Gareth is a brand identity designer specialising in creative logo design & identity.
He is the author of Smashing Logo Design, a book dedicated to everything 'logo'.
You’ve probably heard of the phrase ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’. I’ve always found it interesting as to whether this claim holds true for logo designs as they can effectively be either a picture (icon/symbol), a word (wordmark/logotype) or even a combination of both (crests/enclosures). Most marks are instantly recognisable as they are often used in the absence of type as a standalone icon, and obviously wordmarks contain the name of the brand they represent. Crests and enclosures are more interesting as they mostly combine both pictorial and typographical elements, which poses a different scenario in terms of brand recognition effectiveness.
So, in the absence of type in logos that utilise simple shapes and enclosures is it possible to still recognise them or do they rely upon the assistance of a logotype? Colour obviously plays a massive part in making a connection with a brand identity and so for this study I have discounted it completely and focused upon form alone, in the same way that I do in the early stages of my own design process. I think that over exposure of certain logos through the saturation of advertising helps to ingrain the image of a brand’s symbol or even a logo’s outline into the subconscious. Take a look at some of the stripped down logos below and I think you will be surprised at how many you can identify:
After months of planning, deliberation and consideration we are happy to announce that we have finally moved into our new headquarters in Wolverhampton. We’re only a stone’s throw away from the city centre, the Molineux and the train station so if you ever happen to be in Wolves feel free to pop in & say hello. Here are some pictures to show you what we’ve achieved:
The sad thing about trends, in any field, is that as they become overused they eventually turn into a cliché. A visual cliché in a logo is something that you should avoid at all costs, as one of the main characteristics of a good effective logo is that it should be unique. So if the world and his wife are utilising your same idea then it can effect not only your competitive advantage but also the way in which your brand is perceived. If a direct competitor is also using the same cliche then this can obviously become very dangerous indeed, with the possibility of brand recognition becoming impossible.
Luckily, a great logo designer will have their eyes peeled and their ear to the ground, equipped with the knowledge of all the past and present logo trends. This will provide an assurance that your business doesn’t fall into the trap of being represented by a logo cliche. If your logo looks similar to any of the examples shown below then it may be time to think about a rebrand. Here are the 10 biggest logo clichés of all time:
10. A photograph of the owner
Predominantly used by individuals in professions that could let their ego get the better of them such as Estate Agents & Social Media Super Duper Guru Gods™ (or even us designer-types). Incase you didn’t know who the real grinding force behind an organisation is, slapping a photo of the owner in place of a graphic is a sure-fire way to let the masses know. The cheesier the photo the worse the cliché becomes.
9. Pixel Blanket
Beware of the Pixel Blanket. It will smother & cover you in pixels of cliche dust. This is often used by businesses involved in the Information Technology sector. Notweb designers or developers but mainly tech support or networking services.
8. Reliance upon Helvetica
There is obviously nothing wrong with relying upon type alone. In fact, you may have noticed that some of the worlds largest brands use a wordmark. There is also nothing wrong with Helvetica, even though it is perhaps one of the most well-known & most commonly used fonts available. Even American Airlines use it as their typeface, and countless others. Many others. Too many.
7. Reflections
As stated, type alone usage can be a classy option. Especially if the typeface has unique qualities that make it stand out from the crowd. But what if you don’t have the skills to draw or modify your own letters? This is where the effects of Photoshop come into play and also the dreaded term ‘Web 2.0’. Since that term was invented, probably by a Social Media Super Duper Guru God™, it seems that every element of design has to look glossy and have a reflection, as if it was from the future. In reality it looks crap, especially if the reflection doesn’t match up with the original image.
6. Jumping Jack
This concept is the little brother of ‘the group hug’ which you will read about further down the list. I think this is possibly the easiest and simplest way to draw a person, without using the style of a stickman. Since a lot of companies like to put emphasis on the customer and ‘put people first’ this type of graphic is used by thousands of businesses worldwide.
5. Team Silhouette
The team silhouette is the evil twin sister of the cheesy team stock photo. At least now the cheesy smiles are no longer visible but this means that so are the faces of the people who are supposedly representing the company. Why hide in the shadows? It’s also best for a business to steer clear of self portrait silhouett usage in logos. Here are some examples of this logo design faux pas.
4. Globe
If you’re working with clients worldwide or are even involved with distribution you may want to get these facts across in your identity, and there is nothing wrong with that at all. A non-designer may suggest that the most appropriate imagery to illustrate this is to use the image of a globe in it’s most literal form. Don’t do it. It has been done a million and six times and by rule if it can be download as a piece of stock vector art work don’t even consider it. There are however, creative ways to implement an image of a globe, I am more referring to exact copies that you might find in a world Atlas. Wikipedia scores bonus points for combining two of the listed cliches in one!
