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Logo Design Theory? What Logo Design Theory?
If you're a logo designer, you might have read some theories on logo design in books and on the web. There is no such thing!
1. In the real world...
When I started designing logos in 1997 I had recently finished a BA in fine art, so reading stacks on logo design theory seemed like a perfectly fine place to start.
But by the time I sold my very first logo, I realized that the skills needed in this business were nothing like what I had learned. Forget balance, form, texture, rythm, and just about all of the formal elements that they talk about in design schools.
In the real world, business owners want designs that...
- represent their companies
- are unique
- are easy to remember
That's what logos should do.
Just that.
Can you deliver that without getting stuck in logo design theory? You bet.
2. First, represent the company
In the old days logo designers who charged thousands of dollars would visit a company and talk to the owner, employees, customers and business partners to form an idea about the image of the company.
That was then.
Today's smaller, more streamlined business wants fast and affordable results.
How do you do that and still accurately respresent the company? Easy. Shift the "know-the-company" job to the business owner. After all, who knows the company better?
This requires a bit of a shift in the logo design process. What we do at Biz-Logo.com (and it really works) is to send multiple possible logos within 2 days of receiving the order. Based on the client's feedback, we send another batch of 4 to 8 logos two days later and so on. Very soon the client will start to steer the design in the right direction.
Communication is key here. Don't expect the client to do all the talking. Write warm, conversational, personal emails to the client. Guide him or her on the basics like legibility, color choices etc. and let him/her guide you on the tastes and preferences of the target audience.
3. Make it STICK.
When designers get to the point where they work on 10 or more logo projects all at once, they tend to fall into a groove. Pretty soon they develop shortcuts and standard tricks (just add a swoosh here and a line there and presto) that will hurt the client and the design firm in the long run.
The primary function of a logo is to stick in the mind of the target audience.
When it grows up, it needs to become a brand. Something people can immediately recognize. It sounds simple enough, but this is probably the hardest part of logo design. For a logo to stick, it has to be unique and simple.
Think about that one for a while...
Logo designers need to spend an hour or two a day just looking at pictures. With image search engines like http://images.google.com, that's easy enough. Take an hour before lunch and another one after lunch to feed on pictures. You may think that cuts away too much productive time. Try it though. I'll bet that the long break in the middle of the day plus the food for creativity will improve productivity.
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