London designer and designers’ favorite Miles Newlyn worked with Dragon Rouge to create a new logo for the Skittles brand name of candies. His multi-colored tongue concept is a literal though stylized translation of the brand’s slogan, “Taste the rainbow.”
The official Skittles website is worth checking out too.
What are your thoughts?
Via LogoLounge.
Interbrand in conjunction with Business Week has just released the best global brand rankings of 2009.
The Top 10 Brands of 2009 were:
>> View the full 100 best global brands on the Business Week web site.
Based on the 2007 top 50 brands, the % below identifies the percentage of the top 50 brands that hold to this view:
You can also download a poster (PDF) of the 2009 top brands as seen above.
There is also a video to watch regarding the top brands list.
(I apologise for the auto play – I couldn’t disable or link to the video any other way.)
LoGoBoom is Glen Hobbs of Highlands Ranch, Colorado. I define myself first as a husband and father. Of course, to be good at that, you’re pretty much obligated to provide a roof over their heads, food on their plates and trips to Chucky Cheese. There’s where design comes in.
As a teen approaching high school graduation back in the same year that George Michael’s “Faith” topped the Billboard 100 (that’s as close as I’m getting to giving you my age) I had zero idea what I wanted to do for a career. It’s not that I was stupid. I was a straight A student with a lot of options. It’s just that none of them was of any interest to me.
One of my older brothers, who was gainfully employed, asked me “So what do you want to do?” We were sitting in our parents’ den watching television. I remember it well. I replied with a confident “I dunno.” He probably said something back or slapped me in the back of the head. I don’t remember that. But at that moment the logo graphics for the television show we were watching animated on. “That. I want to do that.” I said. He simply replied “Well that’s graphic design. There are schools for that.” I don’t think I ever thanked him. Thanks bro! And five bucks to anybody who emails me a correct guess at the name of the show.
What? This is a business? People get paid to do stuff like that? And there I was. Headed down the path. I did no research at all regarding the industry. Knew nothing about what I was getting into. I just enrolled and showed up for the first day of classes knowing absolutely nothing about the world of graphic design. So maybe I was stupid after all. But I remember on that first day thinking to myself “this feels right.” I also met my wife while attending that school. Boy was it ever right. Hi Trish!
Before I fast-forward to modern day… a shout out to a couple of my instructors: to Tony Gresham for challenging me to challenge everything and to James McCullough for encouraging me to trust my instincts. Moving on…
See this is tricky. Do I “clean up” the description of my process so I come across as a consummate professional? Or do I lay it on you all candid and raw like? Raw it is. Warning: I am not a good example.
I don’t have a formal process. I don’t have a client questionnaire. I don’t have a contract. We agree on a fee and schedule and then I just listen. I listen to the client (whether in person or via email) describe who they are. What they want. What they need. What they like. What they don’t like. Who they are trying to attracts as an audience. What their challenges are. It’s all there. You know it’s like the old adage that the sculpture already exists in the block of marble…it’s just the sculptor’s job to take away the excess.
My mom used to ask me how I could keep coming up with new ideas. I explained that every client has a unique need. It’s like a math. You never run out of answers because every problem has it’s own solution. But then again, not so rigid as math because with design, every problem can have a million solutions. I just have to find one of them that works.
So here’s what I do. And I even tell my clients this so my ugly habits have already been outed. If I have a set amount of time to work on a logo, I do absolutely nothing with it for the majority of that time. I just go about my business of eating, sleeping, watching the tube, playing with the kids. But it’s in there. In the dusty corners of my mind. Percolating. Some of my best logo designs have happened when I’m driving or showering. Sorry for the visual. But yeah. It just happens. Then once I’ve procrastinated to the point I can’t procrastinate any further, I throw a collection of quick sketches down on whatever paper is handy and dive to Illustrator.
I don’t peruse references for inspiration. I don’t do much research (unless unfamiliar with the industry I’m designing for). I was always that way with illustration as well. I hated looking at references. A while back I heard an interview with the designers of the new Dodge Challenger. They said, and I paraphrase, that they didn’t want to build a line for line replica of the ‘68 Challenger but rather they wanted to build a car inspired by how we remember the car in our mind’s eye. The audience could relate. It didn’t have to be literal. It just had to make a connection in the mind. Brilliant. I approach things the same way. I trust my instincts of what I think will make that connection for the intended audience rather than getting bogged down in the literal. Of course I was always a terrible illustrator so… whatever.