3. Group Hug
I’ve named it the group hug but beware this cliché can come in a few variations. I think the concept stems from the idea of teamwork and working together for the same cause. I have seen this type of logo used for all kinds of businesses, from hospitals to funeral directors! Here is the google link for some examples.
2. Puzzle Piece
A completed puzzle is deemed to be a solution to a problem, right? I estimate that there are close to 100,000 organisations worldwide that are using a puzzle piece as an element for their logo. That’s the same solution to a lot of very different problems. Here are some examples.
1. Corporate Swoosh
This should hopefully not need an explanation. I think even the companies using the corporate swoosh have now realised that this is perhaps the biggest design cliche of all time. Not many people know this but corporate swooshes make clowns very very sad. Especially upside down ones.
Please Note: All logos included in this article are purely fictional and no likeness to existing companies or logos is intended.
Our good friend Josh Hayes sent us a funny photo of what appears to be a similar brand name to our own. We love quilts too. Josh is a very talented designer living a million miles away in Australia. You can view some of his work on his website which leads to his latest pieces of work.
With the numbers of professional designers increasing every day, it’s more important than ever to promote yourself in order to remain competitive. Luckily, an abundance of methods and mediums are available to allow you to communicate with potential clients—locally or around the world—to let them know what you offer.
Putting Together A Portfolio
Ultimately, the portfolio is the most important tool in promoting the skill set and experience of any designer, regardless of the field in which they operate.
How much work should you show in your portfolio? Should you show everything that you’ve ever done? The simple answer is that you should show only the work that you feel will help you to land future projects and impress potential new employers. If you’re constantly putting thorough effort and thought into each project that you undertake, you’ll be able to show everything you’ve ever designed.
Covering All The Bases
The Internet has opened up avenues for designers to be able to upload work to various portfolio portals, which increases the chances of individual recognition from both peers and potential clients. Leighton Hubbell, who has been working in the industry for over 20 years, has had to adapt his promotional tactics in order to keep up with the influx of competition:
For years, the guide to self-promotion was fairly traditional. You made contacts through getting work in front of key individuals, whether it was sending out promotional pieces through the mail, dropping samples off at a local agency or business, or just making cold calls. You did just about anything you could to get your portfolio in front of someone. Every once in a while, you made a contact through somebody you knew. Slowly, you built yourself a reputation—first locally, then regionally, and so on. I managed to make a pretty good living getting business that way, until a few years ago when everything changed.
The single most important change is visibility and making the most of it. It used to be enough to just have a Web site. Now, you need a Web presence. There is so much competition out there (some good and not so good) that designers really need to show what they can do and set themselves apart from everyone else. In this business, you need to adapt or you can get left behind very quickly.
My own promotional tactics have led me to understand that this is a predominantly digital world. Just having a portfolio that you can touch by hand no longer cuts it, even though (if it’s designed well, in a unique way) I still think is far more impressive than a fancy Web site. I have a Web site, but there is nothing on it other than a message that explains why I have no time to design it (because I would prefer to spend all my time and energy on designing for real projects for real people). That’s what works for me, at the moment, but I know that as more designers enter the industry, it’s only going to become more challenging to think of something unique that can get you noticed.
Using Social Media
Social media, which involves interaction with users worldwide through the power of the Internet, has really blown the design industry apart.
Kevin Burr feels that social media has both positive and negative effects, which require that, as a promotional medium, it be treated with great care and caution:
The Internet and social media can be your best friend or your worst enemy. It’s all about what you make of it. When you use the Internet and social media as a means to promote your business, you have to be very careful in what you say and how people perceive you. One wrong step, and the entire community knows about it. But if you remain approachable, offer good insight, and help others, your reputation can help generate more work.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, has something to say. Whether it’s important or interesting is another matter, but they’ll do a good job of trying to get you to hear it. And that is perfectly fair. I’m not exactly sure whether social media has directly increased the number of designers in the world, but one thing is for certain: It makes you aware of just how many there are.
One interesting trend that I’ve noticed: The big agencies don’t tweet or blog that much, mainly because they don’t have to—they have their reputation to rely on. For smaller, independent companies and freelancers, the situation is different: Social media becomes an avenue for exposure—after all that’s exactly what the vehicle of social media is: a cry for attention. Is this an advantage? Absolutely. Anything that creates connections among people can only be a good thing.
Stephanie Reeves understands that social media isn’t the only route to securing a professional position but believes that it can only help:
Social media won’t get anyone a job but I certainly don’t think I could get the job I want without it. Again, it’s about involvement; I think that employers want their new blood to be aware of how social media can work. Being aware of recent advancements is one of the things that make young graduates so attractive to companies.
