IlikeLogos.com Blog

Corporate identity works almost in a subliminal way.  It can be associated with a specific set of values, a geographical location, an era… even a moment in life.

I’m as old-fashioned as they come.  Every time I watch Denis Leary’s stand-up comedy, I can’t help but to feel identified whenever he talks about simple things such as coffee-flavored coffee or Dunkin’ Donuts.  Some images are iconic to me, they define a moment or a place or even a feeling in my life.  These images became part of my routine and gave me solace and a couple of anecdotes.

That’s why I hate poor corporate identity makeovers.  They scrape off the good stuff.

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Logotypes are Zen to me.  How to use a minimum of tools (font, composition, wording) in order to convey a Logo Design?

Coca-Cola is one of those examples.  Its design is easily identifiable.  Even though the Coke symbol’s been translated to different languages, you can spot it easily.  And one of the most amazing things is that it’s nothing but a clever use of calligraphic fonts.

There are tutorials out there to create certain effects or to follow certain kind of design fad.  But it takes expertise and talent to make something memorable with nothing but words.  We writers make a living out of them, but good designers make them alive.

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Some of our designers have been drawing ever since they were kids.  They would copy logo designs of sports teams and even create their own.  Some of them studied arts, design and other careers that implied an aesthetic taste and the development of various techniques.

These guys are amazing on their craft, but there’s one tiny little problem:

Due to the volume of work and the constant nagging of other departments, these guys cannot afford to spend more than an hour discussing a project with a customer.

That’s almost like driving a F1 car blindfolded.

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I was struggling against writer’s block before writing this very first line.  Writing about logos and design is satisfying and every time I post something new I learn something new (or, at least, I make sure I do).

But today is one of those days on which the creative juices are rather evaporating away from my body. The only thing that kept me awake through this ordeal was the sound of my eyes sizzling due to the radiation emanating from my computer’s screen.  Crunchy eyes are not exactly the sign of great blog posting

And then, I saw some amazing designs and it hit me:  Of course! Textures!

I slapped my forehead so hard everyone turned around to see me.

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Your corporate identity is both an indicator and a bridge.  Allow me to explain.

If you want to know how’s a company doing, check its corporate identity.  If it is as crisp and consistent as it can be, then you know they have the funds, the time, the team and the time to invest on their own.

If changes, however, lessen the value of the company or look like patches on a quilt, then you know there’s something quite fishy going on.

Arbitrary?  Subjective?  Could be.  But bear in mind that this is a business that is based on perception.

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Aside of EXTREMELY CLEVER marketing, I don’t understand how on earth the Dolce & Gabanna logo design became so popular.  Craved by many, copied by the dozen… care to tell me what’s the big deal about it?

It’s not as luscious as the Yves St. Laurent logo nor as refreshingly simple as the Armani logotype.  It conveys nothing and it looks bland, like a blatant ripoff of Chanel’s anagram.

In my opinion, it is a bland logo… but, damn… you can’t help but associating it to this nouveau-riche opulence that characterizes certain celebrities and artists.  Tacky, yet expensive.

You know that logo’s worth gold and praise.  How much are you willing to sacrifice in order to get such fame and power?

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If you want to design an astounding logo, nothing will replace Photoshop or Corel or all those hyper-expensive tools we use to make you happy and give you nothing but awesome logo after logo.

Then again, nothing can replace creativity, research and constant exchange of ideas with your customers.  That’s why I want to share some of my personal favorite freeware design tools.  You can use them to sketch your logo concepts or to perform very specific tasks.

Heck… sometimes, for the challenge of it, some of our designers use these for their own projects!

So, here’s a list of my favorite freeware logo design tools.  Don’t forget to check their websites out and donate if you can.

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“Your Logo for Free!” sounds like a tempting premise, doesn’t it?  Yes: a quick and easy way to get your logo done.  It’s as simple as choosing a template, some pre-fab vector designs, swap colors all over it and PRESTO! A logo is born…

… A HIDEOUS abomination, a deffective clone, unable to find a place amongst other logos.  “Your Logo For Free”… what an irony.

If we were to give away logos like that (let’s not think about copyright… let’s just focus on the originality of it… you know, to spare each other from a headache), do you think there would be a business focused on the creation of logos in the first place?

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If your logo is so ugly its reflection on a mirror ducks, you should probably re-think its design.  There’s no other way around.  However, there are some situations on which you might have the prettiest logo ever, but it’s not the most functional in terms of reproduction and resizing.  That’s a rare situation, but it happens.

It’s amazing to see how people’s egos are bigger than their need to promote their products.  There’s always a self-appointed designer that wants to cut some corners and thinks it’s possible to make a logo on PowerPoint.  Sadly, the results are hideous.

You need to change your logo when it no longer serves its purpose: to identify properly your company, its products and services.

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Logo designs are powerful tools of expression.  Creating brand awareness relies on how much of an impact these logotypes might have.

Yet, somewhere along the line, people completely forgot some basics about colors and ignored whatever technology and designers achieved in the last years.  It’s amazing to see how… um… liberal the use of colors became.  While some results are interesting, most of them look flimsy and amateur-like.  There’s got to be a method to this madness.

So here we’ll briefly discuss color, so we all can catch up.

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