Design Reviver » logo design

Marvelous Logo Redesigns and Inspiration

speckyboy — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:28:41 +0000

In today’s news round-up we take a refreshing look at quite possibly the most difficult and challenging aspect of graphic design, which is logo design. We have some inspirational posts and some highly educational logo redesign round-ups which should stimulate all of your creative minds and inspire you in your next logo design project.

Fresh Creative Logo Inspiration

speckyboy — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:33:20 +0000

In today’s news round-up we have a collected a selection of articles that focus on logo inspiration. From the collection below there are well over 150 logos, covering many different styles (ambigrams, music, business…) and all have one thing in command: They are all creative and inspirational.

35 Creative Ambigram Logo Inspiration

30+ Music Inspired Logos

30 Fresh And New Logo Designs

Creative Logo Design Ideas for Companies

45+ Creative Logo Designed With Text

By Paul Andrew (Speckyboyand speckyboy@twitter).

5 Simple yet Effective Fresh Vector Tutorials

speckyboy — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:45:02 +0000

Vector art doesn't have to be difficult or even time consuming, quite often you will find that the simplest of designs and ideas will make the biggest impression.
The tutorials below show that with a little learning and a smidge of creativity you can create simple yet impressive vector art in a no time at all.

Create a Fun Vector Frog Logo in Illustrator

This tutorial will make extensive use of the Pen Tool (P) and Pathfinder tool box to create and combine a few simple shapes into a cool frog.
Create a Fun Vector Frog Logo in Illustrator

Make a Vector Car from Photo in Illustrator

In this tutorial you will be shown the basic techniques and some tips for making vector objects using the pen tool in Illustrator.
Make a Vector Car from Photo in Illustrator

Create a Candy Inspired Vector Snowboard Design

Learn how to put together a candy inspired design in Illustrator by cutting, splitting and joining vector paths to produce an intricate weave of shapes. You’ll then add some finishing touches with subtle shading and a cool striped overlay to add depth to the design. The final concept will then be ready to be mocked up as a custom snowboard design.
Create a Candy Inspired Vector Snowboard Design

Create a Stylized, Vector Rubik’s Cube

This tutorial takes you through every detail of the final illustration, which will teach you some new techniques and introduce you to some new Illustrator tools.
Create a Stylized, Vector Rubik’s Cube

Create Vector Twitter Bird in 5 Steps

By Paul Andrew (Speckyboy and speckyboy@twitter).

Fresh Font Collections for Designers

speckyboy — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:51:46 +0000

Choosing the perfect font can be one of the most difficult aspects of design. You will probably use one font for the logo, another for the headings and yet another for the content. And on top of that each design you create will have its own character and the font you choose will need to compliment it. Just how do you find that perfect font for that particular design?

For today’s news round-up we have collected the best and the freshest font collections to expand your font libraries and help you choose that perfect font.

30 Free Fonts Ideal for Business Logos

30 Free Fonts Ideal for Business Logos »

20 Fonts Ideal for Big and Powerful Headings

20 Fonts Ideal for Big and Powerful Headings »

7 Free Grunge Fonts That Rock

7 Free Grunge Fonts That Rock »

20 Fonts Ideal For The iPhone And Other Mobile Screens

20 Fonts Ideal For The iPhone And Other Mobile Screens »

A Roundup of 45 Industrial Free Fonts

A Roundup of 45 Industrial Free Fonts »

The 30 Most Creative and Unusual Fonts

The 30 Most Creative and Unusual Fonts »

By Paul Andrew (Speckyboy and speckyboy@twitter).

14 Questions To Ask Your Clients Before and After a Project

Joel Reyes — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:28:47 +0000

Getting to know your client is an important part of determining if you’re a right fit for the project. Not only that, but you should always ask questions before-hand to compile information that you will later use to accurately design a website or logo for them. If you quote a client for a project without knowing what it truly entails, then you’re setting yourself up for the possibility of loosing valuable time and money.

Now we know that asking questions before you begin a project is vital, but what about after you’ve completed a project? Although this may seem somewhat insignificant it’s actually an important step to finalizing the completion and delivery of your project. Below you will find various questions that you can ask your client, even though you may not use every single question, make sure you select the ones you believe both you and your client will benefit the most from.