Sending your CV and printed portfolio with “I love your company” written on the back of your business card isn’t enough anymore. Employers want to see that you have a genuine interest in your chosen field and the confidence to talk about it before they even get near to interviewing you. They do their homework and they want to see that you do yours. I can’t see how blogs, social networks, and online portfolios could be a disadvantage unless you haven’t got one.
Blogging For Leads
The Internet grows every second of every day. It never sleeps. Since the mainstream became wise to search-engine optimization, and the practice of sharing design-related links through social media became a common practice, we’ve been inundated with often-pointless logo-design-related blog posts every day.
Steve Douglas coined the interesting term logo-raiding, which relates to this increasingly common tactic. I was lucky enough to ask him to share his thoughts on the subject:
Social media allows designers to get “out there.” The problem is, there’s an awful lot of designers trying to get “out there.” And that’s what leads to noise. As designers compete for clicks and traffic, they sometimes resort to pinching other designer’s work—often without credit—and publishing posts that are little less than collections of other peoples’ designs and labeling it “50 logos of cats.” The noise can be very difficult to rise above, and quality material is often drowned out. When I first started on the Internet in the mid 90s, it was relatively easy to get decent search-engine placement for almost any designer willing to put in the time. It’s not so easy any more. And getting less so every day.
Think of this situation as fishing. The post or Web site is the net. They hook you in with the promise of showing you a bunch of logos, supposedly to inspire you for your own future works. Yet underneath there is a shark at work that is only interested in Internet traffic. The more fish they get, the more successful that particular blog or Web site becomes.
Unfortunately, the practice of logo raiding is not just carried out by logo design inspiration websites or blogs, but by some designers themselves. This is perfectly fine providing that they are crediting the work and providing links to the designer of the logos that they choose to showcase. By not providing credit can make it look like the posted logos are the work of the author of the blog post and could trick potential clients from thinking that that designer is of a higher experience or skill level than they actual are. The ideal way to get traffic to your work is to do it the honest way, by creating outstanding solutions that you designed yourself rather than the talent of others.
Staying Grounded
The best form of promotion is to consistently create brilliant work. Even if you spend hours and a lot of money on getting your name out there, it won’t be worthwhile unless it impresses potential clients.
Once you begin to build a good reputation, it can be easy to let your ego take over and start thinking you’re the best designer that has ever graced the earth. I believe that the great achievers in the world—and this is applicable to every type of profession—are those who have an extremely well-honed work ethic and don’t rest on past achievements. The drive and focus to continually beat your previous achievements and conquer new goals is what keeps such people motivated. The beauty of designing logos is that each task poses a new problem to solve, so keeping the passion alive shouldn’t be a problem.
The Future of Logo Design
So, where does this leave us? We could make a wild assumption that computers will take over our minds completely and design logos for us, in effect replacing the role of the designer completely. But that’s unlikely to happen. I can only imagine that like disciplines or industries, it will continue to evolve, with designers having to make even greater changes to keep up with the pace. With the recent crisis in the economic climate, it has already been proved that more and more designers are now making the jump from working for design firms into self-employment. That is obviously due to the decreasing number of design jobs available, but I can’t help but think that the Internet has also played a big role.
With social media becoming more and more prevalent in people’s everyday personal and working lives, it would be closed-minded to predict that it isn’t going to play an even bigger role not just in logo design but in the whole industry in the future. Even today, it’s possible for teams to be put together without even having to meet face to face. That’s very exciting from a collaboration standpoint, though I hope that the beauty of working within a team through immediate firsthand interaction doesn’t disappear completely.
What about the distribution of clients? Will the massive firms continue to dominate and monopolize the jobs for the world’s most popular brands? Probably, but maybe not. One thing is for certain: There will always be logos and the people who design them.
This is an excerpt from a free chapter from Smashing Logo Design. You can read Part 1 here and part 2 here
The Rise of the Web
The Internet has changed our lives forever. Whether it has a positive or negative long-term effect on society remains to be seen, but it has certainly cracked open the world of logo design from the inside.
Increased Opportunities
The Internet has, in effect, reduced the size of the design industry—not in terms of numbers, but in terms of how easy it is to make contact with designers and design companies from all over the globe. Never before has it been so easy for one company on one side of the world to request the services of designers who are located thousands of miles away. This would have been impossible as little as a couple decades ago, unless the designer or firm had a world-renowned reputation.
The Price War
Some designers prefer not to reveal their prices; others have no qualms in doing so. With more competition, particularly for the smaller to mid-size opportunities, price seems to play an ever more prominent role in clients choosing which designer to go with. As the Internet is responsible for broadening the competition of both freelancers and design firms, the prices that they set have had to become equally competitive. As we all know, one of the main ways a potential client will find your work online is through a search engine. Unfortunately, most people seeking a logo will more often than not go for the cheap option. This results in thousands of designers target key words relating to that characteristic. The cheaper the price, then it’s more likely that the number of leads will increase.
