Z BRUSH VIDEO TUTORIALS LOGO DESIGN

By Juan Chavez

Challenge    I work as Graphic Designer and the challenge is based on a logo design brief as follows:    Different subjects are taught according to the curricular plan at the IIM A in the city of Quito, Ecuador. However, there is no subject where  three-dimensional sculpting is taught using the Z Brush software.

Based on a survey carried out on a sample of 123 students (sophomore and seniors) of the School  of Graphic Design, indistinct gender, from 20 to 23 years of age; it was identified that 90% of the  students do not know how to use Z Brush. Only 11% can differentiate between 3D modeling and  sculpting. 86% only use Cinema 4D. 10% have ever heard of Z Brush. 100% of the students would  be willing to learn how to use the Z Brush through a video tutorial product.

Also, two structured interviews were conducted with Jairo Guzman (Professor at the UIS in charge of the Multimedia Design III Lecture) and Juan Chavez, Art Director of  AGILE in the city of Quito.

Mohamed, was able to mention that: "The creation of video tutorials which content is the learning  of Z Brush is a very useful tool that can be used to reinforce what is explained in class. Therefore,  I don’t have to explain it again. Such a project would be quite feasible for students to have a  reference for classes because sometimes writing in a notebook does not make things easier”.

Antonio, referring to the use of 3D design and sculpting in his advertising agency, states that: “There  are several factors in which the budget and execution time turn out to be highly determining  factors. There are situations where the only solution that can be given to a graphic product is  through 3D design. Here at AGILE, the creative team can have the most spectacular  ideas, which could not be materialized without the use of this technology”.

From this field research, it is intended to make a series of video tutorials on how to use Z Brush  from its most basic to advanced level.

For this purpose, the product must have an identifier that stipulates the graphic line. This is where  the challenge is presented: the logo design of the video tutorials.

Selection: Mind Mapping

According to professor Marian Moore Mind Mapping looks for patterns and insights in a large  quantity of data you collected during your exploration of what is the current reality.

The reason why this design tool was chosen is because it allows you to better visualize the ideas  in the what if stage, since the branches are drawn from a pivot, each one of them creatively  contributes to a tentative solution.

Application

To propose a product name that is easy for the target group to associate, the Mind Mapping design  tool was used, in such a way that ideas relevant to 3D sculpting were emitted.

They gave rise to 5 main branches: Z Brush, Language, Design, Target, Visual. It was the Visual  branch and its sub-branches (Shapes, Symbols, Chisel, Pixel) that determined the name and the  graphic characteristics that the logo should have. Chisel (Chisel) + Pixel = Cinxel. As shown in  Fig 1.

Fig.1 Mind Mapping

Insight

With the guiding idea of taking a chisel into account, an analogy to a sculpting tool was established.  This is an insight into the logo design since it is a tool (chisel) that is used in real life and a pertinent  way to associate in the student's mind with the Z Brush software. (Sculpting Software).

Although the other roots were discarded for the elaboration of the logo, they were very useful,  since they are dimensions of the logo that are not visible but are present within the brand. The logo  design is shown in Fig 2.

Fig 2. Cinxel (Logo Design)

Once the logo was designed, the design of the product interface was made Fig 3.

Fig 3. Cinxel (Interface Design)

Approach

The use of Mind Mapping has helped me to design logos, especially to find a suitable, creative,  and unique name. Perhaps the next time I´ll need to design a logo I would brainstorm to find more  main branches and more sub branches. This way, I would have more options to choose a logo  name and its characteristic features. However, a name could be already determined by a client

Also, I realized that to design an interface I would use Story Telling to guide the user throughout  the interface in a friendly way.

