling. For my examples, I chose soft colors. I experimented with greens, blues, and reds but with a low saturation. Whatever color scheme you go with, be consistent!

Now we have a few different logos. But how will they look when applied to other things like websites, business cards, or even banners. Let’s take one of these designs and create a business card with it.

Being consistent with the colors and icons from my logo, I created a business card. You can see how the logo is used on the front of the card, and the same colors and icons are used on the back. From sketches to a finalized business card takes a lot of work but it’s worth it. So what can we take out of this experience?

Some of the most basic design concepts we used were line, shape, color, and text. This will translate to any work you do. And the most important design principle you can use is — you guessed it — consistency! It may sound simple but it is one of the best ideas to keep in mind. Although my finished logo wasn’t even in my sketches, you can still see the consistency behind the thoughts throughout the process.

Lauren Madsen is a student in the Digital Media program at Utah Valley University, Orem Utah, studying Interaction & Design. The following article relates to the project of creating logos in the DGM 270R and representative of the skills learned.