One Day You Are In & The Next Day, You Are Out!

Fashion fades in and out according to season but that doesn’t mean that the logo design of your fashion house will have to conform to those changes. There is only a handful of fashion logos out there which have last for decades and yet still able to maintain its identity as well as its popularity among consumers worldwide. Yves Saint Laurent, Lanvin, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Dior, Prada and Fendi are still household names despite
 their decades-long existence.

Contemporary fashion houses like Marc Jacobs, Dolce & Gabbana, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Michael Kors, Alexander McQueen and Kris Van Assche use textual brand logos for the fashion house. In terms of design, some designs are very simple while others are somewhat more innovative and fashion-forward. One thing is for sure, by using text-based designs; consumers can easily associate with the names of new, upcoming designers.

I will discuss briefly on some of the few famous brand logos of fashion houses.

Louis Vuitton        : The king (or queen) of all monograms. The wide range of monogrammed luggage bags and accessories are coveted items to those who can afford it. The initials are very unique and exceptionally bold, in line with the brand image of sturdy yet chic leather goods. Occasionally, Louis Vuitton does use a Japanese-inspired floral design in its accessories instead of the monograms which has become a sort-of fashion staple among the who’s who in the fashion industry.

Marc Jacobs        : The brand image is a very simple and clean textual design which is slightly condensed. The subtle spacing in between each letter is inconsequential but it provides space and makes the overall look to appear fresh and crisp. Moreover, the usage of two cohesive colors - black and gray gives an understated impact to the whole design.

Chanel        : The forever famous interlocking double C’s. The first few things that come to mind when one sees of the Chanel logo is classic, chic and classy. The brand is now helmed by the ever-creative Karl Lagerfeld who has brought Chanel to a whole new level of sophistication and brand identity by incorporating the simple logo design into most of his works. Coco would have definitely been extremely proud.

Alexander McQueen    : The famous late Brit designer, an alumnus of Central Saint Martins, who is renowned in churning out powerful collections season after season with such conviction and passion. The logo design portrays the vitality, energy and strength of the brand. The letter “c” within the stylized “Q” is very distinctive as it grabs your attention, similar to the mesmerizing designs of this fashion house.

Logos are just as important in fashion as the collection these fashion house produce. But a classic and lasting logo design is important as well. Who wants a logo that is trendy one year and is deemed kitschy the next year? Choose wisely. And lastly in true Project Runway style, Heidi Klum would nonchalantly say: In fashion, one day you are in and the next day, you are out. How true.

Food & Drinks Galore!

Logos for restaurants are highly important as they can help establish the brand to greater heights. For logo designs related to food and beverages, color schemes play a minute yet important role. Try avoiding colors like blue, purple or black. Psychologically, these colors cause people to lose appetite as they are commonly linked to the color of spoil or poisoned food. On the contrary, green, red, orange, yellow and brown are among the most popular food colors as they are appetite stimulants.

A restaurant logo does not necessarily need to have the above mentioned appetite-stimulating food colors as these days there are many nouveau restaurants going for the minimalist look – a simple text font with the name of the restaurant against a plain black or white background. Though it looks cool and hip, but with the advent of more restaurants adopting this style, it has created a sort of uniformity and conformity. It seems to me that, long are the days where uniqueness triumphs orthodoxy.

There are still restaurants that have amazing logo designs which are very distinctive and have an old-school charm to it. There are various types of logo design which will fit to any criteria of any restaurants be it Mexican, Chinese or even, Japanese. It all boils down to the concept of your restaurant; you want it to be a chic dining restaurant or something more family-oriented is up to you and your logo design should wholly reflect on that seeing that you can opt for an illustrative logo or a more iconic look. For more detailed explanation on the different types of logo designs, check out my previous post: Textual, Iconic or Illustative?

Here are some of the famous classic restaurant logo designs for your viewing:

Fly Me High…

The advent of an influx of airline passengers worldwide has come with it more airline companies vying to provide value-for-money yet quality services to their passengers. Thus, these airline companies are compelled to stand out from their competition and make a lasting impression in the eyes of consumers around the globe. What better way to do that than to have a distinct logo plastered on the fleet of airplanes - potentially reaching to millions of people from all over the world.

