OK, let’s just say my car is not working, and it has some serious issues.
I’m not a mechanic and I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t know what the problem is and I don’t want to go to a mechanic because I want to save the money.
Instead I buy a book and I take the time to learn about cars, then I look at a bunch of tutorials about how others repair cars, I talk to a specialist about my problem and then I go under the hood and try to fix it. My hands get dirty and I lose so much of my valuable time on understanding what happens with all those cables and other pieces. I think I see the problem and I attempt to fix it.
I get into my car and start the engine. It’s working! What a relief. I think that I’ve solved the problem. I’m happy that I didn’t have to go to the mechanic and spend my money. Even if I lost a lot of time on educating myself, looking at tutorials and talking to specialists.
I drive my car and guess what, clank bong bang boom… my car just stops and I don’t know what’s wrong. I get really nervous and have go to a mechanic. The mechanic looks at the car and says “You have an old problem here and a new problem here. Why didn’t you come when you experienced the first one problem?”
Now if I had gone to the mechanic in the first place, he would have solved my original problem faster with some money invested, and with more time gained.
So why is when something is wrong with our cars, we go to the professionals, to a car mechanic?
Now let’s get back to our topic at hand, if you have a design problem, why don’t you go to a specialist, as in a graphicdesigner?
Let’s say you want to design an logo, you find an online clipart site which creates logos you can easily use add some basic text to. You design the logo, print on business cards or signage on your car are you wait for the phone calls. Guess what? Nothing. Why? Because your logo is ugly. It’s not so visually appealing and nobody likes it. Because your logo was a template where you edit some text.
What if you invest some money and start working with a professional graphic designer?
Why? Because graphic designers understand the power of visuals, the power of good looking visuals and most of them have the experience of creating values through their work.
Creating templates with free design sites or apps which everybody can use does nothing but underestimate the designers’ importance.
If you love design but you are just an amateur starting out, you can design for yourself. But when we talk about brands and companies that need to create valuable identities here is the place where the professionals should look for design.
Another example: how would it be if a plumber could do your logo design work with a free app where he could just press some buttons?
Now think about graphic designers in this situation and just start to work together.
Let us professionals do our jobs with the tools we have learned.
Logo design is constantly changing as businesses can now engage consumers in a number of digital ways. The frequency of engagement is increasing at a rapid rate, while the quality of engagement has become more inclusive, more personal.
The rules (so to speak) that worked before no longer count in today’s modern technological world. In fact, what has held true for the last couple of years is no longer the same. The art/ science of logo design is changing as fast as the “opportunity to engage consumers” grows. This “opportunity,” is changing as fast as technology develops everyday.
Fortunately, there are many designers who dedicate themselves to studying changes, establishing trends in logo design. An example is Bill Gardner of the LogoLounge (read the interview here), he remains one of the most credible sources. His observant eye and attention to detail, as well as his innate “radar” to detect design approaches fast becoming “trends”, is what sets him apart.
So what will logo design be like in 2016, or in the near future? Here are some logo design trends that are predictions.
Logo Design Trends 2016 Prediction : Flat
Flat logo designs will continue to dominate, and not because they look clean, but they register well in any browsing device, especially due to SVGs. They load a lot faster also. Patterns, textures, shadows, gradients will give way to simpler lines and colours. These register better in print or online, in black, grey or colour, and on any browsing device. Businesses will simplify their design elements making them easily identifiable.
Logo Design Trends 2016 Prediction : Handmade
Handmade logos speak of personality. They convey intimacy and personality. This trend has been slowly gaining ground for a while now. A small sketch of an arrow, or scribbled letters prominently combined with some other elements have been evident in a growing number of businesses logos. Some look like “hybrids.” They’re the ones that don’t look “truly” handmade but they don’t feel digital either. Such designs suggest the idea of being handmade and they register the same charm, though not on the same level.
Handmade elements and font sets, or a suggestion of such, will be more evident in logo design as the year progresses. Bespoke font sets will be a valuable design asset.
It is important to emphasize that typography is no longer just the style of text you add to the design to spell out something. It is, and will always be, a great contributor to communicating the brand’s personality.
Logo Design Trends 2016 Prediction : Kinetic Logos
Kinetic logos that change but remain the same will find greater appeal. Perhaps because this particular style offers freshness, or it could be because the decision of what is attractive becomes even more appealing, while the need to connect to as many people as possible becomes the main focus.
