Benefits of Old School design

Through taking graphic design and corporate logo and identity classes I learned that there is a process for creating an identity mark.

I like to make logos that are simple and usually elegant with flow and clean lines. The logos don't just appear that way from a pencil drawing so it might would be tempting to just go ahead and start in illustrator with the pen tool.

I don't start in Illustrator though, because I always end up changing my idea and it is absolutely faster to draw thumbs with pencil and take one idea to the final production program.

The page I scan usually has a lot of brainstorming notes, thumbnails and rough sketches. I'll sometimes blow up the thumbnail I like most and print it out in a low opacity; then draw the lines how I want them for a final version to scan. That acts as refined guide so you can easily trace your design and admire the outcome....or play with it more. I hope that this info influences more designers to draw more! Do like 50 thumbnails at least!

Edited by merchantweb, 10 June 2009 - 04:08 AM.

I am also old school, I guess. I graduated in '88 and always scketch first. I have a small scketch book a bring with me everywhere. It's the place where I can brainsorm without consequence. I just let it flow. I have filled about 4 of them this year. Some concepts I can nail in half of a page. Some take 4 or 5 pages. THEN I move to Illustrator.

Audree

I tend to do a lot of quick pencil thumbnails mainly for composition, establishing balance and blocking in text. This becomes an elimination process for what's NOT working quickly without too much work. That said, I rarely work out the font treatment with pencil. My handwriting is atrocious and it's hard to get a true sense of how a particular font will interact with the design elements.

Hi there everybody

I'm new to the forums and having a ball reading through the threads!

I use both methods, I draw out drafts and then work the design up in illustrator.. What I like the most is being able to use one or the other when I have a block going. Sometime looking at an empty new document in illustrator is a block in itself, so drawing out something becomes the choice of technique, it goes both ways though. I do tend to get spoiled when working in illustrator.....the clear and delete buttons work sooo well when needed LOL

Sharie

I'm still studing and one of the things i'vedicovered is that, using paper and pencil is the best way to get more ideas and quickly. i can barely do a design at the first try

If i started each logo with pen and paper, my boss would have to raise his fees. This also is about a simular topic in the open challenges, where some people think anything other than sketching wit pen and paper, isn't sketching. Man, i'm in graphics for some 10 years, and you might want to expect, i can skip this proces and trust my brain. And when, for instance, i'm modelling with Blender/3d, i know the basic idea, and work to the outcome step by step, just like i would do on paper. Benefits of Blender are of course the coloring and shading along the way. I think we should all respect each others way of approach. I like all the diferent styles!

I'm also old school when it comes to design. I hand sketch everything first either on paper or on my graphics tablet. Once the sketch captures the basic ideas in my head, I then redo it in clean lines/paths vector.

For me, rough sketching first helps get that creative idea out better. It also saves me time in the long run, as I can provide a few rough sketch concepts to a client & they can choose which direction to go before I start the (sometimes hours) of illustrating. I would say that sketching first cuts at least 30% of wasted time out of the equation. To me time is money, so the more I can accomplish in the least amount of time is helpful to me.

To each their own though, each of our techniques is what makes us unique

I have to say I approach it both ways.
If I have a set plan in my head or my client knows exactly what they want then I can start right out in illustrator and get it done.. If I'm not sure and need to jot down some ideas on paper I'll do that (which is more often) then clean them up before scanning it in to redo in illustrator.

I have to say I approach it both ways.
If I have a set plan in my head or my client knows exactly what they want then I can start right out in illustrator and get it done.. If I'm not sure and need to jot down some ideas on paper I'll do that (which is more often) then clean them up before scanning it in to redo in illustrator.

i totally agree with you coy

Paper and Pencil.

Now if my client knows exactly what they want it is a different story. But for *logo's* I usually sketch around 20-40 concepts.

Business cards or stationary I tend to look at some layouts I have already sketched on some off time and see if their logo and feel will fit into the wire frame I have already laid out.

75% of the design process is the use of the Brain, only 25% of what we do is on the computer. It is absolutely vital to start with a pencil/pen in hand, if you go directly to the computer you(the designer) will only go into production mode with one of your first ideas..which believe it or not is not your best idea. If anyone actually reads these posts, read carefully, sketch sketch sketch, it really does show in your work. I would rather look at detailed clean hand drawn sketch than a poorly executed rushed digital file. Oh and one thing about digital production, it is NOT OK to design logo's or work with type in photoshop, you will only limit your capabilities if you work with pixels, if you don't understand vectors I recon you jump on the train.

I use paper to brain storm ideas, and to make initial drafts. What ends up happening is I have so many options it gives me a great deal of ammo to use once I go digital. My son who is also a designer and loves to work with me on some projects and we will work out separate ideas and them come together and combine our efforts. It opens up alot of other ideas and at the same time lets me spend some good quality time.

This is absolutely true for me. Pencil on paper is where some of my best stuff comes from. I used to draw it then scan it in, in the early days. The tablets just didn't have the right feel for me and the mouse is kinda bulky for drawing.

I don't think the pencil will ever be replaced as the designer's most important tool.

Old school is the base, the foundation on which we can build with all the new digital tools.

That's my opinion, anyway.

For me its weird, for logo and web designs i always use colored pencils and paper first, but for any other print work i just have something in my head and work it out on the computer. Logos designs are just so complicated to capture everything, and for me at least it takes work to make a web page that doesn't look like everything already out there.

I've been digital designing since day one, but recently started grabbing my sketch pad and a pencil just to jot ideas. I find it to be a great way to get ideas out of my head and into design mode a lot quicker.

I'm still a fan of paper. 20 years of age... But nothing can allow you to get a quicker sketch than a pencil. Often I'll need to scan it in and then use the pen tool. Unfortunately... most of the time my Idea still ends up completely different haha.

I feel that the "pencil and paper" technique offers advantages in many aspects, but one point is that sadly it doesn't help for integration with fonts.

Either way, I still feel this is the best way to start. Not to mention, the most efficient. I like the idea that I can be anywhere, and at anytime, creating ideas.

I'm a more recent graduate of design school, and I was lucky to have some old-school professors.

I always get my ideas down on paper first. There are 2 reasons.

1. It's fast.
2. Sometimes the first ideas that pop into your head are not the most creative, instead they are the most obvious. It's when you dig deeper... that 50th sketch, that you really start to come up with something truly unique. I rarely ever go with the first idea that pops into my head.

I still use the pen/pencil and paper. Its faster and delivers a more organic feel to the roughs.