The Graphic Design Thread - Drop It Like a Hotkey - Creationism Corner

Well, seeing as Creationism Corner was destroyed... [img]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/fgd-01.jpg[/img] [b]The Graphic Design Thread[/b] In this thread creative and critical minds come together to share their knowledge and inspiration, to discuss their work, ask for advice, and post examples of their own work. What to post in this thread: - Print work such as posters, booklets, business cards, stuff what is on paper - Branding such as logos, patterns, brand packages, stuff what identifies a company / person / etc - Typography such as custom fonts, typographic layouts, stuff what creatively uses the digital written word - Motion graphics, Collage, Grids, Layouts, Mock-Ups, and much much more - If you made it using photoshop, gimp, paint.net, illustrator, inDesign, and such types of programs... it likely counts. - Questions related to design practice, theory, tools, pricing, etc - Discussion on trends, philosophy & theory, and anything related to the field - Updates on your career / ambitions You don't have to post your own work exclusively, but if it is someone else's work PLEASE PROVIDE CREDIT AND A SOURCE to further the education and inspiration of those around you. This has always been one of the most friendly threads on the forum in my opinion, let's try to keep it that way. Advice should be critical but constructive and friendly. If someone posts something that is very amateur, don't just say it sucks; inspire, motivate, encourage, and assist; we all started somewhere. Enough rewls: Start off with some of my work and I'll try to add some highlights from the last thread when I get a second: [img]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/arch-01.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/battlecubes-01.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/bcb-01.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/cart-01.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/defused-01.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/dorado-01.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/dracula-01.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/gamecloud-01.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/inverted-01.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/steinbachfly.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/silvereye-01.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/norwind-01.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/stormblade-01.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/thrill-01.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/topline-01.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/tvivel-01.jpg[/img]

can I get some general advice on lettering/script logos? I have what I would consider a [url=http://i.imgur.com/ClSGbVT.png]decent layout[/url] (although criticism is welcome), what do I do from here? should I flatten transparency/outline stroke and change the widths after, or just do it by hand? how can I stay centered around my outlines?

[QUOTE=PortalGod;46936740]can I get some general advice on lettering/script logos? I have what I would consider a [url=http://i.imgur.com/ClSGbVT.png]decent layout[/url] (although criticism is welcome), what do I do from here? should I flatten transparency/outline stroke and change the widths after, or just do it by hand? how can I stay centered around my outlines?[/QUOTE] If you were using illustrator it would most likely be a lot easier. You can use the width tool in Illustrator to change the width of the stroke at any point on a path. You could also use a calligraphy brush in either illustrator or photoshop, but I would recommend illustrator still since it is vector and vector is really great if you are doing graphic design. Here is a video: [hd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdRWv5yGEHg[/hd] I only skimmed through, but the title seems to fit exactly with what I am trying to convey to you.

[QUOTE=Skwee;46936927]If you were using illustrator it would most likely be a lot easier. You can use the width tool in Illustrator to change the width of the stroke at any point on a path.[/QUOTE] I am using illustrator, that picture's just in outline mode I can't believe I've never seen that before though, thanks!

There seem to be some awesome new features in CC illustrator added in october (curvature and join path tool). I wish I had it at home, but I can only use it at school. And I mean since I already own cs6 I don't see a reason to do subscription based for a while, even though there are some really cool things to use.

[QUOTE=PortalGod;46936740]can I get some general advice on lettering/script logos? I have what I would consider a [url=http://i.imgur.com/ClSGbVT.png]decent layout[/url] (although criticism is welcome), what do I do from here? should I flatten transparency/outline stroke and change the widths after, or just do it by hand? how can I stay centered around my outlines?[/QUOTE] although finishing it in illustrator is what you'll want to do and the width tool is (as said) extremely useful, but i'd always recommending starting out by hand. curves normally flow a lot more naturally if you're doing them by hand. once you've got a good idea of what you want then go back to illustrator and play with your paths then. also it might just be me, but i think just showing the outline mode to show calligraphic work is quite odd, since (unless you're working with type that is only a keyline thick, which seems unlikely) you need some visual reference for how wide the strokes are going to be, even if it is just a basic 1 or 2pt stroke [editline]15th January 2015[/editline] also here are a couple of things i've done: [url=https://goo.gl/maps/mNV84]mantanani island[/url] - small island off the coast of borneo i stayed on for a month a few years ago, turtle conservation is really big out there [t]http://i.imgur.com/lYllKGK.png[/t] [t]http://i.imgur.com/yIMiDwz.png[/t] comic book noises - old fashioned comic book noises that have now been made into prints and cushions [url=http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/coconutgrass/product/pop-pop-art-cushion]online[/url] [t]http://i.imgur.com/wM9lb6v.png[/t] [t]http://i.imgur.com/gKtJUzZ.png[/t] ted's tea party - D&AD brief in 2012, "introduce Ted Baker to a new country", i chose china. the idea was to create a set of tea party events that would introduce the chinese market to ted baker and it's core english values, and one of the biggest cultural things we share is a love for tea (although we both do it quite differently), so it was meant to be a mashup of english and chinese tea culture. hence the chinese papercut doily, the chinese guardian lion pose for a british bulldog etc. [t]http://i.imgur.com/8TeriUG.jpg[/t] [t]http://i.imgur.com/N4gJieh.jpg[/t] [t]http://i.imgur.com/X0E0CuM.jpg[/t] 2nd year university project - milk & cereal font. made this out of real cheerios, it took ages! [t]http://i.imgur.com/LmDXb96.png[/t] [t]http://i.imgur.com/aq2b79I.png[/t]