These types of logos have the ability to make the consumer unconsciously aware of the diversification the company and brand is pursuing in real-time. The danger lies when the “kinetic” change does not rhyme with the core values the company has effectively communicated and has established for itself.
For example think of the regular changes in the Google Doodle, you get the idea of how this growing trend both excites the consumer and answers the need to present something fresh on a regular basis.
Logo Design Trends 2016 Prediction : Negative Space
Negative space will ALWAYS continue to amaze me. A design is something you see first, but then it speaks to you, and then you understand what it is saying. That is what makes design work. If it is able to convey more than this, and the consumer is able to pick up on a deeper message, it becomes something special. This is why negative space will continue to make many designers explore its strengths.
The ability to communicate more to the consumer without adding extra elements is always a challenge to any designer. To the public, it’s like a welcome visual “egg hunt.”
Logo Design Trends 2016 Prediction : Letterstacking
Letterstacking is continuing to hold ground. This trend has been around for a while and it’s not losing popularity. We think it because it draws in the consumer and challenges them to make sense out of it.
Our tendency to break down things and discover how we can rearrange them better is not the reason for this continuing trend. We think it may be because it offers a creative solution for logo designers to be able to communicate long “text” in visual bytes. It offers them a creative way to break down long messages. Whatever the reason may be, the style seems to work and has gained a foothold in logo design.
Logo Design Trends 2016 Prediction : Mono Lines
Thin Lines/Mono will present itself as “the new fresh, clean look”. This is the use of a line, unchanging in thickness, to design and compose the entire logo in something akin to “wire”. At first glance, this logo design style seems to run against the idea of simplification because of the intricacy of the execution.
It will result in an appreciation of the ability to present something cleaner and clearer, with a hint of craft (handmade). This makes it more in line with the above mentioned forecasts rather than against them.
The clean thin lines do strike you with an “honesty” so to speak, that is quite refreshing. It presents a welcome from seeing so many gradients and colours in the last years. The use of thin lines, or lines with a consistent thickness in mono scripts, mono icons and mono crests, is a beautiful progression of just how strong this design trend has been growing over the few years.
In Conclusion
Trends are forever changing, so what it is now, does not necessarily mean it will be the same for years to come. One thing we all know, are trends come around full circle after many years. All the above design trends we mention are not new ones, they have been around for years, but are now popular this year. One thing which is always constant in logo design….simplicity. All the above trends have this in them, which for designers is a blessing.
It’s that time of year when we review the most impactful logo designs and redesigns we believe have had the biggest impact.
When a new logo design is launched for a familiar brand, usually first reactions are overwhelmingly negative. And then once time has passed and the new design has entered daily use, it can be a different story.
So lets take a look back at the biggest brands to release a new logo in 2015. Now that you’ve got used to them, what do you really think of them?
01. GoogleGoogle has had a bottom-up rebrand, and it’s provoked plenty of opinion
It comes as no surprise that Google’s redesigned logo caused a stir when it launched in September. When you are the world’s most popular website, everything you do is going to be criticised by everyone.
The online giant’s new logo represents the biggest rebrand since 1999, when the search engine had nestled on the thin flowing letters that everyone now associates with internet giant.
Now with flat shapes and sharp colours, Google works better across a multitude of platforms, most notably the new ‘G’ logo which brings together all of the colourways. The company’s playful attitude is also hinted at in the cheeky slanting ‘e’.
02. Verizon
This new logo has caused instant controversy, but why?
At the same time Google revamped its logo, America’s largest telecommunications provider Verizon revamped their signature word mark design. But where Google’s simplicity was welcomed, Verizon seemed to take it too far.
The new logo was purposely designed to not be flashy or showy, which we think it isn’t. While ‘less is more’ is what every designer believes, the simple type and a timid red tick annoyed a lot.
However, if their aim was to become an easily adaptable, ubiquitous part of American life, Verizon have improved on their previous design.
The old logo
With its gradient shading, irregular shape and highlighted ‘z’, the old Verizon logo seemed like it was trying to do too much at once. Perhaps its time they settled down with this more sensible design.
03. Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clintons logo had a massive social media response.
Hillary Clinton declared she would run for US President. What was more surprising, was the logo she released with her announcement.
