ShopForDesigns – Logo design marketplace, website design, corporate identity design, banner design, crowdsourcing.

A good logo design or a good corporate brand identity is instrumental in selling a product or to ascertain its legitimacy in the eyes of the prospective customer. In the graphic design world flexibility and scalability are the key factors which determine the success of a particular logo design. A logo should be beyond the barriers of cultural diversity, language, its mode of transmission media and colours. Let me elaborate on this. You might need to transmit a logo via fax or email. It might be printed in a newspaper, published in a website in black and white. So a logo has to be a timeless, durable and universal face of your brand which is scalable.

We find so many companies re-designing their logos and brand identities. It’s not for nothing. They have felt that their logo does not comply to the above guidelines and they took decisions to redesign their logos. A change in brand identity is not an easy thing to carry out. It costs the company a lot. Apart from the direct cost of designing a logo or brand identity, they have to change their letterheads, visiting cards, envelope, and any pre-printed stationery that they might have with the new logo. They also have to spend a lot in advertising by which they can let people know about the change of their brand identity. Still companies change their logos and brand identities when they find that the current logo is not good enough.

Let us take a look of some of the major companies who have decided to change their logos in spite of the difficulties listed above only because they thought that their logo was just not right.

1. Animal Planet Logo : Their old logo had an image of the earth which was not always printable on all media. Suppose in a FAX message the image would appear like an obscure round solid.

Logo of animal planet before and after redesign

2. breastcancer.org Logo : Their logo again had a solid pink background and a kind of orange foreground. In black and white print the logo would loose its charm and effect. So they used gray to just write the name of their domain. As a pictorial representation they added a rounded double helical structure of the DNA strand since cancer depends a lot on genetic factor. Quite a bit of though went in.

Look at the double helical DNA strand.

3. British Telecom Logo : They had the overlapping human beings which was difficult to print. They replaced it with circular discs which can mean two things. Dish antenna and the earth. They want to convey the message that their dishes cover the entire planet. Also the old logo showed a man speaking through a cone which represents old mode of communication rather than dish antennas.

Their unique discs represent the planet and dish antenna.

4. Discovery Kids Logo : They have simplified their busy design which was difficult to print in black and white again. Their current logo uses the simple font Arial Rounded MT. Its easier to print and colourful so that it appeals to kids.

Check out its simplicity.

5. Ford Logo : The ford car manufacturing company though about its logo and decided to remove the gradient in the blue colour in the oval disc. Instead they have now made a logo which is easier to print and has no gradient effect.

They removed the colour gradient in the oval disc.

6. Jack-in-the-box logo : They used an  iconic box as a representation of their concept.

They introduced a box to make their logo meaningful.

7. QVC Logo : They simplified their logo with just an iconic ‘Q’ with a slight 3D effect. First it struck me as why they are using this 3D effect. Then someone told me that since they are an online e-commerce business so they do not often need to fax or print their logo. So they wanted to create an impression by using 3D, their way of standing apart.

They used 3-D to stand apart.

8. Sierra Mist Logo : Take a look at the misty effect in the word ‘mist’. I would not rate this logo very but look at their specific case. It is just the name of a product and not the company. They just print it on the drink cans. So the logo is justified.

Look at the mist effect.

9. Tropicana Logo : This redesign has been criticized because the orange with the straw was iconic for tropicana. But they decided to make their logo simpler.

They removed the orange and the straw and made it simple.

10. Discovery Channel Logo : They simplified the font so that it becomes more readable.

They used a universal font which is more acceptable.

So now as you have seen why companies around the globe are redesigning their logos you might start thinking about your own logo and find out if it needs a makeover.

We at shopfordesigns.com have been telling our buyers that when they post a logo or graphic design contest they should regularly visit their contest page, post ratings, put comments and give directions to designers regarding what they are looking for. Every designer comes up with a concept based on what he or she thinks is right. But as a buyer, the contest holder is the best judge about the vision and mission statements of his business and the kind of artwork he or she needs.

After a design contest is live at shopfordesigns, designers start posting their concepts. Now it is on the buyer to guide the designers with the colour scheme, catchline, concept and other aspects of design.

To help our contest holders or buyers with these ratings and comment posting, one of our users have come up with an informative and exciting video. He has requested us to post the video at our blog and here it is :

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I am generally on the internet for about 14 to 16 hours a day. Various logos have been my area of interest since the last 10 years or so. I do not know if I can call myself a logo expert but people won’t object if I say that I have fair exposure in logo design.

During my quest for best logo designs, I have come across some great logos and some awefully ill designed logos that break all barriers and norms of logo design dont’s.

So in a nutshell I would like to advice you to steer clear from naive designers who claim to make great logos for peanuts for your brand. Remember my friend there is nothing called a “Free Lunch” in this world. Good things always come for a price.

While getting a logo designed for your brand you shall always have to keep in mind that a logo is the face of your brand and it should lure your customers to your company rather than driving them off.

