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67 Comments
- WhoDoneIt, on 02/05/2009, -0/+41Umm...as a "professional" designer for over 15 years, this isn't great information A sign of a true designer isn't about adding the "bling"... let's not use gradients, blends and shading... face it, most of our clients are utilizing a limited budget.
Learn to design a logo that doesn't need "full colour". Stay within 2-3 Pantone colours. Keep it simple and keep it focused.
Let the logo speak for itself. There are many great logos in the corporate world that are brilliant. Off the top of my head, the Sun Systems logo.
Logos aren't supposed to be "web 2.0"... print can't replicate that ***** well over various mediums. Don't fall for the hype. - woofers07, on 02/05/2009, -1/+14ummm..... maybe one or two of those logos were OKAY. If you are serious about logo design and want to be taken seriously, hire a designer. Logo design is probably the most exhausting and laborious type of design there is.
- WhoDoneIt, on 02/05/2009, -2/+13Almost every single one of those logos show poor signs of typography use. Brutal.
- JonnyCasino, on 02/05/2009, -3/+12The author is right: when you design logos, whether you're going to use it on the web, in print, or both… you should try to use Illustrator or any vector graphics software. The reason is simple: vectors are scalable, and logos will be used in a variety of situations like business cards to billboards. Great post.
- jaythree9, on 02/05/2009, -0/+9This is merely about techniques, not about logo design. Logo design is about hours and hours of research, drafts, 100's of prototypes, an excellent understanding of typography and symbols, answering to clients, and creating a mark which accurately reflects the values and characteristics of the client. It needs to be simple and able to be represented large, small, in black and white, in greyscale, in full color (whatever those colors may be). It's way more of a complex process than these tutorials make it seem to be. I usually see better stuff on Six Revisions than this.
- masterc, on 02/05/2009, -5/+14Here's where you can get Illustrator for cheap: http://thepiratebay.org
- waxdart, on 02/05/2009, -1/+10At no point in this list is there a tutorial about developing your concepts. Which is far, far more important than learning how to do the 8 millionth treatment of a reflective gradient on a badly kerned wordmark. DO NOT WANT.
- inactive, on 02/05/2009, -5/+13Very nice tutorials. Will try them soon on my new project.
- solid12345, on 02/05/2009, -3/+11God I grow tired of all these design "tutorials"
You don't see a tutorial online for heart surgery, why, because do you want some 18 year-old kid with a stolen surgical kit doing surgery for you?
Half of these beginner tutorials exist not to teach fundamental design concepts, they exist to teach amateur punks how to use this software so they can steal business away from legitimate designers who have gone to school, or poured through hundreds of design books or studied under serious designers. The market is saturated with deviant-art amateurs who will do a logo for 50 bucks because the client doesn't know any better, when in reality a good logo should cost at least 500 dollars.
This also devalues our work because clients will say "well why should I pay 500 when my neighbor's kid will do it for a free meal"
It amazes me how businesses aren't willing to pay a thousand dollars for a designer to brand their image yet have no problem spending 300 dollars on one office chair for an employee. - beegle, on 02/05/2009, -3/+10cool tutorials!
- Smitty1179, on 02/05/2009, -4/+10This is great, I didn't know how to use some of these techniques until now!
- jayliquori, on 02/05/2009, -0/+6sorry guys, but even 4 years of design school sometimes can't teach you how to design a great logo. these tutorials are bull.
- nextekcarl, on 02/05/2009, -0/+6Then use Inkscape, it has really come a long way, and it is free, with tons of tutorials (on youtube and screencasters.heathenx.or to get you started.) Most for Illustrator will probably work, though some of the tools might not exist yet (it is free after all).
- solid12345, on 02/05/2009, -0/+5No offense nawill81, but if you are really serious about being a designer for a living, 500 dollars is not that much to drop on a needed tool. Just write it off on your taxes. If you run a lawnmower business of course you'll have to drop thousands on tractor mowers to run it, likewise running a design firm requires money on computers and software, that is just how business is done.
- prodigitalson, on 02/05/2009, -0/+4Fireworks is for web design... exclusively really. I much prefer it over photoshop as it takes most of the key features of Illustrator and Photoshop and puts them in a more web centric workflow and adds some web specific things that are either poorly implemented or do not exist in the other 2.
Illustrator is a vector drawing tool. Thats not the same as image manipulation. Currently Illustrator has a lot of the features of photoshop rolled in and Photoshop has some of the features of Illustrator rolled in. But really they serve to entirely different purposes.
Dont ever use Corel if you are a professional. Period. End of story. - voidvox0, on 02/05/2009, -1/+5reflections, gradients, drop shadows and outer glows shouldn't be used in logos. it can perhaps be used as a variation to a logo for web use but to design a logo with them initially is a horrible idea. a logo should be easily recognized in one color at a small size. all these filters added is just fluff used to conceal dreadful designs. whatever happened to spending time concepting a logo.
