Here is the second part of the article “Is Your Logo a No-Go?”
Article from Imprint Canada.com, January/February 2010,
Volume 17, Number 1

A logo is the first thing that your clients associate with your company. What does yours say about you?

A solid logo design - like every other form of design, graphic or otherwise - needs to be based on a set of principles in order to be effective and memorable.

4) STYLE

The use of colour, typography and balance, when employed correctly, are vital to making your logo memorable (which is ultimately what you want).

The syle of design you or your designer chooses needs to be suite to reflect the essence of your organization (which is attained through research - see Part 1 of the article).

The importance of typography, or “font”, is often oversimplified. If your logo uses text - either as part of the design or tag line - you will probably find that you need to test dozens and dozen of different typefaces before you get it right. Custom fonts are always a good way to go, especially if you really want your logo to stand out.

The more original the font, the more easily recognizable and memorable your design will be.

Another element of style is balance. Our eyes and minds are naturally drawn to perceive balance as visually pleasing. Keep this in mind when considering the physical make-up of your logo and be conscious of the ratio your design holds with respect to horizontal and vertical scales. Your don’t want a logo which is disproportionately tall or wide as this will almost always become a problem when used in conjunction with other graphics or artwork.

5) CONSISTENCY

Don’t fiddle with your logo once you’ve got it right. It take a lot of time and work to develop a good design, so once you have it, be sure to use it in exactly the same manner everywhere associated with your company - from cards to price lists to websites to newsletters.

Consistency helps establish memorability so it is important to establish guidelines that outline specific rule for pantones, space allotment and size for your logo - and be sure to enforce these rules at all time.

If you have a third party who will be working with your logo, ALWAYS insist on final approvals prior to production of any media.

6) CREATIVITY

Combining all the principles into one visually pleasing design is easier said than done. Logo design can be done well and it can all too easily be done very poorly. There are numerous logo templates out there that you can copy or buy for next to nothing, however the finished product will almost always reflect the level of design work that went into it.

If you are thinking about a new logo for your company, don’t be scared to spend money on an experienced designer who is versed in corporate identity. The collaborative process that a good designer brings to the table will help you navigate the various concepts which need to be explored before narrowing down the right design for your company.

TIP: Your logo doesn’t need to show what product or service you provide. Need proof?

According to Business Week’s Top 100 Global Brand Scoreboard - which lists brands like Coca-Cola, IBM, Microsoft, Nike, Nokia and Sony - the following list identifies what these logo design hold in common:

94% the name does not describe the product sold

90% the by-line tag is not included in the logo

84% the font style is clean and clear

74% the logo design uses only one colour

74% the design uses letters only without the symbol

72% the design is a made-up name or Acronym

66% the design is rectangular in shape

62% the logo design is one word only

54% the logo design includes the trademark symbol

52% the name is 6 letters or less

52% the background is filled and solid

44% the predominant colour base is blue

Well there you have it - things to consider when designing a logo for your company. Hope you found this article helpful.

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Article from Imprint Canada.com, January/February 2010, Volume 17, Number 1

logo: a graphical element (symbol, emblem, icon, sign) that is adopted by an organization to identify its products, uniform and/or services.

A logo is the first thing that your clients associate with your company. What does yours say about you?

A solid logo design - like every other form of design, graphic or otherwise - needs to be based on a set of principles in order to be effective and memorable.

1) RESEARCH

First and foremost comes research. This first principle is fairly straightforward and it remains the foundation for subsequent elements that into sound logo design. Without research, your company’s logo cannot be an accurate reflection or symbol of your organiztion.

Questions like - Who is your target market? What service or goods does your company provide? What is the organization’s culture? How is your company positioned in the industry versus the competition? How do your clients view your company? - need to be thoroughly examined and answered earnestly in order for your logo to be an accurate representation of your company.

As a side note: after you’ve done the research be sure your designer is also aware of this information.

2) SIMPLICITY

I’m sure you’ve heard the K.I.S.S. cliché before: Keep It Simple Stupid. Stray away from this notion and sadly you will never get it right.

A confusing or complicated logo is essentially worthless; trying to convey too much in a design will only confound your target audience and that is the exact opposite of your logo’s purpose.

Every effective, recognizable logo which represents a leading global brand (think Coca-Cola, Nike, Microsoft) shares this basic principle. Although your company may not be a global powerhouse, it’s never a bad idea to study what the “big boys” have done right.

