Typography I'm lost

cookedpeanut

So I'm creating a portfolio on Cargo and I'd like to create a header image that incorporates my name. It'd be nice to have a logo version as well that I could use on my images, however I can't think what to do.

This is my first attempt, granted it's nothing special:


I just don't like how bland it looks and I have no idea where to start developing any ideas.

So my question is this, how do you guys develop typographic names and/or logos, do you use elements from other people's work or do you create things from scratch?

I'd just like some inspiration or advice to get me going...

Thanks chaps

Shiniku

To be honest I always prefer the logos that are simply the person's name typed out in a specific (simple, professional looking) font. Maybe throw in an underline or something if you're feeling crazy

RobeOmega

+1 To Shinku's post

Muzzoid

Number 1 rule with typography. Don't change fonts or styles arbitrarily.

It is hurting my brain seeing both images in different styles and at different perspectives. You have to think of the whole logo as one cohesive piece.

moose

What Muzz said.

I think if you went with the style of "STIPPEL" for your entire name, it'd be good. It is simple, classy, and it has a message about you. Mixing serif and sans serif can be risky, but I think it can be pulled off here so long as the serif face is in wireframe like you have it/stylized, and everything else is sans.

Equanim

Start by making a black and white version (as in two color). It forces you to be more creative and helps ensure your logo has good contrast and can be used in almost any situation. This is standard practice for graphic designers. You can also use one of the colors as negative space, which makes a great watermark. Plus flat design is trendy right now.

Add a simple graphical element if you want your logo to have something extra. Think of something that's iconically "hard surface", make a black and white graphic for it and incorporate that into your logo. (iconfinder.com is a great place for ideas.)

Your logo doesn't need to have the same visual impact as your work. It just needs to be readable, recognizable (font choices are for shape recognition), and overall more important than the rest of the text on you site. Logos also tend to work best when they're isolated. Notice how the Polycount logo is above the banner and opposite the navigation, there's nothing interfering with it. If you look at a can of Coca Cola, the first thing you see is the red, then the font, THEN (if you haven't already recognized the brand) you read the text. That's really how logos work.

Also, Greentooth could be considered a graphical element, but because it's rarely seen with the word "Polycount", it's more of an insider logo. You wouldn't use JUST greentooth to advertise. If you use a graphic, make sure it's accompanied by your name and job title.

cookedpeanut

Wow, thanks for all the info guys! I've taken it all in and have started to create some ideas, I'd appreciate some input and crits, let me know what you prefer and what you don't like...

So I have my surname as a typographic logo, I also have a stylish font in plain and I'm working on the idea Equanim mentioned with incorporating a "hard surface" theme into a logo.

Here's what I have so far.

Idea 1.


Idea 2 - This also has a mockup of how I would like it to look.


This is how I'd like it to work, with an alternating slideshow of my photographic and hard surface work.

The compact logo.

Joao Sapiro

just write your name in a regular font...thats it.

Unless you are applying to design position.

beefaroni

Idea 2 as a header without the slideshow behind it.

NEVER do a photography/hard surface slideshow (or a slideshow in general). I can't even think of what position would want that.. I feel if a company sees a slideshow with your photos mixed in with hard surface stuff they will ignore you..

Literally, all you have to do.

1. Take that nicely designed idea #2 with your name (it is real nice). Put that on the top left of a webpage.
2. Below that, have 2 tabs, portfolio, contact
3. The portfolio tab will be your home page. Put 1 image that best shows each project and make them around 1000 x 300 pixels.
4. Put each project below the next.
5. Each project should link to a set of images (1440x900 or around that) that show the full project.
6. That's it.

If you don't believe me, here are three examples. All work is presented as soon as you reach the page. Minimal amount of clicks to navigate. No fancy coding. Everyone is able to view easily.

http://www.torfrick.com/
http://www.laurenscorijn.com/
http://scotthomer.co.uk/

cookedpeanut

"Idea 2 as a header without the slideshow behind it." - Woops, yeah that was mybad, forgot to put the layer behind, haha.

However that's some very useful advice, I'll have a look into it and change it accordingly. I guess the only question now is how I can combine my photography with my digital work, both passions of mine... Hmmm.

beefaroni

What is your end goal in life? What do you want to do?

If it is digital art (games), then have photography as a separate tab up top. 3d work should always be presented right when you get to the page and should not be combined with other work that is not directly relevant for employers.

RobeOmega

http://www.vangcki.com/artistbio
Hope this helps in some way

cookedpeanut

Ok, here's another logo to go along with the name - I've gone with a polygon/shard look and incorporated the initials 'J' & 'S' as abstract shapes.
Let me know what you guys think!



Edit:

I'm planning on studying games engineering, so developing within UDK and whatnot...
However that'll be next year so as an interim thing I'm looking to create a portfolio that generally shows my ability at digital art (Oooooh, scary, ambiguous word there, lol), essentially using Photoshop but also my ability to comprehend 3D modelling and game workflows.

You know, that's a good question - I haven't put much thought into it. Perhaps I can create two separate portfolios that are presentable to different audiences when needed - you know what, come to think of it, my photography is more a hobby and in some ways I'm just cramming it in because I'd like to show it to a wider audience. Not from a business stand-point but more an artists gallery if you like...

LRoy

Seeing as how you're posting this on a game art forum, I'm assuming you want to be a game artist.

