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Posts Tagged ‘Logos’

JS Graphics Wins International Davey Award

Friday, October 26th, 2012

The winners of The 2012 Davey Awards were announced by the International Academy of the Visual Arts on October 22, and we were very pleased to learn that JS Graphics, Inc. has been awarded a Silver Award for its logo design for Artigiano, a line of artisan breads from Traditional Breads of Lynn, MA. Traditional Breads wanted a product logo to convey the idea of breads and rolls hand-crafted in a European tradition. The logo will be used on all Artigiano packaging.

With nearly 4,000 entries from across the US and around the world, the Davey Awards honors the finest creative work from the best small firms, agencies andcompanies worldwide.

“This year’s winners truly represent a smart, nimble approach to creativity and embody the quick thinking, resourceful nature that make small agencies so unique” noted Linda Day, Executive Director of the IAVA. She added, “On behalf of the entire International Academy of Visual Arts, I want to thank this year’s Davey Awards entrants and winners for sharing their amazing capabilities and talents, allowing us to once again highlight the best small firms worldwide.”

The Davey Awards is judged and overseen by the International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA), a 200+ member organization of leading professionals from various disciplines of the visual arts dedicated to embracing progress and the evolving nature of traditional and interactive media. Current IAVA membership represents a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, advertising, and marketing firms including: Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Yahoo!, Estee Lauder, Wired, Insight Interactive, The Webby Awards, Bath & Body Works, Brandweek, Polo Ralph Lauren, ADWEEK, Alloy, Coach, iNDELIBLE, MTV, Victoria’s Secret, HBO, The Ellen Degeneres Show, and many others.

Tags: design, Logos
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What Makes a Logo Memorable?

Thursday, May 17th, 2012

It’s been said, and I agree, that your brand message should be easy enough for a child or your mother to understand. Applying that standard to the visual mark of a business, designer Alan Ladd shows his 5-year-old daughter logos she’s not familiar with for 5 seconds, then asks her to redraw them from memory. What parts of logos have the most lasting impression for her, and, by extension, to all of us? Check out his video:

Tags: branding, Corporate Identity, logo design, Logos
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Logo Design for Dummies – and Thieves

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

In the past few years, there has been a proliferation of DIY logo sites. Pay a fee, choose an icon from a library, add your business name in a font you like, and presto – a logo for your company! No annoying designer asking questions about your business and your clients, taking (in your mind) a long time to come up with options, charging (in your mind) an outrageous fee. What could be easier or more cost effective than doing it yourself?

Before you check these sites out, let me tell you a little more about the business practices of LogoGarden, one of these DIY sites, where, for $79, it’s literally a steal to get a logo.

(more…)

Tags: branding, copyright, Corporate Identity, fraud, logo design, Logos
Posted in Corporate Identity, Logos | 3 Comments »

I Love You Just The Way You Are or, When NOT to Rebrand

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

In my previous post, I highlighted five signs it may be time to rebrand your business. However, there are times when staying the course might be the best course of all.

When might a brand makeover NOT be advisable?

You have recently rebranded, but now you don’t like it or don’t think it’s working fast enough.
Branding is a long-term investment of time and money. You need time for your message and brand to stick. Rebranding frequently only confuses your customers. And, remember, it’s less important that you personally like it than it clicks with your customers! The best thing to do is to do it right the first time, but some busnesses don’t because…
You can’t afford it.
Make sure you have the resources in time and money to invest (branding is not a cost) in the future of your business before you start. If you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all, or wait until you can afford it.
Strong recognition for your brand already exists.
The GAP – just the most recent example of a business “fixing” something that wasn’t broken, to their own detriment and ridicule. People form emotional attachments to a visual brand, so you have to be careful not to mess with that.
New management, but no changes.
It may be tempting for new management to put their mark on an organization, but if there’s no change in how a company does business or what it offers, it makes no sense to rebrand.
Internal issues.
If your company’s issues are not market-related, then rebranding cannot fix what ails you. Postpone rebranding until internal problems are solved and you have a stronger business to present to your customers.

Tags: branding, logo design, Logos, marketing
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Are You Ready for a Brand Makeover?

