depth: part three

What usually tends to take place next i the depth process is to define the images I like the most as fully rendered icons. This tends to be done in illustrator. Illustrator is great for icons and logos, many as you can resize the objects without loosing quality or clarity. So what I tend to do, is whilst designing and thinking about logos, I tend to image how I will achieve them in illustrator. Its hardly worth trying to think of a great logo that can only be made in photoshop. Not saying that you can't use photoshop for doing logos. The issue there is that you have to make a very large version and then hope the resizing wont degrade the image too much. So, for the sake of all that hassle, it is best tho construct the whole image in illustrator. There are a great deal of effects now available and with some training it is possible to make the image look almost as good as a photoshop file, if that is the look that is required.

For these logos, it was important to maintain a clean and fresh look, so illustrator was ideal. As you can see from the examples above the chosen ones have a great deal of difference in their look. This is to explore possibilities. One thing you must be aware of though is that giving the client too much choice could in fact lead them down a different path. The art of good design can be about tell the client what they want, instead of giving them what they want. Too much variety is a bad thing. So, what you can do, is like in this case, is choose which of these looks like a candidate and pass this on to the client. As I said before, some clients are stuck in their head about redesign. As this is a revamp rather than a new design, the client tends to hold the old design in their mind as they look at the new. Showing the client these versions, they instantly locked onto the one that relates to the old look first. Even though it is a strong icon, it still has good variation in the set too. Anyway, after the meeting it was decided to explore the chosen icon. This process is to enable for colour variations and slight changes in the look. this will be the next step. A simple point to be made at this level, is that sometimes you have to learn to bite the bullet. By that it is mean that may clients believe themselves to be designers. They think they can tell you to stick a shape here, or add a non-symmetrical element there, and use a non-complimentary colour. All this has to be taken on board and have you know at the the end of the day, they pay the fee.