a visual consisting of shapes, symbols, images, and/or text. Commonly used to represent a group, organization or enterprise.
41
votes
6answers
2k views
Why do some logos look.. old? How does design age?
This drives me crazy.
What makes design look old? How subjective is this? Who decides?
Look at this Bell logo:
It's from 1969. And boy, does it look that way. It's simple and minimal, but.. it ...
23
votes
6answers
4k views
Designing around an awful logo
I'm looking for some opinions on how to approach an interesting problem I've encounted.
I dabble in UX/graphic design, specifically for the web. Mostly static sites. I do this all on my own time as ...
23
votes
4answers
1k views
What technical/objective qualities do good logos have?
What objective (that is, not aesthetic) qualities should (almost) every logo have, that should you take into account when designing a logo or ask for when hiring someone to create a logo for you and ...
16
votes
5answers
836 views
Learning Logo Design
What are the good logo design learning resources (books, sites)?
How can I learn logo design more in depth? What are some good instructional resources for learning logo design?
This question is not ...
13
votes
9answers
983 views
How can I design a simple logo without any prior skill in graphic design?
I want to create a simple logo, but I have no skills or experience in graphic design. Although I'm familiar with GIMP, I'm not sure how to get started. A text-logo would suffice, but it should be ...
9
votes
4answers
2k views
What's the difference between a logo and branding?
Are they the same thing? Or does branding = logo + colour palette + typeface?
Edit: Just to highlight that I asked about 'branding' - which I definitely hear used to mean solely visual elements - ...
8
votes
2answers
356 views
Image search engine, but for logos / How do you spot plagiarized logos?
Is there such a thing?
A search engine where you're able to upload an image with a logo, and you get results of sites that are using that logo :)
I tried Googles image search: ...
8
votes
2answers
111 views
Where can I find visual examples of the thought process behind different logo designs?
In this image you can see a preliminary grid and then circles are added that are aligned with the grid and then the shapes are formed by the intersecting circles, etc: http://i.imgur.com/ZErtNHC.jpg
...
8
votes
2answers
103 views
What are good pre-internet books or courses for the creation of a logotype?
I am a software engineer attempting the impossible: to codify logotype creation.
I want to learn all the rules and principles for logotype design and don't want to rely on blogspam. I'm looking ...
7
votes
3answers
482 views
How to make a logo where a letter is made of particles of varying sizes?
How can I make a logo in Adobe Illustrator like the AntiParticle logo below, from http://www.graphicdesigninspiration.net/2012/08/15/70-awesome-logo-designs-for-your-inspiration/?
It is a large ...
7
votes
3answers
326 views
Is there any service where you can check your designed logo against trademarked logos?
Say if I design a logo, there is the chance that it may be to similar to that of a trademarked logo already out there. Are there any services that help with this?
This could be done through research, ...
7
votes
4answers
1k views
Logo design and text placement
What style is more effective/easier to read for a logo that includes text?
Logo on the left, with text/name just to the right of it.
or
Logo on the right, with text preceding it.
The use for ...
6
votes
4answers
2k views
How to ensure scalability of logo design?
How can I make my logo suitable for all purposes, from webpages to very large printed banners?
I currently use use Photoshop.
6
votes
4answers
256 views
Name for style of text logo where two colours overlap imperfectly?
I've seen a bunch of these - often with similar colour palettes of red with blue/green/turquoise. There are two overlapping copies of the design in two solid colours, which are almost (but not quite) ...
6
votes
4answers
331 views
Avoid cropping “transparent” areas when using logo
We have the following logo for a project at my school:
(PDF: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13934366/M2/Grafiska/Logotyp/M2.pdf)
Now, as you can see, it has a descending triangle to make it look like a ...
6
votes
3answers
124 views
Any ideas for “Adults 50+”
I need to create a logo for "Adults 50+" program. This is sort of a general activity club/program for folks over 50 years old. Logo needs to reflect an active life style of adults, rather than them ...
5
votes
2answers
499 views
Wordmark or brandmark logos - Which are more effective?