I think a good client makes a good logo. You know? I mean a good client will recognize it’s not just their subjective tastes that should shape the design. A good client will let the logo do what it needs to do. A good logo serves business goals. A good logo represents well. A good logo stands the test of time. A good logo is quite often the front door to the company so it should send out the appropriate message. And again, the appropriateness of it is shaped by all kinds of factors that must be considered. So what makes a good logo? I do. I make a good logo. Ok, that’s way over the top shameless self-promotion.
A healthy ego. Emphasis on “healthy”. We have to have an ego to survive in this business. And we have to have an ego to put ourselves out there on a daily basis. Here…look at what I made and critique it unabashedly. It takes self-confidence to do that. But that ego can’t get in the way. We can’t be arrogant. The client isn’t always right…but they are always the client. A designer with a healthy ego will have conviction for his choices but at the same time be open to the thoughts of others. It’s a fine line but ultimately one that determines our success.
Well I’ve been fortunate enough that clients tend to find me. I have a lot of repeat and referral business locally, nationally and internationally. And I’ve established long-term relationships with a number of agencies and design firms across the country from them seeing my portfolio on-line. I owe a debt of gratitude to sites like this one and LogoPond.com, as many designers do, for evangelizing our talents. Having been in this industry for quite some time, I’m still amazed at the opportunity to work with companies from around the world as if they were just next door. This internet thing just might catch on.
Well, as I said above, this internet thing is a game changer. Back in the day I was always able to sit down with a client and present face to face. Today is the age of the pdf. But I do miss some of that direct interaction. I remember when I first started working for a local design firm here in Denver. I was hired specifically for my logo design experience. The owner asked me how many logos I typically presented. I said anywhere from a few to 10ish depending on budget etc. He didn’t say much. So I asked, “How many do you guys typically present?” He said “Usually around 40.” He had a great process. Very informal. We’d present a huge amount of ideas. Some very fleshed out…some quite rough. But we’d just lay them all out on a table. Without fail the client would always react with the thought that there was no way they could decide. The owner would say, “You know, just start by turning over the ones you just absolutely don’t like.” Without fail they would very quickly narrow the focus down to about five concepts making extremely valuable comments along the way.
To those of us listening, what they said about the ones they didn’t like was just as important as what they said about the ones they did. We’d then take that narrowed selection and do another study on those. Of course those were pretty large budgets. But it was a great experience in recognizing that initially there are no bad ideas. It’s just that the better ideas will rise up. And it really pushed me to forge ahead once you hit that designer block.
Clearly budget dictates the number of concepts that I present. That’s where the onus is on us as designers to think it through before we design. I think Paul Rand when presenting the UPS logo said he only brought one because it was the right one. It only takes one.
Vector files (eps) and raster files (hi and lo res psd/jpg) in cmyk, pms, rgb and b&w. Really whatever the client needs. And I always tell them that I keep files archived so if they ever need a specific format down the road they can hit me up and I’ll get it to them at no charge.
Absolutely not! Ok, ok. We’ve all encountered this. And really it depends on the circumstances. There are certainly times where the client didn’t like anything and after hearing their comments I could see where I fell short on how I translated their direction. Other times it seems like the client gave inaccurate direction to begin with. I usually tell a client that if they just don’t like anything from my first presentation, I’ll go back to the drawing board at no extra charge. This gives them a level of comfort. And I feel if I miss that badly, it can’t be all their fault. Beyond that, I consider progressive tweaks and revisions to be within scope. But the client can’t contradict themselves or change horses in mid-stream. That will affect the budget.
I think I covered this with the discussion of all my bad habits above. But I do very much like sites like this and LogoPond.com. LogoPond is a great community and you will get honest critique so be prepared. But to make it this long in this business I’ve developed a pretty tough skin. As for my inspiration? Every thing and everywhere. I just look around. And if I get blocked… I take a walk and do something completely unassociated with design. Then I come back fresh.
Well for the near future I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing. I’m pretty fortunate to be where I’m at and surrounded by people who love me. It ain’t broke so I ain’t fixin’ it. Oh but I really do need to build myself a website to feature my portfolio. I’m a little behind the curve on that one. Did I mention that I think this whole web thing is really about to catch on?
And in ten years? I can’t say. I plan about 2 weeks ahead. Beyond that…it’s a surprise for all of us.
Any last words?
Yeah. I’d just like to share a little story. My daughter, Lindy, always offers to help me with logos. She’ll come in my office and ask, “What logo are you working on Dad? Want some help?” She has good ideas. Believe me. A couple of years ago after asking what I was working on she was clearly not interested in the subject matter so she said “I’m going to design a logo for Opal” her little sister who at the time was just crawling. Ok. Fine. You do that.
