Tim Scheman | Graphic design, and web design, for Columbia, Missouri and the World.

The Introduction

This article is number one in a series of posts covering the logo design process. This series of posts has two goals in mind.

1.) To teach new designers the long excepted process to design a really good logo.

2.) To give new and existing clients some insight into my process.

Brainstorming, Ideation, and The Sketch:

I start by thinking through the name of the company. What ideas does it conjure up? Sometime the internet can help with this (try Google images). Then I put these ideas, and the ideas that were provided on the creative brief (email in this case), into a sketch on paper. The sketching process allows more freedom to work out ideas. You don’t have to be controlled by what the computer can and can’t do. Your only limit is you imagination, and the amount of lead (graphite) in your pencil.

See some of the sketches below:

After I have some sketches on paper, I send them to the client. I want to make sure we are on the same page, before I get to far into a project. After I get feedback, I move on to the next step “Refining the concept”. The refining is still done on paper, so don’t jump on your computer just yet.

See you on my next post “Logo Design – Concept Refinement”

A graphic design portfolio is a dynamic, ever changing representation of the work that is completed throughout a designer’s career. My portfolio is no different. This is why I have redesigned the gallery portion of my site to a straightforward yet scalable layout that everyone can page through. So please feel free to take a look at the pieces I have designed. I have included samples of web design, package design, print design, web banner ads, and identity / logo design. It will continue to evolve as I design more things. If you need anything designed for yourself, your band, your business, or anything else, just let me know.

One thing you will notice is that I am always trying to keep my coding skills sharp. The best way to do this as a designer, is to continually use them. When the client work is slow, there is not as many chances to code web sites. This is why you will see me over the next couple of days moving things around. I will be focusing on the portfolio/ gallery section of my site. Things will be changing just a little bit. I will be incorporating some possible Javascript as well. We will see how it turns out. Please be patient as things change. A little new HTML and CSS will not will hurt.