I probably get an email at least every other week from young lads and lassies wanting to do some work experience in my 'office'. Most are young designers doing their graphic design degree or young 'uns just about to finish high school and want a taste of what it would be like to work in a design agency. There seems to be an ever-growing number of kids wanting to try their hand at logo design, and I'd say it's probably one of the easier businesses to run as a freelance designer.
In this post, I've made a bit of a rough road map to get you on the path to becoming a logo designer.
I probably need to start by saying that I have had no formal education in design (beyond 8th grade art class), but have been a professional web and logo designer for over 10 years.
Before You Jump In
I believe that the first step to any career (full or part time) is dedication. With or without any formal education in your field you need to have the heart that will get you through the times when you want to give up (there will be some).
Decide to be great. Too many designers (in all fields) are content producing mediocre work. The design industry is full of 'cheap' work and poor design. If you set your sight to be a great designer, your work will only get better with time.
Steps to get going as a logo designer
1. Invest in some software
If you're going to be producing logos, you're going to want to get yourself a vector design software package. Adobe Illustrator is probably the industry big-wig, but there are plenty of other options around that will be sufficient. I personally prefer the Corel Draw line, because I find it easier to do what I need to do, but if you want to eventually get an employed job in the industry, you're probably gong to want to get yourself familiar with Illustrator. (links at the end).
2. Read some books
I'd recommend 3 topics of books to get you ready for logo design. a) Logo design books. There are loads of books full of logos and branding case studies. b) Typography books. One of the key elements of any logo is the type. Learn to love type - it will be your best friend. c) Software instructional books. The better you can use your software, the more versatile you can be.
3. Build your library
There are plenty of places online to find 'free' fonts. Collect a wide variety, and learn when its appropriate to use each style.
4. Copy, copy and copy
Get together a collection of the best 20 or 30 logos you can find (use online sources such as logopond.com or incspring.com to get an idea of what other people feel is a good design). Once you have your list, see if you can emulate them. Without copying parts of them directly, see if you can recreate the logo using your software. Now see if you can duplicate it a different way. Learning versatility in your design techniques will open you up to knowing which tool will work best in a given situation. Once you have mastered one logo, move onto the next.
You'll probably notice that most of the best logos are really quite easy to produce because the strength of the idea is the shining light. By all means start with simple designs, but make sure you challenge yourself too.
Important Note: This is the only point on your career that I will ever advocate copying other people's work. It's okay while you're learning, but never ever, EVER use that work in your portfolio, or show it to clients. It's exclusively a learning tool and nothing more.5. Build a portfolio
The only way you're going to get clients (at least ones that will pay) is to show them a sample of your work (please make sure pay attention to the note above here). At this stage you can either make up your own brands, or re-brand some existing companies. Places like logopond give you a place to upload your logos in a gallery style, as well as give you a forum to get feedback from other designers.
6. Grow another few layers of skin
All designers get harsh criticism, even the seasoned professionals. Listen to the opinions of everyone, then filter them to take positives and discard the negatives. If someone says 'that's a load of crap' - ignore it, if they add '..because the type looks cheap and the mark looks like wordart' then you at least have some direction.
The rules
1. Never copy or plagiarise.
You must never, ever take an existing logo and pass it off as your own work. Never look at a logo and create your own version of it. Never take significant 'inspiration' from another logo. It's very tempting when you're starting, but believe me, it will ruin your reputation and career. Don't think you won't get caught because you're in a different country or industry - there are thousands of people looking out for breaches ALL the time, especially online. There are also heavy penalties for breaches of copyright (and no a logo doesn't need a (c) , R or TM mark to be off limits).
2. Don't argue with people giving you feedback.
Try to work out what they're really saying and take out the parts of their opinion that are objective. Everyone has opinions, and nobody's opinion is right every time.
3. Don't use swooshes or bevels in your logos.
Just a personal peeve - and generally a clear sign of an amateur designer.
The End
Hopefully this has been a helpful guide to get the ball rolling for you. At the end of the day, success will find you if you put in the hard yards. You'll be frustrated a lot, and you'll spend endless hours doodling in the hope of inspiration, but you'll feel the rejuvenation all flood back to you when you hear your first client say 'i love it!'.
Resource Links
Software
- Adobe Illustrator (if you're a student make sure you look for the academic license)
- Corel Draw
- Raven (Free online vector editor)
- Really Good Logos Explained: Top Design Professionals Critique 500 Logos and Explain What Makes Them Work (by Margo Chase + others)
- Design Matters: Logos 01: An Essential Primer for Today's Competitive Market (by Capsule)
- Identity Crisis: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands (by Jeff Fisher)
- Logo, Font & Lettering Bible (By Leslie Cabarga)
- Logopond.com: Great for inspiration, and great forum
- Incspring.com: Place to buy and sell logos. Some great brands on here too
- DaFont.com: Loads of free fonts to get you started (lots of garbage though)
2 comments:
Great article nathan, I'm sure many people wanting to get started on logo design will find this helpful.
One thing I'd like to add is "Sketching", more and more designers are bypassing this part of the design process and going straight into their preferred vector or raster graphics editing program but sketching can be a very enjoyable and productive skill to have.
One recommendation I'd like to make is "The Fundamentals Of Typography" which is a great book that teaches the basics and also goes into great detail about typeface design and type selection.
Thanks kode. I didn't want to get into the actual design process (thats a whole 'nother blog), but sketching it definately a skill thats being lost in the modern era of design.
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