I need a logo

[TORCH511]

So I have to design a logo, but I do not know how. I was wondering it there were a tutorial or maybe a plug-in I could use to make one.


Allright, I really don't need help creating a logo, but I really do have to create one. The parent company that purchased our business, after trying to make us something we are not, has given up and sold us off. The big boss (Director of Operations) happened to have a few extra million lying around and has purchased us. This is, in many ways a good thing.

However no longer having an infrastructure means we no longer have marketing/advertising, a creative director, web administrator...

That was until the boss called me into his office and told me I was it.

So now I need a logo, and a whole lot more. The good news is that as of August 1st, the date the sale closes, I will be getting a rather large pay increase (I know the range, but not the exact amount) and a new yet-to-be determined title. We are also starting the hiring process Monday for someone to take over a bulk of what I do on a daily basis as my efforts over at least the next year will be focused elsewhere.

So I post this only to make a point how sometimes it is weird how live works out. For those of you just starting out, be patient, be persistant, and be ready for opportunity when it should knock.

[semimoto]

no torch it would seem to me yet another horn tooting opt.
mabey you can find a pluggin for some humility,
semimoto

[TORCH511]

As I have been sarchastic and snide in my remarks to others from time to time, you certainly have the right to return the favor so I am in no way offended or angered by your comment, you are cetainly entitled to your opinion. However, if you thought that it would in some way humble me, then you are sadly mistaken.

I have busted my butt to get to where I am, and while it has been a very long journey, I have gotten far beyond what I thought ever possible. I would love to hear from others about where they are in their careers, how they got there and where they think it will go.


So I will blow my horn long a loud. There is nothing wrong with being proud of what you have accomplished. And if you want some humility... As I have said before, I look at some of the work that artists who visit this site and I am in awe. Creatively I could not even come close to that level.

[Bobby H]

Torch 511,

Are you a graphic artist, illustrator or some other type of artist by profession? If not, I would likely recommend hiring someone on a freelance basis or even talking to a reputable advertising and design agency for developing a logo and its related materials.

Basically you're being charged with developing a brand identity program for a company and that is not a job that any amateur or hobbyist designer should be doing. It is best done by creative professionals who know all the issues that go into designing logos and related ad materials properly.

If you must design the new logo on your own, I would advise doing a number of things. First, make the basic version of the logo only with vector based artwork and make the logo to where it can work with only one single ink color. To be blunt, anyone who designs logos in Adobe Photoshop with all sorts of shading effects and other lens flare hokum really doesn't know what he is doing and doesn't know the big costly hole he is digging for the client. The logo must be able to work in a variety of uses. It has to look good on more than just company letterhead and envelopes. It needs to be designed where it is legible on signs and billboards or readable when reduced to a tiny size on a web page. Many "logo" designs fail that test.

[MindBender]

Also, I would suggest making the logo out of chocolate... because frankly... chocolate is yummy.

[Paths]

http://www.aaa-logo.com/:p

[MindBender]

Wow... that is the most horrible thing I've seen in a long time... I need to go wash my brain out with soap now. :eek:

[alcbevtesting@alltel.net]

At a risk of being chided I do want to point out something I have noticed too much lately. There are a great many wonderful artists out there who cannot spell to save their lives. It is very important, as a professional, to portray your professionalism in every way. Some mistakes (on the web with fast messages and mailings) are OK but it reflects on you quite badly (no matter how good your work is) when people see bad spelling. I'd like to see more (easier to use?) spell checkers on Forum sites (that is one problem) but I encourage you to be a little more careful when posting or presenting yourself in written formats as it can only help you with respect to image. Use a spell checker or a dictionary please.

As I said above please take as genuine friendly advice. I love what most of you do and can teach me about Illustrator etc. It is something I notice a lot even in my realm of work and it needs to be dealt with.

[MindBender]

You had a cuople of tpyograhpical and grmatical errors in yuor orignial post. I wnet ahaed and proorfead them for you.

At a risk of being chided I do want to point out something I have noticed too much lately.

At the risk of being chided, I want to point out something I have too often noticed recently.

There are a great many wonderful artists out there who cannot spell to save their lives. It is very important, as a professional, to portray your professionalism in every way.

...

Some mistakes (on the web with fast messages and mailings) are OK but it reflects on you quite badly (no matter how good your work is) when people see bad spelling.

Some mistakes are okay, such as when posting fast messages ( ? ) or mailings, but it reflects on you quite badly when people see bad spelling, regardless of how good your work is. (Anyones bad spelling or just bad spelling you typed yourself? I'd hate to think I was being thought less of for someone else's bad spelling.)

I'd like to see more (easier to use?) spell checkers on Forum sites (that is one problem) but I encourage you to be a little more careful when posting or presenting yourself in written formats as it can only help you with respect to image.

I'd like to see easier to use spell checkers on forum sites more often. I would also encourage you to be a little more careful when posting or presenting yourself in written formats; this can only improve your perceived image.

