Pop Culture, Film & Comics Amalgamate! (part 2)

Continuing from my post yesterday I now present the evolution for the Metropolis Pictures presents Superman in the City of Tomorrow poster design.

The iconic design by Schulz-Neudamm for Fritz Lang's film, Metropolis is unforgettable and served as inspiration for many artists and designers. The original design for the Star Wars character C3PO by concept artist Ralph McQuarrie was based on the android 'Maria' from the Fritz Lang film released in 1927. The city design from the film Metroplois is heavily based on Art Deco stylings of the time period and provide the perfect environment for any pulp or science fiction character to exist in.

 

Robot comparison - C3PO's (right) design was influenced by Maria (left from Metropolis

The similarity to the world of Metropolis as portrayed in the pages of DC Comics Superman was too enticing a proposition and my curiosity to see these two universes cross-over needed to be satiated. I sketched up a handful of poster roughs for 'Metropolis' at the same time I sketched out the '30 Days of the Dark Knight' poster designs.

Concept Sketching

I knew that I wanted to design a long vertical poster so that I could feature the main character in the foreground leaving plenty of room for the city in the background and the poster title treatment above. As I wanted to pay tribute to Superman in the environment of Fritz Lang's Metropolis, the first character developed for the poster was Clark Kent's alter ego, Superman. The modern version of Superman would look out of place in this concept and time period so I looked to the Max Fleischer design from the 1940's animated series for character design inspiration. I combined this classic style with a mix of steam punk costume design embellishments to obtain the 'right' look for this amalgam of pop culture icons.

Max Fleischer's Superman / Clark Kent

DC Comics Steam Punk Figurines

The images below show the evolution from pencil sketch to inks and finally to digital colour of my Steam Punk 1920's Superman. I experimented with a monochrome version rather than colour but in the end, felt that the colour version (Blue, Red and Gold) contrasted much stronger against the yellow/orange/gold city/star-burst background.

  

I wanted to create an Android character as well, further tying the Metropolis concept back to the Fritz Lang film. I experimented with a Brainiac design with Machiavellian mustache but decided that a battle damaged and world weary Metallo with exposed Kryponite heart would be the right Superman Villain for this design.

As the colour version of Metallo is primary gold, orange, yellow and burnt red and contrast against the yellow/orange/gold city and background would be poor, I changed the background to black, enhancing the overall design, resulting in the two 'Metropolis' prints complimenting each other in chiaroscuro fashion. Below are the inked and digitally coloured versions of Metallo.

After the completion of a graphite star-burst pattern on textured board and a technically inked city-scape, finished in Photoshop and Illustrator, I was ready to composite the poster using InDesign.

The two poster designs now complete are  were completed with the addition of Title text and a custom Art Deco border drawn using Illustrator.

Metropolis Pictures presents Superman in the City of Tomorrow

Superman in the City of Tomorrow

Metropolis Pictures presents Superman in the Menace of Metallo

Superman in the Menace of Metallo

I hope you enjoyed seeing the design process and evolution for these poster designs. Please check back here soon for another look at art and design projects I'm currently working on. You can follow me on Facebook too if that's your thing.

Best wishes

...

Damian K. Sheiles

www.dks.net.au

The Bitter Queen Product Launch :: 14 April 2014

Monday 14 April, I had the pleasure of attending The Bitter Queen's inaugural product launch hosted at The Ellington Jazz Club in Perth.

It's always a proud moment for me to witness a client going full throttle, getting ready to launch their new business enterprise. TBQ went above and beyond to put on a fantastic launch night of their all new Australian Essence range. All food and drinks that were prepared for the night were created utilising the Bitter Queen's Australian essence range and The Ellington Jazz club provided the perfect atmosphere for the night.

I wish them all the best for their future prosperity and honestly believe they have created a unique Australian product that's going to make an impact on the market. Check them out on Facebook or head over to their website for more information.

...

