INSTRUCTOR: xtine ...AIM Screen Name: hereisxtine

DAY/TIME: Wednesday 12:45 - 5pm

OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday 3:30 - 5:30

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11/09/05

Using Adobe Illustrator: Logos

Vector vs. Bitmap Graphics

PhotoShop is a program that uses pixels (picture elements) to define the document. All PhotoShop files are bitmap images that are made up of many pixels. Adobe Illustrator is a vector-based art program (as is Macromedia Flash). In Illustrator, image content is created by vector coordinates. Vector images are scalable to any size, while bitmap image print sizes are determined by the size of the file at the time of digital input (the size of the scan or the type of chip used in a digital camera).

Illustrator is a great program to use for creating vector-based art, such as line art or logos. We talked heavily about logos in class and looked at the work of Ryan McGinness and Paula Scher. Here are a few links to their work on the web:

FlatnessisGod avaiable online from Ginko Press:

http://www.gingkopress.com/_cata/_grap/flatnes1.htm

Paula Scher interview by Hillman Curtis:

http://www.hillmancurtis.com/hc_web/film_video.shtml

Pentagram Portfolio: Identities (branding/logos, etc.)

http://www.pentagram.com/portfolio-identities.htm

Los Logos--really cool artist web site to preserve

"local" logos. They also demonstrate excellent web navigation.

http://www.loslogos.org/

Using Adobe Illustrator:

We talked about using the Select tool (the black arrow) to select items in Illustrator. We also used the text tool and used Object: Create Outlines to separate the text into smaller pieces. Also, look in Object: Ungroup to ungroup the text, and try selecting one piece of text at a time with the direct select tool (white arrow). Here is a link to some Illustrator tips:

http://www.creativemac.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=27664

NEXT WEEK
Logo Assignment is due in digital format. Create one logo using Adobe Illustrator for each of the three following words. Imagine that you are making a road sign that warns oncoming traffic of the following--the logo should be in black and white and should appear as line art (meaning: do not use images and do not use PhotoShop):

outdoor sports, trade, fear

Again, three logos are due, in total--one for each word.

*Remember that the logo should convey the idea of these words. For instance, a logo that uses a baseball bat on a diamond shaped background for "outdoor sports" would not convey the breadth of possible outdoor sports (it would be a good logo to use for the idea of baseball but not for outdoor sports in general).