Logo Design

What to look for in a logo design?

< 1) Originality - Your logo depicts your brand and therefore it should stand out and reflect your identity to your business participants- customers to stakeholders. Your designer will have worked with probably hundreds if not thousands of brands and it becomes really important to see that your brand creativity and innovation is seen from your logo.

2) Business Sense - Your logo should speak about your business and should have an appealing effect and impress your customers.

3) Simplicity- Your logo should be simple, elegant, effective and different from your competitors.

4) Impression- We all know that the first impression is the last impression, it becomes all the more important that your logo creates a long lasting impression in the minds of those who see it.

See some creative logo designs

Logo Design Vendors

How to choose a logo design vendor?

1) Business Vision- You have chosen your business name with extreme care and it is important that your logo design vendor understands this and thereby understands the underlying meaning behind your business. This helps your logo designer choose appropriate design suiting your business.

2) Creativity- Your logo designer should be creative enough not only from the design perspective but from the idea point of view too. In other words the design chosen and concept applied to put the chosen design into a logo should be unique.

3) Credit Worthiness- Like other businesses it becomes important here too to check out the credibility of your logo design vendor. See the names of the past clients that he/she has worked for, their testimonials and the work done thereof.

Click here for some likely feedback that you should look into

4) Timely Response- Your time is limited, you are unique and so is your business and your logo designer may be busy. Make sure that he gives enough time to your logo design and that the work is completed on or before schedule.

Hire experienced logo design specialists to meet your business needs

Benefits of Logo Design

1) Corporate Image- Gives your business a corporate image and a better presentation to the market your are serving primarily in the form of advertising. Not only does the advertising media knows you by your logo but your targeted audience who sees your advertisement.

2) Company size - Though a matter of perception but many opine that a logo design makes a company look bigger and creates a brand image.

3) Competition - Your logo design explains your business vision and philosophy that makes you stand away from competition. An appealing logo design could make you stand away from crowd.

4) Brand Building - A logo helps in brand building for your company and its website.

Still waiting? Order a logo design now !!

Categories of Logo Design

Benefits and Drawbacks of each category

1) Iconic Logos - Are basically simplified graphics that reflect a company or a particular product line. Primary advantage being fast visual absorption and easy to embroider and trademark but usually requires text to accompany the image. They may not be easily available to emboider if the icon has been made with a lot of detailing. A company that becomes very popular may be easily recognizable just by the icon.

2) Illustrative Logos- As the name suggests these types of logos generally depict an illustration and is most suited for companies with quickly identifiable products/services and come with a draw back that more design time is required.

3) Text Logos - The most popular category, highly recognizable after initial exposure but many a times creating innovative text styles can be difficult.

Work with specialists who make your logo design process enjoyable and effective

Some mistakes while designing a logo

Mentioned below are some mistakes that logo designers need to be careful of while designing a logo -

1) Logo Designs should be simple and effective.

2) Size of a logo should essentially be a trade-off between what can be seen in a large hoarding as well as a small business card.

3) Incase a combination of image and text oriented logo is used, many a times images are not related to the core business of the company for which the logo is designed.

4) A text only logo may not reflect true picture of the company.

5) Idea generation for designing logos should start with brain storming sessions amongst designers rather than referring to similar previous work

Do you think avoidance of the above mentioned mistakes will give you or your client a good logo design?

Logo Design for different businesses

Real Estate - Color is the first and foremost vital factor that needs to be taken into consideration which would convey the right mood for both buyer and seller.
Images that go along with real estate companies include drawings of residential or commercial properties that the realtors deal in.

Financial Services/Accounting - It is necessary that accounting or financial services firm have their names associated in their logo and the text style font should be simple - arial or times new roman.

Travel/Tourism - Colors here should be related to the places where the company specializes in. For example, a travel company specializing in desert places should have dry color associated with it.
With a similar explanation it makes sense to incorporate a tree like structure incase the company deals with green environment places.

IT - Dark colors, simple and balanced fonts, and style similar to business nature help frame IT logos incase.

Let us know your business type and we shall be glad to help you with your logo design

Logos with Arrows and Arrowheads

An arrow can indicate a direction, growth, movement, success, sharpness, drive, effort, motion, development, emergence, increment, profit, accuracy depending on how you use it.

Logos above show some companies that use arrows and arrowheads. While you can easily locate arrows in some, it may take some time to locate arrow in others (for example where is the logo in Fedex?)

Discuss more about arro head logos with logo design professionals

Do Text based logo designs look less elegant?

Not always do pictures speak a thousand words, especially in the logo design arena. While a graphic design logo does have a visual appeal, your logo can have an instant recall even if it does not have a graphic. Some nice strokes or a different than usual font can make your logo stand out among a sea of graphical logos.

With a text oriented logo you are not tied up to a particular product or service and can make your brand name popular. Especially useful for consumer goods industries like electronics and fashion.

We look forward to hearing your logo design requirements

Does your logo create a bonding with the clients?

Using color psychology to your advantage isnt easy. Here some colors and their significance:

Black - Mystery, Secracy, Tradition.

Blue - Power, calmness, success, trustworthiness.

Brown - Earth & Nature, Simplicity, Seriousness.

Green - Harmony, Health & Healing, nature and animals, money.

Orange - Affordability, fun, youth, creativity, celebration.

Purple - Fantasy & Dreams, Justice, Royalty.

Red - Excitement, Action, Love, Passion, Food.

White - Simplicity, cleanliness, innocence.

Yellow - Cheerfulness, playflness, curiosity, amusement.

If you are in the market for a rocking logo designed and create a memorable identity consult with us and watch us use the science of color psychology to your advantage.

