Logo in Inkspace

Tutorial: How to create a logo in Inkscape Tutorial: How to create a logo in Inkscape
14th March 2014 Tutorial: How to create a logo in Inkscape
1. Introduction
For the digital part of designing a logo, it's absolutely crucial that you are using appropriate software. A professional
logo file needs to be resolution independent - from the same file you should be able to create a logo on a pencil as well
as a huge billboard logo.
Bitmap editors like Photoshop or The Gimp (Photoshop's nearest relative in open source) are not the right tools, due to
their dependency on size and resolution. A professional graphic designer would always choose a vector graphic editor
as the weapon of choice, if it comes to logo design.
A vector graphic is a mathematical described graphic object. Unless you use bitmap-like effects (which you shouldn't
;-)) in your vector file, it is infinitely scalable. A vector graphic file is a collection of mathematical expressions, all
information resides in the structure 1 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vector_graphics] .
Information in vector graphic files mostly is stored in XML [http://www.w3schools.com/xml/] syntax, as Inkscape's built-in
XML editor reveals:
[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tKDvGf3b3EQ/UyLneZkE-RI/AAAAAAAAAgs/TFxzJLoDb2I/s1600/2014-03-11-Vcare.svg+-+Inkscape.jpg]
The screenshot shows a vector graphic file in SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) format and it's corresponding
mathematical backend.
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There are several vector graphic top dogs currently on the market:
Adobe Illustrator, commonly regarded as the industrial standard

CorelDRAW, a very versatile commercial editor as well
Adobe Fireworks, a hybrid editor (bitmap + vector) designed mainly for web design purposes
Adobe Flash, fully featured vector editor with focus on creating interactive experiences
Inkscape, the free and open source alternative
In this tutorials, I will concentrate on the amazing open source program Inkscape.
2. Five Golden Rules
OK - before entering the real digital design process, let's sit back for a second or two and meditate over: 5 Golden
Rules of Logo Design:
1. Start thinking, not drawing!
Make a list of keywords representing the company/brand/product.

