Design ideas and process:

I was interested in creating letter logos on Illustrator as I believe logos are an effective tool which should be clear and eye-catching. I was interested in learning more about the different tools within Illustrator in order to create three logos which all have a different style.

Design 1:

For my first letter logo I wanted to create a 3D warped effect. To achieve this effect a followed a Adobe Illustrator 3D Text Effect Tutorial. In order to create this effect I first wrote my text in two separate text boxes. I duplicated the line I created using the pen tool and the dragged it down directly below the first line. I grouped them both in object settings. I selected the group and the circle and pressed divide on pathfinder. I then removed the middle part to create to separate halves of the circle. I then selected my first letter, ‘h’, and also selected the top section of the circle and clicked on make with top object which I found under object, envelope distort. I then repeated this using my second letter ‘k’ and the lower half of the circle. I then clicked unexpand under object and ungroup. I then copied the design and changed the colour of the middle group and changed the colour to orange and then scaled it down. I then used the blend settings under object and then clicked make. This created the 3d letter effect with a black and orange colour scheme.

I decided to create the logo in this style as I was interested in how to use 3d effects on Illustrator. I liked the contrast between the black and orange 3d effect and I liked the look of the lines across the orange areas of the letters.

 

Design 2:

   

For my second letter logo I used a tutorial to create this line style letter design. To create this effect I first had to create multiple lines and grouped them together, I rotated them so they were at an angle. I then used a heavy weight font for my letters. I then created outlines for the letters and aligned them to the lines I created. I then ungrouped the lines and then clicked on outline strikes within the path button. I then used the ‘make’ tool join my lines and letters and to convert my letters into lines using the pathfinder tool and the intersect option. I then ungrouped the lines and then made the left side of the lines have a pointed tip by using the direct selection tool to choose the anchor points and right clicked and press ‘average’ which created the pointed effect. I then added a black background to create more contrast between the lines and to fully showcase the effect created.

I decided to create this letter logo in a line design as I felt the line letter effect was an effective use of the line tool, something which I didn’t previously know you could used to create an effect on letters. I also like the effect of the sharpened edges on the letters and felt they really contrasted the black background in my final design.

 

 

Design 3:

For my third logo I created a logo in which I manipulated to text into the shape of a circle. I first had to create numerous lines and created a circle over the lines. I then selected all lines and reflected the lines at a 135 degree angle and copied. I then copied the circle and made a smaller circle within the original. I then selected all objects and used the shape builder tool to select specific squares from the grid I created in order to draw the letters. Finally, I changed the fill and stroke colour to blue and use the selection tool to take my logo out of the grid I had to used to create it.

I decided to this logo in this chosen design as I liked the effect of using the shape builder tool to create the logo. The use of creating a grid meant I had freedom over the amount of squares I wanted to create in order to draw my letters. I felt that the oval shape of the logo created a clean and professional final logo.

 

Design Inspiration:

How To Draw Any Letters Logo In Polygon & Circle | Adobe Illustrator Tutorials | Graphic Hunters – This tutorial helped me create my logo. It was and effective tutorial to follow as it helped me learn I can create a custom grid and use it to draw letters within it using the shape builder tool

Adobe Illustrator 3D Text Effect Tutorial – This 3d text tutorial helped me create my logo. Prior to making the logo I was interested in creating 3d effects on illustrator so I decided to try and use the effect on my letter logo. It also helped me understand how to combine different colours in the 3d effect.

Create Simple Line Letter Logos with Illustrator – This tutorial helped me as i followed the simple line letter tutorial to create my line letters logo. I adapted the tutorial and used two letters instead of one one letter used in the tutorial. I also learned how to manipulate individual lines which helped me create the sharp edges on my logo design.

https://liamfoster.design/graphic-design-blog-inside/5-characteristics-of-great-logo-design – I also learnt more about logo design by reading the article.  It stated a logo should be 5 things: Simple, timeless, relevant, distinctive and memorable.  A logo should be simple as a simple logo is easy to remember and easy to recognise. In addition, a good logo will pass the test of time and the designer will not have tried to keep up with trends but instead have designed a logo which remains effective long after it’s been created. I also learnt that a logo should be relevant, in my case I wasn’t creating for logos for any specific business or purpose, however If I was to do so I would have to make sure that the design is relevant to the business and not just aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, a logo needs to be distinctive and memorable. It should be a logo that is not easily forgotten and when someone see’s it, it will be easily recognisable because it was made to be distinctive.

Whilst creating my letter logos I learnt how to use many different tools on Illustrator which I now know can be used to create effective designs. However my knowledge is still limited, and I want to learn more about the use of all the different tools provided in Illustrator. I aim to do this by reading design articles and also watching tutorials. I find watching tutorials extremly helpful as I am able to easily follow along and can visually see the steps needed to create a specific design.