Best logo designs?

John_Rambo

Tayla wrote: »

Unworkable it may be

Tayla

John_Rambo wrote: »

Ha I said unworkable it may be....how do I know what a printer needs to have to print it properly, It looks fine at 10x the size I would require initally for letter heads, cards and website on a pdf file that I created from the smart draw program.

John_Rambo

The printer will get a finished artist or a designer to redraw the logo properly, the price of that will be stuffed in to your price somewhere. It may have to be reworked for web, you will pay for that again. It will have to be reworked to be white out of colour or black and white at some stage.

I would be afraid that eventually the font and look of the logo will look out of date and a bit tired looking, with all the redraws and reworks, going from RGB to CMYK, four colour blacks, it will look nothing like you originally imagined it.

Brand identity is serious. But if you think it's good enough, you should not be afraid to post it up here.

Tayla

John_Rambo wrote: »

The printer will get a finished artist or a designer to redraw the logo properly, the price of that will be stuffed in to your price somewhere. It may have to be reworked for web, you will pay for that again. It will have to be reworked to be white out of colour or black and white at some stage.

I would be afraid that eventually the font and look of the logo will look out of date and a bit tired looking, with all the redraws and reworks, going from RGB to CMYK, four colour blacks, it will look nothing like you originally imagined it.

Brand identity is serious. But if you think it's good enough, you should not be afraid to post it up here.

Look this is getting very silly, I don't want to post it up here because the business has the potential to be very good and I don't want people going oh look that's the b***h from boards.....because everyone is taking me up wrong and completely misreading what I am saying, basically at the moment we don't need our branding to be perfect, the business is moving much faster than we anticipated and we need to concentrate on other things for now ahead of the initial launch.

I didn't come on here to complain about Irish designers but the ones I contacted said they would provide 2-4 different concepts for the price which I said I wasn't entirely happy with.

I understand I will need several different versions of the logo.

bette

What a load of bull! Logos, usually pretty lousy, became fashionable with the creation of Adobe Illustrator back in "the old days"! Before that there were household standards which were simple and not trying to be too clever. These logos has stood the test of time! No apologies for the huge pics, they have to be in your face!

Perhaps some of the wafflers could post up some of their "artwork" for criticism.

ztoical

bette wrote: »

What a load of bull! Logos, usually pretty lousy, became fashionable with the creation of Adobe Illustrator back in "the old days"!

Logo design and creation has been around long before we started using computers for their development and creation. You might want to take some time to look at the hay day of marketing and advertising in the 1950's and 60's to really understand the use of logos as branding and marketing and value they had to a company. Hell Mad Man has managed 4 seasons of a tv show about the industry at that time.

bette wrote: »

Before that there were household standards which were simple and not trying to be too clever. These logos has stood the test of time! No apologies for the huge pics, they have to be in your face!

You also might want to take a history of graphic design class if your going to start lecturing people. The logos you've presented have all gone through hundreds of redesigns over the years and the companies have spent and still do spend millions on development of their brand look each year and each has evolved into remarkable designs with significant modifications. Coke are prefect example as their logo was copyrighted way back in 1887 but the logo most of us are familiar with wasn't developed until the 1915 but they didn't just pick that one and stuck with it cus 'it stood the test of time' there have been many revamps and changes, some big some small some worked some didn't. There is also a massive amount of thought and psychology gone into those logos and they were being very very clever and smart with them [red and white was used by coke as they felt it would lure younger people which was their target market - the youthful exuberance of America]. The developments the ford logo has gone through since 1903 is very interesting for anyone with an interest in type and graphic design.

John_Rambo

Logos have been around a long long time before Illustrator came out, some were registered in the late eighteen hundreds.



And those identities you have just posted up cost millions.

bette

The experts are crawling out of the woodwork!

Care to give me a costing on the DuPont one? You might be surprised...

However, you guys need a bit of mystique to enable us to admire your special talents. :rolleyes:

Logo design is not rocket science.

ztoical

bette wrote: »

The experts are crawling out of the woodwork!

Care to give me a costing on the DuPont one? You might be surprised...

However, you guys need a bit of mystique to enable us to admire your special talents. :rolleyes:

Logo design is not rocket science.

It's got nothing to with mystique or looking for people to admire anyones talents but people do go to college and study graphic design for years and there is alot of thought and work that goes into it and it's highly insulting to have people saying that there is not effort put into it. Why the hell do you think companies spend so much money on marketing? There is a science and psychology behind all of it. Yes any one can design a logo to slap on their product but if you want a logo that will be effective in promoting your business and creating an image for you it's not as simple. Logo design is an important area of graphic design, and one of the most difficult to perfect. Rather then just whinning on about something you clearly don't understand go crack open and book and teach yourself something.

