Hi
Every time I see a post like yours (they come in many guises), I am always left slightly flummoxed as to why wannabe designers seem to be so intent on logo design, instead of expressing an interest in becoming a designer and actually learning the craft, as a whole, before considering specialising. Moreover, this trend to pre-limit to such a narrow field exposes the very problem it creates.
Design is about finding solutions to problems in creative, intelligent ways and visually communicating these ideas to an intended audience, be it very wide, or very niche. It is definitely NOT about making pretty. Logo design, in and of itself, doesn’t – or rather, shouldn’t – exist. The design of a logo should be part of the brand – or identity – of a company or organisation. It is not about making a pretty adornment to sit at the top of a website or letterhead.
For me, the whole idea of just designing logos is a little bit ridiculous. It is like wanting to become an automotive designer by designing only the badge on a car without ever considering the design of the car it will sit on, Wishing to become a GP, but only wanting to learn about renal diseases. It does clients a disservice, in that they are paying money for something that is ultimately very unlikely to do its job.
So, you see, the way you phrase your desire to learn is going to put seasoned designers off even engaging with you. It makes me just roll my eyes and yawn a little. ‘Here we go again …’
My advice would be to take steps towards getting yourself an education from a good university. That way a number of things will happen. Firstly, the evaluation process will tell you if you have any sort of aptitude or ability. If you are any good, you’ll earn a place.
Secondly, you will gain an idea of what you need to learn. Right now, to my mind, you are still at a stage where you appear to not even know what you don’t know. If you are to have any chance at being successful and building the kind of long-term career that will allow you to pay your bills and build a life for yourself, whilst at the same time, giving you a sense of fulfilment, you need to gain a comprehensive understanding of what visual communication is all about.
Finally, you will then spend three or four years learning about how to do this in the right way. After that, you’ll need at least another three of four years working to understand the mechanics of the theory you spent the preceding years learning. Even then, it doesn’t end. I’m still learning after, well, let’s just say, a good few more years than that.
I am not trying to put you off. I am just trying to help you go down the right path to learn in the right way and make your efforts fruitful. Otherwise you will end up as one of the thousands of ‘logo designers’ out there fighting for work to do £20 logos on crowd sourced websites for unsuspecting clients, that will give them what they think they want, but definitely not what they need.
If you learn the right way, you can end up with a fulfilling career (despite the sometimes ridiculous deadlines) that can take you down paths you‘d never knew even existed, in doing work that truly is satisfying and, more importantly, design thangs that do their job and make a difference.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the bit where I get to design logos, but it is far, far more satisfying to work with a client, find out their needs and genuinely help them achieve their goals. That applies to every area of design, not just logos, or rather, branding.
Do you have a body of work that you could create a portfolio from to help you get a place at a university? If not, you could consider doing a foundation course at a local college. You never know, that my take you in directions you never thought of too.
That‘s my two penny’s worth, for what it’s worth.
Good luck.