Questions to Ask Before You Begin a Project
Generally these questions are asked before you begin a project, however, you can also ask some of these mid-way through your project as well. Analyze your clients answers and get to work with the information you’ve put together.

1. What Kind of Business Does Your Company Run?

This is an important question because it’s the first step towards getting to know your customer’s business structure. It will help you assess the company’s needs in terms of relative design, and it is also a gateway for strategic brainstorming.

2. What is Your Company’s Reputation?

For an online presence especially, reputation is everything. You want to design a site or logo that reflects the reputation of your clients business. If your clients reputation is having a hard time staying afloat due to negative feedback, then whatever you design for them either has the power to follow the same path, or attract positiveness. Also, does the company have a good reputation for satisfaction, quality, or timely service? These are all elements that affect the design.

3. What is Your Typical Customer Like?

This question will help you get a better idea of what the company comprises of. Is the typical customer foreign to the market your client targets? How does the client interact with its customers? Does the typical customer speak a different language? These questions are vital to the aesthetics and/or usability of your design. If you were designing a logo for example, and your clients typical customer doesn’t speak your clients language, then you would have to make sure the logo is able to communicate effectively on a further level.

4. What Is Your Target Audience?

Different from what the typical customer is like, you must have a deep understanding of what audience your client is currently trying to target. Maybe their trying to steer away from their typical clients and move into a different niche, or your client is looking to redefine and expand their customer base, whether one or the other it doesn’t matter, knowing exactly what audience your client is aiming to target is key to the development and success of your design.

5. Do You Have Any Competitors, if so, How Do You Differ?

Although this may have an obvious answer (if you’ve done a fair amount of research) you should still ask this question to get a feel of what THE Client believes is their competition. More than likely they have a much better idea of who their competing with. Knowing your clients competitors will allow you to rule out any similarities between all of their existent designs. This will help you create a more unique and centric design for your client.

6. How Often Would You Like Me to Update You With Progress?

You don’t want to come off as annoying or dependent of your client for your every move. This question will help you align with your clients wants and update them only when they want to be updated. Excessive updates can easily discourage a client from using your services in the future.

7. How Do You Envision the Finished Project?

If you’re designing a website then it’s important to ask your client what THEY intend to use their website for, and how they envision it will look like. What good would it do if you were to complete a project only to find out it doesn’t do any of the things your client intended for it, or it doesn’t behave the way your client had thought it would?

8. What Method of Payment Do You Use?

If you have no intentions of drawing up a contract before you begin the project, then it would be smart idea to ask your client to elaborate how they plan on paying you for your services. Maybe you only accept PayPal, but your client only pays by check. This could create severe problems if you don’t agree on a method of payment before hand.

Questions to Ask After a Project’s Complete
These questions can be asked right before your deliver your project, or immediately after it’s complete. The purpose of the following questions to make the transition from the beginning of the project to its completion as smooth as possible.

9. How Satisfied Are You With the Results?

This question will help you analyze the quality of your skills and how well you’re able to develop a design based on what your client needs. As you advance in your career, you’ll have plenty of chance to improve your skills, this question will create a chance for you do just that.

1o. Do You Plan on Having Any Revisions and Updates Done to This Project?

Ask this question to avoid frustrations that can easily arise if a client believes they can abuse of you by excessively asking for changes and further revisions free of charge. If your client plans on having you heavily revise and make several changes to a project, then this question will allow you both to agree on a reasonable fee you may collect for additional services.

11. Would it Be Alright for Me to Place a Link to My Portfolio on Your Site?

Usually when a designer completes a web design then they place a small link to their portfolio on their clients site. In no way or shape is your client obligated to agree to let you do this. However, since we know this is a great way for you to get some recognition and reach a wider audience, you should still ask your client if a link to your portfolio may be placed at the bottom or below the footer. Some clients may not allow you to place the link, but they may allow you to place who the site was designed by. (i.e. Site Designed By EXAMPLE)

12. Can I Showcase This Project As an Example In My Portfolio?

Even though this is YOUR design and you have the right to display YOUR work within your portfolio, it’s still common courtesy to ask if you can display your clients project for everyone to see. Some clients may be uneasy with this, however, by asking this question you may avoid headaches caused by your client. If any problems arise, you should inform your client that you have rights to your design because it is still your work, unless otherwise specified.

