Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a book festival in the little town of Duncan, OK with several local authors. Each author had displayed their books with great pride. Scattered across tables were promotional marketing materials: business cards, bookmarks, postcards and brochures. Now, as a designer I was in hog heaven. There were designs everywhere. Some were good.  Some were excellent. And some were . . .  well, you know. As I wandered from booth to booth I was amazed at how similiar many of the promotional pieces were. Then I realized the common denominator: the similar promotional pieces were created by their publisher. The SAME publisher. Quickly I compared the pieces noticing that each one was simply the author’s book cover PLOPPED into a basic design template.

Standing alone the design was fine. It’s wasn’t fabulous but it wasn’t bad. However, in a festival with over 80 authors and hundreds of books, seeing the SAME design on multiple author’s tables quickly became tiring.

Put yourself in the place of the reader. How important is it that the promotional pieces for each book be unique? Well, if you are at a festival were promotions are screaming at you as we were this weekend, then you’ll quickly notice which bookmarks, business cards and postcards stand out from the rest.

Think about it for a moment. If businesses didn’t have a unique identity, how would we tell them apart? Think about all the junk mail you get. What really classifies it as junk mail? Is it perhaps that most “junk” mail has a very specific feel to it? If you get a postcard that really stands out and captures you, you don’t classify it as junk mail.

As designers it can be a struggle to avoid “cookie-cutter” designs. But we must remember that it is perhaps one of the most important things to your clients that they’re pieces and promotions be UNIQUE to them and unlike any one else’s. Dont’ fall into the trap of the lazy and begin recycling good layouts. This principle applies to everything, from magazines, business cards and book covers all the way to basics such as letterhead.

Dare to be different with each piece you design.

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On a lighter note though, I recieved an email with the following logo images touting "How logos would change in a recession."

Enjoy!

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What does it cost for a national brand such as PEPSI or CocaCola to update their brand? Though the company won’t confirm the cost, experts at Advertising Age estimate the logo development itself cost somewhere above $1 Million. Why so much? The firm contracted to do the re-design: Omnicom’s Arnell Group, spent a solid 5 months to develop the new look. 5 months? On a logo?

It seems like a lot, but when compared to the multi-millions that will be required to change all the collateral materials that are part of the PEPSI marketing syndicate, the logo is too important to be any less that perfect.

How a brand changes. From the early beginnings in 1898 (the year my great-great grandpa was born) the logo has changed significantly 6 times. These changes, some more drastic than others, each show a progression and a step forward towards growing design trends and new persuasions in the marketplace.

I think it’s incredibly interesting that the 1951 version of the logo remarkably looks similiar to the Coca-Cola font that we are all very familiar with. Finally in 1962, Pepsi found it’s own identity. While the use of the design has changed the one thing we can see consistently throughout those logos is the color palette and typography style. This style is updated and refreshed in the new logo, however the simplicity of the font reminds us just who the company is. I love where the new logo is heading and can’t wait to see the changes that will occur with the collateral pieces from the company.

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Knowing that ALL strong logo development that will endure over time should be created in a vector format for scaling purposes, such as Illustrator, I had a decision to make.  The direction I was getting from the client seemed to nullify that as an option.

The client was incredibly creative himself and could see what he wanted in his mind. That often makes my job a little more difficult, but I was feeling up to the challenge.

Some of the visual effects he were wanting could not be accomplished in Illustrator. At least not with the time constraints I was facing on the project. Instead, I took the plunge and created the logo in Photoshop. Though it went against everything I stand for the logo turned out pretty sweet, and most importantly the client loved it!

The logo itself will enable me to "knock it out of the park" on the other materials as the event approaches. I can’t wait to get the ball rolling!

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I go there early, so that the two of us would have time to go over the proposal one last time and prepare to make our pitch. As I pulled in, I parked right beside the client. SHE WAS HALF AN HOUR EARLY!!!! Since I had only met her once previously, I hoped against hope, that it was just someone with an uncanny resemblence to her. I hurriedly rushed inside, my nerves getting the best of me each moment. She walked in right behind me. After initial greetings, she mentioned running to the restroom quickly before the meeting began. Perferct! That gave me the chance I needed to allow my partner to double check everything.

When she re-appeared, I was ready. Dealing with a new client is always a little scary, because as a designer, I’m still having to develop a feel for their likes and dislikes. Sometimes I hit it on the head, sometmes, it takes a few revisions.

After a long week like the one I had already had, I was praying for a home run. I took a deep breath and started my part of our pitch. I watched closely to guage her reaction. Slowly,  I released the air I had been uncounsciously holding inside my lungs. What I saw on her face could only be described as love at first Site.  Pardon my pun!

