Have you heard of the University of Mississippi? Even if the answer to that question is ‘no’, you have certainly heard of Ole Miss. This school is known throughout the nation by its distinctive nickname, and this nickname is the basis for the college’s logo design as well. However, the University of Mississippi is making some changes to their well-recognized college brand.

The chief marketing officer has left Ole Miss—no word on whether that was his decision or theirs—and the university is hiring a Jackson, Miss. agency to handle branding, according to a press release from the school. This signals that change is in store for the university brand and logo design.

The chief marketing officer had established a ‘University Brand Services’ department that was responsible for publications, public relations and other branded activities. This department will still be in existence, but the Ramey Agency will be consulting with it and acting as the ‘head’ of the department for the time being.

According to the school, the agency has been hired to ensure forward progress during the time period in which the school is without a chief marketing officer. However, we have to wonder if finances are not at least a part of the reason for the decision. In the current economy, many businesses are hiring their branding and university logo design services out to consultants because it is a much cheaper option.

Universities and schools are dealing with funding cuts as well, and looking for ways to be more streamlined in all of their operations. In addition, the agency may breathe new life into the school by bringing new perspective to their brand. Several of the Ramey Agency’s employees are grads of Ole Miss, so there is a good chance they will understand and embrace the brand.

The Ole Miss brand is an integral part of the school, and indeed one of the most recognizable branding elements that the university has to offer. According to the Ole Miss Chancellor, the agency has been hired to ‘ensure uninterrupted progress of promoting the Ole Miss brand and message’.

How will a drastic change in staff affect the Ole Miss brand? Will we see changed in the website, publicity materials, or even in the logo design? This is one brand that may not be ready for a modification. The Ole Miss logo design is simple and has been used for decades with success. People in the community recognize and respect both the name and the logo, and merchandise sales are high. It is one of the most recognizable brand entities to come from the state of Mississippi, in fact.

Change is always difficult, but sometimes it is necessary. So, yes, we predict that the new staff will be leading the University Brand Services in a new direction. Sorry, Ole Miss fans. We have a feeling that your college will be modernizing their logo design and shifting their brand to be a little less old (or is it ‘ole’?) and little more youthful to appeal to modern students.

We have seen a lot of super hero movies find great success in the theaters. The Green Lantern looks to be another in that line opening in the number one slot with over fifty million in ticket sales the first weekend alone. We won’t comment on the quality of the movie or the lack thereof; we are here to talk about logo designs and marketing.

The Green Lantern was a little over-hyped; advertisements and marketing for the film seemed to be ubiquitous, especially in the week immediately preceding the premiere. Once the movie opened, we assumed the marketing onslaught was over, when in fact it was only beginning. The movie has what must be a record number of product placements.

First, there is LG, which is the film’s “partner” and the main sponsor of the “green carpet” premiere. Then there is Verizon, which is shown in so many contexts throughout the movie that it starts to get a little ridiculous. However, the most gratuitous product placement is that of Hot Wheels. That’s right: the little metal cars are one of the main stars of the movie. In one scene, the Green Lantern turns a helicopter in a Hot Wheels car that moves down a Hot Wheels track. If it seems gratuitous, well, it feels that way as well.

What else feels gratuitous? Let’s start with the fact that every car in the movie seems to bear a Chrysler Daimler logo. The Dodge Challenger is a great choice, but it would be better if we weren’t already aware of the fact that the car maker is a major sponsor of the film.

Subway is another sponsor that just doesn’t feel right. But it is not the last. Apple, Puma, Ray-Ban, and every beer maker we can think of offhand have paid to have their products featured in this movie. Apple denies paying for placements, but this movie makes that assertion downright ridiculous. Dell is another major sponsor, pitting the Mac and the PC against each other on the big screen.

Product placement is not evil; in fact, it is a great way for manufacturers to get exposure for their logos while movies get a little extra cash as well. However, it seems to be getting a little gratuitous, especially in super hero movies. First, these movies always make plenty of money, so there is no reason to ruin the quality of the work with endless and at times nonsensical logos. Second, the logos really do get in the way of the plot movement, especially in scenes such as the Hot Wheels one, where the scene was obviously written just for the placement. Last, we like a little integrity in our art. If the Dodge is truly the perfect choice in vehicle (and this cool, retro car just might be!), then why not choose it and then go after the endorsement fees. The Green Lantern was not entirely bad, but it felt like a 100+ minute commercial. A great commercial, but a commercial still.

There is always that chance of being ‘discovered’ by a famous music producer, but for most musicians, the road to success is a long and challenging one. Thanks to the internet and social networking, musicians do not have to sit and wait for their big break.

Website Reviewed: The Generaters

Website URL: http://www.thegeneraters.com/

Designer: inkyspotmedia.co.uk

This website features a black background that allows the band to offer a variety of video and images without being offensively cluttered. This background also features photos of the band members and the rock band logo design or music logo, which build the Generaters brand. You can find general information in two different ways: from accessing the task bar at the top of the landing page, or by scrolling down. This tactic allows visitors to get what they need quickly while also encouraging browsing.

Building the Generaters brand is important for several reasons. First, the brand gives customers a firm idea of what type of performance to expect. Second, it helps the brand build their name by making them a more recognizable entity. In this case, the band has created a blog and social networking presences that make their website a well-rounded presence and an excellent marketing tool. This is important because the band itself is a little unusual, with members of varying ages and a variety of genres represented.

This website not only includes actual video of the band, it also includes a ‘So How Did We Do?’ section that offers feedback on the band. It’s a little suspicious that there are absolutely no negative reviews—even the best bands cannot please everyone—but it nonetheless allows potential customers to see that other people have had good experiences. The Twitter feed on the page fulfills the same purpose.

CSS web design contributes to this website by allowing it to have an easily navigable design that is attractive and consistent in tone.

Creativity: 5 stars. This is a solid website with a variety of useful elements, and it is appropriate to the band brand as well. We especially enjoy the way the very top of the landing page ties into the band logo.

Ease of use: 4 stars. Allowing people to access information through a variety of ways is a good strategy. In addition, the information is organized into logical categories that create a better overall browsing experience. However, we found that it is easy to get ‘lost’ in this website. A bar that lets you know what category you are in would help immensely.

Functionality: 4 stars. There are ample social networking links, but they are placed at the bottom of a very long page where few people will find them.

Content: 4 stars. There are several errors in the text throughout the website. These are distracting and detract from the otherwise professional feeling of the site.

Appropriateness: 5 stars. All aspects of this website tie into the band’s brand and help to build a very positive impression. This site will function well in the future as an informative and marketing tool.

Overall: 4.4 out of 5 stars.

This site makes a remarkable first impression; where many charities focus on the need (via sympathy-inducing photos and information), Head2Heart is a website that promotes instead how easy it is to make a meaningful difference in the world. Run by nonprofit organization Collyde, the website presents charity as a twelve-step program to take you through the long journey from your head to your heart.

Website Reviewed: Head2Heart

Website URL: http://www.head2heart.us/

Designer: heycanvas.com

The twelve steps in question are presented as a long path that takes you horizontally through the website, from awareness of the causes being supported to awareness of the organization to actually giving. The website is rather long, but it is simple and graphically designed to make for easy browsing. In addition, the website includes a bar below that allows visitors to jump forward and backward in the steps. This bar also gives links to the causes supported by the website (apparently the nonprofit has partnered with other charities in creating this website), to contact information, and to ways of supporting the campaign. Multiple methods of support are listed, enabling people who cannot write a check immediately to become long term supporters who will likely give in the future.

Obviously a lot of thought has been given to branding and image here. The charity logo of Head2Heart works well with the website and vice-versa. The earthy background has a home grown, grass roots feeling while also allowing important elements to be highlighted by placing them in bold, brightly colored lettering. This also allows the page to present a huge amount of information without appearing cluttered or busy.

Overall, a very youthful and ‘active’ brand is promoted here. The web design and graphic design combined make for a usable site that you will actually want to use. Head2Heart is an ‘outside the box’ website that is unconventional without being too far out.

Creativity: 5 stars. Creating a long page with a horizontal rotation rather than a vertical one is definitely creative. It makes for an interesting and compelling brand.

Ease of use: 4 stars. It is easy both to scroll through the website and to access it piece-by-piece through the numbered steps in the navigation bar. Placing the steps below the ‘path’ rather than above or to the left subconsciously nudges people to explore the site rather than simply clicking on the links. However, including text describing each step in the bar rather than just a number would ensure that no one has to search for the info they seek.

Functionality: 5 stars. This website is connected to related social networking websites and also to the charities being promoted. The design makes it very easy for people to give money either now or in the future. Further, the whole website functions as a ‘call to action’.

Content: 4 stars. The content is thought provoking and well-written. However, there needs to be an ‘about’ page—large amounts of technical information such as tax status are included in the path and seem like too much detail for that context.

Appropriateness: 5 stars. This web page was designed with its cause and its brand in mind.

Overall: 4.6 out of 5 stars.

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Negative feedback is one of the only constants of the small business world. If your company deals with people, you can bet that some of them will be unhappy, no matter how hard you try to please them. If your brand has a sizeable online presence, you can bet that a lot of this criticism will be on the internet, where just about anyone can see it. Even worse, competitors often leave negative comments about competing businesses to give themselves an advantage. You need to know what is being written about your small business on the internet so you can control it—but how?

Luckily, there are a variety of ways to keep tabs on your small business brand. Some of the options on this list are free, while others cost money, but what they all have in common is security for the small business brand you have worked so hard to create.

1. Work the blog circuit.

   People routinely mention companies that they deal with on their blogs, and this can be positive or negative. You can monitor buzz on the blogosphere in a variety of ways. First, you can get a Delicious account, which is completely free. This will allow you to easily see what others are blogging about you. Second, you should register both your personal and corporate blogs on Technorati, which is basically a blog search engine. This website, which is also completely free, tracks “blog reactions” and other vital information being shared about your company.

2. Get search engine alerts.

   Search engine alerts tell you when new information has been posted anywhere on the internet for a given search term. We recommend that you use these to see what is being said out there about your small business. Google Alerts and Yahoo! Pipes are both free tools that notify you when you are mentioned on the internet.

3. Monitor social networking.

   More and more, social networks are where people speak their minds to friends and family. Unfortunately, many of these comments are viewable and searchable by just about anyone. Twitter is easy to monitor thanks to Twitter search, but you can also get updates from TweetBeep and similar Twitter monitoring services. Social Mention will give you similar information from almost all social networking sites including YouTube and Flickr.

4. Get updates on discussion boards.

   Discussion boards, just like blogs and social networking accounts, are a place where people openly discuss their opinions. This means that you have an opportunity to see what your customers really think. Boardtracker.com is a free tool that instantly alerts you when you are mentioned on a discussion board.

5. Comprehensive programs.

   There are many programs on the internet that will monitor your brand image through a variety of channels and sift through the results to find ones that are significant. The best known of these are Buzzlogic, Radian6, Trackur, and Reputation Defender. These are all good, legit companies, each with benefits and drawbacks. However, they all cost money, from nominal amounts to pretty substantial sums. As your business grows, you will have to decide how much time and money monitoring your reputation is worth and implement plans that fit your needs.

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Like many sports teams, the Tampa Bay Lightning has an athletic logo design that represents the players in their communities and at games. The professional hockey team recently adopted a new logo that, while similar to the old one, seems to lack the power of the original. Is simple always the best choice? Is the new logo design an epic fail or a hands-down win? Here are a few of the pros and cons that we see in this redesign.

Simpler Design

Pros: One of the first things that we noticed about the new Tampa Bay Lightning logo is that is that it has dropped most of the details of the former design. The beveling and multi-colored accents have been abandoned for clean lines and a single blue hue. Simple logo designs tend to last longer and be more memorable. In addition, they are easier to place in a variety of sizes on a variety of media—this one will work on everything from billboards to hockey pucks. The single color means lower printing costs as well.

Cons: Sometimes a few details are needed to create a well-rounded brand. The new logo is so simple it might actually be yawn-inducing. The old logo design was not unnecessarily complicated or difficult to remember; the details actually gave it character. Further, it offered a color palette for the brand. Is one color really enough to represent all of the team’s activities and merchandise?

New Font

Pros: The new font is definitely easy to read and easy to remember. Further, the lettering is placed above the image rather than on top of it. The use of negative space creates a more modern feeling.

Cons: The old font played on a sense of movement, with more angling and an extended tail on the capital B in Bay. If you look closely, the letters reflect the angle of the lightning bolt. The new font seems to have a few design defects as well—the letters have slightly different thicknesses and the spacing feels awkward. There was nothing really wrong with the old lettering; couldn’t they have simply modified it to work better in the new monochrome palette? Text based logo designs are quite a challenge to brand properly.

Modified Shape

Pros: The circle has been flattened to an oval to give a sense of movement that the former shape was lacking. It looks like a hockey puck coming at you, which is very appropriate for the genre. Further, the new shape fits well with the angled lightning. The way the circle is ‘broken’ as it meets the lightning helps to emphasize the design.

Cons: The circle is an inclusive shape that gives a friendly feeling to the rather harsh and jagged lightning image. The new design lacks this quality and thus loses some of its crowd appeal.

Rebranding and adopting a new logo design is always a risky process. In this case, we have to question whether the new design will be a source of team pride and inspiration. Ultimately, the answers lie with the team and their fans.

Logo design is a field that is constantly changing. There was a time when logos were limited to print media, but television changed that forever. Suddenly these corporate designs had to look good on a flickering screen as well as on the company stationery. Fast forward a few decades, and the internet became the new and most exciting place for a logo design to be displayed. Most people assumed that the web was the limit, along came smartphones, Kindles, and other handheld devices, each presenting new challenges and new opportunities.

Just when you thought there were no unexplored frontiers for logos and marketing, Dr. Edward Johnson of the Microbiology and Molecular Cell Biology department at Eastern Virginia Medical School and doctoral student Clayton Wright have discovered a new and interesting medium: bacteria. The pair have grown a Google logo in colorful bacteria and published a film about the process.

Science and marketing have been partners for some time, but rarely is the intersection between the two fields so clear. Dr. Johnson’s son produced a video about the growth of the Google bacteria, which the scientists hope will inspire young gifted students to become tomorrow’s scientific colleagues.

One of the main benefits of the Google logo is that it is simple and basic enough to be easily recognizable in just about any media and scale. Indeed, it is still easy to pick out the signature letters even on a petri dish. While most logos will never meet this platform, it brings up important questions for Google’s competitors and any type of business. How recognizable is your brand? Could consumers readily identify it and associate it with your business if they saw it in a very small piece of clip art, in black and white, or even when spelled out by bacteria?

These questions form some of the most daunting challenges for the modern logo designer. A logo still needs to look great on paper, but it must be versatile enough to seamlessly make the jump to animated media and the web. While bacteria will never become the preferred method of marketing—we hope—your brand should still be familiar when spelled out by colorful microorganisms.

Why the Google logo? Aren’t there hundreds of logo designs with a similarly distinctive shape? Here are a few of our thoughts on why the Google logo was chosen for this experiment. First, it has a recognizable color palette. Second, it is basic enough that just its general shape brings up mental images of the world’s favorite search engine. Last, there is a definite geeky ‘cool factor’ to Google’s brand, enough so that seeing the logo on agar simply makes sense.

If your logo design is not passing the screen test (much less the bacteria test), it is not too late. Talk to a professional logo designer about how you can have a design that is simple yet distinctive enough to build your business brand to wherever you want to take it.

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Website Name: My Rip Curl Shop

Website Address: http://www.myripcurlshop.com/

Rip Curl is a major surfing brand that has withstood the test of time. As such, we expected their new European CSS website to be top-notch. We were happy with what we found.

Simple black and white colors in the background allow the company to use brightly colored accents as well as a constantly rotating set of photographs to build brand recognition. While this is not the brand website, but rather a shopping destination, branding is still very important in this industry.

The photographs are important because they show the range of products that the company offers. While Rip Curl is associated with surfing, they also offer a wide range of clothing for skiing and snowboarding, which is more popular than surfing in Europe. The clothing is shown in unusual circumstances: a man swimming in arctic waters wearing a Rip Curl wet suit for example, or travelers in the third world wearing the brand’s t-shirts and board shorts. The company clearly separates itself from brands that are aimed exclusively at surfing, presenting Rip Curl as a more well-rounded and versatile brand.

It is easy to navigate to the styles and sizes that you need at this website, even if you don’t speak the language (in this case, French). Because there are a variety of languages spoken in Europe, we looked in vain for a button that allows changing the language of the site. Alas, we never found it. However, this is just one small error in an overall well-built website.

A variety of shipping and payment options are shown at the bottom of every page. This is important in a website that is reaching out to several different countries. It is easy for shoppers to see, before they even begin shopping, that they will be able to pay for and receive the goods they select.

Creativity: 4 stars. One creative and interesting accent is the way a colorful and bright website has been created from a primarily black and white color scheme. These basic hues “ground” the rest of the website and keep it from being too busy or even tacky.

Ease of use: 5 stars. It’s easy enough to navigate the website and find what you need, even with our limited grasp of the French language.

Functionality: 4 stars. We appreciate the way the brand is upfront about the many payment venues and shipping companies that they use; it keeps people from wasting their time. However, there are no links to social networking and other similar sites. It should be easy to become a long term fan of this company, and the lack of social media buttons will make it easy for people to forget about them.

Content: Not rated due to foreign language

Appropriateness: 5 stars. It’s hard to imagine a website more appropriate for this outdoorsy and youthful brand. It is well targeted, but also well rounded enough to represent a variety of products for a variety of people.

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Image via Wikipedia

Politics in the United States used to be so simple. You were either a Democrat or a Republican, or rarely somewhere in the middle ground that we call ‘independent’. Sure, there were smaller parties, but none prominent enough to be the third party that many call for very four years or so.

However, this is quickly changing. The last election brought several Tea Party endorsed candidates, showing that Americans more and more are looking for an alternative to red and blue politics. Mayor Bloomberg and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) are hopping on the trend to reject the two party system with a nonprofit political organization called “No Labels,” which plans to push for a new era in national politics with the slogan, “No Labels. Not Left. Not Right. Forward.” The claim is that the organization will finance and endorse candidates all over the political spectrum that are for non-partisan (or bipartisan) change. It should be noted that the people involved are mainly left wing and that many have claimed that this is the beginning of a Progressive movement rather than a bipartisan one.

Like all nonprofits hoping for success, the No Labels organization has a logo design. However, this logo design has called more attention to the organization than its goals, because it is strikingly similar to a political organization logo used by another organization known as More Party Animals, which has a similar goal of creating more choice in American politics.

