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. :-) 

 

[Linda and Murphy]

I loved the second one, Camilla. I voted for it!! 

Thanks for the lesson.

[F, Calla & Luca]

It's very interesting to see the process you went through. Thanks.As I said without knowing who did what, I can now say you did a great job! Your cake decorating skills are also evidence of your artistic bent.

I submitted one bad attempt and realized immediately that a total lack of talent and inability to use the good software that I have, made for something that didn't measure up. I did it for fun but I really don't like using PS. Maybe if one practices it gets better. I think I better keep my day job : )

I didn't go for anonymity because I try to stand behind what I do on line even when, as in this attempt it's pretty feeble. I try to never say or do anything on line that's hurtful or that I would be ashamed to own up to. One good thing about getting older is more freedom of expression but it is important not to misuse it. I guess I'd better not wait for logo companies to call but maybe you should : )

[Carol and Banjo]

WOW Camilla!!!!!    I'm so glad you put your hat into the ring for the design contest.....great entries!!!!!   You're VERY talented!!!!   Thanks so much for sharing your progress and the what's and how's of your design process - very interesting!   Great work Camilla!!!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Camilla, I can't even tell you how impressed I am.  I'm bummed that I didn't recognize Darwin in the silhouette design.  Not boring at all....I'm just amazed.