Identity Design Crit

[Fruitbat]

Looking for some feedback.
At uni (1st year) we had to design corp identity for a class mate. .. this is what happened.. he wanted something that reflected his work which is mainly handmade, printing and graphic design.
D + R monogram
not taking this any further, would just like some tips to take into year 2 of uni with me

thank you x

EDIT* ahh gosh. sorry, new around here & just realised this is in the wrong place

 

[Levi]

I don't see D and R... it just looks like a stylised R to me


It doesn't look hand printed either, the stippling around the 'R' is too clean and controlled

 

[Fruitbat]

I don't see D and R... it just looks like a stylised R to me


It doesn't look hand printed either, the stippling around the 'R' is too clean and controlled

Thanks for the opinion. everything helps.
It wasn't supposed to look hand printed. I just used the sort of uneven texture to make it fit the brief rather than just a solid character

 

[Levi]

I knew what you were 'going for' but it was too clean like I say

 

[Fruitbat]

I knew what you were 'going for' but it was too clean like I say

Yes. but it's a logo to be used for web and print- cards etc.. it can't be to rough, it wouldn't be clear.

 

[Levi]

Yes. but it's a logo to be used for web and print- cards etc.. it can't be to rough, it wouldn't be clear.

You're not understanding the issue....

The dots around the outside of the R are too ordered, too mechanical, too mathematical in their placement. There is no organic-ness (I know it's made up) to them like you would get with hand printing.

Look at how a print goes when you use a sponge or a potato, it's not uniform it has different thickness of paint/ink at different parts due to the differences in pressure

 

[Fruitbat]

You're not understanding the issue....

The dots around the outside of the R are too ordered, too mechanical, too mathematical in their placement. There is no organic-ness (I know it's made up) to them like you would get with hand printing.

Look at how a print goes when you use a sponge or a potato, it's not uniform it has different thickness of paint/ink at different parts due to the differences in pressure

I get what you're saying but it wasn't meant to look printed (as i said up there^^) it was just to achieve the feel of his work which is both handmade & digital.

I did try using a lino block when I was refining the idea but at the scale i needed it for a business card it wasn't clear enough.

 

[KeithyDee]

Looks nice, but as Levi said I didn't distinct between the D + R, all I saw was a fancy looking R. Possibly try out having one a slight darker shade? Or making it so that the D is moved up a few pixels to highlight the split.

 

[Levi]

I get what you're saying but it wasn't meant to look printed (as i said up there^^) it was just to achieve the feel of his work which is both handmade & digital.

But it doesn't look both handmade and digital, it looks digital due to the lack of organic flow to the dots. It basically looks like you've taken the outer shadow/glow filter (names might be wrong been a while since I used filters) in photoshop and set it to have a texture etc.

 

[Squiddy]

Ugh... I'm with Levi on this one too! (Levi, I might have to go to the doctors soon if this persists...)

It seems to me like you're happy with this and have little to no desire to improve on it. As you said yourself, you're not taking it any further. To go back and change it now would be admitting that you're not happy with it and for whatever reason, you don't want to.

I didn't see the D and R, just a fancy R as everyone else has pointed out. I also don't believe there's much of a hand-made element to it. ~90% of the stippling edges follow the contours of the letter perfectly which negates any rough or non-uniform aspects of the design.

I believe this is a case of good concept, poor execution. With a little more work this could be really good.

 

[Fruitbat]

i most defiantly did not use filters! ugh D: it's was done by taking a photo of the D/R on a screen , uploading it back into photoshop and altering the threshold etc etc & halftones

& Thats cool guys i just wanted some views. the project is done and i got a distinction so all went well.

 

[Levi]

i most defiantly did not use filters! ugh D: it's was done by taking a photo of the D/R on a screen , uploading it back into photoshop and altering the threshold etc etc & halftones

& Thats cool guys i just wanted some views. the project is done and i got a distinction so all went well.

No wonder it's lacking any organic feel to it.... you can't get more ordered and 'digital' than the pixels on a screen...

 

[Rogue]

lol... true.

Basically echoing the majority here... Doesn't seem to fit the brief set out by your classmate ... :/ The key thing is to know your brief.
As for technical merit its not bad, simple... but it doesn't need to be complicated I guess. The typography could do with further development cause it just looks like an R, lol...

 

[Squiddy]

It's interesting to note that you got a distinction, yet I doubt that the real designers here would give you the highest rating for that piece of work. No offence to you of course, but it appears that not much has changed in education since I abandoned it...

 

[Levi]

well my uni degree (admittedly different field and a fair while ago now) was marked based on fulfilling certain criteria and not about the actual idea or finished design, heaven forbid that you get marked on ability or creativity....
You HAD to show development steps in your concepts even if you didn't have any... and we all know how well that works, sometimes an idea just pops straight into your head after looking at 2/3 designs.. at uni there was a lot of 'filling in the gaps' lol

I believe they were changing it after my year, which is typical really for me as it's been like that with ALL my major education stages, gcse, a-level etc, either being the guinea pig or being the last of a useless/old technique.

 

[Squiddy]

To be fair, I think every year was the guinea pig, I remember all of that throughout my education too. I think it's very unfair that they paint such a blaze picture of the real working world, it must lead to so many broken expectations.

 

[kayak_nut]

Im with Levi, development scamps are worth their weight in gold for prospective employers, they show how you think. I too think it looks more like a stylised R, I didnt even see the D until it was pointed out. As far as textures go, the fuzzy edge effect isnt something Im a huge fan of, if its to look like a stamp is needs to have weight variation and a difference in the size of the particles, with some larger gaps within the letter. I would try hand rendering it, filling it with a fineliner to leave gaps either side to side or a cross hatch. Just my thoughts

 

[Fruitbat]

No wonder it's lacking any organic feel to it.... you can't get more ordered and 'digital' than the pixels on a screen...

It was a digital design class... all work had to be digital. Not sure if this changes in year two but it had to be done digitally!

 

[Fruitbat]

It's interesting to note that you got a distinction, yet I doubt that the real designers here would give you the highest rating for that piece of work. No offence to you of course, but it appears that not much has changed in education since I abandoned it...

Well the grade was given by lecturers that have worked in the field for many years.
I guess its easier for them though due to them seeing my development, initial ideas and all that stuff & my written up work

 

[Squiddy]

Please use the edit feature (located in the bottom right of your post) instead of creating another one directly after.

I don't think it's a case of something being easier to rate as outstanding due to being able to see a documented development process. All that's meant to be used for is a stepping stone to the best possible result. We can all the see result and it's okay but there is definitely room for improvement.

What I'm trying to say is that something that's deemed as excellent or top marks in education is often not held in the same high regards in the real world. You would probably find that it wouldn't stand out particularly strongly if you presented that to a paying client along with multiple other designs. That would depend on your skill level obviously, so it might be better to compare it to multiple designs done by other designers.