Category Archives: Logo Design

Legally protecting yourself (as a freelancer or agency), is one of those things that sound good, but few people actually do anything about.

We place in the ‘it must be expensive’ or the ‘I’ve been fine without it so far’ basket, and it stays there and looks at you with geico-cash eyes – begging for your attention. It’s just one of those things we know we need, but it hasn’t made it high enough up the priority list to do something about it.

UNTIL… that day when a client from that ‘big job’ turns around and wants to take you to court for some kind of misunderstanding or wants ANOTHER set of revisions after you’ve already done 25. Once you’re in a hole with no back door there’s really no place to go and no way out – UNLESS you’ve covered yourself with some form of legal contract.

Disclaimer

Please note that I am not a lawyer, and I have no formal legal education o the comments and observations in this post are merely ideas and collections of knowledge from various people in my experience.

Contracts in a nutshell

Basically a contract is any agreement between 2 or more parties. The majority of the time contracts are printed documents with a few signatures on the bottom, but legally. Interestingly, even a verbal agreement is legally binding – however infinitely harder to prove if anything makes it to a courtroom.

Why use a contract?

A contract (although somewhat daunting) is a very professional way to start a professional relationship of work/service. A contract should clearly contain the expectations of the initiating party, and their expectations of the client. It will often include clauses covering instances where either party may want to terminate the contract and the consequences of that.

Most of the time, contracts we sign are locking us into a payment expectation and the period of time those payments will be required. Statement of work (SOW) contracts are similar, but detail the terms for a specific project.

What you CAN do in a contract?

You can actually include almost anything within the law. This may include (but not limited to);

• Payment outlines and dates
• Project expectations and deliverable dates
• Failure to meet payment or milestone results
• Expected behavior or appearances
• Expected confidentiality, disclosure or exposure
• Limitations of liability
• Outline of potential additional charges

What you CAN’T do in a contract?

No matter how committed you are to an agreement, any contract which includes breaking any law may be deemed null and void in whole or part regardless of the context or intent.

You also can’t deliberately confuse or mislead people. Any contract that is deemed to possibly have an alternate meaning may void something you have included. With the motto of Google – Don’t be evil.

Don’t include unrealistic expectations. You should always be writing an agreement that all parties should be able to comply with. There’s no benefit including a requirement that will cause unnecessary stress or worry. Like adding a line that would disconnect a service if a payment is 1 minute late.

Play nice

I have seen a few examples of work agreement contracts which heavily favor the agency. You don’t want a potential client to leave you because they’re uneasy about agreeing to your terms. On the flip side, you get clients who don’t read all of the fine print (how many people read all 40 pages of a mobile phone contract before they sign?), who may not comply with any unexpected inclusions – but will put up a fight if you try to enforce them.

My contract suggestions

1. Keep it short. For a freelance project, I would say no more than 1 page. People don’t want to sit and read 5 pages of garbage, they want to see what you’re locking them in to. You can do things like separating off documents like privacy policy to your website for people to read later.

2. Keep it easy to read. If you keep it simple, there’s no arguments later.

3. Number each point. That way you can reference clauses quickly when talking on the phone or over email.

4. Make sure you give a client adequate time to look over the document before signing. Maybe even allow them to get a third party to review it.

5. Play Nice (see above).

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What inclusions do you have in your freelance contracts?

See also Brand A Brander 1

What Is Brand A Brander?

Brand A Brander is a way for logo designers to get an ‘outsiders look’ at their company. Given a short brief, logo designers attempt to re-brand each other. All participants are hand-selected in an attempt to retain a level of quality, but there are obviously going to be mis-matches due to the sheer awesomeness of some of the designers participating. Let us know how you would re-brand some of these great brand designers.

What are the questions for the brief?

1. What is the name of your business?
2. Any color preferences?
3. In a sentence, describe what you want to convey in your logo.
4. Briefly describe your target market.
5. What is your favorite logo (any company any designer).
6. Describe your business in 20 words or less.

