Comments on: Sending a clear message in logo design

By: 熱水器

熱水器 — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 04:06:17 +0000

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By: Ian Cylkowski

Ian Cylkowski — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 19:36:02 +0000

A very sound argument for the return, or re-addressing, of simple and memorable logo design. Lovely article! =]

By: Hank Sword

Hank Sword — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:29:16 +0000

@EnriqueG,
I agree with the thought behind this comment but, i think if you look closer at the examples given, many of these companies did not start out with the current logos they now use. Most of the companies listed here became big iconic entities before they had the current logos they use. Once they became icons then they started using the current logos they now use. Kinda which came first the chicken or the egg?

By: modern Branding

modern Branding — Wed, 26 May 2010 10:45:01 +0000

Nice blog, thank you for sharing this. Hope to hear more from you.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 03 May 2010 13:51:54 +0000

Nice article ..as i am also associated with this business so i am well aware how useful this article really is..

By: Preston D Lee

Preston D Lee — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 14:13:13 +0000

@Laura M,
Thanks for your thoughts on the subject, Laura. Some nice thoughts there. Best regards.

By: Laura M

Laura M — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 03:09:30 +0000

Great article!

My thoughts on linking the logo design to the business? It’s the best way to go for small business. It makes advertising simpler to have one explicit logo with the business name rather than an ambiguous logo and then trying to put advertising icons on top of that.

Also, the target for Target isn’t in relation to the business function, but it is to the name, so you still think of the red target – and thus, the name – when you think of department stores.

Cheers ~Laura.

By: Design Def

Design Def — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:43:19 +0000

Nice post on ‘sending a clear message in logo design’.
I particularly liked the way you’ve explained each logo design tip separately with actual logo examples.

By: business logo design

business logo design — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 09:22:49 +0000

The good thing about your information is that it is explicit enough for students to grasp. Thanks for your efforts in spreading academic knowledge.

By: Promotional Products

Promotional Products — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:21:15 +0000

LOVED this article. As someone who works in the promotional products industry and has to deal with decoration techniques like screen printing (t-shirts, bags etc), pad printing (pens, golf balls, calculators) and embroidary, many of the logos we recieve are a nightmare to reproduce effectively. Even with these days of “web 2.0″ and 3d bezel logos etc, the most effective logos from the biggest companies in the world are almost always 1, 2 or 3 colours, no shading or half tones, and easy to reproduce clearly. Why many smaller companies trying to make it don’t realise this simple fact is beyond me!

By: snlr

snlr — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:13:46 +0000

Nice post! Especially your second point, where most people would probably consider both logos effective and “nice”.

I disagree on your first point though. The illustration on the left might not be the perfect logo, but it’s definetely better than the dot on the right. That’s a “logo” that exists 100 times in each country in the world, it would be impossible to tie it to your own company. You can think of Einstürzende Neubauten, or a government agency, some kind of red cross derivate … But if you run the one on the left through a threshold filter or make it really small, you can see that it is actually quite recognizable. There’s that disc with a little whatever on it, and a writing next to it. That sticks.

The FedEx logo is aways quoted for its excellency, but I think it’s worth the time to stress one fact: the excellency is that the designers were not forced to outline the arrow. Only a few people notice the arrow by themselves – it’s not the reason why the logo works for the company.

By: Daily Inspiration | Links #9 | Ikab-Mag

Daily Inspiration | Links #9 | Ikab-Mag — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:44:56 +0000

[...] Sending a clear message in logo design [...]

By: Inside the Webb

Inside the Webb — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:36:28 +0000

This has to be very similar to http://www.insidethewebb.com/

We use a transmitter as a logo, because we broadcast interviews and great apps throughout the web! This is how I created the logo for ITW, but you’ve got an awesome article here

By: EnriqueG

EnriqueG — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:21:45 +0000

@Rochelle Dancel, Exactly, a logo does not really need to say what a company does, Paul Rand said that it is only through relation with the company that a logo takes real meaning. Another great examples are Nike, Mercedes Benz, Peugeut, IBM, Nestle, etc.

By: emily

emily — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:51:27 +0000

re: FedEx.

“the designers?” Try Lindon Leader.

By: chopeh

chopeh — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:46:54 +0000

Like those above me, I agree with most of your points – apart from having the logo directly relating to your business. Take a look at the biggest and most successful brands in the world. You’ll find the vast majority of them don’t give any hints to what the actual company does.