And for the record I don't work as a graphic designer, I work as an animator and the tv series I work on is currently putting together it's opening titles and I've been listening to television producers and animators with decades of experience [several working on Roger Rabbit, Watership down and have won Baftas and Oscars] explaining how important the choice of Typography used is going to be and the impact that will have on the branding and promotion of the tv series and it's something worth spending time and money on. The last feature film I worked on which was nominated for an Oscar had a different font used for the posters in different markets as different cultures react differently to different images and type.

Dymo

Anytime I wanted to get a professional logo designed I always went to 99Designs.com, there you say how much you are winning to pay min $295 and then you get concepts from 50 - 100 designers and you work with who you like the best you don't pay until your happy with the end result.

You can check out a few contests here, the standard is very high.
http://99designs.com/logo-design

bette

Dymo wrote: »

Anytime I wanted to get a professional logo designed I always went to 99Designs.com, there you say how much you are winning to pay min $295 and then you get concepts from 50 - 100 designers and you work with who you like the best you don't pay until your happy with the end result.

You can check out a few contests here, the standard is very high.
http://99designs.com/logo-design

Now that's a good post and an interesting concept!

Tayla

Dymo wrote: »

Anytime I wanted to get a professional logo designed I always went to 99Designs.com, there you say how much you are winning to pay min $295 and then you get concepts from 50 - 100 designers and you work with who you like the best you don't pay until your happy with the end result.

You can check out a few contests here, the standard is very high.
http://99designs.com/logo-design

I saw the similar website called logotournament aswell, It looks really good.

peejay1986

This thread should simply be renamed "How to get a mediocre logo for the cheapest amount of money possible".

The stuff being said in this thread is an insult to the design industry. An industry which very few appreciate, mainly due to the fact that they are too stubborn to understand/appreciate the incredible amount of work that goes in to the creation of a brand.

As for 99Designs and the like. I can only assume it's called 99Designs because 99% of the work featured on there is either stolen or a near carbon copy of someone elses work. You're not getting a true range of concepts because people just look at what score highest and follow that same approach. It's not giving the client any other options that may be more effective. It is entirely results driven as the designers on there have no need to worry about the performance of the logo in the commercial world.

Pig ignorance. I might go in to the Engineering forum and talk about how piss easy it is to make a car. After all, I got a Mecano set for my birthday when I was 5. That was a doddle.

scico rocks

peejay1986 wrote: »

This thread should simply be renamed "How to get a mediocre logo for the cheapest amount of money possible".

The stuff being said in this thread is an insult to the design industry. An industry which very few appreciate, mainly due to the fact that they are too stubborn to understand/appreciate the incredible amount of work that goes in to the creation of a brand.

As for 99Designs and the like. I can only assume it's called 99Designs because 99% of the work featured on there is either stolen or a near carbon copy of someone elses work. You're not getting a true range of concepts because people just look at what score highest and follow that same approach. It's not giving the client any other options that may be more effective. It is entirely results driven as the designers on there have no need to worry about the performance of the logo in the commercial world.

Pig ignorance. I might go in to the Engineering forum and talk about how piss easy it is to make a car. After all, I got a Mecano set for my birthday when I was 5. That was a doddle.

My sister does logos/advertising stuff in her spare time and charges approx 50 euros for them. She gets loads of repeat work.
She's teaching me how to use illustrator, photoshop and indesign so I can give it a go myself. She says its a brilliant nixer.
Good design doesn't have to be mad expensive, I think the better the designer, the less time they have to spend on a logo and so can charge less.
My sister spends between 1 - 3 hours on a logo, so thats between 50 - 16 euros per hour. Sweet!

tricky D

peejay1986 wrote: »

This thread should simply be renamed "How to get a mediocre logo for the cheapest amount of money possible".

The stuff being said in this thread is an insult to the design industry. An industry which very few appreciate, mainly due to the fact that they are too stubborn to understand/appreciate the incredible amount of work that goes in to the creation of a brand.

As for 99Designs and the like. I can only assume it's called 99Designs because 99% of the work featured on there is either stolen or a near carbon copy of someone elses work. You're not getting a true range of concepts because people just look at what score highest and follow that same approach. It's not giving the client any other options that may be more effective. It is entirely results driven as the designers on there have no need to worry about the performance of the logo in the commercial world.