It’s common sense that if your prices are set at rock bottom you will have to complete many more projects to make the same kind of money as you would by charging the right value that your time deserves. At rock bottom prices the work will be extremely sub-standard to allow that individual or organization time to make a reasonable living.
Sean O’Grady, a graphic designer from Mayo, Ireland, believes that price is having a significant effect on freelance designers in particular:
The design industry is now reduced to which designer can offer the lowest price for design work. In fact, I have seen some prospective clients offering only $10 to anyone who can design a logo for their company or even nothing in some cases to gain a portfolio piece.
In effect, there is nothing you can do about low prices. If there are people out there who are willing to work for next to nothing, let them do it. The clients who they’re doing the work for are probably not worth the time and energy anyway.
Speculative Work
Perhaps the biggest concern to designers as a result of the Internet is that it has played an enormous part in the increased participation and awareness of speculative (or spec) work. Spec work is when a client or potential client is only willing to pay for a service after they’ve seen examples of how the end product will look. You may have been asked in the past to provide some sketches to try to “convince” a new contact that you’re the right designer for them.
Doing work without getting paid for it doesn’t make sense. Unfortunately, there are many designers out there willing to take the risk, because they’re blinded by the potential reward.
Glen Hobbs believes that spec work in the long terms has a negative effect on the design industry:
I found a hilarious spoof post a while back that really summed this up. It was from a designer saying that he was looking for new clients. He asked any company interested in his services to simply mail him a check for what they think is a fair amount. He’d cash all the checks. Spend some of the money and see how it all feels. Then he’d decide whom he wants to work with. Ridiculous? Yes.
I don’t do spec work. My time is far too valuable to me. It can possibly have some short-term upside (if your spec is chosen), but long term I think it undermines our industry.
To further compound the problem, there are now many “crowd-sourcing” Web sites where speculative work is the name of the game. Thousands of designers take part in design contests every day in the hopes of maybe landing some real-world work. Doing spec work is gambling with your time, time that you could be spending working on a portfolio of self-initiated projects that answer design briefs.
The Fight Against Plagiarism
Unfortunately, the Internet has brought with it another problem: With the misconception that they won’t be caught due to the size of the Web, more and more plagiarists are taking the work of other designers and the logos of existing businesses and passing them off as their own. The plagiarist is either a business owner who is seeking to get a logo on the cheap or another designer aiming to create a fake portfolio to try to lure unsuspecting potential clients into hiring him. Finding out that someone else is unlawfully using your logo is a tiring situation to be involved in, for both the designer and the client.
Most people seem to think that it’s perfectly acceptable to take any image that has been published online and start using it in any way that they please. With more instances of logo copyright infringement becoming more common, it seems that there is no current answer to bring it to an end. The problem is that as long as there are people willing to steal existing works, designers will be susceptible to becoming a victim of plagiarism. Unfortunately, that is likely to always be the case.
What came first the logo or the name?
A new technique, developed mainly through the advancement of the Internet, is to do the whole process backward. Some Web sites have appeared that allow startups to buy brand names coupled with an identity off the shelf, ready-made, sitting in wait for a potential owner. A new business owner might see a logo/name and think, “That’s perfect me—I’ll take it.” They buy the logo, download the necessary files, and go on their way, slapping the logo on everything they cast their eyes upon. It’s essentially a happy ending. Or is it?
Let’s set another scenario: You’re getting married and you need a wedding cake made. You want it to fit into the theme of your wedding and look exactly how you want. Where would you go to get such a fantastic cake? Would you go to the local bakery and pick a cheap cake that had been sitting in the shop window for days, or would you contact a specialist who can discuss your requirements, suggest the best solution based on your needs, and create a custom-designed cake that achieves everything you ever dreamed of? If you’re serious about your wedding, the custom-designed route is the likely choice.
The danger of buying a ready-made brand is that there is no communication between the designer and the client before a solution is created.
Most ready-made brands are nothing more than a named logo, if you can even call it a logo as it doesn’t identify anything until it is purchased.. An image is created and a name is slapped onto it: ChickenEgg! BatFish! Would any professional business really use a brand name like that? There have been numerous cases of ready-made logos being direct copies of existing logos or at the very least heavily inspired. Remember: A successful and effective logo/brand should be unique.
Leighton Hubbell discusses why the premise of selling stock logos and identities hooked some people:
I can understand why people gave it a try. Some of them were established designers needing to pay some bills and a few of them were amateurs trying to break into the business. But they are missing the single most important point about logo design: It’s not a “one-size-fits-all” type of medium. Logo design is custom-tailored for each client and their specific needs and goals. What works perfectly for one business or service won’t necessarily work for another. It is not a beauty contest. It is not a commodity item. It is not stock.
