Fakultet - e-media: 2013

GROUP 1:Logo Design Color, Business Types & Qualities – The Science Behind Colors

Color plays a big part in graphic design. The colors used in a design can set a mood or drive home a point. Color can demonstrate strength or compassion, weakness or fear. It is important to consider the message you want to portray when selcting the base colors in your own logo design. Choose wisely and half your marketing job is done. Make a poor choice and you will regret the mistake. You can always change it later but it helps to get it right first time as this will save you money in the long run.

Let’s take a look at some colors that you could consider for your logo design and explore some of the hidden meanings. The logo color chart below is not exhaustive but covers a large cross section of industries, professions, trades and qualities. Your specific business type may not be listed but you should see one that is a close match. Where a color is listed, like red for instance, this refers to red and it’s close shades like dark red and light red or deep red etc. It does not specifically refer only to the shade of red shown below in the chart.

BLACK:
Qualities:	definite, credible, strength, powerful, precise, professional, direct, accuracy
Best for:	construction, corporate, oil, financial, fashion, manufacturing, cosmetics, mining, marketing, tradesmen
RED:
Qualities:	hungry, exciting, urgent, dangerous, sexy, evocative, romantic, design, warm, fast
Best for:	food, clothing, fashion, apparel cosmetics, sports, real estate, entertainment, health care, caring, emergency services, hospitality, marketing, public relations, advertising
GREEN:
Qualities:	natural, organic, youth, nurturing, instructional, education, adventurous, ecological, calming, nature
Best for:	medicine, science, government, recruitment, ecological-business, tourism, human resources
BLUE:
Qualities:	credibility, calming, clean, focused, medical, professional, judicial, power, business like
Best for:	medical, scientific, utilities, government, health care, high-tech, recruitment, tradesmen, legal, information technology, dental, corporate
ORANGE:
Qualities:	creative, dynamic, energetic, youthfulness, expressive, child-like, fruitful, innocence, enthusiasm
Best for:	recruitment, food and drink, entertainment, education, sports, human resources, childcare
YELLOW:
Qualities:	energy, drive, dynamic, encouraging, design, ideas, youth, invention, bright, positive
Best for:	childcare, food and drink, entertainment, new technology, automotive, signs and banners, ecommerce
PURPLE:
Qualities:	spiritual, mysterious, magical, arcane, religiousness, evocative, sensual, well being, occult, loving
Best for:	body, mind and soul, astrology, tarot, aromatherapy, massage, yoga, arcane, healing, spiritual, occult
BROWN:
Qualities:	earthly, nurturing, historical, safe, financial, tradition, conservative, reliable, retrospect, steady
Best for:	construction, animals, mining, veterinary, finance, real estate, ecology
WHITE:
Qualities:	clinical, clean, medical, clear, purity, spacious, simple, easy, fresh
Best for:	medical, science, high-tech, dental

After deciding on your logo design colors you will need to make sure that the colors work well together. You don’t want to clash your colors in the logo because this might put people off. You need to make sure that the colors work well together because this will be more pleasing on the eye. Your logo will look more balanced and clean if the colors work for each other.

To select some complimentary colors, designers use color wheels and matching swatches. These are tools that produce scientifically proven color combinations that compliment one another. These color tools can be expensive but a free online one can be just as powerful for you as a “do it yourself” option. A very good one that we point clients to can be found here: Color Wheel. This link will launch a new window in your browser that contains an interactive color wheel. Use this color wheel in conjunction with the color chart and qualities and you will come up with a color combination that represents your business in the best light possible.

Don’t worry if you are a complete technophobe or if you just don’t feel confident using these tools. The Logo Company are experts in color for logo designs and will produce your logo with the colors that best represent your business.

Source: http://thelogocompany.net/logo-color-choices/

GROUP 2: Top 5 Most Successful Logos Ever Designed

One of these featured logos below is bound to have sprung to mind when you read that title. What is it about these logos that stick in our consciences? Is it all about the size of the company and the impact it has on our daily lives? Or is it something more deep seated in the design of such logos? They become as much of a household name as the brand itself, with their own nicknames. We look at the top five brand logos of all time and the fascinating histories behind them.

5. Prettiest Calligraphy

The Coca-Cola logo hasn’t really changed since 1887. When the company was founded the previous year, the logo font was plainer, more simple, more… boring. The swirly script version took off and has been part of our lives ever since. There was one brief hiccup in 1890, when the Cs were redesigned to include strange cherries hanging off them, but thankfully this didn’t last. The designer Frank Mason Robinson’s original outline (much like the flavor of the drink itself) is just too iconic to change now.

