Logos by design.

Logos by design. Finding projects for students in their early teens that areaccessible to the huge range of skill and confidence levels we dealwith, explore the knowledge of design demanded by the curriculum andstill make it personally interesting to this age group is a constantchallenge. Here's the perfect project! From sports teams to breakfastcereals This is a list of breakfast cereals. Many cereals are trademarked brands of large companies such as Kellogg's, General Mills, Malt-O-Meal, Nestl��, The Quaker Oats Company, and Post Cereals, but similar equivalent products are often sold by other manufacturers and as store own , students are constantly surrounded by advertising. Logos aresmall pieces of advertising art that use all of the principles of designto send big messages. Analyzing and creating logos helps studentsunderstand how advertisers use design to capture interest. We begin by discussing graphic design as a discipline and career. Ihave collected many news articles about logos of sports teams andcompanies such as Google, as well as examples created and sold by formerstudents. The students are instantly captivated cap��ti��vate?tr.v. cap��ti��vat��ed, cap��ti��vat��ing, cap��ti��vates1. To attract and hold by charm, beauty, or excellence. See Synonyms at charm.2. Archaic To capture. by the idea that someoneis making money by creating these seemingly simple designs. Localgraphic-design companies are also a great resource. The students thenfind out they will be "hired" by a company to design theirlogo, which begins all the excitement! GAINING GRAPHIC-DESIGN KNOWLEDGE We first complete a worksheettogether on which I have photocopied nine different logos, ranging froma national bank and a local bowing alley, to an NBA team and our schoollogo. We make point-form notes under each logo listing the theories thatgraphic designers use. These include: diagonal lines suggest movement;vertical lines suggest stillness: horizontal lines suggest calmness;circle suggests never ending; square suggests dependability; brokenborder suggests strength and power; combined letters and/or symbolsreduce the negative space; and, entire name helps with recognition. Students also have a homework assignment to help consolidate andreinforce the real-world application of this knowledge where they must:(1) find a logo, draw it, glue it or download it "Download It" is Clea's debut single. It was released in the UK on September 22, 2003 and missed the top 20 charting at #21. The single had average promotion, being performed in shows like Top of the Pops. ; (2) identify two ideasthat the designers used (e.g. diagonal line and combined letter andsymbol); (3) give three points why each of these two ideas is effectiveor not; and (4) tell why they like or dislike this logo. YOU'RE HIRED In a bucket I have all the letters of thealphabet copied onto small squares. Each student reaches in and drawstwo letters. These are the initials of their "company." Inanother bucket I have slips with symbols that include: star, apple,Saturn, heart, leaf, sunglasses sunglasses A tinted pair of glasses used to ↓ light arriving at the eye, which are labeled according to the amount of UV light blocked; nonprescription glasses are classified according to use and amount of UV radiation blockedSunglasses , umbrella, mountain, sun, crown,scissors, paintbrush (graphics, tool) Paintbrush - A Microsoft Windows tool for creating bitmap graphics. and fish. This is the symbol their company wants intheir logo. What exactly the company does (e.g. manufacturing,restaurant, sports team), the students decide. It's amazing a��maze?v. a��mazed, a��maz��ing, a��maz��esv.tr.1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise.2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex.v.intr. howtruly excited the students are to be "'hired." To help the process, I draw a set of letters and a symbol from thebuckets for myself and then, with the class, brainstorm all thedifferent types of enterprises that might want an umbrella, for example,in their logo. The list might include things from rain gear andinsurance companies to sun-screen. I quickly design three ideas as ademonstration, using the knowledge we've discussed. As I workthrough each idea, I tell the students why my company would wantdiagonal lines, a square or a broken border. We discuss the fact that in real life, a graphic designer presentsseveral ideas to the client, who then makes the final choice.Accordingly, the students' assignment is to create three differentlogos with their letters/initials and symbol for their client. This issurprisingly challenging for the students. We frequently stop and do aquick brainstorm as a class to help the stalled designers get movingagain. Students will often love their first or second idea and want tostop there, but that is not allowed. They must create at least threeand, many times, a later design becomes their favorite. I use thisexperience as an example in subsequent projects to encourage students tokeep experimenting until they find their best idea rather than justusing their first. BEGIN DESIGNING The students work on long (6" x 24")strips of cartridge paper cartridge paperNouna type of heavy rough drawing paperNoun 1. cartridge paper - thick white paper for pencil and ink drawingsdrawing paper - paper that is specially prepared for use in drafting2. . This helps them work to an appropriate scaleand watch their ideas evolve. Students start by trying to combine theirletters and symbol in creative and effective ways. We spend our entire semester in eighth grade focusing on theprinciples of design (emphasis, unity, rhythm, balance, proportion,variety). These principles are the guiding force behind every design.The students spend about two additional classes refining their threebest ideas keeping in mind the logo design theories we discussed, theprinciples of design and quality workmanship. We talk about professionaltouches, such as perfectly straight lines, circles that are truly round,lines ending on a similar plane or ending in a pattern to create adiagonal, and so on. To encourage divergent thinking Noun 1. divergent thinking - thinking that moves away in diverging directions so as to involve a variety of aspects and which sometimes lead to novel ideas and solutions; associated with creativityout-of-the-box thinking we discuss reversing letters;upper- vs. lower-case letters; script vs. printing vs. gothic;stretching or thickening the design; pushing the design onto a diagonalplane; borders; opening or closing part of the design; using only halfof the symbol; and, realistic vs. motif-style symbol. When the students have completed three good logo designs, theytrace them onto a fresh piece of paper so that their finished copy hasno mistakes. They erase so that no pencil will show and finish them withpencil crayon crayon,any drawing material available in stick form. The term includes charcoal, conte crayon, chalk, pastel, grease crayon, litho crayon, and children's wax colors. . We review coloring techniques from seventh grade:choosing the best brushstroke; color theory This article is about the musical alter ego of Brian Hazard; for the theory of color, see color theoryColor Theory is the musical alter ego of American singer-keyboardist-songwriter Brian Hazard. ; coloring mixing andglazing; and shading and highlights. Because the finished product isquite small, the effort put into coloring is of amazingly high quality. EVALUATION The students must then write about two of the designprinciples they focused on and how they used them. They are evaluated ontheir use of these two principles, their analysis of their use of theseprinciples, their use of logo design and basic design theory, thequality of their workmanship, and the divergence of design between theirthree logos. This is a fabulous confidence-building project in which allstudents experience success because it focuses on the process andthinking, rather than on artistic ability. Students of all skill levelscan produce outstanding projects. The real-world relevance is the addedbonus that captures and keeps everyone's interest. MATERIALS * Examples of logos * Pencil crayons * 6" x 24" strips of cartridge paper (or any nice-qualitydrawing paper) * Letters of the alphabet and variety of symbols on small papersquare * Two buckets/bowls/bags LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students will ... * understand, apply and describe the principles of design. * use divergent thinking skills. * analyze and apply graphic-design theory. * gain skills in the use of pencil crayons. * develop confidence in their artistic ability. Carrie Nethery is the art specialist for College Avenue MiddleSchool in Guelph, Ontario Guelph (IPA: gwɛlf) (population 114,943[1]) is a city located in the Southwestern region of Ontario, Canada. , Canada