- Llanowar, on 02/05/2009, -0/+4I sometimes think it is easier to start a design in Photoshop. Or sometimes simply on paper.
But, in the end you got to know how to translate it to vector. - ismoke, on 02/05/2009, -0/+4I agree, as a professional graphic designer, I find it almost insulting to find these on the web. Logo design is one of the most complex and demanding jobs a client can ask for - and the process can take weeks, if not months to complete. Articles like this make it seem like it's a piece of cake to design something that will represent a company or individual's image for years to come, when it's really not.
When it comes to logo design, you DON'T want to be referring to some Web 2.0 tutorials. No way! - UKsHaDoW, on 02/05/2009, -0/+4Yes, I always see people designing fancy colorfull logos, but when there put onto letter heads in black and white, the defining edges disapear and it just becomes a ink blob.
- mattbatt77, on 02/05/2009, -0/+3Design has nothing to do with computers, Web 2.0 or Photoshop. Design is communication in the simplest graphical form. Corporate Identity is even more stylized (simple) for immediate recognition and communication.
This communication changes the way we perceive everyday data, relate with one another and grow (design didn't evolve, technology did, like the internet). True design principles remain constant even though new elements can build on top of them.
Color, space, typography, photography and a message that the designer orchestrates in a true, original concept communicating a memorable thought in a viewer's mind, is just the beginning of design.
What separates professional designers from teenagers following online tutorials is the thought process behind an idea and an effective way to communicate that idea. Our tool bag is just a helpful way to nail down the concept.
I personally believe that design among this young generation is evolving in a more trendy appearance (as more powerful technology comes about allowing full color, 3D animation, motion effects, etc), but the true sense of communication is actually diminishing. Why? Because sugar coating an image still does not make it an effective communication piece.
You see, it is easy to make a viewer say "Oh, wow, shiny!" yet that same viewer will forget that piece's significance in seconds. However, a graphical piece that makes a viewer stop and think and say with intrigue, "What? Oh, I never considered . . ." permeates much longer in the mind, yet requires much more thought to acquire.
In actuality, technology has isolated more people while giving them a sense of community (through the masses of online sudo-communities [yes, I recognize I am part of this 'sudo-community' of which I speak, yet it is not my main source of design inspiration]). In the real world of business and marketing, young people are having an increased problem dressing right, speaking boldly and coherently and learning to read their clients' true needs. An increasing problem indeed that even CS8 won't be able to fix. - MorganPhoenix, on 02/05/2009, -0/+3I'm in college right now for printing & publishing… there's a reason people need degrees in design. What looks "cool" on the screen may not even be readable to the average person, and is certainly not necessarily reproducible on press.
If you want to learn how to do this sort of thing, there are a number of schools that teach design. - alfreako, on 02/05/2009, -4/+7Decent list but I swear it feels like I've seen this exact same thing on digg before...
- algaeturd, on 02/05/2009, -0/+3Wow. These comments sound like super fake infomercial testimonials.
If you don't know how to do these simple things with illustrator, you've got no business being in the art field. Just go take a freshman, entry year course in design and you'll learn this and much, much more. - solid12345, on 02/05/2009, -0/+3If 500 dollars is too much to spend "in this economy" imagine being a graphic designer or
video post-production guy 20-30 years ago you would spend THOUSANDS on high-end camera equipment, chyron machines, sound decks, supplies like exacto knives, pens, markers, paper, a work studio, not to mention the time wasted laying out each individual letter with typesetting and having to work with the printer on plate and color separations.
If you think 2-3 grand for Adobe Master Collection is expensive, really it is a bargain for all you can do with it. I'm not trying to say it is not alot of money but really, a serious business owner would look at this as a necessary expense and you could easily pay it off with 1 or 2 projects with a good client. - MattStenning, on 02/05/2009, -4/+7i've always wanted to know more about design, maybe now I will give it a go
- noncn4mst, on 04/15/2009, -0/+2I have to agree with prodigitalson. No reputable agency will accept Corel files When we get them, we know we're dealing with amateurs.
- noncn4mst, on 04/15/2009, -0/+2It's tough to get the hang of it, but it will become your most essential tool.
- specialK16, on 02/05/2009, -0/+2Well I actually think that these are nice for those of us who are not designers, but would like to learn Illustrator or Photoshop for personal projects.
I, for one, wouldn't call my self a designer after following an Internet tutorial, just as you wouldn't call yourself a programmer after following a C++ tutorial. (Or learning Java /jk) - alfreako, on 02/05/2009, -0/+2stop that
- Gravey9, on 02/05/2009, -0/+2I use Adobe strictly but Corel is more of a preference thing. Adobe though is a lot easier to use.
- arbulus, on 02/05/2009, -0/+2Adobe is the only way to go. Mostly because there's just simply nothing else on the market. Especially nothing that can even remotely compare in quality to their products.