Ask for vector files for your logo !

Logos are presented in a graphic format and come in various forms and many a times clear demarkation is not made clear to the clients by the logo design vendors for varying reasons - time to explain, efforts required to give different formats incase the client demands more.

But is important for the client to know in brief about the various formats that come along with logo design so that he/she does not have difficulty afterwards.

Difficulty? We are talking about various formats of logo design and a format is a format, may be compatible somewhere and may be somewhere not.

Not really. Logos generally come in two file formats one is the raster file format and another is the vector file format. Raster file formats do not allow you to enlarge graphics for printing purposes while vector file formats allow you to edit your logo- enlarge, diminish or whatever size you wish your logo to be seen and at whatever place.

Many of the logo design vendors supply their customers with raster file formats because of laziness or lack of understanding the importance of supplying vector file format.

LogoDesignTeam goes that extra mile to supply you with a vector file format.

Some great logos

Izzy's Grill

DSC_9269

folder / Heineken x...

Batman

Dodge in junkyard

Be careful that your logo design does not turn out to be a copy

In creative work like logo design it is ok to inspiration from others but when does inspiration turn to copy.

See the logos below and let us know what you think, which of them are an inspiration and which are a copy.

Logo Design Process

Have a look at some of the past work of the vendor you choose, fill up the online order form that the vendor requests you to fill and make your payment. Mostly this form will give you all the information you need to get started with the logo design process. Most logo designers work with a money back guarantee and paying should not be a complete risk.
Within 2-3 days, your chosen vendor should give you around 5-6 logo design concepts for your examination.
You choose your logo design concept and give directions to your vendor as to where he/she should head. You may like the design of one, color of another and text of yet another. You may also have fresh ideas that you would like your logo design vendor to incorporate.
Your logo design vendor now starts working on the inputs and suggestions he receives from you.
Within a few days ( usually 4-5 days) you receive your logo design and incase modification/alteration is required, you can discuss with your vendor and get the design finalized.
After the design is finalized your logo design vendor gives you the final logo file

Can using Logo Design Templates make the difference?

You've decided to opt for a logo design, good ! and are now wondering whether you should go for logo design template or hire a graphic designer, read on to decide the path that you should adopt to raise your brand visibility.

A logo design template gives you a lot in terms of design, colors, text format and saves you time, cost and effort but does it give enough innovation for the much needed visibility of your company from your peers?

When you use a logo design template you fall in a binding to use a particular style. A style that has been used by someone else for sure, enough to catch the eye of a novice person who looks at your logo.

On the other hand incase you choose to hire a graphic designer, you are completely free to define your logo in terms of text, graphics and layout and express your business in a much better fashion. In other words you have complete control over the way you want your business to look.

Feel free to add a comment to the above mentioned viewpoint and/or if you want to get a logo designed.

How specific should your logo be? Too specific does not allow you to diversify, too general does not indicate the line of busine

Logos have always been very important for the promotion and marketing of a brand. Designing a logo properly, is perhaps the most important job, since logo creates the primary identity of your business. But more important is how you design your company logo? How specific should your logo be? How much particular it should be to promote your brand in this competitive market? Such questions are likely to come when you design your logo.

According to the experts, a smart logo should be discrete and specific. Have you ever noticed that the logos of Fortune 500 companies tend to be clean, distinct and uncomplicated?

You may think that why should you design your logo that much simple? That's because clean and uncomplicated logos can be made smaller without losing the minute details even. They can work well in fax, photocopies etc. And more importantly, a distinct and uncomplicated logo is always easier to remember.

But keep it in mind too specific design won't allow you to diversify and again, too general will deviate you from the line of business. You need a logo designed for the company primarily, not just for looks only. Be specific while designing but observe carefully, if it well promotes your company.The logos of Walmart, IBM, Ford, Dell etc are ideal examples of a smart logo.

Are you following these logo design trends?

The logo design experts have pointed out some trends, which are very popular today.

Organic 3D - 3d effects in logo design is highly popular nowadays. 3D logos, will reach in different thereby stimulate different viewers who are craving for a new, fresh look! Thus 3D effect in your logo can give it a great dimension.
Waves - After years of being number one, swooshes have now been replaced by the waves. Since waves induce more flexibility and flow into the design, top graphic designers use this. To highlight the idea of movement, logo designers execute a fade technique from one color to another in these. "Waves" are a good strategy to suggest the feelings of movement, transfer, quickness and connection.
"Web 2.0" Logos - Web 2.0 actually refers to certain technologies (Ajax, Ruby, etc). A web 2.0 logo is now synonymous to a modern and trendy logo. Graphic designers, today are highly prone to transform existing logos into web 2.0 logos.
But what characteristics do web 2.0 logos have actually? They have bright colors, color levels, cute, icons, 3D effects, shiny surfaces, shadows and reflexions. The fonts are simple and most of them rounded. In some cases the color levels, shines and 3D effects are also applied to the lettering.However with all its brighness,. Web 2.0 logos happen to be a hot favourite of te graphic designers.
"Underground" Typography - Minimal Fonts - These logos are based on minimal fonts that are achieved by using as few elements as possible such as basic shapes (e.g. a circle arch for the Wends logo). Since these logos follow minimal fonts, ,most people will say that such logos do not provide immediate conveyance of the message. But nowadays it is highly popular. According to the graphic designers, such logos will surely catch the viewer's attention, provoking a sentiment or desire to "figure out" what the message is.
New Rainbow / Color Scale - Full color scale rainbows replaced the classic rainbows in recent times. Lately, a lot of "rainbow colors" are being manipulated in a variety of ways. Top designers use transparency in order to spotlight the visual effects and to enable the fusion of colors, thus obtaining an impressive shift from one color to another. Using the vivid colors spectrum will create outstanding logos which is always be attractive to the human eye.

