Hot answers tagged logo
26
The general principle: styles come in and out of fashion. When they go out of fashion, they become associated with the era when they were in fashion, and things done in that style look of that era and look dated.
So, for example, the 'Skeuomorphic' styles vs 'Flat Design' styles shift (as linked to by Anonymous) explains the Google Chrome example: the ...
23
There are a few things you could try to do:
If the logo is simple, make it monochrome to neutralize any garish colors. Depending on the logo, you may even be able to do so if it's more complicated.
If they don't have the logo in vector format, you could recreate it, giving it a slight, but subtle refresh. This way you can improve any blurriness as well.
If ...
15
I assume by "brandmark" you really mean a brand symbol/icon. If so, then the answer is "yes"; both word marks and brand symbols/icons are more effective.
Each have their place, and a logo designer or brand marketer can't afford to exclude either from their repertoire.
Would Apple still be Apple if they had only a logotype? Could you imagine IBM as IBM if ...
15
I'm tempted to close this as "not a real question", but I'll try to humor you since you're only 10.
If you have no graphic design skills, then the obvious thing to do is just to hire a professional to design the logo for you. Otherwise, you'll have to accept that the logo you design will most-likely be terrible.
If there were a simple way (simple enough to ...
15
http://www.tineye.com/ is a great reverse image search. It basically searches through the internet to find images that are identical or very similar to your own.
There is no perfect 1-stop-get-all solution, but it's a start.
Edit
Google images also has a feature now that lets you click-and-drag an image into the search bar and it will find all similar ...
14
Universal/Cross-media useage
Every logo has to work in black/white only.
A logo needs often to be "cut". Logos attached to t-shirts, caps, cars & signs, so you need clean outlines for foil cutting. Which means: Keep it simple and your lines clean. No one can cut the lines you see in the pathview below.
Your logo has to work even on low resolution ...
14
Western language visitors read left-right, top down. Go to any Hebrew or Arabic website and where's the logo? Top right. The convention originates, I suspect, from letterhead design. Early websites were analogs of paper, and that analogy still dominates web design, although we're gradually weaning off it. The other common analogy, a store front, still has ...
13
It probably has to do with how we perceive our state of technology and major trends that drive our society. Does it make sense? Sometimes, I suppose ...
Look at the evolution of the BP logo.
Throughout the year an outline and colour was added. Today it resembles a yellow and green sunflower probably referring to the customer's desire to purchase more ...
12
From a technical standpoint, ideally the logo should be readable on any of the colors that your office uses for that particular logo. The question of printing on white or black is typically necessary for certain branding principles, but in some cases there are examples that show certain designs that are required to be printed only on certain colors, and ...
10
Not much different from KMSTR's answer, but I'll say it anyways.
Select the same original circle.
Then from the top menu: Object > Path > Offset path. ( In this case you only need to worry about the "offset" box, and you might want to enable preview as well. )
Select the offset path and swap the fill color with the outline color.
If you want to ...
10
My example is not a perfect, but you can take it as guideline for your logo-training. I hope this help you.
1) Create a new text layer
2) Take a pen tool and draw two lines so together they are looking like "a"
3) Turn text layer off, we don't need it anymore
4) Take "Ellipse Tool" and draw some ellipses. Now turn brushes window on. Select all the ...
9
The answer is to create your logo artwork as vector rather than raster graphics. You can then use this artwork directly for print work, or export raster artwork at the size you need for web graphics.
While Photoshop has some vector support, if you have Creative Suite, Illustrator is the tool for the job. If you don't, then Inkscape (which is free) is worth ...
8
I'm not sure if there is any real answer to this question without more details, but I'll give it a shot anyway, since I think it's an interesting question.
Here are some things to consider when choosing which should be more prominent:
Which part (the logo or the text) is more memorable? The more memorable one should probably be placed first.
Which one is ...
8
Nate implied this in passing but I think it's worth emphasizing:
one of the key features for a logo is for it to be effective (readible or legible and recognizable) at very small sizes, medium sizes and very large sizes. Some designers make variations for different situations, but in general it should be able to communicate its message equally well as a ...
8
I like to browse around at LogoPond to get inspiration and ideas. Once you figure out what you want, you can search for tutorials to figure out how to do it using the software of your choice. For a logo I would recommend a vector editing program like Inkscape instead of a raster one like GIMP.
