Lecture 3 will cover sound, animation and video. Below is the link for our lecture:
Lec3 - Sound, Animation and Video
Our next meeting for next year 2012 is on 5th January.
Happy New Year to all! :)
Friday, December 30, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Multimedia - Announcement 1
We don't need to meet this Thursday, 8th December, since I already uploaded the videos for the following multimedia elements: audio and video. I suggest you just watch the following videos yourself during your spare time, and you are required to watch them all as they will come out on our written exam.
You may submit your reflection paper about Graphicon on Thursday at the IC Office, just hand it over to Fritzielaine "Pretty" Barcena.
We will meet 1st week of January to discuss about animation principles.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Multimedia - Assessment 1 : Logo Design
Criteria Sheet for Assessment 1: Logo Design
What Is A Logo?
To understand what a logo is, we first must understand what the main purpose of logos is. The design process must aim to make the logo immediately recognizable, inspiring trust, admiration, loyalty and an implied superiority. The logo is one aspect of a company’s commercial brand or economic entity, and its shapes, colors, fonts, and images usually are strikingly different from other logo in the same market niche. Logos are used to identify.
Paul Rand, one of the world’s greatest designers states that “a logo is a flag, a signature, an escutcheon, a street sign. A logo does not sell (directly), it identifies. A logo is rarely a description of a business. A logo derives meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes, not the other way around. A logo is less important than the product it signifies; what it represents is more important than what it looks like. The subject matter of a logo can be almost anything.”
What Makes A Good Logo?
A good logo is distinctive, appropriate, practical, graphic and simple in form, and it conveys the owner’s intended message. A concept or “meaning” is usually behind an effective logo, and it communicates the intended message. A logo should be able to be printed at any size and, in most cases, be effective without color. A great logo essentially boils down to two things: great concept and great execution.
Logo Design Process
“Some wonder what’s so difficult about creating a good logo. They’re small, they look easy to do, so no problem, right? When you only see the result of a designer’s efforts, the logo creation can look like it was a simple task. But it’s not. A logo takes thought and creativity, and many elements combine to make a good one.”
When creating a logo, follow a process that ensures the final design meets the needs of the clients. Below, we have listed the typical process that professional logo designers follow. With practice, you will no doubt develop your own.
Design brief.
Conduct a questionnaire or interview with the client to get the design brief.
Research.
Conduct research on the industry itself, its history and competitors. Problem-solve first, design later.
Conduct research on the industry itself, its history and competitors. Problem-solve first, design later.
Reference.
Conduct research on logo designs that have been successful and on current styles and trends that may relate to the design brief. Follow trends not for their own sake but rather to be aware of them: longevity in logo design is key.
Conduct research on logo designs that have been successful and on current styles and trends that may relate to the design brief. Follow trends not for their own sake but rather to be aware of them: longevity in logo design is key.
Sketching and conceptualizing.
Develop the logo design concept(s) around the brief and your research. This is the single most important part of the design process. Get creative and be inspired. As Dainis Graveris has written once, “sketching isn’t time-consuming and is a really good way to put ideas in your head right on paper. After that, it’s always easier to actually design it on the computer. Sketching helps to evolve your imagination: once you understand it, you will always start from just white paper.
Reflection.
Take breaks throughout the design process. This helps your ideas mature, renews your enthusiasm and allows you to solicit feedback. It also gives you a fresh perspective on your work.
Take breaks throughout the design process. This helps your ideas mature, renews your enthusiasm and allows you to solicit feedback. It also gives you a fresh perspective on your work.
Revisions and positioning.
Whether you position yourself as a contractor (i.e. getting instructions from the client) or build a long-lasting relationship (i.e. guiding the client to the best solution), revise and improve the logo as required.
Presentation.
Present only your best logo designs to your client. PDF format usually works best. You may also wish to show the logo in context, which will help the client more clearly visualize the brand identity. Preparing a high-quality presentation is the single most effective way to get your clients to approve your designs.
Present only your best logo designs to your client. PDF format usually works best. You may also wish to show the logo in context, which will help the client more clearly visualize the brand identity. Preparing a high-quality presentation is the single most effective way to get your clients to approve your designs.
“Canned presentations have the ring of emptiness. The meaningful presentation is custom designed—for a particular purpose, for a particular person. How to present a new idea is, perhaps, one of the designer’s most difficult tasks. This how is not only a design problem, it also pleads for something novel.
Everything a designer does involve presentation of some kind—not only how to explain (present) a particular design to an interested listener (client, reader, spectator), but how the design may explain itself in the marketplace… A presentation is the musical accompaniment of design. A presentation that lacks an idea cannot hide behind glamorous photos, pizazz, or ballyhoo. If it is full of gibberish, it may fall on deaf ears; if too laid back, it may land a prospect in the arms of Morpheus.” (Paul Rand)
Delivery and support.
