1. & typography LOGO D E S I G N
Hi, Everyone, now that we have learned about type and typography principles, we’re ready to learn about logo design.

2. This presentation should only be viewed AFTER the presentation on Typography. You will already need to know about type families; fonts to avoid; typography principles; kerning, leading, tracking; concordance, conflicting and contrasting type; and fundamental design elements and principles.

3. What is a brand?

4. What is a brand?
“A brand is a simple mental model that collectively represents what people feel, think and say about a product, service or company, and where meaning is established over time through consistent positive experiences and engagements” (Elizabeth Talerman, Nucleus Branding).
I usually say a brand is the whole universe of awareness that surrounds a product, service, or company. That world is constantly evolving and is perceived differently from one person to the next. Brand managers work to develop consistent ideas about a brand, through everything and everyone it touches.
One reason companies are sensitive about how their logos are used and what is being said about them is that all of these actions impact what people think about them. (Another reason is they can be neurotic, narcissistic, and viciously power-hungry—e.g., suing fans, critics, and artists who are interacting with their brands in perfectly legal ways—but that’s a different presentation.)

5. What is a logo?

6. What is a logo?
A logo is a graphic representation of a company name, trademark, abbreviation, etc., often uniquely designed for ready recognition.

7. Which program can be used to create logos?
A. Photoshop B. Illustrator C. InDesign D. Any of the above
Why? To find the answer to this question, see the Graphics Software Review PPT:

8. A logo can be type only
OR type plus another graphic symbol (called a “glyph”).
. . . but even if it’s type only, that is a graphic symbol and must be thoughtfully designed.

9. Logos are “sacred ground.”
Logos are “sacred ground.” It’s extremely rare that a company radically changes its logo. Usually, it does so in small evolutionary steps over time rather than making radical changes, for several reasons. 1) Recognizability is worth money. The worth of your logo is called “brand equity.” It’s built up over years of advertising and other public exposure. When you change a logo, you lose that equity. 2) Customers can literally feel betrayed. They no longer have the same personal feeling about you. 3) People can wonder if something’s wrong—if the company has changed hands, etc. Sometimes a company will take the plunge and make a radical logo change, and it’s the stuff case histories are made of.
For example, Walmart made radical change to its logo to appeal to women (who do most of the shopping). Describe what the changes are and why you think those choices were made. Payless radically changed its logo for a much-needed update.
It’s typical that many customers “hate” a new logo when it comes out, no matter how good it is.

10. Be careful what you communicate . . . accidentally.
When you’re in the middle of designing a logo, you can lose perspective. Continually ask for a fresh pair of eyes on your work so you don’t accidentally communicate unintended ideas It happens more than you might think.

12. The SLAMR Formula Simple Legible Appropriate Memorable
Reproducible (and Reducible)
This is a formula I created decades ago ago as a guideline for students designing logos. If you follow these guidelines, you will have a strong logo.

13. S = Simple
The most recognized logos in the world are very simple, yet distinctive. That’s the challenge.

14. Common Techniques for Simplicity
1. Type Only – type as graphic shapes (“letter forms”)
Creating a distinctive logo with type only can be a powerful choice. It’s amazing how distinctive you can make type when using Adobe Illustrator—and yet the logo remains simple. Convert your type to outlines (Type > Create Outlines) and then you can edit it as vector artwork, using the direct select tool to move points and alter curves, and using the pen tool to add or subtract points on a line. Experiment with dragging the ascenders and descenders of letter forms.

15. Common Techniques for Simplicity
2. Abstract Images – stays graphically bold
Abstract images are those that have essential elements of known objects but are not photographically real. Using abstraction assures an image can be simple enough to be effective in a logo. So, for example, you see the “Open Field” logo has lines in colors that remind us of rows of fields. Juicy Films has an image that appears to be a film reel in an orange. The foxography logo has a stylized emblem with ears, eye, and tail that remind us of a fox.

16. Problems with Complexity of Illustration
Illustration: These logos are not as strong because they are complex and attempt to illustrate. Illustrations can be used separately from the logo itself rather than in the logo.
When logos get complex, they are difficult to remember and can become illegible when they appear small. A logo is not an illustration—although it’s perfectly fine to include illustrations alongside your logo when it’s used in various jobs. For example, take a look at O’Hara’s fairy—really cute. It can be used any time—it just shouldn’t be a required part of the foundational logo. The type is plenty distinctive by itself.

