DeFrank Personal Logo

[DeFrank]

So I thought that making a personal logo would be good for my uniform thread and just to improve my skills in Photoshop. I wanted to have it based off the Nationals "Washington" script, changing colors depending on the season and so on. It would say "DeFrank" with a caption below.

Obviously, this isn't finished. It's very rough around the edges and I haven't found a good way to implement the "K" yet. I wanted to get your thoughts on how it is so far, where it needs to be improved, and if you like the idea or not.

the "D" and "F" come from the Detroit Tigers (with alterations to make it like the Nationals "W". The e is from the Mets logo (with alterations). The "r" is from the Cardinals script. The "an" is from the Washington script.

So what are your thoughts?

Thanks!

[AnythingChicago]

DeFranl?

Oh, I just read the first post. It's a good start, but obviously needs some cleaning up.

[BrySmalls]

I presume that DC can be defined as the "melting pot of the US" as the reasoning behind "borrowing" other baseball teams letters.

[DeFrank]

I presume that DC can be defined as the "melting pot of the US" as the reasoning behind "borrowing" other baseball teams letters.

It was the best way to create it I thought. I couldn't find a script to download or buy, and I changed them to "fit" the style. I see what you mean though

[Jimmy!]

If you want to make this your own, don't use other baseball team logos. There are TONS of similar fonts out there that you can work with, adjust, tweak to suit your needs.

[DeFrank]

If you want to make this your own, don't use other baseball team logos. There are TONS of similar fonts out there that you can work with, adjust, tweak to suit your needs.

Fair enough. Any out there you would suggest? I'm going for the "Washington" look.

[BrandMooreArt]

id also suggest using a brush typeface thats pre-made. its really rough and looks like it was drawn with a broken crayon. a regular font would at least give you something proper to start with, and you can customize it in PS from there is you like. id suggest dafont.com or one of my favorites fontsquirrel.com

[DeFrank]

id also suggest using a brush typeface thats pre-made. its really rough and looks like it was drawn with a broken crayon. a regular font would at least give you something proper to start with, and you can customize it in PS from there is you like. id suggest dafont.com or one of my favorites fontsquirrel.com

Yea I understand it looks pretty bad. What do you mean about brush typeface? Don't know what that means.

I tried making a post earlier, but people were berating me for starting threads and not having my own ideas without something visual, so I did this.

[DeFrank]

Regardless of the way I did it, you understand the idea behind it and what I was going for.

Do you think that's a good personal logo? Is the idea worth it?

[BBTV]

A personal logo should be... well, personal. I could just be a cool-looking way to display your initials or name, or it should tell a "story" or convey a message about your style or personality. Easier said than done, I know. That being said, it's not a great idea to "rip off" someone else's work (relax, I'm not saying you ripped anything off, but you are essentially trying to capitalize on the recognizability of the Nationals branding for your own benefit.) You're obviously not using this for a portfolio or for commercial purposes so it's not a big deal, but it's better to get in the habit of being original and creative right from the start. So basically... I'd start over. Either way, lack of a font isn't really a good excuse for shoddy lettering. It may take time, but just draw the script, scan it, and trace it. I don't think that drawing scripts is as difficult as a green designer may think it is (at least something basic like this) so just do that if you can't purchase or find a freeware script font.

[DeFrank]

A personal logo should be... well, personal. I could just be a cool-looking way to display your initials or name, or it should tell a "story" or convey a message about your style or personality. Easier said than done, I know. That being said, it's not a great idea to "rip off" someone else's work (relax, I'm not saying you ripped anything off, but you are essentially trying to capitalize on the recognizability of the Nationals branding for your own benefit.) You're obviously not using this for a portfolio or for commercial purposes so it's not a big deal, but it's better to get in the habit of being original and creative right from the start. So basically... I'd start over. Either way, lack of a font isn't really a good excuse for shoddy lettering. It may take time, but just draw the script, scan it, and trace it. I don't think that drawing scripts is as difficult as a green designer may think it is (at least something basic like this) so just do that if you can't purchase or find a freeware script font.