4. Horse Power

Representing, as it does, drive and power, the Ferrari horse has become an icon amongst driving enthusiasts and aspirational people all over the world. The Italian brand was founded in 1929, but the logo was empolyed as far back as 1923. Enzo Ferrari used it on his race car, on the suggestion of Count Francesco Barrara’s mother. He was a fighter pilot during World War One and famously had a horse on his plane, which his mother thought brought him luck (despite his death!). The SF initials on the logo stand for Scuderia Ferrari – ‘Ferrari Racing Team’.

3. The Apple of My Eye

The original Apple logo was the brainchild of Apple CEO Steve Jobs and depicted an apple falling on the head of Isaac Newton. The apple with a bite taken out of it was created by graphic designer Rob Janoff in 1976. Its rainbow colours were kept until 1999, when a monochrome version replaced it. An urban legend suggests that the bite out of the apple is a nod to Enigma code pioneer Alan Turing, who died after taking a bite from an apple he’d laced with poison.

2. The Golden Arches

The original McDonalds logo back in 1940 was incredibly non-descript and its latest incarnation – the world famous golden arches wasn’t introduced until 1962. The design was by Jim Schindler, but the arch idea was dreamt up by company co-founder Dick McDonald ten years earlier as an addition to their latest restaurant. It wasn’t introduced into the architecture of the restaurant, but was subsequently included in the logo. It was initially placed on the logo in front of the new ‘drive-in’ restaurant design, but this was later dropped to just the arches and the company name in the ubiquitous bright red. So the arches were originally an architectural design.

1. The Swoosh

What a nickname for a logo, “The Swoosh”, but we all know exactly what that means. The Nike tick symbol that stands alone as a logo in its own right nowadays. The emblem of many a trainer on our streets and tracksuits in our gyms, it has become synonymous with urban cool. Incredibly, the designer of this multinational icon was a university graphic design student called Carolyn Davidson, who charged a cringeworthy $35 for it in 1971. In her defence, Nike wasn’t the powerhouse it is today. They were just setting up their new line of trainers, and didn’t even particularly like the logo at first. Luckily and justifiably, Carolyn was later given company shares for her contribution.

Source: http://www.creativebeacon.com/top-5-successful-logos-ever-designed/

GROUP 3: 5 Keys of Successful Logo Design

The best logos make an impact. They are memorable and they instantly evoke images of the brand with which they are associated. Think of the Golden Arches in the McDonald’s logo or the classic script in the Coca-Cola logo. Think of the peacock feathers in the NBC logo or the swoosh in the Nike logo.

On the other hand, bad logos are forgettable. They look unprofessional and they don’t tell you anything about the brand.

Creating a successful logo can influence the overall success of your brand. Whether you are a logo designer yourself or if you are looking to hire a designer to create your logo, it is important to understand the qualities of a great logo so you can get one that encourages the success of your business. Here are 5 keys to successful logo design:

Simplicity

One of the most important aspects of successful logo design is simplicity. There should be clean lines and few details like shading or other artistic touches. Colors should be limited to a few choices. Text should be limited to the brand name. Some great examples include the Nike swoosh, the Google logo, the Target bull’s eye, and the Twitter “T.” In logo design, less is more.

Recognition

Your logo will be synonymous with your brand. Therefore, it must be instantly recognizable in any format or medium. No matter what color, no matter what size, no matter what format, your logo should be identifiable as the image for your brand. Think of social media icons such as Facebook and Twitter: They use the logos for the most prominent social networks, but they are often manipulated to fit the theme of a blog and so are presented in different colors, different shapes, and different formats, yet they are always recognizable.

Uniqueness

If your logo is to be recognizable, it should also be unique. Otherwise, what is to say that the star in your logo is not actually the start in another company’s logo? Common shapes may be used, but they should be altered to create a unique logo for your brand, such as through special coloring or other details. However, it is a much better idea to create a unique logo that uses a unique shape or item that is not likely to be used by another company. The Nike swoosh is another great example, as is the apple with the bite taken out of it for Apple electronics.

Tone

Your logo must tell your audience a bit about your company. What are your values? What kind of products or services do you provide? While a simple logo may not be able to convey all this information, it should create a certain tone that reflects your brand. For example, a logo with a comic sans font and bright colors will convey a sense of playfulness and irreverence. If you have a toy company, this may be totally appropriate. (Think of the playful font in the Toys R Us logo.) However, if you have a financial services company, this may make you seem unprofessional. Be sure that your logo creates the right tone for your brand.

Transferability

Your logo will be used on every item associated with your brand, including print materials, your website, your social media, and your e-mail list. It is important that your logo can not only be easily transferred to any of these mediums, but also that it will be recognizable in each of them. For example, an animated logo may look great on a website, but you won’t be able to use it in a print campaign. Will it look as good as a static image? If not, you may want to consider a new logo.

