Hello,
The Illustrator tutorials took me quite a bit of time so I was really hesitant towards creating my own logo. I wanted to make something that would be complimentary to both my husband and I, since I named the blog for this class Our-Cliffnotes. I am a avid reader, and my husband likes to say that he doesn’t know how to read because he hasn’t ever read a book for “fun”, so I wanted the logo to have pages or a book of some sort as the background. I knew that as a last resort I could use the pages from our tutorial if I needed to, but I really wanted to make the logo look like an open book and challenge myself to figure it out.
To do so I started with a magenta background, just because I knew the book pages would be on the lighter side. Then I used the rectangle tool to create the left side of the book. From there I used the drop shadow tool to create the shadowing I wanted. After that I used the gradient tool, from white to a light grey, to create the outer line of the edge of the page. Then I duplicated the layer to make the right page, and just rotated it around so it fit nicely next to the left page.
From there I took some time to really think about my logo. I wanted to incorporate our initials, and then have “Our-Cliffnotes” somewhere on the outside of the book, i.e. top or bottom, but wasn’t sure quite yet on how or where to do that.
To make our initials I started by using the pen tool to create the “M” and the “T” outlines. From there I grouped the two letters and then used a light to dark grey gradient. From there I made the initials smaller and moved them up to the bottom of the right page. I then tried all of the warp tools and settled on the wave warp because I liked how it looked. I then applied a black stroke to the initials because I thought it looked better with the overshadowing.
I wanted to add the light shading of book lines on both pages but after countless failed attempts I decided on just straight lines on each page. It was a cleaner more simpler look.
At this point my draft is pretty much complete so I removed the magenta background and reflected on my progress thus far. I like the overall idea of it, and I like that I created our initials instead of using the type tool; however now I am second guessing the color gradient of our initials, I think it may be a bit harsh. I’m also thinking instead of a book it sort of looks like a postcard?
I look forward to your feedback and look forward to seeing your logo drafts as well.
Thanks,
Tab
Our-Cliffnotes 
I like your design idea and I think it fits your blog theme quite well. I love its simplicity, and the elegance of the font you used for “Our-Cliffnotes.” Because of the font you chose, the initials do not fit the style, but I am undecided whether that should actually be changed.
While the shadowing of the page seems to lift it off its background, it (as you suggested) resembles a postcard more than a book. I think to get the effect of a book you would need to have various sizes of blank layers of the “page” placed on top of each other. If you open a real book, you can see the edges of the pages underneath the top page—you would be aiming for that effect. In addition, shadowing or some similar effect on either side of the center vertical line could add that “curve” you see that runs down the middle of an open book. In other words, it should add more depth. I hope this makes sense. I can’t wait to see you final logo.
Thank you
I love the font selection, and the gradient you added to your initials is a nice touch.
The book appears flat, and there is little to indicate that there are more pages than the two that we are seeing. As Ramona point out, adding some shadow to the center crease of the pages could help give them an appearance of curving. If it’s difficult to add the coloring to the element you can add a rectangle down the center, with a couple of dark shades in the gradient and decreasing the opacity.
I would also recommend an outer dark frame to give the book a hardcover, and a couple of other page layers underneath to give more depth and dimension to the book. You might also consider attempting an angled view that allows you to see part of the book binding, instead of the direct over-head view. Go to Google Images and search “open book design” for some examples and ideas of how to give that appearance of depth and different angles. A little bit of additional research can often help developing our mental picture.
Keep at it! You have a great foundation to build on.
Thank you
Tabitha,
I really like your idea here! I think it fits perfectly with the theme of your blog! I think the book was a great decision and you chose a perfect font. The only thing, like the others said, would be to add some curves to give it more of a book feel and really push it to the next level. I think that would definitely make it way more book-like. Also, it’d be cool to see some other colors besides just black and white. I don’t mean adding any crazy colors, but maybe make the pages of the book a very light brown or grey, to give it more of a book-y feel! Love this though!
-Emma
Hi Tabitha,
I agree with the others….love the idea and it completely fits your theme.
I would make the book more three dimensional, have pages and a cover that sticks out from underneath. You could also give it an aged look, like an antique book. Showing the time spent being together.
Otherwise, I love the idea and concept.
Monique