Essays http://blog.ohtwentyone.com/essays_viewer/rss jon 2008-05-21T19:41:09Z Process Essay: Alliance Logo http://blog.ohtwentyone.com/blog/allianceLogo_processEssay I was recently commissioned to design the logo for Alliance Business Insurance and, as luck would have it, haven't accidentally destroyed my notebook yet, so I'm presented with the golden opportunity to document my logo design process. I feel it's noteworthy that although I do have a general process for logo design, it changes on every project. First, I am always trying to improve it. Second, every client is different. Third, I think design is about discovery, and you have to go where tha process takes you. Although design is a process, it does have a result, and the service of that result needs to be the ultimate goal. Okay, so now that I am down from my soap box, here's how I designed this logo. I start by interviewing the client. I have a questionnaire that I use, which I got from one of those "Forms for designers" books and modified, but I prefer use it as the basis of an interview rather than having the client merely fill it out. I get more juicy info from them that way. jon 2008-06-27T20:19:58Z Process Essay: The Dracul Logo http://blog.ohtwentyone.com/blog/draculLogo I was recently asked to design the logo for a new comic book based on the real life childhood of Vlad Tepes, aka Vlad "Count Dracula" the Impaler. It's the first logo in a really long time that I have done where I hand-lettered the type and developed a custom logotype without using an existing font, so I thought it would be an interesting case for a process essay. Now, let me begin at the beginning: In order to design the logo I started out by reading the script for the first issue. It introduced me to the main themes and historical context of the storyline. I then took some of the reference material that the author (Steve Snyder) sent to me and the artist and used them as a springboard for my own research. As it turns out, Vlad Tepes lived from 1431 to about 1476 or so, which was also a pretty interesting time in the history of typography/calligraphy. It was during this period that the movable type printing press was invented and put into use for the first time in Europe. The story takes place during the period in which the Ottoman Turks were invading, like, everything. That means that gothic typography as well as turkish calligraphy is in play for a historically accurate logo. jon 2008-06-25T02:43:11Z