Grads, Pantones and Logos

Mitch

Member
Hi,

I've been working on a logo design and have chosen to use a colour gradient (dark green to mid green) on one element - I picked the colours arbitrarily from the CMYK palette in Illustrator. I've also been asked to provide a version with a flat Pantone green. I don't have a Pantone book so I'll have to go by what I can see on the screen.

I have three questions:

  • a lot of logo examples I've seen use flat colour, so are gradients detrimental in logo design?
  • how important is it to use a Pantone colour selection in logo work? Or are CMYK values fine? It's going to be used in print and on the web, so I guess consistency is important.
  • in the gradient version should I use two Pantone selections, or just stick with the CMYK colours I've chosen?
I know a lot of things are subjective but I guess I'm just after some general guidance.

Thanks,

Mitch
 
Once again it is a fairly difficult question to answer as their is a slight discrepancy between the CMYK value colour and the pantone colour, so it depends entirely on the output really.

I always think pantone first, that way it should work back the other way.
 
Thanks mrp2049, that's good advice. If you go the Pantone route from the start you'll have less issues later on. I do need to invest in a Pantone colour book, or two! It's just they're a bit pricey, and when you're starting out the full set is a bit dear.

Also, I think I've discovered gradients in logo design aren't quite as effective as solid colour.
 
We have a panton book here that has the closest CMYK colour to the pantone and the seperations for that colour too, that would be very helpfull for you i am sure.
 
Don't ever pick Pantones on screen. You may get a shock when you see the actual printed colour. Invest in a swatch book!!
 
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