I'm not big into gd but you have some really nice stuff there smeetin

Thanks Mako. I really like those pillows there Autumn, I've tried and failed at that effect several times, thwarted by something as simple as the dot pattern (in illustrator anyways). Are you still doing package design and the sort? I liked a lot of your past work.

i am indeed! it's my 9-5 job and although it's not as freely creative as i might wish (but hey, when you're working with clients you rarely have that chance!) i really can't complain, i enjoy the vast majority of my work and you're already lucky if you can say you enjoy your job. we work primarily with produce growers so it's all fresh fruit and a lot of vegetables, perhaps not the most exciting of areas but i really enjoy food so it doesn't phase me, there's just not always the opportunity to create the 'best' design when you're trying to market potatoes. there's bread and butter work like creating presentations for pitches and simple communication materials to be distributed between businesses, but when i get a packaging job it makes it all worth while. i've done a lot of jobs since starting there 18+ months ago but often it's amendments to existing packaging or slowly updating it, it's rare to get a clean slate and start fresh with new design thoughts. anyway just two projects i've been quite happy with, that i've designed from start to finish: jaffa christmas orange box - they wanted a christmas style box designing from scratch to sell over the festive period. nothing particularly exciting about this but it was about 6 months after i started, to then go to the a national supermarket and see it right there for sale was pretty cool. sorry about the potato quality, i'll be getting a better photo from the box we have in the office when i have a chance, for my own records at least. [t]http://i.imgur.com/lbemgWD.jpg[/t] and this is probably one of my favourite projects ever, a small(ish) farm approached us and asked us to brand them and create a set of packaging designs to be produced and sent out - if you can't already tell they're onion and shallot growers [t]http://i.imgur.com/sfQ67fJ.jpg[/t] [t]http://i.imgur.com/SK3bgoP.jpg[/t] (again sorry for some of the photo quality, they're not my shots) it's probably not very interesting from a pure graphic design side, but i'm enjoying it and so far the clients seem to be very happy so hey ho!

Glad to hear it! Your work is awesome. A logo I made recently for a game someone I know is working on, a harvest moonish village building kind of thing. [t]https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Brandyn_Norwind/new_Astraea2_STYLIZED_FINAL-01.png?_subject_uid=254168413&w=AAAFB1tbIkNB04Y6TfmYohHt1pCepI8KjrCyyK900S9QqA[/t]

For everyone who's actually good at GD unlike me, what's the best way to develop and learn? Is just doing stuff all the time the best way, or are there things to study as well? I've done a [URL="http://imgur.com/a/lX70J"]few things that are "eh"[/URL] for my school and while I'm not looking to pursue GD as a full-time career, I enjoy it and would love to get better.

While a lot of your work right now is simple typographic exercise (good, but simple), I would say that you have a good eye and definite potential. Unless you are planning on going to school, the way to learn is simply to do it a lot. I started off about 12 years ago making "signatures" for forums using gimp and following tutorials (but making my own thing using the techniques shown; which is important). This taught me how to use the tools, what blending modes could do, what colours worked together for the most part, and some basic typography. By no means am I saying people should make signatures *shudder,* I simply am saying that as long as you are working with the tools and trying, anything can be a valuable start / learning tool. However, knowing what I know now, I would suggest doing some basic reading (even just web articles) on the Principles of Design (contrast, balance, harmony, unity, etc) to start with. Then maybe some on basic make up of fonts, basic colour theory, and grids. Also, learn to sketch. On paper is probably best, but I myself sketch on the computer. Throw lots of ideas on to the page. I always figure that you have to get all of the bad ideas out of your brain before the good ones can come out. Iterations are your friend, if something doesn't look good right off the bat, don't give up, tweak and tweak again as long as you still think there is a valuable idea being explored. You may still end up joining it with a complete other idea though. Oh, and K.I.S.S. ("Keep it simple stupid") is a rule you should keep with you. Simple doesn't mean the same as plain, however you have to be very aware of the point when adding something more no longer helps the design. Less is more (more often than not). Then I would say just starting making things. Follow tutorials, but use the techniques shown to make your own unique work / try using the techniques shown for other things while watching (making exactly what the tutorial shows does very little to help learn in my opinion). It is good practice often to look at inspiration or something that you really like and try to recreate it yourself also. Make challenges for yourself.

