Designing With Advanced Techniques

Name: Designing With Advanced Techniques
Author: Joseph Tury

Learn advanced techniques used for logo creation

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Course: On-Demand

In this lesson, you will learn the concept of combining an illustration with type for your logo design. Have you ever seen one of those puzzles where all the vowels have been removed from a block of text and you are still able to read the contents? That is because the human mind can fill in the blanks when looking at familiar words. Combining graphic elements with text works the same way. Balloon is one of the most used examples when it comes to this technique, as the O's are easily replaced by circular shaped balloons. The M in mountain has been replaced by cleverly making the two mountain peaks into the letter M. And perhaps even more stylized version of this concept can be seen in the word rocket where the O is a component of a rocket ship illustration. When used properly, this concept can easily be used in logo design. Make sure you have Illustrator open for this lesson to follow along. With the 10 by 10 artboard created and placed a stylized sketch of a fish into it. Be sure to lock the layer and create another layer above it. Notice I have the background grid turned on and I also have adjusted it in preferences so that my lines are black. I will be creating a vector with you of this stylized fish that we will use in a logo design. Pause the video at any time if you need to catch up. Change the fill color to red so that we have a high contrast color to work with. Many parts of this can be broken down into shapes that we can modify. The body is a rectangle with a couple of offshoots, so select the Rectangular Shape tool. Don't hold Shift as that will make it a square shape. Eyeball it and create a vertical rectangle. Notice that the top corners are rounded. With the white Direct Select tool, shortcut is A on your keyboard, select the top two anchor points. Use the inner control points to round the top edges. Now at the bottom center of the shape, create an additional anchor point by selecting the plus sign on your keyboard and bring up the anchor point tool and click on the shape. Once created, select A on your keyboard, click on the anchor point and drag it down to expand the shape. In the Properties panel, select the Smooth Anchor Point option to create a curve and adjust the handles a bit as I am doing. Remember to break the handles by holding Alt or Option on the first one. Check the overall shape by switching the color to stroke, and then readjust the edges again with the control handles. Make sure to have the anchor point selected properly and click on the handles, not the artboard. The bottom edge of the body is a little bit more concave so go ahead and readjust it. This is why you should go back and forth between fill and stroke. I will often check and recheck the art. Sketches are not always accurate so what I will do is turn the bottom layer off and check the shape with the grid. Right away I notice that the bottom anchor point is not centered, so I will use the direct selection tool to readjust it. Of course, the more accurate you are with the sketch, the less tweaking you will have to do when tracing the shape. However, it's not always necessary as it's easy to fix. Line the shape up on the grid to a point where you can center up the shape and then carefully drag the bottom point into center. If necessary, remember you can go to preferences and adjust the amount of grid lines are available in each section. If you need more to be more accurate with the shape, then go ahead and do so. Next, I want to make the side points smooth. Checking the sketch, you can see how it is more curved. Select both anchor points and select the Smooth option in the Properties panel. Adjust the top handle so that the edges are once again vertical. With the sketch layer visible, you can see that we need to create the lower fin. First I will try an elliptical shape. It kind of fits if I resize it. If I drag the top anchor point over to the left with the direct selection tool, what is my option for the right side? I could add another anchor point, but perhaps a better base shape to work with is another rectangle. It's always good to experiment with the different shapes until you find one that works. Go ahead and delete the elliptical shape and create a rectangle. As we did before, hit the plus key and add another anchor point to the center. A on the keyboard for direct select and drag it down. Move it off to the side to compare.

Intermediate Provider : Joseph Tury 7 Lessons · 36m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

You have successfully completed your first logo and are ready to display it to the world. However, the logo is not quite ready for final output. Although a logo may be technically perfect, it’s important to consider how it will look on certain colored backgrounds—for both print and digital media—and how it will fit into the space provided. It’s also necessary to create a visual mockup of the logo as it will appear in real life, like on a business card.

In these lessons, you will learn how to combine an illustration with type to create a unique look. We’ll go over the importance of including variations in the size and layout of a logo—as well as black-and-white versions—for a multitude of media. We’ll also discuss logo proportions and how to create balance between text and graphics. Then you’ll create a realistic mockup of a logo that could impress any client. Finally, you will learn all about the formats you can save as, and where those formats should be used.

What You'll Learn

Combine an illustration with type to create a unique logo design
Create black-and-white versions of a logo for use across multiple media
Apply proper type-to-image proportions to balance text and graphics
Build versatile logo variations in size and layout to maintain brand standards
Create a realistic digital mockup of a logo on a business card
Save a logo in the correct file formats for print and digital output

Key Takeaways

A technically perfect logo still needs to be checked for how it looks on colored backgrounds and how it fits the space provided, for both print and digital media.
Including size, layout, and black-and-white variations of a logo helps maintain a brand's standards across many types of media.
Logo proportions matter for creating balance between text and graphics.
Creating a realistic mockup shows a logo as it would appear in real life, such as on a business card, to impress clients.
Different file formats are suited to different uses, so the chosen format depends on whether the design is for print or digital media.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this course for?

It is for learners who have completed their first logo and want to prepare it for final output across print and digital media.

What will I learn to create in this course?

You will learn to combine an illustration with type, create black-and-white and size/layout variations, balance type-to-image proportions, build a realistic logo mockup on a business card, and save the logo in the right formats for print or digital media.

Why does the course cover logo variations?

Because variations in size, layout, and black-and-white versions are important for a multitude of media and for maintaining a brand's standards.

Does the course cover file formats?

Yes. It covers the formats you can save a logo as and where each of those formats should be used for print or digital media.

What skills does this course build?

It builds skills in logo design and working with image file formats.