What makes a good logo?

Very Well said, I think this is right on the mark.

What makes a good logo?

via Just Creative Design by Jacob Cass on 7/26/09

What makes a good logo? A good logo is distinctive, appropriate, practical, graphic, simple in form and conveys an intended message.

There are five principles that you should follow to ensure that this is so…

An effective logo is (in no particular order):

• Simple
• Memorable
• Timeless
• Versatile
• Appropriate

1. Simple

A simple logo design allows for easy recognition and allows the logo to be versatile & memorable. Good logos feature something unique without being overdrawn.

While in college in the mid-70’s an instructor introduced me to the K.I.S.S. Principle of design; which translates to: Keep It Simple, Stupid. It does convey a very important design consideration. Simple logos are often easily recognized, incredibly memorable and the most effective in conveying the requirements of the client. A refined and distilled identity will also catch the attention of a viewer zipping by signage at 70 miles per hour, on packaging on the crowded shelves of a store, or in any other vehicle used for advertising, marketing and promotion. Remember, the basis of the hugely effective international branding for the world’s largest shoe manufacturer is a very simple graphic swoosh.

~ Jeff Fisher

2. Memorable

Following closely behind the principle of simplicity, is that of memorability. An effective logo design should be memorable and this is achieved by having a simple, yet, appropriate logo.

You may be interested to see some examples of bad logo designs.

Surprising to many, the subject matter of a logo is of relatively little importance, and even appropriateness of content does not always play a significant role.

This does not imply that appropriateness is undesirable. It merely indicates that a one-to-one relationship between a symbol and what it symbolized is very often impossible to achieve and, under certain conditions, objectionable. Ultimately, the only mandate in the design of logos, it seems, is that they be distinctive, memorable, and clear.

~ Paul Rand

3. Timeless

An effective logo should be timeless – that is, it will stand the test of time. Will the logo still be effective in 10, 20, 50 years?

Leave trends to the fashion industry – Trends come and go, and when you’re talking about changing a pair of jeans, or buying a new dress, that’s fine, but where your brand identity is concerned, longevity is key. Don’t follow the pack. Stand out.

~ David Airey

Probably the best example of a timeless logo is the Coca-Cola logo… if you compare it to the Pepsi logo below, you can see just how effective creating a timeless logo can be. Notice how the Coca Cola logo has barely changed since 1885? That is timeless design.

Update: 8/08/09 – Underconsideration has posted an updated timeline of the Pepsi vs CocaCola logo. Thanks for the tip off Jon.

4. Versatile

An effective logo should be able to work across a variety of mediums and applications. For this reason a logo should be designed in vector format, to ensure that it can be scaled to any size. The logo should be able to work both in horizontal and vertical formats.

Ask yourself; is a logo still effective if:

• Printed in one colour?
• Printed on the something the size of a postage stamp?
• Printed on something as large as a billboard?
• Printed in reverse (ie. light logo on dark background)

One way around creating a versatile logo is to begin designing in black and white only. This allows one to focus on the concept and shape, rather than the subjective nature of colour. One must also remember printing costs – the more colors used, the more expensive it will be for the business over the long term.

I like to work first in black and white to ensure that the logo will look good in its simplest form. Color is very subjective and emotional. This can distract from the overall design – say if you saw your logo in all red, that color may be the first thing that you respond to and not the composition of the design elements. I will not even consider submitting color suggestions to a client for review until they have signed off on a final black and white logo.

~ Patrick Winfield

One should also familiarise themself with the commercial printing process so as not to come into printing problems further down the track. Learn to know the difference between the CMYK, Pantone and RGB color systems. When designing logos, the Pantone colour system is recommended.

5. Appropriate

How you position the logo should be appropriate for its intended purpose. For example, if you are designing a logo for children’s toys store, it would be appropriate to use a childish font & colour scheme. This would not be so appropriate for a law firm.

It is also important to state that that a logo doesn’t need to show what a business sells or offers as a service. ie. Car logos don’t need to show cars, computer logos don’t need to show computers. The Harley Davidson logo isn’t a motorcycle, nor is the Nokia logo a mobile phone. A logo is purely for identification.

For further evidence of this, take the top 50 brands of the world – 94% of the logos do not describe what the company does.

Paul Rand also has a say on this topic:

Should a logo be self-explanatory? It is only by association with a product, a service, a business, or a corporation that a logo takes on any real meaning. A logo derives its meaning and usefulness from the quality of that which it symbolizes. If a company is second rate, the logo will eventually be perceived as second rate. It is foolhardy to believe that a logo will do its job immediately, before an audience has been properly conditioned.

~ Paul Rand

What makes a great logo in your opinion?

Recommended logo design resources:

• The Ultimate List of Logo Design Resources
• Top 10 Logo Design Inspiration Galleries
• How NOT to design a logo

This is a taste of an article “Vital Tips for Effective Logo Design” that will be appearing on Smashing Magazine quite soon. Ensure you are subscribed to Smashing Magazine so you don’t miss out.

Posted via email from artisticapparel's posterous

The Process of T-Shirts Printing and How it's Done

Silk screen printing, as it is referred to, is actually a misleading term as the screens that are used in today's processes are usually synthetic. The uses of screen printing are far and wide and you will find the results of this most any place that you look. Signs and Banners, Labels, stickers, and of course t-shirts printing and textiles of all kinds have all been screen printed along with numerous other things that you may have never guessed.

History

The history of screen printing dates back to as early as the mid 900's AD during the Chinese Song Dynasty, and was also used by the Japanese in the 15^th and 16^th Centuries. As you can see screen printing has been around for a long time. While the supplies and equipment used have evolved over the years the same basic principal that was used so many years ago are still employed today.

Today's Process

The process all starts with computer generated artwork. Once we have the artwork, it is then separated by color into separate plates that are then printed onto transparencies or vellum using an ink jet or laser printer. In other words, if there are three colors in the design there will be three different transparencies or velums. Next, the screens which are stretched very tightly onto frames are coated with a photosensitive material called emulsion and dried in low light conditions to avoid exposing them. Once dry the transparencies that we have are applied to one side of the screen and then exposed to ultraviolet light. This hardens all the emulsion that is not behind the transparency and makes it water resistant. Once the exposure is complete the unexposed areas behind the transparency are washed out with high pressure spray leaving a stencil of that particular color in the design. This process needs to be completed for each color in the design and finally the completed screens are mounted on the machine and registered relative one to the other. Ink is applied to each screen and and forced through the stencil with the use of a rubber squeegee onto the material being printed. To complete the process the ink is cured in an oven.

Conclusion

As you can see the actual t-shirts printing process is quite labor intensive and there is much more involved than the average person realizes. From this description of the process it is easy to understand why many shops have minimum quantities for t-shirts printing orders.