Pig ignorance. I might go in to the Engineering forum and talk about how piss easy it is to make a car. After all, I got a Mecano set for my birthday when I was 5. That was a doddle.

Yup. How 99% of 99designs works:
http://www.thelogofactory.com/logo_blog/index.php/how-to-enter-logo-design-contest/
http://www.thelogofactory.com/logo-design-articles/logo-design-contests/

scico rocks wrote: »

My sister does logos/advertising stuff in her spare time and charges approx 50 euros for them. She gets loads of repeat work.
She's teaching me how to use illustrator, photoshop and indesign so I can give it a go myself. She says its a brilliant nixer.
Good design doesn't have to be mad expensive, I think the better the designer, the less time they have to spend on a logo and so can charge less.
My sister spends between 1 - 3 hours on a logo, so thats between 50 - 16 euros per hour. Sweet!

If your sister is in so much demand she should charge a lot more than a paltry €16/hr before tax. Dubious claim anyway imho.

John_Rambo

I work for a lot of publications. When you get artwork or an ad in from a designer, a design house, an ad agency, a print orginator, a repro house or a finished artist it's usually fine. When you get stuff in from someone who isn't a designer or claims they know illustrator it's a disaster. The worst are usually the ones that design it themselves. I'm not just saying that to fan the flames, it's just a fact, you get wrong sizes, no bleed, white text set to overprint, no colour management, text set in registration, white out text too small, designs in bizarre non trade related programs etc... I am not saying these people are not creative or clever or anything, they are usually successful in their own field. But there is a certain attitude when it comes to things in Ireland, for example "who needs an architect? I can design my own house"...

When it comes to the end result, it shows. Every time.

Tayla

peejay1986 wrote: »

Pig ignorance. I might go in to the Engineering forum and talk about how piss easy it is to make a car. After all, I got a Mecano set for my birthday when I was 5. That was a doddle.

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....

Tayla

John_Rambo wrote: »

The worst are usually the ones that design it themselves. I'm not just saying that to fan the flames, it's just a fact, you get wrong sizes, no bleed, white text set to overprint, no colour management, text set in registration, white out text too small, designs in bizarre non trade related programs etc... I am not saying these people are not creative or clever or anything, they are usually successful in their own field. But there is a certain attitude when it comes to things in Ireland, for example "who needs an architect? I can design my own house"...

When it comes to the end result, it shows. Every time.

I designed my own and plan to let some one who can print logos to finalise it and give me a few different versions that I need, for the website etc....but still you seem to think that it is impossible that someone who hasn't studied it could manage it.

I showed my design to loads of people and they were all pretty damn impressed actually

tricky D wrote: »

If your sister is in so much demand she should charge a lot more than a paltry €16/hr before tax. Dubious claim anyway imho.

That's a pretty snobby comment, there are people in all industries now working for less than €16 per hour but according to people here if a designer doesn't charge a fortune then they must be bad at design....absolute rubbish

John_Rambo

Tayla wrote: »

but still you seem to think that it is impossible that someone who hasn't studied it could manage it.

I showed my design to loads of people and they were all pretty damn impressed actually

You haven't managed it, you admit that it needs to be finalised. (probably completely reworked)

Look,you were the one harping on about training and professionalism when it came to your husbands trade. I am not argueing here with you, I am just making a point. You are, by your own admission, happy to settle for less than perfect branding, so an amateur job will suit you fine and you are obviously delighted with it and your friends think it's great! I just know from experience that when you get jobs done by people that are not skilled in the industry they are usually substandard and it reflects on the company.

Tayla

John_Rambo wrote: »

You haven't managed it, you admit that it needs to be finalised. (probably completely reworked)

Look,you were the one harping on about training and professionalism when it came to your husbands trade. I am not argueing here with you, I am just making a point You are willing by your own admission that you are happy to settle for less than perfect branding, so an amateur job will suit you fine and you are obviously delighted with it and your friends think it's great! I just know from experience that when you get jobs done by people that are not skilled in the industry they are usually substandard and it reflects on the company.

No what I actually said was it is very possible for someone who is charging a cheap price to be just as good or well trained as someone who is charging more. I'm not trying to offend anyone at all. I don't think it will need to be completely reworked either, as I said it would be easy enough to copy.
Everyones taste is individual and yes I like my logo but I do understand the importance of branding, There's a lot of unnecessary defensiveness on this thread and maybe it should be saved for the people who actually do come on complaining about how designers aren't worth the price they charge etc. which is not what I said at all:)

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.