What process do you use for logo design?

[John Dorling]

Adobe Illustrator is good, and works pretty seamlessly with PhotoShop. Plus it will have a familiar interface as you are used to PS.

John

[Ian Muir]

As John says Liam, Illustrator would be good for you to get to grips with as your main logo design software, by far the most logos would be designed with a basically vector programme such as illustrator rather than a mainly bitmap editor such as Photoshop.

Ian :lol1:

[Liam Pattison]

Maybe i need to get to grips with designing straight into a vector program, at the moment i seem to find it easier to design in photoshop to begin with as it seems more like a sketch pad where i can alter ideas more freely and then vectorise them and neaten them up later.

I have been using photoshop for years so i know it pretty well but it could save me time if i learn to use illustrator in the same way.

thanks for your advice

[Ian Muir]

see where you’re coming from but if illustrators anything like Corel then perhaps get a wacom tablet and design on that into Illy, once you get used to it then Illy will be better for this work and you can do much more than drawing a couple of lines or writing text.
Ian

[John Childs]

Illustrator first, any other vector package second.

Really anything that we make ourselves should be resolution independent so that we can make them from tiny, up to massive factory sign size, all using the same file.

There is also that added benefit that vector files are so much smaller than bitmaps, giving advantages in files storage sizes, and computer processing times.

[Jill Marie Welsh]

I just use Corel.
Still learning it.
Love….Jill

[Phill Fenton]

What John said ‘sept he’s wrong about Illustrator being the dogs :lol1:

I think we all get proficient at the software we begin with – it then becomes difficult to change to another system without having to go through the whole learning curve again.

I tend to draw things in Casmate Pro (an obsolete sign system) then export to Corel or Signlab to add gradient fills or other effects. I’m sure I would be better off using Signlab or Corel direct but I often find I can do things quicker "the old way". You’re probably the same (finding it is quicker to design in photoshop then vectorise for cutting). Having said that a vectorised file produced from rendered artwork will never be as good, clean and sharp as a file originally drawn using vector design tools.

[John Childs]

quote Phill:

What John said ‘sept he’s wrong about Illustrator being the dogs :lol1:.

:nana: :nana: :nana: :nana: :nana:

[Liam Pattison]

There is some great info and advice their, thanks.

I definitely agree with you Phill when you say, ”I think we all get proficient at the software we begin with – it then becomes difficult to change to another system without having to go through the whole learning curve again.” I am having this trouble breaking away from photoshop as my starting point.

Also i did not realize that the quality would never be as good when vectorising a file produced from rendered artwork.

Liam

[Mike Fear]

Dont really see the point of designing it as a jpeg, then vectorising ???

Better to design as a vector in the first place, then you can export that as a jpeg if needed, gives a much better finish, and the vector is better quality as its not just a tidied up conversion. Once the vector is made any colour changes are simple, and it can be scaled to any size for any use.

Once you get used to a vector program, you will be able to do all the same things as you do in photoshop, but have the added bonus that its a vector, so much more usable.

I can use illustrator and Corel equally well, but normally prefer Corel as I think it is better software and quicker for most things.

Still regularly get people emailing me a small 72dpi JPEG of their logo that a ‘designer’ has made them for their website, who want it made into large vehicle or display graphics, and they never have a vector version of it ( as the ‘designer’ could only design in photoshop ! ) and end up having to charge them to recreate the logo from scratch as a vector.

I would say definitely spend some time learning either Illustrator or Draw as being able to create vectors from scratch will open up a whole new avenue of design from you ( and you will be a ‘proper designer’ rather than someone who fiddles with photoshop occasionally )

[John Childs]

Good post Mike.

You put my thoughts into much better words than I ever could. 😀