Like any logo designer, I have lots of logo concepts that didn’t get used. For every logo that gets approved, there are dozens that may never see the light of day. Unfortunately, that’s a common side effect of our profession. Another is that the design that gets approved isn’t always the strongest piece. On the positive side, if a logo doesn’t get selected, it can always have a home in your portfolio.
Part of being a creative person is showing others what you are capable of. And some designers figured that if they can’t be used by that client, then there’s surely got to be a client or business out there who will want to use my super-cool logo concept for something! You could save it on the hard drive and retool it for another client (which is usually the case), or you could try to sell it on the open market.
Innocently enough, there is some validity to that idea. And with an ever-growing stockpile of work adding up every week and the economy being what it is, the idea came up to try to sell these designs online for some “easy” money. No harm, no foul. Or so it seemed.
With business being even slower for a good portion of the logo design community, there seemed to be a major surge to keep up with the Joneses and fatten the online portfolio with hypothetical and contrived logo designs, just waiting for the customers to come along. And this doesn’t even cover the logo contest sites.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there will always be work that you create to expand and improve your portfolio and I am no different. Maybe it was a project a client never finished. Or a cool movie or TV show inspired you. There’s nothing wrong with that. I am always working on my book.
The worrying fact is that some designers, especially those new to the industry, think that the only way to get established and build a portfolio of work is to get involved with the creation of stock identities, and also to make some quick cash. I think that the massive influx of fake logos in the portfolios of beginners to intermediate level is due to a number of factors:
Misperceived tactic of how to build a reputation
Lack of education of how to answer a real brief
Fewer opportunities lead to fake logos as being a marketing tactic
In the next part we take a look at promotion and the future of logo design.
Let me tell you a little story that is the inspiration for this post…
A couple of weeks ago I received an enquiry asking for details of pricing guidelines for logo design. I responded asking for more details about the project in order to calculate a quotation based on the specifications of the project. It turns out that the company in question had recently launched a website but had ‘forgotten to sort out a logo’. In place of the logo was just headline text rendered by a web browser. Apparently the idea of getting a logo had just slipped their mind, and were now seeking to rectify the situation even though the service was available.
This situation instantly reminded me of a post that was recently published claiming that the Google Mail logo was designed the night before the service went live. So it seems even the biggest companies in the world sometimes leave the idea of designing a logo until the very last minute. Anyone who has set up a new business will tell you that there are a million and one tasks that need completing before you are ready to start taking over the world. Unfortunately, the identity of the product or service that is being sold is often put right at the bottom of the order of importance.
Great logo design is not a quick process
If you want something done properly it’s always best not to rush. The common census among those who need logo design seems to suggest that designing a logo is just a case of drawing a pretty picture and slapping it onto everything that the owner uses or sells. In some cases this is the practice employed by many designers with less knowledge and understanding, but the difference between the average and those who know what they are doing is that to achieve a great logo, and in turn a great identity, is that the logo design process is often long and laborious.
A logo shouldn’t be an afterthought
So when is the perfect time to start exploring the possibilities of getting a logo designed?
Obviously, it’s not going to be the first element of a business that you think of. A business should never be built around a logo, since a logo is an identifier of said business (you can find out more about the dangers of backwards branding here).
Ideally, there should be a strategy in place to help build the brand identity of which a logo can adhere to and in a sense be an iconic identifier of those decisions.
There should be plenty of time for the designer to explore directions for the identity prior to any services or sales opportunities going live.
You should NEVER launch without having a logo of any form of description.
Rebranding may occur when businesses are already operating, with the assumption that some form of identity is already in place.
One of the biggest debates within the design industry surrounds whether it is essential to have an official education in design to become a successful designer. Although design does have its theories, I believe that talent is a natural gift that can’t be taught; it can be encouraged and honed, though.
Steve Douglas thinks that a formal education can help but does not necessarily guarantee a successful career:
“A design education is certainly helpful, as long as it’s a decent design education. I’ve interviewed college graduates for positions at my shop, and many don’t have the necessary skills to work in a fast-paced environment. It’s not their fault—when I do hire them, they learn pretty quickly “in the trenches.” When I was an art student, things like Illustrator and Photoshop were unheard of. As far as my education goes, I attended illustration in college, but it was so long ago that any current skills—desktop software and what have you—are pretty well self-taught. That’s true today as well—the technology is advancing so fast that it’s difficult to keep courses current. Of course, there are the old standbys—life drawing, design, and color theory. Those remain valuable to any designer and an important part of any education.”
Glen Hobbs, who designs logos on a freelance basis in Colorado, understands that a design education can come in many forms and doesn’t always have to be undertaken at a recognized education facility:
“An “education” is essential, to be sure. But exactly what form that education comes in can vary, I think. Case in point: I have a degree in visual communications from a technical branch of a major university. The curriculum is developed and taught by industry professionals. It was a great foundation to get me in the door for an entry-level position oh so many years ago (where the learning really starts). My brother, however, also an accomplished designer, did not go to school for it. Rather, he worked under the tutelage of professionals who recognized his natural talents and gave him opportunity to grow those.”