13. How Well Would You Rate My Services?

Similar to the question asking your client how satisfied they are with the results, this question will allow you to assess and improve the quality of your services. This plays an important role in the succession of your business.

14. Do You Have Any Questions of Your Own?

Sometimes a client may have a few questions, but they may be scared or intimidated to ask you for personal and professional reasons. Whatever reason it may be, you should make your client aware that they can always come to you with any questions they may have. This alone could inspire the client to pursue your services for further projects in the future. Having a trust-worthy relationship between you and your client is one of the most important things you could accomplish.

Got a question about this article? – Ask it here!

Logo Design Tips: Letterspacing & Typefaces

Mason — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:30:03 +0000

Letter spacing is essential in commercial graphic design – if you want to look professional. This article will demonstrate some common letter spacing techniques in the context of logo design and branding.

I have started with Helvetica (a sans-serif font) here because it’s very easy to work with (especially in caps) as all the latters are pretty much the same width, it’s also very bold. There may be times when this wide letterspacing works for you but with a logo you should always try less spacing as a general rule.

Bringing letters closer together helps to turn the word into more of an image. Reducing the spacing has also made the word much stronger – which is great when you are working with brand identity design. The letterspacing reduction above is extreme but sometimes it might need to be. Overall, less letter spacing works best for most logo designs.

[Illustrator: Window / Character] – For changing the letter spacing.

Now we have swapped Helvetica for Bembo to display how a serif font reacts to the same reduced letter spacing. Immediately you are probably drawn to the centre between the O and the G, after this you notice how tiny the L looks when compared with the other letters. This is to do with the weight, width and shape of one letter in relation to the next. In this case we need to look closer at the spacing of each individual letter.

What you are aiming for is an equal space around the main body of each letter. This doesn’t mean that each letter has a 2mm gap to the right, as your serifs (the bits that stick out) effect how we can actually use our space. Notice that the gap between the G and the last O is wider than the other gaps, and yet the letter G is still touching the letter O. It’s about finding the happy medium. I have also increased the line spacing between the L and the first O, by giving the letter more space it has become stronger and balances much better with the rest of the logo.

This typeface is Bickamp Pro – one of the most commonly used fonts, alongside Helvetica and Bembo. Notice that the letters are joined up, this is going to cause us problems when we alter the letter spacing as the letters won’t join up correctly.

With a line space reduction of -50 you can see that all of the joins are out of alignment and although the effect does have quite a nice grungy feel about – it won’t work for one of your more classier clients. So the question is … “How do we change the letter spacing without ruining the typeface”?

My solution is to use a seperate layer for each letter in your logo, all letter spacing from this point on will be done by eye – which is fine. Now that the letters are seperated some of the joins are missing, and some have changed.

This is a rough attempt but you can see that we have eliminated the alignment issue. To take this appraoch further and get exactly the right effect you would need to rasterize the type and turn it into an image – which will be covered in my next tutorial… ‘Type as an Image’

20 Great (and 20 not so great) Logo Redesigns

Chris — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:22:18 +0000

Logos express complex ideas and concepts with simplified illustrations and typefaces that communicate distinctively and effectively. They are one of the most difficult aspects of graphic design for this reason. Some logos are incredibly clever and effective while others are poorly made and fail to communicate.

Lets start with the great:

Jack in the box

The new logo for Jack In The Box is modern, fun, and quirky – just like their mascot (Jack). The brand extensions for the different types of sandwiches they offer are also fun. The only thing off about the new logo is the “in the box” text that just seems to be placed under the image as an afterthought. This project was designed by Duffy & partners.

Pyramid Beer

The redesign of the Pyramid Breweries Logo is simple and distinctive. The new logo places more emphasis on the geometric pyramid symbol. The type in the new logo is also much easier to read. The new simplified logo communicates boldness and distinctiveness. The new logo is also accompanied by several new and bold label designs.

Kentucky fried chicken

KFC has a nice refresh of their logo – The colonel has taken off his suit coat and put on an apron – like he’s ready to serve you. This version of the logo is much friendlier and inviting. The new angled backdrop to the logo also adds a nice dynamic feel and implies quickness – this isn’t a sit down restaurant! The only thing I don’t enjoy about this redesign is the integration of the type into the symbol. It feels like the type should be more of a separate element rather than attempting to integrate it with the illustration.

