The basics, ask the experts!

[dazzdeadmeadow]

Hi there all,

I'm here to pick the brains of professionals....you guys!

Graphic design isn't really my field, I'm more a video guy. I'm currently aiming to start a small video production business aimed at small businesses. As my budget is a bit of a shoestring, I'm attempting a bit of basic logo design myself, nothing on the scale of you chaps, but just a text based logo. I have a little bit of experience with Illustrator and know my way round the basics. The key things I need tips on are as follows...

* I need a logo for print, website and that can be used for motion graphics in After Effects, so, do I design in RGB or CMYK?

* Size! What size composition in Illustrator do I start with??

*Can I use any kind of font or should I aim to create my own font with vectors?

I have cobbled something together but not sure if I'm brave enough to post it here for fear of utter ridicule!!!) I tried posting it as a profile on LinkedIn with horrendous results and have since learned that LinkedIn isn't the best for logos.

Anyway, many thanks for reading this and any advice would be hugely appreciated!

 

[scotty]

Welcome to the forum.

* I need a logo for print, website and that can be used for motion graphics in After Effects, so, do I design in RGB or CMYK?

You design in either really and then just convert it.
You can easily select the colour mode in Illustrator and save it out as either.

* Size! What size composition in Illustrator do I start with??

Ai works in vectors which are infinitely scalable so it doesn't really matter.
Just scale the final to the size you require.

*Can I use any kind of font or should I aim to create my own font with vectors?

You can use any font as long as you have the license.
For a free font you would need to make sure it's free for commercial use.
If you're fairly new to typography then I'd use an available font but there's nothing to stop you tweaking it to make the design yours.

 

[dazzdeadmeadow]

Welcome to the forum.

* I need a logo for print, website and that can be used for motion graphics in After Effects, so, do I design in RGB or CMYK?

You design in either really and then just convert it.
You can easily select the colour mode in Illustrator and save it out as either.

* Size! What size composition in Illustrator do I start with??

Ai works in vectors which are infinitely scalable so it doesn't really matter.
Just scale the final to the size you require.

*Can I use any kind of font or should I aim to create my own font with vectors?

You can use any font as long as you have the license.
For a free font you would need to make sure it's free for commercial use.
If you're fairly new to typography then I'd use an available font but there's nothing to stop you tweaking it to make the design yours.

Scotty,

Thanks for the reply! Seems fairly straight forward and probably been asked a million times but good to get a clear answer..cheers! I just solved the logo for LinkedIn by taking a screenshot for AI and uploading that. Looks perfect! Sometimes the odd workarounds give the best results!

Cheers fella

 

[hankscorpio]

To be fair - I'd design in spot colours first, then get the conversion colours for CMYK and RGB from there.

If you design it in RGB, some of those colours cannot be replicated in CMYK - and likewise, if you design in CMYK some colours cannot be replicated in RGB.
And the same goes for Spot Colours.

But having Spot Colours would ensure consistency across print mediums, and you can choose a happy medium in colour variation for web and in full colour print.


Recently had a job where the sample was given in a Pantone colour - but that pantone colour could not be replicated anywhere near the colour of the Pantone at all in full colour print.

 

[scotty]

Scotty,

Thanks for the reply! Seems fairly straight forward and probably been asked a million times but good to get a clear answer..cheers! I just solved the logo for LinkedIn by taking a screenshot for AI and uploading that. Looks perfect! Sometimes the odd workarounds give the best results!

Cheers fella

You can make a .jpg, .png or whatever in Ai by using File > Save For Web.