I agree, an obvious link can be very clever, making the logo more memorable. But often tired or crude concepts are executed in logos that try and tie them directly to what the company does, making them look over complex and less legible.

I think its a common myth that needs to be destroyed.

If you can relate the logo to the service in a clever, simple and easy way – do it. If not – leave it well alone.

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:18:44 +0000

@michael soriano, I absolutely agree. Logos have to be able to be rendered in a multitude of environments, and while “web 2.0″ logos look nice on the web, it’s hard to for them to sometimes transfer easily to other mediums. A lot of times “flashy” and “complicated” are what clients want to see. They forget that it’s the company that makes the mark, no the other way around. I mean, really, is the UPS logo really that nice?

By: Rochelle Dancel

Rochelle Dancel — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:12:14 +0000

I have to say that I that don’t agree with having to have something in your logo directly related to your business; for example, the Apple logo has nothing to do with computers and the McDonalds logo has nothing to do with food.

I completely agree with your first and third points. Thank you for this article!

By: curtis

curtis — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:08:37 +0000

while i agree that a logo that communicates what the company it represents does is a good thing, i don’t think it’s always necessary.

take your own example, what does target do? sell archery equipment?

even nike’s logo doesn’t tell you what they do. sure, someone unfamiliar with nike could make some good guesses, but i doubt many would stick with athletic wear/equipment manufacturer.

By: Scott Anderson

Scott Anderson — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:08:10 +0000

I have loved the FedEx logo since the first time I noticed that negative space arrow on the side of one of their trucks on the freeway. Brilliant simplicity.

By: Razvan Popescu

Razvan Popescu — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:05:50 +0000

Excellent article, the type of article that should be “required reading” for clients that are looking for branding and logo design. A lot of “poor examples of work” are actually client driven.

By: Seb Green

Seb Green — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:01:59 +0000

I did not even notice the arrow in the fedex logo. neither did any of my colleges that i mentioned it to.

By: alyssa

alyssa — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:52:23 +0000

Wow, I love the concept to the FedEx logo. I’m usually pretty detail-oriented, but I never picked up on the arrow within the E and X. That’s intuitive and creative, I love that! Great post, very inspiring!

By: Jason

Jason — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:50:56 +0000

Nice concise article. I’d argue, however that the failure of the clearspring logo vs the pepper is tied to a lack of association from product to the name moreso than the design itself. I’d be curious to see a successful alternative to some failures.

By: Martin Duggan

Martin Duggan — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:49:48 +0000

Good post. I don’t think the issues are as black and white as you’ve put them here. For example, a company that needs to use the “Target” symbol will have to render it in a way that is vastly different to the dominant corporation that currently “owns” it. Rendering technology from clothing to signage is also much more advanced, so there is room to “embellish” a logo in the effort to achieve more individuality. With the millions of companies that exist in any given country, it’s important to be realistic about what the client’s boundaries are with regards to their logo/brand exposure and requirements for duplication. For example, I’m a freelance designer, I’ll NEVER print clothing with my logo on it. I’m a one-man show and thus will only ever have limited reach in contrast to a corporation or multinational. So, I would argue that there is more “room” for expressive illustration in logos for small SME’s than there is for multi-nationals, for obvious contrast. But I agree there are fundamental qualities any good/great logo should achieve. Distinctiveness, recognition/memorability, representative of services/products/group ethos would be the first boxes I would look to tick for logos I create.

By: Sending a clear message in logo design | Insomniac Drivel

Sending a clear message in logo design | Insomniac Drivel — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:21:07 +0000

[...] Read the full original article here 0 I like This! You should share this article! [...]

By: Preston D Lee

Preston D Lee — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:43:47 +0000

@Mike,
Thanks. Not sure what happened. We just had a short glitch. I appreciate your concern. The article should be back up now.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:32:26 +0000

where is the article?? It just says “the_content();”

By: michael soriano

michael soriano — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:43:40 +0000

You’re absolutely correct in your points. However, most clients don’t understand this principle – which is unfortunate. I start designing a logo that is simple, scales well, looks good in b/w or colored – but to them it’s “too simple”. They want all the “flash” of an illustration.

This article will come in handy the next time they want too fancy of a logo.

By: Preston D Lee

Preston D Lee — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:09:43 +0000

Christopher Burd,
I completely agree with you, it IS a big topic. I like to try to leave these sorts of articles open-ended so the great readers can add whatever insights they want. Who can help Christopher out here? Leave your thoughts as a comment below. ↓