“So where does that leave us? Well, I think that the most important thing for any designer is a thirst for knowledge. And not just about our chosen profession. The more we open ourselves up, the more we explore; the more we are aware of the world around us and how it works (or not), then the better we are at creating visual communication that is relevant in that world. A formal education in design is a solid beginning. I just think the key is to realize that formal education is just that—only the beginning.”
Kevin Burr recognizes that his design education experience has benefited him as a designer and helped him to pinpoint his preferred occupation:
“I received my bachelor’s degree in design communications upon graduating from Belmont University in 2004. For me, an education in design was essential. While at Belmont, Professor Dan Johnson noticed my love for logo and identity design. He saw my interest early on as a freshman and made it a focus most of my time at school. Upon graduating, it seemed natural to promote myself as a logo and identity designer.”
“The college experience gives you time to hone your skills and begin the process of creating a portfolio. Having the extra eyes on your work also allows you to learn how to accept criticism and gives your peers the opportunity to offer an outside opinion of your work. This is a huge part of developing your skills as a designer. Let’s face it—we all have big egos. It’s a good thing to have your ego beaten down every now and then. This helps you grow as a designer. Having a handful of professors at your fingertips to answer your questions doesn’t hurt either.”
Rather than just seek the opinion of designers who are already working professionally, I felt it was important to gain the thoughts of students hoping to secure design jobs in the future. I spoke to Stephanie Reeves, a final-year student at Birmingham City University studying visual communication. I asked her if she was worried about her prospects once she graduates:
“I don’t think worried is the word—more petrified. There is a lot of student work in magazines and on the Web that is beautiful, professional, and finished to such a standard that makes my head fall to the desk. There are always going to be people better than you, and I often feel that if I don’t get that all-important job straight after I finish my education, then that’s it, I’m a has-been. Also, at 23, I can sometimes think that I’ll be too old for that fashionable agency hiring fresh, young graduate blood.”
“Two words that are constantly pushed in front of most undergrads of any degree now are work experience. As good as your tutors are, their teachings are nothing compared to what you’ll learn in a professional environment. The long-term placements I’ve had with agencies and companies means that I already have a workplace history and a professional network. I’ve worked with the university magazine, in collaborative projects and exhibitions, and entered student awards, too. I’m hoping that so much involvement might give me an advantage over other graduates (and a real workplace has shown me that I’m still very young).”
“My visual communications course is very broad and the students in my class alone are so varied in the paths our work takes that lecturing us all about identity and branding in the same way would prove useless. In some ways, this isn’t a bad thing; it’s provided a “learn from each other” environment that has allowed us to work in our own ways, backed up all the way through with one-to-one tutorials from tutors. However, at the same time, I think it’s not left us with much technical background on the finer points of the “art of a logo,” for example.
“However much industry experience your tutor brings to the class, though, and however much confidence he or she gives you that your work is up to standard, you’ll never really have the confidence you get from a real client saying “yes” to their new identity. The course gave me the confidence to approach companies for work experience, and that work experience has given me the confidence to take on the freelance jobs I’m now getting.”
Nathan Sarlow, a freelance logo designer located in Detroit, Michigan, suggests that the education system could be altered to provide graduates with a greater understanding of the industry that they hope to inhibit in the future:
“It seems that the majority of people who graduate from design school come out with the same knowledge and a similar style. I personally feel that the education part of the design industry needs to be guided more by active designers and less by teachers (who used to be designers). This way, the students would be learning more about current “real world” design and not theoretical design that will only give them a false sense of their worth to the industry.”
My own design education is a little different, as I didn’t study a specific discipline of design, but it covered almost every aspect. This helped me to identify which area of design I wanted to focus on, but I think this broad scope hindered some people’s progress. Out of a class of 30, only 4 or 5 of the students went on to hold down an employed position within the industry.
What does the future hold for education in the field of logo design? We might see specialist courses that focus solely on the art of designing logos. We could even see branding and identity academies or colleges. Education can only be a good thing, but the fact remains that if you have artistic ability, you’ll have a great advantage over those who don’t who want to get into the industry.
The best form of education is working professionally in your field. You can read all the textbooks under the sun, but until it comes time to put what you know into practice, you won’t truly learn any of the tricks of the trade that matter. This applies to any industry, not just design. This is where I believe that designers without a formal education can really shine, because they have no predetermined opinions on how things should be done and can absorb real-world skills.
Keep learning
The great thing about design is that you will never stop learning. Art gives us the opportunity to explore new avenues of creativity with every new project that lands on our laps.