Created by Pentagram, the new design set social media frenzy, with commentors pointing to the logo’s similarity to both the WikiLeaks logo and a hospital sign; the irony of the arrow pointing to the right; and their even was some bad-taste jokes about the Twin Towers.
This is the new Facebook logo: a subtle and distinctive change
At the start of the year came the latest update to the Facebook logo – a subtle tweak of its iconic typeface Klavika.
Users will be familiar with the social media platform rolling out new logo redesigns. This was the first time the company had changed its logo typeface since it launched as ‘Thefacebook’ way back in 2004.
Old logo – can you spot the difference?
The new typeface was a collaborative effort between Facebook’s own in-house design team and Process Type Foundry’s Eric Olson.
The new logo was revealed in a Tweet (a new way of revealing news is now though social media)
The obvious change to the font includes a single-deck a and a more organic stem on the letter ‘b’, while the important ‘f’ remains instantly recognisable.
05. Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall’s logo is very different
The famous London performing arts centre had a communications overhaul at the start of the year, it was in a bid to appeal to a wider audience and the logo change was part of its new strategy.
The Royal Albert Hall worked with strategy consultancy firm BrandPie‘s charity arm and the purpose of the new logo was to emphasise the reputation as a world class venue.
The Hall’s distinctive silhouette is a main feature on the new logo which is designed for use across different media.
06. Daily Motion
Daily Motion goes for only typography in its latest rebrand
One of the biggest video platforms on the world wide web, having over 300 million viewers on its player and 30 billion video views worldwide per month, Dailymotion came up with this new logo in March, it said goodbye to its icon and opted instead for a simple logotype. It was created by London-based agency venturethree.
07. Electrolux
NEW LOGO: This font was created specially for the Electrolux logo
Electrolux has been the leader in home and professional appliances since the 190o’s. At the start of the year it unveiled a brand new logo (above) with an original font that’s only unique to Electrolux.
The logo was designed by Prophet who are based in London, who worked in close partnership with the Electrolux marketing team on the project.
“We set out to create a visual identity that would enable Electrolux to tell its story to the world in an appealing way,” says Hector Pottie, Associate Partner and Creative Director from Prophet, London.
OLD LOGO: The typeface was beginning to look a little dated
08. Lemark
NEW LOGO: this new logo is based on an camera aperture
Lexmark, the well-known global manufacturer of laser printers, has unveiled a beautiful new logo (above) and branding.
When compared with Lexmark’s familiar red diamond motif (see below), the new green shutter logo was a huge change.
OLD LOGO: Lexmark is retiring its diamond design
The new design, it says, captures the company’s continuing evolution.
Danny Molhoek who is Managing Director at Lexmark, explains that the previous diamond shaped logo was intended to evoke clarity and durability.
By using a shutter, the new design is intended to suggest opening and expanding possibilities. It was created by Moving Brands.
09. Alitalia
NEW LOGO: Alitalia gets a more dynamic makeover
Italy’s airline received a new brand identity courtesy of Landor. The new logotype was given a more dynamic overhaul, keeping the green, red and white colours of the Italian flag, and a more prominent ‘A’ was created. It’s described as “a bold statement of the heights the airline is striving to reach and its enviable experience in the field of aviation”.
OLD LOGO: The previous logo was more upright
You can see this was inspired by Formula 1 racing cars, striations were added to the red triangular interior of the Alitalia ‘A’, creating a pinstripe effect designed to reflect exclusivity, attention to detail with a strong focus on design.
The aircraft fuselages are now painted in ivory to reflect of understated Italian style, reminiscent of both original and new Fiat colour ways, and progressively banded rearward to create an impression of movement, speed and progress.
A look at Italy’s flag-carrier with the all-new tail fin design
10. YouTube kids
A safe space for kids watching videos online
In February, YouTube launched a free app titled YouTube Kids for iOS and Android, described as “the first Google product built from the ground up with little ones in mind.”
Its logo was created by Hello Monday, who also designed the entire brand identity.
“The logo draws from the original aesthetics of YouTube, which is the parent brand,” they explained. “It’s fun, quirky and embodies the YouTube Kids brand.”
11. Andy Murray
This clever design combines ‘AM’ and ’77’
Andy Murray now has an official logo. It was designed by Aesop to create a uniform visual identity across of the tennis player’s commercial ventures, from endorsed products to his own branded products.
