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How to design a logo - Part 3

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            This is Part 3 of the series. To go to Part 2, click here. For Part 1,  click here. Digitize – Drawing: You will notice, just as you load everything up, that you don’t know where to start. That is pretty normal, and it does happen a lot initially, because you have just started converting your ideas from paper to pixel only recently.             To get started, load up your image editing software (finally!), and make sure that you have a very high resolution for your canvas (atleast 3000 pixels each side). Start drawing/ tracing the whole of your logo by constantly referring to your sketch. If you have a scanner available, scan the paper and use it as reference.  You will need to be familiar with the drawing tools of whatever software you are using, not only for shapes, but also lettering, in some cases. This is because, when we draw on paper first, we start fresh. E...

How to design a logo - Part 2

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This is Part 2 of the series. To go to Part 1,  click here. Sketch It Out - Getting Started: Before you even open your trusty sidekick image editor, grab a pencil, and make some rough drafts on paper, adding, deleting, and modifying details. If you are not that great at sketching, it doesn’t matter, since the final version will be made on a computer anyway. If you are not able to draw something out, just draw a rough placeholder, and write it there, so you can see how it looks when you actually get to using the sketch on the computer. Sketch It Out – Weight Distribution/Symmetry: Some people do this step before the first draft of the logo is made, but I like to do it after the first few initial versions. Make a rough co-ordinate system on your page, consisting of an X and Y axis (a horizontal line, and a vertical line). Take your best draft, and try drawing it on that co-ordinate system, with the centre of your logo being where the X and Y axis intersect. I feel this rea...

How to design a logo - Part 1

Note: This is not a tutorial. If you want a spoonfed tutorial, google is your best friend. This is the workflow which I use make logos, from start to finish, and I thought it would be nice to share it to help beginners break out of the “just Font-and-Colour” mould.             Consider this scenario: you are a hobbyist image manipulator, who knows their way around image editing software like photoshop or GIMP. A friend asks you to design a logo for their band. Or someone wants you to make a catchy header for a flyer to a party. You naturally agree, and jump right into it. You open up your software of choice, and go about producing the best work that you can. Your friend has nothing to complain about.             Why I think that is wrong: Believe it or not, by starting on software, you are actually restricting yourself. You limit yourself to the knowledge that you ...

Forced Piracy?

             So I recently bought (yes, BOUGHT, you cheapskates!) myself a game called Grand Theft Auto 4, more commonly known as GTA IV. And I must confess that the game made me turn to piracy to actually play the game, not kidding.             Here is how it goes: If you paid for the game: Install the game Login or Create Account at Rockstar Games’ SocialClub, because apparently without that, you can’t access multiplayer content. Once you enter the game, the game promptly reminds you that you need to login with your Windows LIVE account to save the game and get access to bonuses. Yes, not the SocialClub where you registered earlier on, but Windows LIVE. If its the first time you used your Hotmail/LIVE ID for a game, GTA IV will return an error saying that you need to make a GamerTag, for which a browser window will open up and the game minimised, or quit, if your PC is particularly unstable. ...