She goes away with her pencil and paper and comes back in about 10 minutes with this:
Lindy was six at the time. A six year old was able to connect the letterforms of her sister’s name, Opal, into a personal logo that captured a specific phase of development. I KNOW! CRAZY!
How is that possible? I know for a fact that I would not have come up with that idea were I tasked to do so. There’s no way. But a six year old did. I was humbled. And, of course, extremely proud as I showed the sketch to my designer friends and random strangers.
So what’s the take away from this little story? I don’t know. Maybe it’s that we should never take ourselves too seriously. We’re some of the lucky few that get paid to use our imaginations. My daughters don’t get paid to use their imaginations but they do it every day anyway because it’s fun. It’s fun. We get to work at a job that’s fun. Don’t forget that.
I’m going to go play with my kids now. That’s the best idea I’ve had today.
You can get in contact with Glen on Logo Pond:
More Logo Designer Interviews:
A general rule of thumb in logo design is that when you have an original business / product name (ie. Sony, Kodak or Sega) you should keep the design very simple (like all logo designs) and in some cases, this means having no logo at all.
The definition of a logo without a mark / symbol, is a logotype and with a few small, appropriate modifications to a typeface (in this case Gotham Black) you can create a powerful brand identity.
Below you will find a diagram of a logotype designed for a recent client of mine – a business management consulting firm based in Brazil.
In this case, I modified the letters E & L to have angled slopes and to keep consistency, the angles are parallel with the angles found in the letter A , which also has a slight modification.
I am in the process of designing the rest of Beolchi Rangel’s marketing material but below you can see how another element has been brought into the design to help create the whole identity.
Have you ever designed a logotype? Did you find it difficult selling the idea to the client?
What do you think of when you see the Harley-Davidson logo? Personally, I think of a rugged, rebellious “bikey” – one with tattoos, beard and a leather jacket.
Stereotypes aside, I find it fascinating that being what the Harley-Davidson brand is (tough & rebellious) it can turn a scrawny office worker into one mean fighting machine – just by slapping a logo on.
This has not been achieved overnight but rather has been built into the culture and beliefs of Harley since its establishment in 1902.
Marketing has played a huge role in this perceived image and I believe the video below is a great example of how they have achieved this.
“We believe the machine you sit on, can tell the world exactly where you stand. We don’t care what everyone else believes. Amen.”
Notice how the last line of the clip, as quoted above, is clear and not distorted? A very powerful, yet subtle, way to send the message right home.
In my opinion, Harley is one of the strongest “brands” in the world – right along side Apple. What about you?
Who said logo design had to be all serious? Have fun with these logo games, parodies and more.
Guess what is the correct logo in this fun game. Comes with a timer and all.
A few logo parodies.
Do you know your brand alphabet? Match each letter to the right brand identity… remember that some of the letters are from the middle of a logo.
Below is another version of spot the logo. Answers here.
Your favourite logos now with gloss, reflections and more!
Some rather unfortunate logo designs that have come / gone a bit too far.
On the topic of bad logo design, check out these rather unsightly logos.
Have you ever noticed how overdone speech bubble logos are? Here are just a few.
Similar to brand alphabet, this is a game that features only part of a logo. Can you guess the logo by only seeing part of it?
As previously posted here on Logo Designer Blog, here are some logo designs after going through the recession.
Hope this post has lightened up your day… have you got any more logo design fun to share?
The city of Melbourne, Australia revealed their new brand identity yesterday. The logo was developed by Landor’s Aussie branch. Preliminary research for the logo came in at about $74,000 and the design itself cost $120,000. Those who have rebranded destinations know they should have paid twice that given the politics of the work. ~ Source
Melbourne’s website quotes CEO Dr Kathy Alexander in saying the City will benefit from the logo in the following ways:
* Consolidation of multiple logos into a single, strong, cutting-edge design
* Better identification of services City of Melbourne is delivering
* Greater brand impact and flexibility
* More cost and time-effective in-house design and brand management
Above you can see the identity system in use.
Below you can experience the new identity via video.
Your thoughts?
Image Sources: The Age + City Council
Getting your work published in logo design books is a great way to get international exposure and recognition for your work. Below are three logo design books calling for your logos to be submitted! The deadlines are very soon so act fast.
Rockport Publishers – USA
Deadline Extended: 15 June 2009
No entry fees charged
Eulda Books – Italy
Deadline: 30 June 2009 (logos designed in 2008)
Deadline: 31 January 2010 (logos designed in 2009)
Entry fees charged however you receive a copy of the book for free.
Rockport Publishers – USA
Deadline: 30 June 2009
$99 membership required to submit however that includes a years membership to the site which I highly recommend.
