graphics

[creighton]

How many sketches did you go though?? For what that goes where?

Picked a font a long time ago and finished the line,and shape design today. Now its going into the vitrual 'paly-doh' machine. now working the color selection... this graphics design has been the most difficult frame thing/work I have noodled over so far... I have MY design figured out as it plays with the vocabulary of the whole and personal asthetic.

...but getting there??? sheesh!!! what a mind job...

Just wondering what you all went through to find yours and what was the feel of it all..

CW

[WadePatton]

from the peanut gallery-or totally out-of-turn, however you want to take it.

quite curious as to the general response here. some of the folks have great, nay splendid stuff.

my general logo (badge and cutouts and such) was drawn up by a girlfriend a couple of years ago-and is quite a bit RS ish (she had no idea, and i'll run it by him before i use it and imitation/flattery yo), but i like it and am now working to finalize that design, as well as finalize my font for dt lettering. not effing fun.

also think that an important thing to note is that evolution happens. the initial product doesn't have to be set in granite. but of course it would be nice to have that/this whole hassle _done_.

[steve garro]

DT logo, T-shirt & headbadge = lots of thinking + 1 - 1.5 hrs of drawing + 1hr inking in.

[Curt Goodrich]

5 years and around a 1000 frames before I put my name on one. The graphics package evolved from all that I'd seen before. Like evolution it continues to change. Yours will too. It just takes time. Don't watch the clock.

[hampco]

for out latest iteration - our second, really - i simply asked the first font designer who contacted (for a poster) me if he "knew of anyone that might be interested in redoing our look"

the rest is history, paul barnes is a rock star, i still owe him a frame

[conorb]

We did all of the work ourselves; designing the logo, figuring the sizes, various colors, etc., etc.

Once that was done we had to do it all over again using Illustrator (vector based artwork) and continually made changes along the way.

It'll come. If you don't want to wait you could hire a professional.

conor

[suspectdevice]

I do 90% of all of our graphics work, from web stuff, to frames, softgoods, etc.

We have signature graphics, like the Celtic stuff with the knot that have been around forever... A lot of the other stuff is just playing around with typefaces...

Sizing, etc is all a matter of enter a cutline into illustrator or whatever other graphics program you use, and sizing it to suit the area... I just figured that was part of my job to get relatively competent at all this stuff, as I can't afford to pay.

[creighton]

The best analogy I can come up with is one my Pop and I experienced while re-building cars when I was growing up in Okla...

We would pull a '51 chevy business coupe (or something '48-53 Chevy) from the dirt of some old farmers hay field. There would always seem to be a tree growing up through the engine bay. We would bring it home and start with the tear down for a ground up resto... Folks would come by as all the rusted through fenders, body parts, crusty engine/tranny and et al lay on the shop floor. As we were chasing field mice out of the horse hair padded seats they would ask... " what color you gonna paint it?"

This is what building and then graphics work means for me. I have drawn up all of the designs, 1+however many more sketches I did to find the line. Even during creation of the first set, evolution happened and will continue to happen. For now.. got a good line on what I need for the basics. Frameset first.. then the rest.. I just want to make a ride that is finished and is a real pro job.. if only for myself and pals..

Creighton "not ready for prime time" Wade

[Thylacine Cycles]

I'm really in two minds here. I'd love to give some professional advise because there are way too many bike companies with really crap graphics that they're really, really proud of....but on the other hand I've had heaps of people say how much they hate the top tube decal so who am I to argue?

I just think like anything, know your limitations and capabilities. If you have no taste, at least be honest and go seek the help of a pro.

Specialization got us out of the cave, so go find a graphics specialist or risk looking like a caveman I guess.

:thumbs_up:

[marten]

I'm really in two minds here. I'd love to give some professional advise because there are way too many bike companies with really crap graphics that they're really, really proud of..

try reading the graphics of the other bikes at a clubrun. you're lucky if you can decipher half :eek:

[creighton]

DT graphic for now.. others are coming after fed into Illustrator by Dave.. The design is mine along with two others for ST, SS and FB.. yeah, singular. I dont have access to such software so this is my difference to a 'pro' for feeding into the program for color/form tweeks. A few more tweeks to do but for the most part done.

Difficult to explain the two remaining so this is all for now... For the DT..



For reference.. the head badge..



from the 'porosity in silver' thread...for design line shared by graphics..




The font is an old one originally hand penned in 1914. I found it and the form spoke to me. Using the old style trifecta of contrast colors that plays well with a comfortably wide spectrum of base colors. More on the remaining decals as they are finished..

CW