Both logo designs feature the outlines of various animals (with both elephant and donkey conspicuously absent) in both red and blue. While the No Labels group claims that the similarity is a misunderstanding and due to using the same piece of clipart, More Party Animals had the image designed specifically for their organization and states that the image is neither clipart nor available for public use. In other words, the picture was stolen, although perhaps on accident.

This development comes at an interesting time, because Bloomberg has been making speeches in support of prosecuting intellectual property crimes. In addition, the other New York senator is pushing to give the fashion industry copyright protection to protect new designs and political party logos. Intellectual property and its protection are two of the hottest topics of our times, and most politicians weigh in only to support stricter protections for these rights. The irony of this situation needs no explanation.

The No Labels organization immediately stopped using the image, but the implication for other nonprofits, and indeed all other businesses, is clear. Don’t use clipart in your logo design or in any other marketing materials. You just may be inadvertently stealing from someone else and putting your new business in legal jeopardy. At the very least, you’ll need to reprint a lot of stationery and t-shirts! If you need a design, talk to a graphic designer today for the original and high quality image that your company deserves. Whether you are looking for a nonprofit logo design or a small business logo design, originality is everything.

Your business card is more than a handy way for people to remember your telephone number. It is a reflection of your company brand that your customers can hold in their hands and carry with them. At times, it is the first thing that they see. For these reasons and more, it is important to have a business card that is the very best it can be. Here are five things to think about when choosing a business card design.

1. Work with a professional. While there are many ‘do it yourself’ business card companies offering cheap printing, cheap and easy is not always the best option. It is easy enough to spot one of these business cards, and they say nothing good about your business. Work with a professional designer, ideally the one who is designing your logo and the rest of your letterhead, and get the first impression that your business deserves.
2. Choose information carefully. You don’t want for your business card to be too crowded, but you need to include important information about your business. This means your logo, your business name (if it is not already included in your logo), and pertinent contact information. Exactly which contact information to include depends on your business; your phone number and email address are a given, and you may want to include a fax number, a physical address, and a website address if these are likely to be important to the people who receive your card. However, there should not be so much information that you break the next rule.
3. Conserve white space. What isn’t on your business card is just as important as what is on it. White space is crucial to the readability of your card as well as to your brand. White space makes a business card attractive, and if it is used effectively it will affect which parts of your card are read first.
4. Keep it simple. Although you may be tempted to go creative on your business card design—it’s a branding tool, after all—you should resist the urge to be too unconventional. Keep your type in a moderate size and arrange elements so that they are easy to read. While unusual business card shapes may sound like an original idea, the shape of most business card holders makes this an impractical idea. The same goes for printing on the back of business cards—in most cases, it will never be seen. In most cases, staying with a traditional 3 ½ by 2 inch size and a standard format is the best idea. However, you should listen first and foremost to your graphic designer on this issue.
5. Buy high quality printing. Once you have invested in a business card design that works, don’t sell yourself short by ruining it with subpar printing. Invest in a high quality print job on quality cardstock. This will not ensure that your cards withstand the test of time in pockets, wallets, desk drawers, and all of the other places that business cards seem to end up, it will help make your brand synonymous with quality and value.

What would it mean for your company if you could add 25% to every single sale? If you learn to up-sell, this daydream could become reality. Not only will up-selling increase your business’s profits, it will allow your customers to purchase other items that they need. This business strategy can be a true win-win situation once you learn how to do it correctly. Here are five strategies that have been proven to increase your chances of increasing a sale.

1 Offer bundles or packages that go together logically.

We see this all the time in telephone and communication services. When you purchase voice, text, and data services together, you receive a ‘package price’ which is more reasonable than buying the products separately. You get more services, the company gets more business, and everyone is happy. Think about what products and services in your business go logically together and how you can bundle them for increased sales.

2 Offer peripherals and accessories at the time of sale.

If an item needs batteries, you should offer them. Same goes for gift bags, warrantees, and other needful things. Make it a practice to always offer these items to customers at checkout. There is a good chance they will be bought anyway—why shouldn’t your business get the sale? These small purchases may not seem like a lot, but they can add considerably to your bottom line.

3 Offer an upgrade.

Once a customer has committed to a sale, it is only a short leap to commit to a slightly larger sale. We all like to get the more deluxe, more luxurious item. If your business offers one of these, now is the time to make your case. Be sure to mention not how much it costs, but how much ‘more’ it costs. Fifteen dollars more doesn’t sound like a lot, although the total might give a customer sticker shock.

4 Make a deal.

Customers often will buy more—at times much, much more—if they think that it gets them a better overall deal. You can offer complimentary gifts with purchase, quantity discounts, or just about any deal that has been shown to entice them. Get creative and think about ways you can offer perceived value that costs you very little in the long run. Be sure it’s a deal you can offer on a regular basis without hurting your profit margin, as your customers will be sure to tell friends and acquaintances about their killer deal.

5 Do the math.

Keep careful track of what up-sell strategies are working best for your business. This will allow you to offer expanded selections in these areas and develop a custom up-sell strategy that is just perfect for your business and your customer base.

We’ve all fallen for up-selling, sometimes knowingly when the up-sell was advantageous for everyone involved. Offering these types of win-win situations can help your business succeed and ensure that your customers have everything they need to enjoy your products and services to the fullest.

Branding has become such an important part of business that there are now a wide range of words and phrases that refer specifically to this subject, such as ‘re-branding a new logo’. However, there is no word (yet) for a growing trend: re-adopting your company’s old visual identity. The Museum of Contemporary Art is just one company that has decided to go back to the past—and future—when it comes to museum logo design.

Many trends seem to cycle. For instance, in fashion we are seeing many of the neon hues and silhouettes that were once identified as being hopelessly ‘eighties’. Many fashion logos coming out of top design houses evoke retro style in color, shape, and other aspects. For a company with a long history, this presents an interesting dilemma: can an older logo, abandoned long ago, be adopted once again?

Companies wondering if this can be a successful strategy can look to businesses that have tried this strategy for an answer. A notable example of this is the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. The museum recently abandoned their then-current modern art logo in favor of an older one. Until very recently, the Museum of Contemporary Art used a very plain, text only MOCA logo with the initials in bold, black letters and the full name written below in the same typeface. The lettering is slightly rounded but maintains much of its plainness.
The old (and most recently, new) MOCA logo design features elementary shapes and colors, with the shapes carefully selected to be similar to the letters they represent. A lower case C adds to the youthful and informal feeling.

The two logos both represent the same organization, but they give a completely different feeling. The text-based MOCA logo is serious and adult, but also versatile enough to represent the growing variety in modern art genres. However, it is so versatile that it is almost generic. If you substitute any other community name, it would seem as appropriate (or inappropriate). While this logo certainly has worked, it lacks the strong sense of style and brand that a museum demands.

On the other hand, the old/new MOCA logo has a definite sense of style. The shapes and colors are bright and inviting, plus they make the museum feel accessible. Because many people are intimidated by art, especially by modern art, this inviting feeling can be a huge advantage. Plus, they give the museum logo a higher recognition factor. This shape will be easier to identify on signs, t-shirts, and stationary, helping the museum to build a stronger brand.

Whether this and other retro logos are successful in building strong modern brands remains to be seen. However, if your company had a logo that was successful in the past and has the ‘staying power’ to be resurrected, it may be worth a try. Talk to a logo designer today if you are interested in renovating and reusing an old logo or in having a faux retro logo design designed for your company.

More and more we are seeing leaves in logo designs. Whether this is due to the popularity of the eco-movement or another factor, some of these designs go beyond the usual and instead are memorable and attractive. The following ten leaf based logos are good examples of how a trend can be followed without being overdone or cliché.

Top 10 Transparent Logos: There was a time when transparency were somewhat of a no-no in logo design. While they certainly make for attractive and meaningful logos, images with multiple layers didn’t always print well with the technology of the time. However, new printing techniques have made this a non-issue, giving logo designers free reign to try this style. The result? An entire generation of logo samples bearing transparent layers. Here are a few of our favorites.

The transparency logo design style is certainly popular, but only because it alone can express certain feelings and ideals. If you think a logo design similar to one of these could best serve your business and your brand, talk to a logo designer today. A professional logo designer can tell you how best to communicate important information about your business to your customer base with the help of an attractive, professional image.

Getting logo design ideas or ideas for creating logos is quite an art. Logo designers look for inspiration in a lot of places including daily conversations, books, TV shows, media advertising, other designs and more.

To be able to create logos using logo design ideas that come naturally is the holy grail of logo design. Our designers try and understand the client and her business completely before they embark  on creating logo design concepts. This process includes, studying the input given by the client, research into the client’s market segment, a look at the competitions and the design trends in that target area.

Armed with these pieces of information the logo designer then starts doodling and sketching rough ideas that take shape slowly but surely. Once the designer has some promising logo design ideas sketched out, he or she then transfers these ideas onto the computer, fires up Adobe Illustrator and starts solidifying the logo ideas into concrete designs.

Fine tuning the concepts, tweaking the shapes, adding color and selecting type faces is next stage of the process resulting in several logo design ideas. From here, these logo ideas are either shown to the client or would go through another round of tweaks before being presented to the client for review.

Once the client reviews the initial logo ideas, she then selects one concept to move forward and might ask for tweaks of changes or variations before arriving at the final design.

For more articles on the logo design creation process check these links:

Company Logos with Power: The Top Ten Fuel and Energy Industry Logos

Gas stations tend to be clustered in the same area and to offer the exact same product at a price that differs by just pennies. Because of this, many people choose their gas station based on either brand loyalty or random whim. However, both of these elements are based on one very powerful principle: branding. Gas stations and other fuel companies know the importance of branding, as shown by these ten powerful energy company logos.

1. Chevron Logo Design

This fuel giant has a logo that is recognizable and also uses several subconscious indicators of reliability. First, the sign is in the shape of a shield, which is a symbol of safety and reliability, as well as history. It also uses the ‘V’ pattern known as the chevron, which ties into the company name. The red, white, and blue color scheme portrays the country where this company does most of its business, while the black letters are serious and appropriate for a no-frills industry. Chevron shows the importance of having company logos that tie in both to your name and your demographic.

2. Sunoco Logo Design

Sunoco is a good example of fuel company logos that use bright colors and a sense of speedy movement to draw customers in. The bright color palette of the logo is similar to another industry known for speedy service, fast food. The letters are surrounded by carefully drawn lines that make them appear to be moving, while the arrow interjecting the logo also connoted movement and speed. The message is that this is a gas station that you can get in and out of quickly, an important thing to relate to hurried travelers.

3. Arco Logo Design

This gasoline chain uses a logo that has the patriotic color scheme seen in other furl companies along with a few less used icons. The diamond, a symbol of wealth, is significant here because Arco is known for being one of the cheapest gas companies, allowing customers to keep their wealth. The diamond is made of four small triangles, which generally represent strength. Because of the way the triangles are oriented, a shape is formed by the negative space in the middle of them that could be interpreted either as a cross, a symbol of health and safety, or a shining sun, which suggests energy and light. Either way, Arco is a good example of company logos that are simple and memorable but nonetheless powerful and expressive.

4. British Petroleum Logo Design

Bp, as the company is commonly known, is trying to be a forerunner in the age of alternative energy, and the logo expresses this in a simple, modern way. This logo, like many environmentally oriented company logos, uses the color green. The shape can be taken either as a flower blooming, to suggest healthy growth, or the sun, which symbolizes energy and also is the focus of many popular alternative energy technologies. A mosaic pattern, which is very trendy in logo design right now, makes the BP logo feel more modern than those used by most of their competitors.

5. ConocoPhillips Logo Design

This fuel conglomerate includes many smaller companies that collectively make up one of the world’s largest and most diverse energy companies. The logo of ConocoPhillips does a good job of portraying this weightiness. The lettering is solid, thick, and black, giving a serious image. However, the letters are rounded slightly, something that is often seen in friendlier company logos. An abstract red shape gives the logo a splash of color and appear to be moving through the air, an excellent choice for a company that aims to help customers get from point A to point B as easily as possible.

6. Exxon Logo Design

Exxon is the grandchild of the oil company started by Rockefeller, and the logo is believed to have a hidden reference to the this famous man. The logo appears to be straightforward and very similar to other fuel company logos, with a familiar patriotic color scheme, black lettering, and a rectangular shape that is serious and straightforward. However, the two x’s are intertwined in a way that, when tilted 45 degrees, forms the Cross of Lorraine, a Masonic symbol that held importance to the freemason founder.

7. Pennzoil Logo Design

This oil company uses a different patriotic symbol than many of the red, white, and blue company logos we have been looking at. The logo is in a bright yellow and red color scheme that stands out in a crowd. Rather than showing their serious side with a square, Pennzoil uses an inclusive circle. The lettering is bold and black, but the central graphic is a Liberty Bell, a symbol of American freedom that is located in Pennsylvania. This reference to the company’s home state along with the unusual motifs makes this logo a winner.

8. Shell Logo Design

This company’s logo is very different from the other company logos in the industry, making it both unique and recognizable. It features simple a shell in bright red and yellow. The logo is recognizable enough that no name is needed, making it truly a success.

9. Valero Logo Design

Valero’s logo may not be unique, but it is certainly well-designed. The company uses a calming blue, which is also associated with health. A bold V is the center graphic, with a yellow swoosh running through it to imply movement and change. The company name is below in the same graphic font, with the ‘a’ actually the graphic upside down. These interesting details set it apart from other company logos.

10. Mobil Logo Design

Although this company has become the second half of Exxon-Mobil, its identity lives on in its simple logo. The logo features the name written in a friendly, rounded font, with a blue and red color palette. The ‘o’ is a different color, producing the sense of inclusiveness of the circle while also representing the wheel, a common symbol of movement and automobiles. Although there are no Mobil gas stations, the logo remains recognizable and valid, making it a clear winner among company logos.

Are you eager to help your company set itself apart from the pack? Sometimes a well designed business card can show your innovativeness and even your superior sense of humor. Once you have acquired custom logos from a design agency, you can use those logos as part of one or more of these fun ideas for custom business card designs.

Unusual Backgrounds. If you want custom business cards and a proper stationery design that will get a second glance, you may enjoy choosing a nontraditional background color. Because so many companies choose to have their custom logos and contact information printed in dark colors on a light background, choosing to go light on dark can create a unique and modern look. There are even clear business cards that would get attention with the right ink colors. Talk to your design agency about how your choice in background and color palate can affect your corporate branding and the effectiveness of your custom business cards.

Deluxe Materials. Did you think your custom business cards had to be printed on cardstock? If so, you’ll be happy to know that there are as many options as there are different media. You can have your custom business cards made of the same boring paper as your competitors, or you can choose new and exciting materials. Plastic business cards can be any color or even clear. Metal business cards are both noticeable and durable. There are even rubber business cards. If you have a material that you use regularly in your industry, it may be an appropriate background for your custom logo. Your design agency can work with you to find a custom business card that work.

Unusual Shapes. Are you too hip for the standard rectangle? You may be interested in having your custom business cards printed in the shape of a square, a circle, or another interesting shape. The octagon shape associated with stop signs can grab attention. You can even have a custom business card made in the shape of a wheel or other shape. These cards may cost more to design and have printed, but they grab attention in a way that no plain paper rectangle ever can.

Other Ideas. Some people have chosen custom business cards that are even more unique. There are cards made of layered plastic with fluid between the two layers to create a wave effect within the card. Cards made to be folded like origami into three dimensional shapes are also available. Whatever you can conceive of can likely be created into custom business cards.

A business card is not just supposed to be a portable means of exchanging contact information. Like your custom logo, it is supposed to communicate key information of your company and serve as part of your corporate branding strategy. A generic business card that is like every other will not do this work. In fact, it will likely be thrown away without a second glance or a second thought. If you want a business card that grab attention for a long life span, you need to use one of the above ideas to set yourself apart.

We can create awesome business card designs for you. Please check out out stationery design samples.

In one of his famous speeches, John F. Kennedy, quoted a phrase from George Bernard Shaw:

“Some men see things as they are and say why – I dream things that never were and say why not.’

This idea holds true even in the world of branding. Some entrepreneurs follow traditions while others are keen on innovations. If you want your brand to be successful, you have to explore every possibility and never limit your curiosity.

Look for the gaps in your industry, check the weaknesses of your competition, and gather insights from your customers. Do not be afraid to walk the path alone and leave your footprints behind.

Most great brands and big businesses started out as an outcast. There was a point in our history when the idea of overnight delivery was absolutely ridiculous. FedEx revolutionized the industry with its fast and efficient service.

You can never be FedEx or iPod if you keep following and imitating the strategies and practices of the leading brands. If you want to stand out, you have to think outside the box. You have to create something unthinkable or perhaps, like the case of FedEx, absolutely absurd.

Innovation and creativity are your allies in making this dream a reality. Here’s the truth, the vast majority of new products and services won’t have a chance to become big brands. IPod changed the game in the music player industry by introducing a new platform. Enter MP3, exit the CDs. One of the best ways to increase your chances of building mega-brands is to shake the industry with your innovative thinking and creative strategies.

If there’s one quality shared by famous logos and brands like Nike, Google, CNN, and MTV it is the simplicity of their designs. In the words of the great abstract expressionist painter, Hans Hofmann: “The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”

While designing a logo, it would be a mistake to give too much emphasis on visual effects and play with different logo design colors in a desperate attempt to stand out. On the contrary, a simple and minimalist logo design that is a compelling logo design can create a difference. In a bigger context, it can be a strong competitive advantage for any business in any industry.

But what should you look for in a logo design any way?

Over the years, we are bombarded with different messages from various media, making it hard for most of us to absorb and retain the info in our minds. This is where simplicity comes in. It has the power to cut through the clutter and send your message direct to your customers. A strong antidote against visual chaos indeed. Additionally, you can easily spice up a simple logo to fit different seasons and reasons. Google is the prime proponent of this initiative as it alters its logo every month.

The same concept holds true in designing your website. Aside from websites-for-scanning-not-for-reading” target=”_blank”>readability and ease of navigation, a simple yet eye-catching web design won’t encounter any compatibility issue with different browsers like Internet Explorer to Mozilla Firefox. Complex designs eat up too much bandwidth and slow down page load time. It costs more money to you for bandwidth and frustration to your online visitors who have slow internet connection.

Remember the paradox: less is more. Remove all the excessive designs and ornaments. Strive for clarity in business and in design.

Traditionally a mascot design meant a character design for a sports team mascot. It was separate from the school/university/sports team logo design. These days, a team’s mascot character is also used as the team logo. Then companies started using mascots or characters to represent them in trade events or in promotional campaigns. Now a days, some companies integrate a character into their logo design. Take the case of KFC logo design that contains a character design.

