Can anyone recommend sites where I can get inspiration for my new logo for my web design work, I am a coder more than anything but need a logo

I would say leave your chair and go outside for a little walk. Inspiration rarely strikes you when you're trying to look for it. I always get good (at least I think so) ideas when I'm outside and can't use my computer. Problem is, don't get distracted with anything or your concept will fall into the abyss of your brain forever and it's never coming back.

 

If you insist on staying inside I would recommend going on pinterest. This board has images of literally everything. This place is nothing short of inspiring.

Logo designing is awesome. Easily one of my favourite things to do with design. As with all things design, preparation is key - research being a fundamental part. As the logo is for yourself, rather than focus on anyone elses designs, try and jot some things down about you and your interests. You're more of a coder? Implement something to do with code. If you're into minimalism, design something clean and simple, into abstract - go nuts.

 

Once you get those key things down, start jotting down what you want to convey in your logo. Trust? Professionalism? Elegance? Believe it or not, writing down keywords will inspire you to define your design in your terms. Once you have an idea on all those, you can start looking for imagery that relates to your vision.

 

Sounds like a lot of work but that's a watered down version of logo design for me. Sure there are people knocking out logos for $5 a go on freelance sites, but you have to ask yourself the longevity of it all and will your audience 'get' what you're conveying.

 

Not interested in all that thinking stuff and want the cheat code? Have a look on http://logopond.com/ for some quick inspiration.

Hi Chris,

 

The suggestions that the other guys have given are great - there's nothing better than going for a short walk, you never know what will inspire you when you least expect it!

If you're after logo websites to browse - LogoMoose and LogoGala are great sites!

 

Good luck and let us know what you come up with

Logo is very useful and important for all business which help to make good impression in people and attracts more vistors. If you are looking for logo design sites than you have to find it on the web. Throughout google search you can get plenty of webstie for logo desing which will be very helpful for you to getting logo desing informaton.

Thanks for all your useful suggestions everyone, its given me alot to think about, I am making the shift from coding to the actual design aspects and I understand I need to be origional and I need to convey a message that sums me up and what i am aiming to do is create my own style which will show in my design work, as a dig deeper into whats important in web design I realise that there is alot more to it than I first envisioned but I am positive that by trial and error I will get there.

 

I will draft up some logo designs and if people can then me some feedback I would appreciate it greatly.

Sounds good Chris. Get out that sketchbook

I will update you on my progress when I have something to show but at the moment i am just thinking it hurts to think sometimes!

Can anyone actually recommend a font to use in my logo as I would find that I want to create a logo which is based on text rather than complex imagery

Its been a long day and I have a designers version of writers block.... I have designed a logo, early stages but i just wondered if anyone could give me some pointers

From your previous posts I didn't expect you to have created a logo so quickly. Seems a bit long. Could you not incorporate your initials instead of full name? The slogan is a little confusing - 'getting online simply' may insinuate that you provide other services in addition to web design.

 

You don't have to have an image for a logo, but if you're going to just use text, you'll need to ensure it's a font that portrays the aesthetic you're intending to represent. Easier to summarise into a question: how does this logo represent you?

 

It's not a trick question or anything. Just wondering how you came to this design

I was thinking about using initials i was going to try and design an oval type design that would fit in the middle of a top nav menu but my photoshop skills are very limited!

the stars make your logo look cheap, if thats what you were going for, then great! If it isn't I would avoid them if I were you. Also, for a logo it is a really good idea to make it a vector, or atleast ant-alias your fonts.

 

The suggestion from 4li4s to use just initials is really good, listen to this guy!
if you need more fonts you could always have a look at dafont[dot]com, type in your text and look at what font looks good with your text.

 

you said you wanted to work rather with text rather then imagery, then I would definitly get rid of those stars. If this were my project I would have a look at the initials you got, and see if you can play a bit with the shapes of the letters you got at hand to create a solid logo. After all, text is just a collection of images we call letters. letters have shapes, just like any other image. And as a designer you are free to play with these shapes as you like. You can warp letters quite a lot before people are unable to read it.

 

edit: After reading your post. I'd like to say this :

 

forget about photoshop and illustrator, pick up a pencil and a piece of paper. that way you can think more freely without being limited by your skills in software. or the tools of the software.

create what you think looks good, and then worry about the execution in illustrator (I know you said photoshop, but do yourself a favor and make a vector now, you'll regret it later if you don't)

Edited April 4, 201313 yr by Tieskevo

Excellent advice, Tieskevo. Cannot stress the use of the pencil (not the icon tool!). Really really helpful. Of course, if you're a wizard on Illustrator, go ahead and do that first but I don't know anyone who does that first and I know like, 2 people!

 

It's difficult to read tone through text at times. From the impression I get from the original post, I don't want to discourage you what with balancing work and learning new design methods. I have to agree about the stars though. I think what's important at the moment is you really focus on what you want to portray with your image/brand and not rush things.

