My Creative Process: Logos

Over the summer of 2019 I had the honor and privilege to intern with On Target Digital Marketing. During that time, I learned a lot about how marketing works in a practical setting. I also learned a lot about graphic design and the weight it carries. Over that summer I completed a lot of graphic design work (some of which you can see in my selected works page) many of these being logos. I would like to use this post to share a bit about my process. I want to share this both to self-reflect, but also to help those just starting out find a way to begin. As a disclaimer I want to say my process may not be the objective right way to go about things, but it is how I work, and it might even work for you.

My starting point is reading my original instructions, and then I reread them till I am sure I understand what the client wants. It can be a real motivation killer when you must restart after realizing they wanted something that you did the opposite of. After I understand my prompt, I take out my sketch book and mechanical pencil, open to a fresh page, and write down the name the client gave me. I then begin just drawing out whatever comes to mind after reading the name. I used to just begin doing it digitally to save time, but I found I got better results by sketching it out first. After I have a few different designs I narrow it down to the passable designs; sometimes I get a lot of good ones, sometimes I only have one. I then take those designs and try to turn them into a visual story. When I say visual story, I mean I try to integrate what the company/brand/person/etc. does and try to integrate that in with the logo. You can see this above with the two left logos and the two right logos. These logos were created for a company who helps other companies with strategy. The left logos have light bulbs to symbolize ideas, and the right have chess pieces (chess being a game known for its strategic plays). I also have smaller hints like with the middle logos having 6 lines make up the outside (3 black lines 3 gold lines), or the top left being a hexagon with 6 holes. This is because the company is called Strategy 6. After I have a few ideas I begin sketching these new more fleshed out designs. I try to get 3-4 core designs that I may extend with a recoloring or slight modification. You do not want to many designs or it could overwhelm the client. After all the designs are solidified, I take a chance to open my graphics program of choice (I prefer vector based because you can resize your work easily) and begin digitizing my sketches. Sometimes this process can leave some designs looking bad digitally when they looked fine on paper. This will happen from time to time you can try to rework it or just move on to your other designs. My penultimate step is to try different color combinations and figure out what works and what does not. This step can be simplified if the client already has colors in mind. My final step is to check over my work one last time. Make sure to zoom in and out periodically to make sure it looks good up closely and from a distance.

My actual process can deviate from those steps depending on the project, but I like to keep it similar to the steps above. I also like to keep a distinct time barrier between working with pencil/paper and digital. I do this by going for short walks or eating. This helps me to come up with and refine ideas, along with helping me transition to a new medium. As I said in the beginning this process may not work for you. It takes time to come up with your unique process. I do hope my experience can help you get started. If you have any questions I would be happy to hear them either through my email (bskotenko@gmail.com) or my twitter (@kingofping654).

P.S. If you are looking for more help out of a creativity hole read this great article:

https://laughingsamurai.com/creativity/get-wet-or-how-to-break-creative-dry-spells/

My Creative Process: Logos

Over the summer of 2019 I had the honor and privilege to intern with On Target Digital Marketing. During that time, I learned a lot about how marketing works in a practical setting. I also learned a lot about graphic design and the weight it carries. Over that summer I completed a lot of graphic design work (some of which you can see in my selected works page) many of these being logos. I would like to use this post to share a bit about my process. I want to share this both to self-reflect, but also to help those just starting out find a way to begin. As a disclaimer I want to say my process may not be the objective right way to go about things, but it is how I work, and it might even work for you.

My starting point is reading my original instructions, and then I reread them till I am sure I understand what the client wants. It can be a real motivation killer when you must restart after realizing they wanted something that you did the opposite of. After I understand my prompt, I take out my sketch book and mechanical pencil, open to a fresh page, and write down the name the client gave me. I then begin just drawing out whatever comes to mind after reading the name. I used to just begin doing it digitally to save time, but I found I got better results by sketching it out first. After I have a few different designs I narrow it down to the passable designs; sometimes I get a lot of good ones, sometimes I only have one. I then take those designs and try to turn them into a visual story. When I say visual story, I mean I try to integrate what the company/brand/person/etc. does and try to integrate that in with the logo. You can see this above with the two left logos and the two right logos. These logos were created for a company who helps other companies with strategy. The left logos have light bulbs to symbolize ideas, and the right have chess pieces (chess being a game known for its strategic plays). I also have smaller hints like with the middle logos having 6 lines make up the outside (3 black lines 3 gold lines), or the top left being a hexagon with 6 holes. This is because the company is called Strategy 6. After I have a few ideas I begin sketching these new more fleshed out designs. I try to get 3-4 core designs that I may extend with a recoloring or slight modification. You do not want to many designs or it could overwhelm the client. After all the designs are solidified, I take a chance to open my graphics program of choice (I prefer vector based because you can resize your work easily) and begin digitizing my sketches. Sometimes this process can leave some designs looking bad digitally when they looked fine on paper. This will happen from time to time you can try to rework it or just move on to your other designs. My penultimate step is to try different color combinations and figure out what works and what does not. This step can be simplified if the client already has colors in mind. My final step is to check over my work one last time. Make sure to zoom in and out periodically to make sure it looks good up closely and from a distance.

My actual process can deviate from those steps depending on the project, but I like to keep it similar to the steps above. I also like to keep a distinct time barrier between working with pencil/paper and digital. I do this by going for short walks or eating. This helps me to come up with and refine ideas, along with helping me transition to a new medium. As I said in the beginning this process may not work for you. It takes time to come up with your unique process. I do hope my experience can help you get started. If you have any questions I would be happy to hear them either through my email (bskotenko@gmail.com) or my twitter (@kingofping654).

P.S. If you are looking for more help out of a creativity hole read this great article:

https://laughingsamurai.com/creativity/get-wet-or-how-to-break-creative-dry-spells/