Are wordmark logos more effective, or brandmark logos? We see companies like Coca-Cola or Google who are doing fine with very effective wordmark logos, while companies like Apple rely quite a lot on ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Different Logo Colors for Different Uses, Appropriate?
I am finalizing the last step of my logo redesign process.
Is it ok not to have a regular color when presenting my logo?
I am thinking about having a defined list of colors for different use cases ...
5
votes
4answers
369 views
Using CamelCase in a logo
I'm looking forward to getting a logo created for my company.
My partners and I have distinct views should we use CamelCase in the logo or not. For example:
boffr vs bOffr
This made me wonder: when ...
5
votes
4answers
2k views
Using stock images for logos
What are the rules concerning incorporating stock image elements into a website branding or logo?
From what I understand, IStockPhoto.com doesn't allow it. Are there any stock images sites that ...
5
votes
2answers
391 views
Which angles look good
A friend of mine had a poster made for his business. Here is a segment of it:
I can't tell for sure, but I think the angle of the logo is not quite right... (I don't mean any pun with the ...
5
votes
3answers
215 views
Logo design - image beneath text - can it work?
I am hacking together a temporary logo for my software startup company. I have a good single-word communicative name and geometrically shaped logo. To me, the two look best when text is positioned ...
5
votes
5answers
553 views
Guidelines for logos using multiple typefaces
I was wondering there were any helpful guidelines and/or tips for designing logos with multiple fonts. It seems to be a dangerous area to enter into, but can lead to some great results.
Often times ...
5
votes
5answers
312 views
Double sided letterhead design with heavy ink coverage on the reverse
I have a question for seasoned graphic designers.
I'm designing a logo and a stationary including the letterhead. The back of the letterhead uses a very dark background. The question is, is it risky ...
5
votes
5answers
10k views
Completely remove background from image
I have an image (a logo) that was on a black background.
I have used Photoshop's (CS5) background eraser tool to remove the background.
This is great except that there are black (well grey/black) ...
4
votes
4answers
2k views
How can I create perfect “radio waves” (concentric arcs of a circle)?
I suck at illustrator, so this is a huge leap in my ability. I'm trying to draw a radio tower, but I want everything in the vector to be as perfect as possible. I want some waves to come off of the ...
4
votes
2answers
497 views
How do I make logos look good at small sizes?
I've made my first logo in Fireworks) and it looks ok at full size but when scaled down it looks pretty bad. Is it common for designers to make separate versions for smaller sizes?
4
votes
3answers
378 views
How to design sites with dark colours (red and black palette)
The graphic designer for my club created a red and black logo (major color is black highlighted with red). Everyone thinks it looks great, and I agree. The issue lies with designing the site. We've ...
4
votes
7answers
552 views
Which program to use for a 3D logo
I am starting to develop a logo, but I want to know the best medium to work with. The size of the logo should never have to exceed 500 x 500 pixels, so I'm not sure if that should be taken into ...
4
votes
4answers
6k views
What size canvas should logos be designed on?
When designing a logo is there a minimum size canvas that should be used to keep quality when it is enlarged or when reduced?
Obviously the dimensions of a canvas depend on the shape of the logo, but ...
4
votes
2answers
183 views
Logo feedback and advice on learning Adobe Illustrator…
I've only made a handful of logos in my life, so I'm interested in feedback. Here are the ones that I've come up with so far: http://www.solarcoordinates.com/SHomeTour/logo.html
As for the final ...
4
votes
5answers
172 views
Why is there so much emphasis on the text of a logo and not the catchyness of the logo itself?
Ok, so I have been looking at a lot of logos recently, all done by graphic designers. And in the majority of them, the only thing they have is a name or some "basic" text. I thought the idea behind a ...
4
votes
3answers
406 views
Vectors: How do you deal with background 'spill' on overlapping edges?
When covering one vector shape with another; if the edges overlap, the background shape's color is used as a (distasteful looking) pseudo-anti-alias effect on the foreground shape's edge, instead of ...