Detroit lions

While some may not like the logo – It seems like a step in the right direction. The old lions logo seemed flat and boring. The new re-worked illustration has more definition and defines the arms, legs, mane and face.

Sprint

When Sprint merged with Nextel a few years back they underwent massive re-branding campaign. Nextel’s attention getting black and yellow color scheme was merged with The Sprint name. The new symbol is based on sprints signature ‘pin drop’. The switch to a nice sans serif typeface also does wonders for making the logo look modern. This logo really shines when the symbol is set in motion.

UPS

Paul Rand is probably rolling over in his grave over this redesign. UPS decided to re-brand themselves a few years ago (2003 to be exact). The new design feels much more modern and and clean. That being said I could do without the 3d effects. The logo was designed by New York-based FutureBrand.

Chicago Olympic Bid

While I was sad to see the brilliant Chicago torch logo go, the new version of the logo is just as brilliant. The new logo features warm gradients that represent the sunset and cool gradients that represent lake michigan. The star is a design element that is borrowed from the city flag and represents a compass pointing in all directions radiating out to the world. Overall I think this is a great redesign full of rich symbolism.

The Bahamas

After some extensive research I could not find the original Bahamas logo, but the design itself is amazing enough to mention. This identity is fresh, dynamic, fun and colorful – much like a vacation in the Bahamas. Read more about the logo at the Duffy & Partners blog.

Argentina

I was unable to find the previous branding for Argentina. The new logo is part of an evolving and dynamic design system. The ribbons of the logo communicate passion, expressiveness and change. Designed by Guillermo Brea & Associates

Citi

Can you imagine designing a logo in just a few seconds (and 34 years of experience)? Paula Scher did just that in a client meeting with then named Travelers group insurance. The company was re-branding but wanted to maintain their distinctive umbrella symbol. This logo is simple and brilliant in the way it combines a simplified version of an umbrella and simplified type. Designed by Pentagram.

Delta Airlines

More of a realign than a redesign – this new delta logo is sharp! The colors in the new logo are more subdued and the choice of a all caps sans serif typeface makes the logo feel more modern. The new symbol also has a nice dimensional aspect to it without getting into cheesy 3d effects. Designed by Lippincott Mercer.

Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems updated their logo and name back in 2006. With the shortened name and the new simplified ‘bridge’ this logo is much more bold and memorable. Designed by Joe Finocchiaro and Jerry Kuyper.

BP

The BP logo redesign takes a boring, static shield with initials and transforms it into a bright, colorful clean flower. This logo is an attempt to move the company in a completely new direction (or just reflect that in the image). Designed by Landor.

Gatorade

Gatorade is the only part of the Pepsi re-branding scheme that I actually enjoy. I love the new simplified G and lightning bolt. I’m also quite fond of the bulky slab serif font used on their packaging.

Envato

The eden/envato re-brand a logo update is refreshing and simple. I love that they kept some of the elements from the original logo and included them in the leaf. The original logo and named portrayed a sense of springing to life with creativity and this has been carried through to the new design. Designed by Collis Ta’eed.

Best Buy

Best Buy takes a step away from their large, chunky yellow price tag and ultra bold typeface for a more modern, less in your face logo. The new design still features the signature yellow tag – but in a much more subtle way.

Swisscom

The new swisscom logo is dynamic and simple at the same time. The new word mark includes a simple sans serif with curves on the I and the M that reflect the curvature in the mark. This logo really shines when it is set in motion and applied to packaging. Check it out here. Designed by Moving Brands.

NBC

Probably one Americas most well known logos – The NBC peacock logo is iconic. The simplistic and stylized illustration of the peacock with its head reversed out of one of the feathers is brilliant and distinctive.

Burger King

The new Burger king logo takes a dynamic spin on a classic logo. This new design takes some cues from food packaging that features white highlights. The logo retains part of the color scheme and includes a new yellow and blue.

Starbucks

The original Starbucks logo sported a wood cut type illustration of a siren from Greek mythology. Today the current incarnation of the logo is much more streamlined and and memorable.

And now the not so great:

Sierra Mist

The sierra mist design was not great before, but now its just a blurry mess. This is a far to literal interpretation of the brand.

Tropicana

The new Tropicana redesign has been almost universally rejected by designers and the customer base. This redesign was an attempt to make the brand appear simple and down to earth. In the end Tropicana went away from its signature iconic image: the orange with the straw in it – making it difficult for customers to spot the brand at the store.

