Original link: https://blog.shuiba.co/the-ninth-shuibaco-logo
In February last year, I “betrayed” the seventh-generation logo that had been used for more than four years, and rolled up my sleeves to design a very tricky eighth-generation logo . Some people in the comments said that square corners are more “tough”. I reviewed the previous design and found that the sixth-generation logo also has corners. Maybe this is the so-called aesthetic cycle? ! It turns out that I still love rounded corners more. Compared to the ex-ex whom I talked about for four years, my ex only lasted for four months, and I was “dumped” before the love period was over (no). Last June, I combined the simplicity of the 8th generation logo with the shape of the 7th generation logo to recreate the prototype of the 9th generation logo. The reason why it is said to be a prototype is that in July of this year, I carried out a wave of updates-an update after more than a year. If it was put on hold, it would be considered a version change. But in recent years, I may have exported too much design inspiration in my work, which has led to my personal logo. I always feel a little bit of a sigh of relief. Every time I squeeze toothpaste to improve a little bit, I fall into a kind of “a little bit more satisfied than before, but not completely satisfied.” ‘ magical state. But in fact, apart from being slow, there is nothing wrong with it. I can continue to improve, which means that my aesthetics and design skills are improving, which is a little gratifying. To be honest, the logo of the ninth generation has not been completely determined yet, let me explain.
The prototype of the ninth generation logo in June 2021
My Favorite Two Generation Logos
Old friends may have seen the summary article of my previous logos on the “Design” page. From 2009 till now, my two favorite generations of logos are the sixth generation logo, the last logo of the ccyann era, and the seventh generation logo, the first logo of the shuibaco era. They are undoubtedly excellent as the end of the old and the beginning of the new, and I was going through a quantitative change to a qualitative change at the time, so the highlight of my design career was born. I really like the sixth-generation logo. It is concise, clear and unique, and it meets all my requirements for the logo. Even if I look closely, there is an illusion of 3D to the naked eye, so I think it can have many possibilities for changes. Although the seventh-generation logo full of Chinese style is relatively “complex”, the soft and tactful lines are very healing, and there is an unfathomable sense of mystery, because it is impossible to tell at a glance. I like that after I explain it, everyone exclaims “So it is”, and I like everyone’s strange associations and ridicules about it.
If you like it so much, why change it? The sixth generation is because I have changed my screen name to catch up with me, which is a force majeure factor. The seventh generation is because my requirements have increased, and the original “disadvantages” are infinitely magnified after the novelty, until I can’t stand it. I think it’s still too “complicated”, and it’s a little tiring to watch it for a long time. So over the past four years, I was “tired” like a scumbag and wanted “fresh blood”, so I designed the eighth-generation logo. However, he ended up like a scumbag. He wasted a quarter of time for the sake of the picture. Fortunately, I “returned the prodigal son” in time and simplified the complexity, so in the summer of 2021, the ninth generation logo was released, even if I defined it as a prototype a year later.
Inherited the simplicity of the eighth generation – the vertical lines have been reduced from six to five
I always jump between right angles and rounded corners repeatedly. No, I found the atmospheric beauty of the eighth generation after putting together a picture. Maybe because it is a bit like the Givenchy logo, it has an inexplicable sense of luxury. The eighth-generation logo is characterized by a reduced number of lines, a cleaner look, and a better horizontal and vertical ratio. On the other hand, it uses “yin and yang” (light and shadow) to subtly include totems and initials. It’s just that success is also Xiao He, and defeat is also Xiao He. The more content, the more complicated it becomes. So I gave up “both” and returned to “single”. After all, the totem itself is an illusion of the Chinese character “Water Bakou”, which is meaningful enough. The wonderful thing is that after simplifying the lines, the expression of “eight” is more appropriate, and there is a sense of perfect fit. Sure enough, you have to work tirelessly to keep improving!
I still like to add a circle
As before, I made a lot of variations, but this time I have experience, so I mainly add a circle to the adaptation or keep it simple. After adding a circle, I found that the lines at the beginning and end were shorter, so I lengthened it. I didn’t expect the concise version to look much better. Then I made a desktop wallpaper, and found that the rounded version is suitable for avatars, and the simple version is suitable for distant viewing. Since there are so many and good variants, I haven’t been able to pick the “Ichiban”. Probably because of this, the ninth generation logo has not been finalized for a long time, but all the major SNS avatars have been figured out. It is worth mentioning that, unlike the previous black and white gray, this time I boldly enabled color, and even made a gradient. Although the effect is so-so, this move deserves to go down in my design history. A while ago, I also used gradient design in my work, and I accidentally mixed it with a sense of luxury. This time, we also followed the trend of web design and made svg. Later, we felt that jpg and png were enough, so we did not continue to study.
Update July 2022
change color
Why is it difficult to play with colors, because colors not only have to look good on their own, but also pay attention to matching. Black, white and gray are neutral colors, which can be matched with any color, and the saturation can be adjusted at most, so it is easier to get started. But color beyond that is tricky, and even though I know some basics, I still find it tricky. Even so, I stuck with enabling color because I wanted a breakthrough. I did a personal color test a while back and said I was a summer type, and I would go with light blues, lavenders, and light pinks. And I happen to really like the morning and twilight sky – the gradient from blue to pink, so I used it in the logo design. Under the light blue sky background, the logo transitions from blue to pink, the color matching from nature is very harmonious, and it also saves a lot of color matching time.
