Today’s JP Quick Tip is straight from George Lois, American art director, designer and author – most famously recognized for over 92 Esquire covers he designed from 1962 to 1972.
For the past few weeks, Lois’ book, Damn Good Advice, has been passed around the creative team and read sporadically out loud when someone comes across a particularly great piece of advice. Our JP Quick Tip for logo design was stumbled upon earlier this week:
“Most designers forget that their work must talk to human beings.”
Some designers get so caught up in the artistry of the work, creating something groundbreaking, obscure and unique, they forget that it has to resonate and communicate the message with the target. Your logo is what you want customers to remember, what they will recognize you for. You must give your logo life.
What is your product?
What do you want your customers to know about this product?
What feeling do you want them to have?
Is it quickly recognizable?
Does it help you stand out in your market? (i.e., not look like your competition)
All of these questions and many more, will help you formulate the look of the brand to create the best logo possible. Keep it simple and easily readable, but give it meaning and a distinctive personality. When creating a logo, it is key that your brand’s essential message and persona can be communicated with a momentary glance.
Here are a few logos we’ve developed that we feel achieve just that:
JP Graphic Designer Bryan Pickens’ advice for logo development is to sketch until you have 50 ideas, then sketch another 50 more. Only after this state should you turn on the computer to refine your concepts.
So, today’s JP Quick Tip is less of a quick tip, but more of some straightforward advice to take into consideration when designing (or choosing the design) of your logo.
We will leave you with a few more words of wisdom from George Lois, the original Mad Man:
“If you can’t get meaning into your design, there is no meaning to your work.”
By Anna Gonzalez
Find her on Google
Photo Credit: http://www.georgelois.com/
