BASICS DESIGN OF
A study group for learning industry standard design
2
Session 2 || Wednesday 23rd April, 2014
Logo Design Essentials
BASICS DESIGN OF
Session 2
Logo Design Essentials I personally love logo design, maybe a little too much. If I had the oppportunity and greater knowledge like the professionals, I wouldn’t mind taking up a career solely on identity design. Identity design, for those who do not know basically refers to logo design and branding; the two things I’ll be talking about in this session. Let’s go!
What is a logo? Umm, this seems like an obvious question Mr. Designer-Book-Writing-Sir. A logo is commonly understood as a graphic mark that represents a business or other entity that provides a product/service. As with all definitions we need to dig deeper, because logo design is much more than that. Learn this principle:
A brand is the personality/characteristics of a man, however a logo is the face of that man. In our last session, session 1, we learnt that graphic design is visual communication; that everything we design, is strategic for the purpose of communicating a message. That being said, logo design should also stem from that understanding. A logo is the visual representation of a brand identity. Who the business is, must be reflected in the logo. Now there are a lot of logos that, when you look at them, don’t really reflect what the business does; this is a common misconception that designers have.
Okay kids, which of these statements is true. “The logo must always show what the business does” “The logo must always show what the business is about” I’m not really good at making multiple choice questions, so I think by the colours it’s pretty obvious which statement is true, and which is false. Oh well, I tried.
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So logos don’t necessarily have to say what the business/entity does. A photographer’s logo does not need to have a camera, lens, etc. However, logos that have hidden meanings or subtle references of what the business/entity does is always amusing to see.
What makes a good logo? Just Creative had an article on tips to making a good logo. I encourage everyone to google ‘just creative what makes a good logo’ and read it. He has tons of resources free for you to take in. In this article, there were 5 main principles of effective logo design. These 5 were: Simple it needs to be legible and easy to see at a small size. Keep it simple please. Memorable when you see it, you should always remember who/what the logo represents. Timeless no matter what the entity does in the future, the logo should encapsulate the brand for years to come. Versatile can your logo go easily on different print and web media? Does it have multiple layout options? Appropriate with the brand of McDonald’s do you think a TV screen would be a good logo for them? Logo design, in my opinion, is the number 1 place most designers mess up. They expect a logo needs to be ‘expressive’, colourful, complex and vibrant, when effective logo design only requires the above 5 qualities.
These are just a few of Josiah Jost’s iconic logo designs. Each logo here is simple, memorable, timeless, versatile and appropriate to the entity.
BASICS DESIGN OF
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My approach to Logo Design I’ve been asked to share how I go about designing my logos before. So maybe this will help you guys out. If you want a complete understanding of logo design, get your hands on a copy of the full version of “Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities” - believe me when I tell you, it will be worth it; it’s also easy to read quickly because it’s fun.
Scenario 1 A client approaches me to design a logo for their pizza and pasta restaurant named “Gorgio’s Pizzaria”. Usually clients won’t go in depth into what they are looking for unless you agree to take up the job. So yes you have an option to say yes or no. The reason I’m telling you this is because sometimes clients will ask you to design stuff that isn’t in alignment with your brand. In this case you can either decide to say yes, do the job, and not add it to your portfolio; or simply say no.
Step #1 I always start off by introducing myself and thanking the client for considering my services. No matter who I’m talking to, when it comes down to design, I try to maintain a professionalism through kindness; a good name goes a long way.
Step #2 After I’ve shown my interest in the client’s job, I usually send them an e-mail containing a quote for the job, which states that they must pay 30% of the quoted amount before I start the job (I do this for every job, not just logo design).
Step #3 Inclusive of the job quote, I send them what I call my Identity Design Brief Questionnaire. This is a generic form that asks important questions that would pinpoint the information needed to understand the brand of Gorgio’s Pizzaria as well as what it does and hopes to achieve in the future. This part is extremely important as it helps guide you while designing the logo and its brand aesthetics. Again, Logo Design Love the book will significantly help you understand what questions to ask.
BASICS DESIGN OF
Session 2
Step #4 After the form has been filled out and I’ve received the downpayment for the job (you decide what’s the safest way to do so with your client), I then start filling my mind with the necessary inspiration. Inspiration is key for me, as it keeps me knowledgeable of what designers in the industry are doing today. I also look at what Gorgio’s Pizzaria (let’s call it GA from now on) competitors’ brand identities look like so that I know what not to do - I always try to go above my clients’ competitors’ standard. You can get great logo design inspiration from Logofaves.com, Logopond.com, Behance (depending on who’s work you look at) and BrandingServed.com
Step #5 So your mind is bubbling with some ideas and thoughts already, but from here you need to control yourself. You don’t touch the computer yet, the next step is something called ‘Mind Mapping’. Mind mapping essentially is the process of putting raw thoughts that your brain is screaming at you on paper. However, these thoughts must stem from key words that relates to the brand of GA. So a good question to ask in the design brief is “what are 5 to 10 key words that you’d want your target audience to associate with GA?”. I’ll show you an example below of what mind mapping looks like.
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What Mind Mapping does is forces your brain to think thoroughly of the possible concepts you can use in the logo design that are relevant to the brand description you would have received from the client. This is where the real work starts. Continue thoughts of words with arrows until you can’t go anymore sometimes take a break, then go back at it later in the day, because the more concepts you have, the better your chances of pinpointing an iconic logo design.
