Thanks to Apple designers who inspired and inspires the world design…

Now you don’t create, you copy-paste. Easier. Quicker. Sell, quick.
Branding? What is it? Future? What is it?

Don’t you think it’s “iPhone like”?

Miuzu Buzzlet – Package Design Blog – TheDieline.com.

Made this crazy video, made the music and “lyrics”, part with my iPhone and also the Mac (of course).

What is the idea?
Errr… Well, let’s say the non-communication between creative candidates and the world of HR. I think, sometimes, they are on different planets each of them. Like Aliens.

Who are you? Graphic designer? Creative director? Artistic director? What does this mean? What is your job exactly? What do You Want??

Article from Smashing Magazine

There have been numerous creative logo design showcases, logo design resources and logo designtutorials posted across the Web. While these help you to create a powerful toolbox for your logo designs, first you need to gain a solid understanding of what makes a logo design good and what you need to consider before starting using this toobox.

In this article, we’ll get down to the nitty gritty of what makes an effective logo design and we’ll also guide you through the principles and best practices of how to create an iconic brand identity.

You may be interested in the following related posts:

• 10 Common Mistakes In Logo Design
• Do You Want Fries With That Logo?
• 60 Logo Design Tutorials and Resources
• Drawing Inspiration From Creative Logos

What Is A Logo?

To understand what a logo is, we first must understand what the main purpose of logos is. The design process must aim to make the logo immediately recognizable, inspiring trust, admiration, loyalty and an implied superiority. The logo is one aspect of a company’s commercial brand or economic entity, and its shapes, colors, fonts, and images usually are strikingly different from other logo in the same market niche.Logos are used to identify.

Paul Rand, one of the world’s greatest designers states that “a logo is a flag, a signature, an escutcheon, a street sign. A logo does not sell (directly), it identifies. A logo is rarely a description of a business. A logo derives meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes, not the other way around. A logo is less important than the product it signifies; what it represents is more important than what it looks like. The subject matter of a logo can be almost anything.”

For more on Paul Rand, consider reading the book Design, Form & Chaos.

What Makes A Good Logo?

A good logo is distinctive, appropriate, practical, graphic and simple in form, and it conveys the owner’s intended message. A concept or “meaning” is usually behind an effective logo, and it communicates the intended message. A logo should be able to be printed at any size and, in most cases, be effective without color. A great logo essentially boils down to two things: great concept and great execution.

Logo Design Process

“Some wonder what’s so difficult about creating a good logo. They’re small, they look easy to do, so no problem, right? When you only see the result of a designer’s efforts, the logo creation can look like it was a simple task. But it’s not. A logo takes thought and creativity, and many elements combine to make a good one.” (via Harrison Mcleod)

When creating a logo, follow a process that ensures the final design meets the needs of the clients. Below, we have listed the typical process that professional logo designers follow. With practice, you will no doubt develop your own.

Design brief.
Conduct a questionnaire or interview with the client to get the design brief.

Research.
Conduct research on the industry itself, its history and competitors. Problem-solve first, design later.

Reference.
Conduct research on logo designs that have been successful and on current styles and trends that may relate to the design brief. Follow trends not for their own sake but rather to be aware of them: longevity in logo design is key.

Sketching and conceptualizing.
Develop the logo design concept(s) around the brief and your research. This is the single most important part of the design process. Get creative and be inspired. As Dainis Graveris has written once, “sketching isn’t time-consuming and is a really good way to put ideas in your head right on paper. After that, it’s always easier to actually design it on the computer. Sketching helps to evolve your imagination: once you understand it, you will always start from just white paper.

Image by Panoramas.

Reflection.
Take breaks throughout the design process. This helps your ideas mature, renews your enthusiasm and allows you to solicit feedback. It also gives you a fresh perspective on your work.

Revisions and positioning.
Whether you position yourself as a contractor (i.e. getting instructions from the client) or build a long-lasting relationship (i.e. guiding the client to the best solution), revise and improve the logo as required.

Presentation.
Present only your best logo designs to your client. PDF format usually works best. You may also wish to show the logo in context, which will help the client more clearly visualize the brand identity. Preparing a high-quality presentation is the single most effective way to get your clients to approve your designs.