I just thought it would be something fun to put on my uniform work and picture. I do really like the Nationals script, and I thought that putting it in different colors and so on would be me kind of representing Washington sports. I do understand what you're saying however. If I cannot find a font, I can draw and trace.

Do I need to use illustrator to make it vectorized and pretty? Because it obviously isn't in my version.

[BaltimoreNewYorkGirl]

A personal logo should be... well, personal. I could just be a cool-looking way to display your initials or name, or it should tell a "story" or convey a message about your style or personality. Easier said than done, I know. That being said, it's not a great idea to "rip off" someone else's work (relax, I'm not saying you ripped anything off, but you are essentially trying to capitalize on the recognizability of the Nationals branding for your own benefit.) You're obviously not using this for a portfolio or for commercial purposes so it's not a big deal, but it's better to get in the habit of being original and creative right from the start. So basically... I'd start over. Either way, lack of a font isn't really a good excuse for shoddy lettering. It may take time, but just draw the script, scan it, and trace it. I don't think that drawing scripts is as difficult as a green designer may think it is (at least something basic like this) so just do that if you can't purchase or find a freeware script font.

I just thought it would be something fun to put on my uniform work and picture. I do really like the Nationals script, and I thought that putting it in different colors and so on would be me kind of representing Washington sports. I do understand what you're saying however. If I cannot find a font, I can draw and trace.

Do I need to use illustrator to make it vectorized and pretty? Because it obviously isn't in my version.

im sorry everyone is bashing you for this DeFrank . your a great artist. and I think your personal logo is fine. try using Kansas City"s k for you K. if I may suggest.

[DeFrank]

A personal logo should be... well, personal. I could just be a cool-looking way to display your initials or name, or it should tell a "story" or convey a message about your style or personality. Easier said than done, I know. That being said, it's not a great idea to "rip off" someone else's work (relax, I'm not saying you ripped anything off, but you are essentially trying to capitalize on the recognizability of the Nationals branding for your own benefit.) You're obviously not using this for a portfolio or for commercial purposes so it's not a big deal, but it's better to get in the habit of being original and creative right from the start. So basically... I'd start over. Either way, lack of a font isn't really a good excuse for shoddy lettering. It may take time, but just draw the script, scan it, and trace it. I don't think that drawing scripts is as difficult as a green designer may think it is (at least something basic like this) so just do that if you can't purchase or find a freeware script font.

I just thought it would be something fun to put on my uniform work and picture. I do really like the Nationals script, and I thought that putting it in different colors and so on would be me kind of representing Washington sports. I do understand what you're saying however. If I cannot find a font, I can draw and trace.

Do I need to use illustrator to make it vectorized and pretty? Because it obviously isn't in my version.

im sorry everyone is bashing you for this DeFrank . your a great artist. and I think your personal logo is fine. try using Kansas City"s k for you K. if I may suggest.

I don't think anybody is bashing me, but I do appreciate that you think I have some potential. I understand that I have to get a lot better to continue my work, and that's great. These guys give me new ideas to improve my work and make me better at what I do on this site.

[BaltimoreNewYorkGirl]

A personal logo should be... well, personal. I could just be a cool-looking way to display your initials or name, or it should tell a "story" or convey a message about your style or personality. Easier said than done, I know. That being said, it's not a great idea to "rip off" someone else's work (relax, I'm not saying you ripped anything off, but you are essentially trying to capitalize on the recognizability of the Nationals branding for your own benefit.) You're obviously not using this for a portfolio or for commercial purposes so it's not a big deal, but it's better to get in the habit of being original and creative right from the start. So basically... I'd start over. Either way, lack of a font isn't really a good excuse for shoddy lettering. It may take time, but just draw the script, scan it, and trace it. I don't think that drawing scripts is as difficult as a green designer may think it is (at least something basic like this) so just do that if you can't purchase or find a freeware script font.