Then reduce your keyword list to the 3 most important values.
Even better: Concentrate on just 1 key value.
Start the creative drawing process ALWAYS with a pen and paper!
2. Use the right software
Use vector graphic software: Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape (Open Source), CorelDRAW
Never use Photoshop to design a Logo (due to the limitation of bitmaps)
3. Start always with the logotype
If you haven't got an appropriate name for the company/brand/product , well - you need to find it now.
Focus on typography find the right typography for the values you want to express.
Remember: Types/Letters/Fonts are telling a story, if you want it or not. As a designer you have to find the right
typographic story. The typography has to support the identity of the company/brand/product.
4. Consider to add a graphical sign to Your logotype
In developing a graphical object concentrate on the shape and the outlines (contours).
In logo design, the fill is only of secondary importance.
Do not use more than three different geometric shapes, but you can use several elements built on the same shape
(the Toyota-circles, the adidas-rectangles, the Windows-flag).
In the beginning work in black/white only.
Then invert the shape (change the colors to white/black), in order to get better visual control about shapes and
contours.
5. Find the right colors
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Be careful colors can be very symbolic (try to make research regarding cultural differences)
Do not use more than three different colors.
Do not use gradients in a logo.
Do not use fancy digital effects (like bevels, drop shadows etc.).
Use pure colors, primary colors. Use strong contrasts: Complementary (!), cold/warm, light/dark.
If available, use spot colors [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spot_color] (ready mixed colors like Pantone or Focoltone).
3. Get Inkscape
You can download Inkscape for Windows, MacOS or Linux from http://www.inkscape.org/en/ [http://www.inkscape.org/en/]
.
[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gbb4ycrdCOg/UyLoxTnJvcI
/AAAAAAAAAg8/FlMdm2ALU64/s1600/2014-03-11-Draw+Freely.+_+Inkscape.jpg]
For Windows, I would recommend downloading the installer version. If you prefer to run Inkscape without installation,
you can choose the portable variant.
[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6he3mA2mYM8/UyLpDMGyseI/AAAAAAAAAhE
/SR65yX3npow/s1600/2014-03-11-Windows+installer+_+Inkscape.jpg]
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Note: A 64-bit version of Inkscape you'll find curently under http://www.partha.com/ [http://www.partha.com/]
Just download and install the version of your choice, it's free!
This tutorial as YouTube video:
4. First Run
On first run, Inkscape usually launches in a small window. Re-size the window according to your needs. If you want to
save the window's appearance once and for all, check the program's preferences under File->Inkscape Preferences.
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[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kSJJiZCKgdM/UyLp0k-oEUI/AAAAAAAAAhM
/Z5lBQNlRzHI/s1600/2014-03-11-.jpg]
In Preferences, look for the section Windows, and check on Remember and use last window's geometry.
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[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HeVB_OOQV7Q/UyLp-4Fre6I/AAAAAAAAAhU/9mHS18_bZH4/s1600/10-55-15.jpg]
5. Changing the document properties
Look for the current document's properties under File->Document Properties.
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[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sG0Ca8DjYnw/UyLqXSXTNUI/AAAAAAAAAhc
/kAlTgaClshU/s1600/10-58-44.jpg]
I am going to develop my logo in a standard A4 landscape format with the default unit mm:
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[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jugYpPr3mEc/UyLqmml6G8I/AAAAAAAAAhk/ZadJONX-gok/s1600/11-01-56.jpg]
Returning to the interface, I am activating the grid - a very helpful asset while drawing and designing (View->Grid,
shortcut: #)
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[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gdgvJt4YgbA/UyLq119TOII/AAAAAAAAAhs/UKUv2uadrSc/s1600/11-06-06.jpg]
Finally, I am activating Inkscape's color panel, controlling the color of fill and strokes (Object->Fill and Stroke,
shortcut: Shift+Ctrl+F).
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[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W7EvLAUpsbk/UyLrGoK6YEI/AAAAAAAAAh0/INDtE6lrVoA/s1600/11-08-13.jpg]
All is set - we're good to go!
6. The logotype
The company's name is Vcare (= we care).
In my sketches, I decided to catch the V through a shape representing a person with outstretched arms surrounded by
a "caring", dynamic circle, while care is set in ordinary text. Here I settled on the typeface Calibri bold, capital
(=uppercase) letters.
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[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fT6dLnzLUyo/UyLrkhUnx6I/AAAAAAAAAh8
/miA8YoVOjNI/s1600/sketch.jpg]
Vcare logo, initial sketch
1. Adding text
In Inkscape, choose the Text tool (F8):
[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aD4XRi_4PIU/UyLrrXrOXEI/AAAAAAAAAiE/N9rUs-pQVTc/s1600/11-31-36.jpg]
Click
somewhere on your document and type CARE using uppercase letters. With the cursor still blinking, you can change
the text appearance from the menu bar above (clicking into an text object, makes the menu bar appear instantly). I
chose Calibri, bold, size: 144 to begin with.
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[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jpeN4K0gIl8/UyLr6n_KesI/AAAAAAAAAiM/3vTK-e3GM6I/s1600/11-36-42.jpg]
You could change the text color directly from the Fill panel to the right, using the CMYK color sliders for instance - but
we keep it all black and white for the moment.
With the Selection tool
you
can
select
the
[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-85V6vjmE8os/UyLsFB6utsI/AAAAAAAAAiU/5RRZ-S9OwBw/s1600/11-42-11.jpg] text
object
(like any other object as well), grab it and transform it. You can upscale by grabbing on of the transform icons
surrounding the object.
Note: Holding down the ctrl key on your keyboard while transforming is preserving the object's aspect ratio!
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[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nbGfEA3f3eQ/UyLsXISDI-I/AAAAAAAAAic
/qbjIBrUYoNg/s1600/11-41-22.jpg]
2. Adjusting the kerning