Step #6 After a day of mind mapping, I then start concept sketching. Again, fight the urge to start something on the computer. Even if you can’t draw, this step is crucial, because the computer has limitations whereas your hands can draw freely. What I try to do, is incorpate sketches featuring two or three of the key words I wrote down in my mind map that can be possible options for representing the brand of GA. Just as you did with Mind Mapping, spend a lot of time sketching and taking breaks - this may not take a full day like Mind Mapping, but it is very helpful later on when you’re ready for the computer.
Step #7 Ahhh! So I make sure I have AT LEAST three (3) to five (5) possible logo sketches that can represent the brand identity of GA. I begin redrawing them in Adobe Illustrator; yes Adobe Illustrator, not Photoshop. Most industry designers tend to stay away from Photoshop because Photoshop is a pixel based program and has a few limitations to logo design, whereas Adobe Illustrator is vector based, allowing you to resize freely without the loss of quality. Even if you don’t use Ai yet, now’s the best time to force yourself to start.
Step #8 It’s good to present your client with the logo options without colour; reason being colour sometimes deceieves the eye in thinking a logo looks better than it really does. A good rule “if it looks good in black and white, it looks better in colour”, not the other way around. So I present my options to my client, await his/her response.
BASICS DESIGN OF
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Step #9 Believe it or not, this is usually where a lot of overtime comes into play. Unless you can market your logo to your client with reasons why each logo option is a great representation for GA, he or she will tell you to make several overwhelming changes. Most designers get irritated during this part, and I need to remind you that a good name goes a long way. No matter what, don’t loose it; your job is to satisfy your client, so always try to please them. Besides, they have to pay you more than the quoted price for the extra work (you need to let them know that as well). Make changes that are necessary; but the changes that you know aren’t going to help the brand identity of GA you need to advise your client otherwise. To do this, your approach is key! You need to ‘educate’ them on why the change may cause problems in the present or future. Therefore in order to educate your client, you need to be educated yourself. So again I encourage you guys to always research knowledge on design principles.
Step #10 After the changes have been made. I await full payment from the client before I give them any useable files of the logo design choice. If they would like to receive more than one option, they need to purchase it for me. That’s pretty much it. Always end the relationship with a smile, gratitude and a “I hope to work with you again in the future”.
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Branding So I mentioned on the first page that I’d want to talk about branding, in case you guys wanted to do a “design package” for your clients. For any start-up I always encourage my clients to have me do a branding package for them. It includes the logo design, business card design, letterhead, envelope and other stationery/web design options that you think is appropriate. We said that the brand is the character of the man, and the logo is his face. Therefore when we’re making a visual identity (how the brand looks), we need to show those characteristics visually in the brand package. Cohesiveness is key; maintain a common look and feel in all your design elements as it looks way more professional than unrelated designs. The following is one of my favorite examples of great branding, done by Zuzanna Rogatty of Poland.
BASICS DESIGN OF
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BASICS DESIGN OF
Session 2
There’s so much more to designing iconic logos and brand identities for clients, and I’m certain I’ve only touched the surface of it all. I would have at least guided you through the process of proper logo design and given you guys some helpful references to learn a whole lot more. So let’s look at our assignment.
Assignment 2 Go to Behance.com, find 5 designers/artists with great work (Behance usually features them on its front page). Create an account and follow five (5) of these artists/designers and look at their work. Consider their styles of design and what makes them ‘professionals’ or leading creatives on Behance.
Assignment 3 Google ‘just creative what makes a good logo’ and read the entire article. “Wey boy, this man giving us homework like a teacher!? Gosh man!”
Assignment 4 You’ve just received an e-mail from Gorgio Kapeli that goes like this: Hi (your name), I recently saw your work and I’m really impressed, I was wondering if you can design a logo for me. My name is Gorgio Kapeli and I’m looking to start a pizzaria; for now we mainly sell several pizza and pasta options. How much would this cost me? Write a professional reply to this request, and send me it.
The main assignment is on the next page in case you got fed up lol.
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Assignment 5 You’ve sent your client the design brief quessionaire and have received the following information. Design a logo and business card for Gorgio’s Pizzaria. Name: Gorgio Kapeli Business: Gorgio’s Pizzaria Contact: 1-555-555-1234 Address: #245 Street, Pencil State, Santa Gloria I started Gorgio’s Pizzaria, because, as a child, my father would always buy me pizza on a Friday after school. We realized it was always delightful to end the week off with pizza, so why not start a pizzaria for kids to come and enjoy a place that’s cool to relax and gossip. Words we’d like associated with our business: tasty, friendly, warm, cheesy, desireable, hip and young. We’d like it to be slightly playful, because most of our customers are young adolescents and they love their pizza! Try to keep it simple because we’re a quiet people, we don’t like a loud appearance. I am giving you full creative freedom so I won’t give you any concepts. In the future, we plan on expanding by serving salads, breadsticks and maybe experimenting with non-alcoholic drinks like smoothies, chillers and shakes.
Assignments 2, 4 and 5 are due this upcoming Saturday. Dealine is midnight. Assignment 3 can be done at your own convenience.