3 Ways the logo design process is like making a comic

Someone just sent me a link to Daryl Cagles comic section on MSNBC where he discusses and shows examples about how he creates his comic strips. He shows the artwork in various stages from rough sketch to final color. This is very similar to how logo designers work. Daryl doesn’t show aborted and half-baked ideas, but rather starts with the final concept he is going to render. This is similar to when a logo designer commits to a concept and finishes the brainstorming process. From this point, Daryl lists the following steps:

• Messy rough sketching with no attempts to “look good”
• Finished line art on velum
• Scan into Photoshop and add color

The parallels to the logo design process are as follows:

• Brainstorming concepts with no attempt to “get it right”, until one concept is selected and refined
• Vector art construction, usually in black & white
• Addition of color in Illustrator, after contrasts and tonal values are worked out

Every cartoonist has their own style and method of brainstorming and producing final art. The same also applies to a logo designer. However, with all the variation in methods, these basic steps apply in general to. They reflect the essence of the creative process and not necessarily the specific mechanics. Hey, we all dance to a different tune, right? So visit Daryl’s article today and enjoy the work of a master cartoonist!