Qantas Airways is a prime example of a very memorable logo design as most people can easily recognize it at just a glance. The company did a slight logo update in 2007. But this minor change immediately uplifted the overall logo design by giving the kangaroo an impression of strength and speed. The higher arch in the kangaroo’s frame in contrast with the older design gives the brand a more youthful image.

The logo of Malaysia Airlines is unique in its own way as the logo incorporates a stylized traditional Malaysian kite (or “Wau”). The identity of the logo lies in the distinctiveness of the iconic depiction of the “Wau”. The font used is bold and also simple thus enabling consumers to be more familiar with the logo. Besides, the subtle red coloration, in contrast to the blue, at the corners of the alphabets M, A and S gives an impact and also an underlying message to the abbreviation of the airline which is MAS.

Emirates brand image is one of my favorites as well. One of the leading airline companies in the Middle East famed for its friendly cabin crew and exceptional services to its customers, the logo features a modern Arabic syllable that is easily distinguishable by many. Furthermore, the text font is similar to that of the logo design and this creates a faint smoothness in the overall design; an understated sophistication.

Qatar Airways logo design is somewhat interesting as well. The gradually fading gray stripes within the non-outlined circle invoke a sense of speed. Plus, the outline of the antelope adds a bit of classiness to it all along with collectively bringing the whole design together. Though the color schemes of purple and gray are not loud in contrast to the logos of other airlines, nonetheless you cannot deny that it still looks great.

AirAsia is the leading emerging low-cost airline service provider in Asia having partnerships with Manchester United, Virgin Airways and AT&T Williams Formula One. This Malaysian airline company adopts a very simple cursive text-based design which many commented lack the creativity expected from a young airliner. But their implementation of using red in every aspect of their business should be commended as the color is their brand image.

Another famous low-cost airline is Jetstar Airways from Australia. Famous for its cheap flights and good customer service, this airline has a very interesting logo design – integrating both textual and iconic features into the design. The rather skewed star accompanied by the bold text gel perfectly well together. The bright orange enables the logo to make a statement despite its rather humble design.

Lufthansa on the other hand, uses only a single color effectively which is a tangerine orange, in its logo design. The simplicity of the type of font used is well-balanced when compared with the more detailed design of the logo resembling a flying stork. The illustrated stork resembles something contemporary and slightly tech-y with its rather sharp edges. In addition to that, the circle adds a much needed ‘weight’ to pull the whole overall design collectively as one.

Virgin Airways logo is much similar to that of AirAsia. The difference is that Virgin Airways textual logo is slightly blotchy and has a more handwritten look to it thus giving it a faintly classic look to the logo design. Undoubtedly, almost everyone worldwide is familiar with this logo as this airline is one of the biggest in the world with its impressive fleet of airplanes. Sir Richard Branson has propelled this airline company to much greater heights since its inception in the 80s. 

From all the logos of the airline companies you have seen, the color red is used most often in the logo proving that red is the primary choice for the majority of them. So, hopefully you enjoy this (somewhat lengthy) article on airline logos and keep on the lookout for more logo-related articles.

Let’s Get Athletic!

Sports-related logo designs should exude strength, swiftness and vitality and at the same time, it should be streamlined and not be too complicated. I’ve outlined a very brief and hopefully, informative piece on the topic.

It is also important to note that since more often than not, sports-related logo will be printed on uniforms and other forms of apparels, caution should be taken on the finer details and color schemes of the logo design. If it is too detailed, the logo design would look messy on the outfits. Therefore, make sure you choose a logo design which fits to your every requirement.

Here are a few of some renowned sports-related logo designs:

Wish You Were Here…

Imagine yourself listening to the sounds of the waves crashing the pristine beach, feeling the glistening white sands in-between your toes and having a sip of a cool glass of refreshing coconut water. Ahhh… That would be an ideal vacation for anyone. You would definitely want a logo design for your travel or vacation related business which could be able to invoke that sort of vivid sensation and experience.

