An Email Interview with Andi Toon Creffield – Logo Designer

Our very first VA person of the month is Andi Toon Creffield, popularly known as Toon. He is a young graphic designer for Centrereed Colour Printing. He is the man behind the Estectica Design Forum, formerly known as graphic-design-forum.com. Aside from his work in Centrereed, he also does freelance work for Tylor's print as a graphic and logo designer. He has worked in the web and print industries since 1999 and has an extensive logo design experience. His beautiful logo works will speak for themselves. With his wit, charm and passion, he is making his mark in the interesting world of logo designing.

Below is the official email interview I had with Toon.

• What is a normal day for Toon?

My normal day usually consists of getting up at 6am and heading to the studio, as we are large print firm most of the morning can be taken up by getting all the files ready for the presses and alot of the afternoon will be alot of designing. It can be stationery and brochure designs, logo design, web design or lots of other work, the fun of working in a busy studio for a large firm is that there’s always something to do and such a variety of work also.

I don't think I'd enjoy it as much if I were tied to doing the same tasks everyday, it's good for creativity to be able to change the type of work you're doing and your approach to the tasks at hand.

• Why logo designing?

I’ve always been a fan of logo design as I like working with new companies that have fresh ideas and thoughts about where they’d like their brand to take them, it all seems very new and exciting as this will be the basis of most of the other work and the real ‘face’ of the company.

Often you can end up doing a web design or stationery design for a company and you have to base the design around somebody else’s logo design, if that is of a poor quality it can often leave you feeling a little less creative and thinking if the brand designer had been a bit more creative it would have allowed you to be also.

• What is the usual process you go through when designing a logo?

It really depends on the scope of the project and has alot to do with timescale and budget also, some projects I can spend longer sketching with a pencil and paper than I do actually drawing and polishing the idea, some work which is set to a strict timescale I can often do my doodling straight in Illustrator and every once in a while you can come up with the final idea straight away, but this is rare.

• Do you have a logo design mentor of some sort who inspires you?

Many people have inspired me over the years not only logo designers but typographers and leaders in the world of advertising. Saul Bass is one of my favourite mainly because his use of shapes more hinted at an idea rather than coming right out and saying it, I like logos that make you work a little for meaning.

Here is a list of logo designers whose work is well worth looking out for, I'm a big fan of alot of these designers, some are very well known and others will be getting some more exposure in the near future I'm sure.....

http://dache.ch
http://jefffisherlogomotives.blogspot.com
http://www.rajasandhu.com
http://www.onesummer.net
http://www.mukustudios.com
http://www.davidairey.com/portfolio
http://www.alanoronoz.com
http://www.logosauce.com/profiles/618
http://www.logosauce.com/profiles/571
http://www.sarahpatience.co.uk/logo_design.html
http://www.alekseymaslov.ru
http://www.logosauce.com/profiles/1520
http://logopond.com/members/profile/showcase/4270
http://www.subcircle.co.uk/identity/brands.html

• What would be the most memorable logo you've done for a client?

I think I would have to say a logo for a short lived web startup called ‘online secret’ it was an online diary site aimed at females aged 16-40. I spent so long staring at a blank sheet of paper having no idea how to draw a ‘secret’ there were strict guidelines as to what I couldn’t use, ie. no books (diaries), no locks, no actual people or body parts.

Often when a client gives you details of what they don’t want it can make the design process much easier as you’re not wasting your time coming up with concepts that won’t be used. But in this instance it left me with no idea which direction to take, I remember working with butterflies, doves, speech bubbles and nothing really worked. It was only when I start trying to work with just the letters the idea started to come together.

• What do you think is the most important element a logo should have?

I’m not quite sure there is one as a great logo has to be complete in every sense, from the mark, to the typeface, to the colour. Every element has to make up the complete logo. I’m a firm believer that good typography can make a great logo, sometimes too much work is put into an icon and colour scheme that designers often overlook the type options available.

• Do you have any advice for all young aspiring graphic designers out there?
  

Work hard basically, people don't go into the industry because it's easy work or because it's paid well, they go into it because they have a passion for all things creative, many very talented designers worked long hours for very low pay before they made it big and there's nothing wrong with that, we all have to start somewhere.
It’s important to listen to others and follow the industry very closely, be sure you don't think you know it all as we work in an industry that is changing all the time and it's important to keep on top of changes and new technologies.

Also be willing to put the hours in, they may be long but the satisfaction of a well completed job is priceless, coffee will become your best friend!

Toon also created a social network for all graphic design enthusiasts at graphic design network. He is also the man behind graphic-design-links.com, a social bookmarking community for graphic designers. You can also read his blog here,

http://www.graphic-design-blog.com/.