At the end of my last Grow Your Own Ideas post, it was time to get creative. Although we may have been a tad short on pencil crayons in the zone, my super enthusiasm for all things arty meant that I was already armed with my own, personal technicolour tin. It pays to be prepared.
To get started, I had a think about the kind of thing I wanted my logo to get across. The name of the competition, obviously, but also both the environmental and business aspects that make it what it is. So, like the genius I am, I drew a flower growing out of a lightbulb to demonstrate the glorious things that can sprout from a single idea.
I'll be honest, typography has never been my forte.
I know. It’s inspired.
Admittedly, the letters I drew are a tiny bit pathetic and they aren’t my proudest piece of work, but I tried. I tried my best.
Once I had a logo, I could finally get on with designing the poster. I love a good poster. It’s safe to say, though, that I’m not exactly a poster making expert; I can sort of draw things free hand, but digital art and photo editing programmes are just completely beyond me and always end up looking like something a Year 9 would make using Microsoft Word and far too much clip-art.
I decided, though, that there was no time like the present to learn. If I managed to figure it all out just this one time, I’d be able to use it again. Just think of the design power I’d have at my fingertips.
With that kind of misplaced self-belief to support me, I decided to give Photoshop a whirl and, actually, it wasn’t that bad. I found loads of tutorials on YouTube, which explained everything from the basics of layers (which I already had a general grasp of) to how to make a face out of words. I didn’t really need to make a face out of words, though, so I left that one. For now.
Making vines. Filled with elation.
Instead, I decided to have a go at using some custom shapes to get the planty growy feel across. This was surprisingly easy. All I had to do was click and drag, figure out how to flip and mirror images, and I was away! Oustanding. I felt like some kind of professional designer in no time, even though in reality all I’d achieved were a few green vines and the successful placement of a logo.
With the logo and poster sorted, as it starts to get closer to the big day my task lists are getting pretty interesting. I need to crack on with a detailed marketing plan, including tweets to schedule, and draft out the tasks we’ll be setting the teams.
Countdown to launch – approximately 6 weeks. I bet you’re excited. Of course you are.
I actually prefer CorelDraw. I find it way more intuitive and, quite often, printing companies find it much easier to print from than Adobe products, but I agree… graphic design is a very useful skill to have