Best logo designs?

John_Rambo

I am not engaging with some of the people on here, they are obviously just trolling or have a gripe with the industry. I am engaging with you because you asked for opinions.

I gave you my opinion based on experience in the industry. If you want to ignore those opinions, that's up to you, no skin off my nose. It's your business, you admit (bizarrely) that perfect branding is not important to your business.

If I want my car fixed I go to someone like your husband.

If I want to get rid of a flu I go to a doctor.

If I want a house designed I go to an architect.

If I need a brochure or a logo designed I go to a graphic designer.

That's the difference between you and me. Now, I said before, I don't thing you are stupid or not creative or anything like that, I am just reacting to what you said on the thread.

I genuinely wish you the best of luck in the business.

Tayla

John_Rambo wrote: »

I am not engaging with some of the people on here, they are obviously just trolling or have a gripe with the industry. I am engaging with you because you asked for opinions.

I gave you my opinion based on experience in the industry. If you want to ignore those opinions, that's up to you, no skin off my nose. It's your business, you admit (bizarrely) that perfect branding is not important to your business.

If I want my car fixed I go to someone like your husband.

If I want to get rid of a flu I go to a doctor.

If I want a house designed I go to an architect.

If I need a brochure or a logo designed I go to a graphic designer.

That's the difference between you and me. Now, I said before, I don't thing you are stupid or not creative or anything like that, I am just reacting to what you said on the thread.

I genuinely wish you the best of luck in the business.

Thank you very much....I know it might seem bizarre but right now we need to get prepared for the launch, to do that we need any kind of logo on our letterheads just to have one basically, the people we're dealing with at the moment don't really need any marketing material etc but before the launch we plan to go all out and get the whole thing, all the material/website and logos looking perfect

peejay1986

Tayla wrote: »

Well the big difference there is that it is very possible for someone to have been very artistic and good at design without having studied it, I designed a logo that looks very nice, easy to see the writing, nice colours etc...I'm going to get someone to edit it in a different program if they need to and print and do the black/white versions themselves because I wouldn't be able to do that and yet because I am not a logo designer it must be absolutely awful....

I'm sorry to drag this back up but I can't ignore it. It's no different whatsoever. Based on what you're saying, why couldn't I be good at engineering even if I hadn't studied it?

Being creative/artistic and being a designer are two different things. If the only criteria were these then there'd be no demand for any sort of designer. People would simply give the job to some lad who got an 'A' in leaving cert Art.

A logo can be create in an hour, even 10 minutes. It could look stunning and everyone you every meet could say that it's beautiful - that doesn't make it a good logo. A logo has to convey a message to people, it has to draw in emotions or tell people what this brand is all about. It needs to have the ability to be effective on its own and with other elements, on a business card and on a billboard. A logo is not just about how pretty something looks or whether you like the colour. This is what people don't seem to understand and it's incredibly frustrating as someone in the industry that the majority people do not take it seriously.

If you hire a ****e architect/builder to build your family house it might fall down and destroy your life. If you hire a ****e designer or don't put enough care in to your designs/thinking it can have the same result on your brand.

I have nothing against you and I don't want to come across as aggressive in any way. However it's hard not to speak (well, type) up when I feel like the profession I've studied 4 years to work as, is being belittled.

I hope your business does as well as you anticipate and wish you the best of luck with it in the future.

Tayla

peejay1986 wrote: »

I'm sorry to drag this back up but I can't ignore it. It's no different whatsoever. Based on what you're saying, why couldn't I be good at engineering even if I hadn't studied it?

There is a difference between what I said and what you are saying, there are plently of people who are artistic and could possibly design a fabulous logo with no experience of design training. Don't get me wrong, I don't think people without training could design a whole brand or marketing campaign etc. (that is definitely one for the experts) but a logo I think yes there are people who could indeed come up with one.
I presume you would in fact need to have some training in engineering to build a car.

peejay1986 wrote: »

A logo can be create in an hour, even 10 minutes. It could look stunning and everyone you every meet could say that it's beautiful - that doesn't make it a good logo. A logo has to convey a message to people, it has to draw in emotions or tell people what this brand is all about. It needs to have the ability to be effective on its own and with other elements, on a business card and on a billboard. A logo is not just about how pretty something looks or whether you like the colour. This is what people don't seem to understand and it's incredibly frustrating as someone in the industry that the majority people do not take it seriously.

I designed this logo and I like it, believe me it's probably a fluke, I could probably never design another one I liked.. but this one that I designed looks good, it does convey what I want it to convey, it's fresh and IMO looks professional. As I said though it's a one off, I could probably never design another one again.

peejay1986 wrote: »

I have nothing against you and I don't want to come across as aggressive in any way. However it's hard not to speak (well, type) up when I feel like the profession I've studied 4 years to work as, is being belittled.

I hope your business does as well as you anticipate and wish you the best of luck with it in the future.

Look I completely get what you're saying, I really do but you are taking me up the wrong way, I would love to be able to have the ability to design things but I don't and in this whole thread I have been saying that I want the whole thing rebranded as soon as I can but the reason I got so defensive was because everyone else got so defensive when really all I was saying was that I needed something to do me 'for now'.

