A few words on Typographic Logo Design

Typographic logos or wordmarks are logos made entirely from type. They suffer from the misconception that they are very quick to throw together and that their design doesn’t require any skill. This is absolutely not the case. A logo designer needs to address questions such as “who is the client” and “who is the target audience.”

While it can seem straightforward to simply use a company or individual’s name on the logo, the typography must be of a high standard or it will look amateurish. Good typography means choosing a suitable typeface (or making a bespoke or proprietary typeface), looking after word spacing and letter spacing. The letterforms should be considered for their shape and legibility. Remember also that a font that may be trendy now can look dated very quickly. Classic typefaces are “classic” for a reason.

An advantage of typographic logos is that the mark is recognizable. There must be hundreds of logos featuring symbols of globes, swooshes and other meaningless shapes but there can be no mistake made when the logo consists of a type treatment of the company name. A disadvantage is that type only logos can look generic if not handled professionally.

Types of Logos

Like other creative processes, logo design also offers limitless creative possibilities. Logo designers can employ from a world of art philosophies, techniques and styles to achieve the desired goal which is to develop a unique identity for a business which also becomes its brand ambassador. That said, it is always better for both logo designers and the company employing the designers to have a clear goals in mind when starting a logo development exercise. To achieve this, one must know about the types of logo designs that can be used independently or combined within one design.

Logo designs are of two basic types:

• Typographic logos
• Symbolic/ Iconic logos

Ascot Investment Advisors obtained this typographical logo for their investment management business.

Typographic Logos

Typographic logos are the most common type of logo designs, since they consist of no-nonsense and to-the-point typography. It's a simple and straightforward way of defining a company. These logos may be simple in their looks, but developing a typographic logotype can often give logo design firms the biggest headaches because they then have to express their client’s message through a smart arrangement of alphabets and typefaces. Extremely intuitive handling of typography along with countless hours of effort is needed to create a readable, memorable and personable mark. In many cases, a typographic logo design is a starting point for the addition of descriptive or symbolic elements.

Symbolic/Iconic Logos

Typographic logos consist of a symbol or icon with the company name typeset alongside which describes the business and its values. Based upon their content, symbolic logos can also be divided into two sub-categories:

• Descriptive logos
• Abstract logos

A descriptive logo for Caribbean Cruises LLC illustrates exactly what the company does.

Descriptive Logos

In simplest terms, a descriptive logo says "Here's what we do." The logos draw a direct correlation between their visual message and company's products and services. Such logos can represent an actual product, demonstrate the business’ area of expertise, and/or define the organization’s cause or mission. It is needless to mention that any symbol used to define the purpose of an organization have to be developed with utmost care so they do not misrepresent their message.

The logo of Mynx Promotions uses an abstract symbol to express its message.

Abstract Logos

In simplest terms, abstract logos are a combination of type and logo which says "Here's what we stand for". These logo designs tend to express their message through loose, figurative elements of design and play off intangible or abstract themes that relate to the company or organization's overall business and/or vision.

Helvetica in Logo Design

Good Logos Are Flexible: Tips to make sure yours is

1. Works well in black, reversed-out and full color

A good logo should be created to work in black, reversed-out (white) and color. Many of times designers start to create their logo by introducing color right away. This often takes away from the concept because your mind is more focused on the “pretty colors.”

2. Works well in various sizes

Logos should be scalable and work well both large and small sizes. Try to avoid logos and marks that are overly complicated. As the old KISS saying goes, “Keep it simple, stupid!” Especially with logos being implemented favicons, on signage and business cards, logos need to be size flexible.

3. Ambidextrous

Logos should be able to work both horizontally and vertically. Typically, in most cases, I provide my clients with two variations to their logos, especially if the logo design was intended to be vertical – horizontal logos seem to work well on websites. It’s always good to make sure you’re logo is a switch hitter :)

4. Flexible logos are vector-ized

When creating a logo, you should be using vector-based software, such as Adobe Illustrator. This will give you the ability to provide various file formats and scalable logos. Typically I like to provide clients with various types of file formats, this way they have different files to implement into various programs they use.

5. Readable

Not only does a logo mark need to work well at various sizes but so does the text. When creating the mark at a smaller size try increasing the character spacing. This will help improve readability, especially when shrunken down and viewed from afar. Are you able to scale your logo without losing clarity?

Green Graphic Widget

Survey Results for Muji Pens

So far, so good......

So, The summer is coming to an end and so is 'research time'

I have learned a lot more about sustainable design, geometric patterns, typographic logos, Muji pens and childhood memories.....some more than others

Now I need to be clear about why these are good.

WHY???