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Following SMART

October 21, 2014 /

There aren’t many rules when it comes down to logo design. The main job of the logo is to identify your brand. Although there aren’t rules, there are guidelines one can follow.

Simple, Memorable, Appropriate, Resizable, Timeless – SMART.

Simple = Look at some of the most popular logos in the world and see how simple they are. Main examples – Nike, Apple and McDonalds.

Memorable – Achieved by simplicity, creating a logo which is memorable is key to design.

Appropriate – Create a logo which is appropriate for the target audience of the business.

Resizable – If it’s recognisable no matter the size of the logo, then you’ve done well.

Timeless – Can the logo stand the test of time? Trends are only for clothes and music. Make sure your logo stands out.

Cheap and Cheerful Design Software

October 9, 2014 /

Not everybody can afford the costly prices of design giants Adobe. But not to worry, there are excellent free alternatives which can help you design on a budget.

Inkscape

An open-source vector graphics editor, it’s a great alternative for those who cannot afford to use Illustrator. It has a clear interface and is user friendly, containing a 3D boxes tool which allows speedy drawing and editing.

Easel.ly

A great graphic design software which allows you to create infographics for free using stock templates. There are more templates available, but at a cost. You can use different themes and also upload images onto the graphic.

Blender

A 3D graphic software used for creating visual effects and animated films, Blender is great for texturing, simulation, animation and much more. It’s also available on three formats for free – Windows, Mac and Linux.

A Few Tools To Help In Design Work

September 29, 2014 /

The most obvious tools when you think about graphic design are Photoshop, Inkscape and Gimp, but the majority of designers have more than just these tools available to use. We’ve included two other tools you should consider using and even better, they’re free!

Phatch

Phatch is a great graphic application, where you can create actions to run on a folder of images. There are loads of different actions you can use, including: colorize, contour, crop, invert, mirror, shadow. These are only a handful of options, there are many more available.

Color Scheme Generator

Probably going to be the least used tool in your arsenal, but if you ever need to develop a solid colour scheme then this is perfect. You can create small to large colour schemes and you can retrieve the HEX, HSV and RGB values for each colour.

What Different Colours Mean In Logo Design

September 23, 2014 /

When designing a logo, you need to take into consideration the fact that each colour gives a different impression, even if you’re not intending it to. Colours convey a meaning, and logo design needs to take this into consideration.

Blue is the most popular colour to use in a logo, as it seems to show calm and professionalism. It’s also linked with success, hence loads of banks and government bodies have blue in their logo.

Green unsurprisingly is used when emphasising natural, ethical, health in a logo. You will also see it in financial products too, as it shows growth and success.

Red shows energy, danger, passion, warmth etc, hence you’ll see it in a lot of food products. Food chains such as Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Dominos all have red in their logo.

Design Basics (Part 2)

August 28, 2014 /

We continue on our design basics post from last week below;

Size

Designing the right size image is extremely important. Make sure to use scale and proportion so you can indicate the actual size of the object in question.

Space

How much space do you want in your image? Would you like the majority of the image filled with design, because that may come across crowded? You need to find the right mix. So trial and test different versions.

There’s many different stages to your design. You need to question your thought process and understand how you’re using each of the above elements.