New Logo and Website - A Graphical Insight
New Logo and Website - A Graphical Insight
With my brand new website and logo now live, I thought it would be nice to show them both off in a graphical visual representation. This series of images allows you to see a snapshot of my personal logo design process, history of my logotype, concepts and ideas and web development.
I believe my new CK logo is an evolution of my previous logo, which is what I set out to be the case right from the beginning. The change was one, I felt, I had to make. I want to take my business in a slightly different direction and have a somewhat fresh start. The new logo is far more brandable, a bit less style specific and appeals to a wider target audience than the existing one did. As much as I liked my existing logo, I didn’t feel like I could achieve this. Furthermore, it was important for the design of the logo to be relatable and relevant to my existing design style.
Visually, I wanted it to be accurate. I considered a lot of things such as angles, line weight, visual balance and complexity. Whilst I executed a wide range of different styles, I was the most happy with this particular concept as it felt like it was me.
I’m really happy with the way its turned out and I’m super excited to start using it and adapting it to different things.
You’re welcome to ask any questions you might have about the logo design process or branding in the comments section below!
Logo Design - Typical Creation Process
Logo design always throws up all sorts of discussion. Why do some designers charge so much / little for a logo? Why does it take so long to design a logo? What are the benefits of having a logo? And so on.. Well, in this artcile, I'm going to discuss a little bit about the design process when creating a logo. We'll be discussing all sort of things from concepts to final production. Many variables come into play in the process, so I'm going to keep it as general as possible in order to try and communicate the process as best as I can. Here goes!
The Logo Design Brief
The brief is extremely important for a logo design. Mainly because what I'm about to create is the face of your company and it's important for me to know as much relevant information about the client's company as I can. So, not only is timeframe, a factor when designing a logo (or anything for that matter), but details regarding your business are just as important.
Here's a list of some areas of critical information which is extremely important in regards to logo creation:
- Business size – sole trader, micro, small, medium, large.
- Business age
- Tagret demographic – almost the most important piece of information. Who are you trying to appeal to?
- Product / service cost – who do you cater for, socio-economic wise?
- Competitors
- Budget
Initial brainstorming / sketches of the logo design
I always begin a logo design with paper, pencil and my A3 sketch book.
Generally, I'll begin with a mindmap, of sorts, or key words about the company, style of the logotype, symbol, colours I may potentially use, the mood of the logo and so on. I believe in writing down as many words to describe what I'm trying to achieve as possible, but I want the words to be accurate to the company, it's beliefs and the target audience.
For my sketches, I very rarely use an eraser, because at this point, the sketches are quite quick and purely encompass an overall style for the logo. The amount of pages I go through for a project really depends on the complexity of the brief. Sometimes it's just a page of sketches, other times 3 - 4 pages. Again, I'm happy to sketch out whatever I feel is relevant to the brief. Whether or not it's going to end up being the final final doesn't worry me at this point in time. Often I'll sketch things which I know won't even be considered, but sometimes they're the link between two very different concepts.
Execution of my sketches isn't hugely important. Some effects and techniques I'll know I can execute better on a computer when I get to that stage.
Designing a logo in Illustrator
Once I've completed my sketches, I'll jump into Illustrator and start playing with a few concepts. I sometimes bounce between my computer and sketch book, just to jot down or sketch out a new idea first. For some sketches which I've done quickly by hand, I know how they'll look digitally, but look very different in my sketchbook.
I always design my logos in Adobe Illustrator, regardless of time, who the client is and what they're going to use it for. It is the best application for creating a logo due to the tools available and the accuracy in which it can be produced. Also, as a vector file (which Illustrator handles), I know I'll be able to make the logo as big or as small as I (or the client) want to in the future. I'll begin experimenting with typography, lettering, shapes and scalability of the logo constantly. Scalability is often overlooked by designers and clients alike, as a logo might look fantastic in a large size, but when resized to a smaller size it's unreadble. Having a secondary window open at a smaller scale can also be beneficial.
It's difficult to cover all types of logos in one article, but in general it's important to use as few points as possible in the logo and make it as clean as possible. There shouldn't be any waste.
Recreating a logo design in vector format
Often I'll get approached by companies asking whether or not I can recreate their logo in vector format – typically created in Adobe Illustrator, for print production. This could be for stationery such as letterheads and business cards to bigger prints such as posters and even billboards. The fact of the matter is that a company needs to have generally have an EPS (Encapsulated Post Script) file in order to print their logo at different sizes.
Why the original logo wasn't created in a vector format to begin with is difficult for me to know. It may be the inexperience of the designer in creating a logo. Or, the client may not know what file format they required at the time. The most common problem is that their logo was initially designed in raster format within Photoshop (or similar) and is now in a JPG or GIF file format which is definitely not recommended.
Logo conversion from JPG / GIF to Vector (AI / EPS)
The difficulty in conversion from JPG / GIF to AI / EPS typically depends on the complexity of the logo design. The more intricate the logo, typically the more difficult the logo re-creation process. Another major factor is the quality of the scan or JPG of the logo itself. If it's unclear or low-resolution details may be lost in the conversion process. Typography can also be a challenge to trace if the original typeface isn't known or available.
You can see how pixellated a .jpg logo can be when resized. A vector logo, on the other hand, has no quality loss.
Converting a logo from photo to Vector (AI / EPS)
Another request I receive is to recreate a logo or illustration from a photograph or a scanned image.
In the example above, I've taken a photograph (left) of the logo design which needed to be printed on several more leather seats. Using Adobe Illustrator, I recreated this intricate logo (right) so the client could use the print as often as required. With the new logo now in a vector format, no quality loss will be made no matter what size the client decides to print the logo design in the future.
Why have a Vector Logo Design?
It's extremely important that a logo be created in vector format, using a program such as Illustrator (AI and EPS file formats). The logo, when created in Illustrator, then has the ability to be infinitely scaled from as small to as large as you desire.
If your company needs a new logo or if you need a logo recreated for vector, please contact me to discuss your project.