Week 8: RJEA Logos

Craft: This week, we had to design three different logos, along with three different variations for each one. Each logo included a font, color, and brush stroke variation. In week 7, I created two logos so I only had to create one more this week.  Since the logos were already made, I didn't have to use the pen tool to create any new shapes.  The circle for the third RJEA logo was used by the Ellipse tool.  The Brush tool and the Brush Library was also used when applying brushes to each of the variations.  The Fill button was used when choosing the different color schemes for the logos.  I opened up the color guide by clicking on Window on top of the screen and then choosing Color Guide.  This allowed me to preview a variety of different shades and tints depending on what color I chose.  The color scheme either came from the Fill Library or by the Color button which is also located in the Windows section. For the fonts, I used two different websites to download fonts.  Once I downloaded them, then I applied them to the type.  The Type tool was used for the last logo along with the Copy and Paste button.  I had to copy and paste the cougar paw into the circle.
Composition: While I used a variety of different color schemes, the one that pops out the most is the one that has a hue of light blue against the dark blue background.  It's the rectangular one with the black brush strokes applied to the rectangle and the lines.  The light against dark portrays a contrast within colors and allows the viewers to focus solely on the letters and words.  The lightness of the color distinguishes the letters and words from the dark background and directs our eyes immediately towards the letters and words.  The black brush strokes are what viewers see after the letters because they're located right below the letters and words.  While the letters and words are the same colors, the letters appear to be a little bigger than the words.  This makes the attention shift from the letters to the words.  The letters are what viewers will see first because of the size and then the words will follow since they're on the same line as the letters.  The color scheme in any design can have a big impact towards appealing to any audience.
Concept:  The light blue color that was used in the RJEA logo represents a calm feeling and it contrasts with the dark blue behind it.  The contrast between colors makes the poster look very powerful since there is a big difference between color shades.  The contrast elicits a stronger reaction than if the colors were very similar. If the colors were similar, then the viewer would have a hard time identifying the letters and words.  By having the difference between colors, the viewers are clearly able to see the relationship between the letters and words.  To expand this idea, the letters and words are located on the same line which help in understanding the message.  The brush strokes that were used represent a swift motion.  There are multiple black strokes that are used together to create an illusion of a large stroke.  This separation of strokes creates a swift motion, along with the fact that the lines aren't linear.  The strokes appear to be organic.  This design correlates to the idea of action located in the RJEA logo. Action connects to the idea of partaking in something so having the brush strokes implies that idea because they remind viewers of speed.  While speed might not directly correlate to action, it implies that idea. The brush strokes along with the contrast in colors exaggerates the idea that RJEA is an active and social organization.