Some successful examples include the Nike swoosh logo and the McDonald’s arches. Those logos are recognizable in almost any format.

There is a certain amount of creativity and plain old luck required to create a successful logo. However, ensuring that your logo has each of these elements can help you to create something special that will help you to brand your company and connect with your customers.

Does your logo have these qualities? What do you consider the key elements of successful logo design?

Source: http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/design/logo-design-keys/

GROUP 4: Four rules of logo design

1. Start with your brand

When deciding on a logo consider your brand first. Ask tough questions. Know who your clients are and what they want from you. Know what you want from your clients. Do research and think hard about your company’s mission statement.

Remember to ask the right questions internally. If you ask ten people if they prefer blue or green, you won’t get anywhere. But if you ask, “Is it more important that we look technical (blue) or trendy (green)?” then you’re moving in the right direction. If you start out by showing logo concepts and asking what people like, you’ve already lost. Once you’ve more clearly defined your brand then you can ensure your logo effectively represents that brand.

2. Simplify

The more lines, shapes, stories, colors, and fonts you have in your logo, the more provincial you look. If being provincial is part of your brand then feel free to break this rule. Otherwise less is more. Remember your logo isn’t the whole story, it’s a single unifying thought.

Try to limit your logo to a single font. Two is fine if your tagline is part of your logo. Three is just wrong regardless of your size. Go for solid colors over gradients. Gradients never print well and almost always look amateur.

3. Shoot for ten times your size

If you’re a million-dollar-a-year company, your logo should be as strong, or stronger, than your ten-million-dollar-a-year competitor.

Don’t worry about what the other million-dollar-a-year companies are doing in your space. Follow the advice of dressing for the job you want, choose your logo for the multi-billion dollar capitalist success story you know you are.

4. Know that someone will hate it

Let’s face it, someone isn’t going to be happy with your choice. Any major branding changes, such as logos, should be combined with an internal public relations campaign to make sure that people understand why you’ve made the choices you made.

Make sure anyone that can derail your design has their voice heard. The only thing worse than getting two dozen opinionated, smart, dedicated people to agree on one color is having five people pick the color and annoying the other nineteen.

Source: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2013/03/4-essential-rules-of-effective-logo-design/

*************************************

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITY: Test PWSZ Logo

Spend a minute and answer the 14 questions below (you can do it in your head):

Get one point for each “yes” below

Does your logo work horizontally?
Does your logo have both horizontal and vertical options?
Does your logo work in black and white?
Does your logo work on both black and white backgrounds without a box around it?
Can you sketch all non-typography elements in five seconds or less?
Did you buy the font you used in the logo?
Do you have fewer than two fonts?

Subtract one point for each “yes” below

Do you use more than two colors in your logo?
Do you have more than one shape in addition to the logotype in your logo?
Are any shapes in your logo explicit instead of abstract? (i.e. a globe or something else recognizable)
Did you use any clip art in your logo?
Is there a photo or complex pattern in your logo?
Do you have a gradient in your logo?
Did you use default font kerning (not change spaces between letters)?

Scoring

<0 = Don’t even think about it
1-4 = Acceptable for a $50-million-a-year company
5+ = Great job!

Improving a logo relies on an understanding of brand and how brand differs from the visual identity of a company or organization.

Brand vs. logo

Your brand is the sum total of every interaction that someone has with your organization. Your brand is the music a client hears while holding for a call. Your brand is your parking lot. It’s your front lobby and how clean your bathrooms are. Your brand is every interaction with someone on your team.

So what part does your logo play in your brand?

Your logo shows up everywhere. On your website, business cards, letterhead, signs, cars, and advertisements. It goes everywhere you go.

But it isn’t the logo’s job to tell the whole story.

Source: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2013/03/4-essential-rules-of-effective-logo-design/

Fakultet - e-media

niedziela, 8 grudnia 2013

Prezis - first draft

niedziela, 24 listopada 2013

Links for tomorrow

wtorek, 19 listopada 2013

Readings we did in class

GROUP 2: Top 5 Most Successful Logos Ever Designed

GROUP 4: Four rules of logo design

1. Start with your brand

2. Simplify

3. Shoot for ten times your size

4. Know that someone will hate it

*************************************

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITY: Test PWSZ Logo

Get one point for each “yes” below

Subtract one point for each “yes” below

Scoring

LOGOS - colour

niedziela, 3 listopada 2013

Prezi tutorials

Colour and font type (UPDATE)

Prezi test

Register