I just thought it would be something fun to put on my uniform work and picture. I do really like the Nationals script, and I thought that putting it in different colors and so on would be me kind of representing Washington sports. I do understand what you're saying however. If I cannot find a font, I can draw and trace.

Do I need to use illustrator to make it vectorized and pretty? Because it obviously isn't in my version.

im sorry everyone is bashing you for this DeFrank . your a great artist. and I think your personal logo is fine. try using Kansas City"s k for you K. if I may suggest.

I don't think anybody is bashing me, but I do appreciate that you think I have some potential. I understand that I have to get a lot better to continue my work, and that's great. These guys give me new ideas to improve my work and make me better at what I do on this site.

im a horrible uni and logo designer myself. but you have lots and lots of talent of potential. I cant wait to see what you make and post here in the future.

[BrandMooreArt]

i think for what you want to use this for its a fine concept. i wouldnt recommend it as an official personal mark but for this forum it will do

when i say "brush script" think of mid 20th century advertising. typography that was done by hand with a brush. the logo you have now would be considered a brush script. this is my favorite brush script http://www.letterheadfonts.com/fonts/milkman.php look for other fonts like it if you dont want to pay for this one

[DeFrank]

i think for what you want to use this for its a fine concept. i wouldnt recommend it as an official personal mark but for this forum it will do

when i say "brush script" think of mid 20th century advertising. typography that was done by hand with a brush. the logo you have now would be considered a brush script. this is my favorite brush script http://www.letterheadfonts.com/fonts/milkman.php look for other fonts like it if you dont want to pay for this one

Right. I mean I had vision of it being the Washington script using different letters, and that's really what I'm going for. Maybe I'll just draw and trace it. I'm 15 so I'm not worried about having it be a teams thing. But thanks for the font.

[skier14]

i think for what you want to use this for its a fine concept. i wouldnt recommend it as an official personal mark but for this forum it will do

when i say "brush script" think of mid 20th century advertising. typography that was done by hand with a brush. the logo you have now would be considered a brush script. this is my favorite brush script http://www.letterheadfonts.com/fonts/milkman.php look for other fonts like it if you dont want to pay for this one

Wow, thats a beautiful font. I may consider buying that (it would be my first pay font).

[BBTV]

A personal logo should be... well, personal. I could just be a cool-looking way to display your initials or name, or it should tell a "story" or convey a message about your style or personality. Easier said than done, I know. That being said, it's not a great idea to "rip off" someone else's work (relax, I'm not saying you ripped anything off, but you are essentially trying to capitalize on the recognizability of the Nationals branding for your own benefit.) You're obviously not using this for a portfolio or for commercial purposes so it's not a big deal, but it's better to get in the habit of being original and creative right from the start. So basically... I'd start over. Either way, lack of a font isn't really a good excuse for shoddy lettering. It may take time, but just draw the script, scan it, and trace it. I don't think that drawing scripts is as difficult as a green designer may think it is (at least something basic like this) so just do that if you can't purchase or find a freeware script font.

I just thought it would be something fun to put on my uniform work and picture. I do really like the Nationals script, and I thought that putting it in different colors and so on would be me kind of representing Washington sports. I do understand what you're saying however. If I cannot find a font, I can draw and trace.

Do I need to use illustrator to make it vectorized and pretty? Because it obviously isn't in my version.

No, you do not need to make it a vector in order to make it pretty. Vector will only allow you to scale it without any distortion or loss. There's really no difference between a raster and a vector at the native size of the raster. It's when you start growing and shrinking it that the advantages of vector become apparent. So no - you don't need illustrator. For what you're trying to do, you could actually probably do it all in MS Office with Word Art and Auto Shapes.