Made this logo for my portfolio website. [img]http://i.imgur.com/QJmz5zS.png[/img] The site's name is a play on my own initials (WIP) and "work in progress".

Nothing too grand on my side. I do work as a freelancer in the games industry as a 3D and 2D artist but form time to time I do some logos here and there. Doing logos is more a hobby of mine actually. Logo for a videogame company I worked for [thumb]http://abload.de/img/luminousentertainment1batk.png[/thumb] The idea was to change the orange into another color based on the released game Another company that was in need of a logo incidentially they wanted a fox aswell for their compay. The sheets are from a presentation for this game. [thumb]http://abload.de/img/9_teamejxcn.jpg[/thumb] [thumb]http://abload.de/img/filler_noodlesw0l5o.jpg[/thumb] A fictional beer brand I created for "DasBoSchitt" and his universe [thumb]http://abload.de/img/bounding_boulder1tbus.png[/thumb] Some fictional emblems [thumb]http://abload.de/img/random_roundels86xnn.png[/thumb] [thumb]http://abload.de/img/logosweirddpuvp.png[/thumb] As I said, logodesign is just a hobby of mine and I barely do it professionaly, also I do think it's a cute collection I got there of stuff but nothing near a professional level. Here is the other stuff I usually do in the industry: [thumb]http://abload.de/img/sat_humanoid_041wpws.jpg[/thumb] [thumb]http://abload.de/img/slidewayscrash2rpyz.jpg[/thumb] [thumb]http://abload.de/img/rapixize1x.png[/thumb] [thumb]http://abload.de/img/andererequalizer1mqok.jpg[/thumb]

[QUOTE=Smeetin;46936360][img]http://www.kenoncreative.com/images/logos/dorado-01.jpg[/img][/QUOTE] Damn, that logo.

Thanks mate, one of my favourite concepts, though the type is a bit lacking. Those emblems are sick DMGaina, hobby or not, you could probably do it professionally if you wanted. -- I'm gonna keep posting random stuff that I have done to try to spur this thread on / keep it around, I'm busy with my job at the moment, so I don't have much recent stuff unfortunately, but I might be able to find stuff I haven't posted on here. Here is a brand image / logo thing I made for a youtube channel that I was thinking of starting, but ... didn't. The name never really caught me: [t]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/quickload4.jpg[/t]

QUICKY LOAD

Ya exactly. I thought it made more sense than quicksave (which was obviously taken), but I knew what it sounded like. Was a fun experiment anyways. (oh, and I suppose that is what the keyboard spells, didn't realize that either haha.)

My friend is starting a metalfestival in our town Doing the poster for him [img]http://i.gyazo.com/fa07e74466837b4f3ef94a18cf721979.png[/img]

The vector work is nice but I am not a fan of your choice of colors. If printed on grayscale there won't be a lot of contrast and it likely will look strange. I think the list of bands should be a different color too.

Man I'm just glad it's not that bandlogo fuckfest to set out who has the most illegible name of all time.

Hey yo speaking of graphic design what's a good place to get a crash course on typography? My logo game sucks and I'd like to step it up a notch by making any words not look like garbage.

found a neat ref relevant to the thread title [t]http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9vhns5h7p1r423k6o1_1280.jpg[/t] [t]http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9vhns5h7p1r423k6o2_1280.jpg[/t] [t]http://41.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9vhns5h7p1r423k6o3_1280.jpg[/t] [t]http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9vhns5h7p1r423k6o4_1280.jpg[/t] various wallpaper sizes available for download at the [url=http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/adobe-suite-toolbar-shortcut-wallpapers/]source[/url]

^ That's handy, nice.

[QUOTE=Smeetin;46936360] [img]http://www.kenoncreative.com/images/logos/defused-01.jpg[/img] [/QUOTE] I figured you'd be happy to know this logo is still proudly used by me :)

I'm currently studying Computer Science, but I'm thinking of taking on a minor in Graphic Design eventually. In addition to being interested in Graphic Design, I also think UX (User Experience design) sounds pretty cool. Does anyone here in this thread practice UX design, and if so, how much did you study up on Graphic Design?

