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I Hate My Logo! What
You Should Get For Your Money and Why.
By John Krycek
This is not a how-to design a logo. This is a guide to educate you on
how an experienced designer can help you through a project whose outcome
you will need to live with for years. Learn how greatly the symbolic
significance of your corporate identity can impact your business. To say
anyone can design a logo is to say anyone can design a 53 story high
rise. Here are some key lessons that will tell you if you're choosing
the right architect for your corporate identity!
Simple Definition- On The Surface
A logo design is composed of one or more elements of shape, type, and
thematically chosen colors. In a glance, it conveys a substantial amount
of information to the viewer, much in the form of short gut feelings
that aren't vocalized —good, hesitant, authoritative, dignified, classy,
upscale, expertise, cheap…the list is endless.
Your logo is a symbol that will stand on every piece of printed or
electronic collateral for at least the next 10 years. Remember that
thought. Changing your logo in a year because you don't like it breeds
confusion and mistrust that spreads like weeds within your audience.
Many people over look that fact when they have a logo designed from the
Internet for $25.
Your identity is an extension of your business that communicates
visually, through appearance, and emotionally, through symbolism.
Curtailing or ignoring thought, revision, and growth in the design
process will hurt your finished product and corporate image. A good
graphic artist will lead you through the design process. He or she will
help visualize your company as the world sees you.
"I'm not creative," "I can't draw," "Make it green cause green is my
favorite color and I'm the boss and it's my logo!" If you find yourself
thinking along these lines, you're pretty normal so don't worry! If your
passion and talent lie in matching the perfect violin to a young
blossoming talent that walks into your music store, you're probably not
going to do your own corporate tax returns.
Tax returns are done every year. Your logo, the heart and soul of your
business is created once. It's part of you, and is the face of your
business the world will see. Let a graphic artist, whose own passion is
design, help you with what they do best. It's well worth the investment.
Let's look at why…
In the following we'll discuss some obvious and not so obvious things a
logo communicates and illustrate by examples you'll recognize. You will
have a greater understanding of how much power your little icon can
potentially have.
Logos: The Obvious Characteristics
From a usability and visibility standpoint there a several key factors
that must be built into the design. Your logo must be clear and simple
enough that it does not lose meaning when reproduced at different sizes,
specifically smaller. If it is too cluttered and muddy on your business
card your first impression will be a disappointment to a potential
client.
It must not lose meaning when reproduced in one color. The Internet and
online marketing let you produce things in blazing colorful glory
without extra cost. However, don't forget those equally important other
places your logo will be seen like packaging, shopping bags, faxes,
Xeroxes, newspapers, business cards, brochures and letterhead. Those are
important items in building brand loyalty and recognition to your
product. If they don't look sharp, neither will your image, and neither
will your sales.
Logos: The Quiet, Harmonic Subtle Qualities Often Overlooked
Your logo is a symbol of your company's ideals, practices and missions.
A well-developed, carefully sculpted logo can inspire vision, stability
and comfort. Your image can make a viewer feel he or she is in the best,
most experienced hands. With this visual interaction you are building a
trust with your audience.
Instill trust and a solid foundation
A logo can build trust and credibility. When you see a company's logo,
even briefly, you feel something. That something can make you uneasy and
worried about what you'll get for your money, or it can make you feel
safe. How about McDonald's? (Fat grams and calories aside for a moment),
when you see the Golden Arches, most people think good, fun,
always-know-what-to-expect-even-in-a-strange-land hamburger. If you are
lost in a foreign country, sighting the McDonald's Logo creates a sense
of familiarity and relief.
How about a black circle with two little circles on either side, toward
the top. Mickey. (Yes, that might make some mom and dad's feel faint at
the ticket prices), but beyond that, there's an unparalleled, magical
feeling of childhood, laughter and joy. What powerful emotion from
three, joined, black circles that transcends language and culture.