 

Dafont has some good fonts that you can also download and not just link to. If you're not intending to go further than web, that is, not looking to use print - try something like Google WebFonts. They have quite a few printable fonts such as the versatile Open Sans, but it's use is intended for the good 'ol web. If you want to invest a bit more, head for typekit, fontspring and fontdeck but judging from your earlier posts, stick to Google/Da Font for now.

 

Typography is another kettle of fish. It will pay off to learn as much as you can but put off kerning and leading for now and focus just on your logo. You can edit it all later. But as Tieskevo has said, it would be in your interest if you use a vector. If you don't have Illustrator, Inkscape is a good free alternative.

4li4s you would cringe if you would see the amount of people in my year who couldnt draw a circle if their life depended on it.

4li4s you would cringe if you would see the amount of people in my year who couldnt draw a circle if their life depended on it.

 

As long as they can't draw a perfect circle freehand (sign of genius or insanity?)

I just meant to say they can't really draw

Here's a few tips I'd give to anybody before they start to design a logo; they may be of help:

1. Will it work in Print (CMYK), ie on your business card etc
2. Will it work as an avatar on sites like Twitter, here at WDF, etc
3. Make it a vector so's you can adjust it's size without losing quality
4. Is it something people can (or will later on) recognise you/your business by?
5. Does it portray what you do?
6. Does it use fonts you can use on your website? It doesn't have to but can be a bonus later

And for anyone into logo design I'd deffo recommend the awesome JustCreative; this guy is very talented and has an unmissable blog.

 

Might be worth having this as 'best answer'. Couldn't agree more.

thanks to fontface #6 isnt that relevant anymore.

 

other then that. great post

Thanks once again for some advice from all these recent responses, i am going to take that advice and work hard to approach the situation of building a logo that represents my work ethics, as i have probably said in the past i am a coder. I did Business IT at university and specialised in web systems, but never covered web design in much detail. I am going to have to work hard to improve my skills, but i know i have to take it step by step to yield the fruits of my labour!

make sure to post what you make

Design number two of my new logo please can I have some feedback?

Better than the first one. Did you sketch out some ideas in the end? How many designs have you come to so far or is it the two that you've submitted? I'm sure some of the other members can give you some more depth as I don't want to keep bombarding you with questions or dishearten your progress.

 

One thing I will mention though is having 'design' in your logo. Believe it or not, people can get confused as to what you do. It could be interpreted as anything from the design world - architecture, fashion, the list goes on. One quick solution is adding 'Web Design' - alternatively you could add a slogan to your liking - Chris Paris-Haines Design: Web Wizardry & Tickles. Obviously that's just an example as I'm sure you can come up with something appropriate. Feel free to use that one, but watch out for the Trade Descriptions Act - you'll need to follow up with the tickles and perhaps be a wizard of some sorts.

 

Good luck!

4li4s Response:

I have only had the 2 designs so far, I did do a bit of sketching. I was thinking of slogans that fit my design/development services but I am stuck at the moment, marketing/branding is not my strong point, if I work with an existing logo and can base my websites on a brand but generating a new brand identity is something I need to work on. I appreciate you asking questions as they help me to focus my thoughts, I have found your input to my posts very helpful.

 

RobbyDesigns response:

That is ok, I have not ruled out logo designs with a graphical/image element, any advice/relevant resources people can provide is useful.

One of my favorite enjoyable things to do is designing Logos! Brand are very powerful, and bare in mind never design a logo for its sake. Always use the principle; Logo has to mean something. But anyway, as an inspiration everyone is different. But for me, I get inspired by looking at other logos in terms of design and there is nothing wrong with that as long as you don't copy

 

Another inspiration I have when it comes to the meaning of the logo is sketching and playing around in a piece of paper, trust me. First, it may sound hard but once you have 20 or 30 sketches you will start to develop something!

 

I hope you find your inspiration and good luck!

Please can I have your views on my modified design with a tag line of "Following the latest web design trends"?

RobbyDesigns:

 

I did use Adobe Photoshop as I am nut familiar with illustrator or fireworks. I know i need to convert it into a vector or just build from scratch, I have considered getting a designer who is alot better at graphics than myself but i currently dont have the finance to do so. I am just going to have to work hard and to get as much feedback as I can!.

You really need to get a grasp about Illustrator, photoshop won't help you a dime on logo design. And more than this, you need to follow some basic graphic design course! I'm sorry if I sound rude, but this is your logo and should be bright and professional, otherwise it will affect your business.

I completely understand the importance of my logo, hence why I am doing my best with my limited experience in graphic design, as I am a coder, I can get to grips with all that stuff that goes on in the background. As stated in my previous message its a case of catch 22, as I want to get the business, but I can not get it up I do not come across as professional, I am aware that I need to get some experience under my belt in many avenues, I was very apprehensive of making a website to advertise my services and maybe I have not given it enough though as I need to gain the experience, I have always learnt by doing. In conclusion which may be rhetoric, I wish not to ignore any advice I am given unless of course it is in such a way that it insults my intelligence, which I have not come across from any area in this forum. I am here asking for feedback and advice, I would ask if anyone knows of anywhere I can a) Learn more about logo design and any theories or tips I can learn to design better logos & Where can I learn about Illustrator?