No one is going to care about this as far as jobs go.

beefaroni

Edit: Didn't feel like searching for your font. But this is the general idea that you should try to go for.

cookedpeanut wrote: »

However that'll be next year so as an interim thing I'm looking to create a portfolio that generally shows my ability at digital art (Oooooh, scary, ambiguous word there, lol), essentially using Photoshop but also my ability to comprehend 3D modelling and game workflows.

I'm currently a "digital artist" as well (at least that what my school tells me ). Why not let your Graphic Design and photography show through with your 3d work?

Graphic Design, Photography, and 3d stuff can all overlap. Lets say your doing a work based off of a concept and want to add something to it.. You could always design some cool logos and throw em on. How do you present your model? Which angles look the best? Photography should be able to help out with that :thumbup:

PyrZern

Gotta admit I can't see the J or the S in the current logo.

fatihG_

Well, he did say it is supposed to be abstract. So not being able to see the J or the S, should not be a problem.

That being said, I can see the J and S just fine.


edit--

After looking at it again, it kind of feels a bit out of balance.
Here is what I would do. Since this thing looks like its based on a particularly sized triangle, I would use the same triangle to create the whole logo.
The smaller triangle in the upper left stands out for example.


Since you intended it to be abstract anyway, not making the J look like a "real" J should be fine, in my opinion.

MephistonX

i would keep it simple, the logo type is fine as is, just use that and kill the logo, then just use your bold J and regular S for a condensed logo, that will keep it nice and clean

Nam.Nguyen

Typography and Design is art too, you need a ton of knowledge to make it look right.
I understand the "abstract shapes" you trying to achieve but you do it the wrong way, even with the colors.

like the others said above, Just choose a nice font and type your name. A good font is an artwork already.

and if you really serious about your personal brand, I suggest you should hire a designer

.Wiki

beefaroni wrote: »

Edit: Didn't feel like searching for your font. But this is the general idea that you should try to go for.

I wouldn´t use these "software" icons. In my opinion they always nail you down to a specific software. If you apply it should not matter if you worked in maya, softimage, 3dsmax or cinema4d. It only matters what you can do if you can adopt to a other software.

cookedpeanut wrote: »

Ok, here's another logo to go along with the name - I've gone with a polygon/shard look and incorporated the initials 'J' & 'S' as abstract shapes.
Let me know what you guys think!

I got something similar as my personal logo but I can´t spot the letters in your´s when I looked at it the first time. If you create a logo it has to be clear. To me it looked more like an abstract shape but not like JS

bugo

Hey Jesse, I'm a bit lost on your goal here, do you want to be a photographer or a modeler? As I sometimes review portfolios, I don't think I would know what you are looking for or your goal. Have you thought of separating a section for photography in your folio?

I would also not be looking to someone with a pretty portfolio but more on its content. So I don't mean to be rude, and I honestly didn't see your portfolio yet. But don't you want to lose more time doing more artwork instead of making your portfolio pretty?

Again, I could be wrong, because maybe you have a super cool portfolio content, and I don't know.

ysalex

I agree with Dustin about everything, but would like to add: I don't like the logo. The triangle color thing is very derivative at this point. Beyond that, the shapes with the flat top and duplicate bottom triangles read very blunt, with no finesse or sense - and the gap between the body and triangles is different, which makes it feel sloppy. I cannot find the JS, so if you shaped the logo the way you did to incorporate them, it didn't work. The logo is also huge next to the text, and along with all those colors, it is overwhelming.

My input would be that design is fine. Everyone should pay attention to design. But if you don't have an eye for design, your goal should be, at the very least, to make sure that your design is not detracting from your work. I do not have an eye for design, so when I do have to design something my whole goal is to do enough to get across my point without making the content look worse by association.

Dustin's suggestions about the sub-text on the logo are spot on as well, too much and too small.

Not trying to offend, it's just what I see. I am absolutely not a designer myself so take it for what it is (an uneducated opinion.)

ysalex

For a sense of better weighting with less complex, more balanced color and shape, look at the polygon logo - the way the shape flows, the proportions of the logo compared to the text and the way these things align, and the simplicity of the single font single word text. Seems like the polygon logo is exactly what you're going for, makes it a very good example.

shotgun

I have 3 points to make:

First, design is an overarching discipline. Learning how to design logos with fonts & shapes will help you design better models and compose better photographs. You can only go up, so invest in it.

As per your logo, if the colorful shape is meant to represent a merged JS, I don't see it either (can make a J, if I tried, but no S). Value-wise, you lose the top, bright area and it draws attention away from the text.

If, indeed, that graphic is supposed to represent JS in triangular shapes, the rest of the logo (which should be regarded as 'more shapes') is made out of different ones, totally 4. You want the rest to reflect and balance the graphic, and vise-versa. Designing several letter with this triangular style is comparable to font design, which is a profession in itself, so you *might* wonna consider simplifying things:


This example by no means represents a good logo, but it does solve the above issue, and a third point:
The surname font should be thicker compared to the bottom text. If you are going to follow Dustin's advice about beefing the bottom text up, make sure it doesn't overweight the thinner surname.

EDIT: I accidentally cropped the bottom left of the J of Jessi and the H of Hard. But The vertical crop works well against the vertical line of the graphic, and 'ard' in UK slang is harder than just 'hard', so...