The Questions Each Participant Answered

Thanks to those who participated for being part of this experiment. The results speak for themselves.

Let The Games Begin

David Holm (Squarelogo) – http://www.squarelogo.com/

Original: David Holm (Squarelogo)

1. Squarelogo or Squarelogo Design
2. Open
3. Professional brand design services.
4. Small to mid-sized businesses.
5.  It’s impossible to pick one favorite, but I guess I’d say the OLD Northwest Airlines logo. Extremely simple, yet meaningful design.
6. Squarelogo design puts high end graphic design and branding within the reach of small and mid-sized businesses.

RE-BRANDED: by JT Knight (Knights Creative)

Behind the re-brand: (by J.T. Knight – Knights Creative)

Square Logo’s portfolio has a great style. I wanted my re-brand to reflect the depth of what he can do for his clients. The name, obviously, lends itself well to a square of some sort. I wanted to add a little bit to the basic shape to come up with a mark that would do him justice. I started with a few box shapes and twisted and stretched them into something I liked, while keeping a square in center stage. I used a similar type to the original, but opted for sharp edges over rounded corners. I experimented with a few color combinations, but black and white ended up being the best option for this design. I hope David enjoys the design!

Toni Zova

Original: Toni Zova

1. Toni Zova
2. #272727
3. Modern, fresh, and a uniquely strong outlook on design in general.
4. Designers and none designers alike, people interested in Art/Design, people that want to get the latest on what’s going on in the design industry.
5. My own (maybe adidas).
6. modern, cutting edge, unique, friendly, international, bold.

RE-BRANDED: by Ricky Salsberry (The Donut Project)

Behind the re-brand: (by Ricky Salsberry – The Donut Project)

Based on Toni’s brief, I tried to create a mark that is modern, clean and bold. The icon is clean and monochromatic (#272727) to reflect the current look & feel of Toni’s site. Toni’s rebellious, no nonsense tone (which <censored>ing rocks) on his site is reflected in the mark with a reference to the common ‘no symbol,’ created typographically with a Z striking through a T. The mark translates well into a blog header (horizontally or vertically), and the icon by itself works well as an online avatar or favicon.

Chris Kaufman – http://www.christopherkaufman.com

Original: Chris Kaufman

1. The name should include either “Hi, I’m Chris”, or “Christopher Kaufman”
2. I’ve been attracted to vintage color combinations lately – Late 1950s through early 1970s. Here is a good article for inspiration: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/04/21/celebration-of-vintage-and-retro-design/
3. Smart, elegant style with a leading-edge, dauntless mood.
4. Small to medium sized businesses, ranging from medical, to financial services to entertainment.
5. FedEx – Perhaps a “happy accident”, but clever nonetheless.
6. Brand and interaction design with user experience in mind.

RE-BRANDED: by John Mascarenhas (LogoGuppy)

Behind the re-brand: (by John Mascarenhas – Logo Guppy)

Design background yet to come

John Mascarenhas (Logo Guppy) – http://brandstack.com/users/profile/logoguppy

Original: John Mascarenhas (Logo Guppy)

1. LogoGuppy
2. well… am partial to blue n black…
3. fun, intelligent and agressive.
4. age – 28 – 45 and Yuppie, 75:25 – male:female ratio
5. LogoMotive (By Mike E) & ToadPrint (by Mike E) & Ant (by William)
6. Illustrations & Brand Identity

RE-BRANDED: By Toni Zova

Behind the re-brand (by Toni Zova)

At first I drifted away from the initial brief John had provided, but then realized that would be even more difficult given the nature of this logo. A Fish. There were so many ways one could represent that in a mark so I got off my high horse and took into consideration John’s requests and went with things he wanted to convey in his mark, baring in mind other logos he liked and why he might have been attracted to them. It seemed like the sensible thing to do, rather than force him to use a mark that bore no resemblance to his brand only because I thought it looked hot. This was the outcome, a fun, somewhat serious looking mark that could also translate his illustrative nature.