The logo combines Murray’s initials with the number 77, to celebrate his Wimbledon victory on the 7th day of the 7th month, a full 77 years since a British player had won the contest. Very clever.
What a year it has been both in graphic and logo design, like all things it continues to evolve. Can’t wait to see what 2016 has in store!
12. Freeview
The new logo is a vibrant and colourful
In February Freeview, which is now the UK’s most watched digital TV service, underwent a major rebrand, it was led by creative agency DixonBaxi. The move is part of Freeview’s strategic drive to bring connected television to a mass UK audience.
The old logo
The new logo retains the red heritage of the logo, but has been completely redesigned with added dimension – an angular form that suggests agility, choice and a sense of fun.
Why is a logo identity so important? Because we mostly choose the products we buy based on their perceived value rather than their real value.
Logos are all around us. Think clothes labels, running shoes, TVs, smart phones, computers. From the moment we wake to the moment we sleep, they’re an ever-present part of our every day routine.
The average person sees 15,000 advertisements, logos, and labels in a day.
Don’t believe it?
To illustrate the constant presence of logos in our lives, I decided to spend the first few minutes of a typical working day looking at all logos on the products I interact with, beginning with my morning alarm. They ranged to Apple logo on my iPhone, Kellogs logo on my cereal box, Channel 9 logo on the TV show I was watching, Toyota logo on my car, school logo entrance at my sons’ school, a variety of logos on shop fronts as I drove to work.
All these logos in only 2 hours from me being up already, that’s just a glimpse into my day, which is not to say that there weren’t plenty of other logos around at the time — on other food products, books and newspapers, billboards and my clothing.
A logoless company is a like a person without a face.
For years, we have needed and desired social identification. Think of a farmer who brands his cattle to mark his ownership, or the stonemason who proudly chisels his trademark.
When you close your eyes and picture McDonald’s, what do you see? Golden arches? For those products and services that have a strong logo identity, it’s the identity that people often think of first, rather than the product itself. Think of Apple, Nike, Coke and BMW. Chances are good that without even showing you their logos, you’d have a fairly good idea how they look. But also be, a huge marketing budget is necessary to achieve the recognition rates of such organisations, but it’s important to “put on your best face.”
So you see logo identity is vital to any business that wishes to succeed and be remembered. Can you really out a price on that?
Call Spiros at DesignLab to discuss how we can help better your logo identity.
Every graphic designer ask the age-old question…. “How much should I charge my clients for logo design?”. So if you don’t know what your skills are worth, rest assured you’re not alone. I still wonder whether we are doing ourselves justice with the rates we have set, and I’ve been in charge of my business for what seems like a very long time.
There is a great quote I use with new clients which reads ‘It took me a few seconds to draw it, but it took me 34 years to learn how to draw it in a few seconds’. This sums it all up so nicely. As an experienced designer you may be quick, but it has taken years of practice to get to that point.
You can’t be expected to price a design project without first understanding the needs of your client. I just don’t know how some designers can advertise a list of predetermined prices for x amount of concepts with x rounds of revisions, they are attempting to commoditize a profession that by definition can’t be commoditized.
Every client is different, so every design project will be also.
It makes no sense to me to pigeonhole your client into a specific price bracket. What works for one will not work for another, and your time profit a big hit when you limit yourself to a set range and attract clients on the basis of price alone.
The pricing formula
Pricing logo design is far from an exact science formula, and even when you think you’ve covered every factor possible for determining your costs, another one will crop up and force you to recalculate. It’s important to consider what affects the amount you quote, and how you can ensure you actually make a profit.
Print costs
A logo design is likely to contain a range of print design, such as business cards, letterheads, or a brochure, and it is difficult to determine how and what to charge your client for providing this service.
Designers normally charge a markup on the total print costs when they handle this service for the client. This is their way of recouping the time and effort spent liaising with the print company. There’s no industry standard percentage, but somewhere between a 15 and 20 percent markup is a good starting point.
My advice is to advise clients to deal directly with a printer locally. This helps clients in two ways: They save money that is otherwise spent on my markup, and they build a business relationship with someone local, which can save a significant amount of money on future print runs. And if your clients take the time to ask a printer how to make the most of the money they plan to spend on their printing project, they likely will be surprised at the advice and help the printer delivers.