Damian K. Sheiles

Logo Design

For this week's blog post, I'm going to share my design process for developing logos. I'll be using a logo I designed for a friend's new business, The Bitter Queen to support the process as shown below.

The design process I use is the same for every logo job although sometimes certain stages may have different nuances or take longer depending on conceptualisation or the complexity of the design task at hand.

Here's my process breakdown;
1. Client Discussion
2. Scope and Quote
3. Research and Development
4. Rough Concept Sketches
5. Digitise Concept Roughs
6. Present Logo Versions
7. Refine
8. Finalise Logo

Generally, the above process takes between 10 to 12 hours but can take longer depending on the client's requirements. It is the time invested discussing with the client their business and brand perception coupled with two hours of research and development that provides me with the insight required to produce great logo design work. I always research the client's business to get a feel for what their competitors are doing, what colours are being most commonly utilised and how the overall 'flavour' of their profession, service or product is being represented. The research stage will inform the best way to approach the logo design project; whether to work in contrast against what everyone else is doing to create a point of difference or to stay with the flock and develop a logo inline with what's already out there, playing to the public's preconceived awareness.

1. Client Discussion.

This is a casual conversation that lasts for about an hour where I'll take notes while listening to the client explain to me how they perceive their business, what their business core is, how they desire to be positioned in the market place, what their long-term goals are, how they'd like to grow their business, what branding collateral they require, what their stationery design needs are; whether they require signage and vehicle wrap design, what they are going to do online to promote their business, do they require website design or social marketing media, who their competitors are, what their ideas are for their logo design and any other contextual information.

2. Scope and Quote

After the client meeting, I'll review my notes and develop a scope of work in order to provide a quote for the logo design job and any other graphics or marketing work discussed. I then write up the scope and send it to my client for their review, feedback and acceptance. This occurs prior to any design work being started.

Quote and Scope document

3. Research and Development

During the client discussion, competitors are mentioned or the client may have seen a similar business to theirs that is successfully pushing its brand. I'll research these businesses and their industry in general to get a feel for how their service, product or profession is being perceived in the market place. This informs my design decisions as I do not want to inadvertently design a logo that is too similar to an already existing logo. This will also help me find my clients unique 'voice' among their already established profession.

While researching, I'll have my sketch pad handy and make notes and draw concept roughs as they come to me. I'll draw up a flow chart indicating pressure points of the project and include any client mandatory requests here such as colours to use or avoid, font preferences and the general feel the logo needs to achieve. Thus begins the development stage which leads into the next stage.

4. Rough Concept Sketches

I'll sketch out a lot of rough thumbnail sized ideas for the logo as determined by my client notes and my findings at the research and development stage. Creatively, I simply let loose and get the ideas down as they come to me. I always do this by hand as it allows the flow to be much quicker and less restrictive than if I used a computer. I do not edit any of my ideas at this stage. The energy in creating roughs should transfer across to the final logo design.

Rough Concept Sketches (pencil, marker pens)

5. Digitise Concept Designs

I select the best concept designs from the roughs I created at stage 4. I then spend a few hours digitising these designs to the level of presentable polished designs. It is at this point that I'll choose fonts, create a Pantone colour palette or decide if I am going to custom draw the logotype. I use Adobe CC with my primary software for logo design being InDesign and Illustrator. I always work in vector art format when creating logos and presently 'flat' logo design is very popular. What that means is that there is little to no shadowing, beveled edges or 3D affects being applied to design aesthetic.

At this stage, new ideas may present themselves while I'm digitising the concept roughs. If I deem any of these new ideas to be stronger than the roughs, then I'll review my work prior to sending to the client to reduce the number of logo designs being presented.

