Designing Award-winning Logos

LOGO DEVELOPMENT

LOGO DEVELOPMENT | TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. DEFINE Questions to ask answers to know before creating a logo

2. RESEARCH Gathering samples before creating a logo

3. METHOD Breaking down the logo-creation process

LOGO DEVELOPMENT | 1. DEFINE

THERE IS NO NEED FOR A 200-PAGE CREATIVE BRIEF, DEFINING A LOGO SHOULD BE EASY. JUST ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:

WHO? Who is the demographic?

WHAT? Is this a product, service, idea or person?

WHEN? Is time period/history relevant to logo? Every decade has characteristics/aesthetics that can be applied to a logo, e.g. logo for a French cafe may desire to have a 1920s feel versus a contemporary feel. A Greek restaurant may want to have historic columns from the Roman era in their logo, etc.

WHERE? Is location or environment important to logo?

WHY/HOW? Why/How should this logo appeal to our demographic? i.e.: A logo for kids toys should appeal to kids because that is our demographic.

COLORS Are there any colors your competitor uses regularly or any colors your company is associated with?

EXAMPLES Do you have any examples of logos you like? Dislike? Even if the examples have nothing to do with the industry, it’s still helpful to know your tastes and get examples of direct competitors.

WORD IMPORTANCE If there’s more than one word in the logo, which word is most important?

TYPOGRAPHIC OR ICONIC LOGO Is this a typographic (type only) or iconic (type and icon or just icon) logo? Typographic logos can usually be created quicker because you’re only designing type versus type and an icon (iconic).

LOGO DEVELOPMENT | 2. RESEARCH

GOING STRAIGHT TO THE COMPUTER TO START LOGO DESIGN HINDERS THE CREATION PROCESS. OPEN YOUR MIND TO GREAT DESIGN EXAMPLES AND BE AWARE OF THE BAD BEFORE YOU START.

GATHER GOOD LOGOS FOR REFERENCE Know the difference between good and bad logos. The best way to do that is to study logos in reputable resources (books/ websites) that specialize in great logo design.

Study good logos that fall within the industry as well as those that are outside the industry.

Create inspiration folders filled with screenshots of great logo design that you can pull up while you’re working on a logo project. RESOURCES: 1) logolounge.com (website) and logolounge (books) – This is the best logo reference resource in the world, but it costs $100 a year.)

2) logopond.com (website)

3) identitydesigned.com (website)

4) duffy.com (website)

BE AWARE OF COMPETITOR LOGOS Google competitor logos. Google shows no preference between bad and good logos. You want to be aware of everything that’s out there. Notice the clichés/nuances of the industry in order to avoid them. This allows you to think outside the industry norm in order to stand out.

LOGO DEVELOPMENT | 3. METHOD

2 TYPES OF LOGOS

Typographic: Logo using only type. Iconic: Logo using type and icon or just an icon.

1. 2.


TYPOGRAPHIC LOGOS

Typographic method 1: Any computer-generated type (non-modified).

Typographic method 2: Modified computer-generated type.

Typographic method 3: Hand-rendered type.


ICONIC LOGOS

Iconic Method 1: Using initial caps and acronyms as the icon.


ICONIC LOGOS

Iconic Method 2: Using specific input as a basis for the icon.


ICONIC LOGOS

Iconic Method 3: Using ideas/symbols from specific industries to create icon.

Designing Award-winning Logos

Marketing

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