So here I come out with a list of 6 mistakes that most businesses do while getting their logo designed. I will also outline ways to avoid making those fatal mistakes.

1.  Getting your cousin design your LOGO.

Say you are starting your own business and your second cousin is just out of graphic design school. You have low budget for your logo. What would be better than getting your cousin design the logo for your new startup!

I am sure a brand new logo designer will not have the exposure to create a great logo design. He or she will tend to use drop shadow, bevel, emboss effects to make the logo look great to him without understand the facts that such things will not reflect well in print or fax.

So, I would urge you to go for professional help to get your professional brand identity. A few dollars will not hurt your pocket but will give you enough leverage in winning the credibility of your clients.

2. Keep your logo design simple and clutter free.

Drop shadow, bevel, emboss, fancy cursive fonts, colour effects! All these sound very tempting to let go BUT just think who has the time to figure out your brand name from all these eye dazzling design effects?

Well if lot of frill is what you got in your logo design then my friend I would strongly suggest you rethink.

Logo design should be bold, clutter free and simple. If you follow these three golden rules then rest assured that your logo will definitely make a lasting impression in the minds of your customers and they will tend to remember it.

3. Always get your logo designed with vector graphics.

Remember to always get your logo designed with vector graphics or using vector graphics. Avoid bitmaps at all costs. If you do not know what vector graphics is then let me tell you that that in layman’s terms vector graphics is such a format which can be blown up in size or reduced without compromising its quality.

Always remember that you might need to print your logo in a variety of materials like promotional t-shirt, a coffee mug that you might gift your employees as Christmas gift or a fax that you might be sending out to a client. A logo might even be needed to be blow up into a huge hoarding that will adorn the freeway. Requirements could be myriad. So avoid bitmaps which will surely become hazy and grainy when blown up to a huge size. So vector graphics is the way to go for your logo design.

4. Choosing your logo designer

When you have to choose a logo designer, remember to choose a person with credentials. In this way you can safeguard yourself of a professional logo. Any seasoned logo designer will keep the nature of your business in mind and follow the conventions of designing a logo. He will also come up with a theme colour scheme for your logo or brand keeping in mind your customers or target audience. Also try to choose a logo designer who has previously worked for businesses close to the nature of your business. Considering the nature of your business is very important while designing a logo!

5. Logo design with clipart of stock photo

If your logo designer is using clipart or any kind of third party stock photo or vector image then be very sure that he has the licence of using that image or graphic. It is very important that you do not violate copyright laws. Intellectual property rights are now taken very seriously by the law. You might go undetected in the beginning but if at any point of time you are caught then it could really be a very expensive proposition for you and your company. So it’s better have all licences for the materials that you might be using.

6. Non conventional logo design!

If you think you will make your logo stand apart then let me tell you that logo design is not the proper domain to show creativity. It’s better to stick to conventions in logo design. Nobody has got time to stare and think what your logo means. They will just move on. So in your best interest it will be advisable not to challenge the intellect of your customer or visitor and its best to make an impression at the first possible opportunity.

So to summarise, I would like to say that the more new your business is you need to make your logo look so credible so that you can stand out amongst your competitors and prove the worth of your business. Happy logo hunt!

So now that you have won your logo design contest what comes next is preparing the deliverables for the contest holder which you will need to upload to the website. Here a very helpful tip that we can give you is that if you want the contest holder to give you future work, and most cases we see it happen, then you need to please him with your professionalism. Sending him great deliverables could really be your first step in winning your next graphic design project.

All said and done let us get into the details of planning your deliverables folder. Well now that the battle is won and you emerge victorious still its only a journey half done until you get the client to say the real “wow” in your favour.

Here we outline the tricks and techniques that will help you do it. We would say that as a logo designer or a graphic designer it is your responsibility to get across the proper files to your contest holder even if he has not asked for it.

What file formats should you offer?

Offering a wide range of file formats will make your contest holder very satisfied. This is because in a few days the contest holder might require to publish his logo on his brochure, his business card, might require to show it on television and even blow it up and put it up on a hoarding on the freeway.

You might also consider offering him a favicon which we find many websites do without but we wonder how they do without it.

Let us study the file formats one by one :

EPS : The EPS file format stands for Encapsulated PostScript file. It is a vector format file which you should offer as a deliverable first and foremost as a graphic designer. This file will be required by the contest holder if he needs to blow up his logo to a bigger size without compromising the quality of the logo.

An EPS file can also be imported into a large number of graphic design software programs so you can see that its pretty much a standard format in the graphic design world. So remember to offer this graphic format along with your deliverables.

AI / PSD : AI stands for Adobe Illustrator file and PSD stands for PhotoShop Document. The PSD file preserves all the layers which you created while making the logo or graphic design.

These are also vector formats and if required the client can produce high quality prints from it.

