Logo design tips

October 1, 2015 By James Alley

Logo Design Tips – Part 3

I wanted to share a few steps I use to help create a better logo. This is the final part 3 of 3.

Simplifying Logo Design

I tend to suffer from a bad case of wanting to put too much into a logo. I think this is a common because sometimes when clients approach me for a design they seem to have the same difficulty.

In more than one occurrence, clients have approached me and presented a paragraph describing a scene that incorporates such an elaborate concoction of elements it more closely resembles a renaissance painting than a logo.

Keep it simple stupid is the cliche an acronym, but seriously… it works.

One art director friend described it this way:

If a brand is the painting than the logo is just the artists signature in the corner”

That might be an oversimplification, I think the logo can be more than that. But it’s a good point. The key to simplicity is subtraction.

Take out everything that does not need to be there.
Logo design Feedback

Beauty is the eye of the beholder, I don’t know who said it but it’s not true.

As much as we would like to think the epitome of taste exudes from our every opinion on colour, shape, form and concept, this just isn’t the case.

Good feedback is essential.

Feedback on design work illuminates the shadows of our own pretense and provides perspective to own singular view. But the balance is important.

Too much feedback is unmanageable. I suggest limiting the feedback to a small group of key stakeholders and / or target demographics.

And of course, listen to feedback but take it all with a grain of salt.

September 4, 2015 By James Alley

Logo Design Tips – Part 2

Great logo design

I wanted to share a few steps I use to help create a better logo. This is part 2 of 3.

Good Logo Design Brief

This is so helpful to / for a designer. There are a bunch of different approaches to a good design brief and the best approach is a face to face meeting. But eater before a face to face, or instead of it’s important to ask the right questions to get a clear direction of where the design is heading.

This is an example of the brief I use – you are welcome to fill it out and I will send you back your questions and answers along with a quote for how much the design would cost.

Many of the questions for a logo design brief are obvious, but it might be helpful to read through and see if any help you.

Creative Logo design Brainstorm

Brainstorming is a great way to cover a lot of ground quickly. It helps you determine almost more importantly, what NOT to do more than what TO do.

The creative guru of good brainstorming in my opinion is Edward De Bono, and I would suggest Lateral thinking as a good area of research for understanding a lot of the principles inherent to the skill of brainstorming and creative thinking.

The approach I usually use though is to start with words, jumping from one word to the next and building clusters of words around themes that emerge.

From that point I will switch the brainstorming ideas, metaphors or concepts. They might be snatches of a phrase, lyric, or nonsense. It doesn’t matter because there are no “Bad” ideas.

I will then further extend the brainstorming session to incorporate quick comic or cartoon sketches of the ideas and metaphors and words.

I usually work on this process for a half to full hour and that gives me more than enough ideas to begin refining into a usable concept.

August 1, 2015 By James Alley

Logo Design Tips – Part 1

I wanted to share a few steps I use to help create a better logo. This is part 1 of 3.

Logo design and branding
There can be a lot of confusion around what “branding” is. Some people tend to think of it as a range of visual collateral that has the same look and feel. That’s a visual identity, and that’s a part of the brand, but the brand is something bigger.

In a nutshell, the brand is who others understand you to be.

And your logo is only a small facet of that. But understanding who you are, and what your brand is before you take the plunge to design (or redesign) your logo, is of paramount importance.

One great resource on branding would be the books ZAG and THE BRAND GAP:
Logo design research
The are a few helpful areas to research before designing a logo. Here are the two I find most helpful:

Competitors Logos

You need to spend time analysing the competition. A great tool to use for this is pinterest. You can set up pinterest boards that you can share with a designer later on. It’s good to ask a few questions such as:

What works and what do I like in a logo design
What does not work and what do I dislike in a logo design
Do I want to look similar to, or completely different from others in my industry or profession

Great Logo examples

Again, using pinterest can really help as you scour the depths of the internet for good examples of design. As yourself questions like:

What style of logo do I think suits my brand
What style of logo does NOT suit my brand
Think in terms of colour, form, typeface, shape and overall feeling

The idea behind research is to help you carve a niche and be authentic, not to duplicate an existing great idea.