[QUOTE=Asgard;46966961]I figured you'd be happy to know this logo is still proudly used by me :)[/QUOTE] I would be happy to know that. Thanks! I've made a bunch of stuff for Facepunchers over the years and only a couple got used for more than like a day. (Thank you to you and Tvivel, and I think Dorado although I've never been able to find a site for it.) [editline]19th January 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=BlindSniper17;46967081]I'm currently studying Computer Science, but I'm thinking of taking on a minor in Graphic Design eventually. In addition to being interested in Graphic Design, I also think UX (User Experience design) sounds pretty cool. Does anyone here in this thread practice UX design, and if so, how much did you study up on Graphic Design?[/QUOTE] I've done a bit of web design and some of the paper work stuff I've done this year has required similar thought-process. I'm definitely no where near an expert, but I would say that basic fundamentals would be mostly what you'd need. I would think UX Design would be largely theory and practice. Since it is about efficiency and simplicity and ease of use, I would think being able to make simple and legible graphic work (ie. icons) would be mainly what you would need to know. But really... I'm just guessing haha

So at this point in my life I have more hand-drawings than graphics to show for, and my studies for graphic design only started last semester. But, I'm already trying to think and plan far ahead as I've heard the industry can be iffy and that certain services are not [I]that[/I] in demand. I live in Southern NH, within 45mins of Boston. I know Boston would certainly have [I]some[/I] opportunities for when I graduate (I'd hope so), although not opportunities I wouldn't have to work for. But, Boston would be a big step for me financially, so I'm trying to figure out how to make something work in NH for now. My degree program (Associates) calls for an internship during what would be basically my last semester. So, no matter what I'd probably at the very least walk away with a networking reference and a little experience. Ideally I'd land a job at the internship, but that's just not always viable. What tips can you give to someone with a fairly limited GD skill set, and how did you guys start out? I'm still determined to make something of this interest and go somewhere with it, but I've realized the hurdles may be more difficult than I thought.

[QUOTE=NO ONE;46983050]So at this point in my life I have more hand-drawings than graphics to show for, and my studies for graphic design only started last semester. But, I'm already trying to think and plan far ahead as I've heard the industry can be iffy and that certain services are not [I]that[/I] in demand. I live in Southern NH, within 45mins of Boston. I know Boston would certainly have [I]some[/I] opportunities for when I graduate (I'd hope so), although not opportunities I wouldn't have to work for. But, Boston would be a big step for me financially, so I'm trying to figure out how to make something work in NH for now. My degree program (Associates) calls for an internship during what would be basically my last semester. So, no matter what I'd probably at the very least walk away with a networking reference and a little experience. Ideally I'd land a job at the internship, but that's just not always viable. What tips can you give to someone with a fairly limited GD skill set, and how did you guys start out? I'm still determined to make something of this interest and go somewhere with it, but I've realized the hurdles may be more difficult than I thought.[/QUOTE] Small world! I live outside Concord. I'm a senior in high school but I landed an paid internship at a printing company through my graphic design teacher. I had basically no experience in print media before this but they taught me everything I needed to know to do my job. I'm sure other internships could be different but that's just how it happened for me and it could be the same for you. I've also spoken with many employed and freelance designers (again, through my teacher) about the job market and it seems not so bad as some make it out to be. Boston would definitely have more opportunities but it isn't going to be impossible to find a job here. I know many colleges have partnerships with firms to give their students internships, have you checked with them about that?

agreed, the job market really isn't as bad as it might seem. there are a lot of rubbish jobs, but also a lot of rubbish designers. our tutor used to tell us that "cream will always rise to the top", i.e. if you're good enough in terms of both design skill and personality/drive (which is just as, if not more, important - if you can believe it) then you will find your calling somewhere. you might not be lucky enough to walk out of your studies and straight into a job, but if you're hard working and proactive about gaining experience then you'll be fine, really. and if you've only just started your studies then i really wouldn't be worrying about your job prospects at the end, it's good to be aware that there can be some tough competition but generally speaking that shouldn't be an overbearing thought. and what do you mean hand-drawings versus graphics? do you mean finished digital pieces compared to pencil drawings? that is no bad thing. something that is not 100% essential to being a designer is the ability to draw, but my god does it help. i know a few people who are good designers but really struggle with a pencil, but nearly all the great designers i know are pretty nifty with one. they're not going to kick you out of design studies if you can't draw, but if you can your job (and career) is going to be a lot easier. the best place to start with any design is with a pencil so don't consider that to be a problem, not yet anyway. any experience is still experience so even if you don't get a job with your internship the experience gained there will be invaluable. do not turn down experience, but i mean real experience like a week/month here and there (even if only one day a week, between your studies) working at places, not "oh my friend wants a logo designing, they've got no budget but it'll be really great experience" <- that's not experience. if you're interested enough about it to want to make a career out of it then that's the best starting point, i don't think there'll be as many hurdles as you think.