Level of expertise
Only you know how much your skills are worth, and this value is the result of your experience in dealing with clients. I frequently ask myself if I’m charging too much or charging
too little, and I reckon every other designer does too. But the main goal is to make sure you’re compensated for the level of experience and education; the overheads for your office space, equipment, electricity and heating, etc; and the expenses you will incur as a result of working through the design project with your client (travel costs, your time, etc).
Quick turnaround times
If a client is under pressure to have a job completed within a tight time frame, then you need to consider applying a “rush job” markup. Accepting the request means that you, too, will be under increased pressure to get the job done, and might result in a rescheduling of your existing projects. I recommend a markup of 20 percent to 50 percent, depending on the urgency of the deadline and the client.
Additional services
When a client needs a new website to go along with their logo, consider it a wonderful opportunity, even if such a service falls outside your skill set. It’s situations like these that allow you to provide that extra level of service and support that is most useful to your client.
Down payments
It is essential that you receive a down payment prior to commencing work—especially when dealing with a client with whom you have no prior relationship. If you don’t get one, it’s easy to be taken for a ride.
I made a mistake of falling into this trap in my early days of being in business. I once worked with a client with whom I had an understanding that full payment would be made after I sent final artwork. I supplied my client with the designs, but almost immediately after, my client contact evaporated, and I was left with nothing.
I would recommend at leat 25 – 50% deposit. This is not unreasonable to ask, and it quite common practice in business.
The money exchange
After having worked with overseas clients for some time, I began to wonder about fluctuations in exchange rates, and whether I should factor these into my initial quotes. It’s worth considering, because there might be a sudden dip in the exchange rate before you receive full payment, potentially leaving you out of pocket.
Why is branding so important? Because we often choose products based on their perceived value rather than their actual value.
With the right branding and careful planning, businesses can increase their product’s perceived value, they can establish a relationship with their customers that can last forever.
It always helps to have a good story to tell. Your job as a designer is to find the story, and tell it wisely. The rest of this chapter shares a few examples of designers who got it just right.
A company without a logo is like person without a face
For along time now people need and desire social identification. Just like a farmer who brands his cows to mark his ownership.
When you close your eyes and picture McDonald’s, what do you see? …. Golden arches? For products and services that have a strong brand identity, it’s the identity that people always think of, rather than the product. Think of Apple, Nike, Coke, and Google. Chances are that without even showing you their logos, you will have a fairly good picture of how they look. Take into account they have a huge marketing budget to achieve the recognition rates of such organisations, but it’s important to “put on your best face.”
Symbols exceed boundaries
To sell a product around the world, your brand has to speak different languages. Luckily easy-to-identify symbols need no translation. Recognisable regardless of culture or language, symbols can enable a business to cross barriers, compete globally, and maintain brand consistency across a large range of media.
Rethinking the importance of a brand
We usually do judge books by their covers, whether it’s fair or not, it’s how we have been brought up. We live in a world that identifies success with image. And that’s why the perceived value of a service or product is greater than the real one. The same visual identity seen over and over again builds trust, and trust keeps your customers coming back for more.
It’s kind of like putting a face to a name— logos help people remember their experiences with businesses.
‘Rebranding’ is, first, about changing or reaffirming an organisation’s right to exist in an existing market niche.
It’s different than when the original logo was launched because it is so important not to lose existing brand equity it has earned with current customers and stakeholders. We recognise the challenge as one of needing to ‘evolve’ the current corporate identity to retain as many visual cues as necessary to maintain the recognition and loyalty of existing customers.
Be Ready For Change
However, rebranding any business or organisation often requires a shift in thinking; being prepared to make a clean break and discard any ‘baggage’ and personal, subjective equity in a logo and its supporting visual identity.
Before we ‘pick up our pencils’, let’s determine Who YOU WANT To Be
We will need to be crystal clear about the problem we are trying to solve, so we can take the steps to figure out what the company aspires to be.
Why doesn’t its current brand fit who they are?
What is the purpose of the company, and what are its goals?
How does the marketplace and company feel when they see the current logo; how is the company perceived?
Most importantly, how does it want to be perceived? And how do its customers and stakeholders need and want to perceive it.
We will seek, in collaborative partnership with you, to answer these questions before we ‘pick up our pencils’!
