Martin Koss – thinking out loud…

Making a statement. Getting your message ‘out there’. Being recognisable. Describing ‘what you do’. An appropriate and memorable design. All thoughts that come to mind when we start thinking about logos for our businesses. But what is essential and what is ego?

Years ago (we can call them the ‘olden days’) it was cool to get the latest clever design embossed on your company business card and  if you were the first with some fancy 3D effect, well, wow, you were just the coolest. The web threw open the doors with more opportunities to go crazy and show-off a bit more with spinning logos, more elaborate 3D designs and shadows in all different directions – anything to ‘stand out’ from the crowd was now possible.

But still – while so many business owners were going for the ‘wow-factor’ there were (and still are) many of the internationally household-name brands keeping it simple.

Words that should come to mind when looking at your logo (or designing a new one) are:

1. Simple
2. Memorable
3. Timeless
4. Versatile
5. Appropriate
6. Distinctive
7. Recognition

In a recent conversation with Cyndi Papia (Office To-Go Virtual Assistant) we talked about how we (people in some level of branding / marketing / advertising – but not so much for those who do ‘designing’ for a living) try so hard to express on clients that the most important ‘thing’ you need out there is your name – your story – your people and (with the massive importance of social channels) your real personality.

Your logo is so not important when all the various impacting issues with marketing and branding are taken into consideration.

What do you think of when you think of Google? A word? Something we ‘do’? A search engine? A suite of really useful online tools? A global dominating brand?

Without looking, what is the colour of the second ‘o’ in Google? What about Amazon? Facebook? These are world leading brands without fancy logos. Google changes it’s ‘logo’ completely randomly because it’s the name that matters. AOL – it’s just 3 letters. Do they have a logo? I haven’t a clue.

So while Cyndi and I may have kept our discussion about logos extremely brief, there are many blog posts and websites that discuss the concepts and design issues of great logos, for example:

What makes an effective logo design

Answering the question “What makes an effective logo design” at http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/26/vital-tips-for-effective-logo-design/ there is a great discussion following Jacob’s initial post that includes “we first must understand what the main purpose of logos is. The design process must aim to make the logo immediately recognizable, inspiring trust, admiration, loyalty and an implied superiority.”

Well, I agree with all but the aim of ‘implied superiority’. Uniqueness over superiority for me any day. If we start relying on our logo to stake our claim for being ‘the best’ then we clearly aren’t demonstrating our superiority in our products or services.

Jacob goes on to say “The logo is one aspect of a company’s commercial brand or economic entity, and its shapes, colors, fonts, and images usually are strikingly different from other logo in the same market niche…”

These days – especially online – we remember the name. Not the logo. We remember the URL (the domain) not the colours or the site layout. We remember whether that website or supplier was reliable, useful to know, worth connecting with…

But do we remember the logo?

Vandelay Design discusses logos in brief at http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/design/10-examples-of-simple-effective-logos/ and, in one simple sentence, gets the discussion going with “a logo doesn’t need to be fancy to be effective. The purpose of a logo is branding and recognition”.

The comments are interesting too, with Athlete Nutrition reminding us how easy it is to “get to caught up in trying to make something fancy and forget the real purpose” and Caroline Middlebrook asking a good question about the examples used in the post; “Are those logos effective because of their simplicity, or simply because we know them so well? The Apple logo has evolved nicely over the years and is very ‘web 2.0′ but Google’s logo hmmm – would another company with a logo like Google’s fly now?”

At LogoLoveDesign, David Airey discusses 15 Wonderfully Simple Logo Designs (http://www.logodesignlove.com/15-wonderfully-simple-logo-designs) and spot on when he points out that “It’s no coincidence that the most memorable logo designs are also the most simple in appearance. You want the identities you create to be instantly recognisable, acting as a memorable identifier for the company they represent”.

As someone who encourages social interaction I also applaud David’s interaction within the comments on his blog. So many blog authors fail to get involved in the conversation they start.

David also has his own personal bog and a similar post about What Makes a Good Logo at http://www.davidairey.com/what-makes-a-good-logo/ and asks a very simple but relevant question for anyone trying to create that perfect logo “When it comes to seeing a logo that makes you wonder, “Why didn’t I think of that?” what is it about the design that gives that impression?”

In addition, there’s also an interesting look at Logo Design for Websites at http://www.webdesignfromscratch.com/web-design/logos/

Designing your own logo

Many small businesses owners design their own logo, for several reasons; they may not have the budget to hire a designer, being one of the main reasons. And for you guys, here’s a bit of advice:

When you create a logo design that you like, don’t accept it immediately. Take a step back from the design. Hide it away for a couple of hours, a day is ever better, and then make a note of your immediate reaction the next time you see it. That is close to what others will think. Did you love it the second time around. Did it say what you want it to say? Did you have questions about it?

Get feedback. I know creative folks like to wrap shackles around their work until they are 100% happy with it and ready to show it to the world but you need feedback. Your friends, family and colleagues may instantly ask questions that will make you think your way into a better design or think of a reason to make a minor tweak to get it just right.

Creating your business ‘image’ is one time that keeping your creation under wraps is not a good idea. Share it, expose it, invite feedback.

You are not the one who has to be impressed and you are not the one the branding is aimed at. What will it mean in the big bad world out there once it leaves your desk?

Thanks for reading this ‘mash-up’ of some interesting bits I came across during my own discussions about logo designs.

 

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