Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life. Tip toe if you must, but always take the step.
Well, it's been about 2 weeks, but it has been completed. And boy. This. Was. Tough. I mean, you'll see when you check out the design brief. But man, I friggin nailed it. It's BEAUTIFUL! Like, I really love the direction that this logo took.
I've finally created the very first logo freebie that @melaimomagwork had claimed. 2 weeks ago I drew 10 names. Of the 10 names going from 1 to 10 users had 24 hours to claim their logo and give me a brief.
Want a free logo?
If you'd like to enter to win my next freebie logo giveaway and be featured on my next logo showcase, Resteem, Follow, upvote and comment will get you more entries into my drawing. Maybe you're a newbie to the steemit platform looking for a logo to build up your rep? Or maybe you're a whale brainstorming the next big thing for steemit? Anyone can win, from small and new people to the heavy duty whales. Anyone can win.
The Client
The lucky winner for my free logo giveaway is @melaimomagwork
She's a traveler and gardener who puts out a lot of content on regular bases. If you guys haven't you should totally check out her content and maybe even drop her a follow. Travelling is always interesting, looking at pictures of someone's trips, I always find it interesting personally! And I also love agriculture, I mean you would really be amazed at just how fun and engaging it is.
Either way she's a fantastic content producer and has plenty of interesting and knowledgeable posts, I highly recommend stopping by and seeing what she's up to.
@melaimomagwork was one of my first supporters in steemit, and has always shown support. She is good people, and I honestly think the platform could definitely benefit from her content.
The brief
Even logo freebies need a creative design brief. And that's what's so awesome about this logo giveaway. We CAN go through a whole total design brief where we look at mood boards, and set goals. Or you can just tell me what you want included for an easier and faster experience.
For this logo, it was just that. I asked a few questions, and @melaimomagwork answered and that was just that.
We were in agreement that this logo should capture her interestest into one image. Just knowing what she does and how she wanted this image to have everything she was interested in, I already kind of knew it was going to be a chance to use different colors and elements.
What had to be included
- Logo for steemit posts
- Needs to reflect personality and interests
- Gardening and travel
- Needs land marks like Eiffel tower and Petronas towers
- Silhoutte of a lady with luggage and a hat
- Needs to have steemit logo incorporated.
- Incorporate sea and sky
- Modern and simple
Phew, there's a lot of things that needs to be included in this logo.
So, here's what I came up with.
The Drawing Board
There's so many things that NEED to be in the logo, not really anything optional. But I wanted to convey a sense of organic, like a milk label kind.
There were alot of ideas, and just sketching, drawing, scribbling things down helped me. Highlight key points in the design. Thinking about how I can pull them together in a tasteful and creative way. That's what feild notes are for.
Pardon my bad handwritting. Most people think to get into graphics design, you have to be someone who can draw, and paint, and caligraphy and all these things. I know that's what I thought. But not really. I mean, it really depends on what you're trying to do and what needs to be done, but a graphics artist doesn't actually have an art background.
Sometimes, it just takes a keen eye. And a bit of know how, but this is something anyone can do. But like all things, it takes practice to get good. I have around maybe 300 logos under my belt, and I'd say less than 20 of them are ones I actually like. Haha.
Anyway, sketching and doodling pulls out ideas from your mind and onto paper, so you can develop a plan on how you want to tackle the composition.
In this case, I knew for sure, I wanted to create all these small elements, and make a small world, @melaimomagwork's world.
The Final
When you look at the brief, do you think, wow, how is he going to get all those things together in one logo without looking terrible? Well, it kind of made sense to me, that she wanted all these items, wouldn't it make sense to create a sort of illustration with all those things?
Either way, this is what I came up with.
Final Thoughts
I took all these different things that @melaimomagwork loves, and created a small world. I kept them in proportion, and when we think about traveling we think of beauty and having a good time, and blue horizons and happiness. I believe I captured that by using very simple shapes. Everything in this composition is either a square or circle.
Then we put @melaimomagwork smack dab in the center of this world we created in the composition. It makes sense, and it's executed well. It's proportioned, and the colors that I picked are just pleasing to the eye.
Did we meet the goals of the brief? Traveling, Check. Gardening, Check, Steemit, check. Landmarks, check. Is it functional? Well, it's not going to be something for a company, but it will work for steemit, which is what the client specificied. She'll be able to use this for headers and footers, even as an avatar. She needed a design to use on steemit, will the logo help her? Yes, I believe so.
This is going to be one of my favorite designs. And it's beautiful because I haven't charged a penny. I get a small compensation thanks to steemit, @melamomagwork gets a logo she can use, you guys get to see a small slice of the process, and everyone just kind of wins.
That's whats so beautiful about this, and steemit. I know with every post I get more attention. I'm slowly building up a following, and eventually, what I would like, is to not rely on freelancing and commissions, but to work on projects for people without those people paying a penny. I believe one day, you guys will make it happen for me. But I have a long way to go. And I look forward to that journey.
So, if you guys want to be entered for my next logo giveaway, remember, Upvote, Re-steem, follow and comment and your name will be entered for the next drawing.
Really Like what I do?
If you really live my design style and you need a project or two in need of a graphics designer, I am available to commission and hire. And I proudly accept SBD and STEEM. I do graphical design for logos, imagemarks, and branding, as well as infographics, posters and business cards.
If you'd like to hire me, please feel free to contact me:
Steemit.chat: malicered
Or join my discord channel and message me there, I read all messages and it's the most reliable way to contact me.
Want to help me?
My freebie giveaways are 100% free, if you'd like to help me out, feel free to donate as every single cent counts and helps me maintain my online presence and motivates me to do more freebies and giveaways. Every single upvote, penny, resteem is eternally appreciated and allows me to work on developing my passions for the betterment of steemit.
Special Thanks
I want to extend a huge thank you out to my special supporters out there who have been contributing back to me. @Donkeypong, @berniesanders, @gmuxx, @someguy123, @Ausbitbank, @Teamsteem you guys are absolute legends, thank you so much for your support!
Also, please vote for @ausbitbank, and @someguy123 as witnesses, these guys really help the community and steemit can definitely benefit from them rising up the witness rank! Seriously! Go vote right now!
And as always, I want to extend a big thank you to everyone who's supported my blog, all of you guys, really without you, none of this would be possible. You guys are the best, every single one of you, and remember, stay positive and things will always work out!