GUI and Logo Inspiration?

[verysunshine]

Hey, folks. I am not an artist, but I am trying to create a logo and GUI for my visual novel No Good Wife. I am not sure what the aesthetics of the visual novel should be. Do you have any places to go to for inspiration? Where are they?

[Chocopyro]

Not an artist myself, but I did decide the general aesthetics for the design. For starters, look at the over all themes of the visual novel, then decide something symbolic of it, choose a color palette which kinda embodies said themes, ect. That's really the only advice I could give. What is your VN about anyways? I'd be willing to help brainstorm. (Since I'm really bored at the moment and experiencing writer's block. PLEASE GIVE ME SOMETHING TO DO! T__T )

[ketskari]

http://visual-novel-interfaces.tumblr.com/

Someone put together a tumblr with visual novel interfaces. Some logos are there as well.

I would also look at other games for inspiration, or other media in the genre you're interested in.

(Personally, I tend to look more at historical illustration and design movements, but that's just me.)

[SinnyROM]

Might be more of a brute force approach, but what helps me is going to the Visual Novel Database (vndb.org) and refreshing the home page until a screenshot in the random games section catches my eye. I pick up a lot from how the different dialogue GUIs are arranged. Note that the site does contain NSFW material so tread carefully.

Also, portfolio sites can help inspire and expose you to a variety of different styles. One place I know of is Dribbble (dribble.org) which involves a lot of commercial and freelance designer work.

[Auro-Cyanide]

I've written a blog post on logo design and GUI design.

For logo inspiration you want to focus specifically on what type of logo you want to create since there is a logo for almost everything ever. Look at visual novel logos, look at game logos, look at logos that have a similar tone of voice (happy, sad, friendly, serious, dark, light etc), look at logos that have a similar aesthetic (modern, old, gothic, futuristic ect). Seriously, google everything you can think of related to the theme of your logo.

For GUI I often stalk the UI section of Behance and just browse through looking for things that have a similar feeling to what I want or that do things in a particularly cool way.

[SeventhStranger]

http://logopond.com/ is good for logo inspiration

[marauderspirit]

The best logos are ones that can work in black and white. Game logos and film emblems always have more bells and whistles than their counterparts in the corporate or consumer end, but if they are simplified you find that, again, they will convert to black and white and still be recognizable. Therefore, as a graphic designer, I advise you to start exploring shapes in black and white in order to create an appealing silhouette that can work at multiple sizes. That shape could be an object or character from your story or just something abstract. In fact, you could even explore hand-written typography in order to create this logo. A lot of logos are custom type jobs.

Key things to avoid in a logo, which I am sure you are aware of:

1: Gradients. Be careful about using these. Many logos have them, but does the logo still work if the gradient is replaced with flat color? If the answer is no, then something has gone wrong.
2: Advanced rendering/shading/details. A logo is not an illustration. Remember, it should work in black and white, and at a small size. Keep it simple.
3: Photoshop filters or similar, things like embossing. Again, strip it back, strip it back and strip it back.

In terms of inspiration, pinterest or behance have an absolute plethora of logos and video game concept art websites will always have sections devoted to logos. What games do you like? Examine their logos. What appeals to you about them? Take out your pencil and be spontaneous!

[verysunshine]

Not an artist myself, but I did decide the general aesthetics for the design. For starters, look at the over all themes of the visual novel, then decide something symbolic of it, choose a color palette which kinda embodies said themes, ect. That's really the only advice I could give. What is your VN about anyways? I'd be willing to help brainstorm. (Since I'm really bored at the moment and experiencing writer's block. PLEASE GIVE ME SOMETHING TO DO! T__T )

Aesthetics are my main problem; I don't quite know my visual aesthetics yet.The game is about a lawyer, his wife, and his boyfriend [sic] in 1947 England. It's linked in my signature. Just a warning, there are adult themes.

http://visual-novel-interfaces.tumblr.com/

Someone put together a tumblr with visual novel interfaces. Some logos are there as well.

I would also look at other games for inspiration, or other media in the genre you're interested in.

(Personally, I tend to look more at historical illustration and design movements, but that's just me.)

Awesome! Thank you, ketskari.

Might be more of a brute force approach, but what helps me is going to the Visual Novel Database (vndb.org) and refreshing the home page until a screenshot in the random games section catches my eye. I pick up a lot from how the different dialogue GUIs are arranged. Note that the site does contain NSFW material so tread carefully.

Also, portfolio sites can help inspire and expose you to a variety of different styles. One place I know of is Dribbble (dribble.org) which involves a lot of commercial and freelance designer work.

Dribble looks interesting. Thank you.

I've written a blog post on logo design and GUI design.

For logo inspiration you want to focus specifically on what type of logo you want to create since there is a logo for almost everything ever. Look at visual novel logos, look at game logos, look at logos that have a similar tone of voice (happy, sad, friendly, serious, dark, light etc), look at logos that have a similar aesthetic (modern, old, gothic, futuristic ect). Seriously, google everything you can think of related to the theme of your logo.

For GUI I often stalk the UI section of Behance and just browse through looking for things that have a similar feeling to what I want or that do things in a particularly cool way.

Those tutorials look incredible. I'll have to take a peek into Behance.

http://logopond.com/ is good for logo inspiration

Thanks, SeventhStranger!

The best logos are ones that can work in black and white. Game logos and film emblems always have more bells and whistles than their counterparts in the corporate or consumer end, but if they are simplified you find that, again, they will convert to black and white and still be recognizable. Therefore, as a graphic designer, I advise you to start exploring shapes in black and white in order to create an appealing silhouette that can work at multiple sizes. That shape could be an object or character from your story or just something abstract. In fact, you could even explore hand-written typography in order to create this logo. A lot of logos are custom type jobs.

Key things to avoid in a logo, which I am sure you are aware of:

1: Gradients. Be careful about using these. Many logos have them, but does the logo still work if the gradient is replaced with flat color? If the answer is no, then something has gone wrong.
2: Advanced rendering/shading/details. A logo is not an illustration. Remember, it should work in black and white, and at a small size. Keep it simple.
3: Photoshop filters or similar, things like embossing. Again, strip it back, strip it back and strip it back.

In terms of inspiration, pinterest or behance have an absolute plethora of logos and video game concept art websites will always have sections devoted to logos. What games do you like? Examine their logos. What appeals to you about them? Take out your pencil and be spontaneous!

Thank you for this advice. I guess I'll have to make Behance a top priority.