- Now, before we start any design project,
it's really good to be as organized as you possibly can.
And you'll want to make sure
you have all your tools and equipment in place and ready.
Now, as obvious as this may be,
when you begin a project
and start to build a creative momentum,
the last thing you will want to do
is run out of any supplies
which is going to interfere and disrupt your creative flow.
This has happened to me a few times
and has really highlighted the importance
of being organized.
So before starting any project,
I'll always make sure I have all the tools I need
so there are minimal disruptions.
Now, there is no right or wrong way of designing logos,
only the way that works for you.
But there are some tried and tested ways which work well.
When it comes to designing logos,
there are a variety of tools I would recommend you get.
So in this video,
we are going to look at the tools we are going to use
to develop our logo design.
So let's get into it.
(upbeat music)
So when it comes to designing logos,
the tools you will use will fall into four categories:
Brief builder tools, stationary tools, reference material,
and hardware and software tools.
So when it comes to logo design,
it's not always the case
that a design brief will be presented to you.
Depending on who you're working for or with,
you may be given a well-detailed brief,
you may be given some verbal instruction
or you may be given no brief at all.
In the event you are not issued with a design brief
before a project,
understanding what the client wants
and extracting key information from them to build a brief
can be a big challenge.
If you ever find yourself working with a client
who does not provide you with a design brief,
or does not know how to make one,
you can take steps to build one yourself
using the brief builder tools
I have included in the project folder.
So with your project folder open,
click into folder one, Learn and Discovery.
And if you click into folder one, Project Brief,
you will see a folder here called Build.
In this folder, you will see three additional folders:
One, Project Sheet.
Two, Project Sheets to Print.
And three, Brief Template.
These three folders include resources you can use
to build your own design brief should you need to.
In the first folder,
you will find a Project Questionnaire text document
that outlines all the questions
you can ask a client in person or send over email
to extract all the key criteria you will need.
In the second folder,
there is a printable version of the questionnaire,
which you can print off and use at a meeting to take notes.
And in the third folder, there are designed brief templates
you can use to place in all the key information
to generate a complete design brief,
which you could use to start the design process.
If you want to learn more about this process
and a method you can use,
you could learn more in the PDF document
that accompanies this course.
Link is in the description.
Simply check the Build Design Brief section.
So next comes stationary tools.
So with the design brief sorted,
the stationary tools I would recommend you get
for logo design are as follows:
Drawing pads, drawing tools, and filing equipment.
For logo design, we'll be doing a lot of hands-on work,
like making notes and sketching.
So I would recommend you get a sketchpad, graphic pad
or tracing paper.
Personally, I love using graphic pads
when exploring and developing my ideas.
These are really easy to draw on,
allows for a variety of pens, markers, and inks.
And it allows me to trace my drawings
as I develop and refine my logo designs.
When exploring initial design,
I like to use an A3 graphic pad
so I can spread my ideas out.
However, it's also a good idea to have a small one
you can carry around with you
and keep close to you at all times
in case you have any spontaneous ideas.
Keep on close so you can take down notes
during the course of the process.
For this, I'll use an A4 graphic pad,
which is more portable
and sits nicely on the edge of my desk.
Graphic pads are great as you can easily rip out sheets
and pop them up on the project wall during your project.
So next you will need drawing tools.
Here I would recommend you start with a pencil,
a ruler and a compass.
My personal choice is the Staedtler Mars Micro Pencil,
which you can get in a range of thicknesses.
I normally use a 0.3 to 0.5,
though any pencil will do.
Then I would recommend you get a range of markers,
black and colored.
Personally, I like to use markers from 0.1 to 0.6
to refine some of my sketches into more polished drawings.
And when working with markers,
I also like to have a Tipp-Ex pen to clear out any mistakes.
Now I may also use graphic color markers.
Here I have some Winsor & Newton markers.
I like these because they have optional tips
which can be nice to work with.
But of course, these are optional, any felts will do.
Now, during the course of our project,
we will be collecting a lot of printed documents,
research material, and making lots of notes and sketches,
which can all get out of hand pretty quickly.
So we'll also need a physical project folder
to file and keep all our physical documents in
so they are easily accessible during the course of a project
and easily portable.
Now this could be anything from an A4
to an A3 cardboard folder to a plastic folder or case.
Here I like to use these A3 plastic pockets,
which I like to keep everything inside.
Another cool piece of equipment I'd recommend
are these metal clips.
I find these especially useful
to organize all my printed material
and reference into organized sections.
These clips are great for loose paper
and reference material.
So those are all the main stationary tools we will need.
Next comes reference material.
Now, personally, I have a series of logo books,
which can be great for reference and inspiration
in the early stages.
Now, these are of course optional,
but a few I own and find are great for inspiration are:
"Logo Modernism", "Letters and Symbols", "Logo Type",
"Symbol: The Reference Guide to Abstract
and Figurative Trademarks"
and "Logo: The Reference Guide to Symbols and Logotypes."
If you want to take a closer look at these,
be sure to check out the Equipment page on the PDF document
that accompanies this course.
So last we have hardware and software tools.
For hardware and software tools,
I would recommend you get:
A computer, creative software tools, a printer,
project wall space or boards, and a drawing tablet.
So first off, we are going to need a computer to work on
for research and for creative development.
To complete the design,
we are going to need a computer powerful enough
to run creative software tools,
to enable us to develop the design adequately.
Initially, for logo design,
we will need a vector-based application to artwork the logo,
and later in the process,
we will need applications to present in-situ mockups
and create a proposal presentation.
On this occasion, we are going to be using Adobe Illustrator
to artwork the logo,
but there are other options you can consider,
like Affinity Designer.
To prepare in-situ visuals, I will be using Adobe Photoshop.
But again, you can use other options like Affinity Designer.
Now, once your logo is designed,
we will be creating a proposal document
to present to the client.
In this course, I will be demonstrating how to do this
using Adobe Illustrator,
though you may wish to use other presentation applications.
So in the early stages of our design process,
it can also help to have a printer
to print out all the project
and visual reference material we discover to inspire us.
And when we come to researching typefaces
and art working our designs later on the computer,
it could be great to print them off to see at various sizes.
Personally, I use an A3 printer, but an A4 printer will do.
Now, during any given design project,
I personally like to surround myself
with my research and development,
so I also use display boards, which create a project space.
During the course of a project, I'll pin up my printouts,
which can inspire me during the project.
Now, if I have a space big enough,
I can either use my display boards
or use Blu-Tack to pin my references onto the wall.
Now this is of course optional,
but I love to surround myself with my reference material
as it can keep me focused.
Now, as well as drawing on paper,
some of you may feel comfortable drawing on tablet computer,
like an iPad, a Cintiq or a XP-Pen display.
Now on this course,
I won't be demonstrating this as part of my process,
but a lot of designers now use these tools
as part of their process when sketching and art working.
These can offer alternatives
to using desktop software tools and paper.
Though keep in mind, this is an option.
Drawing on paper can be just as effective.
So those are the tools we will be using on this course.
For a more clear checklist,
be sure to check out the tools page on the PDF document
that accompanies this course, and you can get this for free.
The link is in the description.
On this course, I'll be demonstrating and showcasing
how I use all the tools mentioned in this video
to develop and create a logo design
and develop it all the way to a polished design
ready to present to a client.
So once we have our tools, our project folder set up
and the logo design process checklist printed out,
we should now be ready to make a start on our project
and begin the design process.
In the next video, we are going to start
the discovery phase of the design process,
where we are going to look
at how we can get ideas from a design brief.
So see you in the next video.
(upbeat music)