A mascot character can be used effectively in enhancing a company’s brand image. If the target market requires it, a mascot can be integrated into the logo design. When a character is integrated into a logo design, it makes the company appear, fun, inviting and trendy.

Depending the brand strategy and the target market, a company chooses the type of character that they want to use. Typically, animal characters are used, depending on the kind of message they want to give out and usually the kind of animal that would closely relate to their kind of business sector. Human characters are used when the business wants to signify the importance of people of the particular kind of character in their service.

We have created a number of mascot designs in the past for companies as well as schools and universities. Typically, clients come to us with a character already established and brand strategy thought out for its promotion. We then find out the characters that the mascot should exhibit and the attitude that we should bring out in the character.

One of our illustrators then sketches out a concept in pencil. This sketch would be based on a number of reference photos and a little bit of research into the characteristics of the animal in question. Some times, some typical characteristics are ignored when sketching the mascot to match the requirement of the client. For example. a grizzly bear is naturally aggressive and shy. However, we might create a grizzly bear character that looks cute and friendly.

We also work on creating clothes or other accessories on the character to match the message that the client wishes to express. These details are based on strict instructions from the client and we try not to be too creative in this aspect. Clothing and accessories on a mascot character should be in line with the brand message or the promotional requirement of the company.

When we show the client the initial pencil sketch concept of the mascot design, we usually end up making some changes and tweaking the design. In this phase, we often tweak the expressions of the character as per the clients instructions. The expressions have to be right and reflect the core message that the company is trying to broadcast.

Once the initial character sketch is approved, we move into the inking phase. Our illustrators then use black ink pens to ink the character building the outline. Once the inking is done, we scan and digitize the artwork. Digitizing involves tracing over the scanned sketch in Adobe Photoshop. Each line is built from scratch and traced over the lines of the artwork.

After the character sketch is digitized, we proceed to color the sketch in Photoshop. Colors are applied in layers, building the depth step by step. If a client specifically requests that the final output be in vector format (EPS or AI), then the coloring step becomes quite difficult and we often charge extra for this process. After applying the base colors and building the foundation, we start working on applying effects such as shadows and highlights to create depth and make the character really pop out.

The color version is shown to the client and any tweaks are applied to finalize the mascot character design. We then prepare the final image files formats which usually include the Photoshop PSD file, a high resolution JPG file and some times a BMP file format.

Check out the mascot design process with an example.

When getting a logo designed, it is important to pay attention to the kind of files to expect and the files you actually get. Professional logo design companies usually provide the following types of final files for the logo designs they create: EPS, AI, JPG, PNG and GIF.

What are these file formats, and how do you use them? These and many other file types are used to encode digital images. The choices are simpler than you might think. When it comes to a logo design, it is even simpler.

Part of the reason for the plethora of file types is the need for compression. Image files can be quite large, and larger file types mean more disk usage and slower downloads. Compression is a term used to describe ways of cutting the size of the file. Compression schemes can by lossy or lossless.

Another reason for the many file types is that images differ in the number of logo design colors they contain. If an image has few colors, a file type can be designed to exploit this as a way of reducing file size.

Lossy vs. Lossless compression

You will often hear the terms “lossy” and “lossless” compression. A lossless compression algorithm discards no information. It looks for more efficient ways to represent an image, while making no compromises in accuracy. In contrast, lossy algorithms accept some degradation in the image in order to achieve smaller file size.

A lossless algorithm might, for example, look for a recurring pattern in the file, and replace each occurrence with a short abbreviation, thereby cutting the file size. In contrast, a lossy algorithm might store color information at a lower resolution than the image itself, since the eye is not so sensitive to changes in color of a small distance.

Number of colors

Images start with differing numbers of colors in them. The simplest images may contain only two colors, such as black and white, and will need only 1 bit to represent each pixel. Many early PC video cards would support only 16 fixed colors. Later cards would display 256 simultaneously, any of which could be chosen from a pool of 224, or 16 million colors. New cards devote 24 bits to each pixel, and are therefore capable of displaying 224, or 16 million colors without restriction. A few display even more. Since the eye has trouble distinguishing between similar colors, 24 bit or 16 million colors is often called TrueColor.

Logo Design Image file types

AI Vector Image File Format

AI is the default file format of Adobe Illustrator. It is a vector file format. Please read about the difference between vector and raster file formats.

EPS Vector Image File Format

Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) is a standard file format for importing and exporting PostScript files. It is usually a single page PostScript program that describes an illustration or entire page. The purpose of an EPS file is to be included in other pages. Sometimes EPS files are called EPSF files. EPSF simply stands for Encapsulated PostScript Format.

An EPS file can contain any combination of text, graphics and images. Since it is actually a PostScript file, it is the most versatile file format that is available. To avoid the need for a PostScript interpreter, EPS-files usually contain a small preview image that is used to visualize its content.

EPS files can be generated by all drawing applications as well as most layout applications. Image manipulation programs like Adobe PhotoShop can also save bitmap images as EPS-files. Some printer drivers are also capable of generating EPS-files as well as PostScript files.

GIF Raster Image File Format

GIF creates a table of up to 256 colors from a pool of 16 million. If the image has fewer than 256 colors, GIF can render the image exactly. When the image contains many colors, software that creates the GIF uses any of several algorithms to approximate the colors in the image with the limited palette of 256 colors available. Better algorithms search the image to find an optimum set of 256 colors. Sometimes GIF uses the nearest color to represent each pixel, and sometimes it uses “error diffusion” to adjust the color of nearby pixels to correct for the error in each pixel.

GIF achieves compression in two ways. First, it reduces the number of colors of color-rich images, thereby reducing the number of bits needed per pixel, as just described. Second, it replaces commonly occurring patterns (especially large areas of uniform color) with a short abbreviation: instead of storing “white, white, white, white, white,” it stores “5 white.”

Thus, GIF is “lossless” only for images with 256 colors or less. For a rich, true color image, GIF may “lose” 99.998% of the colors.

JPG Raster Image File Format

JPG is optimized for photographs and similar continuous tone images that contain many, many colors. It can achieve astounding compression ratios even while maintaining very high image quality. GIF compression is unkind to such images.

JPG works by analyzing images and discarding kinds of information that the eye is least likely to notice. It stores information as 24 bit color. Important: the degree of compression of JPG is adjustable. At moderate compression levels of photographic images, it is very difficult for the eye to discern any difference from the original, even at extreme magnification. Compression factors of more than 20 are often quite acceptable.

Better graphics programs, such as Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop, allow you to view the image quality and file size as a function of compression level, so that you can conveniently choose the balance between quality and file size.

TIFF Raster Image File Format

Tiff is, in principle, a very flexible format that can be lossless or lossy. The details of the image storage algorithm are included as part of the file. In practice, TIFF is used almost exclusively as a lossless image storage format that uses no compression at all. Most graphics programs that use TIFF do not compression. Consequently, file sizes are quite big. (Sometimes a lossless compression algorithm called LZW is used, but it is not universally supported.)

PNG Raster Image File Format

PNG is also a lossless storage format. However, in contrast with common TIFF usage, it looks for patterns in the image that it can use to compress file size. The compression is exactly reversible, so the image is recovered exactly

RAW Image File Format

RAW is an image output option available on some digital cameras. Though lossless, it is a factor of three of four smaller than TIFF files of the same image. The disadvantage is that there is a different RAW format for each manufacturer, and so you may have to use the manufacturer’s software to view the images. (Some graphics applications can read some manufacturer’s RAW formats.)

BMP Image File Format

BMP is an uncompressed proprietary format invented by Microsoft. There is really no reason to ever use this format.

PSD Photoshop Image File Format

PSD files are proprietary formats used by graphics programs. Photoshop’s files have the PSD extension, while Paint Shop Pro files use PSP. These are the preferred working formats as you edit images in the software, because only the proprietary formats retain all the editing power of the programs. These packages use layers, for example, to build complex images, and layer information may be lost in the non-proprietary formats such as TIFF and JPG. However, be sure to save your end result as a standard TIFF or JPG, or you may not be able to view it in a few years when your software has changed.

Currently, GIF and JPG are the formats used for nearly all web images. PNG is supported by most of the latest generation browsers. TIFF is not widely supported by web browsers, and should be avoided for web use. PNG does everything GIF does, and better, so expect to see PNG replace GIF in the future. PNG will not replace JPG, since JPG is capable of much greater compression of photographic images, even when set for quite minimal loss of quality.

When should you use each?

TIFF

This is usually the best quality output from a digital camera. Digital cameras often offer around three JPG quality settings plus TIFF. Since JPG always means at least some loss of quality, TIFF means better quality. However, the file size is huge compared to even the best JPG setting, and the advantages may not be noticeable.

A more important use of TIFF is as the working storage format as you edit and manipulate digital images. You do not want to go through several load, edit, save cycles with JPG storage, as the degradation accumulates with each new save. One or two JPG saves at high quality may not be noticeable, but the tenth certainly will be. TIFF is lossless, so there is no degradation associated with saving a TIFF file.

Do NOT use TIFF for web images. They produce big files, and more importantly, most web browsers will not display TIFFs.

JPG

This is the format of choice for nearly all photographs on the web. You can achieve excellent quality even at rather high compression settings. I also use JPG as the ultimate format for all my digital photographs. If I edit a photo, I will use my software’s proprietary format until finished, and then save the result as a JPG.

Digital cameras save in a JPG format by default. Switching to TIFF or RAW improves quality in principle, but the difference is difficult to see. Shooting in TIFF has two disadvantages compared to JPG: fewer photos per memory card, and a longer wait between photographs as the image transfers to the card. I rarely shoot in TIFF mode.

Never use JPG for line art. On images such as these with areas of uniform color with sharp edges, JPG does a poor job. These are tasks for which GIF and PNG are well suited. See JPG vs. GIF for web images.

GIF

If your image has fewer than 256 colors and contains large areas of uniform color, GIF is your choice. The files will be small yet perfect

Do NOT use GIF for photographic images, since it can contain only 256 colors per image.

PNG

PNG is of principal value in two applications:

If you have an image with large areas of exactly uniform color, but contains more than 256 colors, PNG is your choice. Its strategy is similar to that of GIF, but it supports 16 million colors, not just 256.

If you want to display a photograph exactly without loss on the web, PNG is your choice. Later generation web browsers support PNG, and PNG is the only lossless format that web browsers support.

PNG is superior to GIF. It produces smaller files and allows more colors. PNG also supports partial transparency. Partial transparency can be used for many useful purposes, such as fades and antialiasing of text. Unfortunately, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer does not properly support PNG transparency, so for now web authors must avoid using transparency in PNG images.

Other formats

When using graphics software such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, working files should be in the proprietary format of the software. Save final results in TIFF, PNG, or JPG.

Use RAW only for in-camera storage, and copy or convert to TIFF, PNG, or JPG as soon as you transfer to your PC. You do not want your image archives to be in a proprietary format. Although several graphics programs can now read the RAW format for many digital cameras, it is unwise to rely on any proprietary format for long term storage. Will you be able to read a RAW file in five years? In twenty? JPG is the format most likely to be readable in 50 years. Thus, it is appropriate to use RAW to store images in the camera and perhaps for temporary lossless storage on your PC, but be sure to create a TIFF, or better still a PNG or JPG, for archival storage.

A cheap logo design does not necessarily mean that they design is of poor quality. The design may be by a professional logo designer but at a lower price than most professional logo designs. A cheap logo design is also what you pay for. Logo designs take several hours of thought and inception. It may take a designer several hours to draw and produce different designs for viewing by the client.

A cheap logo design may be a simple design or based on clip art logo. Designers produce several logos of varying quality and technicality. A cheap logo design may be as simple as your businesses name in a fancy font or design. They may incorporate simple lines and graphics. Often times these logo designs are very professional despite their low cost. Cheap logo designs may appeal to businesses or firms such as lawyers or doctors who do not need an expensive logo to display their name.

Cheap logo designs may also be used on simple promotional products. Products like envelopes, stationary and business cards may have cheap logo designs on them. They are simple designs that are meant only for decoration and livening up the product. They may not be technical and are great because they are easy to print and duplicate. These cheap logo designs are great for individual who are on a low budget and require only a simple design to get a business started. These are also great for individuals who have a clientele and who do not require a complicated design.

Cheap logo design is great for companies that do not reply on their image for promotion. As the company grows they will be able to take the same logo and redesign it for added professionalism. As the budget grows for the business, the cheap logo design can be used in the re-branding process for the business.

When getting a cheap logo design, be aware that what you pay for is what you receive. It is a good idea to view the designer’s portfolio and to research their work prior to ordering. Cheap logo design may also only mean that you receive fewer revisions and fewer options for your logo design. If you are certain that the designer will be able to provide you with logo design samples that you will really like, you may be able to get a very professional logo out of the cheap logo design process.

Custom logo design is essential in the business world today. A business must portray itself as professional and must use a custom logo design to do so. There are many processes that determine the look and effect of the logo design. The most important of these processes is the creative process of the custom logo design. This is the process where the many ideas all come together to form the final logo design.

The first step is immersion

The client and the designer must immerse themselves in the logo design. They must gather raw material and inspiration. These materials may range from newspaper clippings to personal photos. All ideas are gathered together and looked at in different ways to develop ideas for the logo design.

The second step is digestion

The designer and client will digest all of the information that they have gathered. They will draw and think of ideas using the information that has been found as inspiration for the logo design. Many ideas may be drawn out at this time for later use.

The third step is incubation

The designer will allow the many thoughts and ideas to settle. The will put the project out of their conscious mind and let their subconscious mind work. New ideas may appear at this time or they may begin to lean towards one particular idea and begin playing with that. Sometimes you have to step away from the work and let the work come to you.

The fourth step is illumination

At this point the designer will finally see the light bulb flash above his head. One idea will be chosen as the “one.” This idea will be worked up and possibly presented to the client.

The fifth step is reality or verification

Here the client will make any necessary revisions to the idea. The logo design will be worked into its final stages and put in a practical and useful form.

As you may see, most of the work on logo design is done by the designer’s mind. They look for inspiration and work with the client to find the right ideas for the logo design. Many ideas may be drawn and presented and these steps may be covered many times. In some instances the designer may become blocked and will have to start all over-looking for the perfect idea and design.

Graphic designers provide you with the tools to create an image for your business or website. They have the knowledge and the know-how to create the image that you desire. Just because you hire a graphic designer does not mean that you won’t be able to design your own company logo.

Whether you have any artistic abilities at all or not, graphic designers are able to use your ideas and design a company logo for you. If you have some artistic abilities, you can provide the graphic designer with a rough sketch of what you envision. You may also provide them with samples that you like and would like a variation of. You want to design a logo that is unique and you also want a logo that you can be happy with.

If you have no artistic abilities and absolutely no ideas, our logo design team are here to help you design a company logo. They will work with the name of your business and the industry that you are in. They will help you design your own logo by using different aspects and ideas of their own. You may provide them with any samples, logo ideas or colors that you would like to use. Working with a graphic designer can be a fun and informational process that will help design a company logo.

A business logo is an important part of your company’s identity and image in the market. A logo designer is able to help you design your own logo and create a unique look in the marketplace for your business. Discuss designing your own logo with a professional graphic artist. They will walk you through the process and help you design your own logo. They are also able to tell you which logo design plans are best for you and your needs based on your budget and revision requirements. The process of designing your own logo can be satisfying both personally and financially.

Once Logo Design works creates your corporate identity – logo design, stationery design and any other collateral marketing material, we can then move on to create your website. With over 9 years experience in creating websites, Logo Design Works can help you your presence online with not only a website that looks stunning but also a website that would actually help you grow your business and enhance your customer service.

There are two ways of having a website created. First option is where we create the design from scratch based on specific preferences that you indicate to us and the second option is where you chose one of our premium website templates and we customize that template with your branding to make it unique to your company.

Website Design From Scratch

This option is great for customers who have specific design requirements in mind and are able to give us a specific direction to pursue. We will then come up with an initial design concept based on our research and also the input you give us initially.

If the initial concept does not meet your requirements, we then offer a free redraw and come back to you with a fresh new concept. This is done after your designer has had an in depth discussion with you.

If the initial concept is approved, we can then tweak and fine tune it till you are happy with the final design. We create one home page layout and one inner page layout. The inner page layout is based on the approved home page layout but differs from the home page slightly to allow of optimal placement of content.

Once the designs are finalized, we then create 5 pages in total with content provided by you and then upload these files to your web host or if you are subscribing to our Ringgle™ Online Business Platform, we will integrate the design into your account so that you can start creating new pages and edit existing pages using our Ringgle™ content management system.

Website Template Customization

The other option, which we find quite effective and useful for small business owners is to browse our premium website template library, select one template and have it customized by Logo Design Works.

Here is a small sample of our premium collection. As you will see, these website templates are stunning. Once we are done customizing them with your brand and corporate colors, images and content, you will have a high quality website that would create the right impression on your target audience.

The benefits of this approach is that design and development time and cost is cut down dramatically. Furthermore, you have the added advantage of being able to see a design in action before your website is built.

A lot of clients have benefited from this option and when you take our Ringgle™ platform to manage your website and your business, it makes it all the more easy to edit and manage your website down the line.

Even the best and the most talented logo design team should know how to negotiate with their clients to survive in this business. At the end of the day, a logo designer will need the client’s buy in to complete the task and of course get your paycheck.

That’s why you should learn and master the art of negotiations to help your clients see through your eyes and appreciate the logo design you’ve just created for them.

3 Basic Tips for Logo Designers

1. Have the right perspective. You client is not the enemy. He’s a powerful friend who can recommend your services to his personal and professional networks. Be the problem solver by understanding their needs thoroughly. With this right frame of mind, you will tend to focus on solving the issues at hand.
2. Explain the logo design. Don’t just flaunt it. Explain your logo design process again or why you came up with that final output. Build co-ownership by highlighting the inputs and feedback coming from your clients.
3. Listen before you react. It’s a common reaction to get defensive and even annoyed when our project is criticized. Resist the temptation of talking back. Learn to control your emotion and listen attentively to their remarks. Analyze the information thoroughly before reacting.

What is graphic design?

Yes, this is a rather simple yet very profound question which varies from each designer’s interpretation and experience. Recently, there is a lot of buzz about this intriguing question. There was even a What is Graphic Design Poster Competition at Veerle’s blog to creatively and visually express the answer to this elemental question.

Some say graphic design it’s a visual communication to evoke emotion or solve a problem. It then reminded me of a book entitled Graphic Design for the 21st Century: 100 of the World’s Best Graphic Designers – a compilation of leading graphic designers in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia together with their predictions and perspectives about this craft. Let me just share some of the interesting insights I read there:

Farrow Design: “A designer is duty bound to push the client as far as they will go.”