For more design competitons & call for entries, I recommend following Jeff Fisher’s Blog as he regularly publishes call for entries. I also recommend bookmarking IcoGrada’s Calender page and Design Taxi’s Design Competitions page.
I’m 40 year old father of four, professional logo designer ,typographer and illustrator, AKA Logomotive. I have been designing professionally online since 1998 under the name Logo Motive Designs. I would consider myself pretty good at designing strong marks with complimenting type. I have done half a dozen professional typefaces on the market for Letterheadfonts. I am very passionate about my work and enjoy doing my own thing. My beginning work started out to be more illustrative, but found through my experience that I really enjoy designing strong memorable marks and custom type. Most of my newer work can be seen here at Logopond, where I am a featured artist.
Logo name: Kenluallen Client: Ken Luallen
I think a good logo design is one that WORKS for the company. A good logo design should be:
1. Good concept. You don’t always have to be overly clever, but make sure the concept has solid meaning and makes sense. Nothing better than a rock solid concept.
2. Distinctive and Memorable. A good logo can easily be understood and explained to others in a few words.
3. Adaptable. I think many designers forget the importance of Adaptability in their design work. Make sure the design can work in different environments such as horizontal and vertical layouts and be able to be reversed out. The logo should be able to work in print, digital, embroidery and signage. Consider the design being used in the largest and smallest of sizes.
4. It $ells. If the logo does not sell to the target audience, then I guess it can be considered as a fail.
Prepare for these these things and I think you will have a GREAT logo.
Logo name: Thrive DC Agency: Logo Motive Designs Designer: Mike Erickson Client: Thrive DC
One that can Adapt, Adjust and Overcome whatever project is thrown at them. I think a good logo designer has to be a good listener and visual interpreter. Your the creative one and the client is coming to you for your creativity and skills and knowledge. I mean who really wants to be just a “button pusher”. Be creative and sell your idea. A good logo designer feels pressure, pressure to perform and satisfy the client. A good logo designer is one who follows the guidelines to question number 2.
There is so much more involved in being a good logo designer .. I think skill, knowledge in the field and a good eye are equally important.
Interesting and most appropriate question considering I have done very little marketing in the past oh.. 10 years or so. Most of my client base is repeat clients or referrals from my clients, however I do see a stronger need for personal promotion these days. I do receive some inquiries through my online portfolios from logo sites such as logopond, Logofaves, Logomooose, Logofi and of course Letterheadfonts. So with that said, I think building a good solid client base is priceless, however people come and go so marketing is equally as important. Blogging seems a good way to go these days. =) I’ve gotta get on that.
Logo name: City Direct Client: Conceptual
Contact. I have found over the past few years that if you do not make contact with someone as soon as possible they look elsewhere or move on. I make my best effort to make immediate contact to let them know how interested and enthused I am.
Questions. I go over many questions with my clients picking their brain about their business and asking many questions like how they started? Who is their competition? How is the logo going to be used? Where they intend to go? What they want to convey? Who is their target audience? ( key question in logo design).
Brainstorming. I start brainstorming ideas with my clients and many times they are excited to hear my initial ideas even before they are put to paper. I write down things relevant to the business to get the creative juices going. Many ideas have come from the initial contact with the client just doodling and sketching while talking to them over the phone. Creativity to me is like adrenaline, when it’s flowing you don’t want to stop.
Sketching. I STRONGLY BELIEVE IN THIS. Brainstorming and sketching kind of go hand in hand. I get so much creative juice out of the pencil, however sometimes it leads me into other brilliant ideas =) I highly recommend sketching ideas out, many of them. ” The pencil is mightier than the mouse.” ME
Presenting. Once I have sketched out some good solid concepts and ideas, I will clean up, vectorize and present to the client a couple good ones. I have found that clients tend to look at the imperfect detail in sketches and it’s sometimes too hard to explain how it will be cleaned up. However I do have some clients that I can present rough sketches to, I appreciate those clients.
Final and Prep. The best part right? Not always. I actually enjoy the design part but this is the part that gives you the remaining balance and makes your clients return. Take care of this part. Even though it’s the most tedious part, it’s the most important part. Prep good clean files and only enough to get the job done right. Supplying too many file types will overwhelm the client and cause confusion down the road. I also offer my opinion and eye for clients prior to running prints or publishing work.
Logo name: eyehelp.org Client: Cosgrove Technology Group.