“Canned presentations have the ring of emptiness. The meaningful presentation is custom designed—for a particular purpose, for a particular person. How to present a new idea is, perhaps, one of the designer’s most difficult tasks. This how is not only a design problem, it also pleads for something novel.

Everything a designer does involves presentation of some kind—not only how to explain (present) a particular design to an interested listener (client, reader, spectator), but how the design may explain itself in the marketplace… A presentation is the musical accompaniment of design. A presentation that lacks an idea cannot hide behind glamorous photos, pizazz, or ballyhoo. If it is full of gibberish, it may fall on deaf ears; if too laid back, it may land a prospect in the arms of Morpheus.” (Paul Rand)

Delivery and support.
Deliver the appropriate files to the client and give all support that is needed. Remember to under-promise and over-deliver. After you’ve finished, have a beer, eat some chocolate and then start your next project.

Logo Design Process Case Studies

For some in-depth examples of how professional logo designers work, check out these logo design process case studies:

Tenth Church Logo Design Process by Nancy Wu
Nancy Wu goes through her logo sketches and development for the Tenth Church logo.

16 Revealed Logo Design Processes by The Design Cubicle
Brian Hoff lists 16 logo design process walkthroughs found across the Web.

5 Principles Of Effective Logo Design

As mentioned, a good logo is distinctive, appropriate, practical, graphic and simple in form, and it conveys the owner’s intended message. You should follow the five principles below to ensure that your design meets all of these criteria:

1. Simple
2. Memorable
3. Timeless
4. Versatile
5. Appropriate

1. Simple

Simplicity makes a logo design easily recognizable, versatile and memorable. Good logos feature something unexpected or unique, without being “overdrawn.”

While in college in the mid-’70s, an instructor introduced me to the K.I.S.S. Principle of design, which translates as: Keep It Simple, Stupid. It does convey a very important design consideration. Simple logos are often easily recognized, incredibly memorable and the most effective in conveying the requirements of the client.

A refined and distilled identity will also catch the attention of a viewer zipping by signage at 70 miles per hour, on packaging on the crowded shelves of a store, or in any other vehicle used for advertising, marketing and promotion. Remember, the basis of the hugely effective international branding for the world’s largest shoe manufacturer is a very simple graphic swoosh.

— Jeff Fisher

On that note, you may find the history of the Nike logo quite interesting.

2. Memorable

Following closely on this principle of simplicity is that of memorability. An effective logo design should be memorable, which is achieved by keeping it simple yet appropriate.

Surprising to many, the subject matter of a logo is of relatively little importance, and even appropriateness of content does not always play a significant role.

This does not imply that appropriateness is undesirable. It merely indicates that a one-to-one relationship between a symbol and what it symbolized is very often impossible to achieve and, under certain conditions, objectionable. Ultimately, the only mandate in the design of logos, it seems, is that they be distinctive, memorable, and clear.

— Paul Rand

3. Timeless

An effective logo should be timeless. Will yours stand the test of time? Will it still be effective in 10, 20 or 50 years?

Leave trends to the fashion industry. Trends come and go, and when you’re talking about changing a pair of jeans or buying a new dress, that’s fine, but where your brand identity is concerned, longevity is key. Don’t follow the pack. Stand out.

— David Airey

4. Versatile

An effective logo works across a variety of media and applications. For this reason, logos should be designed in vector format, to ensure that they scale to any size.

Ask yourself, is your logo still effective if it is printed…

• In one color?
• In reverse color (i.e. light logo on dark background)?
• The size of a postage stamp?
• As large as a billboard?

One way to create a versatile logo is to begin designing in black and white. This allows you to focus on the concept and shape, rather than color, which is subjective in nature. Also keep in mind printing costs: the more colors you use, the more expensive it will be for the business over the long term.

I like to work first in black and white to ensure that the logo will look good in its simplest form. Color is very subjective and emotional. This can distract from the overall design – say if you saw your logo in all red, that color may be the first thing that you respond to and not the composition of the design elements. I will not even consider submitting color suggestions to a client for review until they have signed off on a final black and white logo.

— Patrick Winfield

Familiarize yourself with the commercial printing process so that you do not encounter printing problems down the line. Know the difference between the CMYK, Pantone and RGB color systems.

