Logo design is one of the hardest things we do as designers. Don’t get me wrong—it’s fun to work on the same little puzzle for days on end and then do 30 rounds of revisions until you have met the marketing objectives, figured out the client’s personal tastes, and created something you are proud of.
It doesn’t always work, but when it does, it can make all the difference in the world to your client. For better or for worse, logos stick around for a long time. (One of my worst logo memories haunts me every time I see it—plastered all over the back roads of United States—more than 10 years after we created it! The Hunts brothers Pizza guy can be seen at every rural gas station and convenience store in the country. You may know it as the pizza guy who looks like Saddam Hussein.) I love hearing the conspiracy theories about this infamous logo... some people actually think this is a business that was founded by the Bath Party as a money-laundering scheme to buy weapons and support terrorism! In reality, the client just kept tinkering with the art until we gave up and said “have it your way!”
The logo is everywhere. If I made a penny for every time it is used, I’d be hanging out with Bill Gates.
Logo creation is about 50 things at once: it’s creating a visual icon—a reminder of what the brand is, why it is special. it’s about making sure the logo gets noticed, reads clearly at a glance, is memorable, and communicates effectively. You must make sure it is easy to reproduce in all sizes and media. For the next few months, we will post a few examples of logos & brand identities that are particularly interesting.
