The Logo Design Process. Layers Magazine Tutorial

In this tutorial Jacob Cass takes us through the different stages of the logo design process: researching, composing a design brief, sketching, reflecting, developing, color brainstorming and presentation...

"Logo design in today’s world is totally underrated. People don’t understand how important a good logo is and how valuable it is to their business. Let me guide you through the basics of what makes a good logo, while also walking you through the process of creating the identity and logo design for one of my recent clients, Vero, a limited liability company based in Miami, Florida. Hopefully, this will give you an understanding of what actually goes on behind the scenes while creating a professionally designed logo..." Proceed to tutorial page

Sports Team Logo Design Tutorial

A comprehesive logo design tutorial for Aobe Illustrator from favorite digital illustration magazine Computer Arts. Alan Wardle shows you how to create an eye-catching logo design and brand from scratch.

My brief was to design a brand identity for a youth mountain biking team based in London. As they’re based in an urban environment, this team needed an aggressive logo so they’d be taken seriously when travelling to rural events around the country...

...In this tutorial, I’ll lead you through everything from designing the logo to setting brand rules. We’ll also look at creating other elements such as team uniforms, helmets and merchandise using your designs along the way. Full tutorial

Skateboard Deck Design Workflow (Adobe Illustrator Tutorial)

Another outstanding tutorial from Computer Arts Magazine, that explores the process of composing visual design concepts for skateboard decks with our favorite vector editor - Adobe Illustrator. To read the tutorial you need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your machine."Skate decks are without question one of the coolest products around to design. Everything from their unique shape and size to their tactile finish offers us designers a truly rewarding blank canvas to splash some color over..." Full tutorial and source files

Mind Mapping

A great article from Digital Arts Magazine about how to deal with mental blocks and creativity frustrations.

"Break down creative blocks, develop visual solutions and discover ideas that push the boundaries of design by mastering mind mapping." Full Article

Drawing Vector Characters with Adobe Illustrator Tutorial

"Characters can add a recognisable face to your work. But how do you go from a sketch to the finished product? Peskimo talk through their process.

Character design is such a wide and varied subject that the specifics of each character’s process and gestation are unlikely to be the same for everyone...
However, some of the core principals, especially in the early stages of development, are key to creating a well-executed and memorable character." Full tutorial and support files Computer Arts Magazine

New York Times grabs 2 AIGA Awards for Magazine Covers

Category: Editorial design - The New York Times Magazine, The Middle Ages Issue - cover and pages 68–69, 76–77.

Category: Editorial design - The New York Times Magazine, The Ideas Issue – cover and pages 50–51, 70–71

via MedDesign

Creative Online Magazines

Another great collection of inspirational links, that I just found @ smashingapps.com. Have a look at 20 Creative and inspirational free design magazines here. Enjoy, I know the content is too exciting, but get some sleep from time to time, please ;) .

Vector Inking Techniques

This Illustrator tutorial explores a step by step process of medical illustration, implementing useful vector illustration line art & ink styled coloring techniques . Digital Arts Magazine...

"Pen and ink, or line art, goes back to Renaissance literary and scientific books, which were printed using woodcuts to produce illustrations of black lines on white paper.

This tutorial continues the evolution of line art, by explaining how to create it using Illustrator" Full Tutorial and Source Files

Pattern Swatches Tutorial

Create your own cool repeating patterns from combinations of vector elements, using these tips from Drew Cain.

Our world is filled with patterns – from ripples in a sand dune and scales on a snake to furniture and fashion – and even the tiling photos of sleeping cats that flood the background of some of the folksier blogs.

Full Tutorial via Digital Arts Magazine

Stock Libraries

"Trawling image libraries for the perfect image doesn’t have to be a chore: here are eight ways to find the perfect picture.

You know the story: your project requires high-quality images, but you don’t have the time or budget to shoot your own. But when you head online to buy the images you need from stock libraries,

 you end up losing hours in searches that turn up millions of pictures that are just short of the mark and take forever to search through, or a scant collection that doesn’t give you enough creative options." Digital Arts Magazine. Full Article

Logo Identity

Computer Arts Magazine just published a how to logo identity tutorial for Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop on their website. Check it out.

"If you’re setting up on your own, you’re going to need a logo. Follow Alan Wardle’s advice on how to create a unique design...

Your logo is one of the most important things you can create. It’s the image that will represent you as a freelancer; an opportunity to embody your brand and separate yourself from the competition. Above all, it’s a tool for immediate recognition"

Source Files and Full Tutorial via Computer Arts Magazine tutorial page.

