Creating and Adapting a Logo

On September 28, 2018

Release date:2015, April

Duration:03 h 29 m

Author:Deke McClelland

Skill level:Intermediate

Language:English

Exercise files:Yes

Learn how to create an eye-catching logo from scratch and adapt it to fit a variety of applications: from business cards to banner ads. Join Deke as he works with art director Danielle Fritz on a logo concept for Frontiers Unlimited (a space tourism company with big ambitions!) and then as he vectorizes the design using Illustrator and Photoshop. He’ll take you through every step in the process, from identifying the brand’s objectives to creating the base artwork, adding typography, assigning spot colors for print, adding device-independent color and shading, and integrating some intriguing touches of photorealism. Lastly, he’ll show how to change the orientation of the graphic so that it can work in many different layouts. In the end, you’ll have a memorable logo that communicates your brand’s personal or corporate values in a single glance.
Topics include:
Identifying the brand’s objectives
Sketching a design
Drawing the artwork in Illustrator
Selecting the perfect font for a logo
Adding type
Choosing and assigning spot colors
Adding vector-based shading with gradients
Using photographic details for a more photorealistic look
Changing the orientation of a logo

Table of Contents

Introduction
Welcome 1m 31s
1. Brainstorming and Development
Identifying the client’s brand objectives 2m 35s
Sketching a few prospective designs 5m 13s
A brief tour of the logo development process 9m 1s
2. Drawing the Art for Your Logo
Documenting your design with interactive instructions 5m 2s
Creating a new document for your logo 4m 10s
Numerical sizes and coordinate positions 5m 38s
Establishing a few custom guides 6m 38s
Creating an element as a compound shape 6m 28s
Drawing Saturn behind a rocket 5m 8s
Fusing Saturn and the rocket into a single path 3m 59s
3. Setting the Type
Selecting the perfect font for your logo 4m 27s
Taking a first swing at the text on the Mac 7m 56s
Formatting your logo with a free OpenType font 6m 49s
Reshaping a letter with the Join tool 5m 47s
Upping your game with a commercial font 7m 10s
Tweaking letterforms to achieve a custom effect 8m 37s
4. Assigning Spot
Colors for Print Choosing the perfect spot colors 4m 34s
Adding Pantone spot colors to your artwork 8m 20s
Modifying art inside a clipping group 4m 44s
Streamlining your inks in CMYK 5m 33s
Streamlining your inks in RGB 5m 39s
Identifying and correcting spot-color mishaps 8m 21s
5. Adding Device-Independent Shading
Preparing your logo for vector-based shading 3m 42s
Establishing a base radial gradient 5m 47s
Blending a second gradient using translucency 5m 20s
Coloring a gradient with a blend mode 4m 15s
Exporting your logo as a PNG graphic 6m 38s
Scaling your PNG graphic to fit a large display 4m 19s
6. Adding Some
Photorealism Exporting your logo as a layered PSD file 3m 33s
Scaling a design to avoid antialiasing 6m 8s
Masking a photograph into your logo 6m 57s
Better integrating the photo into the logo 6m 23s
Introducing a photo as a Smart Object 6m 18s
Reestablishing the original color scheme 2m 59s
7. Changing the Orientation
Arranging the logo into a horizontal design 6m 55s
Copying a graphic with all blending intact 5m 38s
Conclusion
Until next time 1m 40s