John has noted to me since that he designed this for himself.

Nadir Balcikli (Logorado) – http://www.logorado.com/

Original: Nadir Balcikli (Logorado)

1. Logorado
2. No
3. It should convey trustworthiness, quality service, reasonable rates. If the new logo includes western feeling that would be great.
4. New entrepreneurs, small businesses.
5. World Wildlife Fund Logo
6. Logorado provides minimalist, elegant and professional logo designs for small businesses.

RE-BRANDED: by Raja Sandhu (Raja Sandhu Media Corp.)

Behind the re-brand (by Raja Sandhu – Raja Sandhu Media Corp.)

I was inspired by the short brief and the name of which both had suggestions of a ‘western’ theme. The first two things that came to my mind were a lasso and a cowboy hat. The challenge was to create an image that captured the feel of those two elements (lasso and brim of a cowboy hat) with out being literal or more bluntly put, cheesy, all the while maintaining an ‘elegant and minimalistic’ look. It is, after all a logo for an iconic logo designer.

Ricky Salsberry (The Donut Project) – http://www.thedonutproject.com/

Original: Ricky Salsberry (The Donut Project)

RE-BRANDED: by David Holm (Squarelogo Design)

Behind the re-brand (by David Holm – Squarelogo)

The Donut Project is a very cool collaborative design and inspiration blog. The mark I created for TDP represents the convergence of all the various ideas, concepts, and inspirations that are posted by the group of designers that contribute to the TDP site. More obviously, the shape of the mark is donut-like. The type has been created using a modified form of the Titillium font family.

Von (Vonster) Glitschka (Glitschka Studios) – http://www.glitschka.com

Original: Von (Vonster) Glitschka (Glitschka Studios)

1. Glitschka Studios
2. No.
3. I deliver concept oriented illustrative design solutions.
4. Most often I’m a hired creative gun for other agencies, design firms, in-house art departments, as well as managing my own clients.
5. No specific favorites but I prefer bold simple solutions that are void of FX.
6. We’re able to deliver unique concept oriented design in a diverse range of styles to solve a clients needs creatively and appropriately.

RE-BRANDED: by Nadir Balcikli (Logorado)

Behind the re-brand: (by Nadir Balcikli – Logorado)

I just wanted to create simple but impressive logo for Glitschka Studios. The logo includes a human face with a “G” form. I didn’t have a lot of time to work on it but I hope Von likes it.

Sean Farrell (brandclay) – http://www.brandclay.com

Original: Sean Farrell (Brandclay)

1. brandclay™
2. nothing pastel
3. a unique representation of my christian roots and the word clay (no crosses)
4. start up companies to medium sized companies
5. If I have to choose just one, it would be Dana McCauley’s logo
6. A freelance design company set out to break the mold.

RE-BRANDED: By Jeff Pollard (POLLARDdesign)

Behind the re-brand (by Jeff Pollard – POLLARDdesign)

The goal was to create a brand image depicting Brandclay as a high-end, best-of-breed design studio in order to attract larger, global clients.

The concept behind the service mark/monogram was to convey the physical properties of clay; Flexible, Adaptable, Customizable, but do so in a way that indicated new thinking and to avoid traditional clay-type imagery so as to eliminate the possibility or confusion that Brandclay had anything to do with pottery or arts-and-crafts.

I also wanted to symbolically represent a broader reach by way of viral-type imagery which, again, reflects the physical properties of clay, but also represents the continuous evolution of Brandclay’s design vision.

The tagline helps tie the new brand together as well as extend it by functioning as a descriptor of Brandclay’s goals/services/area of expertise.

