Boing Boing: It's fun to watch an A-list designer like Aaron Draplin (creator of Field Notes notebooks) how he goes about designing a new logo. Here, he was challenged to design a logo for a concrete foundation company. He starts by just writing the name of the company with pencil and paper (not on a computer) and sees what the letters suggest.
7 comments:
I really enjoyed listening to this man talk about design. I found that all of his suggestions can be applied to my work as a theater designer. The most influential part was how he was talking about starting the work with his hands. I have a bad habit of immediately moving my ideas from my head into a computer, and I hope to fix that in the future. The way that he plays around with so many different ideas and sees what sticks really spoke to me, because that's how I like to design as well. I think that it would be a good exercise to practice designing by doing something similar to what he did once a week, or more. Just pick a random company online, or make one up, and try to design a logo in thirty minutes. Maybe I'll start doing that.
I feel like I am an expert logo designer just after watching that video. But actually, that was incredible to watch. At no point did he make any incredibly creative jumps that I felt I couldn’t make. His progress was a slow progression from obvious ideas to really beautiful logos. That is not to say I could do what he just did, but that he shows that it is not impossible to do what he just did. Obviously he has some very impressive illustrator skills, but even what he did on paper was impressive. That is what we are working on in TDIII, working with sketches to get ideas down, ideas that are easily manipulated and once we are happy with something, we can move on to more of a set in stone model. I am also inspired by his tactic of copy and pasting his drawing every time he adds something so that he can go back and edit from a previous version.
This was mesmerizing to watch. He’s so quick with his decisions and making tiny tweaks that just elevate the design from good to great. Like changing the color between the three part son the logo, not to vastly different colors, but just different shades of the same color. So obvious to do since you don’t want to overwhelm the viewer, but so simple. Also his ease at swapping between designs and not getting attached to any of them is inspiring. I always tend to get really attached to a design, and forget how good it is to sometimes start over with a new approach and maybe take one or two ideas and go forward from there. And with logo design there is the added layer that you aren’y the final decider on the logo- it’s the client. Lastly, I really liked his emphasis on pencil and paper design before computer design. Even with how fast he was at manipulating Illustrator, he still recommend paper first. It’s something I could work on more in my tech design.
I am so jealous of this man’s talent. Aaron designs these great logos with such ease, and it seems like he knows exactly what to do. I’ve never had a knack for logo or digital design items, but I’ve always wanted to learn. Except is it actually something one can learn? I feel like this may be something you’re just born with, or have a natural talent for. Sadly, I do not have this natural talent, so I’m left to watching other people with this natural talent design these wonderful logos like it doesn’t even take any effort whatsoever. Obviously, I know it takes effort, and Aaron Draplin is a long time professional of logo art, so I can’t really expect myself to be that good right out of the gates. But I’ve never had a knack for logo designs; I had a friend design my personal logo because I kept coming up blank.
This was so amazing! I really liked his aesthetic and that he was focused on designs that did not look like they came from a specific time, but rather were universally appealing. The simplicity was really interesting. I loved that he figured out how to convey so much with simple shapes and some wise color choices. It’s amazing how a good logo can instantly help you identify a company. Target is a good example. The Morton Salt seems to be the other end of that spectrum. That logo looks like it is from a specific time, but it is trying to be nostalgic. The really interesting thing is that that logo has also changed over the years.
http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/new_logo_for_morton_salt_by_addison_pause_for_thought.php
It is really interesting how small changes can reflect the aesthetic of the time. I think the general trend at the moment is simplicity. Logos are streamlined and simple. Even the Morton girl just got a makeover. She has even simpler lines than the previous rendition.
How do logos reflect the world? There are so many logos that you look at and instantly know when that company last updated their design. I like that his goal is to avoid that era labeling, but I don't know if it is possible to design outside your time.
This is an interesting video and certainly more relevant to me now than it has been in the past. The value of sketching is more clearly explained from an artistic and creative sense than a practical sense here. Most people, however, won’t have books of trademarks, logos, and corporate branding. Most people might not even find or have access to videos like this one. One of the biggest lessons in this video is to make copies of everything and modify those, not the originals. You might want to go back to what you did previously or go back in your train of thought to go forward. This is Aaron’s process. A different process might work better for others, but I think that there are certain elements that can be translated no matter what the process. The ideas of thinking about what the name of the company is, what they do, their history, and how what they do might imply a certain color palette are ideas that can transcend any process.
Logo design is incredibly interesting to me. I took a whole bunch of graphic design classes in middle school, but in high school I realized I love hand drawing things much more. I think to have the skill of being able to hand draw and use the computer to create things is a very important skill to have in almost every field, and that is something I’d like to get better at. The other piece of logos that I think is cool is the very specific purpose it serves. People have to recognize the logo, understand it, and be drawn into it at less than a second’s glance. The logo also has to accurately represent the company, and portray the company’s essence and beliefs in a simple way. That is a ton of things to squeeze together, all into one symbol. I also agree with Monica’s comment, I always get very attached to my favorite ideas and have a hard time letting go, even if it would be more beneficial to starts over with a fresh mind. When something can be as abstract as logos can be, this mentality is key.
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