Digital Illustration: new opportunities

An eye-opening article from ComputerArts Magazine.

"Lawrence Zeegen investigates how illustration has been reborn for a new audience, with a new generation of illustrators who are taking it into new territories

Illustration is a force to be reckoned with. Not content to break back into a marketplace once dominated by the photographic image, illustration has fought hard, forced itself under the spotlight and stepped into the limelight. A rebirth, once attributed to the flexibility that digital kit offered, has now reached a vital second phase – a new stage of extended opportunities in the development of the discipline." Read more.

Adding perspective to maps with Adobe Illustrator

Mark Mayers shows you how to give flat Illustrator maps a third dimension by using the Free Transform tool and a custom perspective grid...

Illustrator has many features that help you create maps. In the first part of this tutorial you’ll learn how to draw a 2D map from a sketch. You’ll use type on paths, utilise Symbols and discover how global swatches can be a real time-saver. Full Tutorial and Source Files via Computar Arts Magazine

Creative Brief

Composing a creative brief has always been an important step in the graphic design process. Digital Arts Magazine posted a great article with tips and some useful creative brief links...

"Not every client will be an expert on the design process – that’s your job. A solid creative brief makes all the difference to a job, and here’s how to get one.
Many designers have experienced the horror of a client seeing a design for the first time and then complaining, “But it’s not what I asked for”. It’s a nightmare scenario – and one that’s easily avoided by agreeing on a clear, functional brief." Full Article via Digital Arts Magazine

Website Layout Design with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop

It was just about time for the first web design tutorial in this blog. Vector illustration skills are handy not only for print , but also for web design. A warmup exercise from ComputerArts Magazine.

"Craig Grannell shows you how to use Adobe’s two CS3 graphic design powerhouses to work up the layout for a website
Most web designers work with Photoshop or Fireworks when creating websites, and Illustrator is often overlooked. However, Adobe’s vector package is perfect for crafting the initial components of web layouts." Full tutorial and source files via Computer Arts Magazine

Illustrating Fashion Tutorial

Another great digital art publication from Computer Arts Magazine's website. This tutorial might be of use to beginner digital illustrators and fashion designers...

"Follow Cybèle as she develops a sketch for a spring 2008 accessories collection into a completed fashion illustration. When working on a fashion assignment, it’s important to dress the characters not in what is being worn at the time you create it, but what will be worn when the illustration is published and afterwards. So it’s essential for fashion illustrators to keep up to date with the current and upcoming fashion collections and street trends..."

Click on the images below to see full size screenshots. Download tutorial (pdf)

Grunge Borders Tutorial

This morning I came across this tutorial in Layersmagazine. It covers the use of clipping masks and brushes in Illustrator and Photoshop. Very useful if you're trying to create an organic grungy frame for your artwork.

"There has been a surge of "grunge" effects lately that have been created using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. So here's one more effect for your arsenal of grunge effects. In this tutorial, we'll show you how to create a custom brush and use it to create a really cool border mask in Illustrator, allowing you to apply it to a photo or graphic without affecting the original image. You can then take this mask and use it with any graphic that you want. It's simply a matter of getting used to working in mask mode." Full tutorial

Vector Trees Illustrator Tutorial for Adobe Illustrator

"Green is in vogue and clients everywhere want natural imagery in their promotional material. Ben the Illustrator shows you how to create a fresh-looking tree.

As a child, no doubt a tree was one of the first things you drew, with a brown rectangular block for the trunk and a big green scribble for the leaves...

But with companies increasingly keen to shout about their ecological credentials, now’s a good time to learn how to create a tree with a computer instead of crayons.
Full tutorial Computer Arts Magazine

Computer Arts issue 138

What's in the new issue, on sale now

It’s a special issue this month as we roll out three different newsstand covers from three different design collectives, plus an extra exclusive subscribers-only cover. Pick your favourite or collect the set! Here’s what you’ll find inside:

FEATURES

COVER FEATURE: COLLABORATE!
Discover the new way of working that’s changing the industry
CREATING OUR COVER
How four design collectives tackled our challenging cover brief
PROFILE: SANNA ANNUKKA
The half-Finnish artist whose fresh new style is turning heads
PHOTOSHOP INSIDE OUT
Derek Lea presents 33 professional tips for Photoshop CS3
Q&A: BISHBO
The design duo that named their new studio after their cat!
TEN TIPS
Self-initiated projects will keep you creative and productive
TUTORIALS