I usually present my initial concepts via PDF . I usually show the logos in black and white with a couple layout options. I say 3 concepts or within a certain allowed timeframe figured into the design contract. I try to give them really good solid and conceptual designs so I put a lot of sweat and effort into my initial designs. This can be a little draining if I do not succeed on the first attempts. The final files delivered are Vectors and high resolution bitmaps and any other relevant file needed for the project.
OF course! I would not be human if this has not happened to me. I get told all the time. “I like it, but it is not the same as the ones in your portfolio.” Or “I want it to say WOW like your other stuff”. Building or showcasing a good strong portfolio can increase your clients but on the same token it often puts more pressure on you to WOW your audience. Everyone wants the next WOW factor logo , but sometimes it is just impossible. I just try to work through and deliver a logo that works for the client and one they can be proud of. Most of the time the client understands where I am coming from and understands that perhaps they did not choose or have the best name or business to work with… to have that mind blowing logo. My clients tend to respect my creativity, skills, work and my time so we usually will work things out. I have refunded in the past though.
Logo name: FlipSide Client: Flipside Entertainment
On average, I have spent anywhere from 2 hrs. to 1 year. Now how does that average out? Humm.. I have some designs that I have been put on hold for months and had some designs that I have nailed down within minutes. I actually had one logo design that took about 1 1/2 hours from contact to delivery. It is was my Knotheads logo. Client contacted me told me about his business, I had a bandanna around so I tied it it in a knot, sketched it out, vectorized and colored it and sent to him. Within an hour He said “I love it, do no more”. He paid up and I delivered. I don’t think there is a set time on how long it takes, however I respect and do my best to deliver if I have a deadline. I usually quote from 1 to 3 weeks for the average project. Bottom line I just think you design until you get it right, but make sure your being compensated for your valuable time.
I really think choosing the right color is pretty self explanatory, yet so difficult to do. I mean your not going to paint a sky red unless your designing Doomsday or RedDawn. Color has always been a challenge for me explaining to my clients a little color theory. If they like blue and hate red perhaps they’ll take purple? Color is so influential. I honestly think that color is one of the toughest parts of logo design (as this is this is where most of my revisions come from). I have had clients not like a logo just because they did not like a certain color. So I always show them in black first. I have found that I’m pretty safe with blues =) Color? Maybe design it in Rainbow colors and your safe?? I ‘m still working on the whole color solution.
Being a typographer I don’t tend to have a favorite font as most of my work is custom type or type treatment. But I would say that in most cases I have used a sans serif font as my base. It all depends on the mark or logotype to me, that is how I determine what typeface to use.
Logo name: elefont Client: TBD
I’m influenced by positives and negatives.
I find one of the most difficult parts in logo design is explaining to the client the integrity of the design as it was designed. I have clients who want me to move things around, change the typeface, color, layout and in the end it would be a complete different design. “We love it but we don’t like the color, font, layout and concept?”
Huh? ok let me explain……..
OK the most difficult part is those head scratching requests.
Logo name: General Oil and Gas Client: Mark Bogani
This probably my favorite question you have asked. I find a lot of inspiration from my fellow colleagues such as Von and Steven whom were two of this first that kept my inspiration up and live since I began online.
I also find much inspiration from Gerard and Holly these are just a few of the old schoolers I have been inspired from, but I’m finding new inspiration from all my new friends at Logopond and now of course Twitter.
I actually do not do much online surfing for inspiration, I seem to find it from everything else around me. I try to avoid looking around to get ideas> Look around it’s everywhere and not just there.
If your having a creative block, take a break, take a walk, watch a movie. Don’t force it and waste your time, come back later.
Logo name: RailRoad Days Client: Selma, North Carolina
Well hopefully in ten years I will still be a designer. I would like to offer more to the design community and expand my skills. I plan to have more typefaces on the market and pondering the idea of an identity consulting business. I’m always open to new ideas and adventures though.
Yes, find your own style and do your own thing. Don’t be afraid to step out of the circle and try new things and experiment. Listen to what your elders have said though. They have been there before you and design is ART and SCIENCE and SOME rules should not be changed but don’t be afraid to try and invent new rules. Be a trend setter not a trend follower. Enjoy what you do but grow thick skin.
MANY thanks to Jacob and his awesome, inspiring blog!
The winner of Logo Of The Month for May 2009 (from the Logo Of The Day website) is the logo for Coffee CUP.
“Logo for coffee house Coffee CUP where high quality coffee is served. Notice that logo of coffee cup is made of letters “CUP”.” See it in use here.
Congratulations to the designer Jan Zabransky.
What are your thoughts on this logo?
© 2009-2010 Logo Designer Blog - All rights reserved. Subscribe by RSS | Subscribe By Email
Site Administered by Jacob Cass of 