Mike Erickson recognizes that everyone, regardless of individual character and personality, has the capacity to continue learning throughout his or her design career:
I would say that I’m mostly a self-taught designer but I’ve always had a natural talent for art. I can remember being in art classes in college, and the instructor would ask me why as I was even in the class because he felt that the standard of the work I was producing was already beyond the teachings of the syllabus. But I was in the class because I feel that you can never stop learning—we learn something new every day, regardless of age or experience.
Kevin Burr believes that a mixture of both formal education and using his own initiative to learn new skills has helped him to forge a career in designing identities professionally:
In the grand scheme of things, if it weren’t for Belmont and my professor continually motivating me to follow my passion with logo and identity design, my own initiative to learn wouldn’t exist. It was there where I learned the fundamentals, which have helped pave the way to learning the intricate details of those fundamentals. I learned that I love logos and identity at school, and that’s more important to me than the daily learning I do now.”
I can honestly say that I have learned more about design and, in particular, logo design since I left university than I did during my time in school. That comes down to an awareness that in order to improve you can’t just sit and recite the things you already know. There will always be someone out there who is willing to push the boundaries of creativity, and you should be prepared to be that person.
In the next part we take a look at the rise of the web and it’s influences on the profession of logo design.
With the release of Windows 8 just around the corner it appears that a new logo has been leaked which is possibly the new identity for Microsoft’s flagship operating system. The design above is much simpler than the image we have been familiar with for over 20 years, with the primary colour being dropped completely. It seems that the ‘wave’ in the icon artwork has also been dropped in favour of a focus upon perspective. I would have to say that the new icon (if it is indeed is the new Windows logo) looks much more like a ‘window’ but is less unique than its predecessor.
Could this be a strategy to move the identity more in line with Apple’s simple design beliefs?
Many moons ago, when a lens flare was still a twinkle in Adobe’s eye, logos existed. There was no software to help or confuse a designer—just pure creativity using traditional tools. Over time, logo design has evolved, but the function of the logo has remained the same.
Logo design is changing so quickly that what was once viewed as a single element of graphic design is now recognised as its own separate industry and profession. These changes have meant that the people who design the logos have had to modify their design behaviors to keep up with the evolution.
In this appendix, I fill you in on the people who create the beloved logos we see every day. You’ll gain an understanding of just how far the industry has come since the inception of graphic design as a recognised profession. You’ll hear from a variety of designers about their thoughts on the industry today and where it’s headed.
Technology
The real roots of logo design technology are as simple as the human mind and a pencil, which are, of course, still used today. The only real difference between the first designers who picked up their pencils and the present-day industry is the introduction of the computer.
Leighton Hubbell, an award-winning logo designer from California has been designing logos since the late 1980s. He shared with me his view on how computers have become an essential part of the everyday life of a professional designer:
“Many significant changes have taken place in the design industry since I got my first job in 1987. When I started out, the use of the computer hadn’t really taken hold yet. In contrast, a good number of my colleagues now have never known design without a computer—and some, the Internet.”
There are arguments both for and against computers in the use of design, with some designers claiming that it stifles creativity and goes against some of the fundamental principles of design. Yet there is no denying that the computer has made the process ten times quicker. Computer software plays a pivotal role in logo design today, especially in the way in which a logo is reproduced. It is now impossible to design a logo effectively without the computer.
Software
Regardless of which computer software you use, there seems to be a new update every year—it can be difficult to keep up. The good news is that you don’t need the latest software in order to create a functional and successful logo. As long as the software you use is able to output vector graphics, that’s all that matters.
Steve Douglas, founder of The Logo Factory, a graphic design company based in Ontario, Canada, has a wealth of experience in the art of designing logos. I asked him how the tools he uses to create logos have changed since he first got into the profession:
“When I first started professionally, back in the early ’80s, we didn’t have access to computers and desktop publishing technology. My trained “skills” were in the use of Rubylith, Bainbridge board, Letraset, stat camera, galley type, ruling, and technical pens. When I entered the workforce as a junior graphic designer in 1980 (even back then there were very few full-time gigs for illustrators), desktop computers and desktop publishing were pretty well science-fiction. Everything was done by hand on acetate overlays. My first exposure to computer illustration and design was at home through the old Amiga platform in the mid ’80s.”
“I remember there were two “professional-level” design programs for the Amiga—Pro Draw (pretty well a poor man’s Illustrator) and Pro Page (similar to a very basic version of Quark)—and tooling around with them allowed me to understand the technical side of things. Fairly rudimentary stuff—only came with three fonts—but the basic principles (Bezier curves, kerning, and so on) still applied. I had a LaserJet printer that needed a PostScript interpreter cartridge to print anything, and downloading to the printer often took an hour per page. At the time, it was state-of-the-art. I remember telling my old boss that desktop publishing was going to change the way design was done. He laughed at me, telling me that computers were a passing fad.”
