Graphic Thursday

It's time to take this image graphic.

It was tough finding the time today, but I love the "creative me" time too much to give it up!  I'll sleep a little less, do a little less cleaning, wait, strike that, I need to do more cleaning, so I guess I'll just sleep a little less.

Well I'm done, and  here is the final image:

I was inspired by the edges of the fungus in the
inspiration photo.

The Process of the Graphic:

All good graphics have a process.  Some are complicated, in-depth, and some just evolve naturally and easily.  Good design does not just happen.  We can't just push a button and make it happen.

My design process usually starts with research, what is my client looking for, what do they want to say/do, what is already out there, how can I make this design unique and special, is there a history that needs to be taken into consideration?

Then I make thumbnail sketches.  Then a will pick a couple sketches -- at least 2 - 3 different directions -- and try to refine those so I can present them to the client.  I try not to use my computer until I get to this point.  Simply put, the computer is a tool.  If I skip the sketching step, I skip the creative thinking process, and I make it harder on myself.

So now my images are in either Adobe PhotoShop or Illustrator and I can refine and work with color and other effects. In these photos, I make small variations, until I find the one that looks just right.

The inner 2 black rings are all the same size and centered.
The size of the outer ring is the only difference in these images.

These three have minor changes of the rings position and angle.
I also played with contrasting angles of the black and white rings

I chose the the first one on the bottom row.  It seems to have more depth, and I like it being off center.  Which one is your favorite?

Come back tomorrow for a greeting card that you can print with this week's featured design and send to you friends.