Designing A Logo...

[Camilla and Darwin]

When I read about the DK logo competition I thought about trying my hand at it, then quickly dismissed it. I had never taken any kind of graphic design class, or even used Adobe Illustrator that often. The only thing I had going for me was that I enjoy using Photoshop CS5. Then, as the day wore on I started to think that maybe I did want to enter after all. Knowing that many of the entrants were professional designers kind of scared me, and I was worried that my entries would be totally juvenile in comparison. I put that aside and started on my entry, knowing that while I likely wouldn't win, it would still be a fun experience.

 

Now, I'm not sure how the real designers do it, but I just hand drew my first set of entries. I assume they do some fancy pants thing in illustrator to draw images digitally... but that was beyond me. I sketched my design, scanned it in then traced it in illustrator to make it smooth, and a vector image. 

 

 

 

I knew this was somewhat lackluster, so I started playing around with color and I couldn't choose! Doodles are so many colors and I had no idea which was the most common. I did one of each color I was considering, and changed the text to something more bold. ultimately I narrowed it down to two or three.

 

 

Then i saw Adina's statement that she was hoping for a dog image that could stand alone, and I created this.

After doing this, the polls started and people really didn't like my designs! I was embarrassed, and was suddenly glad for anonymity. LOL. I wasn't offended though, as I had the same concerns as everyone else. :-) Too cartoonish, my doodle looked slightly angry, etc. Adina asked that I do a version that seemed more cheerful so I edited and came up with these two...

 

Then the polls started, and I noticed that people were REALLY not liking the cartoon look. Honestly I thought I had no options because it's REALLY hard to make a detailed realistic drawing of a doodle. I'm sure many people can do it well, but absolutely not me! Everytime I tried to revise and make it more realistic, my dog ended up looking demented and scary. So I decided to go in a totally different direction. I started thinking of doing a doodle silhouette, which wouldn't be a photograph but would be realistic. This was all at midnight so I couldn't go take new pictures, I had to work with what I had. I started with this photo of Darwin, and slowly turned it into a doodle silhouette. By the way, if you notice the grass obscuring his paws in the photo... I had to Photoshop paws from a different image onto him, then blend them in. LOL

 

Out of which these two designs were born

I felt these were really crisp clean, modern, etc. Although they still didn't seem very successful in the polls and I do wonder if it's because the doodle silhouette really just wasn't fun or doodley enough. Obviously darwin is a doodle, but it doesn't come across super well in the outline.

 

After this, I ended up creating each design (modern and drawing) with and without the .com, and with and without the "Where Labradoodle and Goldendoodle owners connect" text. LOTS of versions. :-) 

 

I knew all along that I probably wouldn't win, there were just so many great designs from REALLY talented people. So I wasn't too shocked or disappointed when the final choice was selected. I did end up getting better ratings than I expected, which made me proud of my efforts. I applaud everyone who entered the contest, as I know first hand how challenging it was to come up with a design, revise, revise, receive negative feedback etc. And I'm so glad I did this because it really taught me that there are so many different opinions and styles when it comes to logos. I'm also glad that I learned how to use vector software and illustrator better, because I'm definitely going to try this again! 

 

Hopefully this wasn't extremely long and boring, I just thought you guys would like seeing my design experience, the revisions, etc. :-) 

 

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

i think you did a fantastic job! I didnt vote because I liked all of them!

[ClarkP]

Logo design is SO hard.  I've been a print ad designer, a web designer and have designed a number of good logos.  But I couldn't come up with a logo that was up to my own standard for this site.  And then neither could the pros we worked with.  But Camilla did!  Camilla, you did outstandingly well.  Your scruffy little dog was among three designs that I would have accepted instantly as the DK logo.  You really have a skill for this.  You have a great eye for getting to the essence of the design.  If you enjoy it you could pursue it successfully.  Thanks for your participation in the contest!

[Wendy and Eddie]

That's cool! I love seeing how you changed the expression of your doodle in the first design. I wouldn't have a clue how to do that. Thanks for sharing about your entries!

[F, Calla & Luca]

I think your logo is very nice Tina. I'm sorry you and probably many others did not submit. The more the merrier and who knows?

[Bonne Bouche]

Very cool description of the process of how you did it.I liked viewing the progression, you came up with two very different designs. I really like the "natural" colored ones on the top, and the silhouette was a refreshing take on a logo (a good number of them started looking quite similar). I'm impressed with how much the image really does look like a doodle though! ;-]

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Tina, Your logo is adorable :)

[Bonnie and Kona]

Tina, That is a great doodle, and I love the font gradation. Nice job!

[Tina, Clover, Plus 5 More]

Camilla, I applaud you.  I setup an account, posted a logo and then withdrew it.  Since you were so brave I will at least share it here.

[Elizabeth & *Kosci*.]

Thanks for sharing your process. You are truly talented, like all the different colours of doodles.

[Ellen, Brûlée, and Tira]

You are amazingly talented!  It was an eye-opener to see all you went through to submit your designs.Thanks for taking the time to go back and explain the process to those of us who haven't a clue what is involved.  You have me totally dazzled! ( And I love your designs, though I didn't get in on the voting.)