“That’s how many people looked upon computers as creative tools back in the day, so most “training” consisted of learning how to do things by yourself. I used the Amiga loyally until about ’95 (when it blew up) and I had to borrow money from my parents to buy a Macintosh. My first was a 6100/66 (the 66 referred to 66 megahertz processing power) and I had to borrow Photoshop and Illustrator from friends. In those days, Photoshop took about five minutes to fire up, there were no layers, and there was only one level of Undo. I stayed on top of the technology by reading books (the Internet wasn’t really in wide use) and by practicing. Lots of practice. I considered going back to night school for some courses, but I seemed to adapt fairly quickly, so I never bothered. Do I miss the old techniques? Sure. There was a certain amount of skill that was lost when the design industry moved from analog to digital.”
Mike Erickson AKA Logomotive based in California, believes that although the advancement of technology has helped, it hasn’t changed the fundamental practices of designing a logo:
“You can easily design a logo with tools as simple as a pencil or crayon. Of course you would have to turn it into a digital file but the bottom line is, you’re using the same tools. The effects in the software are the only things that really change the technology. Everything else remains unchanged. The vector formats, Bezier curves, color fills, and so on—they remain consistent. I’d rather use the same old pencil or program that gets the job done.”
This isn’t to say that software is evil and should be discredited. It has played an integral role in streamlining the workflow of logo designers. Luckily, designers have had multiple options as technology has evolved:
Adobe Illustrator: Adobe Illustrator is perhaps the most well-known vector graphics program due to the massive popularity of the Adobe Creative Suite. It was originally developed by Apple way back in 1986 when vector-ready software was still in its infancy. Having gone through more than 20 updated versions of the original package, Illustrator is now one of the established options on the market.
Macromedia Freehand: Some experienced designers still prefer to use Macromedia freehand, which is very similar in the functionality of Macromedia. No updates for Freehand have been provided since 2007 and none are planned thus far.
Corel Draw: Released three years after Illustrator, Corel Draw was provided as part of the Corel Corporation’s desktop publishing suite. Corel was the first vector software that I purchased in 1995, and it has come a long way since, with the program now in it’s 14th release.
Inkscape: Inkscape is a freeware application, available to everyone free of charge. As result, it’s becoming a more popular option for new designers.
Does this mean the death of the pencil?
With software being such an increasingly important part of the process, this question is a logical one. I’ve spoken to some designers who carry out the complete logo design process onscreen, bypassing the option for sketching using traditional media altogether.
Mike Erickson believes that the easy access to computers often leads to overuse and a premature reliability on the machine to do all the work for you:
“The younger generation has been brought up with computers as part of their everyday environment, so when it comes to design, they rely on the computer to do everything for them. In the old days, we did everything with the pencil and ink. All the art work had to be camera-ready, but it’s a lot different now—everything is digital. The pencil is mightier than the mouse.”
Ultimately, it would be foolish to think that the art of drawing would become completely extinct, but it’s partly dependent on the education that new designers receive and also any bad habits they may have picked up. You can easily design a logo without having to draw on paper, but I think that this opportunity for traditional artistic expression can only help to broaden a designer’s skill set, not to mention his mind.
In the next part we take a look at the importance of design education within logo design.
It seems it’s become more important than ever to show how a mark was constructed rather than the message behind the concept. Something I’ve noticed that is becoming more and more predominant is the incessant use of circular grids in logo design. The kind of grid I am talking about is not the golden ratio, but a peculiar obsession with the use of circles in order to form curves, shapes and even letterforms. It reminds me of this famous image by Leonardo Da Vinci, the Vitruvian Man:
Admittedly, looking at logo design construction grids is quite interesting, especially for more figurate marks that require extreme precision and are mainly based on simple shapes. There is also no denying that the golden ratio helps to improve balance. However, it seems that some designers seem to think that they now have to use a circular grid formula in order to create a great logo or dare I say it…get noticed by peers.
As a result some designs look odd at best, especially as not all curves are created using perfect circles, that’s what the pen tool is for. So my opinion is that circular grids do at times offer an advantage in rare circumstances but are not a definite process requirement.
Finally. It’s been 6 years since there has been a proper website on my home domain. You know how the old story goes, a cobbler never has time to mend his own shoes, and that has been the case for myself, hence the previous tongue-in-cheek placeholder. I’ve made a concerted effort to make some time to get the portfolio website up and running over the past couple of months, along with the great help from my brother, Dan, who has now joined me in collaboration. He will be working alongside me doing all the jobs I don’t like doing, such as web development and making my own food. This should allow us more time to focus on our own specialist areas and also raise the standard of work as a whole.
Have a poke around the site and I promise blog posts will be much more bountiful and commonplace in the future.
