1. Know what your logo is going to represent. A logo reflects not only what a business does but also portrays the essence of the company. You need to make a logo that is compatible with the entire company.
2. Know the basics of logo design. Logos need to be kept simple, memorable, scalable, and adaptable. Logos need to work without color, and you should be able to stick the logo anywhere at any size and still have it be effective. Logos that are sized so they aren’t stretched out too long or too wide are also a good idea.
3. Logos that are simple and unique are the best way to go. Don’t over do your logos. Ones that have shadows, glows, and text that over laps or twines around an image isn’t as effective as logo such as the Nike symbol. It is plain, works without color, and still represents what Nike is about.
4. Start your own logo design process. Everyone works a different way, but it is usually best to brain storm some ideas, sketch out concepts, run it by your customers, fix it up, and add your finishing touches. It is also a good idea to not rush right to your computer. Take your time with the good old fashioned pen and paper first.
5. Digitize and fix up your logo. Before you put your logo on the computer, get to know the software you’re going to use. Once you have basic control, upload your sketches and touch them up.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Rectangle and Triangle Tessellations
Rectangle Tessellation:
Triangle Tessellation:
1. Which tessellation did you find more interesting to do? In what ways was it more interesting than the other? Please explain.
I found that creating the triangle tessellation was more interesting to do. It was more interesting to do for several reasons, one of them being it looks more atheistically pleasing. I thought that my drawing was poorly done on my rectangular tessellation, but my triangle tessellation turned out really neat and crisp looking because I could use a photograph. The photograph I chose was one that depicted fire at night. I liked the patterns this picture made better than the pattern I had for my rectangle tessellation. Another reason I liked doing the triangle tessellation more is because of the way the tessellations were made. As I mentioned before, my drawing for the rectangle tessellation came out pretty sloppy. This is understandable seeing as I have never drawn on photoshop before. I was much happier cutting up an already made picture to use instead of drawing my own. The two tessellations also required me to use different tools. I used more tools and learned more about photoshop when I made my triangle tessellation versus when I made my rectangle one. This made the designing process much more interesting and enlightening.
2. Look at your peers' work on the ning . Which two designs do you find the most
successful? What qualities make them so successful?
I thought that Tommy’s triangle tessellation is a really successful design. It’s successful because it includes multiple tessellated triangles in the 8x10 constraints, unlike some of the other designs. It is also successful because the different colors in each of the triangles really makes each other pop out, probably because yellow and purple are contrasting colors. Not only is it interesting to look at, but the design looks seamless. All of the triangles match up and there are no dividing lines.
Another design that I believe was executed successfully is Samantha’s triangle design. Even though there is only one large octagon and the other tessellated shapes get cropped from the screen, I found this design very interesting. I probably like it so much because I love the color blue. This tessellation incorporates many different shades and intensities of blue. I also like how you can still kind of tell what the original picture was; it could have been a landscape with a tree in winter time. I also like how the central octagon is bordered by black and a blue streak that looks cool all fuzzed out. To top is off, this design is lined up very well, and you can’t see any dividing lines.
3. Looking at the Grading Criteria for each design, how would you rate BOTH designs on a scale of 1-4, 4 being the highest? Please explain each grade.
I would grade my triangle tessellation a 3.5. I know, I know, I always grade myself a 3.5. This time I swear it’s applicable! Even though I did have a drawing of an animal with no background, my craftsmanship isn’t all that great. My lines are pretty shaky and thick. My detail is average. My animal...creature...thingy does have an eye, mouth, and radical looking coat, but I believe it to be lacking any real creative detail, especially when I compare it to the example on the wiki. The rainbow coat also seems like a childish idea now, and I should have tried out different color gradients before I decided on that one. However, my tessellation is in jpeg format, 8x10 at 72 dpi, and feels united. It is an average piece, but it’s also unique. That’s why I give it a 3.5.