JPG and GIF : These formats are raster formats and not vector ones. This means that they can not be scaled without compromising on the quality of the graphic. So one might ask why is it necessary to provide these formats. The reason being, every contest holder might not have immense knowledge about graphic designing and they might not know how to convert a EPS or a PSD into web publishable formats like GIF and JPGs. So it would be wise to give them a fair quality GIF or JPG of their design so that they can publish the same without needing intervention from another designer.

TIFF : The acronym TIFF stands for Tagged Image File Format. A TIFF is much better in clarity than a GIF or a JPEG and it is also more or less universal in the graphic world. A TIFF generally has a very large size though so it might be difficult to send across. But if you can then there is no harm sending it over. They are generally made at 300dpi so they are suitable for attaching to word document of for printing on letterheads etc.

What colour schemes should you offer?

Full Colour : This is a no brainer. You should provide the contest holder with full colour CMYK which he would be needing for print. You should also provide full colour RGB files for publishing on the web. If you give them the CMYK format that will save then the hassle of seeing strange and unexpected colours when they print the designs.

Black and Reversed Logos : The best way to please the buyer is to offer a logo in reversed colour. So consider doing a logo in black (monochrome) and reversed colour too. Here, please take note, that we are talking about two formats black and reversed so do not misunderstand black as reversed or vice versa. Our experience says that offering these formats makes the buyer very happy in most cases.

Favicon – last but not the least

The word favicon is short form for favourites icon. It is also known as website icon, shortcut icon, url icon or bookmark icon. It is the small graphical shape that appears on the left hand side of the address bar right before the url. It is not very hard to create but adds a dimension to the website in terms of its professionalism. Most designers do not do this as a part of the deliverable but if done then it will set you apart from other designers make your services sought for.

We at ShopForDesigns have thousands of talented designers on board but there are some who are just beginning their career and are straight out of college. They do not have so much experience in the field of designing. Logo design is one of the toughest arena in the designing world. While designing a logo you have to know where to stop. Designers generally learn from their mistakes but to save you some time and to make you learn from others’ mistakes we have compiled a list of 10 tips that might help you in a big way.

1. A logo doesn’t need to say what a company does
It is not always a good idea to put tools of the trade you are depicting into your logo. Meaning :
Don’t show a plate or food in hotel logos, doctor’s logo or a hospital logo does not necessarily need to show a stethoscope or a red cross. Just because it’s relevant, doesn’t mean you can’t do better.

Nike logo does not show a shoe neither the Mercedes logo shows a car.

2. Not every logo needs to be an artistic marvel. Simplicity speaks a lot.
Its not always true that a logo has to be an artistic marvel. Sometimes all the client needs is their logo to make a statement and identify their business. So its best to talk to your client and ask them what exactly they are looking for.

3. Two-way process
Sometimes a client may disagree with your ideas and might not like the logo you made for them at all or may reject the direction in which you are aiming. They might go as far as requesting diametrically opposite. First, give them what they want and thereafter show them what you think would work out to be a better idea. If you idea has food for thought then is highly probable they will like it and take it up. This is passive persuasion. They will definitely come back to you when they need any artwork in future knowing the potential you have.

4. Use sketches wherever possible
Sometimes a little sketch can work wonders in a logo. For a change try using a sketch and see if it goes with the theme of the company you are making the logo for. Line drawing can also be considered.

5. Under-promise, over-deliver
This applies for all kinds of design work and not just a logo design. Try to ask for more days and then deliver before time. Never ask for little time and then take more time under some plea. Its always better to ask for some more time. Design projects are like artistic work, you never know how your thought process will work.

6. Don’t be afraid to be non-conventional
Don’t blindly follow what others are doing. Stand out. Don’t be afraid to go out of the lot. If you go beyond the normal tastefully then surely your creativity will be appreciated.

7. Try out black initially
Best is to make our design in black first. If your logo looks good in black then it will definitely look good in good colours. Conversely a poorly designed logo will never stand out even if beautiful colours or gradients come to its rescue.

8. Keep in mind the mood
Designing a logo for a hospital? Forget funny approach. Be serious and try to represent wellness with colour and shape. In other words try to be appropriate and try to keep with the mood of the organization or individual. Designing for a kids school would definitely involve a lot of colours and shapes like cartoons.

9. Make it scalable
While designing a logo keep in mind that it might be printed on an envelope or a hoarding. So it should be scalable. It should be recognizable in any background or any colour. Though a logo has a particular colour but experience says that you sometimes might need to print it in grayscale or various backgrounds. So keep that in mind while designing a logo. Also remember that your logo should even be able to scale down to half an inch without total loss of detail. Look at giants like FedEx, Nike, Reebok. Their logos are simple and hence recognizable!

10. One thing to remember
Do not make a jam packed logo. Make it simple. Simple things make a long lasting impression.  Give people one thing to remember in your logo design work.

Just One.