We're in the midst of autumn, ladies and gents and with that I've been pondering a lot on layers. Yes, I know that was quite possibly the lamest thing you've ever heard me say, but hear me out. Layers are a staple of fall fashion—a plaid collared shirt under a chunky sweater, so just the collar and parts of the sleeves are poking out all under an amazing leather jacket. Or maybe awesome lace looking tights under thick boot socks which are under some awesome boots! LAYERZZZ!! Ok, I digress, but see how important layers are for fashion? They're just as important for graphic design—and not just the Photoshop kind of layers (that's the type of joke my dad would make.... what have I become).
So what exactly do I mean by layers? Obviously you can't just sandwich a bunch of elements together and call it good. There has to be a happy medium. You can't have too many layers because then it becomes chaos and unpleasing to the eye. Especially if your layers are textured. So keep that in mind. When I say "layers", I mean, different shapes, flourishes, a small amount of textures, etc. all intermingling together, with some well placed overlapping. This is why retro logos are so successful: because they're fun to look at! (See the "Go Retro with your Logo" blog article I wrote ). We as human beings like to be rewarded for looking at something. I believe layers do that. Layers entertain the eyes. Layers are also what set apart the good scrapbookers from the bad ones. Little details that add dimension and charm to a scrapbooking piece or graphic design piece or fashion piece! That is where the reward is for 'dem ol' eyeballs.
If you're ever faced with a new graphic design project, consider what icons, shapes, curly Q's, and whatever else you can work into it during the brainstorming stages to make it a success.
Here is a logo I've been working on for a local fraternity. They wanted a lot of information packed into one logo so what did I do? I layered. :) With the ribbon across the front for the fraternity's name with a second, smaller ribbon on top of that for "Kappa Psi" , all resting on top of the badge shape. It's fun to work in shadows into the logo too, which I did here. I didn't just pick "Drop Shadow" in Illustrator, I made it have a line texture which looks more legit (in my humble opinion). Using that solution also was a great way to mimic the line texture I used in the mountains to keep the whole logo cohesive. An example of little extras/details I slipped in there was the herb/plant element in the bottom—it also serves as a sort of foundation to ground all the elements. The grinding bowl was a small but powerful way to show (instead of just tell) that this fraternity was a pharmaceutical fraternity. The frat loved it and my next step is adding some color to it! Look for it on my "logos" page in the next week! It's all in the details peeps!
That's all for now! Thanks for reading!