I just came across a humorous illustration on Freelanceswitch showing how funny a client’s request could be. I am sure, very often designers come across these kinds of requests.
Here is the illustration:
These days it’s been a dilemma for designers whether to proceed with this kind of requests or not but in my personal opinion, IT SHOULD NOT! This kind of requests are termed as SPEC Work, it is the work produced on speculative basis.
One of a fellow designer Jacob Cass has nicely articulated this in a real life example:
“I went for a dental check-up yesterday. After the dentist inspected my teeth, she suggested some work to prevent further tooth decay. I told her to go ahead, and if the dental work was satisfactory, I’d be more than happy to pay. She responded that she wouldn’t be able to do that, because she normally provides a service when a fee is agreed upon up-front. I said I’d let her know after I checked in with other local dentists.”
I think the above example clears the picture very much why clients shouldn’t come to the designer without paying him/her for the time he/she spends on their project. When a designer is assigned a job, he puts his time and efforts to it which should be compensated in return. It is always a good practice to decide the cost beforehand and get some initial payment (unless you have a very good trust on the client).
I am here to discuss the re-designing of a company’s exiting logo which was designed years back when the company started. I am here to talk about evolution of “LOGO DESIGN” with the new trends. First and foremost, the logo is a very important part of company’s identity (I am not going to dig into the logo design importance in this article; rather I want to focus on the idea of re-designing of a company’s old logo).
Imagine, a company started more than 4 decades ago with a mission to deliver packages from one place to another in a fancy box tied with strings around it and they showed the same idea in their logo design to clearly represent about what they do. You probably have gotten the idea about the company I am talking about. Yes, I am talking about UPS. Its old logo was designed by Paul Rand back in 1961. It was the time when they used strings to tie the box. But, now when the packaging style is totally changed, no strings are used to tie the package, and most of all UPS expanded its services. Now UPS doesn’t only deliver packages, but it deals in other global transportation services, business solutions to ship your product right at the customer’s doorstep, and other related services. Therefore, they needed a new logo which not only focuses on ONE idea but rather cater to wide range of services offered by the company and to appeal to mindset of the info-tech generation.
Other few examples can be Kodak, Lucent Technologies, AT&T, and AIWA.
Its simple! You can evaluate yourself if your company logo needs a fresher look by checking the points below:
1- Does your logo stand well with the current trend?
2- Does your logo still show the company’s trait or extended services?
3- Does your logo really stand-out in when put among other competitors’ logo?
4- Does your logo make a good impression when used in electronic mediums (eg. TV commercial, website etc.)
The idea seems like an easy question. A logo is a mark on the top of a mobile phone, the bottom of a TV screen, or side of a letterhead. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. The word “logo” has multiple meanings, and to make the subject more composite, different words are used to describe the things we call a logo.
The symbol is the iconic portion of a logo: The Mercedes symbol, the Merrill Lynch bull, and the AT&T’s globe. At times the logo mark/symbol may exists without the logotype, examples being the Nike swoosh, Apple’s apple, and the Polo Ralph Lauren’s guy.
Advantages:
The benefit of utilizing a symbol alone follows the idea that “a picture is worth a thousand words”. The guy symbol is easier to recognize on an object such as a t-shirt or hat, than the name Polo Ralph Lauren.
Disadvantages:
If the symbol is separate from the logotype and the mark doesn’t have equity it may be difficult to recognize.
A logotype uses the company name with custom letterforms such as Microsoft, Hertz, and Yahoo.
Advantages:
The proliferation of logos in the world has made recognition of symbols very difficult. Using the entire name bypasses the problem of recognition. When asked if the Microsoft logo belongs to Microsoft, most people would agree that it does. When asked who owned the Lion logo, people may confuse it with the car company Peugeot or MGM.
Disadvantages:
If not handled skillfully, a logotype alone may be generic and lack recognition value.
A design of one or more letters, usually the initials of a name, used to identify a company, product, person, object, or an idea.
Advantages:
The monogram solves recognition and legibility issues. It’s easier to fit IBM on a one-quarter page newspaper ad than using International Business Machines.
Disadvantages:
Monograms are often masquerading as logos. Generic initials, treated in clever ways may look better on towels or glasses than on a corporate business card. If not designed creatively initials woven together have very little meaning. Most monogramatic logos depend on large-scale audience contact and repeated viewing for recognition.
The Identity is a combination of logo, typeface, colors, imagery, and editorial tone work together which forms a unique and cohesive message for a company, person, product, or idea.
The Logo Designing started back in 19th century, when industrial manufactured products became more important than the handmade products. The industrial products were developed in a high volume and in less time. Many competitors arrived from time to time offering the same kind of product, from where the problem arose of differentiating the products from the series of products manufactured by different industries. Then the manufacturers started to include a symbol or an emblem with their products so that their product can be easily recognized. (more…)