A typical design problem in logo design is to control the exact distance between all letters of a logotype, the
so-called kerning [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerning] . Logo design is a very, very precise craft - look carefully at all
letters and the distance between them - computer's aren't really that good to create a pleasant overall distribution of
types, often you will need manual adjustments!
In our case here, I am going to distance the A from the C, just a bit. I think that the computer-generated, automatic
kerning is not satisfying in this particular case.
Click into the text object, place the cursor between C and A, press the alt key together with left or right arrow an your
keyboard (this also works in Illustrator, by the way) - you will see that you can move single letters applying a custom
kerning. I am distancing the A by 2 steps.
7. Drawing the signet
1. Drawing the V
Indisputable the Pen tool, drawing Bzier curves and straight lines, is the most important vector drawing tool. It assures
utmost precision and curve fit:
(shortcut:
Shift+F6).
[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OvYFI-jnZg8/UyLsspqg8tI/AAAAAAAAAik/IBkiUhiS0M8/s1600/12-00-18.jpg]
13 of 25 15-02-2017 14:36
[http://3.bp.blogspot.com
/-lZ2jNE-sTtY/UyLtYkIg_8I/AAAAAAAAAiw/8LxB4uzjoEc/s1600/12-08-48.jpg]
Drawing with the pen tool, adding anchor points
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[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--06dlnJvvO4/UyLtp5cOZ7I/AAAAAAAAAi4/OmFIduhFySk/s1600/12-09-44.jpg]
The finished shape, both stroke and fill colored in black
2. Adding the "Head"

For the figure's "head", I am going to use one of Inkscape's geometric drawing tools: The circle tool (F5).
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[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-39YjK-ivAWk/UyLuSKlfESI/AAAAAAAAAjA/DQIWC1dsAiQ/s1600/12-35-52.jpg]
Just grab the circle tool and open a elliptical shape until you reached the desired dimension. Drag to create an ellipse,
drag the controls to make an arc or segment, click to select.
If you want to reset the Ellipse Tool to draw a full circle (after experimenting with the controls): Click on the button
reset
in the Tool Control bar at the top of the screen!
The most frequently used Inkscape tool is the Selector. Click the topmost button (with the arrow) on the toolbar, or
press F1 or Space. Now you can select any object on the canvas. You will see eight arrow-shaped handles appear
around the object. Now you can:
Move the object by dragging it. (Press Ctrl to restrict movement to horizontal and vertical.)
Scale the object by dragging any handle. (Press Ctrl to preserve the original height/width ratio.)
Click the object again. The handles are changing. Now you can:
Rotate the object by dragging corner handles. (Press Ctrl to restrict rotation to 15 degree steps. Drag the cross
mark to position the center of rotation.)
Skew (shear) the object by dragging non-corner handles. (Press Ctrl to restrict skewing to 15 degree steps.)
http://inkscape.org/doc/basic/tutorial-basic.html [http://inkscape.org/doc/basic/tutorial-basic.html] - the tutorial demonstrates

the basics of using Inkscape.
3. Drawing the circular form

A complex drawing process: We are going to create a "calligraphic" from by separating 2 circles from each other!
Draw a single, perfect circle (fill: black, no stroke) somewhere on your artboard.
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[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nXvt9JXF2nU/UyLuoaaIS2I/AAAAAAAAAjI/eVowKJIDo30/s1600/13-04-33.jpg]
On top of it, draw another, smaller circle (white, no stroke). Tip: You can assign a "swatch" color by clicking on the
colored "band" on the bottom of the interface.
Re-size the second circle until you can see the final form appearing:
[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Z2R1NFdUn0/UyLu1-C7uaI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/ET5BxFFqFUk/s1600
/13-10-14.jpg]
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Select both circles, using the Selector tool + Shift key.
[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CAztipSsejA/UyLu9iKIEqI/AAAAAAAAAjY/TXkV2aOqkVw/s1600
/13-11-45.jpg]
Now choose from the Path-menu: Difference!
[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-27AAkbJEDZk/UyLvJTpg90I/AAAAAAAAAjg/JEG2HXvsARI
/s1600/13-13-08.jpg]
The result:
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[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HJvDymL8UkA/UyLvUFHhW9I/AAAAAAAAAjo/0uAQRbX8_Ok/s1600
/13-15-04.jpg]
Re-scale the new shape and place it properly around the figure.
[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IDYA0h5c29g
/UyLvg5D3drI/AAAAAAAAAjw/oj-qvmZRq_Y/s1600/13-17-53.jpg]
4. Final adjustments
In order to create more dynamic in the logotype, I am going to jolt it a bit.
Disable the grid, select the text and perform an asymmetric transformation:
19 of 25 15-02-2017 14:36
[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qBCI3cksD0Y
/UyLvuW1hlWI/AAAAAAAAAj4/07dUj9ZxheM/s1600/13-21-59.jpg]
[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8F-zaprI9g0/UyLv2eFTF2I/AAAAAAAAAkA
/YYtxDMFMBn8/s1600/13-23-30.jpg]
Logo, final result
8. Preparing the file for publishing
1. Saving
First of all: Always ave your current work frequently - or even better in different file versions with appropriate
extensions, like logo_00.svg, logo_01.svg etc.!
File->Save as (ctrl+S).
You can save in Inkscape's native *.ink format, but in order to make your file compatible to other applications, it's a
better idea to save into the open *.svg (scalable vector graphics) format. For the quality of your file, this would make no
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difference.
[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-05Co9yzkxuQ/UyLwNlR-LeI/AAAAAAAAAkI/iarRFc0q3OE/s1600/13-29-58.jpg]
From the same dialog, you can also directly publish as *.pdf!
The file formats SVG, EPS (Encapsulated Post Script) and PDF, are professional graphic exchange formats - if you
deliver your file to a customer, you should always create versions in the named formats!
2. Converting text
You can't rely on that your customer has the typeface, you created your logo with, available. If you save your file as
PDF, in most cases the fonts necessary to display your logo, are embedded in the file (there can be exceptions though,
due to copyright restrictions!).
You therefore should always convert all text included in your logo (logotype + slogans tec.) into vector graphic
shapes - that would make your file independent from fonts installed on the system!
Select the text object, and than choose from the Path-menu: Object to Path.
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[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rl2qQXeTeuM/UyLwiHApNtI/AAAAAAAAAkU/QgyWJwirRY4/s1600/13-41-53.jpg]
Now the text is properly converted into a vector graphic shape and gathered in a group! You can access any
object within a group by clicking multiple times. If you want to "ungroup", just choose: Object-> Ungroup.
9. Adding colors
I am keeping my black and white version, and save the file again (File->Save as) as inkscape_logo_colored.svg.
For my Vcare logo, I settled on the color-scale
Gray (security, reliability, intelligence, maturity, solid, conservative, practical)

