Sketching is arguably the most important part of my process when it comes to logo design. In the beginning of my design career, I would actually skip this step completely and go right to the computer. I’d find myself getting stuck and then going to Pinterest for ideas. This would send me down a rabbit hole that was ultimately more harmful than helpful.

當涉及徽標設計時，草圖可以說是我過程中最重要的部分。 在我設計生涯的初期，我實際上會完全跳過這一步，直接進入計算機。 我會發現自己陷入困境，然后去Pinterest尋求想法。 這會使我陷入困境，這最終有害無益。

That’s when I realized that I needed to have an actual process for starting my logo projects, and kick out Pinterest for good.

從那時起，我意識到我需要一個啟動徽標項目的實際流程 ，并永久淘汰Pinterest。

If you’re anything like how I used to be, you have one of two mental blocks about sketching:

如果您像我以前一樣，那么您就有兩個關于素描的思維障礙之一：

1. You think you’re not a good artist and so your sketches would look “bad,” or2. You feel stuck staring at a white paper and never know how to start sketching ideas.

1.您認為自己不是一個好的藝術家，因此您的草圖看起來“不好”，或者2。 您會凝視白皮書，卻不知道如何開始構思草圖。

I’m going to walk through a process that will not only break down those two mental blocks, but also help you rely much less on inspiration from Pinterest/Behance/etc.

我將逐步完成一個過程，該過程不僅將打破這兩個思維障礙，而且還將幫助您減少對Pinterest / Behance / etc等人的啟發。

Let’s get into it!

讓我們開始吧！

1.話語 (1. Words)

In this first step I like to go back to the brand strategy. I get out my word bank and copy and paste it into an Illustrator document.

在第一步中，我想回到品牌策略。 我離開了單詞庫，然后將其復制并粘貼到Illustrator文檔中。

If you didn’t do brand strategy work with a particular client, don’t fret! Quickly brainstorm a list of “brand personality” words or phrases that describe what the company does and use those! I like to do this with the help of my clients so that we’re in alignment.

如果您沒有與特定客戶進行品牌策略合作，請不要擔心！ 快速集思廣益，描述公司的行為并使用這些行為的“品牌個性”字詞或短語！ 我喜歡在客戶的幫助下做到這一點，以便我們保持一致。

2.視覺研究 (2. Visual Research)

Once you have your list, then it’s time to gather visual research. Notice how I didn’t say gather “inspiration” or “ideas” or “mood board images.” For this step, it’s important not to get caught up in style, colors, or anything like that. If your visual research board looks pretty, you’re doing it wrong.

一旦有了清單，就該收集視覺研究了。 請注意，我不是說收集“靈感”或“想法”或“情緒板圖像”。 對于此步驟，重要的是不要陷入風格，顏色或類似問題。 如果您的視覺研究委員會看上去很漂亮，那說明您做錯了。

I think it would help if I showed you an example:

我認為如果您舉個例子，將會有所幫助：

This particular client was starting a marketing agency. Her last name is ‘Story,’ and she also feels like she helps her clients share their stories to generate business. She does a lot of event marketing for wellness brands and focuses on creating experiences that bring her clients’ audience together to create “stories” they will always remember and associate with the brand. One thing that stood out when I was talking to my client was that she wants her clients to feel like “the sky is the limit” when they’re working with her.

這個特定的客戶正在建立一個市場代理。 她的姓氏是“ Story”，她也覺得自己可以幫助客戶分享他們的故事以發展業務。 她為健身品牌進行了大量的事件營銷，并專注于創造體驗，將客戶的受眾聚集在一起，創造出他們將永遠記住并與該品牌相關聯的“故事”。 當我與客戶交談時脫穎而出的一件事是，她希望客戶與她一起工作時感覺自己像“天空是極限” 。

With all that in mind, I looked for images that represent community (cut-out people holding hands), limitless (ladder, clouds, skies, arms reaching up), entertainment (festivals, confetti, crowds), wellness (yoga poses, stacked rocks) and so on.

考慮到所有這些因素，我尋找的圖像代表社區 (切出的人握著手)， 無窮 (梯子，云層，天空，伸出的手臂)， 娛樂 (節日，五彩紙屑，人群)， 健康 (瑜伽姿勢，堆疊)巖石)等等。

Are most of these painfully literal and obvious interpretations? Yes. That’s the point!

這些大多數都是痛苦的字面意義和顯而易見的解釋嗎？ 是。 這才是重點！

You have to start with these types of references so that your creative brain can take them and run with them. If you start super conceptual and stylistic, you’ll come out with something that has no ground to stand on.

