Multi-Media Graphic Image Making Techniques

To get into drawing the shape of a fortune cookie, which I'm planning to use heavily in my brand identity, I sketched out some variations before moving onto using different materials in my experimentation...

Polka Dot Fortune Cookie

Tea-Stained Paper Collage Fortune Cookie

Glitter Glue Fortune Cookie

Watercolour Rainbow Fortune Cookie

Ink Stamped Fortune Cookie

Watercolour Fortune Cookie

Straight-Edged Watercolour Fortune Cookie

Glitter Fortune Cookie

Black Textured Images Collage Fortune Cookie

Type Experimentation

I first drew out this Chinese lettering inspired typeface. I wanted it to be in the regular alphabet but have characteristics like the Chinese letter forms. I then developed this idea with watercolours. I like this as it means a wider audience base can understand the brand's identity but it retains the Shanghai connection.

I also tried a simple script type using watercolours to see a variation of what my logo could be.

As my brand identity is all about it's link to Shanghai, China it makes sense to have a variation of the logo in the Chinese language. It not only gives the brand culture but it can also look very beautiful and would catch peoples eye, particularly because it's not seen very often in clothing.

There I used the pro marker pens which gave a bold and vibrant look.

Here I drew the outlines for the lettering which I then used to take it onto Photoshop to develop it further. Finally, I live traced it and rendered it onto Adobe Illustrator.

I then painted this version using a black ink as that is the material used for the traditional method of writing Chinese lettering. I do like this effect and maybe with a few more attempts it could look neater and more professional but I feel for my brand identity I would like a bolder logo like the attempt above.

Red Watercolour Chinese Lettering

Green & Blue Overlay Watercolour Chinese Lettering

Use of negative space. I cut the shape of the lettering out of the white paper and layered it over some patterned paper. This created a different effect as the writing wasn't in a solid colour as it had a texture. It is a little messy but I think the more ways I experiment with different materials the closer I am to finding the ones that I would like to make up my brand identity.

In my research I saw a lot of large patterns and this spot pattern felt trendy to a wide population as well as fitting with the Shanghai culture the brand has. I like the different colours that break up the writing as it looks three dimensional and a lot more funky than the more bland and basic logos you see on most clothing. However, this may mean that the wider audience prefer a more toned down look - It does contain some elements of a gradient/tie-dye which is in fashion at the moment on the other hand.