I made the logo below for my friends. They are a newly started band and asked me if I wanted to make them a logo. I have no experience with logo's at all - so even though they liked it and use it on their Facebook page I'm not too happy about it.
It just doesn't seem original enough I think. They wanted a triangle and it should be simple - so if you guys have any ideas please share

btw, SIDEGADER stands for side streets.



This post was edited by LazyDazy on Mar 26 2015 01:37am

It's made in photoshop, rather than illustrator, so it can't be enlarged without losing quality. It will look blurry/pixelated on posters. If the logo was vector and scaled correctly, the legibility wouldn't be there due to the low contrast of the white text on a light/white background. The lack of contrast would be exacerbated on a billboard with sunlight hitting it. I just tested how legible the text is at 3"..not good. It wouldn't fit in any website banner, business card, or small flyer.

The text looks skewed, rather than finding a taller font, or outlining the font in illustrator, then adding custom adjustments, you just adjusted the height percentage. The kerning isn't too bad, but it could be adjusted slightly. The font itself isn't a very attractive font imo..mostly just the G looks odd. The text isn't centered inside the triangle. The colors look less rich when it's CMYK, so if you print it anywhere, then you'd have to pay for 4-color. It looks even flatter in 2-color.

My suggestion would be to find a different font and create the base logo in illustrator. Adding the grunge and texture effects should be an afterthought. Also, since you're limited to putting text in a triangle, consider moving the text further down in the shape, so it can be displayed larger, or consider extending the text slightly outside of the shape. Would the band accept you splitting the text into two lines? This would allow for an even larger display.

This post was edited by ericswanson_19 on Mar 26 2015 07:52am

Thanks! Just the answer I was looking for. Well it seems like I have a lot of adjustments to be made.
I have never used illustrator before, but I will try and remake the whole thing in that. I will see if I can get the font/text fixed.
- Do you have suggestions for a better font?
Should I add more contrast to the text or overall?
After I made the whole thing in illustrator, should I add the textures when I have whatever size I have chosen? So each time the logo is used for something differently I have to reapply the textures correct?
Since it's SIDEGADER is one word I'm not sure how they would feel like splitting the text into two.. But I will see how the suggestions you came up with will look

Thanks again.

If you want to stick with a sans serif font, then some of my favorites are gothom, avenir, and franchise bold. The gothom font family has like 40 variations, but their condensed/narrow font works great as a tall font. Research 'sans serif' for other examples.

Once you've determined your font and typed out the content in AI and determine if you want to elongate the text anymore without skewing, then the next step would be to outline the text and turn it into shapes. When you outline text it automatically turns them into shapes and groups everything, so you'll want to upgroup to help adjust individual letters. There are 2 arrows in AI.. the select and direct select. If you want to move an entire object, then use the select. If you want to select individual points/paths, then use the direct select. For example, if you wanted to elongate a letter, then use the direct select to just grab the bottom points, rather than transforming the entire letter. You could customize letters even more using the pathfinder, so you could watch some tutorials on how to utilize that.

I would first make the logo using black/white as much as possible. Make sure the logo can stand on its own before stylizing. There are two methods I can think of to then apply a style/texture. You could make your textures in PS, then place into AI inside a clipping mask. If you export from PS to AI, then make the files JPEGs/TIFs. JPEGs will remain flat, but if you want to transfer anything with a transparent background, then use TIFs. You could technical import the entire PSD, but the file size will be larger. TIFs are also larger, so only use this format for transparency or if you don't mind the file size. The textures themselves might get pixelated when enlarged, but the edges would remain sharp/clear. AI also has some similar layer styles, such as multiply/overlay. You could also design with a super huge version in PS, so downsizing remains clear. I recommend working in CMYK and 300 resolution to get a slightly better idea of what the printed colors would look like (this still isn't perfect, but it helps). You technically never know what the printed version will look like until it's actually printed.

Regarding the letter contrast and helping it pop more, you could pick a slightly bolder font that would define the shapes more. You could add a really subtle outer glow, such as black at 15-25%. You could use the burn tool in PS to darken the background as well. Also, keep in mind how the logo will look on different backgrounds. It obviously currently looks best on black, but test it with white and other colors.

Again, definitely push to allow for splitting the text into 2 lines. It will look best.

This post was edited by ericswanson_19 on Mar 26 2015 09:37am

Alright thank you. I will see if I can apply your suggestions to the logo and see how it goes

did you learn how to make this in tumblr 101 class

1. logos should be simple

2. your kerning is off

3. if your effects touch the type like that don't do it

4. why am i looking at the stars at the side before the type? no just start from scratch

holy shit

Something like that
But I have absolutely no experience with logos - so yeah this is the result!




What exactly is kerning? And do you have suggestions for a new design?

Kerning is the spacing between individual letters. Type faces do the best they can, but some letter configurations just don't balance well. Certain letters also need special treatment. Skinny letters like 'i/l' usually need a little bit more space on the sides. Wider/circle letters like 'o/c/e' need pinched a little more. Slanting letters like 'k/v/A' also need some special treatment. Depending on the font, you could also have the exact same spacing throughout..so there aren't any set rules.

Also, tracking is the spacing of an entire line of text.. and leading is the vertical spacing between multiple lines of text.

Play this game to practice. http://type.method.ac/

This post was edited by ericswanson_19 on Mar 27 2015 08:59am