I recently gave a presentation on branding and marketing as part of Career Day at my son’s school. Having to tailor my presentation to make sense for kids ages 5 to 12, I decided to open with a game of identifying logos. I held up a card with a logo printed on it, and the kids were told to shout them out. “Lego! Disney! Starbucks!” they cried in unison, as I presented the cards in quick succession. Some of the cards, specifically the McDonalds and Nike logos, were in black and white and had no words. Of course, the students got them just as quickly.
“Isn’t it amazing,” I asked, “that when I held up these cards, you all said ‘Nike’ and ‘McDonalds’ instead of ‘check mark’ and ‘M’? And when you see them, you can probably picture their sneakers or imagine French fries, right?” They all nodded enthusiastically. I went on to explain why companies try to create iconic brands — and how a good logo can become the shorthand for everything a brand is and does.
It goes on to quote a crowdsource site owner on how to create a great logo and how much you should be willing to pay for it. I especially like the dig at F ive rr.
Extremely informative to someone just starting out in graphic design. Thank you. I have bookmarked this too as I know I will be able to refer to it later in my design course. Thanks again.
Point 2 is a little lacking. Remember, a logo is never about YOU. It’s all about THE BRAND and who it is selling to. YOU might not like a certain style, but if it accurately depicts THE BRAND and it is attractive to THE CUSTOMERS you might be wise to put your taste preferences aside. Yes, avoid the trend that will fade in a few years, but don’t drop a concept simply because YOU do not like it.
Eh, it’s the founder of a crowdsourcing platform regurgitating the already-known in an effort to set the table for his own business, which itself does nothing to deliver directly on any of those points.
