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Unread 29-07-2008, 02:17
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KarenH KarenH is offline
Mrs. ChrisH
FRC #0330 (Beach 'Bots)
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Location: Hermosa Beach, CA
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Re: Opinions on our logo

I like the concept--it's simple and elegant.

Before you start applying it, though, it needs some work. The lines need to be cleaned up; they should be sharp so that the logo will be consistent when printed on T-shirts, letterheads, etc. The image as you have displayed it has lots of random pixels which will make it difficult for a printer to accurately reproduce the look you want.

Also, the lines must be thicker in both the drawing and the numerals. Otherwise, when you downsize it for use on a website or business cards, some of the lines will disappear.

If you like the lines being thin, you could work up two logos--one with thin lines for large size applications, such as T-shirts and the robot itself, and another with thicker lines for the smaller applications. This is a standard technique used with professionally designed logos.

What you have shown us is green lines on a black background. The artwork that you will need for printing should be crisp black on a clean white background. The printer will need you to specify the color green ink you want, and the color of paper or T-shirt you want it printed on. (Bring color samples along when it's time to order your materials.)

For printing on dark T-shirts, the T-shirt printer will first print the logo in white, then print the green ink over the white to get a really bright color. Otherwise, the black fabric will show through the green ink, making it look muddy. There will likely be an extra charge for the white layer, but it won't amount to much per shirt if you have a lot of shirts printed. If you print on white T-shirts, this won't be an issue.

Meanwhile, for use on your website, you will need an electronic version in green with a black background. Will you want your "Warhawk" to be floating on a page with a black background, or will you want it nesting in a black rectangle (or other shape), possibly with a contrasting (green) border around it? If you want the former, you will need a logo with just the bird and team number. For the latter, you will need artwork that includes a background rectangle sized to frame the bird in a pleasing proportion. Be sure to try out some different versions and show them to people who care what things look like.

Be careful that the version for your website is a small file size, so you don't slow down page loading.

A finished logo should look professional. Even logos with an informal feel have been carefully crafted and manipulated. Your team probably doesn't need to be as thorough as FIRST is with their logo, but careful rendering of your logo will benefit your team imagery.

I do know some professional graphic artists, but they're in southern California (I don't know what state your team is in). I also don't know if they'd be willing to donate their time. Most teams can't afford to pay a graphic artist the going rate for a full-blown logo design program, but you might be able to afford some "clean up" work, if your team agrees on the basic concept.

If you haven't already done so, copy your logo into a desktop publishing program (or Word). Shrink it down to an inch or so and see if all the lines hold up. Then enlarge it to fill the page, and view it at maximum zoom (400 percent or so). You'll be able to see how clean or messy the lines are. The tiny size will show you how it will look on stationery or give-away items. The large size will show how it looks on T-shirts and banners.

I hope I haven't overwhelmed you with too much information, but I want you to have a logo your team can be proud of. Have fun with it!
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