[DeFrank]

A personal logo should be... well, personal. I could just be a cool-looking way to display your initials or name, or it should tell a "story" or convey a message about your style or personality. Easier said than done, I know. That being said, it's not a great idea to "rip off" someone else's work (relax, I'm not saying you ripped anything off, but you are essentially trying to capitalize on the recognizability of the Nationals branding for your own benefit.) You're obviously not using this for a portfolio or for commercial purposes so it's not a big deal, but it's better to get in the habit of being original and creative right from the start. So basically... I'd start over. Either way, lack of a font isn't really a good excuse for shoddy lettering. It may take time, but just draw the script, scan it, and trace it. I don't think that drawing scripts is as difficult as a green designer may think it is (at least something basic like this) so just do that if you can't purchase or find a freeware script font.

I just thought it would be something fun to put on my uniform work and picture. I do really like the Nationals script, and I thought that putting it in different colors and so on would be me kind of representing Washington sports. I do understand what you're saying however. If I cannot find a font, I can draw and trace.

Do I need to use illustrator to make it vectorized and pretty? Because it obviously isn't in my version.

No, you do not need to make it a vector in order to make it pretty. Vector will only allow you to scale it without any distortion or loss. There's really no difference between a raster and a vector at the native size of the raster. It's when you start growing and shrinking it that the advantages of vector become apparent. So no - you don't need illustrator. For what you're trying to do, you could actually probably do it all in MS Office with Word Art and Auto Shapes.

I do have illustrator and photoshop (which is where I made the attempt you see above), that's how I do my uniforms.

[tBBP]

Lemme make a suggestion to you, DeFrank...

...Have you ever taken a good look at the logo for Joseph A. Bank Clothiers? It's one of the more interesting ones I've seen, and your last name lends itself quite well to that style of logo. I don't see why a "DeF" script mark wouldn't work for you. Unless I'm mistaken, I believe "De Frank" is an Americanized version of the Italian surname "Di Franco", even though your name sounds and reads French to me--it's the "De" prefix that's doing it, being that the article "de" translates into "of" or "from" in French and Spanish. That being said, if your ancestry does indeed have French roots, I'd search for a typeface with a French feel--although really,pretty much any Germanic typeface should work for you...hell, even a stylized Old English might do it. If I had access to my Mac machine, I'd try to sketch out a quick example to give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

Real quick, I'll take you through how I came about the "personal" logo (and I say that loosely) I came up with that you see down there in my sig: I'm a big-time sports fan, primarily of football, and when I went through the process of coming up with an "ideal", the word "champion" kept popping up in my brain. Really what solidified that was watching old Super Bowl footage...and i distinctly remember wating Joe Namath's victory trot off the field after Super Bowl III, when he was waving his finger in the air. That is also something you see a lot of athletes do, either when they win a 'ship, or when they do something worth celebrating on the field/court/whatever. Working in the Lombardi Trophy shape was just a bone I threw in to solidify the championship aspect. A couple rough sketches and who knows how many renditions later, and bam--my little trophy-hand logo (which, by the way, has been through several renditions just since I've started using it on this site).

As far as colorization goes...you can formulate ideas of what color(s) you want to use, but start in black and white. Make it work that way, and then you can colorize it later. I'd use no more than two. A couple ideas for you as far as that goes: color of your birthstone, the flag of D.C., or hell, even that of your favorite team...all that would at least say something about you. Originally I stuck to red and a super-light version of creamsicle orange--I'll let you figure out why--but currently, I'm actually exploring the option of revamping that to green and gold (blame the Army on that one).

Hopefully some of this helps you out. Personal logos are always a challenge, because you find yourself boxed in to what your mind sees, usually just one idea (your first), and you work so hard at trying to evolve that one thought it becomes akin to tunnel vision. It helps to step away from it for like a day or two during the process, then come back to it and see how you "see" it afterwards--which leads to the best piece of advice I think I or anyone else can give you: PATIENCE. Don't expect to come up with a good personal logo--or any kind of good logo period--in the span of a couple days. And most importantly, try not to stress yourself out over it too much.

Let me know if I can help further...hopefully without confusing you.