New Project: Logo Design and Development

Students,

For this in depth project, you will create a series of logo designs to explore different logo creation styles and then sketch and design a final logo design for use in your portfolio as a work sample. Once complete you will use this logo to create an identity package, which is our next project. Read the assignment details thoroughly!

I recommend you use Illustrator for this project. You could use the final logo design as the center piece to your final portfolio website, so consider logo themes that describe you and will work well in different environments.

Overview - Rules and Principals of Logo Design:

1. A logo must me describable

2. A logo must be memorable

3. A logo must be effective without color

4. A logo must be scaleable. So it should look good at 12"X12" and 1"X1"

5. A logo should be appropriate for it's audience and brand

Logo Design Assignment Details:

There are 5 logo examples below, you will create your own logo designs, 3 for each of the 5 styles for 15 designs. You will then design a final design utilizing the best of all styles, for the final design you will pencil sketch 3 different designs before evaluating the best choice and completing final artwork.

Create an imaginary company, organization or think of what you would like to do if you begun your own business. For instance if I was doing this assignment I would create logo's for Wilson Enterprises, Wilson Design Group or Wilson Co. etc...

Research, look at logo designs for similar companies or check out logo design collections online for inspiration. Here is a cool collection of vintage logo designs to peruse.

Create 3 versions of each of the logo style examples below:

1. Typeface only: Create 3 logo's using a different font for each one. Pay attention to spacing between your letters. Think of clever ways you can make a simple font-only logo have impact. Use color, proximity, contrast to your advantage.

2. Typeface's combined: Create 3 logo's that use 2 different fonts, make your font choice strategic to add emphasis and draw attention. Check out this link on effective type combinations

3. Typeface plus an abstract art element: Create 3 examples of an arranged logo that uses a typeface plus some simple elements, rectangles, lines or dots, but they must be abstract. Sketch on paper to aid your creativity if needed. Check out this gallery of abstract logo designs.

4. Typeface plus a shape or symbol: Create 3 examples of a logo that uses a typeface and an image or symbol that is relevant to your logo's subject matter. Sketch on paper to aid your creativity if needed.

5. Shape or Symbol logo with typeface: Create 3 examples of a logo that makes the symbol or shape dominant and the typeface subordinant. Sketch on paper to aid your creativity if needed. Include a written explanation and description of your symbol or imagery.

Due Dates: Logo designs 1-5 are due Friday

Previous Student Logo Developments:

High Performing:

These examples show strong design development, consistency and good application of the principles and elements of design. Additionally they all show strong technical skills.

 Medium Performing:

This set of designs shows progression and focus on design elements and principles up to a point.  Perhaps too much polarity in the more advanced designs failed to yield a refined conclusion. Sometimes a train of thought must be explored deeper to yield an effective resolution to a design problem.

Low Performing:

This low performing result fails to meet assignment parameters. Additionally it does not display mastery technical skills or understanding of design elements and principles.

- Mr.W

Portfolio Project: Kickoff with a Cover Design

Hello Students,

Having a polished and professional looking portfolio is key to your success in finding work after High School and moving on to developing a career. Download the ROP Portfolio Handbook to use as a guide for creating your own portfolio, a requirement in all ROP classes.

Portfolio's are due by beginning of May and must be ready for presentation, evaluation and critique (make it perfect!) but that is no reason to slack on this project. You should put great time and care into creating the professional side of your portfolio and then you will be ready to add your creative projects as the semester progresses. You will complete a digital version as a PDF file for evaluation. Class winner will be able to print and prepare their portfolio for inclusion in the Portfolio Showcase competition. Everyone can print a copy to keep and report covers will be provided if possible.

Remember that the best portfolio in class will be sent to the portfolio design competition that ROP has at the end of each school year, your portfolio will compete against other graphic design classes across the county, and there are prizes!

A judge evaluates print portfolio's from past entrants...