Top 5 points worth considering while writing a good logo design creative brief, for a great logo.

Millions of logos are designed everyday, but how may of them you remember? Half of them? A quarter of them or may be less than that. Yes, the number is too low and according to the designer's point of view, out of the 50,000 logos on everything from food items to gas stations to sneakers, there is hardly 5,000 well designed logos in the world.

You might have thought logo as the brand of your company. But did you think that why should you give a proper care to the task of logo design? Because it is the uniqueness of the design of your brand which will make your brand stick in the customers mind, and stay there forever. You can think of the process as branding your identity into a consumer's brain.
There are a lot of variables you have to go through to decide on a good design.
Well, the first step of this process is the old proverb "keep it simple stupid". Complicated logo designs might look attractive but what is it's use unless your target customers cannot make any idea out of it? After a short brief, they will completely forget what it looks like. Simple logo, tends to stay in the brain longer, which will hopefully bring you customers when they require your services, which is the goal after all.

Secondly, color always has a deep impact on the consumer's mind. You might have seen, most restaurant logos are red in color, because red on a subconscious level makes you hungry. Black makes you look elegant, blue makes you feel comfortable and so on. Orange brings a subconscious feeling of wanting to do something new.
Shapes of your logo are no less important than colour in designing a logo. Like colours, shapes can convey many different things.. A circle gives the feeling of community, wholeness, perfection, and has feminine qualities. A Triangle gives you strength, structure, and masculine identity while a rectangle gives a feeling of logic and security. Consider these things minutely when designing a logo. Since for every shape there is a feeling associated with it, the goal is to come up with the right combination.

Readability, one of the important factor, comes after the color and shape of the logo. Keep in mind that average of the customers won't bother to take long time in order to figure out what your logo says. you don't want them to take 5 minutes to trace what it says. Using clean crispy fonts is always effective in this connection.

Most of you often overlook an important aspect i.e. scalability. Give a thought while designing, that whether your logo look good on a promotional item? Your logo needs to reproduce at a variety of different sizes - particularly on the smallest side. Too complex design can 'gum up' when reproduced as a very small image. Make an idea that how your logo will be used, both in size and media, this can help your designer create a logo that is appropriate in terms of complexity.

Should you assign your new logo design job to a creative agency or an Internet freelancer?

You might have seen that the business owners, most of the time takes special care in designing the logo of their company. This is because logo is the visual soul of the company, which at the same time gives your company a brand recognition in the market.

But did you ever think that whom should you assign the logo designing job- creative agency or an Internet freelancer? It is a hot debatable topic and often the company owners face with this problem.

Well, the only answer in this regard is that both have their own advantages and disadvantages. And for this reason, you cannot specify one of them as the best .
Some prefers to get their logo designed by a creative agency specially for the following reasons:

Large projects, which required detailed documentation is always better handled by the creative designing companies because they have team spirit. A freelancer alone won't be able to handle a big project.

A freelancer might be only good at designing a logo but only designing won't do. A logo requires promotion as a brand image. Professional design agencies have a professional hired staff comprising of web programmer, interface designer, copywriter, SEO expert and social marketer, which make the business promotion of a client convenient.

In a design company there is a group of designers collaborating on ideas and then come up with a broad range of outcomes. For a single Internet freelancer it is not possible to incorporate diversified ideas in the logo.

But in spite of such inconveniences, there are still some people, who prefers Internet freelancers to get their logo designed. But what are the reasons behind that?

Since from the very beginning you stay in contact with the freelancer himself, there are least chances of confusion and blunders.

Your phone calls and guiding details are directly received by the designer himself. Thus it is very easy to convey your requirements directly without getting stuck in the corporate maze. Freelancer returns the client requirements smoothly than the corporate agencies.

Hiring a freelancer always costs low. Usually big designing companies include their overheads in their charges. Most freelancers work from a home office with little overhead and consequently they cost low.

With freelance designers, you can get your project delivered much earlier than the corporate agencies. Moreover, freelancers are more flexible in making changes till the end whereas big companies do not believe in giving extra favors.

Now, you can see that both have their own pros and cons: and you have to decide whom do you consider best to get your logo- your brand image designed

Pros and Cons of using Logo Design Templates

Your logo is the recognition of your brand's identity. Your potential customers will know you by the logo of your company. Thus designing a logo for the promotion of your product or business is of foremost importance.

You can use a number of ways to get your logo designed. Nowadays, using logo design template are very popular. You can purchase logo design template to get your logo designed. Many website development companies offer cost effective and high quality of logo design templates.

Making use of logo templates will help you cut costs by more than 50%. Since these logo templates are readily available for use, you do not need to wait for a longer period of time to get your logo designed.

Many online services allow you to purchase sole ownership and exclusive copyright control of their ready-made logo templates. After purchasing sellers will give you a letter of ownership and Copyright according to which you will own exclusive rights of that design.

But, at the same time, you should consider that logo design templates has disadvantage also, which is no less important.

The most glaring disadvantage of using a template is that your newly created logo will look almost identical to anyone else who purchased or used the template you used. Therefore your logo will lose its uniqueness. Although the similarity can be avoided to some extent by customization of template aspects, but the overall feel of the template will remain same.

10 trends that will define logo design in 2008

Logos are the ultimate mark of distinction and everyone loves them. We see logos everyday - on the highways, on consumer goods, on the Web and in the institutions and organizations we support. Read about the different types of logo designs here and learn what principles and techniques are used to create them. Discover what the future holds for logo design!

