LOGOS – PART 2

Just this week, on LinkedIn, there was a post about logo design.

It was by a nice chap from Scotland.

The chap was a dragon from the digital version of Dragon’s Den.

So very successful he was too!

Anyhow, here’s what he wrote, alongside little images of four similar logo concepts.

Each of the four logos, by the way, was with a different font, colour way, layout and/or with one of the letters turned quite randomly into an abstract shape.

His copy:

What do you think A B C D or none of the below?

This is the first draft of the branding concepts and it would be good to get your feedback.

He provided a link to the project also.

I responded:

What’s the project’s point of difference please?

The thing you want us to think or remember about them please?

What sets them apart from the other options that the customer has?

He responded:

It will all make sense when we do our big reveal.

I responded:

I ask because, without this information it is impossible to know which logo is strategically correct.

All we are left with is a beauty parade.

And that’s not the way to create a professional logo.

Thank you.

I’ve not had a response to this second remark.

Logo Design.

However, about 230 others did respond to what they thought of the logos.

With things like:

Love the first one. An expression of simplicity in a contemporary world.

And:

D has a clean look.

And:

A – for the A Team!

And

C but without the two dashes.

And

A or C.

And

D looks good to me. Might be worth adding a little green from A in the same colour as the ‘M’.

This went on.

For over 200 comments.

All of them utter, utter, utter, utter, utter drivel.

Annoyed. 

The reason I get annoyed with practices like this is because – and all professional designers worth their salt know this – the creation of a logo is mostly strategic.

You see, if a graphic designer can’t get clarity, simplicity, memorability, readability and transferability (so it can be used big and small and across several applications/media) into every logo they create then they are not graphic designers.

They’re idiots.

No graphic designer should get major accolades for these things.

Truly great creators of professional logos or corporate identities (or whatever we’d like to call them) help brands to communicate their point of difference – why people should choose them – within the design.

This is not always possible because some businesses don’t actually know their point of difference.

Then brand consultants are needed (but that’s another story).

But the point is, these stupid, pointless beauty parades should never ever appear on LinkedIn.

Or anywhere.

They are embarrassing.

Not only because the designer should know which is the best strategic solution for the brand – but because the whim of an arbitrary group of followers is entirely irrelevant.

And I find them annoying because people actually charge for these silly beauty parades.

And that is wrong.

In summary, a professional graphic designer will create you a visual mark for your business.

A great logo designer will do all of that too of course.

But she or he will definitely, definitely, definitely quiz you to develop a deep, deep understanding of your specialness, your journey, your ambition, your purpose and the reason that you should be chosen above all others.

Then try hard (it is not always possible but we must try) to weave in or sprinkle reference or echoes of this into the right logo for you.

So, if your ‘logo designer’ EVER asks you which iteration you prefer (and there should never be more than 1, 2 or 3 to choose from) – with no explanation as to which is strategically the best for your brand…

… SACK THEM!