To be honest I can't wait for the whole branding to get under way and to watch it come to life in that way, that will be a very exciting time for me:)

bette

Tayla wrote: »

To be honest I can't wait for the whole branding to get under way and to watch it come to life in that way, that will be a very exciting time for me:)

We're going to have to see this logo soon!

Now back to the topic!

Designing logos is not the great art one studies for four years for and is only a small part of why companies pay a fortune for graphic design. What we should be discussing is Corporate Identity. This involves how a company is projected through it's stationery, advertising, etc. It should reflect an image through it's printed matter, signage, even office layout, ad stands, magazine advertising and lots more.

Brand names can be retooled as can logos. The Ford one that was posted earlier is an example of this. The basic logo is as it was 100 years ago but with clever modifications along the way. Names can be modified as for instance, Coca Cola is now referred to as Coke, Kentucky Fried Chicken is advertised as KFC and car manufacturers tend to use the name of the car rather than the company. There are Yarises, Puntos and Golfs rather than Toyota Yarises… There are Mercs, Rollers, Minis and beamers.
on in vans, packaging letterheads, business cards, glossy magazine ads, newspaper ads? What are your company colours to be. These are the considerations of CI.

bette

Tayla wrote: »

To be honest I can't wait for the whole branding to get under way and to watch it come to life in that way, that will be a very exciting time for me:)

We're going to have to see this logo soon!

Now back to the topic!

Designing logos is not the great art one studies for four years for and is only a small part of why companies pay a fortune for graphic design. What we should be discussing is Corporate Identity. This involves how a company is projected through it's stationery, advertising, etc. It should reflect an image through it's printed matter, signage, even office layout, ad stands, magazine advertising and lots more.

Brand names can be retooled as can logos. The Ford one that was posted earlier is an example of this. The basic logo is as it was 100 years ago but with clever modifications along the way. Names can be modified as for instance, Coca Cola is now referred to as Coke, Kentucky Fried Chicken is advertised as KFC and car manufacturers tend to use the name of the car rather than the company. There are Yarises, Puntos and Golfs rather than Toyota Yarises… There are Mercs, Rollers, Minis and beamers.
Will your logo be printed on vans, packaging, letterheads, business cards, glossy magazine ads, newspaper ads? What are your company colours to be. These are the considerations of CI.

ztoical

Tayla wrote: »

Well the big difference there is that it is very possible for someone to have been very artistic and good at design without having studied it, I designed a logo that looks very nice, easy to see the writing, nice colours etc...I'm going to get someone to edit it in a different program if they need to and print and do the black/white versions themselves because I wouldn't be able to do that and yet because I am not a logo designer it must be absolutely awful....

Of course it's possible for someone to artistic - most people can cook but that doesn't mean everyone can work in a restaurant kitchen. Your confusing creativity with design. You didn't design a logo, you came up with an idea and created a concept for it. For something to be designed implies function and you admit yourself your going to have to use the graphic design services of the printer in order to make your logo concept work as a design. There is nothing wrong with people coming up ideas themseleves but show some repsect for people who've got the training and know how....I've studied animation and illustration and work full time as animator, I know I can draw but when I got my back tattooed I brought my idea in to the artist and they charged me to re-drew the whole thing and I trusted them because I am not a tattoo artists and I respected their expertise in that field.

I would be very wary of trusting the opinions of friends and family on wither a logo works as they are not unbiased. My mother has artwork I did in secondary school on display in her house and still thinks it's amazing while I cringe when I look at it. Might be worth doing some market research and asking some strangers on the street their opinions.

Tayla

ztoical wrote: »

I know I can draw but when I got my back tattooed I brought my idea in to the artist and they charged me to re-drew the whole thing and I trusted them because I am not a tattoo artists and I respected their expertise in that field.

I drew my own tattoo too, I drew it on graph paper, they re-drew it and I now have a crooked tattoo on my back thanks to them.

ztoical wrote: »

I would be very wary of trusting the opinions of friends and family on wither a logo works as they are not unbiased. My mother has artwork I did in secondary school on display in her house and still thinks it's amazing while I cringe when I look at it. Might be worth doing some market research and asking some strangers on the street their opinions.

Oh for gods sake i'm not going over this again, it is a nice logo, I know it is and read the thread market research is not needed because that is not going to be our logo when we launch

ztoical

Tayla wrote: »

I drew my own tattoo too, I drew it on graph paper, they re-drew it and I now have a crooked tattoo on my back thanks to them.

So when they placed the transfer on your back you said it was crooked but they tattooed it anyway? Or maybe it's a case of you get what you paid for, good tattoo artists are like good graphic designers, they cost a bit extra but you get the results.

Tayla wrote: »

Oh for gods sake i'm not going over this again, it is a nice logo, I know it is and read the thread market research is not needed because that is not going to be our logo when we launch

So you've 'designed' a logo because?....you mentioned web and print which implies it's going to be used in some context in a public setting.

Tayla

ztoical wrote: »

So when they placed the transfer on your back you said it was crooked but they tattooed it anyway? Or maybe it's a case of you get what you paid for, good tattoo artists are like good graphic designers, they cost a bit extra but you get the results.