I had took a risky move this time as well. Instead of providing a safety net of half a dozen or so logo concepts, I had stopped at one, feeling strongly that I had hit exactly what she was looking for.  A little unsure,  I was pleased to hear her say "I love the logo, it’s perfect!"

I wish every client was like this, but then again how would we grow?

Here’s the logo that will be on the new Web Presence that should be going live some time in December.

The premise is a patriotic blog that is targeted towards Christians and traditional American values.

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Recently, Interbrand, a international brand consultancy specializing in brand services and activities, including: analytics, brand engagement and brand strategy. Last week, they announced the top 100 global brands. I’ll have to admit I was a little surprised at who did and who did not make the list.

Keep in mind these brands were judged not by their Logos but their branding strategies and success overall. However, as a designer, it’s their logo that interests me. One has to think if a company is that successful, chances are, they are doing things right.

I’m gonna share my favorite logos from the list. Learn from them what you can!

You can see who else made the list of the top 100 in the full article from Interbrand here.

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While I would love to share some examples, I’ll refrain, so as to not call anyone out. But when you are assessing your current logo or deciding if you need one, keep the following DON’Ts in mind as well!

DON’T try to add too many details. One of the worst things you can do is try to combine to many elements into the same logo. Working in a lot of ministries and Christian environments I see this occur way to often. So many times the client want to incorporate all the "standard" Christian icons. They want a sword and a dove and a cross and an open Bible. Rather than conveying the heart of the ministry, this often conveys confusion, chaos and screams "amateur".

DON’t use a photograph as a logo.  In it’s truest sense, a logo is smply a "tease" of what the company is about. Think about some of the best brands out there. A logo can be something as simple as a wordmark, meaning words or letters arranged specifically. Let’s look at Coca Cola. Their logo isn’t a coke bottle. Their logo is simply the words.  As more and more brands are on the market it might prove difficult to create a logo that is solely a wordmark that will stand alone. If that is the case, the addition of a vector symbol, icon or simple graphic may be the best way to close the deal.

DON’T use a rasterized format like .PSD.  Logos should be simple and created as vectors to ensure their ability to scale up or down as needed.  To be a flexible element that you can sink your money into, a logo should be fully scaleable and able to reside in a variety of formats and pieces. To achieve this, good logos are created as vector images.

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As a whole, they support your logo & define your “style”. Individually, each piece plays a different role and serves a different purpose.  Putting these three elements together will tell your customers who you are, and what you hope to accomplish with their business.

How does it do this? You’re identity packages sets the standard for the branding of your business. Without you are undefined. With it you are recognized, celebrated and can maintain a loyal customer base.

I will be dedicating separate posts to each piece: Business Card, Envelopes & Letterhead.
 

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scale-ability: Will it be easy to see and clear under a variety of situations? You want a logo that can be understood as a 1” square as easily as it can be enlarged to fit on a billboard.

less is more: A good logo should be complex enough to portray a little about what you do, but simple enough to be scaled down. Because a logo must be scaleable it’s important that there are not too many elements crammed into the artwork. Avoid adding unnecessary or cliche elements to the logo.

focus: Your logo should express the focus of your business. Think about your business. If you had to sum it up in one word, what would it be? Now, is that word symbolically reflected in your logo? Does your logo say trust, stability, efficiency, pride, confidence, luxury or faith? If the symbol, graphic, or text arrangement you’ve chosen doesn’t express who you are, consider a revision.

recognizability: The most successful logos are those that can be recognized with a quick glance. If consumers have to look closely at the logo to determine what it represents, you might want to re-evaluate your logo based on these logo development principles. Check for

color: Last but not least, be sure your logo will translate well into black and white. Color logos are common, but there are still definite applications for a black and white edition. You want to make sure that when translating your logo, you don’t lose any detail or inferences.

A good logo will help your business. A GREAT logo will help MAKE your business. Just remember, that as the first step of the branding process your logo can either make or break your business. Choose wisely! Once you establish your “identity” this will be the way people recognize your business. Business Cards, Stationary, Brochures, Advertising, Web Presence. The list is infinite.

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By keeping a few simple ideas in mind as you look through possible logos you will be able to find the “perfect” fit for beginning the branding process. Remember that the logo you choose will be around for a while. Once an identity has been established it should ONLY be updated or refreshed every 5 years or so. This ensures that the public will be familiar with your business and easily recognize it. If a brand is updated too frequently, the result is confusing to your clients. In my next post I’ll talk about the things you should evaluate when creating a logo.

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