InDesign > Digitising the logo designs

6. Present Logo Versions to Client

I send my client a PDF proof showcasing several design options, displaying a selection of fonts and colour palettes as well as a short written rationale for each design so that client can better understand my thought process and design decisions. I limit the amount of logo designs from 3 - 6 versions. I only present the strongest or best logo design solutions to my client as I firmly believe that quality wins over quantity. I leave the PDF proof with my client for as long as they need to process the design work so they can collect their thoughts and offer me feedback in terms of their preferences. I often suggest that they think on it for a few days or show their partner or trusted friend for some unbiased feedback. Sometimes the decision making can be overwhelming when presented with a handful of strong logo design solutions. I am more than happy to meet with my client to talk them though the designs to help them decide what is right for them.

First Round Logo Designs

7. Refine

Sometimes additional design refinement is required after receiving client feedback. It's at this stage that the client's preferred logo design becomes better realised, with a little tweaking here and there. I may also work up mono and reversed versions of their logo at this stage if not already developed. I always provide at least 2 logo formats - a horizontal version which is handy for website banners and a more condensed 'stacked' version which may be better suited for stationery design. I find it's best to develop these formats at the same time to maintain design consistency. Mono versions also come in handy for black and white documents or for use at reduced sizes. This also ensures at design stage that the logo can be easily 'read' at very small sizes which was essential for The Bitter Queen logo design job as small labels were required for essence bottles.

A new PDF proof is sent to the client. This time only the refined logo designs are included for their review. The refinement process continues until the client is happy with their logo design and a final design is approved.

8. Finalise Logo

After the client has approved the final logo design, I prepare the logo in several different industry standard file formats; JPEG, PDF, EPS and PNG. I bundle these up with a 1 Sheet Logo Style Guide that they can pass on to printers, embroiderers or sign makers to ensure that the correct colour and logo file is used. You'll note that the Style Sheet below showcases the final logo design in it's three formats along with the fonts and Pantone colour palette utilised in the design.

Final Logo 1 Sheet Style Guide

There you have it. My logo design process broken down into 8 stages. I hope this gives you a better understanding of how much work goes into developing logos and brands.

...

Damian K. Sheiles

Follow me on Facebook

My 2014 Self Promotion Campaign

With the new year in full swing, it's time to reflect on what occurred the year before, to ponder, what can I do better this year? Where do my strengths lie and what is the core drive of my business enterprise?

When put simply, I am an accomplished graphic designer with a sharp eye for detail, great typography and page layout skills plus a grounded sense of form, colour and function. What I do well is provide graphic design solutions coupled with a print and signage provision service as a result of my close working relationships with WA's premier trade printers and signage companies. I am also an award winning illustrator who's keen to produce private commissions for you.

So, this is what I do...

Please download my It's What I Do booklet here. Pass it on to your friends and colleagues and contact me for any print, design or illustration work you may have. It's the start of a new year and a great time to apply a fresh perspective to your business venture.

DID YOU KNOW?
That I design logos for a variety of companies. From corporate, retail, educational or hospitality business’s to sporting clubs, crests, bands, hobby groups, publication mastheads or unique enterprises - I do them all. I utilise an idea generation development process that produces great design results.

DID YOU KNOW?
That I specialise in corporate design and can provide graphic design solutions for company logos, branding, stationery, brochures, signage and vehicle wraps.

DID YOU KNOW?
That I have worked alongside print providers for over 12 years and have established close relationships with some of WA’s finest printers. I can provide competitive and professional print solutions for your company.

DID YOU KNOW?
That I have extensive signage design and production experience. I am able to consult on your company’s signage needs regardless of how big or small the job is.

DID YOU KNOW?
I am an award winning illustrator, available to PRODUCE private commissions. Check out my DKSartist Facebook page to see samples of artwork.

DID YOU KNOW?
I am a promotional key-tag expert. I have custom branded HUNDREDS of unique metal plated key-tags, working alongside sales representatives from all over Australia and liaising with production houses overseas. Contact me today to FIND OUT how promotional items can enhance your business profile.

DID YOU KNOW?
That I provide professional website design and development, online marketing, search marketing consultancy and digital advertising strategies plus social media marketing solutions including content development and scheduling.

Well now you do.

Thank you
...

Damian K. Sheiles