Peter Anderson: “Graphic design should evolve and challenge existing systems of language and perception.”

Philippe Apeloig: “Graphic design is the intersection point between art and communication.”

David Foldvari: “Ugly = Beautiful”

Tina Frank: “Design will become anything and anything will become design. Even no-design will be designed.”

Gila Kaplan: “To play the strands of a spider’s web as if they were cello strings.”

Scott King: “There’s no point in doing decorative design…it would just interfere with what I had to say…”

If you are running an online store, the product page is one of the most important parts of your site. Needless to say, having the right elements in your product page is very crucial in sales conversion.

Before you follow this improvement tips, try to understand the mindset of your customers about product pages. To them it’s a one-stop source of all information not only about your products but competitors as well. Here are some of the basic yet effective tips to improve conversion rates of your product pages:

Images

1. Provide at least 3 high quality images. Do not forget to use “see larger image” option to better appreciate the product.
2. If you are selling a wearable item show images that it is worn by your typical target customer.
3. Use white background to add some a simple yet elegant appeal to your product
4. Though it’s good to provide many images, consider also its effect on your page load. Unfortunately, patience is not a virtue of many online customers.

Product Info

5. Answer the question, “Why you should buy this product?” Emphasize the key benefits or advantages of your products or services compared to competition. Be careful not to exaggerate.
6. Offer both the overview of product (short description or summary) located at the higher portion of your page and detailed information (specifications, additional features, positive and negative testimonials) below the fold.
7. Adjust the wordings to the comprehension level of your target customers.



8. Add “call to action” phrases such as “add to cart” or “buy now” to encourage purchase. You can also highlight the savings or discounts in case you’re offering it for a limited time. Place it either on the right-hand portion of the screen or below your short product description.

Extra Features

9. Include product a comparison chart in case you have other similar products or services which a customer may want to evaluate as well. You can even compare your products against leading brands, if you’re confident about your distinct advantages
10. Include a “related products” link to encourage more purchase. Follow Amazon.com’s system called “What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing Items Like This?”

Whether you are a novice or expert logo designer (read how to work with a logo designer), you should always leave a room for learning. In this world of graphic, it pays well to understand new trends and best practices.

The good news is that Just Creative Design gives a glimpse about a Leslie Cabarga’s book entitled The Secret Life of Logos: Behind The Scenes With Top Designers. In essence, below are the 8 crucial steps followed by 75 top designers for designing compelling logos:

1. The Brief
2. Research
3. Visual Research
4. Sketching & Conceptualizing
5. Reflection
6. Positioning
7. Presentations
8. Celebration

You might notice its semblance with our logo design process here in LDW. It might quite easy to implement but in reality a very difficult process to perfect. Moreover, I like to emphasize about positioning. It is described as:

This is where the designers choose to position themselves. They either position themselves like contractors and take orders according to their clients wishes (ie. Don’t advise their clients of design matters) OR they position themselves like a business and build themselves a long term relationship (ie. Guide clients to a more appropriate solution much alike how a lawyer does.) Designers have to choose how they wish to work.

Forging strong relationship is the pillar of every business. It is true a contractor type is a lot easier to do and has lesser risks because you can always put the blame to your customers’ bad concepts. Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs are not familiar with logo designs and some simply copy the style of leading brands. It is then the responsibility of a good logo designer to share his experience and creative expertise to create a unique and effective logo.

A growing number of religious organizations are turning to branding to create awareness to the community amid so many distractions these days hampering our worship to God. In the words of Richard Reising, president of Artistry Marketing Concepts:

There’s not a church in the world that doesn’t market itself. Some do it well, some do it badly. But when you don’t do it consistently and effectively, then you say clearly to the community that you don’t know who you are; you’re not professional, and you don’t take time to think about what you are about.

There are several aspects of church branding but here we will focus on developing a Christian logo to differentiate your organization. You can also visit our collection of religious logos as your reference.

Brief

It is enough to create a creative logo design. It must have depth and meaning. Before sketching anything or talking to a logo design company, your first step is to build your identity.

Try to describe your church in terms of the people in your community, dominant culture and other services you might offer like daycare services or some livelihood programs. If you have something special to talk about or a unique selling point then include that in your list. At the end of the day, this will serve as your guideline for developing your logo.

Symbolisms

Christianity is filled with symbols so use that to help create instant recognition to your logo. Very common in Christian logos are the cross, chalice, chi rho, candles, fire, and animals like fish, pelican or lamb.

Colors

The colors blue, red and yellow are very common in Christian logos. It’s better to understand the meaning behind these colors before using it. For instance, yellow signifies light or divinity while purple is for mourning and penitence. You can get more logo color meanings here.

Read more about Religious Logo Use: Is It Right For Your Business?

Colors have a strong impact on our logical or emotional state. For instance, red evokes sexiness or aggressive nature while blue is associated with calmness and loyalty. You might find it hard to believe but colors can even help treat some diseases.

It is no surprise then that finding the right color or color combinations is proven to boost your brands. It helps attract attention and set a mood for your customers. Though a great logo designer (read what to look for in a good logo designer) can help you choose the right colors, it is also valuable to learn this aspect.

A common mistake committed by many entrepreneurs is using more colors in their logo designs. Each color creates a single message or association. So if you are using 5 colors in your logos or brands, it will deliver 5 different messages. Unfortunately, consumers cannot handle that much perception.

The first thing you should consider in finding the appropriate color is your competitors. It is not wise to copy the color scheme of the leading brands for it will create an impression that you’re just a second-rate version.

Also, pay attention to the demographics of your market such as gender, age and culture. A trendy neon green might appeal to youngsters but painful to look at for your average grandmas and grandpas. In a way, it sets the limitation of the color you can use.

For more information about this topic, I suggest you pay a visit to Inspiration Bit for it offers a comprehensive discussion of the dos and don’ts of colors.

Disclaimer: The image is for reference only. Hence, copyright belongs to the respective owners. If you are the owner and wish to have the image removed from this post, please send an e-mail to remove-logo@logodesignworks.com.

Can’t think of creative and effective ad or slogan to go with your impressive logo design? Burnout happens even to very creative individuals. Also, not all entrepreneurs have the much needed creativity or enough resources to commission a branding agency.

In case you badly needed an ad or a memorable slogan, you can visit The Ad Generator by Alexis Lloyd. It is a free mashup tool which manipulates languages and images to create fake advertisements every 15 to 30 seconds. Here are some of their samples.

Here’s the explanation of his process:

Words and semantic structures from real corporate slogans are remixed and randomized to generate invented slogans. These slogans are then paired with related images from Flickr, thereby generating fake advertisements on the fly. By remixing corporate slogans, I intend to show how the language of advertising is both deeply meaningful, in that it represents real cultural values and desires, and yet utterly meaningless in that these ideas have no relationship to the products being sold.

While some of the generated ads are really meaningless, visiting this site can guide you to the right direction or help spark the creativity within you. If you’re lucky, you might find the ideal slogan or ads for your small business here.

There are different factors to consider if you want to create a really fantastic mascot design or flash animation character. We need to find the right color combination or exaggerate the key features of our character designs, among other things.

Meowza of Aviary Business blog has emphasized the importance of silhouette. Yes, the simple shadow that many designers take for granted is the key to a good design. If most people can recognize a character just by looking at its shadow or outline then it is good enough. Just look at the famous characters below. You don’t need to see its details to identify them.

That’s why a designer should pay more attention in creating a solid and very recognizable foundation before indulging in flashy details.

Human beings are extremely lazy creatures when it comes to visual association. We have difficulty consciously remembering details and ultimately recollect most of our visuals through basic shapes.

This is a classic advice that you can also find from the book “Illusion of Life” published in 1981 by Disney pioneers as a guide to character animation. Ironically, some designers forget this simple yet very effective method because of the advances in animation.

If you make a living from creative ideas like a great logo designer (read what to look for in a good logo designer) or painter or logo design, you ought to read the free e-book published by a London-based creativity coach Mark McGuinness entitled Time Management for Creative People (pdf).

Subtitled ‘Manage the Mundane – Create the Extraordinary’, this free 32-page book provides practical tips to help you maintain your creative focus while handling other business or personal commitments.

Undeniably there are numerous Websites tackling about time management but most of them are created for the consumption of the general public. Creative people, on the other hand, think differently. For instance, McGuinness pointed out most creative thinkers view organization, habit, and discipline as threats to creativity and not as good qualities to strive for.

Creativity is all about thinking outside the box and breaking the stereotypes. One of my favorite tips is to ring-fence your most creative time by asking the following questions:

When is your most creative time, when you are most alert and find it easy to focus?

If you could arrange your ideal schedule, what time would you ring-fence for focused creative work?

How close to your ideal schedule can you get within the constraints of your current situation?

Do you have a special place for creative work?

What physical triggers (such as pens, paper, computer hardware or software), rituals or routines do you use to get yourself in the right state of mind?

The e-book is under Creative Commons License, meaning you can share this on a noncommercial basis with any people you believe would benefit from these insights. Just keep the name of the author intact.

Via Creative Generalist

Whether you’re an aspiring graphic designer or not, there are times when you need to manipulate or edit images according to your needs. You might be blogger looking to improve the images in your site or simply an avid collector of memories. At the end of the day, most of us are after the same thing – high quality images.

Good thing Vivien of Inspiration Bit shared about Picnik, a FREE online image editor which allows you to manipulate photos to fit your needs. To make this tool more useful, you can install it as a Firefox or Internet Explorer add-on so you can just press right click on any image and you will have an option to pull that image to Picnik site for quick editing.

No need to buy expensive software like Adobe Photoshop for basic editing or download free graphic software and spend time to learn it. You just need an Internet connection and a Web browser.

It can be a stand alone application as well for non-heavy users. To make our lives a lot easier, it enables us to edit directly from popular sites like Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa, and Facebook.

Picnik users can rotate, resize, sharpen, remove red eyes, and crop images as part of its editing functions. Looking at the sample image above, you can add text, shapes, frames, touch-up, and effects like sepia, black & white, matte, and many others as well.

Standard features are free of charge. If you love this simple tool and happen to be a heavy user, you can upgrade to premium account for only $25 per year or around $2 per month.

Via Graphic Design Blog

We already highlighted the difference between vector graphics and raster graphics. Just to recap, vector graphics are ideal for those perfectionist designers who want high quality images and razor sharp precision. More importantly, it gives you the flexibility to resize images easily without sacrificing image quality.

However, the problem is you need to have illustration programs like Adobe Illustrator or Corel. Good thing there is VectorMagic, an online tool that converts bitmap images to vectors for FREE. This simple to use tool is the outcome of Stanford University Artificial Intelligence Laboratory research project by James Diebel and Jacob Norda.

You just need a decent browser like Mozilla Firefox, a Flash Player to see flash logo designs, and an image you want to vectorize. Just upload the image and this online tool will handle the rest. You can now resize the image without any pixelation whatsoever.

Source image can be in JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF format and you can download it in formats PS, SVG, PNG. See how this free service fares with Adobe Live Trace and Corel PowerTRACE.

Whether you’re using this for your personal or professional images, one thing is sure – it’s time to say goodbye to pixelated images.

Via freewaregenius

Writing is a creative art. Writing for others is a commercial science, I suppose – similar to the difference between fine artist and commercial artist. Writers are always writing to some audience, but the difference is, you hire a writer to speak on your behalf to your audience. Tough assignment, because for your writer to have a shot at success, you have to not only carefully explain who your target audience is, but also the message you want to convey. Many many many people believe if they can do that much, they might as well just go ahead and write it themselves. That’s why there is so much terrible writing everywhere.

The commercial artist/designer suffers when the client ties one arm behind his back. “No black, it has to be shaped like a square and the text must be yellow in this X font…….” You don’t need an artist/designer, you need a tracing machine. Do people hire an attorney, then proceed to choose the applicable statutes for the litigation? Do you hire a doctor, then proceed to dictate what tests you will not undergo?

To work with writers, here’s some help. First this article concisely delineates the different types of writers. Then, this site explores some of the abstract difficulties of working with a writer. But, no matter who you work with, when you hire someone for his expertise, please don’t pick him or her to death – that’s a sure fire way to get crap results, even as you are torturing a fellow human. Creatives are fragile folk! Some just pretend better than others.

If you want to build your customer database, using an online registration in your Website is a big help. Of course we want to get as much information as possible to make our marketing approach more effective.

Here lies the problem. With privacy a very big deal these days combined with numerous identity theft cases, it is very hard to convince online users to provide their personal information to any Web site, particularly startup companies.

According to a survey last 2005, ninety percent of online users want to be anonymous when they are searching and almost all hate unsolicited information.

If what you’re offering for free is really tempting, some online visitors are willing to give their personal information. Unfortunately, most online registration pages are quite long that many visitors dare not continue.

Marketing Hipster has a good experiment you may want to try. Just get ask for basic information in your online registration: first name, e-mail address, and Zip code.

With that information, I can contact this person again, I can personalize that next communication with his or her first name and I know what part of the country they live in. Now if I created a site that offers people something of value they will want to come back time and time again and as they come back again and again, I can ask them further questions about themselves.

The key here is providing something that is very useful or valuable to your target market. Moreover, explain the reasons why you want to get hold of their personal information. Believe me this can lower their defenses if you do it correctly. Otherwise, you will be stuck with just that 3 info and it will be a matter days before they unsubscribe.

As designers who specialize in corporate identity, we have seen many clients who are in need of a professional logo design and feel that having everything including the kitchen sink in their design is the best value for their money. It seems quite reasonable from the point of view of the client that getting a highly detail illustration seems as though it would be worth more than a minimalist design. But quite often the end result can see be very little return on investment. From the designer’s perspective the minimalist design style is often the most impactive and best designed corporate identity around. In the business world that is full of over the top logos, designs with the most simple and effective designs often stand out the most.

Andrew Belson is an arboricultral marketing consultant that came to us looking for a very modern and sleek design that would separate himself and his business from the competition. Tired of seeing the standard tree and landscape designs, Andrew needed something distinctive that still conveyed the field and industry he worked in. What we created was a very polished minimalist design of an over simplified tree leaf. Using very few details it was important to arrange the elements in such a way as to create the most expressive use for the icon. Simple gradients were added to create a basic form and dimension while keeping the overall design very modern and professional. The unique layout also helped to separate himself from the standard horizontal layout of his competitors.

Our client, CueRate needed a design that reflected the feeling of a modern art gallery. Using simple shapes to create some kind of abstract pop-art look, a muted color palette was utilized to create a graphic reminiscent of the kind of style seen in the modern contemporary art world. The colors in the circles were offset on purpose to help create the illusion that the logo had been printed using older lithographic printing press. This helped create a kind of retro and nostalgic look. Quite often the style associated with minimalist design utilizes a very clean sans-serif typeface. As a side note, many people don’t realize that a lot of the fonts used today that are associated with the modern and futuristic style have been around for nearly a century and remain just as effective now as they did in the 1920’s.

Many times, a minimalist logo will lend itself to very square geometric designs. By combining even the most basic geometric elements many different design can be created. For James Lambert Architects a minimalist icon based on the initials “J” & “L” was created using these basic geometric shapes. The overall design not only conveys the initials in a unique and symmetrical way, but also carries the architectural theme across in a very effective and meaningful way. By combining a soft grey color with bright accent the design also uses the color palette to helped convey the modern design style.

Using a similar style, the design for Xoom consulting also utilizes simple geometric elements in a unique and distinctive way. Using a hexagon as the foundation, a dimensional cube was created by joining the letters. In a creative twist, the initial “X” was cleverly hidden into the minimalist icon as well. Three brightly colored squares were then added behind to the icon to give the image more visual impact. The end result is well constructed design using very few, but well placed elements to create an identity that is both memorable and effective.

Often the most effective minimalist designs are so simple that they become much more distinctive because of their simplicity. For out client Device Analytics, this was accomplished by utilizing a simple circular shape with unique letter shape of the initial “D”. The overall design may be a simple concept, but to the clients market it can express all the right ideas and feelings. The clean style reflects a polished and established company that is at the forefront of their industry. Minimalist design are also used more often then not by the very largest companies in a given industry. By utilizing the same modern design appeal you are telling your market that you are just and confident and able as those at the top. It’s not so much as copying a design style as it is dressing the part as an industry leader.

For our client EVO Electric, utilizing a minimalist design was necessary to enter their chosen market. Doing their own research first, they too noticed that the more successful competitors also used a modern, minimalist design approach and that companies with cliche icons and elaborate illustrations were often viewed as small “mom and pop” companies. Rather then focus on using a simple design to go with the name, the simplicity of this design is integrated with the name. The elliptical shape that sits behind the letters in EVO uses an asymmetrical shape to help convey a sense of energy and motion while maintaining an overall minimalist appearance. The overall design successfully matches with their top competitors. By knowing ahead of time what their market visually associated with as the best, they have the ability to enter the market with the best and allow their business to further its success.

Initials tend to work very well for minimalist icons. The letters have a close relationship with the name and give the viewer something interesting to associated visually with the company. On a side note using literal images can work against the corporate identity. They can pigeonhole a company into the present, which becomes the past very quickly. They can also look cheap and come across as clip-art depending on your market. A good example of this would be cell phones. A successful cellular telephone company is more then likely not to create a logo using the image of a cell phone because the shape and style of the product changes every three months and can seem out dated after six months in business. The “initial” however, is as timeless as the company name and will always be unique and customized because of the relevance to the name.

Flemington Consulting came to us looking for a logo that would look as good in 10 years as it would today. Using the initial seemed like the right choice because as long as the company was called Flemington the icon would be effective. Rather then follow the standard square shape of the letter “F” we experimented with using circular shapes to help create a unique image. By using the quarter of a circle we were able to create the side and top of the letter another circle was utilized to create the cross bar. The icon was then laid out into a square block to give it a bit more structure and also help to convey more of a corporate style. The end design is a very crisp identity that captures all the qualities the client was seeking while at the same time being very simple and versatile.

A very similar style and theme was also utilized for our client GRASTA. The idea of creating a custom initial was also ideal for this project and the minimalist design style really helped create a very sleek and modern identity. Using the circle as the background for the “G” also acted a way to help the viewer form the initials. Separating the parts in various bright colors added a unique and distinctive feeling and mixed quite well with the polished silver text. Besides being a good representation of modern style, minimalist designs are also the most practical and versatile logos. More often than not, these designs work well as great stand alone icons. As watermarks, embossed, engraved and embroidered image they can really maximize the usage of corporate identity. The most effective brands become recognizable symbols that people associate with the company, field, and industry and minimalist design are very effective in creating that image.