Part A: Portfolio Cover Design Assignment:

• Design an eye catching cover design for you your portfolio
• Include your name, the title of this class, the school you are currently attending and the year
• Design your cover for standard letter size 8.5X11 inch paper
• When you are done post your portfolio cover design to your blog
• Portfolio structure design is due today
• Cover design is due on wednesday

Part B: Portfolio Development Long Term Assignment:

• Your portfolio must be created in Indesign and the final file must be a multi-page PDF document
• Use the Pages palette to create multiple pages for your portfolio with Indesign
• Your portfolio cover, table of contents and all materials should look clean and consistent. Use consistent design style across all aspects of your portfolio, this includes color, typography, layout and style

Your Portfolio must contain in this order: See portfolio handbook for more details...

1. Cover page with your name, class title, year. Spend some time on this, it should show good design skill and be reflective of your personality
2. Table of contents
3. Letter of Introduction
4. Resume
5. Handwritten Job Application 
6. List of References
7. Letter of Recommendation -  cannot be from your ROP teacher or a family member
8. 3 or more work samples with written explanation about the work, why is it important to your career choice? What did the project entail, what were the challenges and difficulties? Give us details.

How Your Portfolio Is Evaluated:

• Contains required content and format
• Well organized
• Free of grammer problems
• ROP related work samples
• Shows creativity
• Nice appearance
• Shows skill development
• Appropriate for use in job search
• Professional appearance
• Nice presentation
• Shows good design and wise choice of color palettes
• Shows consistency across all pages
• Reflects your style, personality and interests

A print portfolio can take many forms, it can be professionally bound, stitched by hand or bound with a spiral ring... how will you create your portfolio, what will make it stand out above the rest?

Tips For Winning The Portfolio Competition:

In the last few years the portfolio competition has gotten fierce, especially for the graphic design category. Other schools have printing facilities that we don't, so you must use your creativity, ingenuity and eye for design to stand above the rest. Consider purchasing a large format portfolio binder and printing work samples at 11X17", or consider making a hand-bound book format to showcase your work. The limits are only contained by your creativity!

Use this as a rough guide to laying out your own portfolio...

Ok, have fun!

Previous Student Portfolio Cover Design Samples:

P.S. There are more samples on the back table for review...

New Project: Create a Package Design and 3D Mockup

Hello Students,
Your new assignment is to create an original package design that can be printed and assembled into a 3 dimensional mockup.

Examples of printed and assembled 3D package design "mockups"

Package Design Assignment Details:

• Search for template designs for packages, find one you like or make an original design. Try a google search for "package template(s)". Here is a link I found
• Outline or trace your template in Illustrator... note the tabs for gluing/taping together and the folding pattern
• Come up with a product idea and create a package design, front, back, sides, top and bottom
• Include product name, information, ingredients, bar code, etc... 
• Take time to create interesting designs or illustrations, use your color theory, typography and design skills in all aspects of the package
• All artwork must be original, no tracing or processing of photographs unless you took the original photo yourself!
• Your project will be graded on originality and complexity of your package design as well as meeting design standards for emphasis, contrast, alignment, clarity, communication.

Package Design Assignment Requirement:

• Package design must be complete with all required information, nutritional information, weight in ounces, warning labels, recycling labels, etc. Look to real world examples to see what your design should include
• Your design must apply and consider use of the principles and elements of design
• Your design must have appropriate typography that is clear, legible and communicates effectively
• Your design must use well thought out color palettes for optimum visibility and contrast
• To present your finished design you will post the flat artwork and a photo of your finished assembled 3D mockup to your blog

Resources for inspiration:
Link: 50 Creative Packaging Design Tips

Link: Packaging of the World

Link: Cool Hunter -  Power of the Package Design

Bonus Links:
Vecteezy Free Package Templates in AI Format
Online label generator for nutritional facts, barcodes and QR codes

Simple cereal box package template

Completed cereal package design

Student Examples:

Have fun!

 - Mr.W