Talking to people – existing and potential customers and stakeholders
In the absence of readily available, independent market research DesignLab would seek to establish at least some qualitative information about your existing and potential customers’ and stakeholders’ attitudes towards and opinions about your company’s values, products, services, and brand image.
We will work closely with you to clearly establish a market segmentation for your brand – exactly who are the current homogenous groups who already or are likely to use Top Holiday Parks and sub-brands’ services. It is essential we understand exactly whom you want to reach and talk to and the ‘tone of voice’ that should be consistent, visually, with what you wish to say to them.
Create a PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN
Write down anything that is currently perceived to be wrong with existing branding (corporate identity).
Agree a reasonable timeline for implementing the changes and identify reporting relationships and who is primarily accountable for managing the project.
Set a date for the external launch of the new visual identity – it is important to first manage internal communication – to inform all staff and operators of the new approach and to do with a strong sense of excitement. Plan a ‘roll out’ for all the items on the inventory list, perhaps including a general media release and publicity through social media aimed to reach and inform existing customers, stakeholders, prospects, and local and industry news.
Changing your logo – why, what works and what does not work
The world is in a constant state of change. So much so that some may argue the meaning of life itself is to progress and evolve. The problem with this is that most of us are always looking for the ‘next big thing’.
When you are a company, business or council this can sometimes translate into a question of ‘how do we maintain our client’s focus (on us)?’ The answer often involves what is commonly called ‘rebranding’.
Rebranding can involve many things. It can be anything from updating your organisation’s visual imagery – its ‘look’; even changing the name; to modifying the services or products provided.
It’s about trying something new to refocus the attention of your existing customers and stakeholders and attract the attention and custom of new customers.
Subtlety Can Be The Best Option
Rebranding to breathe new life into a business. But it can also be risky. If done for the wrong reasons, a rebrand can bring about the exact opposite effect of the intended goal. Long-established organisations with solid reputations that suddenly decide to change their look just for the sake of change, can do themselves harm rather than good. For example – Gap (see below) – that had to revert to its original logo (‘brand’) after suffering a devastating revolt on social media.
Royal Mail also spent two million pounds changing its visual corporate identity – including its name – to ‘Consignia’. There was a huge public backlash – a public relations disaster – and it was forced to revert to the original and the familiar name with which its customers and stakeholders were familiar.
Rebrand Carefully and Subtlely
In our experience, if you are going to give your logo an overhaul, then keeping key elements of the old one, while simplifying the look, may be your best way forward. We believe that is a large reason as to why the new Gap logo didn’t work as planned. People do get attached to images, especially company symbols (logos). Stray too far from the original design and you may end up with a riot on your hands.
Conclusion
Customers have a tendency to attach themselves to preset ideas and change can often be met with confusion. However, when done for the right reasons, a new look can really make for a positive impact.With a strong brand, consistency is key and if a change needs to be made, then subtlety may be the best option. By keeping a sense of familiarity between the two logos, we will help make the transition between old and new, a smooth one.
Despite the old adage “you can’t judge a book by its cover”, many buyers often do!
An organisation’s visual identity – the ‘corporate face’ it presents to the world – is tremendously influential in helping form impressions in the minds of existing clients and stakeholders, and potential new customers.
And, like a truly good book, if an organisation’s face is a good fit with the word of mouth created through the positive experiences of those who come into contact with it, a reputation – it’s ‘brand’ – is born.
Organisation’s logos or trademarks – recalling the hot-iron branding applied to cattle – and Levi’s jeans labels – are often mistaken for its ‘brand’. While the logo is a big contributor to brand image, the ‘brand’ is much more than that.
The organisation – like a book – is only as good as its content – how it performs and behaves towards customers and stakeholders. Its real ‘brand’ is formed in those impressions – what’s between the customers’ ears; what it believes about the organisation, its products and services. That reputation is the brand. But its ‘corporate identity’ – the impression it makes through its name, logo (trademark), slogan and every aspect of its visual identity, should be the springboard for its success. The way an organisation ‘looks’ should proclaim to the world its standards and values – an ambition to achieve excellence – especially in meeting, preferably exceeding, the needs and expectations of its targeted customers. Because people DO, at least initially, judge books by their covers!