Your logo design must be adaptable and universal as you would like to be able to penetrate into the foreign markets (unless you are only focusing on the domestic side of business); something which can relate to people regardless of the different in cultures, languages, beliefs and traditions.

Take the Lonely Planet logo for example. The blue used is calming and looking at it immediately makes one think of Lonely Planet + Vacation-On-A-Budget + Backpacking. Moreover, the slightly conjoined text with partially rounded edges injects a dose of fun and togetherness into the whole design. Lastly, the semicircle above and below the text pulls the whole look together by focusing on the brand’s image of bridging gaps throughout the whole world.

Another case study is the Ritz-Carlton logo which is very illustrative yet iconic at the same time. The lion symbolizes strength as well as the prestige of the company which is renowned for its high-end, 5-star hotel rooms and services. The illustration of the crown at the base of the lion shows that the company strives for luxury and to be the best in the industry. This logo will definitely be listed among the classics of logo design greats. Check out some famous travel and tourism logo from around the world:

With this mildly short briefing, hopefully you will understand what are the essential features needed in your travel-related logo design. Bon Voyage!

Publishing House Logo - Book Me!

Almost everyone is seen reading a book these days be it whilst waiting at the subway or lounging at the city’s park. There are numerous reading materials from hardcover to paperback and fiction to non-fiction released each month, worldwide. Consumers are quick to dive into the books’ contents without noticing much of the publisher’s logo which is always thought to be inconsequential albeit it plays a subtle yet huge part in the company’s credibility and standing.

Furthermore, a particular publishing house’s logo helps in distinguishing one establishment from the next as different publishing houses will offer different works by various authors. With more and more upcoming books having colorful and interesting book covers, a publisher’s logo might be drowned out by the bolder designs of the book cover. Thus, it is essential to have a logo which, I have mentioned time and again, looks distinctive and can stand out. 

Not to be forgotten, depending on the type of books the publisher is aiming to print, the logo has to reflect the company. If for instance, the publishing house is only focusing on issuing children related books, the logo has to be fun and possesses the element to capture the attention of children. In contrast, a more matured and uncomplicated logo design should be used if the publishing company would like to target the general demographic audience.

Textual, Iconic or Illustrative?

A logo design needs to be eye-catching and memorable at the same time so that it can stand out from the masses and give a long-lasting impression to its target audience. Going for shock value or setting sights on a subtler impact depends on how you want your ideal logo design to look like in the first place. Either way, it all boils down to how you want the public to remember your business by. A creative and fun illustration? Or something more serious, like a textual interpretation of the name of your business?

Basically, there are three general categories for logo designs which are:  TEXTUAL, ICONIC & ILLUSTRATIVE. 

TEXTUAL

It’s relatively much simpler in terms of design as it fundamentally consists only of words but a lot of hard work goes behind the scenes into making a distinctive and unique font for the textual logo. If the textual logo is designed impeccably well, it stands out and serves as both a display of the company’s name and easily a design to associate the company with. Below are some prime examples of famous text-based logo designs:

ICONIC

This is a more interesting approach in designing an identity and brand for a business as it is much more appealing to the general public. The design usually depicts the company’s image be it an outline of a wild animal or a simple everyday object. Though it is uncomplicated and more minimal compared to an illustrative logo design, it is still the most popular option today for most businesses be it multinational corporations or small enterprises. Here are some examples of well-known iconic logos:

ILLUSTRATIVE

An illustrative logo design is a complete eye-catcher with very detailed designing and vivid colors. Albeit its complexity, many still regard this as a very effective marketing tool in branding a business. Its popularity has been slightly on the decline these past few years as we see more companies and businesses steering away from having an illustrious logo design but opt to have something more minimalist. Here are some examples of illustrative logo designs:

Those three categories mentioned above are only the general groupings. Nowadays, there are many corporations who intend to incorporate a few types of designs into their logo. Thus, many of those are classified as in-between categories. Before choosing the direction you want to take, think about your target audience in addition to how the logo will be able to associate itself and be in-line with your intended business.