4
votes
1answer
3k views
Illustrator EPS File To PNG Web Logo - Print Quality
I have been provided a typographic logo in an EPS format and I am creating a PNG with it (File | Save For Web & Devices) to be used on a web site. One of the pages on the web site is a "print ...
4
votes
4answers
205 views
Logo Pack - What should I include?
What files should i put in a logo pack to give to clients? Should I put small, medium and large version of my logo as well as the vector file.
3
votes
4answers
169 views
Technically, what are the prime gotchas that could affect your logo further down the road, if it incorporates justified* fx & blend mode treatments?
Explanation
(*Justified meaning they favorably add to the identity and aesthetics; i.e. we're assuming that they make perfect sense in a structural meaning.)
I'm looking for technically specific ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
Why do logos appear on the left on the overwhelming majority of websites?
The title really says it all. I mean, is there a particular reasons for which logos have to appear at the upper-left corner and not, say, in the upper-centre?
Example: all Stack Exchange sites, ...
3
votes
3answers
352 views
Need help with logo design and its transparency
I have given money to a company to design a logo. The designer will be using Corel Draw, and he was saying that he will give me the cdr file.
Now I am confused about how many files he should give me. ...
3
votes
2answers
287 views
Can anybody inspect my logo and give some advice?
Actually it is my first try and it looks I messed it a lot. Firstly, I do not like the geometry, it seems like it's out of shape a little bit. Also, whenever I try to scale everything just collapse's. ...
3
votes
3answers
596 views
My web logo looks pixelated after resizing
I am trying to resize my logo for the web but so far I have not been seeing the result that I want to. This is how my logo looks in PhotoShop
This is how my logo looks on my website when I remove ...
3
votes
2answers
446 views
Can I use OS fonts in logos?
When I design a logo, can I use a font that was included in my OS? That I downloaded for free? I'm perhaps less concerned with wordmarks than with other types of logos.
3
votes
1answer
87 views
What is the shape of curved text in a typical logo?
I'd like to know what type of path the curved text commonly seen in logos takes. For example, consider the following logos (all pulled of a recent Google search):
Part of each logo is curved. In ...
3
votes
2answers
99 views
client logo - large dropshadow and awkward angle - looks terrible on any media, any guidance?
I am reluctant to post the actual logo for risk of repercussions, but I have taken away any identifiable features, leaving the "problem" parts. Here is the logo on a white background:
It looks ...
3
votes
2answers
298 views
Photoshop Layer -> SVG
I've got PSD file with vector logo (smart object). I need to save it as SVG for website use. I don't see such option directly in Photoshop though.
Can anyone shed some light on the process? Is it ...
3
votes
1answer
114 views
Keep minium distance of 1px when resizing logo
I am currently doing some work for one of my sites, for which among other things I am designing a logo. The logo partly consists of a few squares, which are aligned directly next to each other and ...
3
votes
3answers
98 views
Pointillism? Mosaic? Vector Bokeh? [duplicate]
Is there a name for this effect and what would be the best way to achieve it in Photoshop or Illustrator in terms of filling a different vector shape with a similar distribution of rainbow circles?
...
2
votes
4answers
259 views
Why was my experience with a logo contest so miserable?
I'm starting out as a freelance designer (and no job experience at any company before) and I decided to join "contests" held by freelancer.com's users.
I've joined several of them already and I can ...
2
votes
2answers
133 views
Creating a logo for a PDF application, which symbol should I use?
I'm developing a Mac PDF application and I'm at the tedious step to study a proper fancy logo.
Is it ok to use the well known adobe symbol of PDF inside my logo?
Do you know another symbol that is ...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
What font is used in the Best Western Hotels logo?
I'm interested in making a joke t-shirt for a friend that changes the text on the "Best Western" logo. Does anyone know what font that is (pictured below), or what font most closely simulates it?
...
2
votes
3answers
461 views
How to replicate this effect in Photoshop
I'm trying to reproduce this customer's logo which they made years ago. I supposed to reproduce it in Photoshop but I can't get the effect right. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.