PS: Bonus points to viewers who see the leaping, celebratory figure within the service mark – ;-)

Jeff Pollard (POLLARDdesign) – http://www.pollarddesign.com

Original: Jeff Pollard (POLLARDdesign)

1. POLLARDdesign
2. No.
3. Serious yet approachable.
4. Everyone.
5. Mine is a Less Is More approach to design. I tend to dislike any overly cluttered, overly designed, overly complicated logo. I like clean and efficient visual imagery that has a relevant story to tell and isn’t merely decoration.
6. Maker of magical marks and cool, crispy icons.

RE-BRANDED: By Von Glitschka (Glitschka Studios)

Behind the re-brand (by Von (Vonster) Glitschka – Glitschka Studios)

A logo project for me is more than a singular mark, it’s a development of a brand system, so when ever I re-design a logo I first audit the existing mark and the context it lives in. Sometimes this reveals the need to completely throw out the current design and create a new one from scratch. But for this project I felt retaining equity from the previous mark was warranted so as to avoid a complete visual detachment with the clients audience.

I retained the eye element and incorporated it into a customized “pd” symbol. I like to provide both a horizontal and vertical format for all my clients logos, this helps them retain brand continuity moving forward across a broad range of media venues.

Grace Smith (Postscript5) – http://www.postscript5.co.uk

Original: Grace Smith (Postscript5)

1. Postscript5
2. I’m open to suggestions although I do love my green colour: #50a48d
3. Structure is important, i specifically used FF Din because of it’s beautiful structured qualities. I’m a female in a male dominated
industry, so creating something soft (yet not over the top feminine) is also important.
4. Entrepreneurs and small businesses, although I also work with other design companies & developers.
5. Anything by the brilliant Dache. My favorite would be his design for the MediaFactory.
6. Pure, functional and effective design, development and branding with incredible attention to detail.

RE-BRANDED: by Chris Kaufman

Behind the re-brand (by Chris Kaufman)

I created a logo for Grace at Postscript 5 that has an accent of her current green color, while simplifying the mark by incorporating the ‘5′ into the type. I set the type in Gotham Rounded for its stability, yet softened, rounded edges that gives the logo the effeminate (but not overbearing) hint that Grace is looking for to help her stand out in a male-dominated industry.

J.T. Knight (Knights Creative) – http://www.knightscreative.com

Original: J.T. Knight (Knights Creative)

1. Knight’s Creative
2. I like black and white, but wouldn’t be opposed to red or dark blue.
3. I like to project confidence and competence.
4. Small to medium sized business owners and entrepreneurs in various industries.
5. I love the WWF logo
6. I design logos and help create successful brands. My job is to help businesses create a consistent brand presence.

RE-BRANDED: By Sean Farrell (brandclay)

Behind the re-brand (by Sean Farrell – brandclay)

I had a lot of good ideas for this project but simplicity is the main thing I wanted to convey.  Taking an every day symbol that is often represented by a knight; his sword, and turning it into something that visualizes a creatives identity was a really fun task.  I drew about 10-15 swords (don’t think I’ll ever be happy with the sword) and combined a pencil tip or a pen tip to the end of the sword.  I ended up with this one because it was the one I was most satisfied with.  In his original logo he uses a serif font, so sticking with that I used Aviano Serif in all caps and modified the A. Hope he likes it

Nathan Sarlow (Cobaltcow) – http://www.cobaltcow.com

Original: Nathan Sarlow (Cobaltcow)

1. CobaltCow or Cobalt Cow (not necessarily case sensitive)
2. I guess a blue base
3. A memorable, clean mark. I want people to remember at least the “cow” aspect.
4. Mainly start-ups and rebrands in the mid to upper class.
5. Just a few that come to mind: Artfire Films, Michael Jackson, HSV (the round part)
6. I like to help a company set their brand where they want their business to be. Clean, and clutter-free.

RE-BRANDED: By Grace Smith (Postscript5)

Behind the re-brand (by Grace Smith – Postscript5)

It was quite daunting redesigning Nathan’s own logo! Especially as I already think it’s extremely well designed. I wanted to keep the new logo consistent with the original which is very strong, especially the color scheme.