Beige pastel shade (human factor, unification, quiet, pleasantness)
Turquoise pastel shade (calm, sophistication)
Applying those colors in Inkscape though can be difficult, due to Inkscape's known problems in handling CMYK color
(still an unfortunate flaw of the program).
22 of 25 15-02-2017 14:36
A good idea is to start in RGB (all color information in Inkscape is stored in RGB values), using the Fill and Stroke
panel (Shift+ctrl+F), and than "grabbing" CMYK values for print later on.
You can use the color sliders or directly type the values into the boxes.
[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-shsT7wNXCm8/UyLxGkQKHmI/AAAAAAAAAkc/Aqdmg4M7Tt4/s1600/14-03-57.jpg]
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[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r3BFcF1GBqQ/UyLxSPFVPMI/AAAAAAAAAkk/w7_5T8l0hSY/s1600/14-06-01.jpg]
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[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bQlaaD-ay5M/UyLxgp7uw3I/AAAAAAAAAks/6DIC9hKmY78/s1600/14-07-08.jpg]
Here we go! Hope you enjoyed...
Posted 14th March 2014 by Marc Kluge

Labels: Tutorials
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Tutorial: How to create a logo in Inkscape Tutorial: How to create a logo in Inkscape

14th March 2014 Tutorial: How to create a logo in Inkscape

Adobe Illustrator, commonly regarded as the industrial standard

2. Five Golden Rules

1. Start thinking, not drawing!

Make a list of keywords representing the company/brand/product.

2. Use the right software

3. Start always with the logotype

4. Consider to add a graphical sign to Your logotype

5. Find the right colors

This tutorial as YouTube video:

5. Changing the document properties

Look for the current document's properties under File->Document Properties.

All is set - we're good to go!

The company's name is Vcare (= we care).

Vcare logo, initial sketch

With the Selection tool

2. Adjusting the kerning

7. Drawing the signet

Drawing with the pen tool, adding anchor points

The finished shape, both stroke and fill colored in black

2. Adding the "Head"

http://inkscape.org/doc/basic/tutorial-basic.html [http://inkscape.org/doc/basic/tutorial-basic.html] - the tutorial demonstrates

3. Drawing the circular form

Select both circles, using the Selector tool + Shift key.

Now choose from the Path-menu: Difference!

Logo, final result

8. Preparing the file for publishing

For my Vcare logo, I settled on the color-scale

Gray (security, reliability, intelligence, maturity, solid, conservative, practical)

Here we go! Hope you enjoyed...

Posted 14th March 2014 by Marc Kluge

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