Wisconsin

The Wisconsin department of tourism decided to undergo a re-branding of their state in order to help attract visitors and display a positive image of the state. First off – the typeface is very strange. I’ve never seen a W or an N quite like that. The text is also warped to show a faux-3d effect. The effect is not taken far enough so it just makes the text look off. The man doing a cartwheel symbol is also cheesy. This logo could have been approached in an entirely different manner and been much more successful. I’m sure there were other more iconic aspects of the state of Wisconsin (cheese???) that could have been incorporated into this logo.

Walmart

Walmart updated their corporate logo last year, transforming its identity from a 70′s looking heavy typeface to a much friendlier sans serif. I’ don’t mind the typeface update, but the orange star burst says nothing. Much like Kraft’s random-swooshy-flower thing – this new symbol for Walmart says nothing. Its too generic and looks like stock art. Walmart was trying to renew their image, but IMO they failed horribly.

Kraft

The Kraft re-branding is wrong in so many ways. It is slightly reminiscent of several non descript-random-swooshy pharmaceutical logos I have seen time and time again. While the original logo may have not been stellar, it was a staple for such a long time that the decision to re-brand seems like it was made on a whim. Perhaps a refresh would have been a better option rather than a complete re-branding. This project was designed by a combined effort of consumers, employees, and Nitro Group.

Mountain Dew

The new ‘MTN DEW’ design is part of the pepsi re-brand. I’m not digging the text-message style rename or the ultra slanted and abstract illustrations on the new can.

Recovery.gov

This isn’t really a redesign at all, but I think this logo misses the mark a bit. The recovery of our economy is a complex process, but this logo could be simplified and unified. The Recovery.gov type gets lost in the detail of the logo. I think the type should be a separate element from the symbol.

London 2012

I have no doubt that hours of thought and hard work went into the design and research of this logo. The result however looks very amateurish and trendy. The shapes that make up the ’2012′ aspect of the logo are almost illegible. The typeface that ‘london’ is set in reflects the edginess of the logo – but is still difficult to read.

Capitol One

Capitol one joins the army of nondescript swooshes in the vast sea of logos. (Look up any medical related logo and watch the swooshes abound!) I’m not sure what the swoosh means or what it does for the logo. The only thing I like about this logo is the addition of the red – it ads some contrast and character.

Xerox

At first glance this logo looked vaguely familiar – distinctive X and a sphere. Looks sort of like the Xbox logo. I much preferred the older ‘pixilated’ version of the logo. It was so much more distinct.

Quark

While the last iteration of the Quark logo was less than original (see the scottish arts council logo, or the bahamas logo) – this new logo is just as generic. Faux bevel and emboss with a shiny metallic effect. Next Please.

AT&T

I like the updated symbol of the ATT logo, but i don’t understand the lighter blue circles within the globe. Looking at all the circles makes me slightly dizzy. I also preferred the all caps typeface from the pervious version of the logo.

Google

I use Google every day for email, search and calendar. While their services are amazing their logo is not. Although it is extremely distinctive (because of popularity of their services) Google’s logo is horrible! Drop shadows, beveling and emboss make this logo horrifying on the eyes. Maybe this is a case where bad design can be successful?

Citroen

The new Citroen logo misses the mark by going the route of an overused metallic 3D graphic effect. The typography looks futuristic and cheesy. I do like the new softer shape of the arrows. Less 3d and a better typeface choice would do this logo good.

Sunkist

The lettering of this new logo has a nice swirly quality to it. I’m also enjoying the nice u-n ligature. While I enjoy the lettering the amount of swirls are completely overwhelming and cause my eye to move around the design way to much.

Fanta

I think the bold type sans the perspective of the previous logo is a step in the right direction but all the other elements in the design make it far to busy.

Toronto Blue jays

Another great classic sports logo has bit the dust. This new logo design misses the mark – removing the maple leaf and the red makes this logo less distinctive and boring.

Dollar General

The original logo was not very eye catching or distinctive and neither is this iteration. I do however like the updated typeface. The containing shape represents a stretched dollar, but I think this gets lost in the details.

The new world trade center memorial foundation logo bland and not memorable. It almost seems to light for such a serious topic. I much preferred the footprint and building mark combination of the previous logo.

By Niki Brown