Deliver the appropriate files to the client and give all support that is needed. Remember to under-promise and over-deliver. After you’ve finished, have a beer, eat some chocolate and then start your next project.
5 Principles Of Effective Logo Design
As mentioned, a good logo is distinctive, appropriate, practical, graphic and simple in form, and it conveys the owner’s intended message. You should follow the five principles below to ensure that your design meets all of these criteria:
- Simple
- Memorable
- Timeless
- Versatile
- Appropriate
1. Simple (20%)
Simplicity makes a logo design easily recognizable, versatile and memorable. Good logos feature something unexpected or unique, without being “overdrawn.”
Example: Nike Logo
2. Memorable (20%)
Following closely on this principle of simplicity is that of memorability. An effective logo design should be memorable, which is achieved by keeping it simple yet appropriate.
Example: McDonald's Logo
3. Timeless (20%)
An effective logo should be timeless. Will yours stand the test of time? Will it still be effective in 10, 20 or 50 years?
Example: Underground Logo
4. Versatile (20%)
An effective logo works across a variety of media and applications. For this reason, logos should be designed in vector format, to ensure that they scale to any size.
Ask yourself, is your logo still effective if it is printed…
- In one color?
- In reverse color (i.e. light logo on dark background)?
- The size of a postage stamp?
- As large as a billboard?
One way to create a versatile logo is to begin designing in black and white. This allows you to focus on the concept and shape, rather than color, which is subjective in nature. Also keep in mind printing costs: the more colors you use, the more expensive it will be for the business over the long term.
Example: WWF Logo
5. Appropriate (20%)
How you “position” the logo should be appropriate for its intended audience. For example, a child-like font and color scheme would be appropriate for a logo for a children’s toy store, not so much for a law firm.
Example: ToysRUs Logo
Technical Specifications
You are to create a logo design for the Institute of Computing. For this assessment, you are required to use Adobe Illustrator for your design.
The assessment is due 1st week of January 2012.
For electronic submission via email (maui_m@yahoo.com) are the following:
- Adobe illustrator file (.ai)
- Image file (.png or .jpeg)
- PDF file showing the original size, scaled up size (+50%), and scaled down size (-50%)
Multimedia - 45 Rules for Creating a Great Logo Design
This list is an exploration of design principles used in some of the world's most famous logos. At the same time, the list was created as a way for designers to question themselves and the creative techniques they use when creating a logo design. Forcing the reader to reflect not only on the actual list, but also on their reaction to each listed insight, the last rule is the most important.
1. Do not use more than three colors.
2. Get rid of everything that is not absolutely necessary.
3. Type must be easy enough for your grandma to read.
4. The logo must be recognizable.
5. Create a unique shape or layout for the logo.
6. Completely ignore what your parents and/or spouse think about the design.
7. Confirm that the logo looks appealing to more than just three (3) individuals.
8. Do not combine elements from popular logos and claim it as original work.
9. Do not use clipart under any circumstances.
10. The logo should look good in black and white.
11. Make sure that the logo is recognizable when inverted.
12. Make sure that the logo is recognizable when resized.
13. If the logo contains an icon or symbol, as well as text, place each so that they complement one another.
14. Avoid recent logo design trends. Instead, make the logo look timeless.
15. Do not use special effects (including, but not limited to: gradients, drop shadows, reflections, and light bursts).
16. Fit the logo into a square layout if possible, avoid obscure layouts.
17. Avoid intricate details.
18. Consider the different places and ways that the logo will be presented.
19. Invoke feelings of being bold and confident, never dull and weak.
20. Realize that you will not create a perfect logo.
21. Use sharp lines for sharp businesses, smooth lines for smooth businesses.
22. The logo must have some connection to what it is representing.
23. A photo does not make a logo.
24. You must surprise customers with presentation.
25. Do not use more than two fonts.
26. Each element of the logo needs to be aligned. Left, center, right, top, or bottom.
27. The logo should look solid, with no trailing elements.
28. Know who is going to be looking at the logo before you think of ideas for it.
29. Always choose function over innovation.
30. If the brand name is memorable, the brand name should be the logo.
31. The logo should be recognizable when mirrored.
32. Even large companies need small logos.
33. Everyone should like the logo design, not just the business that will use it.
34. Create variations. The more variations, the more likely you are to get it right.
35. The logo must look consistent across multiple platforms.
36. The logo must be easy to describe.
37. Do not use taglines in the logo.
38. Sketch out ideas using paper and pencil before working on a computer.
39. Keep the design simple.
40. Do not use any “swoosh” or “globe”symbols.
41. The logo should not be distracting.
42. It should be honest in its representation.
43. The logo should be balanced visually.
44. Avoid bright, neon colors and dark, dull colors.
45. The logo must not break any of the above rules.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)