Visualizing what she wants to create, Sophomore Emily Chheng begins drawing with quick, steady strokes. She glides her pencil across her sketchbook with great care. Slowly but surely, the many gray streaks of her artwork come to life, creating a logo in the form of a cartoon animal.
Chheng has been creating art all her life, but she started to design logos only five years ago. One of her relatives had recently started a company, U.S. Best Beef, and was searching for an artist to design their logo.
Chheng’s father asked her to attempt to design a logo, inadvertently igniting the spark that would begin her graphic design career. The logo design was praised by many of her family members, and was later published for commercial use for the company.
Nowadays, Chheng relies on her father to bring her requests for new logo designs. After receiving word of a potential customer, she and the company go through various stages of planning before a final design idea is completed.
Many of her customers are close relatives and family friends, though she plans on branching out in the future.
“Usually, I only draw logos for fun and to practice my drawing skills,” Chheng said. “I usually don’t take them too seriously, unless they are an actual commission.”
Chheng’s designs are not preplanned, since the inspiration for her artwork usually comes on a whim.
For this reason, she always has her sketchbook with her, ready to sketch at a moment’s notice. Over the years, Chheng has created almost two hundred random logo designs, simply to practice her drawing skills.
“I’m always thinking about drawing,” Chheng said. “Most artists can’t just sit down and draw when they want to, since they don’t always have the ‘creative juices’ to create something that they’re happy with.”
After creating a notebook sketch that she’s happy with, Chheng finalizes her design with pen and adds color to the drawing. Then, she scans the drawing and edits it in Adobe Photoshop, refining it into a proper digital logo.
Chheng is in the process of studying more aspects of graphic design. For example, she’s expanding her Photoshop skills to more advanced levels. Currently, she is designing a donut box model for an upcoming store named SK Donuts.
“My favorite creation so far is the donut box for SK Donuts,” Chheng said. “It’s kind of difficult because I haven’t done anything like it, but trying out a new, fresh design is fun.”
In the future, Chheng plans to open up her own graphic design business. She hopes to sell acrylic charms and stickers, and will also continue to design logos.
TCHS School Newspaper