Use a spell checker or a dictionary please.

...

As I said above please take as genuine friendly advice.

As I said above, please take this as genuine, friendly advice. ( Where? )

I love what most of you do and can teach me about Illustrator etc.

I love what most of you do, and can teach me about Illustrator, some other implied list item, etc.

It is something I notice a lot even in my realm of work and it needs to be dealt with.

It is something I notice a lot, even in my realm of work, ( Which, while possibly pertinent, will remain a mystery. Take that Nancy Drew! ) and it needs to be dealt with!

( Emphasis mine. If you're going to lambaste people about their perceived faults, you might want to be more careful about not making them yourself. Sure, we should try to conduct ourselves professionally, but it's what we do that really speaks to our character and skills -MB )

[Fakie]

Go Mindbender, go mindbender .... repeat until bored...

Well said !

[alcbevtesting@alltel.net]

Proofread comments are well taken. I assume you are quite proficient at English as well as your artwork - many, sadly, are not. And that is not a put-down, just a fact of life. Yes I am not perfect (nor do I have any artistic skills) and I make mistakes but I was taught to give presentations and I write professional articles. (Scientific papers to remove your Nancy Drew image of me.) Two points always made clear to me were image coming from spelling and making clear the ideas to be expressed.

My point was not, as you say, to lambaste anyone at all but to state that spelling in your writing is a key (rightly or wrongly) first visual impression of how you might approach your work - neatly or sloppily? I don't care if in posting you misspell words but others you attempt to market to will and should care. That was my point here. Not to proove a "holier than though" image but to help a community of artists that I am coming to respect to continue to market themselves in tough times.

If anyone is still mad with me so be it. No offence was meant in the slightest. I used to be a much better speller but I do rely on spell checkers these days and get frustrated when one is not available (or won't work) in Forum programs. Main point: use them if available - it really helps reading posts and in presenting image. Remember, first impressions count!

Regards,
Gary.

P.S. My tone was not such an issue as I "see" with other posts which do get into a war of put-downs on fellow members. (There I guess I just opened another "can o' worms.)

[TORCH511]

Bobby H.

I would like to thank you for the comments. It is good advice. And I can tell you that the process has very much been in line with what you suggested. I will tell you that hiring an outside agency to do the job is our of the question (more like out of the budget) however, while it has been some time, I do hold a degree in graphic art and design. Though I am better suited on the technical side of things, I do have SOME creative ability.

If anyone is curious, the creative process so far has been as such... Some old sketchbooks and marker pads were dusted off, a set for home and a set for work along with some favorite all graphite pencils, fresh erasers and a few trusty Prismacolor markers. Starting with a simple list of keywords that describe our business, went on to make some doodles of each. Took some of the better ones and went on to make some simple line sketches, making lots of variations. After pages and pages of doodles, thumbnails and sketches, certain designs start to pop out. Picked out about a half dozen of those, drew them on paper, markered them up, scanned and then into Illustrator.

And I wish it were that easy, but as they are created digitally in Illustrator, they go through so many variations, changing the smallest things. Along the way, I have had a handful of trusted friends and fellow employees, and an additional handful of trusted internet aqaintances (all designers of some sort) take a look and make comments and suggestions.

It has been fun so far. It is good to really get an open ended chance to be creative. When you are designing a keypad overlay for a customer there is not a whole lot of freedom.

[rachelle]

I have busted my butt to get to where I am, and while it has been a very long journey, I have gotten far beyond what I thought ever possible. I would love to hear from others about where they are in their careers, how they got there and where they think it will go.



I really want a new job right now, I do not like what I am doing. But I don't know what I should even do right now. I have been trying to tough it out while I make myself learn more Flash and soon to be CS3, and reading some books about design and playing and such.. anyway, I'm trying to make myself better before getting a new job, but I don't know how much longer I can hold out. Design jobs are hard to find in some places, such as where I am from (I'd like to move back closer to home-in Louisiana-I am currently in VA) and there are some great jobs in other places that are so hard to get because I am either too far away and they don't want to bother, or I am not good enough.

I have a Master's in graphic design, and I hate to tell people that because some will look at my work and say 'this is from someone with a master's degree?' I don't let that get to me too much because criticism will happen no matter what.. but honestly, I did not go to grad school for a degree so I can teach and such, I needed more direction and wanted to learn more.. I'm just lost now on what I should do..

So that might be more than yall wanted to know, but just needed to get it out. :)

[TORCH511]

I totally get where you are coming from since 4 years ago, I was in the same place you are. I was working for a digital imaging lab, making decent money but:

A.) I just did not see what I was doing as a career, it was just a really good job.

and B.) Even though the money was good, it still was not enough. My wife and I just had our 4th kid, and the job took up so much of my time, I could not work a second job or have her work part time.

Life changes are difficult. Even changing directions when you know it is something positive can still be difficult. 2 bits of advice. Don't stop trying to learn and grow (and it certainly appears you are doing the right thing), and don't EVER say you are not good enough for anything.