I worked in the graphics department at a newspaper and when I started, everyone was using Quark Express for layout. Then, management came in with the Adobe Creative Suite and told everyone that they are to never use Quark again and to use InDesign exclusively. Apparently, this happens a lot.
And since Adobe swallowed Macromedia, there just isn't anything else out there. So like prodigitalson said, if you want to do professional design, Adobe products are the only way to go. - arbulus, on 02/05/2009, -1/+3School can't make you an artist. It can teach you technique and it can give you ideas and point in the direction of the market, but it cannot give you talent if you don't have it. And someone with talent and a good set of tutorials, books, and is studious enough to spend time practicing, learning and perfecting the techniques can do just as well as someone going to college. Really, the biggest thing college gives you is a piece of paper that employers look at and ignore people's capability and talent.
"Oooh, you have a masters degree in digital media, you MUST be good. You're hired!"
But the person couldn't design their way out of a paper bag.
conversely:
"Oh, you don't have a degree. And even though you've been designing for years and have an extensive portfolio to show me, I could care less that you have have loads of talent. You just don't have that degree. Sorry, we can't hire you."
Your mentality perpetuates this *****. Some of us weren't fortunate enough to be able to afford college, yet we still have a desire to pursue the things we love. And if talented, capable, and able to prove themselves, there's no reason why anyone should be denied the opportunity. - solid12345, on 02/05/2009, -0/+2@shuffle, Shuffle, one can take the argument companies who hire illegal aliens or export jobs overseas is "smart business" tactics, but you know what you get, you get buildings that fall apart, aren't leveled correctly and start to slant or sink, and and cheap-mass produced goods that break after a month.
- sadilak, on 02/05/2009, -1/+3can anyone tell me where do these products fit in?
1. Fireworks - Image manipulation tool
2. Illustrator - another image tool
Also
Is the Corel Graphics X4 just as good as the overpriced Adobe? - ryrocker, on 02/05/2009, -0/+2
i had that deja vu feel to it too! - mythicflux, on 02/05/2009, -0/+2Maybe nawill81 doesn't actually have $500 sitting around to spare on anything in this economy?
- Wumbus, on 02/05/2009, -0/+2I can usually appreciate frustration of bad logos, but I don't think all of these were that bad. If you were to look at all of the logos following here in strictly black and white 2D many would work just fine.
Logo design has expanded in mediums. The web variety may use tasteful gradients, etc. It's not good or bad, just a new medium. - Llanowar, on 02/05/2009, -0/+2I had to use Corel on my last designer job. They didn't have anything else (till I finally managed to get them to get Adobe)
It can get things done, and if you're halfway decent at Photoshop/Illustatror it has quite an easy learning curve.
But yeah, it certainly isn't great. Some of the things I had to try in Corel I could far easier do in Photoshop or Illustrator. - Balanced, on 02/05/2009, -0/+2Or if you're a student CS4 is something like $400 for the entire package...
- Balanced, on 02/05/2009, -0/+2That's probably because Quark's gotten really, really weird since version 3.something...
- sadilak, on 02/08/2009, -0/+2Cool Thanks. I got myself Fireworks CS4.
- nrox653, on 02/06/2009, -0/+2That crap is ugly. I'm ***** sick of this "submit my possibly uber pwnage design tutorial to Digg" fad. Half of the tutorials should be called how NOT to design logos, and others are just plain disgusting.
As for #11, I could make something better than that ***** in 5 minutes. - winningninja, on 02/05/2009, -0/+2I find the so-called "designers" comments amusing. If a company does not have $500 in budget to pay for logo design and completely satisfied with their $50 logo I do not see the problem. Art is all about taste.
- seantubridy, on 02/06/2009, -0/+2$500 - try $5000 or even $50,000, if it's a really big company.
- inactive, on 02/05/2009, -1/+2ALWAYS start on paper. ALWAYS start on paper, people! Ok, sketching with a Wacom is also acceptable. The problem with starting a design with photoshop, is that it will look like it was made in photoshop. It will probably have too many gradients and/or drop shadows, or other extraneous gumpf that screams " amateur". Worse yet are logos that are "designed" just by picking a "cool" font and adding a web 2.0 shine. Sorry for the rant. But I'm starting to get tired of what passes for design anymore.
- theshoreways, on 02/05/2009, -2/+3You know you read too many graphic design websites when you've seen all of these before. Great list though.
- inactive, on 02/05/2009, -0/+1to be honest, I already know how to do all the stuff you mentioned, I just wanted to know how to make a shadow or make something shiny or glossy.
- acrisdesign, on 09/05/2009, -0/+1woow great tutorials list
- Timespeak, on 02/06/2009, -0/+1Sadly many people will miss the fact that these logos are strictly for the web.
When any of these techniques are transferred to print, the average start-up designer will be in for an unfortunate surprise.
Please keep in mind that many readers do not all have a professional education with the proper fundamentals of design. - dipsss, on 02/13/2009, -0/+1Very Useful Tutorial
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