I like my triangle design much better than my rectangle design. I think I might actually give myself a 4 on this! I believe my craftsman ship is high quality. I used an interesting picture, and I followed the photoshop video directions exactly to produce a tessellation. There are no visible seams on my design; I zoomed in after placing each piece to make sure they fit together exactly. I also chose a good section of the fire from the picture to use. It was a section that had little wisps of flame, a bright part of the fire, and a section of the night-time background. This makes my design unique and interesting. The bright, fire made triangles really pop out against the dark blue and black triangles. The wisps also look cool, like red hot confetti. My final image is 8x10 inches at a resolution of 72 dpi and has been flattened, named, and saved to the server correctly. All and all, I feel this tessellation is a fairly solid design.
Triangle Tessellation:
1. Which tessellation did you find more interesting to do? In what ways was it more interesting than the other? Please explain.
I found that creating the triangle tessellation was more interesting to do. It was more interesting to do for several reasons, one of them being it looks more atheistically pleasing. I thought that my drawing was poorly done on my rectangular tessellation, but my triangle tessellation turned out really neat and crisp looking because I could use a photograph. The photograph I chose was one that depicted fire at night. I liked the patterns this picture made better than the pattern I had for my rectangle tessellation. Another reason I liked doing the triangle tessellation more is because of the way the tessellations were made. As I mentioned before, my drawing for the rectangle tessellation came out pretty sloppy. This is understandable seeing as I have never drawn on photoshop before. I was much happier cutting up an already made picture to use instead of drawing my own. The two tessellations also required me to use different tools. I used more tools and learned more about photoshop when I made my triangle tessellation versus when I made my rectangle one. This made the designing process much more interesting and enlightening.
2. Look at your peers' work on the ning . Which two designs do you find the most
successful? What qualities make them so successful?
I thought that Tommy’s triangle tessellation is a really successful design. It’s successful because it includes multiple tessellated triangles in the 8x10 constraints, unlike some of the other designs. It is also successful because the different colors in each of the triangles really makes each other pop out, probably because yellow and purple are contrasting colors. Not only is it interesting to look at, but the design looks seamless. All of the triangles match up and there are no dividing lines.
Another design that I believe was executed successfully is Samantha’s triangle design. Even though there is only one large octagon and the other tessellated shapes get cropped from the screen, I found this design very interesting. I probably like it so much because I love the color blue. This tessellation incorporates many different shades and intensities of blue. I also like how you can still kind of tell what the original picture was; it could have been a landscape with a tree in winter time. I also like how the central octagon is bordered by black and a blue streak that looks cool all fuzzed out. To top is off, this design is lined up very well, and you can’t see any dividing lines.
3. Looking at the Grading Criteria for each design, how would you rate BOTH designs on a scale of 1-4, 4 being the highest? Please explain each grade.
I would grade my triangle tessellation a 3.5. I know, I know, I always grade myself a 3.5. This time I swear it’s applicable! Even though I did have a drawing of an animal with no background, my craftsmanship isn’t all that great. My lines are pretty shaky and thick. My detail is average. My animal...creature...thingy does have an eye, mouth, and radical looking coat, but I believe it to be lacking any real creative detail, especially when I compare it to the example on the wiki. The rainbow coat also seems like a childish idea now, and I should have tried out different color gradients before I decided on that one. However, my tessellation is in jpeg format, 8x10 at 72 dpi, and feels united. It is an average piece, but it’s also unique. That’s why I give it a 3.5.
I like my triangle design much better than my rectangle design. I think I might actually give myself a 4 on this! I believe my craftsman ship is high quality. I used an interesting picture, and I followed the photoshop video directions exactly to produce a tessellation. There are no visible seams on my design; I zoomed in after placing each piece to make sure they fit together exactly. I also chose a good section of the fire from the picture to use. It was a section that had little wisps of flame, a bright part of the fire, and a section of the night-time background. This makes my design unique and interesting. The bright, fire made triangles really pop out against the dark blue and black triangles. The wisps also look cool, like red hot confetti. My final image is 8x10 inches at a resolution of 72 dpi and has been flattened, named, and saved to the server correctly. All and all, I feel this tessellation is a fairly solid design.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Introduction to Tessellations
1. What is a tessellation?
Tessellation the word comes from the Greeks, and it refers to pictures and tiles that cover a surface area in a symmetrical way so that there is no over lapping or gaps. They usually depict animals or other life. Simply, a repeating shape or pattern that has no gaps or overlaps.