Nathan wanted the brand to be clean and memorable with people ideally remembering the ‘cow’ aspect. I took this into consideration but I also felt the actual brand name could be ‘punchier’ and more to the fore. I felt the original logo was perhaps too elongated and I therefore designed a logo which is more compact and concise.

I chose a strong but fun typeface (Nilland) to perfectly compliment the fun business name. With the actual cow I created a simple but easily recognisable outline, which stands proudly looking at the brand name.

Hopefully I’ve been able to both do the original justice and create a worthy alternative.

Raja Sandhu (Raja Sandhu Media Corp.) – http://www.rajasandhu.com/

Original: Raja Sandhu (Raja Sandhu Media Corp.)

1. Raja Sandhu Media Corp.
2. Silver and Black
3. World Wide Arts and Entertainment
4. 20-50 somthings’ that are into arts and entertainment – think Warner Brothers
5. hmm non really – simple yet striking, good use of negative space, cleverly creative.
6. Umbrella corporation of several subsidiaries that scale universally from design, branding, music, music production, talent management, fashion , plus much more in the same parallels of creativity.

RE-BRANDED: by Nathan Sarlow (CobaltCow)

Behind the re-brand (by Nathan Sarlow – CobaltCow)

Unfortunately, Raja’s logo is one of my favorite marks, so rather than trying to improve on it, I tried to take a different approach. The only thing that concerned me about the current logo was that the mark was difficult to make out. After consideration I decided that the memorable mark was more important to the brand, since the text below it explained the mark adequately. In this mark, I played with the initials RSM, and integrated some feeling of communication – expressed through the curves which are more commonly related to RSS or Wi-Fi.

I have been presenting electronic design concepts for around 12 years now (which almost makes me a veteran of digital concepting I think). Back then I was using Paint Shop Pro and these days I rely heavily on Adobe Photoshop, but regardless of the software you use, once you have your end result there are a few things you’ll need to know when getting your artwork in front of the client.

These tips are just a few ways of taking that concept (that you’ve dedicated so many design hours & sleepless nights to perfecting) and presenting it to the client. Its hard to know for sure, but I would guarantee that I’ve ’sold’ some of my logos predominantly on the way I presented it – and here’s some of my techniques and secrets.

1. Don’t bombard the client with options

I most cases, the client has come to you as the expert in developing their new identity. Although it’s common in Agency work, I recommend NOT sending a half a dozen concepts. Stick with presenting only your strongest 1 or 2 designs. If you feel a logo isn’t as strong as the others, keep it in a folder for yourself and focus on the ones with strength. Generally if I don’t feel that 1 is standing apart, then I need to work harder and come up with something that does.

2. Set the scene & solve a problem

Start by letting the client see that you understood their needs and designed something appropriate for them. Start out by recapping the main points of the project and what you tried to focus on, word the brief in a way that will mesh perfectly with what you are presenting to them.

Example: “As we discussed, XYZ Pear Company needs to have a bold new image, one that stands out from competitors and gives customers a feeling that the company is not only providing a great product, but that its fun and energetic.”

You would then go on to explain each concept you’re presenting (separately) and include reasons why each concept not only fits the brief you opened with, but why each concept may have a strength over the others. Use the same words they used in the brief in your explanation.

3. Let it breathe

Let each logo demand the clients attention. I usually present a logo concept as a 900 x 900 pixel 100% quality jpg, and keep the logo itself in the center with at least 200px gap around it. This gives the logo a clean canvas with no distractions.

The background can be any color you want, but don’t clutter it with any design elements. Sometimes a slight gradient can help to set the logo off the page a little, but apart from that, a flat color should be used. Provide each logo design as a separate file so that each gets its own 10 seconds of glory.

You can provide alternates (maybe a B&W, 1 color or an in-context version) as small inlays (if space permits) or on a composite file, but if you can, keep your primary logo by itself.