3) FLEXIBILITY

An effective logo should easily transcend any media - whether it’s a business card, pen, t-shirt, billboard, or a catalogue. In order for this to happen, it is paramount that the design be legible and scalable which is why vector graphics are and absolute must.

Vector graphics ensure that no degradation in image occurs regardless of the size of the design being used. (Side note: this is why we steer clear of using photographs in logo design, and do not use Word to design your logo)

A flexible logo will work well at any size it is reproduced as well as across both vertical and horizontal scales. A couple of good ways to determine if your logo design is versatile is to see if it looks good in black and white, when inverted, and when outputted as a mirror-image of itself.

TIP: Colour is secondary. Any good designer will tell you that if you are considering a logo redesign, it should first be created in black and white so that you can clearly focus on the concept, shape and focus of the design itself without being distracted by the emotional nature of colour. Your mind can easily be drawn away from the effectiveness of a design if a colour used in the design is conveying another message.

More to come… Style, Consistency and Creativity of Good Design.

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Check out my new favourite blog (besides ours of course). If you’re a blogger… particularly of graphic design blogs… I was surfing again and came across a blog called Creative Opera. It has a plethera of information and inspiration for graphic designers young and old. I’ve been feeling a bit stagnate lately and Creative Opera was a caffeine injection to my creativity. So, if your looking for some eye candy, bookmark it!

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I was surfing the internet the other day, which is something I actually rarely do, but since I wanted to update this blog with something interesting and I was drawing a complete blank I turned to surfing.

A lot of people ask me “what is graphic design? what do you do exactly?” I, of course, answer with the simplest explanation I can, “Well, I create business cards and letterhead, posters, flyers, websites… blah, blah, blah.” But graphic design is actually a bit more involved than that and I found this neat video on YouTube that describes graphic design in a little more detailed and interesting way.

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by: James White
I came across this article and thought what a great article to share! Hope you find it informative. Notes in italics are my two sense

As more and more people become familiar with the Internet, it is becoming increasingly important to have a web presence for your business or company. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, a web presence will allow customers or potential clients to view your products, services, and underlying values. Failure to have such things listed on your website - will surely result in the potential customer looking elsewhere. These days, it is not just about having a website. Gone are the days where websites are optional extra to boost your company’s performance and bottom line. Times have developed such that if you do not have an online presence, you will simply be written off as an amateur establishment in your field. A web site designer can help your business build its brand and get noticed on the internet.

Instead, the difference between a quality company and one which has a poor public image - is solely dependent upon web design. Ask any web page designer, and they will tell you just how vital it is that you get the design process right. Failure to make an appropriate investment in such an endeavor, will no doubt come back to haunt you in the future. With a professional web designer you can take your online business to the next level.

Here are a few things which web designers recommend to any new clients that they pick up. You should of course watch out when paying someone to build a website for you. Not only do web designers have to offer you suitable and appropriate design abilities, but they also need to be able to recommend, critique, and evaluate your own ideas on your company’s image. This is what sets web designers apart.

1. Take your time

That worst thing you can do is rush in and choose a design based on a template, previous site, or website which has been replicated thousands of times across the Internet. Take your time and invest a little bit of money to ensure that the finished product is unique, effective, and a true reflection of your company or business. All sites designed by Austin Graphics are custom sites, they take more time and cost a little more money, but the end result is a website that is truly your own.

2. Get professional advice

There is nothing worse for a web designer - then a pushy client. Remember, web designers are trained in finding the best layouts for websites, color schemes, link structures, and so on. If you turn up to their office with your own list of requirements which surpasses any reasonable level of client input, the only effect which this has is to restrict the web designer from achieving something which could be much higher quality - if only you hadn’t decided so much before they started working. Although we do like to have some guidelines, we want you to be a happy client in the end so do some research; what sites do you like? what aspects of those sites do you/don’t you like? and then we can discuss what can be done to meet your expectations.

3. Don’t be afraid to ask for changes

Just because you shouldn’t rock up with a bunch of requirements, does not mean that you can not ask for changes once an initial site design has been made. If there is something you don’t like, let the websites designer know. They should be able to find a reasonable alternative - which is in keeping with the site, and pleasing to you at the same time. It’s true! We want you to be 100% satisfied with your website ~ so if there is something you don’t like tell us

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