Logo Design Guide
Logo Design Guide
Logo Design Guide
Without a brief and some insight into the organisation, its competition,
positioning, tone of voice, brand story and
proper upfront thinking youre essence tons of great stuff to get your Because
Intelligent
We make
Curious
always going to be on the back creative teeth stuck into.If such a document smart thinking
can change
Geeky
smart logistics
software that
doesnt exist, youll have to do some legwork
foot. Whether thats a simple how the world
Visionary
solves complex
yourself. Talk to your client (and preferably works
Objective
problems
one-page design brief or a get more than one persons perspective) Brave
highly sophisticated, probably about who they are, what they stand for, how
they see themselves and how theyd like their
expensive, brand strategy, you customers to see them.
need a clear purpose. Because With or without a brand strategy document,
without a strong framework its essential to start with a clear creative brief.
to build your brand marks on, Not just a few notes jotted down in the course
of a phone call or meeting. But a precise
theyll crumble and fall down. outline of the scope of work, what makes the Generico
Without some agreed criteria to judge organisation different and maybe even some
your designs against, it will come down to early direction on how they can be singled out Essence
someone sticking their finger in the air and from the crowd. Write this up yourself based Inspired Logic
saying Im not sure why, but I like that one. on early conversations with your client, or ask
them to write it. In either case, get them to Values
If theres a brand strategy report you can sign it off so that everyone knows where they Commitment. Flexibilty.
get hold off, youre off to a good start. With are and what to expect. Now lets get started,
Transformation. Accountability.
any luck, this should provide an intriguing were working for a company called Generico.
Personality
Intelligent. Curious. Geeky.
Brand strategy provides a central idea Visionary. Objective. Brave.
and blueprint on which great logo marks
are built. These are often developed as
a collaboration between the client, the
strategist and the designer.
Generico
Generico, a forward-thinking business, full of
super-smart people who challenge conventional
wisdom. It creates intelligent logistics software.
Direction
It makes complicated problems simple. But
Trusted Generico has hidden in the shadows for too long.
Following some serious investment, its time for
it to take its products to market and become a
more commercial beast. This project is all about
Strategic building a brand from scratch, not re-designing
Secure an existing one. Its a brilliant opportunity
to express what its all about. And a great
Conident opportunity to flex our creative muscles.
Focus How do we make Generico shine?
Control
Intelligent Creating a logo requires insight and intuition.
While insight can be achieved through
gathering and interpreting information,
intuition is more closely aligned to
experience and gut feel.
Consider Wordmarks
Can the brand personality
Letterforms
Could the companys initial
A logo in itself is not a brand. The term logo
is short for logotype, graphic designer speak
different types
be conveyed using purely (or initials) create a unique for a custom-lettered word. Logos is Greek
typographic means? branding device? for word. You can see why the term logo
caught on - its dead catchy. But what people
are usually referring to when they say logo
bigger picture
system across its entire
portfolio. For example, Virgin
Atlantic, Virgin Media, Virgin
Active and Virgin Money.
Before unleashing your creativity Sketching out the brand framework, before jumping
on your Mac, is always a good idea. It can really help
on logo ideas, its a good idea to to make sense of things, and clarify your thinking.
know where your logo fits into the Broadly speaking, the brand architecture of
bigger picture. Get to grips with most organisations falls into one of the following
Endorsed
The organisation owns a variety
the brand structure of the company categories, or is a hybrid of them.
of brands, each of which is
youre working with. No brand architecture is exactly the same, and no endorsed by the group name.
one architecture is better than another. Each has its For example, Shredded Wheat
Whats the fundamental framework of the own advantages and disadvantages. And nothing by Nestl, KitKat by Nestl and
organisation? Does it have sub-brands or a portfolio is set in stone - it can be appropriate to develop the Nescaf by Nestl.
of different products and services? How do these fit framework over a period of time, as circumstances
together? Is there a master brand, or several separate dictate. Theres an infinite amount of scope for
brands? Should different offerings feel like they are variation within each system, so experiment and
part of the same family? Or distant relatives? dont be afraid to offer up several alternatives to
Brand architecture, as its known, might not sound achieve the end goal.
like the most exciting aspect of logo design, but Branded
tackling this now can spare your blushes down The organisation owns
the line. And while this structure, along with its a number of brands or
associated internal politics, should have been sorted companies that appear
as part of the strategy work, your job as the designer to be unrelated. For example,
is to make sense of things visually. Vauxhall, Chevrolet,
Cadillac and Opel.
All General Motors brands.
1 2 3
Research tells us a lot about how the human brain processes Symbols can become incredibly recognisable through Our brains are hardwired to process
sensory information. Its mostly common sense, but worth exposure, so much so that some organisations have dropped distinctive shapes before colour and
serious consideration when designing brand marks. For their name entirely. Nike and Apple are two brilliant examples words. Symbols can become so instantly
recognisable that organisations are able
instance, we tend to acknowledge shapes before language, of this. Of our senses, sight plays the most significant role in
to drop their name altogether.
which might be worth bearing in mind if youre creating a logo our ability to recognise and remember a brand. So its worth
that needs to compete in a particularly congested sector. thinking about how the brain will process your logo designs:
But how do you stop things Use a pen, use a mouse, use whatever
medium you work fastest in. Quickly translate
rumbling on forever? your ideas onto the screen or page as soon as Letterforms Pictoral marks
Where do you draw the line? you can. These are sketches, and its about the
idea at this stage, so avoid too much fiddling
Its important to set yourself clear goals and
and tweaking. Always stop when you said that
a proper definitive deadline. For instance,
you would. Set aside time to properly review
commit to generating 10 type-only word
everything youve come up with, make a
marks in an hour, 20 letterforms in two hours,
shortlist for development, then move on.
or as many abstract symbols as you can in a
day. Then stick to your goal religiously.
Concentrate on ideas initially, not the
execution, and be sure to know when to
stop. Then apply quality control, narrow Emblems Abstract symbols
your focus and work up your preferred
logo designs for presentation
Refine, refine,
Step back and take a long, hard look at
Once the final logo design your masterpiece. Ensure its legible in all
colour variants and sizes. Check the spacing
has been selected, its easy to between characters and the relationship
between the symbol and type.
relax and take your eye off the
Create robust
master artwork
Logo Artwork Logo.eps
Logo.jpg
Fabrik Brands
www.fabrikbrands.com