I was recently shown a new fun initiative to help children who struggle to find the words to communicate over at www.adoptaword.co.uk.
The concept is simple, a £20 donation goes towards helping a great cause and in return you get an official adoption certificate for any word of your choice. As a designer, the decision was easy so I decided to plumb for “logo” which will take great pride on my wall in my office. They have a pretty cite logo too!
Ever heard the phrase “the great thing about opinions is that everyone has one”? Or is it bellybuttons? Either way, I love to get inside the minds of great thinkers and have gathered a selection of some thought provoking quotations from some of the most creative people to have ever lived. Enjoy.
Saul Bass
Milton Glaser
Albert Einstein
Pablo Picasso
Salvador Dali
Paul Rand
Ben Schneiderman
Alan Fletcher
Neville Brody
Erik Spiekermann
Leonardo Da Vinci
Aristotle
Barbara Kruger
Been a while since I’ve posted anything on the blog as the last month has been completely chaotic, but in a good way. The most notable and perhaps challenging projects that I have completed to date is the new identity for Lions & Lambs Media Group LLC. The brief was fairly simple, on paper at least, to incorporate a lambs head into a lions. And so voila, here is the final result.
If you are looking for a new creative logo or complete identity package contact me for a free quote.
If you’re a follower of football (that’s soccer for my stateside readers), and in particular the English Premier League then you may be familiar with the owner of Wigan Athletic Football Club. And even if you’re not then there is a chance that you have indirectly given him money before. Dave Whelan has been the chairman of Wigan for over 10 years, having successfully helped the team rise through the divisions by part of vigorous investment. But what the hell has any of that got to do with logo design?
Away from football Dave Whelan is one of the most important figures in the UK Sports Merchandise industry, having acquired the famous JJB Sports in the late 1970s. Since selling JJB Whelan has now ventured into the online market by founding DW Sports Fitness, and with that obviously came the important decision of how to brand the new company.
Above is the DW Sports Fitness logo, and whilst not particulary ground breaking in terms of style, layout or typography, the new brand makes a fantastic connection with it’s target audience. The biggest sports focused television channel in the UK is Sky Sports and has been broadcasting since the start of the nineties.
Now let’s take a look at both logos for a second. Do you notice any similarities? The subtle reference to the Sky Sports logo by choosing a similar palette and type treatment in the DW Sports Fitness logo makes the viewer subconsciensly remember the huge broadcasting giant, which in general is seen as a very trusted service provider. This connection means that there is no need for an illustrated sports icon, the type does it all. That’s why I think this logo is particularly clever, even though it contains no visual trick or cunning wordplay.
I’m off to go buy a new pair of trainers and stick Sky Sports News on the TV.
Really Good Logos Explained: Top Design Professionals Critique 500 Logos and Explain What Makes Them Work is available at Amazon, Borders & Waterstones.
Really Good Logos Explained is a logo inspiration book with a difference. The four authors each give their opinion on why every featured logo is successful but also offer constructive criticism as to how they can be improved.
The layout of Really Good Logos explained is what gives it an advantage over similar books. Each page displays a maximum of four logos, which allows the viewer to see greater detail in the designs due to the large showcased images.
However, at times the commentary from the authors is a little too negative and pompous. I’m not sure whether or not the examples in the ‘Not-so-good logos’ section are real or not, but if they are I feel this oversteps the mark of public design criticism.
I love nothing better than illustrating quirky concepts and they don’t get much quirkier than this. The lovely Angie from Gnomeangel got in touch seeking a new identity for her blog/etsy store and I was more than happy to oblige. The name Gnomeangel has a very interesting and unusual background as Angie explains:
And so there she is, the Gnomeangel. To find out more visit www.gnomeangel.com
Ever wondered if your country has a logo? Aside from national flags or state emblems, every nations tourist board has employed branding tacticts to entice new visitors to their land. Here’s a collection of logos you may see next time you’re planning a holiday…
After seeing these, which country would you most and least like to visit?
Many people underestimate the power of logos. Aside from acting as visual reminders for organisations they play an active role in advertising campaigns which seek to encourage the viewer to make an action. Through creative logo design the chances of an individual donating money to charities, giving up harmful vices or signing up to government initiatives could be increased. Below are 20 examples of great logos that make you think.