5. Appropriate

How you “position” the logo should be appropriate for its intended audience. For example, a child-like font and color scheme would be appropriate for a logo for a children’s toy store, not so much for a law firm.

A logo doesn’t need to say what a company does. Restaurant logos don’t need to show food, dentist logos don’t need to show teeth, furniture store logos don’t need to show furniture. Just because it’s relevant, doesn’t mean you can’t do better. The Mercedes logo isn’t a car. The Virgin Atlantic logo isn’t an airplane. The Apple logo isn’t a computer. Etc.

— David Airey

Should a logo be self-explanatory? It is only by association with a product, a service, a business, or a corporation that a logo takes on any real meaning. It derives its meaning and usefulness from the quality of that which it symbolizes. If a company is second rate, the logo will eventually be perceived as second rate. It is foolhardy to believe that a logo will do its job immediately, before an audience has been properly conditioned.

— Paul Rand

How Much Does A Logo Cost?

In my experience, this is the most frequently asked question. It cannot be easily answered because every company has different needs. The best approach is to draw up a customized quote for each client.

You have to take a number of factors into consideration when designing a logo, such as how many logo concepts need to be presented, how many revisions will be needed, how much research is required, how big the business is and so on.

How To Choose A Logo Designer?

Keep an eye out for certain things when choosing a logo designer:

• Experience and proven success
  Do they have a proven track record? How experienced are they?
• Testimonials
  Do they have positive testimonials from previous clients? Ensure you check the validity of testimonials. A quick email to the company should suffice.
• Their design process
  Do they follow a logo design process?
• Awards won and published work
  Have they won any awards for their work? Is their work published in any books or magazines? How recognized are they in the industry?
• Strength of portfolio
  How strong is their portfolio? Have they got 100+ mediocre logo designs or 10 to 30 excellent ones? What is the ratio of real to fake logo designs?
• Timeframe
  How long would they take to complete your logo? A typical logo design process takes 4 to 15 days, but many can go for months on end. Think of how long your logo design will be used for: would you want it to be designed (much less researched) in less than 24 hours?
• Price
  The cost of the service usually reflects what you will receive. In most cases, you get what you pay for… but price is not the only indication.
• Affiliations
  Are they affiliated with any design associations or publications? This is a good indication of how dedicated they are to their craft, though it is not essential.
• Professionalism and communication
  How do they present themselves? Do they respond to your emails quickly? How do they communicate? Do they work with a contract (to protect both them and you)?
• Questions asked
  How many questions does the designer ask about your business? Questions should revolve around your company’s history, target market, goals, etc.

A big thank you to Sven and Vitaly for the opportunity to write for Smashing Magazine. Much appreciated. If you have any questions, comments or advice to share, please do leave a message in the comments below.

Recommended Logo Design Resources

• Logo Design Tips by Steve at The Logo Factory
  A great post outlining some very helpful logo design tips.
• How NOT to design a logo from Web Designer Depot
  An article outlining ways not to go about getting your logo designed.
• Iconic Logo Designers by David Airey
  A mini-website of some of the world’s most iconic logo designers.
• 45 Rules of Creating A Great Logo Design from Tanner Christensen.
  A fairly accurate list of “logo design rules.” Take it as a guide only.
• 80 Beautiful Typefaces for Professional Design
  A classic from Smashing Magazine. A thorough list of classic typefaces.
• The Ultimate List of Logo Design Resources by Just Creative Design
  If you are looking for logo resources, this is the place to go.
• Top 10 Logo Design Inspiration Galleries by Logo Designer Blog
  A list of the top 10 recommended logo design inspiration galleries.

Related Posts

You may be interested in the following related posts:

• 10 Common Mistakes In Logo Design
• Do You Want Fries With That Logo?
• 60 Logo Design Tutorials and Resources
• Drawing Inspiration From Creative Logos

Yellow Tree house

PEL assisted project managers The Building Intelligence Group, Colenso BBDO and  Yellow in the selection of the enormous Redwood tree on which the treehouse is to be built which is over 40m high and 1.7m diameter at the base, on a site north of Auckland.