17. L = Legible Must be readable if reduced to ¼” NOT LEGIBLE LEGIBLE
A logo will often be used in a tiny size—for example, if you are a sponsor of an event, there might be 20 tiny logos of sponsors at the bottom of a ticket stub. So, the graphic design rule is a logo must be readable if reduced to ¼”—and we literally reduce logos to that size to test them before presenting them to a client. To make a reducible logo keep your type approximately as large as your image so the logo will be reducible. The logo on the left is the exact same height as the logo on the right, but it’s not as legible because it has elements that are dramatically smaller in size than other elements, and the visual image and type are not unified. Therefore, when the whole logo is reduced, the small elements get tiny.
The logo on the left is the exact same height as the logo on the right, but it’s not as legible because it has elements that are dramatically smaller in size than other elements, and the visual image and type are not unified. Therefore, when the whole logo is reduced, the small elements get tiny. TIP: Keep your type approximately as large as your image.

18. Which logo do you think is for _______ ?
A = Appropriate
Which logo do you think is for _______ ?
In these logos, I have deleted the key words that tell what the business is (so some of them look a little odd). The idea is for you to imagine what kind of business each logo might be used to represent, to see if the graphic style of the logo is appropriate for communicating the identity of the business.

19. Not appropriate for the identity of the business? Why not?
Do you believe these logos are appropriate or not for the business represented? Why or why not?
A note on the last logo: Agricultural Environmental Extender Model is the pioneering team of soil, water, plant, and environmental Research & Extension Center and USDA Grassland, Soil, and Water Laboratory in Temple, Texas created a set of comprehensive water hydrology, soil and land management models used world-wide to examine the impacts of changes in technologies and climate on the resilience and sustainability of agriculture and natural resources.
M A R K E T I N G

20. Outdated, muddy, busy, or weak graphics are not appropriate for a new logo.

21. M = Memorable Simple logos must still be memorable, unique
Do you recognize this logo? What do the two C’s stand for? Trivia: It was created in 1924 by the owner of this business and has never changed.
Do you recognize this logo?

22. M = Memorable
Simple logos must still be memorable, unique

23. Technique to try: Altering letter forms (positive & negative space)
M = Memorable
Technique to try: Altering letter forms (positive & negative space)
One way to create a memorable logo is to alter letter forms—which can be easy in Adobe Illustrator.

24. Reproducible
Must be reproducible in black and white. - Logo on the left turns to muddy grays. - Logo on right stays strong.
A logo must be reproducible in black and white, because sometimes it could be used in a print newspaper or other black-and-white print or web design. Look what happens when a gradient turns black-and-white. That’s why we avoid gradients in logos.

25. Or create a B&W version as well
Another alternative is to create a black and white version of a logo so you can have gradients and other effects in the color version. Here’s a famous logo that is not reproducible by turning the color version black and white. Instead, a special version of the logo is used for black and white reproduction.

26. Final Concepts

27. Unity: Letter Forms are like Puzzle Pieces
This type fits together well with an extended “g.”
Often students will randomly place two or three words together on a page and believe that’s a logo design. In reality, anyone can see it’s not professional. In professionally designed logos, thought is given to how every element comes together. So you can think of elements of a logo as puzzle pieces. The elements don’t have to fit literally like a puzzle (like this one does on the page), but there should be meaningful visual relationships between all the elements.
But note that it does not reproduce well in black and white.

28. Avoid Red and Blue Side-by-side
Red and blue next to each other creates painful vibration on the eye.
Solution: Separate them with white.

29. What’s wrong with this logo?

30. And by the way, here’s how it looks in black and white.

31. What’s wrong with these?
Instituto de Estudos Orientais

32. QUESTIONS?
© 2007 Juliet Davis

33. (Answers) Pro Scooter Grip Tape
What do these companies do? (These are just my notes in case anyone asks.) Brain Centers (controversial “therapies” for changing behavior) Fire Protection (build sprinklers) Scaffolding builders domes (literally, they build metal domes) Fasteners attach one element to another Apex Learning (apps for test readiness, alternative course delivery, online ed, etc.) Roofing Tactical Specialties (manufacture gun parts) Pro Scooter Grip Tape Home Loans Parkour is quick navigation of urban or rural terrains Apex race track
Pro Scooter Grip Tape

34. What’s wrong with this logo?
- Red and blue next to each other
Simple? No
Legible? No
Appropriate? Maybe
Memorable? No
Reproducible in black and white? No

35. Old Slide