Just to edit, it's not crooked but the tattoo isn't symmetrical even though it should be, It was hard to see it on my back even with their mirror and I didn't go to a cheap tattooist.

ztoical wrote: »

So you've 'designed' a logo because?....you mentioned web and print which implies it's going to be used in some context in a public setting.

Right now the people who will be receiving anything with our logo on it will not care what it looks like, we just want to have something on it.

Cianos

To interject, this thread simply shows different perspectives towards the importance of design.

At each end of the spectrum there is a value/reward balance. For a lot of businesses it simply doesn't seem worth it investing a lot in to design. If the end result doesn't look to give them a clear and significant competitive edge, then it doesn't make apparent business sense. Generally these businesses would operate in areas where their customer doesn't associate the look/feel of the company as a reflection upon their own life. For example, a plumber may not think that his customers care a lot about his brand identity, they just want their tap to stop leaking.

On the other hand you have businesses that are totally brand orientated. Their bottom line is based upon staying on top of the latest trends and fashions. Their market place is totally fickle - they know this, and know that if they slack off they will go out of fashion before the week is out. So little expense is spared on getting their design work exactly right.

These are the two extremes, but the vast majority of businesses operate in the middle. Everyone can benefit from better design. I don't mean cutting edge design, I mean the best design for that business. A plumber probably wouldn't want the fanciest visual identity because it may make him look more pricey than he actually is - so good design in his case takes this in to account.

Like anything, deciding on what to invest in design in terms of time and resources should be based upon what return you think you will get out of it. For example, if the plumber guesses that if he spends 100 euro on a new logo he will have a better identity than 90% of his competition, but if he spends an extra 200 euro he might look better than 95% of his competition - it's the value of that extra 5% versus the extra €100, and what he expects to get back from it in the long run.

scico rocks

Hi everyone, as posted previously, I'm learning graphic design. Whilst I respect the graphic designers voicing their opinion, I cant understand that if someone charges less than them, their product is somehow inferior.
Graphic designers are not an elite group. Anyone can be one. No qualifications are required.
My sister is a graphic designer (part time). She is constantly busy and is considering setting up full time (hopefully with yours truly!).
She charges a flat fee of €50 per design and the notion that her work is somehow inferior because of what she charges is laughable. She gets a large amount of repeat business and everyone is delighted with her work.
Graphic designers may baulk at this but when I asked her about this, she says she designs for the client and not for other designers.
I'm hopefully going to enter this field soon and hope to do well out of it.
Quality design can be achieved for a modest price, I think a lot of designers should remember that.

ztoical

scico rocks wrote: »

She is constantly busy and is considering setting up full time (hopefully with yours truly!).
She charges a flat fee of €50 per design. QUOTE]

She can charge 50 because she is doing it part time so has money coming in from another source, she [and you] will find it very difficult to charge those prices if your running it as a full time business as if it's your only source of income you will have to charge more in order to make a living also your costs will be alot higher as will the taxes you have to pay - Graphic Design does not fall under the artists tax exemption scheme.

peejay1986

scico rocks wrote: »

Hi everyone, as posted previously, I'm learning graphic design. Whilst I respect the graphic designers voicing their opinion, I cant understand that if someone charges less than them, their product is somehow inferior.
Graphic designers are not an elite group. Anyone can be one. No qualifications are required.
My sister is a graphic designer (part time). She is constantly busy and is considering setting up full time (hopefully with yours truly!).
She charges a flat fee of €50 per design and the notion that her work is somehow inferior because of what she charges is laughable. She gets a large amount of repeat business and everyone is delighted with her work.
Graphic designers may baulk at this but when I asked her about this, she says she designs for the client and not for other designers.
I'm hopefully going to enter this field soon and hope to do well out of it.
Quality design can be achieved for a modest price, I think a lot of designers should remember that.

I would stick my neck out and say the reason your sister is getting some much work is because she's charging €50 per design and not necessarily because of the standard of work.

scico rocks

Or could it be that she's cheaper than some AND the standard of the work is excellent?
As stated, she's considering giving up work to pursue this full time. She has been at this for 3 / 4 yrs and has built up an impressive client list.
Wish her luck people!

ztoical

scico rocks wrote: »

Or could it be that she's cheaper than some AND the standard of the work is excellent?
As stated, she's considering giving up work to pursue this full time. She has been at this for 3 / 4 yrs and has built up an impressive client list.
Wish her luck people!

Of course wish her and you if you opt to follow the same career lots of luck but again point out that if she does go full time as a graphic designer she will not be able to keep charging a flat rate of 50 euro for every client. The difference between part time designers and full time designers cost wise is down alot of the time to things like tax and overheads. Most part time designers use either free software or illegal/student copies of licenced software and are supplementing their income with other work and most design work they do is under the table/cash in hand and not declared on their tax returns. Working as a designer full time is a different story, you will have to purchase full licenses for software you use and make sure to keep up to date and you'll have to pay tax on the work you do and as a result you'll find yourself charging about the same rates as other designers if you/your sister plan to work full time.