We were recently commissioned by a client to create a new logo for their business. Our graphic team created several initial designs and then we put our heads together to see which ones we felt were the most suitable to present to the client.
One design was head and shoulders above the rest. Clear, crisp, simple and quite striking. Confident that he would like it, we sent it off.
To our amazement, he came back and said it was too simple and attached a faxed sketch showing what he had in mind. His concept was complex, very detailed, very colourful and yes, while it did reflect some elements of his industry, it looked like a child’s drawing rather than a logo.
It was nothing like we had imagined from our initial briefing so we did as he asked and created it. He’s happy. And I guess at the end of the day, it’s his money, his business and his logo.
From our perspective the logo wasn’t one we felt would show his business in a professional manner. Certainly not one that the top end of town would see as representing a professional organisation.
To us, that matters and that’s what prompted the question, what is a logo?
Not necessarily being the ultimate authority, I asked Google with the search string define: logo.
I particularly liked this definition from RianDesign.com
Logo Design
What is a logo and why is it so important?A logo is the mark that visually represents a company or organization, this forms the foundation of the corporate identity. It is a name, symbol, emblem or other graphic that is designed for easy and definitive recognition by a targeted market.
A company logo is the way that the world sees your company. People are very responsive to identifying logos and their meaning. With this said, it is very important to the success of the company that the logo is well thought out and reflects the image of the brand.
A solid logo is a simple and direct way to represent and describe your company. The most successful companies have an established identity consisting of a strong logo. A strong logo will create an increase in visibility and will result in sales.
I decided to find out which logos are the most recognised. Some few minutes of search about well recognised logos resulted in a list of 20. See how many of them you can picture:
- Apple
- Audi
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation
- Coca-Cola
- ebay
- FedEx
- Ferrari
- Ford
- Lego
- McDonald’s Golden Arches
- Mercedes Benz
- Nike
- Nine Network
- Shell
- The Olympic Rings
- Virgin
- Volkswagen
- Westpac
How many did you see? Please tell us by submitting your comments below.
Summary:
Consider the commonality most of these logos have. Simplicity. And from a graphic design perspective, simplicity is complex. It takes time, thought and energy.