Comments | 5

1	Organic 3D

Here's something new for 2008: we will be seeing 3d effects in logo design that will reach different places and stimulate different viewers who are craving for a new, fresh look! Polish those lenses and see 3D escalate to a higher level!

Let's take an example. You're seeing the Silverlight logo for the first time. Your eyes are trying to absorb every feature and then-you suddenly react. What's your first reaction? A breathless "WOW"? Do you find yourself saying "aha"? Does the Silverlight logo design trigger a feeling in you, arousing a desire to actually want to see the product that's behind that logo? That reaction was what the creators of this corporate logo were aiming for.

The logo designer starts with a very basic shape that is applied to a simple transparency effect. This can lead to a more complicated process, but one thing you must remember is that the end result should look as organic as possible. Take your distortion tool for a good spin!

We welcome this type of logo design because it stands out and it tells us that it's not "run of the mill." You see, the 3d bubbles and transparency effects - which were overused - were getting really boring. There is just one downside: ''eye catching '' logos were appearing on the scene and becoming more sophisticated but they are not necessarily the easiest to print.

In fact, the capability to print the logo exactly as it looks on screen is a frequent request that stands at the basis of corporate logo creation. Is it possible that the constant technological development that now allows us to accurately reproduce a design on different surfaces will generate changes in the classic laws of logo design?

Technology organizations that produce and market groundbreaking products and services use this type of company logo design. By using the "organic 3d" effect, logo creators avoid that cold image look which is so typical of other companies' logos in the technology field. This type of logo is not only eye catching, but is also friendly. And here's a bonus: the lighting effect is fantastic!

Comments | 1

2	Waves - The New Swooshes

That's it - no more swooshes! After years of being number one, swooshes have now been replaced by the so-called waves. Do you see these waves in the above logos? Top graphic designers use them to inject more flexibility and flow into the design. To highlight the idea of movement, logo designers execute a fade technique from one color to another for this type of logo design. It does not matter if a single wave is used or is incorporated into the design; the round shapes give it flexibility so that the viewer gets a sense of movement and of communication. "Waves" are a good strategy to suggest the feelings of movement, transfer, quickness and connection. They are not easy to use, but if you master the technique, you can produce and optimize the effect. "Waves" are now IN - they have replaced swooshes, swirls and other curves you find in logo designs everywhere. Could waves be the new swooshes? Will they dominate the scene in a few years? Long time ago we thought swooshes were trendy. Then they rose in popularity so much they become a big NO NO. And today, waves are hugging the limelight. Will this be the new trend? We shall see!

Comments | 2

3	"Web 2.0" Logos

Designers often hear the term "web 2.0" from their customers who ask for this specific type of logo. The term Web 2.0 actually refers to certain technologies (Ajax, Ruby, etc). The thing is, can we really say that there's a new trend in graphic design, the web 2.0 design?

It seems to be the case these days. A web2.0 logo is now synonymous to a modern and trendy logo, and this is why we find an impressive number of tutorials on the Net that allow designers to transform existing logos into web 2.0 logos. What characteristics do web 2.0 logos have? They have bright colors, color levels, cute, icons, 3D effects, shiny surfaces, shadows and reflexions. The fonts are simple and most of them rounded. In some cases the color levels, shines and 3D effects are also applied to the lettering.

These effects must be used very carefully, because we have seen countless cases where the logo designer uses these elements to make a logo look good but neglects to give the concept the necessary attention it deserves.

Some of these logos are beautiful. They catch your eye instantly and give you the feeling of sophistication and technology. But is the web 2.0 logo design trend strictly related to the current popularity of web 2.0 technology? Will this trend fade when something else replaces web 2.0 technology?

Interestingly enough, we are sure that this type of logo can also be called the "apple type logo". We are all familiar with the Apple logo; in fact we were astonished when in 1998, Apple gave up the "rainbow logo" and launched the "glass Apple logo ". This logo has turned out to be one of the most famous brands in the world, and it "stirred up the crowd" without any doubt when it was first launched. The fresh, innovative 3D technical image was one influential factor, but its bright and warm qualities contributed to the evolution of logo design and the way a brand should be perceived.

Today we are flooded with 2.0 web logos that unfortunately have become too common. We'll have to wait and see whether they are here to stay or are just a passing trend. What do you think?

Comments | 5

4	Transparency in logo design

We'll say this right away: transparency has always been fashionable. Designers often use transparency, thanks to the notion of elegance that it communicates. Transparency allows the combination of different design elements offering the viewer a special image. With the help of transparency you can create perspectives, suggest the ideas of growth, development, combination and connection.

Some famous designers are of the opinion that only inexperienced logo designers use transparency and color levels. We disagree. Transparency enables you to create some unique effects that definitely catch the attention of the viewer. Transparency makes the design brighter, and the subtle transition from one element of the design to another provides the illusion of a bright spot. Take a close look at the DarienLibrary logo. What better suggestion would you make regarding the existence of additional elements without the help of transparency?

Comments | 2

5	"Underground" Typography - Minimal Fonts

Examine the logos above. Have you seen similar ones before? These are logos that we have often found on the sites of Typographic Artists over the last few years. Who would have thought, however, that they would become mainstream by the year 2007?

These logos are based on minimal fonts that are achieved by using as few elements as possible such as basic shapes (e.g. a circle arch for the Wends logo). This technique is based on simple shapes, exact proportions, and a boundless love for minimalist design. This type of logo design will suit some people and companies perfectly but it continues to create confusion among conservatives.