Files, Files, Files

There are a variety of files needed according to your desired preferences. So, it is highly vital for you to know beforehand what finalized files will the design company provide you. Some firms charge extra if you need a different file type while others do not. Therefore, it is highly crucial for you to check beforehand with the company. You have to ask yourself: what files ought I to receive according on my necessities?

I have outlined some general file types you should be receiving based on your needs.

For Print    : When sending your design for print, you have to provide the printer with editable files so that the design can be scaled accordingly without creating pixels or blurs on your design. Important vector files to have are .AI, .FH8 and .FH11. Besides, you should also be receiving a bitmap file, .EPS which is equally imperative as well. Plus, you are encouraged to print out a soft copy of your design which you intend to print for references.

For Web    : You will need to provide some essential files to your web designer or to yourself (if you are handling the design aspect of your website) among which are .HTML, .CSS, .PHP, .PNG, .EPS and .PSD. Other file types do come in handy as well such as .JPEG and .GIF.

For Office    : If you simply need to use the design for normal office use via Word document or you require the design for a Powerpoint presentation, all you need is either a .JPEG or .GIF file. It is as simple and easy as that.

There are some miscellaneous files you might receive as well but it varies from one design firm to another. For instance, if your logo is animated the design firm might be sending you files such as .SWF and .FLA. Occasionally, if your finalized design incorporates certain unique fonts, you might also be receiving font-type files like .PFM, .PFB or .TTF.

Hopefully with this brief explanation you will be able to get the files you need and always, remember to ask the company prior to employing their services.

Regular Designing Process

Regular Process

There are quite a number of people who are somewhat unfamiliar with the elaborate process when employing the services of online design companies. I’ve decided to outline the usual process usually taken by most logo design companies on the Internet.

Firstly, you would have to set up an account with the online design service provider after which you can place your respective order on a specific design package which aptly suits to your needs and requirements. A usual waiting period of 3 to 4 days is applicable before you receive your set of initial design concepts. However, there are some online logo design companies which can give you a set of initial concepts in just 24 hours.

Depending wholly on the online design firm which you are using, the initial design concepts provided ranges from 2 up to 6 concepts. After reviewing the initial concepts, you can ask for revisions or modifications on the logo designs - be it in terms of color schemes, font types or even, the layout of the design. Please be aware that certain design firms charge for revisions while some provides unlimited revisions for free.

If you completely dislike the concepts proposed, you can request for new concepts and this process is called ‘Redraw’. Likewise, please take note that some online agencies offer a limited number of redraws only while others will charge you an additional fee for each redraw. Make sure you check with the company on the fees and hidden charges involved before starting on your design project. The design package which you have chosen should have listed all of these details.

Once you are happy with the design and no changes are required, you can then finalize your design project. The final files will be sent to you in a variety of file types. Make sure that the files given to you fit your needs such as a Freehand file, an Illustrator file, an Acrobat file, GIFs and JPEGs files.

The duration of the entire process depends on you. If you would have asked for continuous edits and redraws, it might take weeks or months to finish. But if you have a clear vision on what you want your logo design to look like and you can convey it clearly to your graphic designer,  I’m sure you will be able to get your ideal logo design within 4 to 5 days or less.

At the end of this entire design process, the finalized logo design is fully owned by you but all the remaining logo concepts offered during the designing process do not belong to you. So, do not be shocked if you might come across a familiar looking logo design that you have rejected earlier being used by another company.

Refund Concerns

You can request for a refund if you are not satisfied with the designs offered. More often than not, in respected design firms, the designer in-charge of your assignment would offer to brainstorm one final batch of designs to meet your requirements. If you still dislike the designs, then you will be given a refund whether it is a full or partial refund relies wholly on the company’s policies. Nevertheless, there are some online design agencies that will simply postpone the refund and continuously provide excuses just so that they can resume charging you for their hours in working with you. So, please be careful and read the fine print in the terms and conditions of any online design firms.