For many companies the idea of a logo will mean a graphic or icon next to the name. A classic layout that works for many companies in various industries. There are times however, when the text alone is ideal for brand identity. As a designer the text based logo can be much more energy and time consuming then even the most illustrated icon. Because essentially the look and feel of the entire company has to be reflected in just the name. There are a variety of styles and representations of how a text based design works. They can include a graphic that has been substitute for a specific letter to the whole name it self taking on the form of an image.

Often, all that is needed to created a distinctive text based logo is a simple alteration to a pre existing font. From these examples it’s easy to see how the style and adjustments can create two very distinctive directions. The client “NOOR” came to us looking for an elegant text based  design that showcased a very regal and upscale look. A very thin serif font was utilized as the foundation to build the logo on. The sweeping lines that stretch upward from the base of the “O”’s were first added to reflect the unique characteristics of the “N”. Afterward simple leaves were added to give the text a floral look. The end result is a very simple design that reflects a very luxurious style.

The second design for Field Associates was taken in a completely different direction. The client need a much more modern looking design. The text needed to reflect a technologically advanced company at the leading edge of their industry. Using a bold yet curved font the letters were extended into each other to create the illusion of a fluid line. The “I” and “E” were kept separate to avoid getting confused with a “T” or “L”. It is very important when designing to makes sure the legibility of the text is still clear. Although giving your market the credit to fill in some of the blanks is a good idea, they should also be able to read you company name.

The most distinctive and unique element in this minimalist design would where the “L” and “D” are joined. The way the letters seem to loop around and down lead the eye to the bottom line of “ASSOCIATES” completing the name. Even though the overall design is very simple, the logo is successful in creating a mood or look that reflects the modern, tech-savvy style.

Creating a text based logo can also mean utilizing the shape of the name itself to create an image. This is especially true when it comes to athletic sports teams mascots. When it came to the design of the Angels logo, the client needed an image that would convey the angelic theme but it had to also reflect the aggressive, competitiveness of a sports team. By using a strong font as the base, small angel wings were incorporated into the letter “A” and “S”. As an afterthought a simple halo graphic was placed above the text giving the design a completed look. By carefully choosing where the distinctive elements go, the emphasis on name can be increased to give the maximum amount of clarity and impact.

Under different circumstances the text for the logo can be used to create the context for the companies image. For Cyco Xtreme a very fluid look was utilized to create the visual representation of speed and energy. The use of flames act almost as an extension of the “X” which helps draw the eye back down to the text keeping the focus on the name. Using very simple gradients really give the overall design that extra bit of excitement and “pop”. To give that extra bit of dimension a smaller gradient from white to blue was added to just the tip of the “X” to convey the illusion the fire reflecting off the text. It is easy to see that from the name combined with the style and direction of the design that company is likely not an insurance company or real estate logos agency. This is completely due to the style of the text design.

Another way to approach the idea of text based logo is through the incorporation of graphics to either replace a letter or help showcase a specific section of the text. For our client Victory International University, a unique and representative graphic was placed dead center and replaced the letter “T”. The concept of victory in relation to the design had very spiritual and religious meaning to the client. The combination of a sword with golden wings seemed like an ideal visual image that perfectly fit the shape of the letter. When we are designing an icon to fit the letter, how close to the shape of the letter is graphic can be is really up to spelling of the word. For example is quite common for text based logos with numbers in the name to be spelled out using a combination of the number and letters. Ie. 4OUR, 8EIGHT, 7EVEN etc..

The other route that is commonly used is when a graphic is located behind or integrated in such a way as to highlight certain letters. The client, 53 Desires runs a high end photography company as well as other businesses that all carry the number 53 in the name. As such, it seemed only natural that the distinctive use of the 53 should become the focal point of the name. The romantic nature of the name was also emphasized with the use of a 3D logo graphic which was ultimately used as a backdrop for the 53. Rather then use a font that fir perfectly in the icon a flowing scripted text was chosen to create a more organic integration with the icon. The overall design is a very relaxing, yet professional design that has both a high visual impact as well as significant meaning to the client.

When creating a logo for a client that needs to express very high class theme, it most often the more minimalist designs that really capture the prestige and luxury of the company. For our client Sonja Dee, this feeling of elegance and class was created with the addition of just one extra line. The extension of the “A” is really just a single line that flows off into an elegantly scripted graphic. Because of the classic and prestigious feeling the line creates for the viewer, what was a very simple text based design suddenly feeling very rich and classy. To further enhance this emotional response the design utilizes a white on silver color scheme which adds a unique and elegant distinction of designs that sit on plain white backgrounds.

The extension of the letter can also flow into a graphic which utilizes a bit of every type of f ont based design. For the design of the Patriotic Mind logo a combination of several text based design style were utilized. The overall design is very simple and regal utilizing a very high end and professional layout. The initial “P” shapes and forms with the background graphic which helps define the logo creating a context. The initial is also extended into a very free flowing scripted letter helping to complete the thought and add balance to the graphic. The patriotic theme is very common and used in just about every industry, for this design the orginial concept of American patriots was used as the foundation for the design. The concept of using the quill and inkwell to create the “P” reflects the core of United States which is the Declaration of Independence. Using this classic historical reference along with a traditional color scheme the overall design conveys the unmistakable message that company is proudly American in a way that is both unique and highly effective.

Enclosed logos can be categorized as several different kinds of corporate identity styles. Essentially enclosed logos consist of combined designs where all the element, text and graphics come together in one complete package. Anything from labels to signage to badges and seals would fall into this style. For many companies this type of design is a fantastic showcase what the brand is all about while at the same time are able to serve a practical purpose.

When it come to restaurants, an enclosed logo design style is an ideal choice. The structured  and compacted nature save on space needed for signage, while the distinct traditional appeal of the design convey a sense of experience and establishment. For our client The Tin Duck Tavern, this kind style seemed to perfectly fit with the traditional English pub theme they needed. Utilizing very traditional elements such as simple a banner and simple filigree, a distinctive duck icon was also created to sit a top the design. The overall design is successful in being able to carry across a hand made wood-cut look while maintaining a clean and professional appearance. Separating the text into different sections helps give the design sense of dimension while at the same time emphasizing on the most important wording.

Using the same of traditional style, Antonios Italian Bakery and Deli also came to us looking for design that could capture the old world feel but style portray modern design elements. Using different simple geometric shapes a kind of layered effect was created. Enclosed in the center is the text which brings the focus on the name Antonios. The addition of the chef’s hat and grains was also created to bring a sense of context to the image. The symmetry of the graphics, along with the geometric elements really capture the spirit of the company and create a successful design.

Often utilizing the shape and style of design from various points in history can really help to make and emotional connection to a companies market. By reinventing a classic design the brand itself will become distinctive from competitors who utilize the same cliched ideas. When the Africa Trading Company came to us, they were thinking about creating a modern style design to better match what they had seen as a trend in their industry. When we showed them what could be using the theme of 19th century labels it was clear that the identity would work very well. Using a style that reflected the kind of branding one would see in history books evokes images of steamships and steamer trunks loaded with exotic goods from around the world. Because the company was importing goods from Africa this was an ideal “hook” that would grab the intended market and create interest.

For Marquee films, the quest was to capture the same kind of emotional appeal and nostalgia while at the same time coming across a modern company. The name of the company alone invokes images of old theater signs lit up, without needing any imagery at all. Buy playing on the signage theme and enclosed logo design was a perfect fit. Using references to various theater Marques from the 1920s – 1940s a unique logo design was created. By keeping the elements simple and clean the overall design also showcases that the company is modern but recognizes the classic appeal of the golden age of film.

Besides creating enclosed logos that match sign and labels another very common use for the style is with circular logos. They can be called badges or seals by generally they follow a similar  structure, a centered iconic image with the text usually wrapped around. The biggest appeal from a practical standpoint is that circular designs are usually even in terms of height and width. Unlike the more common horizontal or vertical designs, a logo that can essential fit in a square shape is much more versatile as they create more design possibilities in areas like stationary and packaging.

When we created the concept for Pediatric we tried several different places for the text after we creates the unique building block graphic. The circular layout was an instant favorite because it really shows off the bright icon in the center while maintaining a professional and completed look. By utilizing the idea of splitting the circle in half and using two colors, the focus on the name could be maximized. It also enhances the visual impact of the design and adds a unique visual interest.

Circular “badge” logos can also act a way to convey the idea of being an authority or official without infringing on any legal issues. Often government agencies and departments will utilize circular designs or crests and as such the look of a circular enclosed logo can generate that same feeling. Solomon Kennel is a client that deals exclusively with pit bull breeding and training. Breeding that specific type of dog requires a lot of experience and know how. By utilizing a design that reflects the kind of professionalism and knowledge associated with the industry a sense of authority and experience is carried across to the viewer. The image itself is quite simple, using brush stroke style lines a dramatic icon of a pit bull face was created. The wide, bold font that wraps around the image and creates the enclosed design completes the design and enhances the impression of strength and stability. The overall design works well and is effective because all the elements perfectly match the kind of image that is associated with that industry while still keeping the design unique and original.

Enclosed logos are not always about creating a shape to fit around the text. For many enclosed designs the text is almost secondary to the imagery and is utilized in a way where the  name is fitted into an iconic image creating the enclosed design. A good example of this is the design for our client Fire Services Ltd. The traditional fire-fighters shield and banner are the immediate focal point while the inclusion of the name completes the design. Using a combination of bold reds and blacks a sense of depth was created. The effectiveness of the design come from the ability to form and instant relation in the mind of the viewer. The classic symbol instantly brings forth ideas of fire safety which grabs the attention of the viewer and draws them into the name.

Other times, the main imagery can be used to create the illusion of perspective. By carefully  adapting the text to fit that perspective a high visual impact can be created which enhance the interest of the design. When ever text is skewed and adjusted to fit into a shape the most important issue is the legibility. Often times trying to retain a 100% accuracy with regard to perspective will have to sacrificed in order to improve on the overall legibility of the logo. When creating a 3D logo design reminiscent of and old neon motel sign for our client of Rockin Fares it was important the a balance between accuracy and legibility was especially important because the design was going to be reproduces at a smaller scale on the internet. The overall theme of the design reflected a 1950’s rock ‘n roll feeling and utilizing a 3D shape helped greatly to create a unique design in an other wise heavily populated style. The company itself was in the travel industry and this is reflect with distinctive arrow shape of the image. The starburst shapes that surround the logo further enhance then theme and keep with the nostalgic style of the design.

Can you identify the brands just by reading the phrases below?

Just Do It
Connecting People
Think Different
The Free Encyclopedia
A Diamond is Forever

Most of us can easily tell these are Nike, Nokia, Apple, Wikipedia, and De Beers. If you want to win the branding game, it is not enough that you have an appealing logo design. You should also create a catchy phrase that your customers can associate with your brand.

Whether you’re creating a new tagline or changing it to be more effective, you might want to use the following tips:

1. Highlight your key benefits. In most situations, a tagline is just a creative and concise way of conveying to customers your key benefits. Capture the unique experience and emotions you want your customers to feel.
2. Add your company or product name. Established brands have the right not to use this approach. However, this is very crucial for small businesses to increase the customer recall rate quickly.
3. Maintain it. You should not use numerous taglines for different marketing campaigns because it will definitely confuse your target consumers. Success of a tagline is also dependent on your consistency and willingness to use it for a long period of time. Also, don’t forget to protect your tagline with a trademark.

You can also check the Lonely Marketer and Living Light for examples of worst taglines in market today.

Many entrepreneurs often overlook the importance of logo trademarks in their business. Others even think this does not apply for small businesses. In this competitive market where brands are worth billions of dollars, you cannot afford to be careless.

Aside from your logo, you should also protect your tag lines, brand names, and packaging or designs. In case you don’t know, there are several advantages of having trademarks:

1. Protect your most valuable intangible assets – your brands and logos.
2. Act as a competitive tool to discourage your competitors from copying your logo or tag line.
3. Give entrepreneurs the right to file a lawsuit and collect damages in case of any infringement or violations.
4. Avoid manipulation and confusion with any seemingly similar brands in the market.

You can visit the “Trademarks” section of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for more details. It is sometimes more convenient and practical to consult with a trademark lawyer to help you with the entire process.

For a real example, you may want to read the trademark lawsuit between a small online perfume retailer Perfume Bay against online auction giant eBay.

Do you have trademarks now? Maybe it’s time you think about this.

When something is fashionable, everyone wants to be in style. But the current styles disrupt the reader’s experience. In reviewing hundreds of sites as a judge and receiving submissions for the CSS Collection, I discovered lousy content trends. Daring to be different often leads to sacrificing experience, usability and credibility. Here are five ways to instantly improve a Web site.

1. Avoid grey text on light backgrounds

Recently, the design industry decided black bored, so it was time for something different — gray. Somehow this trend caught on as many designs dumped black text for gray.

Black worked. That’s why it was boring and overused. Our monitors typically display colors differently. What I see as strong gray may appear as light gray on your monitor. Most shades of gray on a light background strain the eyes. The problem is worse on monitors that turn regular gray into a shadowy gray giving text a ghostly, hard-to-see look.

Black is hard to miss. Black makes finding links easier. Black is cool. Black needs to come back.

2. Use a larger default font size

Web 2.0 style logo design changed the bad habit of small text, but many sites still shrink their default text especially on Flash based sites and flash logo designs. To make the situation more dreadful, small text in Flash appears blurry.

Though using the Internet is routine for most businesses, many visitors still don’t know they can increase the text size. Besides, it’s an extra step they shouldn’t have to take.

A site has a short open window to convince the reader to stick around. When seeing small text, do you think users stay on the site longer once they get what they want? Boost the text size, save a step and prolong their stay.

3. Avoid using big headers/banners

Web 2.0 also brings the trend of big headers with the Website‘s title and lots of space around it. Whitespace works well, but not for headers. Big headers shove valuable content “below the fold” requiring the user to scroll to get the goods.

Vertical scrolling is a mainstay in Web browsing. Agreed. But pushing the important stuff off the screen lowers your chances of keeping a “just browsing” visitor and more so in the business world. Many sites use big headers complemented with a large image, which hides their content below the fold requiring scrolling to get to it.

4. Show readers what your site or business is about — quickly

How many visitors arrive at business sites through a search engine? As you know, search engines don’t distinguish the home page from the other pages. If visitors arrive on an inner page, will they know where they are? Will they know what this site or business does?

Sites need to quickly communicate what they do … on every page. A slogan, title or tagline usually takes care of this. However, not just any tagline will do. What does “We deliver high performance” tell you? Try this. Go to a search engine and enter a keyword for an industry. Randomly click on a few results and see if you can figure out what the business does.

5. Tell readers who is behind the site or business

When you can’t find an “About Us” or “About the Company” page, what do you think?

Though a business or site could be one of the more trustworthy ones, the lack of a decent “About” page hurts. An effective “About” page contains a summary about the company or site, what it does for its customers and includes biographies of people behind the company or site. Take care to avoid jargon. Even better, have an outsider read the “About” page to see if it’s understandable. Go the extra mile and name names accompanying them with photos.

Gain trust by posting privacy and security policies. A simple “We respect your privacy” next to the form requesting information works. You can have a link to the long, blah blah policies to make legal and for those who take this stuff seriously happy. You can turn “We respect your privacy” into a link to the privacy page or put the link in the footer.

Kick butt, take notes

I learned many of these lessons simply from surfing sites, noting first impressions and paying attention to what bothers me or disrupts the experience. If you’re about to embark on a Web design project for a real estate logos company, surf as many real estate websites as possible, noting the things that work and don’t work. Anything that prompts a feeling, note that too. If something makes you smile, note it. If something frustrates you, note it.

About the author

Meryl K. Evans is the Content Maven behind meryl.net, helping companies build relationships with clients and prospects through content. She is the author of Brilliant Outlook Pocketbook.

You’ve produced an editorial calendar, have your writing tools and research sources. But you have a massive to-do list, including blog posts to write, and for some reason the darn things refuse to write themselves. What if you could get them to do that? I have – many times. I can’t tell you why it happens, but here are some tips that might just help you get your creative flow on.

1. Consume content. Not only should you consume a lot of content, you should consume a variety from different channels/ platforms:
   1. Print.
   2. Radio.
   3. TV Channels + film.
   4. Internet (print, audio, video).

   Consumption of a variety of content is the primary reason that writing usually (but not always) comes easy to me. Just make sure you’re capable of squirreling away facts for later use.

2. Change your point of view. This can be a physical change or a conceptual change. Move to another room, or put yourself in the place of a potential reader.
3. Take a break. Overtasking your mind, without a break, is the quickest way to squash creativity and become mentally fatigued. Light physical activity gets your blood flowing, which guarantees your brain is getting enough oxygen – something that might be hampered by sitting for long periods. Just getting up and walking around can help.
4. Change modes. If writing what you need to write isn’t happening, write something else. Write reviews, check out writing tools, write some email.
5. Sleep on it. If all else fails, setting a project aside for a night often gives you clarity. If you’ve done all the research, prep and planning you can, letting your subconscious take over frees up the creative side. Given all the prep, I often wake up with articles already written in my head, and simply have to type them up fast before they fade from memory.
6. Try creative exercises. Jason Rekulak’s book Writer’s Block: 786 Ideas to Jump-Start Your Imagination(non-affiliate), is shaped like a block. And it’s packed full of good ideas. Try scribbling down answers to silly or fun questions, doodling or drawing. Write nonsense words that rhyme. Or not. Just don’t impose any limitations on yourself while you do this. You are not writing/ doodling for publication.
7. Eliminate guilt. Don’t think this will affect you? All I can say is believe me, it will. Guilt about something makes you focus on it the matter at hand, not your work. So you’re distracted and cannot think creatively.
8. Eliminate stress. Stress also blocks creativity. Take a micro-break by doing a bit of deep breathing, or turn on some familiar or creativity-inducing music that invigorates you and/or reminds you of good times.
9. Stop censoring yourself. Write what you want first, and what you need will come of it’s own accord. Not letting out what you want will produce writer’s block.
10. Emulate, then diverge. Successful fiction writers start by emulating the writers they enjoy. And over time, they develop their own style, by changing a few elements here and there. This advice applies to other types of writing, including blogging. But if you’re forcing yourself to develop a new style without knowing what it is, good luck finding creativity.
11. Utilize your cycles. Creativity is cyclical. As someone who’s been writing nearly 30 years, whether in my journal or professionally, I know this to be true. Utilize your peak times, forgive your lows. During the latter, you can do non-creative work such as research, administrative tasks, communications, commenting on other blogs or forums. Or you can brainstorm or map out ideas.

When designing a logo for the blogging community it was important to understand that for the most part a blog is content driven. Because of the type based nature of a blog web site it can be very difficult to grab a readers attention and interest. The blogging community has sush as large number of competing writers that having a solid logo can help grab the interest of a potential reader and lead them into the content creating potential blog subscribers.