Here's a question: can this type of design lead to the development of a good logo? Most people would be inclined to say no, especially if the classic principles of logo design - Legibility and Readability - need to be considered. It's true that logos based on the so- called Minimal Fonts do not provide immediate conveyance of the message. However, most agree that they do manage to catch the viewer's attention, provoking a sentiment or desire to "figure out" what the message is.

Those who are looking at such logos will immediately want to find out the name of the company and to grasp the meaning of these logos. Furthermore, there is the element of shock when viewers see something new and very different from what is usually seen on the web.

You could even say that this type of logo often proves to be more efficient than a logo that merely conforms to classic rules. This statement is relevant to a discussion on the emerging new rule: the more a design is different to what is happening in the industry at a given moment, the better and more efficient a logo is. Logo designs based on minimal fonts require a long-term experience in graphic design and typography; they are also not yet suited for all kinds of customers. We see an increasing number of them being used on album covers of good electronic music, on web sites that target the indie audience, or on web sites of "cult" graphic design studios.

It is our opinion that this is so far the coolest trend for 2008. We hope to see more logos that are created using this particular trend.

Comments | 2

6	New Rainbow / Color Scale

We've seen a thousand rainbows in our lifetime. Yet, each time we see one, we can't help but stare admiringly at the sky even for just a few seconds. We feel that sentiment of wanting to "chase rainbows" as the lyrics of a song go.

Classic rainbow-colored semicircles have been widely used in the last decade but alas, have quickly become passé. However, the fascination with the full color scale continues. Lately, we have been seeing a lot of "rainbow colors" that are being manipulated in a variety of ways. Most designers will use transparency in order to highlight the visual effects and to enable the fusion of colors, thus obtaining an impressive shift from one color to another. Techniques like vivid colors, shifting from shades of red to blue facilitated by an entire spectrum of color, and especially the usage of a dark background to highlight each color lead to outstanding logos that will always be attractive to the human eye.

These logos convey the concepts of sophistication, technology and freshness. With a nearly infinite number of possibilities for combining colors, the visual effect is invariably special. What is really spectacular is that although the classical rainbow representation has come to an end, the message still remains the same: there are no boundaries - nothing is impossible. This trend proves that using classic elements will generate novelty and will also bring about up-to-date and striking directions.

Comments | 0

7	Sci-Fi Fonts

In logo design the font frequently serves to strengthen the message as conveyed by the image. But what about the typographic logos? In this particular case, choosing the right font is crucial. Many of these logos can be memorable. With the development of the number of personal computers per capita, we are now witnessing the rise of a new category of logos , using what the industry refers to as Sci-Fi fonts.

Whether they are the creation of famous designers such as RayLarabie and Wim Crouwel or are projects produced in the typography classes of some diligent students, we have seen an ever-increasing number of these fonts over the last few years.

In the beginning of 2000 and later, we remember graphic design teachers recommending infrequent usage of these fonts. Their reason was that it was just a passing trend. What happened was the opposite. It seems they're digging their feet in.

The frequent use of sci-fi fonts, with straight edges and simple shapes has imposed itself as a new trend in logo design. We've seen various designers "play" with these fonts in their logos: they either change the font shape or create a new one in programs such as FontLab.

Let's take a look at the example of Compaq. Compaq chose this type of font for its company logo redesign project in 2007. It clearly conveys the company's new slogan: "See why Compaq gets people talking". See how that slogan is conveyed in the shape of the Q? See the Talk Box? That's an example of a logo that clearly conveys the core message by means of wording only. After all, less is more, isn't it?

Comments | 2

8	Leaves Logos

No matter which logo design collection you browse through, you will notice that they have all been "invaded" by leaves over the last few years. Leaves here and there, leaves everywhere! You sit and wonder why. Could this be the result of a common concern for the environment and the harmful effects of pollution? Is it because green is trendy? Or are humans aching for nature because they sit all day in their office cubicles facing their computer screens making them crave for the natural outdoors?

Leaves have become synonymous with creativity, originality, and innovative thinking. We also find leaves in company logos even if the companies are not engaged in the business of nature or the environment. But the key notion here is that the use of leaves somehow "tames" the message conveyed.

Lots of web 2.0 sites feature leaves making spring-green the preferred web 2.0 color. We're not talking about the classic image of the leaves themselves but about their stylization, especially under the form of rectangles with rounded edges - this is a modern representation in accordance with modern design trends.

These logos are usually simple and leave the viewer with a pleasant image. Another benefit is that these company logos are very catchy. The thing we have to be wary of is the overwhelming invasion of leaves - they are now overused. Tutorials have already appeared, showing how to create a leaf logo. Will this trend last or will it lead to the need for raking the leaves and sending them off to the dump site? What do you think?

Comments | 11

9	The "Ugly" 80's

Take a look at the logo designs above. What's your first reaction? They bowl you over and leave you speechless - and somewhat confused don't they?

These logos don't have beautiful shapes, shadows, mirrored reflections, warm colors, or icons that signify something; they look like the result of some kid playing around mindlessly. So why would anyone wish to have such a logo?

The explanation is simple: this type of logo design is very different and will definitely stand out by sheer reason of being totally different. But if we look back to the 80's which was a period of strange geometric shapes and neon colors - these types of logos came about and earned the reputation of spearheading the invasion of "cute logos".

The emergence of this trend can also be attributed to a mighty comeback of the 80's in fashion ,interior and industrial design. Some consider these logos to be modern and futuristic; others think of them as plain ugly. But let's not be too harsh in our criticism because the mere fact that they are so talked about is noteworthy enough.

