1. Name of your company, a short paragraph describing what it manufactures/sells and the target audience for the product.
SAP inc., or SAPi. They sell cars that can run on sap from trees, and sell the sap at a fill-up station similar to that of a gas pump. Hopefully, this alternative source of energy will replace gasoline as the primary fuel source for cars in the future. The target audience is anyone concerned for the environment.

2. Review the processes that Jacob Cass went through in designing his logo and Logo Design Secrets (and any other links that you found especially helpful). What parts of these processes did you use in your work. Please explain and be specific.
I think part of his process I used the most was the initial sketching. I really used the time I had to get down as many ideas as I could, adding to my ideas as I came up with more. Although I may have spent a lot of time on it, I think it was valuable to the final product to practice before I put it on the computer. I also liked this because if I think of something, I don’t have to take a whole bunch of time to try and make it on the computer, when it will just come out sloppy. Another thing mentioned in Cass’s blog was that it was good to get feedback from the client, so I got feedback from everybody. It was good to get feedback and suggestions from people like friends, the teacher, and my brother, who aren’t afraid to give constructive criticism, which is a good thing.

3. Overall, what three important concepts have you learned about logo design? Explain why they are important to your future work?
I learned that a logo doesn’t have to show what a company sells or does, it is a symbol that is supposed to be recognizable and memorable. Although I sort of knew this judging by other logos I have seen, I never really thought about it and it was a new concept to me when I read about it. It is important to know this to make a good logo. for a client. I also learned that any logo you make should work in color, black and white, and very small, because your logo could be going in different locations that may have limitations on size and color. A  third thing I learned is that you should always look at other logos, and judge them in your mind and see what things they have done right and wrong so you can learn from them when making your own. Some people might think it bad to look at others logos because it might be too easy to copy them then, but it is a good idea so you can learn from mistakes.

4. Review the criteria and the process of designing a logo, please rate your final logo design, 1-4 (4 is the highest). Please explain why your work deserves the rating.
I think that this logo is between a 3.5 and a 4 because it works well with the criteria of black and white, color, or small. Also, it is clean and neat, and doesn’t have any messy edges or paint jobs. One thing I am not sure about is the color of the letters and the stem in the color version. I can’t decide whether I like it or not. Another thing I am unsure about is the font of the letters. The font might be too regular for the logo. I picked it because I thought it looked good at the time, but I can’t decide now.

I am most proud of the text and images designs we did earlier in the quarter. They were fun to do and I think they came out pretty well. Also, I learned many new photoshop techniques during that project, which have helped my work since then. I think my strengths are in the assessments we do for the designs. They seem to be my highest grades and I usually write more than necessary.

2. What would you like to do better and/or focus upon for Quarter four?

I would like to focus on logo design more than anything. I think it could be a possible career choice in the future, so I would like to learn as much as possible about it. Also, I want to improve the skills I know now in photoshop, and learn new things so I can make my designs using a greater palette of tools. I also would like to work on thinking about my designs more before I jump into them, because later on I find myself wishing I had done better, which could have been accomplished with more thought.

3. How will you make this happen?

I will begin thinking and brainstorming more for all of the future designs, and hopefully there will be an improvement in my work. To learn some new things about photoshop, I will mess around in photoshop with the tools I don’t know until I become familiar with them.

1. understand what logos are and that they should reflect what the business does and what it is about. It shouldn’t just be a mark that doesn’t have much to do with the business. For example, the big M for MacDonalds, or the Nike swoosh, which represents the wing of Nike, goddess of victory.

2. incorporate the basic principles of a logo in you design;

-the logo must be simple and easily described; big yellow M for MacDonalds
-the logo has to be recognizable and be just as effective without color as it is with color
-the logo should stand out and be something that people can remember easily
-the logo should also be all of the above whether it is one inch or on a giant billboard

3. learn from others mistakes to make sure they don’t happen in your work; look around and judge logos of places you see based on the criteria and learn from their mistakes to better your own designs.

4. make your own design process; most processes will be similar, but it is possible to build off of others and make your own unique one.

5. don’t just start making the logo on the computer right when you get the job; brainstorm and sketch ideas so you can compare and choose a few that you like. Then you can start digitizing and you can send work to the client and get feedback.

Rectangular tessellation

1. Which tessellation did you find more interesting to do? In what ways was it more interesting than the other? Please explain.
I found the triangular tessellation to be the most interesting because what it turned out to be was so unexpected. With the rectangular tessellation, I knew what it was going to look like from the beginning, and the outcome wasn’t as interesting. I didn’t expect much of the triangular one until it started to come together, at which point I began to see that it was going to work. Not knowing what it was going to look like made the design process more interesting. Also, it tessellates better than the rectangular one.
2. Look at your peers’ work on the ning . Which two designs do you find the most successful? What qualities make them so successful?
The first design I saw that really worked well was Tom’s rectangular tessellation with the orange clownfish. It is successful because the stripes all connect from one to another, and he really made the animal easy to see while keeping it creative, unlike mine. It is also cool because it is also easy to see just the orange and white shapes that the fish make, so it could be viewed in several ways. The second design that I think is successful is design #2. Although I can’t exactly say what the animal is, the colors work well together and the shapes inside each thing add interest to the design. Another good thing about it is that the gradient tool wasn’t overused. There is just enough of the color to see it, and this makes it original from many of the other tessellations.
3. Looking at the Grading Criteria for each design, how would you rate BOTH designs on a scale of 1-4, 4 being the highest? Please explain each grade.
Rectangular: I think this design is about a 3. It meets all of the criteria, but definitely doesn’t exceed it. I think it could have been more interesting if maybe I used more of a variety of colors or the gradient tool in the design. I also think I was focusing too much on making the actual animal more than just doing the design so it came out kind of boring.
Triangular: I would say this design is between a 3-3.5. The design looks good, and I think the light blue is a good color to stand out against the grey. When I was looking for the picture to cut the triangle out of, I looked for contrast because I was curious what something like that would look like in the tessellation. I found a picture that was all black and white with only a small portion of brightly colored graffiti on it, so that was what I chose. I think the tessellation works well with the dull grey around the vibrant blue in the middle. Also, there are no white lines in between the shapes. I made sure to zoom in when I put it all together.

2. Write a couple of paragraphs describing the life and work of M.C. Escher. Pick out important facts that describe who he is, how he worked, and why he is famous.
MC Escher was recognized early for his talent by various teachers of his. As he progressed in his learning, he was turned to different styles and methods of art and excelled in each one. As he traveled, Escher made landscapes in his work until he went to Italy and met his future wife, Jetta.  In the mid 1920’s, Escher produced his first tessellation, however it was not received well, so he went back to the drawing board. In 1937, while visiting family, Escher’s brother Beer gave him something that inspired him to make some of his most famous tessellation work.
Regarded as the Father of modern tessellation, Escher is famous for filling up the plane with repeated, never over-lapping objects. He was a very versatile artist and was also known for his many works that were meant to play tricks on the eyes, like Waterfall (1961). He was also very good at lino and wood cuts, and landscapes, like Castrovalva (1930).