Your refund will be calculated based on how much work has been done thus far on the design. For example, if you have asked for roughly 15 to 20 logo changes, it is impossible that you will be able to receive a full refund but you may be paid 10 to 20 percent of the total amount initially paid on your design package. You may be entitled to a full refund if you have asked roughly less than 5 times of design edits.

What About Chargeback?

Once you have informed your credit card company on the cancellation of your order, the design agency would have to pay you back the full amount and will be fined with a small penalty fee. Perform this only when the design agency concerned ignore your request for a refund.

Do take note that once you have been refunded through the design firm itself or via chargeback, the logo design would not be owned by you but by the design agency instead. So do not in anyway, use those designs as there were instances whereby legal actions were taken against the customers.

Is It Important To Have A Logo Design? Undecided?

I have heard from many emerging SMEs which are unsure of whether or not they should invest a huge sum of their budget into a logo design for their company. A logo is very imperative in branding your business. What comes to mind when you see the ubiquitous Golden Arches? You decide.

Why not just use a unique font for your logo, you ask? A free-for-all, creative-looking font which can be easily downloaded on the Internet is commonly thought to be a cheaper alternative to a logo design. But you are actually staking your company’s image for something which can be easily attained from the Internet.

Is it really necessary to have a logo design? It’s NOT compulsory but nevertheless, advisable. A good logo helps to drive your company’s sales to far greater heights as it is all about branding your enterprise. You certainly want your target audience to easily remember your company and a logo design is a good way to do so.

If price is an issue, you should read my previous post on the range of prices offered by online design firms: Expensive VS Cheap.

Designers At War

Oftentimes, we criticize someone because we think we are being genuinely helpful. We want the other person to be their best, so we pass on our "expect" judgements in an effort to provide help and value. However, uninvited criticism tends to cause resentment in the criticized. With that being said, some people criticize to make others feel or look worthless.

In the case of the design world, a professional designer should be objective and neutral when criticizing another designer's work. They should not disparage the work or reputation of other fellow designers. We came across a few articles just recently, where comments made by professional designers themselves, denigrate and insulted the work of others. How can one well-known and reputable designer criticize the work of the other designer? This spells  U-N-P-R-O-F-E-S-S-I-O-N-A-L.

Every designers has their own stand point and taste. Everyone is different. No one's perfect. People made mistakes and obviously has come out with bad designs at some point in their career. Commentators have got to clearly present their feedback as their own and make the criticism a discussion rather than an unsolicited advice or opinions that may bring the person down. It should always be a neutral opinion as opposed to making general statements or facts. It may have come off as criticism, but if you have good intentions, it shines through to the receiver. The right way to criticize is to ask questions and to get the person to think about the issue, and then provide input on how to improve on their own. If anything goes wrong, they should apologize if they feel they may have offended the person with the criticism.

A word of advice to designers out there: Do not comment on other designer's work harshly. Your word gets around on the internet. Speak with respect. You can express your opinions and views on a particular design, but criticizing to the extent of insulting and ridiculing is so unethical, especially when its done using actual email, websites, article and etc. By doing so, you're creating a very bad publicity and unprofessional impression of yourself to strangers and current/potential clients of yours. Speak carefully. Criticizing is more about providing a fresh perspective for people to make their own judgments rather than casting judgments and spreading the word around behind the designer's back. So, speak only when you're invited to give feedback. Always think before you criticize someone else.

Below are a few of the designers who shocked us most with their unnecessary comments and criticism which we feel may have created bad publicity for themselves. What a disappointment!

Steve O'Connor
http://twitter.com/stevedesigner
http://www.stevethedesigner.com/

 Charles Riccardi
http://twitter.com/charlesriccardi

http://stuckwithchuck.tumblr.com/

Mike Watters

http://twitter.com/mikewatterspdx

http://www.mikewatters.com/

Lee Newham

http://twitter.com/goodpeopletweet

http://designedbygoodpeople.wordpress.com/