There are numerous articles that picked apart the London 2012 logo. Although many agree that the 80's have not demonstrated excellence in graphic design and people severely criticized this trend, we should nevertheless consider the advantages that this type of logo has to offer: first, it stands out and gets noticed; second, it's totally different than anything we've seen before; and third, it's never boring. In fact, we'll even venture out to say that it's outrageous, exciting and rude. Each of the colors symbolizes an explosion of energy, action and sound in accordance to our living present. The message is quickly and brutally conveyed and it doesn't require thinking on the part of the viewer. In other words, an alluring and attractive no-brainer!

We'll add that this trend has revolutionized logo design and fueled the process of creativity by imposing new rules and redefining what's beautiful. Of course, there are still risks involved regarding this type of approach, the highest risk being the inability, on the part of the viewer, to understand the message. Companies that cannot afford an expensive publicity budget like the one for Wacom or London 2012 are particularly susceptible to this risk. So designers, pay attention! "It's pure attitude, designed to intrude and degrade."
(Tony Spaeth)

Comments | 2

10	The New Crest

New Crest logos have been around in the last few years. The year 2008 though will sound out the trumpets - New Crests go Mainstream!! With the clever combination of medieval symbolism and urban culture graphic elements, the New Crest logos appealed to the youth when they first appeared. Eventually, they were also adopted and embraced by the extreme sports and boarding communities everywhere. At the same time they were used by well known graphic designers for big clients like MTV etc.

Maybe it's the contrast between the old and new - novelty fonts against medieval lions as an example; another example would be the ancient decorations versus modern objects.

Collage is the main process behind these emblems, blending the right elements to strike the right chord. And if you think about it, isn't this what graphic design is all about anyway?

We tend to like new crests and think it's a good experiment to try with the right client in 2008 and the years to come. One word of caution: new crest logos are not for beginners. Designers need to get some experience under their belt first before taking a crack at these logos. It takes a trained eye and oodles of creativity and imagination to take new crest logos into new highs!

A wrap-up of 2009 Logo Design Trends – Should we follow them?

Categories: Logo Design Inspiration, Logo Design Tips, Logo Design Trends

Written By: Nora Reed

With the arrival of every new year, trends are released for every field and logo design is no exceptional. Being a part of logo designing industry, involuntarily we become addicted to the design trends and eagerly await the long lists of design predictions for the upcoming year. Although I do not believe much in following specific rules and regulations for logo designing but I would confess that these trends can get you excellent inspiration sparks.

Logo designing is a crucial part of design industry as it is responsible for making or breaking the corporate identity of a brand. Therefore, it is important that we stay updated about the happenings and trends of the industry but I wouldn’t suggest confining your creativity skills to a list of trends.
However, with this ending year, I bring you a wrap-up of logo design trends frequently adapted in 2009 but I would like you to answer couple of these questions:

Do you think logo designers should strictly follow logo trends to come up with creative and modern logo concepts?
Which trends are more likely to overtake the logo design industry in 2010?

Not to forget….I have picked up the logos from logopond, faveup, logolounge, creattica

Dots and Stripes:

Circular:

Origami

Encrusted

Typographic

Geometrical

Sequential

Pixels

Gossamer

The Evolution of Tech Companies’ Logos

Posted by Alex in Neatorama Only, Science & Tech on February 7, 2008 at 5:50 am

You’ve seen these tech logos everywhere, but have you ever wondered how they came to be? Did you know that Apple’s original logo was Isaac Newton under an apple tree? Or that Nokia’s original logo was a fish?

Let’s take a look at the origin of tech companies’ logos and how they evolved over time:

Adobe Systems

Source: Adobe Press

In 1982, forty-something programmers John Warnock and Charles Geschke quit their work at Xerox to start a software company. They named it Adobe, after a creek that ran behind Warnock’s home. Their first focus was to create PostScript, a programming language used in desktop publishing.

When Adobe was young, Warnock and Geschke did everything they could to save money. They asked family and friends to help out: Geschke’s 80-year-old father stained lumber for shelving, and Warnock’s wife Marva designed Adobe’s first logo.

Apple Inc.

In 1976, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs ("the two Steves") designed and built a homemade computer, the Apple I. Because Wozniak was working for Hewlett Packard at the time, they offered it to HP first, but they were turned down. The two Steves had to sell some of their prized posessions (Wozniak sold his beloved programmable HP calculator and Jobs sold his old Volkswagen bus) to finance the making of the Apple I motherboards.

Later that year, Wozniak created the next generation machine: Apple ][ prototype. They offered it to Commodore, and got turned down again. But things soon started to look up for Apple, and the company began to gain customers with its computers.

The first Apple logo was a complex picture of Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. The logo was inscribed: "Newton … A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought … Alone." It was designed by Ronald Wayne, who along with Wozniak and Jobs, actually founded Apple Computer. In 1976, after only working for two weeks at Apple, Wayne relinquished his stock (10% of the company) for a one-time payment of $800 because he thought Apple was too risky! (Had he kept it, Wayne’s stock would be worth billions!)

Jobs thought that the overly complex logo had something to do with the slow sales of the Apple I, so he commissioned Rob Janoff of the Regis McKenna Agency to design a new one. Janoff came up with the iconic rainbow-striped Apple logo used from 1976 to 1999.

Rumor has it that the bite on the Apple logo was a nod to Alan Turing, the father of modern computer science who committed suicide by eating a cyanide-laced apple. Janoff, however, said in an interview that though he was mindful of the "byte/bite" pun (Apple’s slogan back then: "Byte into an Apple"), he designed the logo as such to "prevent the apple from looking like a cherry tomato." (Source)

In 1998, supposedly at the insistence of Jobs, who had just returned to the company, Apple replaced the rainbow logo ("the most expensive bloody logo ever designed" said Apple President Mike Scott) with a modern-looking, monochrome logo.

