I am currently reading a wonderful book called “Logo Design Love” by David Airey that my husband recently got me for my birthday. It is truly an amazing book and I feel that every Graphic Designer should own it.

It starts from the beginning and explains the core steps of design, and gives away tips and tricks every freelancer should know!

It has some pointers specifically for logo design and is easy to follow and read as well. I highly recommend this book to any designer, freelance or not!

Laguna Springs Spa & Resort
Arts 253, Final Project

Magazine Ad

Front Cover of Presentation Folder

Inside of Presentation Folder

Welcome Letter, Price List, Brochure, Coupon

Brochure Close Up

Website Mock Up

Inspiration is something that all designers use when coming up with new ideas and designs. Seeing someone else’s perspective, can really get YOUR mind pumping with new ideas and make your overall final product much stronger. I love seeing things in magazines or on billboards and collecting those images to provide me with inspiration as necessary.

Over the holidays, I was staying in Nashville, TN at a Sheraton hotel, and noticed some of their fine promotional products. I of course captured an image to keep around for future inspiration, but I thought I would share it on here. They literally had a designer come in and create everything from their note paper to their door hangers. And these were not your traditional items you see in a normal hotel. These items had style, class, and used the Gestalt principle of similarity to interconnect as a set. This reminds me a lot of the high quality and classy design work I hope to create in the future. Props to these designers!

The final product is always the fun part for a graphic designer. To see all your hard work pay off certainly gives a sense of accomplishment and motivation. To the left, you can see my final products for my business card and letterhead with my new logo. Of course being a designer, I am sure I will want to tweak and change my logo again in the future, but for now, I am quite pleased.

As a graphic artist, design is on my mind a lot. Whether I am driving in the car, reading a magazine, or eating at a restaurant, I am always noticing ideas that could lead to inspiration for new designs.

Well it seems that some of those inspirational ideas have paid off. I had felt that my previous logo didn’t express me as a designer quite as much as I would have liked. It was a neat idea, but it had a very industrial feel to it. I came home today, and all of a sudden, voilà – new logo ideas!  The new logo I created gives a very, well, creative feel to it. Its artsy, girly, and much more me. I am quite pleased with it and hope that represents me as an artist for years to come!

Its not a surprise that companies like Pepsi and Coke which have been around since the late 1800’s sometimes feel the need to update their corporate identities. But the question remains, are these updates always needed? Do companies need to redo their entire identities to please customers?

Coca-Cola has had a consistent logo throughout the years. Once in awhile they will make small changes that stick very closely to the original design. Many feel (including me) that Coca-Cola is a true example of a timeless classic brand that is ultimately more effective than the Pepsi logo. Pepsi seems to be marketing itself as a kind of perpetual fad, always new, always exciting. Unfortunately in my opinion, they have been unable to obtain that classic feel that everyone recognizes as Coca-Cola. Instead, they launch mediocre logos constantly. For example, their latest logo has a minor change that adds nothing to their branding.

Making unnecessary changes is a waste of time. A designer’s job is to create a recognizable logo that will be able to promote the company for years to come.

Which do you perfer….Pepsi or Coke?

I was browsing the web just now and I came across this article on Logo Design Blog called How to use color in logo design to effectively communicate the right message.  Many people don’t realize this, but color can make or break a design. Color can be used as a tool to communicate as well as evoke emotion. Using the proper colors in design is an important skill to learn as an artist. Perhaps you want to create a feminine feel for a particular design. Although cliche, pink evokes femininity, innocence, softness and health. Take for instance the breast cancer logo below; a pink ribbon meant to imply femininity and health.

Healing Touch Massage Company Branding

This company branding package was made for a Massage Therapist who I actually work with at my “day” job. She decided to start her own massage business on the side, and needed some help with her company branding. As you can see above, I created her a logo, company letterhead, envelope, and a front and back business card. The look we were trying to relay was a sense of health, nature, relaxation, and peace. This was a fun design to work on and I believe the goal of the project was definitely achieved!