If we say your logo is a symbol, by definition it represents the heart
and root system of your company. The ultimate goal is for your audience
to feel and understand your business on an emotional level and remember
it. Sometimes logos can have an abstract relationship, sometimes right
in your face. Either way, they must make sense and uniquely tie into
your business. If you buy a pair of sneakers with a swoosh on them, do
you have any doubt that they will wear out too soon, be uncomfortable,
or a waste of money?
Show you are proactive and visionary
Say you're in the market for a luxury car. You are probably less worried
about the obnoxious sales people and more attune to advertising you've
seen. Which companies immediately come to mind when you think of
precision, perfection and technological achievement?
Logos like Jaguar, Mercedes, or BMW convey enough inherent sense of
forward thinking that they can appear as the only element on a
billboard. There is a confidence you're in a class of superior
engineering, advanced technology, and luxurious style compared to low
and mid range automobiles. And even more intriguing, if you're an owner
or in the market for one, doesn't seeing that particular logo reinforce
those ideals to you? How can a little silver kitty on the front of a
hood evoke such deep emotional reactions?
Portray confidence and expertise
Calvin Klein, Ralph Loren, and Coca-Cola are recognizable from across a
room. With each, you know purchased products are consistent in quality.
I'd suggest the most obviously confident is Calvin Klein. But it works,
doesn't it? The smell of CK cologne might trigger a good (maybe bad!)
memory for you. Who in real life is more confident than the perfect
underwear models that seem to be in endless production? If they don't
radiate self-confidence to that corporation, I'm at a loss for what
does!
People will argue Coke is better than Pepsi or vice versa. It really
doesn't matter because both are regarded as the best cola drinks made.
Either one far surpasses any of the knock off brands. They are experts
in their field. So how does a designer create an image like these for
your company?
How does a designer begin? Every creative professional has his or her
own methods, but the initial premise and ultimate journey is the same.
Design Is A Process
Research
It is impossible to find parallels of symbolism and create a logo
identity without learning about the company, interacting with its
employees, understanding the products and services, and examining the
competition.
Here a designer starts to understand what ideals the corporate image
must convey and what makes the company unique. Now, how to communicate
those thoughts, feelings, and ideals onto paper.
Brainstorming/Draft
I usually carry a small tablet around with me when I'm working on a logo
design. I sit at lunch, at red lights, and through the day sketching,
scribbling, jotting down thoughts that pop into my head. These aren't
anything for show, but quick ideas that usually springboard to new ones.
Eventually one common thread stands out and I'll extrapolate some
tighter focused ideas around that theme.
Revision
This is the most important process of design. This is where shapes and
words combine into life. Here is where ideas evolve into concrete
concepts. These concepts are further reworked, poked and prodded,
transformed into more detailed, individual entities. A new idea may
still enter into the mix, but results become much more refined and
defined.
At a point when gut instinct and some outside opinions say, "That's a
keeper!" I'll present the top three concepts to the client. I may offer
some thoughts about color or other added aesthetic enhancements, but I'm
more interested in conveying the underlying meaning of the symbol, and
how I think it would speak to an audience and drive the company forward.
Conclusion
I strongly suggest you let an experienced designer help you with your
logo development. It's not unreasonable to pay several thousand dollars
for a design. That design should, however, take more than two days to
develop and a lot of interaction and explanation! But you have to live
with the results and they should be nothing less than great.
When interviewing several graphic artists, ask them how they develop a
logo. What steps do they take? Their way might be a bit different than
this article, but the general thought should be the same. You're
business is probably your most valued investment. Help the world believe
that too by having a logo that conveys it.
Name recognition, building trust, and brand loyalty take time. All of
the companies talked about were new once too. And, all are innovators
with their own unique, wonderfully expressive faces to the world.
Author Profile
John Krycek is the owner and creative director of theMouseworks.ca. Read
more articles on the insights and secrets of website design and
development and search engine optimization in easy, non-technical, up
front English!
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