Making Your Mark (Logo Design)

Your mark is the visual representation that encompasses all that you are (your company is) about, what service or product you provide, and the value that you bring to the table – all wrapped up in one magnificent reductive image that holds unique elegance, boldness, and power – a symbol that will quickly and clearly tell a simplified and memorable version of your complex story. With a glance, all who lay eyes on it will take in its immediate meaning without so much more time taken to take in a breath, and that complex story will unfold in their mind’s eye. If fortune is upon you, and you find the one who can craft it successfully, it will captivate your audience enough to bring it to mind in their time of want or need. This carefully crafted symbol will lay dormant in the subconscious until called upon and will subsequently come forth without effort to once again reunite the two of you.

In a time when auto-generated logos are readily available, many are led to believe that creating a logo is as easy as picking an icon and adding color. Designing a logo is much more complex than many are led to believe. Logos, after all, show the big picture in an itty-bitty one. I have written about how color, typeface, letters, words, and pictures, can tell complex stories. Imagine trying to create a symbol from scratch to accomplish that! There is quite a process that comes with it that is very necessary. When I was in school, we were taught to brainstorm words and sketch images of our concepts when designing logos. We would spend days, often up to a week, brainstorming ideas at which end our professor would help us choose one concept over others and encourage us to move forward. This was deemed satisfactory until I started freelancing and I realized that the business of developing a business’ brand was serious business indeed. There needed to be a more in-depth business-related strategy involved. Research and development are as essential in the development of a logo as creating new tech. We need to know our client, their business, business goals, intended audience, and competitors to successfully provide a brand that will stand out from the rest and leave a lasting impression especially when these businesses don’t have substantial funding to build their brand reputation via advertising. So how do you start?

1. Understand typography, color theory, composition, reductive drawing, and use critical thinking.
2. Research your client.
   • Go to their website
   • Google them
   • Research their branding system, and review their style guides.
3. Meet with your client.
   • Who is their intended audience?
   • What is their message?
   • Who is their competition?
   • What is their goal?
   • Yes, ask what colors they like and hate, and which logos they like and hate. Keep these in mind. As the designer, you know color theory and will have typeface recommendations and design options but if they clash with the client’s preferences, it may be a good idea to pivot – if not just a little bit.
4. Research the competition’s branding system.
   • Check competitor logos and look for commonalities, stay away from what everyone else is doing and what is radical – way out there. Look for an empty space (the blue ocean) where you can create a unique logo that will stand out from the rest of the competition.
   • Look at their branding system.
   • When looking at successful business logos, keep in mind that companies like Nike and Apple have strong brand recognition because they have invested a substantial amount of money to build their brand reputation. Without the goliath advertising efforts, do you think people would have recognized the Apple icon as a representation of a technology company and Nike to be a sportswear company?
5. Brainstorm words that describe the company – what they do, what they are, what they represent.
   • Choose a few and brainstorm words that describe each one
6. Brainstorm “what” these words look like or could connect to, animals, trees, objects, people – 20 sketches, nothing too detailed, performed under 20 seconds each.
7. Design in black and white. Check for negative space between icons and typography.
8. Define colors.
9. Check scalability. Will the logo be legible on a business card, pen, bus, or television?
10. Ask for input. I find that getting input is invaluable. Choose people you know that fit the intended audience and have a critical eye. Ask mentors and other designers. Remember, you don’t know what you don’t know, meaning, be humble and be open to learning, no matter how much education, training, or experience you may have, you will never know everything.

Remember, it is our purpose to create graphic design where art and design come together to bring clarity to visual chaos, not the other way around. We need to create graphic design that provides clarity, promotes calm, and evokes positive emotion that moves people into a subconscious understanding or action without literally stating it. Do your due diligence in creating a logo that will stand out from the rest, give a lasting impression, and build brand equity, no matter the size of the business. Do your best work with everyone you do work for – as if it were for your own business, make your mark in this creative world as you make theirs in the business world.

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And remember, express yourself in any way that brings you joy and relief and share it with the world. You don’t owe it to anyone but yourself. Stay happy, healthy, safe, and happy graphics, my friend.

Graphic Design (verb): the ultimate trust enhancers, content simplifiers and organizers, efficient and effective information communicators, emotion evokers, and cognition captivators.