The DNA of a strong business identity is its logo, making effective logos key to the success and longevity of any business. In this six-hour video, educator, author, and award-winning logo designer Maggie Macnab explores how to create powerful logos that are meaningful, effective, and substantial enough to scale over time and beyond trend. Macnab pulls from her 30 years of experience as a designer and educator to reveal the secrets …
The DNA of a strong business identity is its logo, making effective logos key to the success and longevity of any business. In this six-hour video, educator, author, and award-winning logo designer Maggie Macnab explores how to create powerful logos that are meaningful, effective, and substantial enough to scale over time and beyond trend. Macnab pulls from her 30 years of experience as a designer and educator to reveal the secrets to making your logos memorable, aesthetic, and immediate through universal principles and shapes. She explains the basic principles of successful logo designs (balance and proportion, symmetry, the 5 Gestalts, etc.) and the importance of visual storytelling as you conceive your logo designs. She also offers practical business approaches to sourcing clients, strategies for designing what you’re drawn to, advice on how to draft a successful proposal to land the job, and guidance on how to legally protect your work–the essentials of logo business–along with the fun stuff of finding inspiration, exploring software tools, and developing your creative skills as the basis of logos that truly work. In this video, you will learn about: Different types of logos, from symbolic to literal The business of logo design: contracts and legal considerations Logo design principles such as gestalt, negative/positive space, visual storytelling, scaling, and economy Secondary logo design considerations: color, typography, and technique Creating identity guidelines to maintain the integrity of the brand and to support your client’s future brand
Why Effective Logos Are Important
Welcome
How we process information
Universal information and logos
Materials needed for this video
Working with exercise files
Different Parts and Types of Identity Design
Introduction
Vocabulary
How logos communicate
Trademark: Predecessor to the logo
When to use what
An Overview of the Process
Let's get started
A Step by Step Guide to the Design Process
Interviewing the Client and Doing Research
Structure and Flow in Design
Design Flow
Problem-solving Styles
The Principles of Basic Black
The Principles of Basic Black
Flexibility
Logo Scalability
Scaleability in Logotypes
Letterspacing Logotypes
The Power of Empty Space
Economy and Elegance
Proportion
Introduction to Proportion
Proportion Basics
The Golden Ratio as Aesthetic
The Golden Ratio as Structure
How to Create the Golden Section Spiral in Illustrator
Golden Ratio Tools
The Fibonacci Sequence
Symmetry
Introduction to Symmetry
The Three Basic Symmetries
How to Create the Three Symmetries in Illustrator
Refelection Symmetry Exercise: Create a Name Totem
Rotation Symmetry Exercise: Create a Mandala
Tessellations
How to Create a Simple Tessellation
How to Create a Complex Tessellation
Good Gestalt
Introduction to Gestalt
Figure/Ground
Closure
Continuance
Similarity
Proximity
All the Gestalts in One Design
The Importance of Visual Storytelling
The Importance of Visual Storytelling Introduction
Create a Relationship with the Audience
Develop the Concept
Choosing a Creative Strategy for the Logo
Choosing a Creative Strategy for the Logo Introduction
Individualize the Cliché
Symbolic Logos
Metaphoric Logos
Literal Logos
Style and Substance
An Introduction to Patterns in Logos
An Introduction to Patterns in Logos
Patterns of Movement: Branching
Patterns of Movement: Branching
How to Use the Branching Pattern
How to Integrate the Branching Pattern
Patterns of Movement: Meanders
Patterns of Movement: Meanders
Choosing and Using a Meandering Pattern
Patterns of Creativity: Spirals
Patterns of Creativity: Spirals
Patterns of Cooperation: Helices
Patterns of Cooperation: Helices
How to Use the Helix in Logos
Process of Selection: Helix
Patterns of Security: Stacking and Packing
Patterns of Security: Stacking and Packing
How to use Stacking and Packing Patterns in a Logo
An Introduction to Shapes in Logo Design
An Introduction to Shapes in Logo Design
Circles: Wholeness
Circles: Wholeness
How to Use Circles in Logos
Process: The Circle in Logos
Intersecting Lines: Relationships
Intersecting Lines: Relationships
How to Use Intersecting Lines in a Logo
Process: Interstecting Lines in Logos
Triangles: Inspiration and Transformation
Triangles: Inspiration and Transformation
How to Use Triangles in Logos
Process: Triangles in Logos
Four-Sided Figures: Stability
Four-Sided Figures: Stability
How to Use a Four-sided Shape in a Logo
Process: Four-sided Shapes in Logos
Spirals and Stars: Creativity and Excellence
Spirals and Stars: Creativity and Excellence
Spirals and Starts in Everyday Experience
Process: Spirals in Logos
Secondary Logo Characteristics
Secondary Logo Characteristics
About Color
Color Associations
Modifying a Typeface to Accompany a Logo
The Value and Challenge of Lines
When to Add a Style of Technique
Unifying the Components
Presenting the Logo to your Client
Presenting the Logo to your Client
Preparing for a Successful Presentation
Digital Presentations
Hardcopy Presentations
Finalizing the Artwork
Finalizing the Artwork
Vector versus Raster Considerations
Final Production of the Logo Artwork
Color Format and Printing Considerations
Prepping a Business Card for Digital Press
The Importance of Establishing Consistency
The Importance of Establishing Consistency
Creating an Identity Standards Guideline Brief for the Client
Creating an Extensive Identity Standards Guideline Document
Providing Final Files for the Client
Extending the Logo into a Brand
Extending the Logo into a Brand
What is a Brand?
Prep for Brand Thinking
Process: Putting the Brand into the World
The Business of Identity Design
The Business of Identity Design
Negotiating a Contract
Logo Ownership
How to Copyright Your Work Online
The Logo Designer's Business Documents
Your Work's Future Value
Finding Clients and Getting Work
Finding Clients and Getting Work
Put Your Best Work Out There
Initiating Contact and Networking
Pro Bono versus Spec Work
Design as a Way of Life