In an upgrade this July, I re-tuned the colors. First of all, I established that I prefer twilight, and then I found a lot of photo materials on the Internet to further refine the selection of colors. On the other hand, in order to improve the color rendering of the logo, the background was changed back to neutral gray, and the color saturation was increased, so as to strive for a sharper contrast, and to retain the recognition when the small image was displayed.
Change directions, change parts, add oil and vinegar
After deciding on the color, I remembered that the initial inspiration for this logo was Liuyun, so why not look across it. In pursuit of more resemblance, I modified the length and position of the lines to form a stepped shape. In this way, the color matching of upper blue and lower pink is closer to the real sky, and I am overjoyed. Because the whole picture is rotated 90 degrees, the sealing line of the original word “mouth” is a bit abrupt. I had an idea and changed it to a circle, which is much more harmonious, because the inspiration still comes from the sky – you can understand it as the sun or the moon. Because there is a circle, I added shuibaco to the surface to see the effect. Because the gradient has been bad, I changed it to a single color. The result is not very ideal, so there is no need to die and change, let it stay in history.
Spin, jump, I close my eyes♪
After the line arrangement was changed to a stepped shape, the vertical appearance value has also been greatly improved. Ah, thank the gods of design for the favor! But then I was completely in trouble. In the “Lianliankan” in the picture above, except for the random “45-degree angle looking up at the sky version” (archaeological stalk), the remaining four versions are really different. So I turned on the control variable method to help me decide –
shape
A straight line or a circle, I compared it for a long time, and finally decided to use a circle. There are four reasons: first, people always like the new and hate the old; second, the circle has more white space and looks more concise; third, the circular curve is more compatible with the overall streamlined design than the straight line; fourth , there is a wonderful sense of finishing touch.
angle
The scope is reduced to “Xiaoyuan vertical version” and “Xiaoyuan horizontal version”, and the difficulty is getting higher and higher. That’s why I said at the beginning of the article that the ninth generation logo is in a Schrödinger state, because it seems to exist and it doesn’t seem to exist. In order to make a breakthrough, I start with Yuyi——
Vertical version :
- “Shui Bakou” Chinese Character Association
- climbing step by step
- The jumping notes are so lively
Horizontal version :
- Idle clouds and wild cranes, unrestrained
- dusk, blue sky
- Clouds and Sun/Moon
(clouds cover the sun)
In terms of meaning, I prefer the horizontal version, but the vertical version seems to be so good-looking. Damn, they are all entangled in this, and it is still difficult to decide.
No Prize Collection
At the end of July, I wrote down the meaning of the horizontal and vertical versions, but no results. Thinking about precipitation, two months have passed, and I still have no clue. So I organized while writing a blog, and sent “Lianliankan” to the universal ticket circle for help. I was fortunate to receive three replies, one from my cousin who was an art student, one from beauty expert Xiao F, and my photographer friend. Coincidentally, they are all engaged in visual art, and the gold content of the comments can be imagined! Unfortunately, their options vary. but! Among them, two of them chose the round shape like me (it’s a certainty!), and the two of them chose the vertical version, so the result given to me by the vote circle was “small round vertical version”.
I originally thought that the vertical version looks good with a straight line (No. 1), and the horizontal version looks good with a circle (No. 6). Look again, the ratio of the vertical version is better, and the artistic conception of the horizontal version is better. Looking and looking, still can’t see why. As this article draws to a close, I have to make my next decision, and it’s up to you, “Small Circle Vertical Edition”!
Changes in the ninth generation logo
After several twists and turns, I am (cao) type (shuai) announcing that the ninth generation logo was born! It took me a year and three months, and I felt a sense of accomplishment in both the finished product and the process. The ninth generation also took the place of the seventh generation as one of my favorite logos and the most satisfying logo of the shuibaco era so far.
The date of this article is September 15, and the iPhone 14 has not yet been officially released. And it’s 7am on September 21st, and I just finished my iPhone 14 Pro / 14 Pro Max review last night. The grandmother expressed some insights on Apple’s design in the video, the general content is as follows-
Apple has never wanted to beat its rivals, its goal has always been to surpass itself. Its design is not necessarily the latest, but each new design must be well thought out and set the tone for the next five years. In this way, it can continuously debug and update on the original basis based on the feedback given by the market, so that the design becomes more and more perfect, until it becomes perfect.
This is also how I look back at the birth of the ninth-generation logo, and even how the logo changed in the shuibaco era. The evolution of the Chinese character “Shui Bakou” based on the Chinese style is the original intention of the design. On this basis, it will continue to be upgraded and improved until it is perfect. As a detail control, I have experienced great comfort in Apple’s design, especially the smart island design this time, which is so amazing that I was stunned and moved. I haven’t felt such a powerful design force in a long time.
It’s too far, in short, the logo is set, I’m going to change a wave of avatars, and I can continue to retouch pictures with peace of mind. Ah, the website seems to have to be updated too. Why are there so many things left behind? Is it not my life that matters more, but me?
Easter eggs
Google account avatar comparison
Because it has been difficult to decide, I once uploaded to Google Avatar to see the difference in practical application. As a result, there is no difference. This ninth-generation logo is really “can’t come out after a long call”.
This article is reprinted from: https://blog.shuiba.co/the-ninth-shuibaco-logo
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