The concept proved challenging and encompassed a range of consultants to get both Resource Consent, Building Consent and construction underway in a very limited time.   We’ve never been involved in a project quite like this before !

Download the Yellow Press Release here

Video here.

Author.

TrendsNow | Yellow tree house.

You want a “creative” person for your company; that is a clever point.

But… What for? Exactly? And, do you know what makes the difference between TWO creative?

| First, you (we) need to agree on what is creativity |

What is creativity?

First let’s take a look on the WIKIPEDIA definition.

Creativity (or creativeness) is a mental process involving the generation of new ideas or concepts, or new associations between existing ideas or concepts. From a scientific point of view, the products of creative thought (sometimes referred to as divergent thought) are usually considered to have both originality and appropriateness. An alternative, more everyday conception of creativity is that it is simply the act of making something new. Although intuitively a simple phenomenon, it is in fact quite complex. It has been studied from the perspectives of behavioural psychology, social psychology, psychometrics, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, philosophy, history, economics, design research, business, and management, among others. The studies have covered everyday creativity, exceptional creativity and even artificial creativity. Unlike many phenomena in science, there is no single, authoritative perspective or definition of creativity. Unlike many phenomena in psychology, there is no standardized measurement technique.

Creativity has been attributed variously to divine intervention, cognitive processes, the socialpersonality traits, and chance (”accident,” “serendipity“). It has been associated with genius, mental illness and humour. Some say it is a trait we are born with; others say it can be taught with the application of simple techniques. Although popularly associated with art and literature, it is also an essential part of innovation and invention and is important in professions such as business, economics, architecture, industrial design, science and engineering. environment,

Despite, or perhaps because of, the ambiguity and multi-dimensional nature of creativity, entire industries have been spawned from the pursuit of creative ideas and the development of creativity techniques. This mysterious phenomenon, though undeniably important and constantly visible, seems to lie tantalizingly beyond the grasp of scientific investigation.

“Creativity, it has been said, consists largely of re-arranging what we know in order to find out what we do not know.”

George Kneller

For our concern, we are talking about creativity (and being creative) in Advertising, Communications, Marketing and Design services.

So what is [a creative] in these topics?

As a Creative Director in-house, the purpose is to ensure the highest possible success of projects in supporting the company’s objectives. To ensure the highest possible success of projects by developing and presenting proposals, liaising with Clients, managing project work flow, supporting design team quality and efficiency, and solving problems.

The main Responsibilities:

• Ensures optimal client fulfillment by developing and defining client vision and business needs into project proposals; collaborating with Sales Team to close sales; presenting proposals, progress and final project deliverables; establishing and maintaining effective creative liaison with clients, managing client expectations, cultivating trust, rapport and proactive client care throughout the project cycle
• Maintains work flow by monitoring project progress and resource usage; assisting in troubleshooting “log jams”; facilitating change orders; collaborating with the Office Manager to schedule facility use; ensuring early meeting of milestones and deadlines
• Resolves and Prevents Problems by immediately analyzing and soothing any client concerns and implementing remedial solutions; conferring regularly with Sales Department and Design Team to discuss, understand and address any sources of stress; carefully observing and checking in with clients to intuit and discover even the smallest source of dissatisfaction they may feel and taking corrective action
• Ensures information utilization standards by ensuring accurate and timely input of all ISIS data including activity slips, project status, project specifications, quotes and estimates; and following file management procedures
• Ensures project quality by working collaboratively with Management Team to assign project resources, support and assist in training of Designers and Artists, monitoring project quality and profitability; communicating and exemplifying organization standards
• Ensures availability of project resources by adhering to resource rules and procedures; working collaboratively with other managers to optimize utilization of resources; alerting Management Team to any resource problems
• Ensures team effectiveness by assisting in the training of new Multimedia Artists, monitoring productivity, cultivating team rapport, anticipating needs, proactively assisting, providing constructive feedback and guidance to Multimedia Artists; performing in the capacity of a Multimedia Artist when necessary; creating and implementing ideas that support team members’ ability to maximize client satisfaction
• Improves company profitability by creatively assisting management team in identifying new potential product or service offerings, working closely with management and Sales Team to understand and meet sales objectives, and identifying and implementing strategies for improving general efficiency and effectiveness of the Media and Technology department
• Maintains professional and technical knowledge by participating in personal and professional development opportunities; reviewing professional publications; benchmarking best practices; participating in professional society
• Enhances the work environment by dealing openly and directly with team members; acting with integrity and respect; exhibiting a positive attitude

There is an excellent article from HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW ONPOINT, talking about creativity:

(by Thomas H. Davenport, Laurence Prusak, and H.James Wilson)

[Who’s bringing you hot ideas and HOW are you responding?]