This particular client runs a blog that publishes blogging tips, technological news, and computer and internet directed content. The client came to us with the hopes of recreating the brand identity for QUICK ONLINE TIPS and help draw in new readers with a fresh, new look. With no specific direction we came up with distinct concepts that fit with the type of look and style that could help bring in readers.

For the first concept we took the theme of “quick” and create a theme based on the concept of time. Using very detailed gradients a realistic pocket watch was created. In order to create the high gloss look of the silver on the watch a high contrast gradient from black to white was utilizsed. To get the beveled look where the glass meets the silver, two gradients moving in opposing directions create a sharp change in form which gives the illusion of an edge. For the glass, the illusion of transparency was created by softening the color of the watch face from black numbers and elements to a light grey. This creates the feeling of a light reflection bluring the image below the glass.

The overall design of the concept follows the horizontal layout of the web site. The high impact image of the watch helps lead the eye up and across to the name. The completed look conveys a very modern and professional look which helps reflect the content in the blog.

For the second concept, the inspiration of time, quickness, motion and energy were utilized in a semi-abstract design which also symbolizes the initial “Q”. Using the initial as the imagery for the design gives the icon element a specific and unique relation to the name. The addition of the sweeping lines and arrow helped to give the inital extra meaning and context. The use of gradients further enhances the image creating a 3D polished look for a communication logo design. Using gradient in opposing direction creates a high-gloss beveled effect that adds a nice sharpness to the image.

The clean and modern look of the graphic portion of the design blends nicely with the modern squared text. Placing the text onto 2 lines and bolding the word “QUICK” creates a focus on the idea that this blog is place to come for the most up to date news and tips.

For the last concept, a softer and generally more inviting sample was created. Using a combination of bright high-gloss colors and a friendly bold text, this concept was designed to invoke a sense of warmth and belonging. The image utilized in this design is a combination of standard “pixel” pointer arrow and a glassy button. The imagery is very recoginzable to avid computer users and developers and creates the idea that all of the information, tips, and news they need is just one click away. To achieve the high gloss look and the sense of depth, gradients were placed in a manner that would optimize the sense of light and shadow. This creates a more realistic look for what would normally be a very flat and ordinary computer element.

By creating a design that has an element of fun and whimsy while keeping the overall imagery relevant to the industry, the feeling of excitement and intrest can be utilized to its maximum potential. Bright colors and a high impact design can really help to distinguish a page full of type from its competitors.

This client was a winner of our free logo design offer in August 2007.

Previous articles in this series

How to design a communications Web 2.0 logo design

How to design an advertising logo design

UPDATE: Here is the black and white version of the logo for faxes, photocopying etc.

By Design links to various websites, blogs and resources related to blogging, design, analytics, and infographics. This round covers a domain name brainstormer, video search engine, video display widget, AJAX libraries, and a color tool.

1. Bust a (domain) name.
   

   Still considering a domain name for your website or blog? Not all the good ones are taken, despite what it might seem like. If you’re looking for the availability of the domains using a combination of words, try Bust A Name [via Randa Clay]. Just type in a few words in the “word combiner” and it’ll give you back a list of available domains using combinations of two words from your list. If a domain is available, you’ll get a drop down list that provides links to registrars.

2. Gujam Video Search Engine.
   

   Looking for video content for your website or blog? Gujam searches a number of video sites and returns the results collated for convenience.

3. WeShow video widgets.
   

   WeShow is a video sharing site that also offers a widget for displaying videos on a web page. The blog widget comes in one vertical and four horizontal formats, and each displays a snapshot of multiple videos that react when a mouse cursor hovers over them. You can customize the border color and select multiple content channel categories. Videos for selected channels for the widget appear to all come from YouTube, but I haven’t verified that.

4. MiniAjax.
   

   If you’ve been thinking about adding some Ajaxified dialogs, demo or info windows, draggable content, lightboxes, contact forms and much more, MiniAjax makes it easier. You can easily add a bit of “wow” to your site without having to code from scratch.

   MiniAjax is actually a portal to DHTML and JavaScript code available from several websites. There are snapshots of the use of each piece of code, along with an explanation. As far as I could tell, all of it is free.

5. Name That Color.
   

   Chir.ag offers a neat little color tool that can be used to learn color names. Drag the circle in the colorwheel or in the embedded color square, and the rectangular area to the right fills in with the selected color. Alternately, you can use the drop-down list of over 1500 colors. In addition to the RGB and Hex color values, the closest color name is show. There’s also a downloadable JavaScript library that you can use to embed the tool into your site.

For those of you considering building an online media empire – even a small one – go read Ben Yoskovtiz’s 10 Steps to Building an Online Media Empire. He profiles Wendy Piersall and her mini blog empire relating to stay at home parents. Plus he gives, as his article title suggests, 10 steps that you can follow as well.

Now granted, the steps are a nutshell explanation of what needs to be done, but they’re as good a starting point as any. Here’s the bold text from his article’s steps.

1. Build up a popular blog on a specific niche.
2. Develop a strong brand.
3. Make lots of friends.
4. Master monetization.
5. Learn more about marketing.
6. Find opportunities offline.
7. Get help.
8. Be a teacher.
9. Realize it’s a business.
10. Expand slowly but promote like a crazy.

Blogging is sort of similar to golfing, in the sense that if you want to be good at it – and thus successful – everything has to be aligned. It’s not just about writing, and if you build it, “they” won’t necessarily come. It takes promotion and other efforts in tandem.

I want to particularly emphasize Ben’s points #2-4:

• Strong brands are memorable; they draw people back, whether because of a great logo design, an attractive website design, or a catchy name.
• Making friends online is as important as building relationships with customers for offline businesses. Friends will link to you, watch out for you, vote on social media sites for your articles, and vice versa.
• It’s all for naught if you don’t come up with an effective way to monetize. But online commerce really still is in its infancy, and monetization models might change. Stay on top of them.

Last week we talked about how to go about designing an advertising logo. This week we will look at how to design a web 2.0 style telecommunications logo.

From a design standpoint the style associated with the Web 2.0 style logo designs have received a lot of both positive and negative attention. From the point of a logo designer (read logo design client input) the Web 2.0 can be a very positive logo design process. This is because generally, the look and style of the logo utilizes the basic guidelines for logo designing, layout and type principals with effects and finishing touches that are relative to the modern digital age.

Recently we were asked by a client to create a set of samples that utilizes the Web 2.0 style for their new company MangoNet. Set in the industry of network logos it was important that the brand identity convey a fresh and modern look that was fitting to the high tech field they were in, as well as to their target market.

There are several design characterizations, which can be associated with the Web 2.0 look;

• The first of which is the use the choice of typeface. Generally the style of typeface used
  in the style are classic fonts that are highly legible for maximum visual impact.
• The next quality is the use of color and digital effects such as gradients and reflections to create a modern and polished look. Bold and bright colors as well as gradients create a fresh and modern feeling because the processes, technology and software used to create these effects are relatively new and have the most impact “back-lit” on a computer monitor.

In the first concept we utilized an idea that was provided by the client. A text based logo where the “O” in MANGO was replaced with an image of a brightly colored mango. Gradients were used in combination with simple geometric shapes to create the illusion of form. To achieve the effect the removed core a smaller shape was centered and the gradient from yellow to orange was reversed changing the illusion of light and shadow.

In addition a reflective effect was added to the text giving the design the appearance of sitting on a shiny surface. This effect is used commonly in many Web 2.0 identities and works as an afterthought to give the webpage or printed material a unique and realistic perspective. It brings the logo from an image that is just stamped on the screen to an identity that is placed into the virtual environment.

The overall design for this concept is very simple yet effective. The use of the symbol image replacing a letter helps to separate the two words and also create a bit of context. Although the image doesn’t necessarily convey wireless technology, the fresh and unique name and design will create a buzz of interest, which will let the consumer look further into what products and services the company does offer.

For a second concept a much more abstract logo design was created which was intended to create an emotional connection with the viewer. The fluid lines and organic shapes help to convey a sense of energy which reflects the high-tech industry that the company is in. The central shape still fits the theme of the mango and also helps give the abstract icon some focus. Gradients were utilized to give a polished look and create depth and dimension.

In order to achieve this illusion it is important to have an understanding of both light and shadow and other business logo design essentials but also how gradients work in vector based software. It is important to avoid common design blunders.

Generally, a gradient is simple a blending from one color to another either in a straight line or a circular radiating pattern. There are other ways to create more complex gradients but they can cause printing and compatibility problems for the client after the design is finalized. By utilizing a combination of both a lighter color and white the illusions of form and glass-like highlights can be created.

The overall design of the second concept is a nice combination of an abstract, energy fueled icon with a clean and simple font. The bright colors again convey a very fresh and modern look that is bound to capture the attention of a potential consumer.

For the third concept design the idea utilizing a series of abstract shapes to help convey wireless technology and communications was used. The basic premise was to create an image that related to the industry with a color scheme that related to the name which would help create a complete design.

A radiating pattern of circular dots was created to express waves or bits of information traveling over a distance. To achieve the effect of perspective the circles were stretched into ovals with smaller shapes at the back and larger shapes gradually getting bigger toward the front. The mind will correct the oval shape back into a circle and view the image as if it were stretching off into the the distance.

By placing the dots as a white image onto a block of color, the maximum amount of visual impact could be achieved. The clean square format blends nicely with the text creating a very clean and effective design.

For the final concept we went back to the mango theme and created an icon with the potential to act as a stand-alone image without the name but still represent the company. To do this the image of mango was created in combination with the initial “M” running through it.

Using gradients once again to capture the form and color of a mango, the cut away “M” adds an additional touch helping to create a very fluid image. The stylized scripted letter utilizes various elements to create fun yet elegant icon. The bold look helps draw the eye whiles the flowing lines help create a sense of energy.

The overall design follows a very “traditional” Web 2.0 layout by utilizing the icon at the end of company name and acting almost as a superscript symbol. The end result is a very effective design that creates a sense of impact and interest while following a modern Web 2.0 style.

By Design links to a variety of articles found online, with topics relating to design, blogging, information interfaces, analysis and more. This round summarizes articles about web surfing, color theory, and data charting.

1. Web surfing.
   

   Wisdump shows you how to surf like Tom Cruise. Surf the web that is. Read the article and you’ll understand the connection between the interesting web interfaces profiled there and the science fiction movie Minority Report, based on the Philip K. Dick short story. [For another wild information interface, watch Paycheck, another movie based on a PKD story, starring Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman.]

2. Home Page: Full Post or Excerpts?
   

   The more websites you surf, the more likely you are to prefer excerpts on each home page. Or will you? I personally don’t. I like full-text on home pages and in RSS feeds. It’s a necessity for me because of the amount of content I have to browse regularly. But some people prefer it.

   An alternative is to have full-text on the home page and excerpts on archive pages (page 2, page 3, etc.). If that’s something you like, Daniel and Daily Blog Tips has a free Homepage Excerpts plugin for WordPress blogs. Previously, David at Xfep  did the same thing manually and provided some WP PHP code.

3. Color harmonies and matching.
   

   EasyRGB offers a set of tools for those of  you that work with color:

   1. Color matching.
   2. Color harmonies.
   3. Color calculator.
   4. Monitor calibration.
   5. Tint searching.

   In addition to these web-based tools, they offer EasyRGB-PC, which runs on Windows computers.

4. Browser-safe colors.
   

   Website Tips provides an easy-reference grid of browser-safe colors, organized by hue. These are the colors that are supposedly consistent on any computer monitor, provided they’re calibrated. Also see Design Vitality, who offer the meanings of basic colors, in terms of moods set.

5. Charting tools.
   

   Need to create charts from data on the fly? PHP/SWF Charts [via WebAppers] is a tool for PHP scripts that generates Flash charts and graphs. There’s also an XML/SWF version that functions the same way with other scripting languages including ASP, Perl and more. Both have a full complement of standard charting and graphing features – including lines, columns, pie, candlestick, and more – so they can be used for a variety of data.

Links to articles about building trust with readers, improving or protecting your search engine rankings, and buying backinks safely. Note that a few of these articles are for more advance readers, in terms of implementing their advice.

1. Building trust.
   

   David Dairey offers some simple ways to build trust with your website readers. While these are easy tips, many blog and site owners have either forgotten to update or don’t know any better. This includes tips such as making contact info easy to find and including a photograph.

2. Annoying site design decisions.
   

   It takes more than trust to keep readers coming back. Does your site have design elements that might be annoying your readers? Check out DevLounge’s list of 15 annoying design decisions. To that list I add “low-contrast” pages. That is, colored backgrounds with gray text, and in a small font no less. I find this combo very hard on the eyes, especially at night. The shame of it is, it’s often on the sites of blogs I really like.

3. Fix your home page URLs.
   

   Do you know from how many different URLs most blogs’ home page can be accessed. If the number 8 surprises you, then you need to do something. Not doing something can mean that some search engines think you have duplicate content. It’s unfair but true.

   Here’s the basis of the variations:

   • With or without “www.” in front of your domain name.
   • With or without trailing “/” at the end of your URLs.
   • With or without “index.php” (only applicable to some blog platforms and CMSes).
   • A combination of the above.

   A combination of the above results in eight unique URLs. Chris Hooley offers an .htaccess tutorial to canonicalize your URLs. That simply means redirecting them to a single consistent URL. Note that this is a more advanced tutorial. If you don’t understand it, beg a more tech-savvy friend to help you.

4. Protect your search engine rankings.
   

   Even if you protect your search engine rankings by canonicalizing your URLs, it’s still possible that someone can steal your rankings. And with your own content on their site. Scary but true. Read SEO Fast Start’s article Google Proxy Hacking [via Sphinn]. While you’re at it, also read Hamlet Batista’s 10 Ways to Protect Your Site From Negative SEO.

5. Buying links safely.
   

   So you’ve built trust, improved your design, fixed your URLs, and protected your search engine rankings. Now what? Well, amongst other things, you need to build links.

   If you are of the opinion that it’s okay to buy links, then read Aaron Wall’s How to: Buy Links Without Being Called a Spammer and Andy Beard’s Paid Links & Reviews are Necessary for Relevant Results. One solution, by the way, is to sponsor weblog themes.

While surfing through the blogosphere randomly, I came across a Problogger post pointing out a reader comment by Jason, about how he (Jason) maintains both a full-time job and keeps up his blogging momentum. Many new bloggers find they run out of steam and lose focus. It happens to more experienced bloggers, too.

Jason uses a point system with different amounts for different tasks. Then he ensures that reaches a daily minimum of 50 points.

If you can maintain such a disciplined habit, it seems like an ideal way to ensure you’re doing something everyday that’s related to blogging. Darren Rowse added a few items to the list. Here are a few more tasks to add to the point system. The numbers in brackets are a suggested point
value for each task.

1. [2] Site maintenance/ fixes.
2. [3] Theme tweaking.
3. [5] Ad placement research and application.
4. [5] Topic research.
5. [15] Key content (tutorials, resource lists) and linkbait articles.

What points you actually assign to these tasks above is up to, depending on how important you feel they are. This sort of method will not work for everyone, but it could help some bloggers.

Having run a few blog carnivals for a couple of months now, one thing I’ve noticed that’s fairly common is that if a new blogger produces a relatively longer piece of “key content”, it’s often unformatted. That is, it looks like one big mass of visually intimidating text. There are no bullet points, no headings or subheadings.

Reasons

Here are a few reasons to use the latter, plus a couple of tips on how. The reason for bullets should be evident in the list below.

1. Eases scanning.
   Makes it easier to scan an article:
   1. Adds white space, reducing text density and also eye fatigue.
   2. Defines information hierarchy, cueing the mind on how to absorb blocks of information.
2. Adds authority.
   Partitioning information with headings and subheadings can improve search engine ranking authority for a page. It’s not guaranteed, but if you are producing lengthy resource articles (aka “key content”), headings can help with rankings. (This depends on other factors, including search engine algorithms.)

3. Eases production.
   Starting with your headings and subheadings when writing a long article to make it easier to produce such key content. The reason is that you have easily definable sub-tasks to work on, not one massive task that seems endless.

What to try

Here are a few options for heading use.

1. HTML headings.
   Try HTML h2-h4 tags for maximum effect. (H1 in most blogging platforms is used for the title of your article.) You can even customize h5-h9 if you prefer, by tweaking the necessary CSS.

   Keep in mind that the smaller the “n” in the hn tag used, the more important it is. That is, your primary subheadings should use, say, h2. The next level of subheadings should then use h3. Follow the hierarchy, as you would with headings in a word processor app such as Microsoft Word.

2. Bolded headings.
   Try HTML bold/strong tags on a line by themselves, followed by a “br/” (line break) tag.

3. Other options.
   Try underlines (solid, dotted, dashed, hairline, colored), colored heading text, different fonts, boxes, colored backgrounds (of the heading text), etc.

Summary

Using headings and subheadings (and bullet lists with bold short phrases) make it easier on your readers’ eyes, easier to absorb information. That makes them more likely to return, since you’ve made the effort to not only make their reading experience convenient, but informative with your key content.

There are always little tweaks you can apply to improve your site’s look and feel and rankings. This includes tweaks to customize a theme, adding a sitemap, using optimum permalink URLs, and deciding on home and archive page post excerpt lengths.

1. Minimalist website themes.
   

   Are you looking for a unique WordPress theme? You probably already know that there are thousands of free ones out there, but dozens to hundreds of other bloggers might already have downloaded and used them.

   An alternative is to start with a minimalist WordPress theme then customize it with easy tweaks that don’t require a lot of design experience, just a little bit of CSS knowledge and maybe a new blog logo.

2. Using sitemaps.
   

   If you’re not good at deep linking archived articles from new articles, you need some other way to ensure that the search engines index your older articles. New sites do not always get indexed with any sort of regularity, resulting in them sometimes being “invisible” in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).

   One solution is to use a sitemap, which typically has a link to each and every page on your site. Dagon Design has a Sitemap Generator WordPress plugin [via One Man's Goal].

3. Better Permalinks.
   

   With all the blog platform options you have, you might some day decide to switch. Make it easy on yourself now, on any new blogs you set up, by using a folder name URL structure.

   That is, if you have the option of using permalink URLs that have no file extension – such as .html, .php, etc. – then a move to a new platform will not affect search engine rankings. You will not even need to redirect old URLs to new ones.

4. Optimum post excerpts.
   

   Still undedecided whether to use full or partial text posts on your website? Xfep suggests using a combination: full posts on the home page and excerpts for archives. The reasoning is solid. People often want to see full posts on the home page but only want to browse the archives. That makes archive pages load faster, enhancing a quick-browse ability.