您必須從這些類型的引用開始，以便您的創造力大腦可以接受它們并與其一起運行。 如果您開始超級概念化和風格化，那么您將獲得無可替代的基礎。

Once you have your visual reference board, you’re ready to get sketching!

有了視覺參考板后，就可以開始草繪了！

3.會話中的草圖 (3. Sketch in Sessions)

Then it’s time to actually put pen to paper. There are two important things about the way I do this to make it the most beneficial it can be.

然后是時候把筆放在紙上了。 我要使其變得最有益的方式有兩點重要。

First, I never put pressure on myself to make the sketches look “good” or “pretty.” They’re just ideas, they’ll be taken to the computer later where I can stylize them however I want. So if you’re like me and you wouldn’t consider yourself an artist or an illustrator, that’s totally okay. That’s not what this is about. AND it’s okay if 99% of your ideas suck! Sometimes sucky ideas lead to good ones, so just get them down on the paper and don’t worry about if they’re good or not during this step.

首先，我從不向自己施加壓力以使草圖看起來“好”或“漂亮”。 它們只是想法，以后將被帶到計算機上，在那里我可以根據需要對其進行樣式化。 因此，如果您像我一樣，并且不會認為自己是藝術家或插畫家，那完全可以。 那不是這個。 而且如果您的想法中的99％沒問題，那就沒關系！ 有時候笨拙的想法會帶來好的想法，因此只需將它們記在紙上，而不必擔心在此步驟中它們是否好。

The other important thing is that I do my sketching in two or three 30-minute sessions. This way, I don’t focus on getting a good idea, I just focus on sketching for 30 minutes. It takes the pressure off and turns it into an exercise instead of “I need to come up with a good idea right now so I can start this project! Ahhhh!”

另一個重要的事情是我分兩個或三個30分鐘的課程進行素描。 這樣，我不專注于獲得一個好主意，我只專注于素描30分鐘。 它減輕了壓力并將其變成一種練習，而不是“我現在需要想出一個好主意，這樣我才能開始這個項目！ 啊！”

This also gives your brain time to rest and be inspired. Maybe you’ll do a 30 minute session, then go make lunch and take the dog for a walk and come back for your second session. During that time, even if you don’t consciously realize it, the back of your brain is working on the design problem and so when you get back to work, you’ll have some fresh ideas.

這也使您的大腦有時間休息并受到啟發。 也許您需要進行30分鐘的訓練，然后去做午餐，帶狗散步，然后回來進行第二次訓練。 在這段時間里，即使您沒有有意識地意識到這一點，大腦的背面也在解決設計問題，因此當您重新開始工作時，就會有一些新的想法。

I want to reiterate, during these 30-minute sessions, DO NOT judge your sketches! Just do as many as you can.

我要重申，在這30分鐘的課程中，請勿對您的草圖進行評判！ 盡可能多地做。

4.查看草圖 (4. Review your Sketches)

This step won’t take long, but you should take a break between your last sketching session and your review. Again, it gives your brain a fresh perspective and you’re less likely to judge yourself too harshly.

此步驟不會花費很長時間，但是您應該在上一次草繪會話和審閱之間稍作休息。 同樣，它為您的大腦提供了嶄新的視角，并且您不太可能過于苛刻地判斷自己。

Simply go through your notebook and star or circle things you think are interesting or have potential.

只需翻閱筆記本，然后對您認為有趣或具有潛力的事物加注或圈出即可。

5.數字渲染 (5. Digital Rendering)

Now, when you open up your blank document in Illustrator, you likely won’t feel like you’re just starting. You’ve already done some of the heavy lifting, and now it’s time for the fun part. Get those ideas down digitally and do tons of variations of each one. Of course, you don’t have to limit yourself to your sketches. If an idea comes to you that you didn’t already sketch out — go with it, that’s great!

現在，當您在Illustrator中打開空白文檔時，您可能不會覺得自己才剛剛開始。 您已經完成了一些繁重的工作，現在是時候進行有趣的部分了。 將這些想法數字化，并做大量的變化。 當然，您不必局限于草圖。 如果您想到了一個尚未勾勒出的想法，那就去做吧！

Here are the 3 concepts I ended up presenting to my client:

這是我最終向客戶介紹的3個概念：

Over the last few years, I’ve seen immense growth in my own design abilities, but also in my ability to think conceptually and creatively. Using this process has also given me more confidence — because I know my ideas are completely my own. Instead of using the internet as a crutch, I’ve learned to use it as a tool!

在過去的幾年中，我已經看到自己的設計能力以及概念和創造性思維的能力都得到了極大的發展。 使用此過程還給了我更多的信心-因為我知道我的想法完全是我自己的。 我已經學會了將互聯網用作工具，而不是將互聯網用作拐杖！