The Process 3: Getting Started
As far as I can tell, this is the most variable part of a designer’s process. Friends and colleagues can feel free to correct me on this, but everybody I know comes at this differently. And of course we do – this is the part where we create something out of nothing. There’s nothing more personal than that. For me, this part of the process has two parts – conceptualization, and creation. Conceptualization is where I pair my notes and inspiration and think about what their babies would look like. Creation is where I put pen to paper (or finger to trackpad) and make it happen. There are no steps here at all, it’s all a mish mash of principles and techniques. This is also completely intertwined with the previous stage, and I, like many designers, flow seamlessly between the two as I work.
Sketching
I can’t draw for shit (should I admit that?) but I almost exclusively develop concepts on pen and paper. Many of my sketches are thought out carefully, but just as often, I’m playing with random shapes to see what sticks. At this stage I go for quantity over quality because I never know what random scribble will spark something amazing in my head. 99% of what I make at this point is terrible, but who’s going to see it? And almost every project I’ll look back on something I initially dismissed and find a spark that’s worth pursuing.
My subconscious frequently knows better than I do how to manifest great ideas, so I give it every opportunity to show me what it can do. In addition to sketching out fully formed concepts, I use a few techniques to push my creative energy and scrape up random ideas that may help later. The methods I use to comb out the best ideas vary wildly among project types, but since we’re focusing on logos in this series, here are some logo-specific ones:
Crazy Sketches
In addition to drawing random or half-baked forms, I’ll frequently scribble up a page to see if anything good lies in the lines. Did you ever do that as a kid? It still works today.
Working from Shapes
I’ll draw a whole page full of 12-16 circles, squares, triangles, etc. and make myself create something new out of each one of them. Remember the Prometheus-inspired logo from Episode 2? That was a circle concept. If there’s an atypical shape I think may work particularly well for the project, I’ll add that too – in the case of Surge, the lightning bolt ended up bringing us to our final concept.
Playing with Letters
I integrate letters into most of my logos, so I love to take important glyphs and push their limits. While I love doing this in paper, the computer can be a great tool for playing with letters, especially if you have a font in mind (or want to try out a few). Keep in mind this is NOT the same as pairing the symbol you create with text, which comes at a later stage.
Starting in Black and White
You know when you have a to do list with so many top priorities that you waste most of the day trying to figure out where to start? That’s how I feel integrating color right off the bat when I design a logo. There are a few reasons I almost always start my work in black and white. First of all, it allows me to direct my focus on the shape. Then, when I work on color, I’m all in. That allows me to give whole-ass each individual task instead of half-assing them together. The second is that logos often need to be printed in solid black. If your concept depends on color, there’s a good chance it’s going to look crappy – or may not work at all – when you take it away. If it looks amazing in black and white, it’ll only look better in technicolor.* This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but 99% of the time, I find this gets me off on the right track.
*I call this principle The Ireland Effect. Ireland in the sun is euphorically amazing. Why? Because it rains in Ireland almost every day. Irish culture and aesthetics have been developed to be great even when the weather is terrible. Ireland doesn’t need the sun to be great. But when the sun does come out, it’s next-level.
Dreaming Crazy
I mentioned this briefly in Episode 2 as well, but at this part of the design process, I don’t let anything limit me. This was a principal I learned as a junior designer on a crazy ambitious project, and it stuck with me. This isn’t the time to think about technological limits or the rules of design. Would this logo look better as origami? Can we integrate a photo? How about a logo website? I’m not even sure what that means, but sure, why not? I mean eventually, no, probably not, but this isn’t the time for that. You will accomplish nothing by limiting yourself (this also applies to life – you’re welcome).
Treat it Like a Brain Teaser
Has anyone out there read Angels and Demons? From what I remember, there’s a great moment where Robert Langdon and his smarter-than-him love interest/sidekick are backed into an elevator in the Vatican with the bad guys running toward them. Instead of giving up, she recalls a Buddhist technique, wherein a person in an impossible situation asks “What is the answer to this test?” thereby eliminating the possibility that there is no solution. I’m not sure if this is actually in the book, I’m not sure if the technique is real, but this mindset changed my life. I feel very strongly that logos be clever and layered, so taking all my ideas and making them into real designs that accomplish everything I want and still look good is… it’s really hard. But when I remind myself there IS an answer, I invariably end up finding it.
On Book/Off Book
Sometimes I gotta look to my notes for inspiration. Sometimes they hold me back. Instinct will tell me when it’s time to think more strategically or just let the lines draw themselves, but when I’m feeling stuck, taking away my notes, or adding them back in, is the quickest and easiest way to switch things up.