Canon

Source: Canon Origin and Evolution of the Logo

In 1930, Goro Yoshida and his brother-in-law Saburo Uchida created Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory in Japan. Four years later, they created their first camera, called the Kwanon. It was named after the Kwanon, Buddhist Bodhisattva of Mercy. The logo included an image of Kwanon with 1,000 arms and flames.

Coolness of logo notwithstanding, the company registered the differently spelled word "Canon" as a trademark because it sounded similar to Kwanon while implying precision, a characteristic the company would like to be known and associated with.

Google

In 1996, Stanford University computer science graduate students Larry Page and Sergey Brin built a search engine that would later become Google. That search engine was called BackRub, named for its ability to analyze "back links" to determine relevance of a particular website. Later, the two renamed their search engine Google, a play on the word Googol (meaning 1 followed by 100 zeros).

Google.com in 1998

Two years later, Larry and Sergey went to Internet portals (who dominated the web back then) but couldn’t get anyone interested in their technology. In 1998, they started Google, Inc. in a friend’s garage, and the rest is history.

Google’s first logo was created by Sergey Brin, after he taught himself to use the free graphic software GIMP. Later, an exclamation mark mimicking the Yahoo! logo was added. In 1999, Stanford’s Consultant Art Professor Ruth Kedar designed the Google logo that the company uses today.

The very first Google Doodle: Burning Man Festival 1998

To mark holidays, birthdays of famous people and major events, Google uses specially drawn logos known as the Google Doodles. The very first Google Doodle was a reference to the Burning Man Festival in 1999. Larry and Sergey put a little stick figure on the home page to let people know why no one was in the office in case the website crashed! Now, Google Doodles are regularly drawn by Dennis Hwang.

IBM

Source: IBM Archives

In 1911, the International Time Recording Company (ITR, est. 1888) and the Computing Scale Company (CSC, est. 1891) merged to form the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR, see where IBM gets its penchant for three letter acronym?). In 1924, the company adopted the name International Business Machines Corporation and a new modern-looking logo. It made employee time-keeping systems, weighing scales, meat slicers, and punched-card tabulators.

In the late 1940s, IBM began a difficult transition of punched-card tabulating to computers, led by its CEO Thomas J. Watson. To signify this radical change, in 1947, IBM changed its logo for the first time in over two decades: a simple typeface logo.

In 1956, with the leadership of the company being passed down to Watson’s son, Paul Rand changed IBM’s logo to have "a more solid, grounded and balanced appearance" and at the same time he made the change subtle enough to communicate that there’s continuity in the passing of the baton of leadership from father to son.

IBM logo’s last big change - which wasn’t all that big - was in 1972, when Paul Rand replaced the solid letters with horizontal stripes to suggest "speed and dynamism."

LG Electronics

LG began its life as two companies: Lucky (or Lak Hui) Chemical Industrial (est. 1947), which made cosmetics and GoldStar (est. 1958), a radio manufacturing plant. Lucky Chemical became famous in Korea for creating the Lucky Cream, with a container bearing the image of the Hollywood starlet Deanna Durbin. GoldStar evolved from manufacturing only radios to making all sorts of electronics and household appliances.

In 1995, Lucky Goldstar changed its name to LG Electronics ( apparently not). Actually, LG is a chaebol (a South Korean conglomerate), so there’s a whole range of LG companies that also changed their names, such as LG Chemicals, LT Telecom, and even a baseball team called the LG Twins. These companies all adopted the "Life is Good" tagline you often see alongside its logo.

Interestingly, LG denies that their name now stands for Lucky Goldstar… or any other words. They’re just "LG."

Microsoft

Microsoft’s "groovy logo" source: Coding Horror

In 1975, Paul Allen (who then was working at Honeywell) and his friend Bill Gates (then a sophomore at Harvard University) saw a new Altair 8800 of Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems or MITS. It was the first mini personal computer available commercially.

Allen and Gates decided to port the computer language BASIC for the computer (they did this in 24 hours!), making it the first computer language written for a personal computer. They approached MITS and ended up licensing BASIC to the company. Shortly afterwards, Allen and Gates named their partnership "Micro-soft" (within the year, they dropped the hyphen). In 1977, Microsoft became an official company with Allen and Gates first sharing the title general partners.

On to the logo history:

In 1982, Microsoft announced a new logo, complete with the distinctive "O" that employees dubbed the "Blibbet." When the logo was changed in 1987, Microsoft employee Larry Osterman launched a "Save the Blibbet" campaign but to no avail. Supposedly, way back when, Microsoft cafeteria served "Blibbet Burger," a double cheeseburger with bacon.

In 1987, Scott Baker designed the current, so-called "Pac-Man Logo" for Microsoft. The new logo has a slash on the ‘O’ that made it look like Pac-Man, hence the name. In 1994 Microsoft introduced a new tagline Where do you want to go today?, as part of a $100 million advertising campaign. Needless to say, it was widely mocked.

In 1996, perhaps tired of being the butt of jokes like "what kind of error messages would you like today?", Microsoft dropped the slogan. Later, it tried on new taglines like "Making It Easier", "Start Something", "People Ready" and "Open Up Your Digital Life" before settling on the current "Your potential. Our passion."

Oh, one more thing: what was Microsoft’s original slogan? It was "Microsoft: What’s a microprocessor without it?"

