Logo Galleries*
LogoPond
Cool Homepages Logo Gallery
Vector Logo Database

Sample Logo Usage Guides
iPass (pdf) - note the section on page 6 dealing with “bling”
Napster (pdf) - another well designed document
The BIG PAGE of Branding & Corporate Identity Resources
Corporate Identity Manuals & Guides

Rebranding Processes
Carsonified
Brand New

Rants
Don’t TWEAK My Logo

Well said:

Our identity is more than the Mosaic logo. It is made up of colors, typography, images and more, so that when joined together, reflect the personality of Mosaic and its commitment to its customers, employees, investors and the community.

Consistent use and application of these elements is important. We have gathered everything you need to successfully use our identity and put it at your fingertips.

Tips*
8 Common Logo Design Mistakes (and how to fix them)
What Makes a Great Logo
What makes a great logo?

* grain of salt, people. Grain of salt.

“If we give people what they say the want, they’ll never get what we know they need.”

-Khoi, AIGA National Design Conference in Denver, CO on 13 Oct 2007

“A brand is a living entity – and it is enriched or undermined cumulatively over time, the product of a thousand small gestures” ~ Michael Eisner, CEO Disney (via)

Whilst surfing the ol’ interwebs today, I ran across an interesting article that tackles the topic of dealing with client concerns. A snippet from their conclusion:

Start meetings with a review of the problems you’ve solved and the steps you went through to do so. This sets the stage for you to unveil the work and orients the clients in your process.

As you read through the article, note how many times they point back to the origins of the project. In other words, notice how they call on the client needs and initial project specifications identified early on in the creative process to justify and explain the “whys.”

How to disarm 10 difficult client observations/requests (via)

Quite an interesting debate within the industry has sprung up:

Andy Rutledge says that you never –never –miss a deadline.

Things will not always go smoothly. Bad things happen. Bad clients happen. Accept, however, that none of these common factors are license to behave irresponsibly. When the crap hits the fan it may mean that long hours and extra effort are required in order to meet the deadline. If that’s what’s required, just do it. The alternative does not reflect well on you or your reputation.

On the flip side, Andy Budd respectfully disagrees:

As a project progresses, more information comes to light. Issues will rise up and clarifications will appear. The closer you get to the final solution, the more precise your estimates will become. It’s like looking at a block of marble and imagining the statute enclosed within.

Despite the good response from Budd, I still lean squarely towards Rutledge’s argument: you can and should always hit your deadline. Even if you can justify it as being your clients’ fault, they’ll still remember that you missed the deadline; it’s doubtful they’ll remember their own ineptitudes.

Taking into account that the late policy for this class hasn’t changed, what are your thoughts on the two arguments?

When we talked about the creative process, we started at the end discussing the importance of the presentation. In short, I emphasized the need to sell all the logic and reasoning that went into your creative process. By allowing your client to know how you arrived where you did, you help them fully understand the solution you are presenting. And, in so doing, you hopefully stand a better chance of them accepting your work.

A fine example of this can be seen via Khoi Vinh’s Subtraction. His latest post deals with the creation of title cards for an online exhibits of documentary photography. Let’s peek in, shall we:

…I had the idea that distorted letterforms on crumpled paper, photographed tightly and dramatically lit, would be an interesting visual metaphor for the content of both series of photos. So I typeset the title of each in Illustrator, printed them out on my laser printer, and photographed them quickly. Both were done inside of a few hours…

By giving us a glimpse into his process, Khoi allows us to buy into his solution. Without that, all we might see is crumpled paper. He also got a bonus –his solution for this one problem led to the outcome of another need.

* why the quotes around the word sell? Because in Utah, it seems, the general population is unable to hear the difference between the words “sell” and “sale.” They are, in fact, different words and have specific instances where they should and should not be used. When one sells one’s car, one should put up a sign that reads “For Sale” but more often than not it reads “For Sell.” By adding quotes, I wanted to emphasis that we were selling something and not putting an object on sale. Oh, and yes I’ve seen it written “sail” as well. Sigh.

This, I think, will help many of you rock a solid Assignment 5:

Here is one big mistake I see frequently: Designers use color difference to produce contrast instead of value difference. For instance… a medium value blue sitting on top of a medium value red produces some contrast. You CAN see the difference between the two. But when you have two colors together of the same value – it produces what is known as “vibrating.” You’ll notice that at the line where the blue and red meet your eye seems to oscillate back and forth between the two. It almost feels like the text is pulsing.

It’s a quick read. And it has pictures. Read it.

Brand New has a writeup on the redesign of the LPGA logo. The part that was most interesting, however, deals with logo reproduction:

Speaking of reproduction issues, one of the goals of the new brand, according to Bill Susetka, the LPGA’s chief marketing officer, was to create “a logo that we could easily reproduce on merchandise, billboards and signage” — and judging from the amount of stuff in the newly minted LPGA Pro Shop (do note the These Girls Rock badge there) — then I think they picked a very difficult one (anyone who has ever sent a multicolor job like this to an embroiderer can tell you that this is no picnic to stitch onto hats, polos, etc. and if anyone is into hats, polos, etc. it’s golfers).

Give the post a read for Brand New’s insights into the new mark.

You may find Brand New an interesting source as you delve into your own logo designs. You may even want to add them to your feed reader. However, a word of caution: I don’t want you reading them word for word as gospel. Sometimes I agree with their breakdown. Sometimes I don’t. Take a look at the work and form your own opinions.

Howdy all. Based on our conversation last night, I have updated some due dates on the Assignments page, as well as the details on the Assignment 6 page. Please have a look and take note about the portion added dealing with a black & white version.

nice.