Note: Although a PDF is going to retain the quality better, you don’t want to be giving anybody your vector artwork at this stage.

4. Solve the problem

Make sure your logo solves the brief. If you noted that the client wants a bold & energetic logo, make sure that’s what you’re presenting them. If they specifically asked for something and you made the decision NOT to include it, make sure you explain why you decide that it wasn’t appropriate, don’t just leave them thinking you were lazy or worse – that you didn’t listen.

Most of the time, the client will accept a decent reason for not including something, so make sure you know the answers before they ask. It’s in the words you say. Stay positive and excited about how you feel your design will benefit the client.

5. Never get offended or take offense to criticism

This is easier said than done and only gets easier with practice. As designers, we put our heart & soul into our work, and when it gets pulled apart we feel like our souls are being torn and left in pieces on the floor. BUT, just remember that the client is only thinking of themselves and their brand – not about your feelings. At the end of the day this is about the public image of THEIR company – hopefully for years to come, not about your portfolio.

Listen to what they have to say and try to work with them to make the changes they need rather than calling them names under your breath. Don’t make up excuses as to why you cant do things they ask, but feel free to explain why it may not be a good idea.

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Well there’s my advice. Let me know what you think.

Okay, so everyone has seen the ‘My design process’ blogs detailing the individual process of each designer. For logo designers I think we all work in a very similar way as a whole, but I wanted to target in on 1 very key aspect of the process which is usually glossed over – research.

In this post I decided to give a bit of insight into my personal research process for a logo design but I’d love for you to let me know any other things you do, or sites you use so we can compile a list of helpful resources.

Step 1 – Define.

Before you start to research, you need to know what you’re researching. Most of this will have been obtained in the brief or in your follow-up questions, but here’s a few main points I make sure to know.

Intended market placement (upper class, budget class etc..), Target age/market & Design style (corporate, illustrated etc..).

Step 2 – Check out the competition.

A good way to determine a clients focus is to see what they list as their main competition. Usually clients want to try and emulate the market leader, so see what they’re doing that makes them successful. Be careful here – you don’t want to be ‘inspired’ by them, but there may be some underlying things they do well in their layout or marketing that you can leverage too.

Step 3 – Be the end user.

This is something I learned when doing my Advertising training. If you’ve seen the movie ‘What Women Want’ with Mel Gibson you’ll see a guy immersing himself in the brands he’s trying to sell – trying on stockings & nose strips. While he does go to the extreme, it does help to try and work out what the end user is looking for in the product – then sell your product to that strength. That way you’re not trying to convince someone to buy something, you’re helping them to solve a problem.

Step 4 – Google random things associated.

Once you have all the technical data in your head, go looking at the market. If you’re doing a sport-related logo, look through all kinds of sport photos and sites, get the vibe of current focuses and technology (remember the end user often knows more about the product than you, so don’t play too dumb).

Some things I DO NOT do.

When researching for a logo, I rarely look at logo inspiration sites (except as a last resort). The problem is that when you need inspiration for a specific job, another logo may either stick an idea in your head that you can’t move away from, or indirectly (accidentally)  guide your style to end up with a design that’s similar to an existing logo.

Here’s some resources I use.

• Tools
• Tin Eye : Reverse image search to compare any look-alikes
• What The Font : Helps when you want to know the font used in something else
• Font Squirrel : 100% free commercial fonts
• Looks Like Good Design : Loads of general design inspiration
• Logos
• LogoPond : Awesome logos for drooling over
• Logo Of The Day : Shorter list, but higher quality
• Logo Moose : Another short list of high quality logos
• Brands of the World : Vector versions of all kinds of logos
• Stock Photos
• Inmagine : Nice photos and watermark-free comps
• Shutterstock : Cheap vector files for help with embellishments

So, are there any research techniques you use? Any sites that help you get inspired? Add it in the comments.