Robot logos
 

Hey, I know some teams made logos for their robots (118, 16, etc.). I just wanted a thread to see some of these, and maybe how you designed them. Being a programmer who really wanted a logo for our robot, I did it in MS Paint, as I didn't have any other type of design software. Here's 4557's logo:

Re: Robot logos
 

In the past, we've done fancier stuff, mostly in Photoshop, but for teams who don't have editing software I highly recommend PicMonkey or Pixlr for graphics.

This year we simply chose a 'cool font' for Knightmare, our robot name - in this case, it was called Evidence.

We stick pretty well to a cohesive brand standard for our team - all of the students involved in website, graphics, media etc have a list of the right fonts & color codes to use, as well as graphic elements - so as long as whatever we design aligns with that, we're golden.

I'll attach last year's robot logo (MKI:X, for our tenth year) and Knightmare (2016)'s.

Re: Robot logos
 

I don't have any Logos I've created on this computer; I will post them once i get access to them.
Usually we use a combination of Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator to make any of our logos and graphics.

We love using Illustrator because it allows our images to be scalable for use in giant posters.

as Libby said another program would be GIMP.

Re: Robot logos
 

GIMP is amazing, and free. It has a steep learning curve though. Paint.NET would also be good, and is easier to learn (from what i have heard.)

Re: Robot logos
 

Team 20 has made robot logos since 2014, taking our original inspiration from 118's Apex (2013). All of our past robot logos are attached here.

Historically, I've made the logos on my computer outside of build meetings. As a college student who can't justify a subscription to Adobe Illustrator, I used Inkscape. It's a free open source vector graphics program that I've found to be just as good as Illustrator in many respects, and it has my strong recommendation. It's very easy to pick up if you're already familiar with Illustrator or other vector graphics programs, and tutorials are readily available. If you'd like to use the Adobe software though, definitely look into getting an educational discount through your school.

In general, I would tend to avoid raster images for logos (the kind of file you work with in Photoshop: jpg, png, etc.) because they can be difficult to scale without pixelating unless the file is already large. For logos, where simplicity and scalability are key features, vector graphics work a lot better. We start our designs by typing out the robot's name in our designated robot font (Prototype), and sketch out logo designs from there. Using the same font gives the logos some uniformity year to year and makes them easier to pick out among the sponsor stickers on out robots. We also try to keep them monochrome and very simple to make them scalable, easy to print, and legible from the stands.

Re: Robot logos
 

We made a logo for our robot this year.

http://i.imgur.com/cC07pnQ.png?1

I used Photoshop and illustrator to make it.

I see others have recommended free photo editing programs.

My recommendation is to get a team Creative cloud subscription and then give select people the credentials. There is an academic discount and after that it becomes very affordable. Its definitely worth it to have the right programs to do the work instead of constantly having to find free alternatives.

Re: Robot logos
 

Last year we made a logo for our robot. Our leadership was convinced that we should look cool (It didn't matter, we still sucked). Unfortunately I do not have a picture of the logo. It was made by a member of our leadership and it was (I kid you not) Our robot's name (Clawdius Seizer) in black text with what was clearly the Nvidia logo with a quarter cut out on the top left of the text.

Re: Robot logos
 

We don't have logos, but they're always typeset the same way (ITC Machine, to blend in with USC athletics.)

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/41437
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/39408

(Sandstorm I had it but I don't have a picture handy, and a panel was made for Sandstorm III but we kept losing the panels because they weren't attached well enough for the rough game. Whoops!)

Re: Robot logos
 

Re: Robot logos
 

From what I gather, then, it is generally good to make the logo with vector graphics, and to choose a fixed font for the team to carry through year by year. Is this generally good practice?

Re: Robot logos
 

Vector art is a major key. You can then put it on your T-shirt, stickers, buttons, or on the billboard after you win the a Championship, all crystal clear. We do everything in vectors, because we literally do all of those (except the billboard, but I can dream).

Consistency is good when you're trying to build a brand in the community. That doesn't mean it has to be identical every year (for example, Get Smart has a different game-specific shirt every year but it's immediately clear it's a Get Smart shirt), but steadiness gives you a continuity that helps for people that only see your team once or twice a year.

Re: Robot logos
 

Yes, using vector files for logo design is generally good practice since it gives you the most flexibility with the design and use cases. You can also usually convert a vector image to a raster one much more easily than going the other way if you find that you need the other format later. Having a consistent team font for documents, presentations, and publications in general is a good practice as well.

Choosing to use a consistent robot font, however, is a design decision you'll have to make. We've found it useful for establishing continuity between our designs and it gives us a convenient starting point each year, but I wouldn't say it should be a given for every team. For example, 118 changes their robot logo font year to year; take a look at their past four reveal videos. You may want to pick a font to fit the game or robot better, and you can find other ways to incorporate some theme between logos so they're clearly your team's. Fonts are just perhaps the easiest way to do this, especially when you're just starting to establish your team's brand (unlike 118).

As a side note, if you're interested in team branding in general, you may want to look at 254's branding guidelines.