Donate Games – www.donategames.org
Mind, National Association for Mental Health – www.mind.org.uk
Goodwill Industries International – www.goodwill.org
Amnesty International – www.amnesty.org
Shelter – www.shelter.org.uk
NSPCC – www.nspcc.org.uk
British Heart Foundation – www.bhf.org.uk
WWF – www.wwf.org
UNICEF – www.unicef.org
The UK National Blood Service – www.blood.co.uk
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home – www.battersea.org.uk
Feeding America – www.feedingamerica.org
Actionaid – www.actionaid.org
Help The Aged – www.helptheaged.org.uk
Guide Dogs of America – www.guidedogsofamerica.org
NHS Smokefree – www.smokfree.nhs.uk
Recycle Now – www.recyclenow.com
Act on CO2 – www.actonco2.direct.gov.uk
Live Aid – www.live8live
Mencap – www.mencap.org.uk
We all take pride in our appearance. When preparing for a night out or an important meeting it’s common to pick out a new outfit specifically for the occasion, or to get a haircut to ensure that we look our best. Why? To impress our peers, of course, and to gain a sense of added confidence and self-pride.
Imagine a scenario where upon arriving at a meeting no one in attendance could be bothered to take care of his or her appearance. No suits, dresses, ties or classy handbags. What would you think? Would you be impressed? Would you do business with a scruffy looking fellow? Probably not.
First impressions last, and this applies to the appearance of businesses as well as its employees. The branding used by the business, in particular the logo, acts as the visual identity of the business. The logo should be unique so that it remains in the minds of the viewer. Memorable branding through effective graphic design can provide a business with a competitive advantage, and more often than not this is overlooked.
It is highly important that a serious business that wants to compete in the marketplace employs the design services of experienced graphic designers to ensure that they look professional in the eyes of prospective and existing clients. Rather than designing your logo yourself or using crowd-sourcing services, which will result in poor quality, it is ideal to contact a branding expert who can provide a solution unique to your requirements. What do you think your logo says about your business?
The highly acclaimed logo inspiration website Logo From Dreams is currently staging “Logo Designer Week” in which a different designer will be interviewed about logo design for each day. I was lucky enough to take part and was featured on Friday.
Click here for the full list of interviews .
Many thanks again to Sinisa from LFD for giving me this great opportunity.
Perhaps one of my favourite subjects related to graphic design is Semiotics. For those not familiar with the term here’s a quick definition from Wikipedia:
It’s important to consider Semiotics when developing corporate identities. Does it have any negative meanings? Is there any unwanted hidden imagery included in the design? The aptly titled “The Worst Logo Ever” is an example of what happens when the designer failed to look hard enough.
Whilst writing a recent post I made on the new Pepsi Logo called “The New Pepsi Logo Loves Fat Guys”; I got thinking about the semiotics of recent online brands, in particular those of crowdsourcing design websites. Here are my findings:
Take a look at the 99designs logo. At first glance it’s pretty innocent, but what exactly does it stand for? I hazard a guess that it can only resemble the sketching process, but personally I feel it looks like one of the squares on a Bingo card. This would make sense as entering a design competition is likened to playing the lottery.
The site that most designers love to hate is Crowdspring, you can see their logo here. The little spring-like character obviously visually communicates the brand name but let’s look a little closer. Could it look like a jack in the box? What does this say about the users of the site? Or the site owners?
The Brandstack logo can be found on their website. Previously known as Incspring, Brandstack has come under fire due to users uploading poor quality spin-offs of already established brands. I think that the new logo definately portrays the word “stack” but what else could it mean? Can it symbolise the current trend of regurgitating brands that look slightly different through slight changes such as execution or colour?
Let battle commence in the roman ampitheatre of logo disputes. Seriously though, let’s take a look at the Logo Tournament logo. It may just be me but when I look at a gold elipse I instantly think of money. Could this be a subliminal message to users to try and encourage them to enter designs in the hope of winning a small prize? Maybe.
What do you think of these logos? Am I being too analytical? Or did the brand owners fail to spot these flaws?
Below I present my favourite and most useful design articles for both designers and clients for the month of August 2009:
A pretty good list of helpful tips and advice for the aspiring PHP programmer.
Inspirational logos from the world of flight from years gone by.
The top WordPress plugins that any blog owner should consider installing.
This article lists the factors that determine whether your site is worth a mint.
A very interesting look at how some of the biggest brands have visually developed.
A more than generous list of design goodness.
A must read for any freelancer.
Not an article as such but a very inspirational packaging website.
A must say. The work featured here is truly stunning.
An article that features images that will leave you scratching your head.