5. Finding time to blog.
   

   Of course, all these tweaks for an improved blog are pointless if you can’t find time to blog. A number of up and coming bloggers have told me lately that their salaried jobs keep them busy, though their blogs are just starting to earn revenue. Should they quit their jobs?

   I’d suggest being conservative, at least until you’ve had consistent and significant blog ad revenue for at least six months. Enough revenue – and all saved up – to warrant quitting.

Here are some (mostly) design-related posts that I came across recently. Take your pick of free fonts, lightboxing of images, an easy-to-use graph visualization application, or a bit of advice to improve and protect your blog.

1. Huge font repository.
   

   Looking for some pop culture fonts? Type Now has a massive collection of over 300 fonts covering Movies + TV, Music/ Bands, Games, and Miscellaneous. Most of the downloads are TTF (TrueType Fonts), but there are a few for Mac. Keep in mind that these are only useful for your own computer, not on your website.

2. Defeating plagiarism.
   

   Andy Beard takes on the problem of plagiarism with a type of blog judo, suggesting practical ways to stop people from stealing your site content. Keep in mind, of course, that “Judo” means the gentle way. Indignation might feel justified, but it doesn’t always help.

3. Blog cliches.
   

   Jeff Atwood at Coding Horror points out thirteen cliched blog elements. There are definitely some items here that I’ve dropped from my own blogs. Visit, and consider this a checklist for your blog. My favorite is the blog calendar. Is it really any good for anything other than to remind you that you haven’t blogged in a few days?

4. Site bling: lightbox your images.
   

   If you’re running a site where you’d like to offer a lot of large format images, you might have a problem if your page theme isn’t wide enough. Instead, use a technique referred to as lightboxing, which temporarily floats an image on top of an opaque screen over your web page. [via SEOmoz]

5. Graph visualizations.
   

   Graph diagrams are not that commonly found except probably in math books, but if you’re looking for an easy way to generate and display them, check out Graph Gear. The application uses an XML file to describe connections between graph nodes, and flash logo designs to display an interactive graph. Not sure why you need to drag the graph, but if you’re frustrated, it might soothe you.

Welcome to the first edition of “how to design a logo” series. This week we will analyze how to design an abstract logo for an advertising company. We will take a look below at all the logo concepts we came up with for our client, Quantum Creative, how we came up with those concepts and what elements were used to bring our ideas to life.

A little bit of info about the client, Quantum Creative: a data driven advertising agency. The company is strongly driven in its decisions by research data. It is affiliated with the top business consultancy in UK and benefits from its strong data based strategic positioning. The target market is current Elixir Business Consultancy clients and local manufacturing brands that require advertising and branding services.

The client wanted to see a logo design that represented the concept of Quantum which is “indivisible energy that is everlasting”. The client came to us without a real vision of what they wanted. They knew that they wanted a very modern, cutting edge type design that would appeal to a younger, more tech savvy market. Using themes based on the idea of energy, and science a set of five initial logo designs was created.

For all of the initial concepts it was important to create a basic geometric structure that could easily be converted into a simple one color image. That said, various gradient effects were then utilized to create a polished look to add both depth and dimension to create a modern, technological feeling.

The first concept is based on an abstract rendering of the atomic symbol. Dynamic rings were created first, which were then layered to create a sense of space and depth. For the center globe, a circle was rendered and then using a series of simple elements the illusion of a glass-like finish was created.

After adjusting the angle and placement of all the elements the graphic was then formatted to flow with the type treatment. For a maximum visual impact, a very clean and simple font was used to offset the 3D logo designs look of the graphic. The final design for this concept is a clean and modern image that effectively reflects both a technological idea as well as the theme of science.

The second concept utilizes an abstract shape reminiscent of the initial “Q”. Using the initial in a very stylized manner is a great way of expressing the overall theme without resorting to literal imagery. It also gives the graphic a direct relation with the name creating an integration which makes the brand more memorable. Using a simple series of circles and a crescent, the elements were adjusted as solid shapes to get an over all sense of flow and layout.

After that step, gradients and highlights were created to give the elements a sense of form and shape. By adjusting the gradients in simple and subtle ways the overall light and shadow begins to blend which adds to the realism of the overall design. Because the image is an iconic logo, it was placed above and centered to the text, which utilizes a very modern and almost futuristic style creating the completed brand.

For the third concept we wanted to focus more on the concept of energy, reflected in an abstract, organic way. The first step was creating a kind of free flowing vortex shape. By developing just one side first, the element can be copied and then rotated to create an overall symmetrical look that gives the illusion of movement and seamlessness. By utilizing very simple geometric shapes you easily create a very dynamic and fluid image that has a high visual impact.

To enhance the organic quality of the graphic a series of soft, silver background elements were created. This not only helps to enhance the visual impact of the main part of the graphic but can also help to direct the eye. In the end an oblong, circular shape was used. The abstract shape flowed nicely with the rest of the image as well as added direction down to the type. In terms of font choice a simple, yet modern square font served to complete the design.

For the fourth concept keeping with the theme of science and energy, the next concept utilizes a kind of molecular structure that could also be used to convey the initial “Q”. By experimenting with several circular shape, a unique yet simple design was created. By breaking down the letter “Q” down to the simplest identifiable elements, the larger circle and the cross at the lower right, it was easy to create an abstract icon that could represent both ideas at the same time. To enhance the overall visual impact, a globe shape was created using subtle gradients. The “Q” image was then inverted to white and placed over the globe to form a “cut-out” look.

For the text, a simple sans serif font was used to reflect the straight forward “scientific” look of the overall design. The icon was also utilized in the text to give a correlation between the imagery. The placement of the icon to the right just over the text is a reference to mathematical symbols, further enhancing the science theme and completing the brand.

For the fifth initial concept we wanted to try a more identifiable representation of the atomic symbol. This rounds off an overall spectrum of styles and images and also creates a good base. To start, a simple ring was created and given a gradient to convey the feeling of round tube-like shape. Once that was achieved, the ring was stretched out to create a sense of perspective. The next step was to copy the rings and position them at angles that correspond with the atomic symbol.

A circular disk was also to create some impact and also enhance the idea of energy and movement. The graphic was then placed next to a very bold and striking type which creates a very strong and stable impression. The block of color at the bottom serves as a way to display the tag line and balance out the heavy type at the top.

This post provides a bit of link love around the design blogosphere. Don’t forget to check out the last item in the list, which talks about our new free blog logo campaign. The campaign runs for a limited time and is open to qualifying established blogs.

1. Color theory.
   Don’t know Chartreuse from Charcoal? ColourLovers offers a handy reference, 32+ common color names [via Digg], with many provided by commenters. But if you just want to go green, check out their 130+ green color palettes.
2. Favicons.
   Favicons (fave-icons) are those 16×16 pixel images that you see in certain browsers in the address bar. (Not all browsers support them yet.) They’re a sort of micro-brand, and in browsers such as Firefox which have multiple tabs, it’s easier to find a particular site amongst the tabs (if you have several open).

   Don’t know how to create a favicon? No problem. If you have an image/ logo/ picture that will scale down well to around 16×16, then you can use pretty much any of the 20 best favicon online generators.

3. Stock photos.
   Hongkiat lists over 30 websites offering stock photos and royalty-free images. Some of the services offer completely free photos. Others offer low-cost images for a one-time fee (i.e., royalty-free).
4. Best typeface forward.
   Smashing Magazine presents a snapshot of 80 different typefaces for design. Many of these will work fine for online design that’s turned into graphical form, but not necessarily as actual text fonts on a web page.
5. Free logos.
   If you have a blog that’s at least a year old and is about any of design, small business, marketing, SEO, blogging, freelance, productivity or something closely related to these, you might qualify for Logo Design Work‘s free blog logo campaign. We’re giving away 10 free blog logos each month, for a limited time, to qualifying blogs.

   Please read the rules to see if you qualify. Then fill out the brief questionnaire to give our designers some info about your likes and dislikes.

Smashing Magazine has a extensive sampling of infographics in their article Data visualization: modern approaches. If you’re looking for ideas for visual content, something should catch your attention here and may inspire your design.

I don’t have any references at hand, but it’s pretty safe to say that human beings are for the most part highly visually-stimulated, whether they realize it or not. So presenting information in new, interesting ways will always be more captivating than a boring old table or chart. Data visualization techniques offer you many choices.

You don’t have to get as complex as some of the examples in the Smashing article, but even a slight variation on a traditional presentation can make an impact. In fact, visual texture can be added purely from a simple construct such as a tag cloud – which shows variation of font sizes.

Two variations on the same information are shown at Ohmpage (at the time of this writing). One is a traditional tag cloud labelled “Content Folksonomy” at the bottom of the homepage. The second version is the tag chart (my name for it) in the navigation column labelled “Content Taxonomy”.

If I don’t miss my guess, these both represent the exact same information: the number of posts on that site tagged with a given category. The category with the most posts is “design” (75).

With the tag cloud, increased quantity is represented proportionally by increased font size for a category. With the tag chart, increased quantity is represented using a wider rectangle. So “design” has the largest font size, and the widest rectangle.

Both types of infographics add visual texture and are relatively easy to produce. Whether they’re effective or not depends on the reason they’re included.

We’ve previously discussed general visual tweaks for your website. As well, there are there are several types of visual content that can be included in the body of your articles, to add visual texture or eye candy. Here are five visual types, along with options for simple and fancy variations.

1. Images.
   A single image can help break up the density of longer text article, adding visual texture that draws in the eye.
   • Simple: Images from Flickr, a stock agency, or your own camera.
   • Fancy:
     • Lightboxed images. Lightboxing is the use of Javascript and CSS code to overlay a larger, partially transparent image when a thumbnail is clicked.
     • Use a slideshow player such as SplashCast or Slideshare, with or without background music. Examples of Slideshare’s Slidecasting can be seen on David Armano’s Logic + Emotion blog.
2. Diagrams.
   When an image isn’t suitable, try a diagram.
   • Simple: A simple schematic drawn using Gliffy.
   • Fancy: Infographics are a step beyond diagrams, sometimes relaying some data characteristics. Information Aesthetics has many great examples.
3. Charts + graphs.
   Charts and graphs are an old mainstay, great for representing numeric information without using a table.
   • Simple: Pie charts, bar charts, trendlines.
   • Fancy: Check out Swivel’s embeddable graphs, or various Sparklines options. Sparklines were named by Edward Tufte and are a nice compact form of charts and graphs that can convey a great deal of related sets of data in a minimal area.
4. Video.
   Video can convey so much more than a single image can, and with all the video sharing sites available, you don’t always need to spend money producing original content.
   • Simple: A single video.
   • Fancy: A channel full of videos using SplashCast Media’s SplashCast player.
5. Maps.
   Maps are obviously ideal when your article has some sort of geographic focus.
   • Simple: A static image of a map suffices for a general “view” of a region.
   • Fancy: Need to draw attention to points of interest on a map? Maybe you want to embed rich media (audio, images, video) into a point of interest. There are far too many web-based mapping options to list them all, but two that are customizable are Google Maps (My Maps) and Platial.

In later posts, I’ll give detailed examples of each of these types of visual content.

Visual elements of a better website go beyond just a good logo design and includes formatting the text of your articles. If your website/ weblog’s pages are looking a little text-heavy and dense, there are some relatively easy ways to improve your look without having to be a typesetting or CSS expert. The rules of typesetting for computer screens are not that different than for print, but there are some nuances, and you have the benefit of special HTML tags and CSS code to make life easier en masse.

1. Font size.
   Try for 11 or 12 pt as your base body text font. Not all your readers are in their 20s. Eyesight does start to slip, albeit slowly, after 30. The difference is that a computer screen is much farther from your face than the average book. So you have to factor in that distance. Not doing so guarantees you’ll lose those readers who don’t know how to increase font size on their browser. Even that is unreliable because some themes/ templates do not handle that well.
2. Font family.
   The problem with computer screens is that very few fonts look good on them. Older research by Microsoft shows that Verdana, a sans serif font, works well for body text on screen. Some designers say that any font works if it’s large enough, but serif fonts can look really blocky onscreen. Compare this to print, where serifs such as Times Roman are preferred.

   On the other hand, serif fonts such as Georgia are okay for onscreen headings. Jim Whimpey suggests that only three fonts look good onscreen: Verdana, Georgia, and Lucida Grande. Poynter Online also suggests Trebuchet. These four tend to be available on most home computers, so most readers will see text render they way the author meant them to be.

3. Line leading.
   Leading refers to the amount of vertical space used for each line of text in an article. The general rule of thumb is that increase in leading should be proportional to increase in width of the line of text. This is one primary reason why you should avoid “fluid” width web page templates/ themes, despite the fact that owners of gigantic monitors seem to love them. Keep in mind that even if readers are not aware of it, too little leading makes for reduced concentration for longer articles, and can even give some people headaches. You can control leading in CSS code: line-height: 1.25em;.
4. Character tracking.
   Space between characters is important. Characters should not touch, but neither should they be overly far apart.
5. Single space after punctuation logos.
   Word processing and weblog software handle spacing differently. Use only one space between sentences.
6. Paragraph spacing.
   In addition to line leading, you can control the amount of vertical space between any two paragraphs. This can be done in a number of ways, including tweaking your paragraph CSS code.
7. Right-ragged or justified text.
   Whether you use right-ragged (aka left-aligned) or fully-justified text depends on a couple of factors: the width of your articles and the length of the average word in your writing. Try both types of justification with a number of articles and see what looks better.
8. General whitespace.
   Not everyone agrees that lots of whitespace is good. It’s generally fine in print, and is a good idea onscreen. However, too much whitespace surrounding text can also make the text look isolated. Generally speaking, you can control whitespace around text and other elements using “padding” in CSS.
9. Attractive blockquotes.
   If you tend to quote other sources regularly, making blockquotes look better takes a few simple tweaks in CSS. This includes:
   • Adding lines – with or without color.
   • Using a different font.
   • Using italics.
   • Adding a light colored background.
10. Callouts.
    In print, callouts – aka pullquotes – were used to fill column space. If you have two or more columns in your typesetting, you don’t want a big gap at the end of the rightmost column. Callouts served to take care of this. They also add a bit of visual texture, and work quite well onscreen, if handled properly.

    Here’s a rough guide to callouts using CSS – works for most weblog platforms. Chris Pearson also has a more indepth discussion of how to do pullquotes, which includes using blockquotes, divs and spans. Pullquotes are a direct quote of actual text in your article. Callouts need not be.

11. Harmonious color palette.
    If you’re a non-designer like myself, you may be able to tell when colors look good together but don’t know how to get there. Color Theory has a lot of rules, and can take years to master. ColorBlender is a nice, easy tool for generating a set of six colors patches that are harmonious. Each resulting palette’s color codes are given in both RGB and Hex.
12. Headlines.
    Improving your web pages can be as simple as modifying your article headlines. Or simply using sub-headlines. To do the latter means writing articles that can be sectioned off. Headline tweaking can include
    • using different HTML headline tags,
    • using a different font,
    • uppercase letters,
    • text color, or
    • more space between characters.
13. Custom comment blocks.
    If your site allows visitors to leave comments, consider customizing the comment blocks. This could include
    • alternating indentation,
      a font different from the article’s body text,
    • lightly colored backgrounds
    • numbering of comments sequentially,
    • alternating text colors in consecutive comments,
    • special icons (scroll down to the comments),
    • avatars, and
    • photos.
14. Bullet lists.
    Bullet lists are an ideal way to break up text visually. This in turn allows readers to quickly scan and absorb a lot of information, provided your bullet lists are used properly.
15. Colored links.
    Hyperlinks can be customized in several ways:
    • Remove the underline.
    • Change the color of the underline and/or the anchor text.
    • Change the color of visited links
    • Use a different color when a mouse cursor hovers over a link.
    • Add a light background to the text, possibly on hover.
    • Add a border.

    All of these add visual texture to text. You can even use several of these simultaneously on the same page.

There is of course more to website page improvement than just these tips, which have only touched superficially on the how-to aspects. However, they give you some options you can explore further. A deeper understanding will require some knowledge of CSS code, which we’ll touch upon in future articles.

The most important aspect of the logo design creation process is collecting input from the client. It also happens to be one of the trickiest. In fact some times it is more tricky than the actual conceptualization.

We have created 100s of logos over the years and might have worked with clients of every kind. Most often than not, we deal with clients who take their branding seriously and would have put some thought into how their logo should look before approaching a company like ours. But occasionally we do encounter clients who consider the logo design process as a black box and there are several logo design related myths that you might have to debunk.

Such clients do not usually have any input to provide the designer in terms of style or substance. They come with the hope that armed with the company name and the nature of the business the logo designer will be able to come up with a stunning logo that is eye catching, full of impact, cutting edge, modern and memorable (in short a great logo design).

So as a logo designer it is very important that you get as much input from the client as possible. I have listed the top 10 questions to ask the client. You should also explain clearly how you work and what the process is so that the client’s expectations are clear. Please post a comment below if you have any other questions that you think should not be missed.

1. What is the exact text of the logo?

It is very important that you establish the exact that the client would like to see in the logo. You will have to explain to the client that changes to the wording could have an effect on the concepts and therefore the client would need to nail down the exact words in the logo before any design work begins.

2. Any Slogan or Tag line?

It is also vital to find out if the client wants to see a slogan or tag line in the logo and the level of integration they are hoping for. Some client prefer to see the tag line as a separate entity and placed some where below the actual logo design. Yet others might want the tag incorporated into the design itself.

3. What is the Nature of the business, service or product?

This is a more usual question that all designers would be made aware of but I included it here for sake of completeness.

4. Who is the Target Market?

This is a very important piece of information and would help the logo designer understand who this logo would most likely be exposed. This would then help the designer try and envision the kind of message that might be appropriate to that target audience.

For example, if you have two companies called “Black Hawks Construction“ and one caters to the residential market and the other to the commercial market, the two logos would have to be quite different in terms of the usuage of colors, fonts. icons and the layout. A corporate looking logo with possibly an iconic representation of a hawk might be appropriate to the commercial market whereas a more friendly version with an icon representing a house or a tree or perhaps even line art of a construction worker or a construction hat might be more appropriate to the domestic market.

5. Any Competitors?

It is useful to find out who the client thinks are their direct competitors. Of course a logo designer would also have to conduct their own research in terms of looking at as many corporate identities as possible in the same market to understand what the current trends are.

6. Any Creative strategy?

This is the tricky bit. A lot of clients might not have thought about their logo at all and would not be in a position to tell the designer what they are looking for. Often they might shrug their shoulders and say “I am not a designer! That is why I have come to you”.