… Microsoft’s very first advertising campaign "Microsoft: What’s a microprocessor without it?," which touted how Microsoft’s line of programming languages could be used to create software that would take advantage of the early microprocessors. The first advertisement in the campaign appeared in a 1976 issue of a microchip journal called Digital Design and featured a four panel black-and-white cartoon titled "The Legend of Micro-Kid." The cartoon depicted a small microchip character as a boxer who possessed speed and power but quickly tired out because he had no real training. The other character, a trainer complete with a derby on his head and big stogie hanging out of his mouth, related the story of how the Micro-Kid had a great future but needed a manager, such as himself, in order to succeed. (source: PC Today)

Motorola

Motorola, then Galvin Manufacturing Corporation, was started in 1928 by Paul Galvin. In the 1930s, Galvin started manufacturing car radios, so he created the name ‘Motorola’ which was simply the combination of the word ‘motor’ and the then-popular suffix ‘ola.’ The company switched its name in 1947 to Motorola Inc. In the 1980s, the company started making cellular phones commercially.

The stylized "M" insignia (the company called it "emsignia") was designed in 1955. A company leader said that "the two aspiring triangle peaks arching into an abstracted ‘M’ typified the progressive leadership-minded outlook of the company." (I’m serious, look up the logo-speak here: Motorola History)

Mozilla Firefox

In 2002, Dave Hyatt and Blake Ross created an open-source web browser that ultimately became Mozilla Firefox. At first, it was titled Phoenix, but this name ran into trademark issues and was changed to Firebird. Again, the replacement name ran into problem because of an existing software. Third time’s the charm: the web browser was re-named Mozilla Firefox.

In 2003, professional interface designer Steven Garrity, wrote that the browser (and other software released by Mozilla) suffered from poor branding. Soon afterwards, Mozilla invited him to develop a new visual identity for Firefox, including the famous logo.

Update 2/7/08: I goofed on this one, guys: it was John Hicks of Hicksdesign that actually made the Firefox logo, designed from a concept from Daniel Burka and sketched by Stephen Desroches - Thanks Jacob Morse and Aaron Bassett!

Nokia

Source: about-nokia.com

In 1865, Knut Fredrik Idestam established a wood-pulp mill in Tampere, south-western Finland. It took on the name Nokia after moving the mill to the banks of the Nokianvirta river in the town of Nokia. The word "Nokia" in Finnish, by the way, means a dark, furry animal we now call the Pine Marten weasel.

The modern company we know as the Nokia Corporation was actually a merger between Finnish Rubber Works (which also used a Nokia brand), the Nokia Wood Mill, and the Finnish Cable Works in 1967.

Before focusing on telecommunications and cell phones, Nokia produced paper products, bicycle and car tires, shoes, television, electricity generators, and so on.

Nortel

Source: Nortel History

In 1895, Bell Telephone Company of Canada spun off its business that made fire alarm, call boxes, and other non-telephone hardware into a new company called the Northern Electric and Manufacturing Company Ltd. It began by manufacturing wind-up gramophones.

In 1976, Northern Electric changed its name to Northern Telecom Ltd. to better reflect its new focus on digital technology. Nineteen years later in 1995, it became Nortel Networks "reflecting its corporate evolution from telephoney manufacturing company to designer, builder, and integrator of diverse multiservice networks."

Palm

Palm Computing Inc. was founded in 1992 by Jeff Hawkins, who also invented the Palm Pilot PDA. The company has gone through some rough patches in its history: its first PDA called Zoomer was a commercial flop. Next, it was bought out by U.S. Robotics who was promptly sued by Xerox for patent infringement over its Graffiti handwriting recognition technology.

Then it gets convoluted: U.S. Robotics was bought by 3Com, and Hawkins, disgusted with office politics, left to create his own company Handspring. Ironically, not long after he left, 3Com spun off Palm Inc as a separate company. Palm Inc split into two, PalmSource (the OS side) and palmOne (the hardware part). palmOne then merged with Handspring and then bought PalmSource to coalesce back into … Palm, Inc.!

Got that? No? Never mind. All along this journey, they not only change names, but logos as well. Well, at least the graphics designers got some money.

Xerox

Source: Xerox Historical Logos

Xerox Corporation can trace its lineage back almost 100 years ago to the Haloid Company, which was founded in 1906 to manufacture photographic paper and equipment.

In 1938, Chester Carlson invented a photocopying technique called electrophotography, which he later renamed xerography (Carlson was famous for his persistence: he experimented for 15 years and through debilitating back pain while going to law school and working his regular job). Like many inventions ahead of its time, it wasn’t well received at all. Carlson spent years trying to convince General Electric, IBM, RCA, and other companies to invest in his invention but no one was interested.

Until, that is, he went to the Haloid company, who helped him develop the world’s first photocopier, the Haloid Xerox 914. The copier were so successful that in 1961, Xerox dropped the Haloid from its name.

In 2004, fresh from a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for cooking the books, Xerox tried to re-invent itself (complete with a new logo). Four years later in 2008, it tried to get away from the image that it’s only a copier company and adopted a new logo. The good news is people don’t think of copier when they see the new logo. The bad news is, they think of a beach ball.

http://www.logodesignblog.co.uk/category/logo-design/

http://www.logodesignlove.com/free-vector-logo-file-downloads

http://www.logotemplater.com/

http://www.elogodesign.com/portfolio/1

http://www.capitallogodesign.com/restaurant-logo-designs.htm

http://edencreations.com/portfolio/logo-design/index.shtml

http://www.vectorvault.com/2009/02/21/free-vector-download-racing-logo/

http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/

http://creattica.com/logos/latest-designs

http://www.logodesignworks.com/restaurant-logos.htm

http://www.hierographics.co.uk/graphic-design-print.html

http://www.quantifiedmarketing.com/success_stories/restaurant-logo-design.php