First Design Critique?

satsumaimo

New Member
I've been trying to teach myself graphic design since I'm an artist and it seems fun :) I see a lot of cool designs around online and wanted to give my first go by redesigning the tums logo cause it's ugly lol. please feel free to absolutely tear me apart. i really want to get better!
 

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This is a joke right? The fact that you didn't notice that wording was off-centre before you posted, says it all.

Trying not to be too harsh here, but go back to your day job.
 
I've seen worse when people have been starting out, but it's still got a bit of an armature look to it, and the fonts you've used are really basic and boring.

These tablets are supposed to make you feel better, settle your stomach, calm your gut etc, I'm not really getting that from the label; it's a bit lackluster for me.

Also, the text being off centre; don't beat yourself up about it too much right now, but details like that could be the difference between being employed and not. Imagine showing that to a prospective employer or client.

Good luck with designing. Keep practicing, everyone's gotta start somewhere! :)
 
...redesigning the tums logo cause it's ugly lol
In your opinion. I suspect Tums will disagree.

In any case, you have created a label not a logo. Looks like a ketchup bottle to me.

However, have you researched the user demographic for the product? It may be the target customer is older and likes the colourful image. If you look at their logo only the actual word is consistent across the product range. The fruit and berries change between products.
 
I think you may have missed the point. Design is not about cool. It is not about artistic expression. What it is, is just about the most nebulous exacting-science there is and one that takes years to learn and a lifetime to get even close to perfecting.

It is about communicating other people’s thoughts and ideas clearly. Using typography and image to tell a story – most of it employing the iceberg effect. What you see is only the tip. Much of it is either subliminal, or at very least emotive. I’m afraid, those of us who have been doing this for years can pick out in a second those people who get the plot and those who have no education or experience – or ability.

To my mind, you have approached this from completely the wrong direction. Your original post exposes this. You attempted a redesign because you thought the original was ugly. This means, you have approached this decoratively and what you’re produced is a series of shapes with some words on. The fact that the Glaxo-Smith-Kline logo is just a shield shape (not even symmetrical, by the way) with gsk typed in Times New Roman speaks volumes.

Design is not about pretty. Of course, any solution must be aesthetically coherent, harmonious, etc, etc, but first and foremost, it has a job to do.

Your solution, I’m afraid is, typographically speaking, painful. Centring is the least of your worries. That’s easily fixed. Everything about is shows that you have no idea about what you don’t understand, both aesthetically and technically. You are trying to sprint before you can crawl. You really need to get a serious grounding in what the subject is all about (technical execution aside).

What you have produced is to design what sunday painters are to the RCA.

I am not saying this to be needlessly cruel and I am not saying don’t do it, but please, please, learn what you don’t yet know before posting what is not even a critiquable piece of work.

What you have presented is a bit like me saying, I like architecture and I saw a YouTube video on it, so I am going to design and build a house. There’s a 7-year education in architecture for a reason. You NEED to know what you don’t know before attempting to learn.

I am sure this is not what you want to hear, but there is little point sugar coating it. If you want to do this seriously, there is tough competition out there. Study the best of the best. There are already too many kids out there who think logo design is cool, polluting the world with race-to-the-bottom, ‘I can do it for $50’ crap, as it is.

Get an education and not from YouTube, or even an online ‘university’. If you are going to get anywhere, you need a degree from a reputable university. There are very few people who make it on natural ability alone. You need to either get a degree, or work your way up in the industry and learn your craft. Either way is valid, but you need ability and it takes time and patience.

At very least, the whole university entry process will give you some idea of whether you have any natural talent. It is possible, if you have a degree in fine arts (which I assume you have, as you say you are an artist), to use that and transfer to a design degree, or masters, but your portfolio will be vetted as to whether you have any aptitude. You have a desire, which is a start.

I apologise if you got the brunt end of a bit of an epic rant, but I am afraid we see this sort of thing day in, day out, where people see design as a cool thing to do and think it’s easy. It’s not. It takes years – both to learn and, off your life. Tight deadlines and all-nighters are par for the course. All worth it though. It’s not a bad way to earn a crust if you are lucky enough – or rather, hard-working and tenacious enough – to make a success of it.

You know the bit where you said, ‘Tear me apart’ …
 
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