8
That actually looks to be about a 7° angle (although it's not exactly 7°. It's like 7.1° or 7.2°). There are no hard and fast rules on angles I'm aware of. But generally, I try to stick to 5° increments.
The real key to using angles which are aesthetically pleasing is to use them repeatedly in the same piece. One element at an angle will almost always ...
8
To maintain brand identity a logo should generally have a set color scheme.
Generally...
Full color
Two Color (if appropriate)
One Color
Reversed
If you vary beyond this and start swapping colors for every projects you greatly degrade any brand identity unless the color variations are for a very specific reason.
Think of any major brand... does their ...
8
e100's advice is spot on. A vector application such as Illustrator is the best tool for logo design, whether you start on paper and scan it in, or work directly within the program.
This isn't the whole story, however. Scalability doesn't just involve vectors; the detail in a logo must also be adjusted for the size of the finished artwork. Just as with ...
8
On the point of contests in general, on top of what Farray's said I'll just add, do the maths: $490 prize for one person out of 1,109 entrants? Assuming all designs took just two hours on average and people keep at it as long as it takes until they finally win something, that'd give the designers participating in this system an average wage of 22 cents an ...
8
Specially if you work on your own and you haven't done that many logos, the process can be quite straightforward: One or two main ideas, some alternative executions, and a final agreement. Maybe you are happy with the result, maybe it doesn't really seem to mean that much.
When I came across these examples about a year ago (had to regoogle it), it ...
8
The Bell Logo looking "old" is an opinion that I don't think is universally shared. Many would call Saul Bass's work timeless. Yes, it is rooted in a particular era, but not overly so. One could take that Bell Logo and stick it in a book of 80's logos and it would fit just perfectly. One could upload it to Dribbble today and it'd fit right in.
Why? Well, ...
8
I would say that there are two main factors at play.
1. Perception of the technology to create the logo
The logo that was possible in the 1920's compared to what became possible in the 80s, 90s, and today due to innovations in printing technology, digital tools, etc will influence what can be built and our subsequent perception.
For example this black ...
7
To me, a logo is a simple graphic 'device' which identifies a brand. A brand will only have a single logo (possibly with a small number of variants for different media or 'sub brands').
A brand to me is a much broader thing, encompassing the feel of a company from a customer's perspective. For example, a company like IBM has a brand which is very 'serious'. ...
7
It is an intensive process, takes a while, and is expensive. There are companies that do little else, and will charge you handsomely. The USPTO (Patents and Trademark office) has search facilities on its website that will allow you do search for yourself without a fee but considerable cost in time. I assume that similar facilities exist for other economic ...
7
The most important file format he should give you is a vector format, typically in .eps, or vectorized .pdf. He should also give you some high resolution transparent png format as well. But if you have the .eps format, then you can make pngs in any size or resolution later. If he cannot or refuse to give you the logo in vector format, then you hired the ...
7
As Jin says, you need a vector file. EPS is the most versatile of the formats Corel Draw can export, so be sure to get that. (You can import EPS files into Word or Pages to roll your own stationery, besides sending one out to a printer.)
Based on long experience, you'll only ever use the .cdr file if you're sending to a designer who uses it or one of the ...
7
It's true that a logo must look as good on a billboard as it does on a business card. That doesn't mean the same artwork will work in both cases.
It's not uncommon for the full-scale version of a logo to have detail that becomes completely lost or too fine and "busy" when scaled down. Stripes, strokes, even a typeface must be adjusted for tiny applications. ...
7
The real answer to this question comes directly from asking "How does it work in the real world?" An effect like this will seem artificial and wrong if it doesn't mimic what would happen with a physical object. This is a general principle that applies to all the effects we use on websites, on paper, or in movies. A classic error in Photoshop compositing is ...
7
Sooner or later, a company logo will need to be reproduced in just one solid colour/channel, where even halftoning or greyscale aren't achievable.
You'd normally use a special variant of the logo for these purposes of course, but you need to consider how the underlying design will adapt. Will it still be recognisable? Perhaps not if effects, or even ...
7
Please have a look at these websites. they have pulled off lighter colors your are interested in. You can work around something like these websites.
www.nature.com
BBC news
Stick Sports
TED
Scitable
History.com
Youtube
As Scott mentioned in his comment, "White is your friend".
You can also look here for some more inspiration.
I hope ...
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