My Geek Notes

My greatest passion in the design industry is identity design. I hope someday to be able to say that I have designed a logo that reaches the echelons of a NIKE or Target. A lot of that depends on our clients, their product and or service and their commitment to the branding process and the costs associated with it. Several years ago the industry publication @Issue created a spread showing small portions of some of America’s greatest identities. I have posted a few of them to the left. How many are you able to recognize just by seeing a portion of the logo? Most people do fairly well. (I will post the answers to the Identity Quiz a little later, check back soon.) These timeless identities are a tribute to the designers who created the identities and the companies who have built the brands they represent. I have had the chance to develop a fair amount of logos and I would share my thoughts on the company’s acronym for successful identity development - S.U.S.S.A.. Our company has been developing logos for over ten years and this acronym represents the time-tested elements every successful identity should include.

S - simple.
The logos to the left epitomize this key ingredient. New tools in the industry and the ability to have easy access to full color printing processes have created a desire industry wide to push the envelope of identity design which has led to the proliferation of complex, filter enhanced, logos that rely too heavily on detail, color or complexity. A successful identity should communicate well in it’s simplest form: black and white. it should also be scalable meaning it should reproduce well at any size - big or small. I have seen far too many logos of late that could never be reproduced small, let alone screen printed or embroidered. It is the designers responsibility to have some forethought on behalf of their client and not design them into a corner. It is for that reason that we present our inital concepts to the client in black and white so they can see the logo in it’s simplest form and not cast judgement based on color or other embellishments.

U - unique.
How often have you seen a new logo or created one yourself and had someone say, ‘that looks awfully familiar’. As the industry continues to saturate, the hope of creating something completely unique continues to dwindle. with that said, we apply the principle of uniqueness in regards to the design process. A successful identity should have elements that sets it apart from anything else the target audience may have seen or experienced and create a memorable experience for the viewer. There is no greater compliment to an identity than to see complete strangers taking notice of it. The uniqueness of a logo can take many forms; The mark itself, the logotype, an element of interaction or discovery for the viewer, shock and awe or just a clever visual relationship or metaphor.

S - Stand Alone.
I am a pretty strong believer that logos were created because man was never meant to read. Pictographs were the original means of communication. Pictures can say so much more than words. Logos are the purest form of that principle in that we are striving to say the most - with the least. The most successful logos are created in a way that the mark can stand alone as a perfect tool of communication without the need for explanation or additional branding. NIKE of course is the preeminent example. The swoosh has come to represent their brand in such a way that they no longer need any explanation or company title. That is success.

S - Strong.
Strength in a logo can be interpreted in many different ways and it does not always equate back to the physical dimensions or design of the logo. Strength to me means it has the characteristics required of it to stand the test of time for any given client. In school we were taught that a successful logo is one that survives without modification for at least five years. Industry experience has taught me that most clients do not have that much patience. They will be looking for something to tweak as soon as sales begin to stagnate and often times will want to reinvent themselves way too soon. Not enough can be said about equity in an identity. Even the worst designed logo in the world has a certain amount of equity to the consumer if they have seen it consistently over time. A strong logo will stand the test of time and our ability to deliver strong and timeless solutions to our clients will insure their equity is not in jeopardy.

A - Applicable.
We used to use the A to represent ‘Available’ meaning our clients should be looking for company names that were available and also had available URLs associated with them. We are getting to the point that if you have not wrapped up the URL by now you are probably too late so I have been using the A to remind our clients that the logo should not only represent their company and be applicable to the industry. They should have an intimate connection to it. I have found this is best achieved when the client feels connected to the design process and feels that their input is being well received and implemented. When a client has a good experience in the process and is connected and engaged they are much more likely to come out of the process having had a positive experience and wanting to implement and use the identity we have guided them to choose. This only serves to strengthen everything we have mentioned above.