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

It can be difficult this time of year to concentrate on the business of your business. But the new year is just around the corner, and giving some thought now to improving your business in the year ahead will pay big dividends.

Branding is sometimes thought of as just the look and feel of a business, but it’s more than that. It also encompasses its value proposition and core offering. The decision to rebrand is a serious one and can have far-reaching consequences, both good and bad.

So, what are some signs that it may be time for you to consider a brand makeover your business?

Decreasing customers and sales?
If you’re losing customers to your competition and/or you’re not attracting new ones, it’s time to think about how customers view your business. Have your offerings become irrelevant to your customers? Is your visual identity out-of-date and no longer attracting customers? Or are you …
Attracting the wrong kind of customers?
Rebranding can help your business make the switch to highlighting new benefits you will be offering a different target market. Your business also may be attracting the wrong customers if…
Look and function don’t match?
We’ve all seen the man or woman who dresses inappropriately for their age- it’s a real disconnect. It’s important to “dress” your business to attract your target customers AND reflect what your business offers.
Management change?
If this change means a new way of doing business, then it is an opportunity to show your customers that something is new and fresh.
A function or philosophical change?
If your business has a new way of doing business or a new offering (such as a hair salon now offering spa treatments), it may be a good time to consider rebranding.

Tags: branding, logo design, Logos, marketing
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Eight Steps to the Best Logo for Your Business

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

I’ve been asked by clients if logo design ideas come to me in a “flash of inspiration.” I wish! But like most other jobs, design is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. The process of designing a logo requires logical steps of listening, research, development, feedback and refinement to achieve the best results.

DEFINING THE CHALLENGE & UNDERSTANDING THE GOAL
Answers to questions like, Who is your target audience?, How does your company differ from the competition?, What words would you use to describe your ideal logo?, What other types of logos appeal to you?, help designers and clients get on the same page regarding what is expected of the new identity.
RESEARCH
Armed with this information from the client meeting, looking into what competitors are doing and getting a better feel for their market is the next step. This helps to understand what might and might not be appropriate for the overall message and feel that the successful logo will need to convey.
INSPIRATION
Here’s where the 10% happens! Often, after fact-gathering, designers “let it be” for a few days. Brainstorming, changing environment, asking Why?, and What if? help look at the logo challenge in new and different ways. It’s hard to be creative and critical at the same time, so the good, bad, and ugly are all included. Only when many concepts have been worked up do we proceed to…
REFINEMENT
This is when a critical eye is used, refining some ideas and rejecting others, going off on a tangent with another, and taking the viable sketches and translate them to a digital format. We present at least three different design approaches to the client for their initial feedback. All initial concepts presented are black-and-white, concentrating at this point on the form of the logo. A successful logo needs to work well in black-and-white as well as color.
CLIENT REVIEW & FEEDBACK
Client feedback should be implemented early and often in the design process. Collaborating with the client assures designing a logo that best represents them and their company.
REFINEMENT REDUX
After a client’s initial feedback, it’s back to the drawing board! Changes based on the feedback, possibly including a new approach as a result of reviewing the initial ideas, are all incorporated for the next client review.
ADDING COLOR
Once the final logo design has been agreed on, color palettes are developed for the logo. Again, it’s important to understand the client’s audience and industry in choosing appropriate colors for their identity. A client meeting is held to review the color concepts, and further color refinements are made if needed.
CLIENT FILES
Hooray…we have a winner and now it’s time to deliver the appropriate file formats to the client. These are what you should expect to receive from a designer: an EPS file of the logo in black-and-white and color, suitable for any reproduction use; a JPG and/or GIF file that is suitable for web use; a TIFF file (higher-quality than a JPG) and can be used in Microsoft Office programs. We also include a Logo Standards Guidelines, outlining the best practices for using the new logo in different situations.

Tags: branding, Corporate Identity, design, logo design, Logos
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The Democrats Unveil New Logo & Slogan. What Do You Think?!

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

The Democrats have apparently spared no expense or resources to create a new logo and slogan. (Note to the literal-minded: I’m joking!) In this video, Real Times’ Bill Maher shows he’s not partisan as he takes the logo to task and offers some alternate slogans that the Democrats might want to consider.