2. Write a couple of paragraphs describing the life and work of M.C. Escher. Pick out important facts that describe who he is, how he worked, and why he is famous.
The “Father” of tessellations, M.C. Escher, was born in Holland in 1898 as the youngest child of five sons. His skills in drawing were first recognized by his art teacher in high school, who prompted him to send the sketches to famous designer Roland Holtz. At Holtz’s suggestion, Escher also tried wood carving, and when he failed school he decided to enroll in a specialized art and architecture college. While he continued to draw, his new friend Mesquita got Escher more involved in wood carving and wood designs. The two remained life long friends, and Escher greatly admired him. Escher’s first real tessellation was done in 1925, and his love for ‘filling planes with no gaps or overlaps’ led him to create even more.
A major turning point in Escher’s life came when he returned home for a visit and met with his brother Beer. His brother was intrigued by Escher’s designs, and referenced him to some work he had heard of about crystalline structures. Escher found wall paper designs by George Polya and notes by Professor F. Haag. Haag had described tessellations as “Regular divisions of the plane consist of congruent, convex polygons joined together, the arrangement by which the polygons join each other is the same throughout.” This invigorated Escher and started him on some of his most famous work. By the time he died in 1972, he had made 137 tessellations as well as 448 woodcuts, linocuts, lithos, and over 2000 drawings.
He may be gone, but Escher could never be forgotten. One of his biggest contributions to the art of tessellations was to create patterns of animals and people instead of just geometric shapes. His new and lively designs made tessellations much more popular than before. Escher is also famous for his amazing pictures such as castles with staircases that go up and down simultaneously. Although he has many beautiful landscapes and drawings, tessellations were his true passion. Escher himself admits he was “addicted” to making them. As one can see, this artist certainly deserves the title “Father of Tessellations.”
Practice Tessellation:
Tessellation the word comes from the Greeks, and it refers to pictures and tiles that cover a surface area in a symmetrical way so that there is no over lapping or gaps. They usually depict animals or other life. Simply, a repeating shape or pattern that has no gaps or overlaps.
2. Write a couple of paragraphs describing the life and work of M.C. Escher. Pick out important facts that describe who he is, how he worked, and why he is famous.
The “Father” of tessellations, M.C. Escher, was born in Holland in 1898 as the youngest child of five sons. His skills in drawing were first recognized by his art teacher in high school, who prompted him to send the sketches to famous designer Roland Holtz. At Holtz’s suggestion, Escher also tried wood carving, and when he failed school he decided to enroll in a specialized art and architecture college. While he continued to draw, his new friend Mesquita got Escher more involved in wood carving and wood designs. The two remained life long friends, and Escher greatly admired him. Escher’s first real tessellation was done in 1925, and his love for ‘filling planes with no gaps or overlaps’ led him to create even more.
A major turning point in Escher’s life came when he returned home for a visit and met with his brother Beer. His brother was intrigued by Escher’s designs, and referenced him to some work he had heard of about crystalline structures. Escher found wall paper designs by George Polya and notes by Professor F. Haag. Haag had described tessellations as “Regular divisions of the plane consist of congruent, convex polygons joined together, the arrangement by which the polygons join each other is the same throughout.” This invigorated Escher and started him on some of his most famous work. By the time he died in 1972, he had made 137 tessellations as well as 448 woodcuts, linocuts, lithos, and over 2000 drawings.
He may be gone, but Escher could never be forgotten. One of his biggest contributions to the art of tessellations was to create patterns of animals and people instead of just geometric shapes. His new and lively designs made tessellations much more popular than before. Escher is also famous for his amazing pictures such as castles with staircases that go up and down simultaneously. Although he has many beautiful landscapes and drawings, tessellations were his true passion. Escher himself admits he was “addicted” to making them. As one can see, this artist certainly deserves the title “Father of Tessellations.”
Practice Tessellation:
Sunday, March 1, 2009
WIP: Music is Life
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