How they feel after they have read the book will determine what they tell the rest of the world about it. People also judge – often misjudge – other people by the way they look, dress, speak and, of course, behave. First impressions are important. But, of course, it is our experience with others that creates longer-term impressions that determine the strength of our relationships.
In the case of organisations too, first impressions are often created by how they are perceived from their ‘shop window’. If those are positive and are then matched with experience, the lasting impression will be indelible. If corporate identity and service standards are consistently maintained – and occasionally professionally ‘refreshed’ – customer satisfaction will result and the organisations ‘brand’ will become its greatest asset.
Once established in the minds – and hearts – of consumers and stakeholders, the organisation’s logo and other aspects of its corporate identity become the ‘shorthand’ that instantly triggers memory of those positive experiences – the logo and the brand become synonymous and customer loyalty is reinforced and assured.
‘Playing’ with a visual identity for the sake of it, can be fraught with risk, as organisations like GAP and Royal Mail have found to their discomfit (see later). But meaningful change – based on a strong understanding of consumer perceptions and testing of the possible alternatives – can result in long-term benefits.
Gap re-brand logo failure.
Changing the visual cues projected by your organisation can achieve stronger visibility and engagement – especially in the crowded marketplace. That ‘shorthand recognition’ should immediately stimulate the positive perceptions that represent the total brand.
We speak with so many businesses who have no idea why they need a logo style guide for their business, but they share their frustration with us about why their team can’t get their business branding right. Some usual problems are:
Font size and type
Distortion of logo
Logo placement
Colour usage
A style guide is a document that provides a set of guidelines for the design of your logo of all documents for a organisation/business, or a document that defines the rules in how your logo and other visual elements must be presented on all your marketing items.
So what’s usually inside?
Your logo/brand – and how it must be displayed
Tone and use of words relating to the brand
How it appears on different backgrounds
A list of situations that the logo and its symbols can and can’t be used
How small it can go
Spacing around it
Typographical elements
Set of colours you use (both for print & web)
Reproduction guidelines (for advertising agencies and printers)
The graphic elements that can be used for it
Is it Really Necessary?
This question is like asking if it’s possible to engage in online shop without a website or trying to make a video viral without buying youtube views.
Reasons why you need a logo style guide:
1. To enhance marketing and sales efforts so that effective use of the brand logo, design and expression generate a positive impact 2. To avoid physical distortions and deviations from the true design and character of your brand, 3. To remind people that behind the brand is a company that invites trust and confidence.
Companies hire third parties to help convey a strong and marketable message. A bunch of advertisers, design agencies, photographers and printers are put to the task for executing the company’s brand, its message and its core values. But there’s a strong chance that they do not fully understand the brand.
What happens? A glaring lack of respect for what the brand stands for – and sheer ignorance of the company’s vision.
When you buy a house, you build equity over time. It’s the same with your brand. Branding and positioning it the right way will build value. Your logo style guide will ensure that your brand earns the value it deserves.
Now if you’re a visual person like us, you might want to see what do they actually look like, so here are some examples (only snippets of the larger document):
Do you have a style guide for your business?
At DesignLab we develop style guides when creating your brand. Contact us if you would like to have a style guide for your business.
BankSA has gotten rid of its well known Sturt Desert Pea identity for a new logo upgrade, which incorporates a map of South Australia.
The former, well known logo is gone now for bold letters and a stylised outline of the state as one of the state’s oldest banks undergoes an a major upgrade.
BankSA, which has roughly one in three South Australians as customers, yesterday revealed its new logo — as part of a modernisation plan.
The bank said the change was one of the largest in its 166 year history and signals a broader transformation of its network and services.
The bank is also closing a bunch of it’s branches such as Walkerville, Regency Park, Flinders Medical Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hahndorf and more, which has angered some business and customers, but new branches will be opened at Munno Para and the new Churchill Shopping Centre in Kilburn in coming weeks.
South Australians had helped shape the bank through patterns and feedback, said chief executive Nick Reade.
The new look was developed by the BankSA Marketing team & Clemengers (Adelaide) and Saatchi & Saatchi.
What do you think of the new logo?
We personally feel what a wasted opportunity. Badly executed, poorly considered and with nothing that distinguishes it from a generic government department.
Why Not Everybody Should Design
Google has had a bottom-up rebrand, and it’s provoked plenty of opinion
