First Meeting with My Mentor, Cary Ross

In the first meeting with my mentor, we just briefly skimmed over the basics of design and what makes for a great logo.  First of all, he said that legibility is everything when it comes to design.  This essentially means that the most important thing is making sure that the viewer understands what you are saying through your logo or page.  In order to make your art unique, it is nice to put in different fonts, play with size and color, etc.  However, if there is too much going on at once and your idea is not translated cleanly onto the paper, what is the use of the logo or page? So before you go too far, make sure your logo is understandable. 

This is the color wheel

There are two main points Cary said to look for when creating a design.  First, check the clarity and the simplicity of the design.  It is great to have color and pop on the page, but not too much.  Secondly, be aware of the colors on the page.  A good logo has lots of color and contrast.  For example, if you look on a color wheel, the shades that are on opposite sides of the circle will compliment, giving you the most contrast.  The diagram above gives a clear picture of contrast on a color wheel.  Overall this research has given me the basics of graphic design and I can use my new knowledge going forward into my 8th grade project.