Logo design is the building block from which all other marketing
materials and corporate branding should follow. It directly relates to the job I do as a web designer because I largely base the look and feel of a website on what the logo looks like. If the client doesn¹t have a logo, this is where I would begin. All too often the design and importance of the logo is horribly neglected, therefore, I’d like to share what I’ve learned about corporate branding…
First, it’s important to understand that logo design is not nearly as easy as it seems. A good corporate identity (logo) will cross all sorts of barriers- language, gender, religion, age. A four year old can’t read, but if you pass the “golden arches” they know they can get a happy meal. On an even larger scale, people across the world can identify what the “apple” logo stands for. These logos referenced are very simple, but have conveyed their meaning quickly and uniquely.
A company’s logo is what will define them to the consumer. Are they a corporate business or more casual? What field is the business? Is the field competitive? Are there tons of other companies out there in that field with already easily recognized brands? A designer has to have these answers before beginning, and must consciously be aware of these facts throughout the design process.
I’ve also seen too many logos that haven’t been designed with much consideration as to what they might end up being used for. Your logo should be readable at many different scales- from the size of a nickel (or smaller) to billboard size. It needs to look good on brochures and folders, as well as shrunk down on business cards, pens, or embroidered t-shirts. A good logo should work in color and in black and white. If your logo is too dependent on color to convey its meaning or purpose, what is your company going to do if they want to run a one-color ad in the newspaper? Come up with a new logo? Are you willing to pay extra for print work because you just HAD to have a logo with 6 different colors in it? At most, a logo really doesn’t need more than two or three colors…unless again, you don’t mind paying more to have it printed on things. Do you want your logo to be an image or shape or do you want it to be logotype (just text in a manipulated font), or do you want a combination of the two? Or maybe you want one logo that is a combination, but you also want the mark to be able to stand on it’s own without text for when you want to print it on certain things (like clothing or other items, etc.). All of these things need to be considered before the creative process even begins.
Once these decisions have been made, development of the logo can start. Keeping the aforementioned things in mind while designing and creating a logo can be pretty complex. It may be just one mark- one small building block that leads to the rest of a company¹s marketing materials, but that small block has to be able to stand on its own, without an explanation to go beside it. You can use an ad, brochure, or a website to explain your company and its mission, but your logo has to be able to tell the consumer all of these things by itself, very quickly, all the while being unique and easily recognizable.
The Process of Good Logo Design
Everyone’s creative process is different, but this is mine: as elementary as it may sound, I start with a word list. I take the company’s name, and literally look up the dictionary definition of the words. Then I look for synonyms. If any of those synonyms sound appealing, I might make up a word list based off of those words, maybe not even the original words. The point is, I write down a long list of words that I associate together, and that’s how I start. This list can totally deviate from the root word(s) but that’s just how I have to begin.
At this point, I’ve already zoned in on the words that appeal to me most. Then what I do next is write down the company’s name. Even if they don’t want a logotype, I’ll do this. This is my attempt at seeing what kinds of shapes the letters in the name of the company might make. Once I’ve exhausted all these possibilities, I’ll switch to just sketching shapes and images for the logo. Where I go from here depends on what type of logo the company has voiced they are looking for.
Once I’ve made some promising sketches, I will scan these in and bring them into Adobe Illustrator, to trace them and start building the digital images. The stronger designs are sent to the client, usually in black and white, sometimes in a color or two. From there the client will choose one or two designs that they like, and I will make the requested edits and color changes, until the logo is complete.