And on another front, The Atlantic accuses the Democrats of plagiarizing the logo from a small Ohio-based pizza chain. Change that matters, indeed!

Tags: branding, Corporate Identity, logo design, Logos
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KISSing for Good Logo Design?

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

You’re probably familiar with the K.I.S.S. Principle…Keep It Simple Stupid. Simplicity is an important design consideration when it comes to logos, too. The most successful logos are simple, memorable, timeless, versatile and appropriate.

Simple. When a logo is simple, it is an “easy read” and adaptable. Think of the Nike swoosh or McDonald’s. Besides the fact that there are millions of marketing dollars promoting their identity, the logos are still unique and effective.

Memorable. An effective logo needs to be memorable. Simple logos are highly memorable as well as very efficient in conveying the message that the client wants to get across. No one wants to work hard at deciphering what a logo is trying to say!

Timeless. Leave fashion trends to your wardrobe. A logo should be timeless—just as effective in 10 or 20 years as it is the day it was conceived. This is the public face of your business and if it looks dated in a few years…well, then, so will your company.

Versatile. One reason I design all logos first in black-and-white is because it needs to be just as effective in it’s simplest form as it does in a full-color brochure. Very complicated logos, or logos overly dependent on color to make them work, lose clarity when they are reproduced in one-color. A logo also should look just as good on a business card as it would on a billboard.

Appropriate. A logo should be appropriate for its intended purposes, i.e.; an undertaker’s logo wouldn’t use neon colors or a casual or childish font. It is also not critical that the logo actually show what a business does or sells. Apple Computer’s logo doesn’t show a computer…Toyota’s logo doesn’t show a car. A logo is for identification and when used consistently will become shorthand for the business.

Paul Rand, the iconic logo designer, said that, “It is only by association with a product, a service, a business, or a corporation that a logo takes on any real meaning. A logo derives its meaning and usefulness from the quality of that which it symbolizes. If a company is second rate, the logo will eventually be perceived as second rate.”

Are there other principles of good logo design that you think are important?

Tags: branding, design, Logos
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Fresh-Baked, Half-Baked or Leftover Logos? Which Do You Want for Your Business?

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

You may have noticed web sites that offer CHEAP! logos for your business, or a logo designed in only two hours. Often for less than the price of lunch, they claim to provide you with a “custom-designed” identity or offer you a choice from the submissions of dozens of designers.

However, if you think about this for more than a few seconds it should be apparent that creating a unique logo with no input from and little or no information about a business is an oxymoron at it’s best. Designing an effective identity for a company involves discovery, research, collaboration between designer and client, and the ability to interpret all of this into a workable creative solution that is uniquely representative of a company. When you remove this crucial interaction from the process, you also remove any hope that the final identity will stand out as the recognizable logo of one business and that business alone. There will be little meaningful flow of ideas between client and designer to create an identity that represents your company better…simply take it or leave it.

And that’s just the beginning. There’s no guarantee that the use of a logo from these sites won’t infringe on intellectual property rights—a company won’t be able to confidently trademark their own logo. There is the possibility that clip art may be used as part or all of the logo, and therefore may show up in other places for far different purposes than to represent the business. There is little protection that an available logo won’t be bought by someone else or altered so slightly for resale that the difference is negligible. Exclusive rights offered for logos will add considerably to the initial cost, and still won’t prevent a slight alteration to a purchased logo design so that it can be offered for sale again!

I received an email recently from one such service with the enticement to sell my “unused” logos for extra money on their site, i.e.; logos I’ve created for my clients that didn’t make the final cut. Leftovers being represented as unique logos to buyers?? I design identities carefully for each of my clients, and while every concept developed cannot be “the one,” they’re definitely weren’t designed with just any old business in mind. I honestly would not even know how to go about designing a generic logo…there is just so much a designer needs to know about the objectives and goals…culture and personality of the business, and the greater understanding that goes with the interchange between company and designer as the identity develops.

A logo is much more than just a pretty picture…it is the visual representation of a business—the face it presents to it’s clients consistently every day in many ways. Being true to that requires so much more than a few dollars, a few minutes on-line and the click of a mouse to fulfill. Isn’t your business worth more than that?

Tags: branding, costs, Creativity, design, Logos, pricing
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