 

Any advice would be much appreciated and also I thank everyone who has contributed to this thread so far, if you have been following this thread you will see I am making some progress, maybe slowly but I am taking advice on board, and just one final note some people hold back because they don't want to offend, I am not easily offended however if I am in anyway I will take the matter away from the public forum and deal with like an adult.

Hey Chris, I typed a rather long response on my phone, but due to loss of connection while posting it is all gone, so. trying to recreate everything I said here.

First of all, you are making progress, we can see that. but you really need to be careful for those pixel edges as they make the best logo ugly and unprofessional. If for some reason you're still a bit scared to work in Illustrator (but you're not, seeing your latest post) atleast anti-alias your fonts. It's too easy not to do it, and it will give your logo a much cleaner look. Second, i would move away from script fonts if I were you, especially as a coder.

I'd recommend using a sans-serif font to your liking.

As for learning Illustrator, there are tons of posts here on the forums alone that point to good tutorial websites that have illustrator tuts.

Also, it might be a good idea to show us all of your sketches, and I mean all of them. Heck, some of the best logo's I've made came from doodles in the sidelines. there are no bad sketches period.

 

Next on the list, you claim in your slogan to keep up with the latest web trends and well, there is no excuse what so ever for your logo not to.

so I suggest looking in to that. Here is an interesting article about the trends of last year to get you started:

http://www.logolounge.com/article/2012logotrends#.UWMCgT7eLIA

 

Last but not least. Don't be discouraged, your progress is quite visible allready, just keep doing and go ahead start your business. You'll learn along the way.

 

and show us those sketches, they are far more insightful then finished products.

4li4s Response:

I have only had the 2 designs so far, I did do a bit of sketching. I was thinking of slogans that fit my design/development services but I am stuck at the moment, marketing/branding is not my strong point, if I work with an existing logo and can base my websites on a brand but generating a new brand identity is something I need to work on. I appreciate you asking questions as they help me to focus my thoughts, I have found your input to my posts very helpful.

 

Glad the posts have been some use to you. I've been spending quite a bit of time the past two days on some logo design. I find that the sketching really speeds things up for me. I always aim to have a minimum of 3-5 logos to show off but it equates to a lot more than that in the long wrong (bearing in mind they never see the light of day).

 

Sometimes for coming up with logos, it can be inspiring to look at similar brands/competitors/designers, but when I'm actually doing the work, I find it too hard not to be influenced by someone elses work so tend to work a bit in solitary. It might work for you - switch your computer off, take some time (however much you can spare) and draft up some ideas. Don't be afraid to experiment. It's inevitable you'll come up with some rubbish, but just let it flow. Then edit. Lecture over

 

** Just read some of the other posts. Illustrator is ideally the way forward for logos - I highly recommend vector over raster - it will save you a lot of time and your graphics will scale nice and crisp. Illustrator is a swine to use, but once you get the pen tool down as well as the fundamentals, you'll find you can't live without it. The catch is the price. If you don't already have a version of it (I started out on an eBay CS2 and you could still you that in many respects), you could try Inkscape. It's free and has very similar functions to Illustrator. I know of some decent books I could recommend. If you're interested, let me know.

 

*** One more thing; I agree with RobbyDesigns. If you have the funds to outsource, it might be in your interest to get someone else on board for the time being. There's no shame in it and it makes a lot of sense if viable to you. I wouldn't hesitate to outsource SEO or development work if budgets permitted.

Hiya

 

I have been really busy over the last week and my website has been neglected (well the re-design) I have listened to what has been said and I am taking action. I have an idea of my new logo design, but its not been sketched or made reality yet, but I just need to get used to Adobe Illustrator, its a daunting tasks as its taken me over a year to learn Adobe Photoshop and now I have to change my design habits. Anyone got any advice?

Get used to the pen tool in Illustrator. Thats the main tool you're gonna use.

I'll be honest with you, I found Illustrator to be a nightmare when i got started with it. Once you get the hang of the pen tool and the conventions of paths, strokes and fills, etc.. you'll make better use of it. If you aren't intending to 'get into' Illustrator, it might be worth using the Live Trace tool on your creations. It's not perfect, but you'll get some great results and be able to scale your images.

Its taken alot of thought and lots of inspiration but i have a new design for my logo. I am not saying its final but i would like some feedback as I am so exhausted of trying to think of ideas please can you tell me what you think about my new logo?

Apologies

I uploaded the incorrect version please see attached the new version

I like this one - clean and simple and I think it's good. I would experiment with different fonts, but I like it so far

Nice to see you're back at it again. and you're still doing leaps in quality with each design you submit. I really can jus agree with teodora on this one. you might want to try some different fonts.

It's definitely the best one so far. Good that you're making progress! I'm not great at design so can't give constructive feedback but I like what you've done with this one for sure

Feedback is much appreciated! I am happy to be making progress, and I would like some suggestions for fonts I could use, the reason why I used the font I did was the way that it was square at the edges and joining the 2 letters was quite straight forward but if anyone can recommend a font-face to use I am open to suggestions.