Objective:
You have been asked to choose an object or animal that you think represents you and use that as something to trace in order to learn the pen tool in Illustrator and also create a personal logo.
You will need to think about what qualities the object/animal possesses that you relate to, or that expresses something about you. I will ask you to explain this in your written artist statement when you submit your final work.
Procedure:
1. Select an object/animal that represents you in some way AND that will work well as a graphic pictorial representation. (Think distinctive shape and considerable pattern, lines or shapes within the outline of the object/animal) You MUST choose a photograph to trace and not a graphic.
2. Trace your photograph. Remember to label ALL layers and to put the photo on layer 1 and lock the layer.
3. Once you've traced all the portions of your image, you can begin tweaking the outlines using the white arrow to move any nodes or reposition curves. You can use the Convert anchor point tool to change corner points to curves and vice versa and you can add or subtract anchor points as well. Use the black arrow to move the whole shape without moving individual points.
4. Begin filling in different areas to create 3 versions: 1 - Black and white only 1- Grayscale 1 - Full colour
5. Experiment with how it looks to create the maximum contrast, emphasizing the important areas. Check the links below to understand some of the important aspects of logo design.
6. Colour page - using your base outline - copy and paste your graphic 8-10 times on one artboard in Illustrator. You can then work to create variations on your colour scheme. Think about some of the associations we make with certain colours and try to match the colours you choose to your personality and also to the object/animal you chose.
7. Finishing touches. You might choose to put the graphic image of your logo inside another shape to help contain or emphasize it. You could also have a partial shape, or have the logo overlapping a shape. See below on the colour emotion guide for some ideas about that.
Click here to read more about colour in design. Or check out this handy dandy poster.
7. Bonus - Add typography. If you have time, you can add text to your logo the might include your name, or your name as a graphic designer (ie. Silverman Designs) You can save one final colour version with type for bonus marks.
Submission requirements:
1. Print your final full colour logo with either your black and white OR grayscale (whichever one your prefer)
2. SAVE your logo in your logo folder. First create a folder called AI (or Illustrator files) and also a folder called PNG (for PNG files) labelling each one accordingly (BWlogo_lastnameFirstInitial.ai, Grayscalelogo_LastnameFirstInitial.ai, Finalcolourlogo_Lastname_Firstinitial.ai, Colourversions_LastnameFirstinitial) You will also need to create a web version (png for your blog because you can not put a vector file directly onto the web. From Illustrator choose Export from the File drop down menu. Choose png and save all three versions as pngs.
3. Post your FINAL 3 version (BW, grayscale, final colour) as well as your full page of colour variations on your blog in a blog post titled Illustrator tracing assignment - Logo. Also please post the original photograph that you used to create your logo.
4. Written Statement. You must include a written statement that follows the format below:
WRITTEN STATEMENT: WHAT TO WRITE
1. Where did you begin?
Start by explaining your choice of images and how and why the object/animal you chose connects to you in some way.
2. Elements and Principles.
Now discuss your choices of shape, colour, line quality, direction (thick, thin, gritty, smooth, diagonal, horizontal, curvy etc.), texture and space. Also discuss your choice of typography if you added any. What do those letterforms (the way the letters look) say? Are they edgy, artsy, confident, corporate? Be as descriptive and specific as possible. State the shapes used. State the colours used, the name of the font, the description of the lines. And then, explain the meanings behind all of these design choices. (ie. I chose a circular shape because it represents the sun, the moon and all of eternity (or whatever it represents to you). I chose to place the pictorial image so that it overlapped the circle to represent the idea of leaping forward etc.) Also discuss principles of design such as emphasis, rhythm, contrast and unity.
3. Get technical.
Discuss your technical process. What did you learn and how did you use Illustrator? What tools, use of layers, any effects etc. Please be specific in correctly naming the tools you used and their functions.
4. Your thoughts and opinion.
Are you happy with the logo and how it turned out? Would you do anything differently if you had more time? What did you learn about designing a logo? Now that you know more about Illustrator, what do you want to do next? What do you want to learn more about?
Resources