Fair enough. However often we obeserve that after a few concepts are presented to the same client, they would then come back saying that they had actually expected some thing else. It is better to find out before hand what that “some thing else” is. You should explain to the client that it would help a lot to understand what look and feel or logo style the client might prefer. Or they could perhaps tell the designer what kind of images or icon they believe might look good. This leads to the next point.

7. Any examples of logos the client likes?

Following on from the last point, it would be very useful to find out what logos your client likes. This could be from your portfolio or perhaps from out there. Invite the client to spend some time on the web and list a few logos that they fancy. This help the designer understand the style the client prefers.

There are many styles of logos our there. You have the simple iconic logos, the illustrative logos, text based logos, line art logos, 3D logos, web 2.0 logos and more.

8. Any examples of logos the client does NOT like?

Knowing what the client does not like is a good way to prevent working on styles that might ultimately get thrown out by the client. However the logo designer must also use his or her judgment and not be afraid to show an concept which might use an icon or image the client said they did not like. Perhaps with the proper treatment, the designer could show the client a new angle or perspective and help the client understand how that particular image or icon might actually help the brand.

9. What are the Preferred colors?

It is also important the client has some idea of the colors that they would like to see in the logo concepts. Agreed, the client might not be in a position to appreciate the importance of the various colors in terms of how people or consumers might respond or behave towards, but it would help if they indicate a preference to a few colors.

10. Where will the logo be most used?

It is also quite important to find out where the client is most likely going to use their logo. The medium of usuage helps in making decisions regarding the use of gradients, defining the layout and more.

Using a slogan is a very good way of adding to the message that a logo tries to give out. Slogans and taglines have always been around. But the current trend seems to that they are included or closely integrated into the logo design it self.
Take a look at some of the examples below:

To integrate a slogan or a tagline into a logo design, you will first have to understand the need for the slogan. Is it the kind that catches your attention? Is it a line that describes what your business does? Does it enhance your logo and make the message easier to grasp?

When clients have taglines or slogans and want them integrated into the logo design, our llogo designer analyzes the pros and cons of such an integration and advice the client if is appropriate to do so. Simple attaching the tag line to a logo design with out thinking through would lead to a messy looking logo.

For more designs that incorporate a slogan please look at some of our logo design categories.

Today I would like to discuss about a few tips on becoming a good logo designer. Being a good logo designer is not simply being good with logo design software such as Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw. It is about being good at understanding what branding is about and how it affects advertising and marketing.

When companies come looking for a logo design, the logo designer should be in a position to analyze the company, the industry, the competitors and brand principles in general to come up with concepts that work on the attributes of these factors. An effective logo should have an impact on its target audience. It should be able to deliver the intended message instantly. As they so often say, you have 4 seconds to grab your customers attention and when one sees your logo design they should be affected at some level almost immediately.

The problem with the current online logo design industry is that due to cut-throat competition and price wars due to fly-by-night companies mushrooming, genuine corporate identity companies are not in a position to get good logo designers and to invest the time it takes to create a good company logo. Sacrifices have to be made in order to pay the bills and keep the business afloat.

However even in such situations designers can follow some simple steps to ensure that they produce quality logo designs. These steps are by no means exhaustive nor are they intended to be the best possible advice.

They are just a collection of ideas that I and other logo designers in Logo Design Works employ to be effective in creating logos.

1) Always ensure you understand what the client wants
It is very important to understand completely what the client is looking for. Some times clients do not have a clue as to how their logo should look. In such situations you will have more room to experiment and try out new ideas. But when a client has put some thought into their corporate identity, then it pays to listen to the client and not be shy about asking questions.

If the client says they want to see some sort of a “pyramid” in the logo design, then it is your job to understand why and what of that request. Why does the client want to see the pyramid? What kind of pyramid would he/she like to see? 2D, 3D logo design?

2) Always research a little on the industry in general
Before starting to put any thing on paper or on the screen, always spend at least 30 minutes researching the industry the client belongs to. What kind of companies are out there? A simple search on Google will reveal a bunch of companies in the same industry. Looking at their logos and their branding efforts will tell you about the current trends in that industry.

Check this case study of a coffe and juice logo design.

3) Always look at the competitor identities
It is also a good idea to check out the competition. This helps you identify the current trend so that you can see the similarities and come up with ideas that will make your client’s logo stand apart. It will also help you realize what is working or not in that particular industry.

4) Try to comment on each of the concepts
I have noticed that when several concepts are presented to the client it always pays to comment each of them with notes of what each element in the logo design means. This helps the client see where you are coming from and also enhances the value of the concepts. Many times clients simply do not understand what a concept might mean and therefore would not like it.

Stay tuned for more tip in this series.

The future of corporate brands being accessible to the common person is already here. All major brands including Nike and BMW are enabling their customers to actually build customized products and then buy them.

I was looking at www.nikeid.com and was amazed at the ease with which you can actually build your own nike branded shoes (complete with choice of shape, color of the sole, shoelaces color, color of the nike swoosh, the air bags etc).

In fact you can brand your own name at the back of each shoe! Now that is what Michale Fortin is talking about in his report the “Death of a Salesletter”. Enabling customers to buy what they want and how they want rather than be sold to.

If small design businesses can give the same level of flexibility to their customers and allow them to actually build what they want to buy it would really improve their bottom line. For instance. this has inspired to re-structure our package system in such a way that visitors to our website can actually build a package on their own and then buy.

I mean, why should we force our customers to buy a “package”? In my opinion most of the “packages” promoted by most online logo design companies are based on what other similar companies are offering. So we are now in a situation where every package seems similar. Perhaps the customers believe that is the defactro standard.

Logo Design Works has been online for a long time and we have tried different package systems. We always tried to find out from customers what they would like from our packages. But I must admit we are not guilty of coming up with packages that made “market” sense.

More on this topic later on.

Most small design businesses on the internet are really not small businesses.

A business is considered to be a small business if it has at least 8 or more people. So if you are a one or two man army then yours is a micro-business.

These kind of creative online companies/businesses are started (most often) by creative individuals who want to be “their own boss”.

Here are a few reasons why people want to be their own boss and why I think these are simply myths.

I am not trying to scare or disappoint budding creative entrepreneurs. I am merely analyzing the myths.

You have the freedom to decide your own work hours

Many creative people, when going into business for themselves (even as freelancers to start with) think that they can decide the number of hours they will work and when they will work. To me this is the biggest myth. Most freelancers in the graphic design/logo design field work more than a 100 hours a week. When you are working from home, then you are always working.

Even though you have no direct boss to tell you to get up and work, your clients are your bosses and you will have to work long hours to complete the projects. Of course the more you work, the more you earn.

Solution Tip:

There is no sense in burning yourself out. I know it might be difficult initially to make enough money to be able to work less. But wearing yourself out will not help in the long run. Try to stay away from over crowded places such as bid boards where 1000s of other designers are fighting for the limited projects. Such places will force you to come up with free mockups with out guarantee of being picked and hence paid for the work you put in.

Free mockups mean more hours of work and less likelihood of pay.

You can pick and choose the projects you will work

Unlike you have been in business for a long time it really is impossible to pick and choose the projects you will work on and those that you will turn down. In the graphic design/logo design/website design industry, the market is saturated with more suppliers than demand.

In such a highly competitive arena, you can hardly pick and choose projects. You will grab with both hands and feet what ever project comes your way.

This is not necessarily bad but if the quality of design projects you work on is poor then in the long term you will get frustrated and lose your motivation.

Solution Tip:

Even though you can not turn down projects, it would help to build a process where you can make your clients aware of the standards you have. For instance, if you get a client who shows you logo that belongs to some one else and asks you to make a similar looking logo, then perhaps you should put your foot down. You could work around it by telling the client about the potential risk for HIM in terms of copyright infringement etc.

Perhaps this example does not truly describe the “quality” of a project or client but in my opinion a client who asks you to do that falls under the “bad quality project” section.

You do not need a business plan

This is one of my favorites. Designers and other creative people who start an online business feel that business plans are only for the big corporations. To a certain extent that is true. However you do need to have a business plan, albeit a small one.

The scope of your business depends on the nature of the nature and size of your business. If you are looking to land a few investments into your company or are approaching the banks then you would need a very thorough business plan that outlines the financial figures, marketing plan, scope and potential. Such business plans are best written by professionals.

Solution Tip:

But if you are a freelancer that is looking to turn it into a business then you would need a business plan that is smaller in scope. You would need to think about where you are now, how the market is, where you want to be one year, two years down the line and how you plan to get there.

Thinking about these things and writing them down can have a huge impact on your business. It will give you clarity and a sense of purpose.

Resources:

MDA Free Business Plan Writer

A list of popular business plan writers on Business.com

You just create, you don’t need to sell!

Another myth that most designers who start an online business believe in is that they simply have to be the best at what they do and success will follow. This is far from the truth. On top of creating, you would need to market and sell what you create.

Bidding for a project on a bidding forum might not be considered as marketing or selling by most people. But that is exactly what it is. Designers simply use a “copy-paste” method when bidding for projects. They do not market themselves at all.

Solution Tip:

The websites that a lot of small design firms do not have any sales copy at all. They display their work in a nice portfolio but that is pretty much it. You have start thinking about your identity and your image and how to enhance both at every opportunity. Do you have a nice logo design? Does it reflect who you are? Is your website professional? Is the sales copy adequate? Are you trying to answer most common questions that your website visitors have?

Ok I have to stop before this post turns into some thing related to website usability.

Resources:

Learn about copywriting and apply it to your website

I can manage my money!

The biggest problem for the creative entrepreneur is managing money. Because we are their own boss now, most often than not, they we that we have full control over our finances. Wrong! At least that is what I have seen in my experience.

Managing money is a talent that has to be learned and practiced. If you do not apply yourself to that skill you will soon find that you are working really hard but you have little to show for it. For instance, if you are a logo designer, then you might realize at the end of the year that you had created 100s of logos and yet, when you look at your balance sheet, it does not look so great.

Ok this problem might not be relevant to the single man army kind of freelancer turned full time individual. I am talking about those entrepreneurs who have started a small business, engaged a few employees and have a office outside their bedroom.

Solution Tip:

The best investment you will make in terms of managing your finances is to engage a professional and proper accountant. Not the cheapest, but one who is qualified and experienced in dealing with small business accounts (preferably in the design industry).

Ok. The first in the series of tips and advice for the creative entrepreneur. As a logo designer myself, I believe that procrastination comes naturally to creative people. So here are 10 tips that I have used in the past that helped me avoid procrastination.

Tip #1: Write things down

If you are overwhelmed with creative tasks and find that you need to also take care of non-creative tasks such as doing accounts, answering email, taking the dog out for a walk etc, then it is essential that you have clarity in your mind in terms of how many tasks you have and what needs to be done.

To start off, I always found it effective to write things down and then prioritize them. Yes, sounds very obvious but you would be surprised at how you can get a grip on what needs to be done just by listing out your tasks.

I use EverNote (the free version) to write my tasks down.

Tip #2: Make deadlines

After you have written down your tasks and prioritized them, you need to set yourself specific deadlines to complete both the creative and the non-creative tasks.

Having deadlines gives you the sense of urgency you need to get the important tasks done. For instance I always find it very boring to prepare project reports. At Logo Design Works we prepare projects reports for all projects that are successfully completed. These reports include time spent on the project, screen shots of the final designs, color codes, font names, a creative brief and the customer details.

These reports are then stored in a database and help us down the line when we are researching or when we are trying to make sure that a particular design was not done before by any other designer in the company.

I use outlook calendar heavily for managing my tasks and my deadlines.

Tip #3: Hardest First

I usually attack the hardest and the worst task first. That way, I will have what it takes to completes tasks that I either hate or do not care for. You can then work on the easier tasks. This will make you feel completely in control since the hardest tasks have already been completed.

For me the hardest task is when I am assigned a project and in the project brief the client has written, “Please call me to discuss”. As most creative people would agree with me, calling a client to discuss the initial project scope is the toughest part.

It is very easy to put away this task. But procrastinating on this task means that the entire project gets delayed. So when I come to work in the morning, and when I am feeling my best I grab the phone and force myself to make these calls.

Tip #4: Treat yourself

Another technique I found to be quite effective is to reward yourself when you have completed each task. The hardest task always got the biggest reward. The way I reward myself is by doing things that I enjoy after I had completed a task that I did not enjoy.

For example after the project scope phone calls to my clients, I would either play a game on our of our XBoxes in the office or call and talk to my wife. This would then relax me and get me into mood for the more important tasks ahead such as team meetings, brainstorming sessions and the actual design work.

Tip #5: Change your environment

I find it quite effective to change my position or environment when I am stuck with a task. For example if I am stuck with an unusually difficult project and am finding it hard to come up with ideas, I find it effective to take my thought process elsewhere.

For instance, last week I was working on logo design project for a client who is in the ornate metal work business. The client did not give me any information in terms of what they wanted to see or which direction I should take. Attempts at trying to pry this information from the client resulted in a dead end.

The examples of logos liked by the client were all related to the food & drink and restaurant industries. This did not make sense to me. I did some research and realized that the competition had some really bad corporate identities. So I could not even get a clue as to how others in the same industry were branding themselves.

After spending an hour at my desk, I got up, walked out of the office and into the adjacent supermarket. I spent the good part of an hour hanging around the supermarket, thinking about this project. The change in scenario gave me some inspiration and I came back armed with a few promising ideas.

Tip #6: Don’t be shy

If you are stuck on a task and cannot find inspiration within yourself then do not hesitate to ask. Of course if you are working from your bedroom and are a one man company then it becomes a little difficult. But that can be handled by visiting related creative forums and asking for ideas. You will be surprised at what you can get back.

Asking your colleagues and researching online can really help you come out of a hole, if you are stuck on a creative task. This will help you avoid putting off the task.

Tip #7: Work around your weaknesses

When tackling a tough creative task that you would like to put off, it helps to work around your weaknesses. For instance, one of my weaknesses when it comes to creativity is integrating the slogan selection. I absolutely hate it. Most clients have tag lines that are way too big and it is a nightmare trying to integrate them into a beautiful concept.

To overcome this weakness I try and work my way around. I talk the clients into trimming the tag line (if it makes sense and has the same meaning the client originally intended). By trimming the tag line or rethinking the words used, often you find that the new tag line is much more impact. Clients are happy and I am happy too.

Tip #8: Strict Timing

Another useful technique I found that helps me avoid procrastination is to set up a particular time for a particular kind of task. For instance, every day at exactly 3PM EST (if I am working in the office) I do task assignments to my team members. I have 6 logo designers in my team and I have to assign milestones, tasks, answer their queries etc. Because I have my own projects to work on, I tend to put off this assigning task which might lead to delayed milestones.

So with out fail at 3PM sharp I drop what ever I am doing and open up our project management software and tend to all pending assignments etc.

Tip #9: Don’t be a perfectionist

Well, perhaps you can be on some occasions. But if you are working on some thing that you do not fancy then the best solution to avoid delaying that task is to get it done as quickly as you can. You can then fine tune it at a later time. But you need to complete the task first.

To some this may sound like bad advice. But if you are running a creative business then you need to think in terms of productivity. There is no sense in trying to get some thing to be perfect (which might forever) while risking deadlines or on rare occasions dropping the task entirely.

For instance, some times clients send in some color samples and request that we match them exactly in the design. This could be easier said than done. With so many different variables such as different monitors, different printers etc, it really is some times very difficult to match a color exactly. If the client gives you PANTONE Color Code, then it is fine. But if they simply email you an image for reference then you are in trouble.

Now instead of spending hours trying to get the color to match exactly, try to get the closest match and show it to you client. This will enable you to get that task done and give your client an opportunity to evalue the color and tell you if wants a closer match.

Tip #10: Just do it!

And finally if all else fails, just roll up your sleeves and just do it! Some times you might just have to fight back the bitter taste in your mouth for that particular task, hold back your tears and start doing the task.

Running a successful online creative/design business means that you will have to work on both interesting and the no-so interesting projects. You have to take on the tasks and do them with a positive attitude.

Are you a Creative Entrepreneur? Then this blog is the right place for you to get tips and advice on how to start, manage and make a small creative business work.

Over the coming days, weeks and months I will be posting a series of tips that you might find useful as you go about trying to make your creative business a success.

How am I qualified to do that? Well, I have  started, along with my business partner, and have successfully built an online corporate identity and graphic/web design business. Starting with 2 people back in 1999, today we are over 40 people and growing with 4 offices around the world.

So today I will be talking about a little bit of history. Just to give you some background on our company and how our advice might help you on your own journey into the tricky world of online creative business.

In the Begining…

The year was 1999. I was working for a creative and advertising firm in Sarasota, Florida called MediaX Inc. I had joined the company in 1996 right after I graduated from uni. The company was big (had around 200 staff) and business was good. I was in the branding section and was dealing with logo designs, corporate indentity and other brand related stuff.

The work was good and I loved creating logos and corporate identities. However the company was strictly offline and did things in a very traditional and slow maner.

One of my collegues, MB, working in the software section of the company and I decided to start a corporate identity and logo design company that would offer branding to small companies that could not afford expensive design firms and in fact did not need the hu-ha offered by such companies.

The problem…

In MediaX, typically when a client came for some corporate identity work, our business analysts would spend at least week in meetings and phone calls for the fact-finding part of the process. They would ask the client many questions (many of them irrelevant, really) and build up notes.

They would then have more meetings in-house with the designers to describe what they believe the company does, stands for, who the target audience is etc. The designers then go away and do independent research on the industry etc and try and come up with sketches of logo design concepts.

More days pass as our project manager then interfaces with the client and shows them the concepts and gathers feedback from them. They then come back to the designers either for re-draws or revisions.

The client would be charged $2,500 to $4,000 for this process and it would take any where from a month to 4 months before a logo is finalized.

The Solution…

I and MB felt that this process could be simplified and made more accessible to small business if the service was offered on the web. There were already a very small number of companies doing this online.

We decided to give up our jobs and started SpellBrand (Logo Design Works). Over the past few years we have created 1000s of corporate identities and logos for companies accross the world. We have grown from a 2 man company in 1999 to more than 40 people. We have also opened offices in the UK, France, Singapore and India.

We pride ourselves in offering high quality corporate identity solutions at very affordable rates. And best of all we try and provide resources to help the creative entrepreneur setting up and running a design business online.

Self Promotion Tips for the Creative Entrepreneur

On this blog I will be posting a series of tips for the creative person including tips of self promotion both offline and online, setup and run an online business, getting and retaining customers, dealing with the easy and difficult customers and more. I will use case studies of our own projects where possible and try and offer advice based on our experience in the online design business.

I would welcome any comments you might about the tips and advice that I post and suggest you subscribe to this blog via RSS or via email updates.

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