[semimoto]

no torch it would seem to me yet another horn tooting opt.
mabey you can find a pluggin for some humility,
semimoto
torch, i apoligize, the sarcasm was uncalled for,


semi

[JDub]

Sorry, Torch. I disagree.
Some people are NOT good enough for some things.
Those who are wise know the difference, and will readily admit that a job or position is beyond their level of knowledge and expertise.

THOSE are the ones I have hired, and will continue to hire.
Their attitude demonstrates the most important trait (in my opinion) to be found in a graphic artist... teachability.

In the words of Lucy to Charlie Brown...
"Admitting you are blah is the first step up from blah-dom."

-J

[JDub]

Gary:
If you're using a mac and Safari, spellcheck by holding mouse over word and pressing Apple-Control-D... quick, easy and handy for those words that we don't necessarily use in daily digital communication such as sesquipedalian.

-J

[TORCH511]

First things first. Semi- no apology necessary. Kudos to anyone that is willing to shovel it back in my direction every now and then.

That being said:

Sorry, Torch. I disagree.
Some people are NOT good enough for some things.
Those who are wise know the difference, and will readily admit that a job or position is beyond their level of knowledge and expertise.

THOSE are the ones I have hired, and will continue to hire.
Their attitude demonstrates the most important trait (in my opinion) to be found in a graphic artist... teachability.
-J

JDub, I think the two of us are on the same wavelength here. When I say not to ever think that you can not do something, that does not mean that there is no learning curve involved. I mean it more in the sense that if anyone TRULY puts their mind to something and puts forth enough effort, that they can learn and succeed at just about anything. And yes, I understand that in some areas, some people just have more natural ability than others. Creativity is a hard thing to learn and almost impossible to teach. And yes, people will have a better sucess rate if they are smart enough to stear themselves into areas where they have more natural ability.

Still, attitude is half the battle and I will go to my grave always believing I can do (learn) anything. Good comment though and it does illustrate a good point about being able to self-evaluate yourself and know your strengths and weaknesses.

Lastly:

A logo update. Deadline suddenly got moved up. Final design is being selected on Friday. We had an improptu meeting with most of the high ups and narrowed down 9 concepts down to really 2 of them. There is a third but the other two are much stronger. I have a meeting tomorrow to go over the concepts with the owner in more detail, and then submit the final workups by COB on Thurdsay, which sucks because we are having a company BBQ on Thursday and I am the chef. Long 2 nights ahead.

[rachelle]

well I'd like to think I have some abilities. I did win a few nice awards over the past few years. :p The thing is..I am often overly critical of my own work so I tend to think my work isn't good enough sometimes. And that is the frustrating part. When I have clients that work with me as I wish they all would, good things happen and then I make stuff that I'm proud of. But I need a self-esteem booster sometimes, now being one of those times.

I don't hate my job because of the work, I just feel like its not enough. There isn't much to learn from it anymore. Surely, I could go to work and "make every day a challenge" as certain people in the office say, but really those people make me sick. I just do the same thing every day, for different customers, but it all boils down to the same stuff over and over. I'm bored. And I start thinking of ways to make an ad better, send it to the customer and they say I am an incompetent fool..well only one said that..but you get the idea. So I hope that I am teachable. I like to think I am. I don't think I was blessed with ultimate natural creativity, but I like what I do and I don't want to quit.

Is it too much to ask for job that I really like and my boss likes me and understands that I won't do perfect wonderful work every single time, but will help me through those times when I don't??? :rolleyes::D

Thank you Torch and Hexabuzz for the advice, it is much appreciated!

[JDub]

Torch.
Yah, mon.
Same wavelength.
I too believe that if you don't know something, or haven't mastered it, and you have the I CAN do it spirit, and you apply yourself, you can succeed.

5 years ago I knew nothing about CTP.
We spent 600,000.
I read just under 10000 pages of manuals.
No surprise I can teach the techs from Heidelb#rg a thing or 2wo.

It's all about application.

That's why I love AI.

;)
J

PS: Rachelle
20 years in the biz.
Great money, daily job blôz.
I know the feeling.
Any principals out there with a good challenge for someone who lives and breathes them???

[Hexabuzz]

Rachelle (and everyone whoever finds themselves in a rut - myself included...)

Try this...

http://www.creativecreativity.com/

Dave

[brghtbear]

Sorry, Torch. I disagree.
Some people are NOT good enough for some things.
Those who are wise know the difference, and will readily admit that a job or position is beyond their level of knowledge and expertise.

THOSE are the ones I have hired, and will continue to hire.
Their attitude demonstrates the most important trait (in my opinion) to be found in a graphic artist... teachability.

In the words of Lucy to Charlie Brown...
"Admitting you are blah is the first step up from blah-dom."

-J
Will you hire me?

[brghtbear]

Rachelle (and everyone whoever finds themselves in a rut - myself included...)

Try this...

http://www.creativecreativity.com/

Dave

Fun site! I am going to bookmark it.