“There’s an UNSUNG HERO in your organization. It’s the person who’s bringing in new ideas about how to manage better. Mind you, we’re not talking about product and service innovations. The people who cook those up-and they are heroes of the orgnization, too-are celebrated loudly and often. We’re talking about the person who. for instance, first uttered the phrase “intellectual capital“in your hallways, believing that better management of knowledge assets could yield a competitive advantage. Or perhaps it was the notion of “real options” as an antidote to overly risk-averse capital investment analysis. Or, depending on how long the person has been around, maybe it was even “total quality management”.

Exactly who are these people in your particular organisation? You probably already know.

• It’s the middle manager you called when you decided to include something about process redesign or balanced-scorecard management in your letter for the annual report.
• It’s the smart executive who advised you on which consulting firm to employ for help with e-commerce and who seemed to know all about each one’s strengths and weaknesses.
• It’s the first person who comes to mind when you need a strategic thinker to do a special project.

Come to think of it, it’s that manager who just sent you a conference binder on a topic you’ve expressed some interest in.”

Here are some extracts (so true…) of the Harvard Business Review (spring 2007): The Creative Company

{ We’ve got one creative person here, and he makes everyone nervous. }

{ Creativity can’t be shoehorned between the hours of nine and five. The Muses don’t always show up on time for appointments. }

{ Again, creating such teams requires managers to have a deep understanding of their people. They must be able to assess them not just for their knowledge but for their attitudes about potential fellow team members and the collaborative process, for their problem-solving styles, and for their motivational hot buttons. Putting together with just the right chemistry – just the right level of diversity and supportiveness – can be difficult, but our research shows how powerful it can be. }

{ Supervisory encouragement. Most managers are extremely busy. They are under pressure for results. It is therefore easy for them to let praise for creative efforts – not just creative successes but unsuccessful efforts, too – fall by the wayside. One very simple step managers can take to foster creativity is to not let that happen. }

{ The connection to intrinsic motivation here is clear. Certainly, people can find their work interesting or exciting without a cheering section – for some period of time. But to sustain such passion, most people need to feel as if their work matters to the organisation or to some important group of people. Otherwise, they might as well do their work at home or for their own personal gain. }

{ By contrast, managers who kill creativity do so by either failing to acknowledge innovative efforts or by greeting them with skepticism. In many companies, for instance, new ideas are made not with open minds but with time consuming layers of evaluation – or even with harsh criticism. When someone suggests a new product or process, senior managers take weeks to respond. Or they put that person through an excruciating critique. }

You should prepare a nice nest for “your creative”.

He/She won’t be like others, only concerned by themselves, no, he/she will take part at 200% in your project and be happy when you will win a budget, sad when you will loose a competition. Sensible or sensitive? Concerned. Without that, no creativity is possible.
You should let “himher” take more leave days than others; “heshe” works with” herhis” brain, don’t forget. Heshe must be happy to create, in a GOOD atmosphere to create.

Generally, creative are not good in money or account, they prefer to dream or to find crazy ideas than talk about reality. Reality is boring, sublimating, rejuvenating is their job.

They see things that you even don’t know it exists. In one word you say, they will see a new campaign, a new product. In full color, they will see a new concept; so, please, prepare a nice nest for them, they will be more fragile than others; don’t forget, they live in an other planet than you, this is why they are… Creative.
When I have to recruit a creative in my team, I’m choosing the one who seems to be more “concerned“, the one who will say “us” instead of “me“, the one will think all the time “what is the best to do for my company? How should I have acted if it was mine?
Concerned. Proactive. Humble, always searching for the latest trends, someone with a “global culture”, could talk about surf, business, luxury trends, architecture, opera, video, cinema, sociology…

Someone definitely open mind.