PGP Tip: How to Develop a Great Logo

How to Develop a Great Logo

An organization or business logo, whether a graphic symbol or a distinctive typeface, is a visual way to instantly identify the entity. When used on signs, in advertising and on marketing materials, it is a shorthand way for its customers and prospects to recognize the business or organization.
Logos come in four forms:

• font-based: composed of type only. Examples are Coca-Cola, Google, Louis Vuitton.
• symbol-based: an icon commonly associated with the type of business, such as scissors for a beauty shop or a tree for a gardening service.
• abstract graphics: a symbol created for the purpose like the Nike swoosh, Twitter bird, and Olympic rings.
• combination: a mixture of type and either a symbol or abstract graphic. Examples are the Lacoste alligator+ font and Chanel double C + font.

We cite these examples because they are well know, made so by their advertising budgets that use the logo in global ad campaigns. But it is good design that makes these logos memorable and identifiable.

Logo design principles

In 2009, Smashing Magazine, a website and blog resource for web developers and designers, offered five principles for effective logo design:

• Simple. Milton Glaser, the designer who created the I Love New York logo, touts simplicity as a guiding design principle. A simple design is quickly and easily recognized. Ideally, the viewer see the logo and immediately understands what it represents.
• Memorable. Paul Rand, the designer of the IBM, UPS, Westinghouse and ABC logos, observed that logo design must be distinctive, memorable and clear but does not have to illustrate what the business or organization does. (For example, the ABC television network logo does not include a television set or broadcast tower.)
• Enduring and timeless. To be enduring, a logo needs to remain current-looking for several decades, a quality called forward looking. Using colors and fonts that are the latest trend is the opposite of forward looking. Milton Glaser's I Love New York was created in 1975; its clean lines, simplicity and neutrality have given it staying power.
• Versatile. The logo must work in a variety of sizes (ranging from business card to outdoor signs); in color and black and white; in print and on the web; and on signs, vehicles, clothing and advertising specialty items. 
• Appropriate. The typeface, symbol and colors used for the logo must be appropriate for the type of business or organization. A law firm or technology company needs a more formal-looking logo than a children's clothing shop.

Technical considerations

Besides great design, a successful logo follows technical principles to achieve distinction. Understanding and honoring these technical aspects improves the chances of creating a great logo that is easy to work with in all situations.

Simple

A simple logo does not try to do too much. The logo does not have to represent the company's products or services ( the Nike logo is a swoosh, not a shoe) or reflect its company history. It also does not have to be a visual representation of the company's tagline.

A good practice aimed at keeping a logo simple is to begin designing in black and white. Color can be added later, after the basic design is established. Another tip is to turn the logo upside down so its shape becomes more apparent and reveals possible flaws.

Over time, most logos are redesigned and made simpler. To keep an initial design as simple as possible, subtract anything that isn't essential. And if in doubt, leave it out.

Memorable

A memorable logo is one that is original and doesn't borrow from others, either by imitating or copying. Although it is possible to use clip art as a starting point, this is not recommended. Besides the possibility that others may be using the image, the conditions of sale of some clip art companies forbid using their images in a logo.

A memorable logo is devoid of cliches (a globe to represent international or a light bulb for ideas) and may use only type without a symbol or graphic.

Enduring and Timeless

To create a logo that will last for 20 years without appearing dated or stale, choose a typeface that is simple and legible. This is especially important if the business name is unusual or unfamiliar. Use no more that two fonts in the logo design and avoid gimmicky, currently-fashionable or trendy fonts.

If the logo features both an image and a tagline, construct each of these elements as a separate piece of art- in other words, don't overlap on entwine them. This will enable using the elements separately as well as together.

Extend the life of the logo by creating some elements that are enduring and others that can be subtly refreshed, modernized or adapted for future visual formats. When the logo design is complete, consider protecting it by applying for a trademark or service mark from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Versatile

For today's multi-media marketing requirements, a logo must be versatile so it will work in print, on the web, and on other items like apparel and advertising specialty items. This means it must reproduce accurately in all three color spaces: PMS Pantone Matching System for one and two color printing. CMYK cyan, magenta, yellow and black, the four-color process colors for full color printing; and RGB red, green, blue for the web. The logo may also need a version to use on a dark background, over photographs and in gray scale or black and white.

The aspect ratio (the relationship between the height and width) determines the shape and orientation of the logo-square, horizontal or vertical. A logo that is too tall and thin or too short and wide will present layout problems on artwork. Square and circle shapes are pleasing and adaptable to many design layouts.

Logos need to prepared in two file formats: vector and bitmap. The image in a vector file consists of a set of points, lines, curves and shapes based on mathematical expressions to represent images, making it very easy to alter the size. In addition, vector file formats can be output at the resolution required for the output device (such as 300 dots per inch or dpi), ensuring the best quality reproduction in print. Two vector file formats are EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) and AI (Adobe Illustrator). 

For websites, blog layouts and social media, a bitmap file format is required. This format creates images using pixels. Low resolution bitmap files (such as 72 pixels per inch or ppi) are much faster to load on the web. JPEG, TIFF, GIF, PNG and PS (Photoshop) are bitmap file formats.

An EPS file can be converted to a bitmap file with relative ease. However, a bitmap file must be redrawn to convert to EPS. Because of this, it is generally better to create the logo as a EPS file first.

Appropriate

Type, symbols and graphics have distinctive characteristics and should be matched to the brand image. For example, us big, powerful slab fonts to signify strength; serifs or scrip fonts to imply class, style and elegance; italics or slanted fonts to suggest movement and forward thinking.

Negative space- the space around and between an image, such as the arrow hidden in the FedEx logo- can also be used to define a brand characteristic.

Evaluate your logo

If you have never evaluated your log using the design principles discussed in this issue of PGP Tips, we suggest you do so now. If you find a few areas that need attention, give us a call. We can help with refreshing the logo or redesign. Contact us at 254-773-7391.

                            

PGP Tip: Using New Media To Communicate

Using New Media To Communicate

The term old media and its companion legacy media refer to traditional ways of communicating with customers. Printers are generally considered to be part of old media, along with other paper-based industries like newspapers, magazines, and books as well as radio, television and movies. In contrast, new media is digital and includes the Internet, websites, and most computer-based forms of communication.

New media is exciting because it brings new tools to the process of communicating with customers, tools like full-color digital printing, with highly personalized sales messages and interactive outreach. New media also empowers prospects and customers to quickly and easily find reliable information about products, services and vendors.

At PaperGraphics we present our customers many ways to help you take advantage of new media to communicate with your customers and prospects. We recommend that you add these to your sales and marketing activities rather than replacing what you are already doing. This is because we firmly believe that new media is not replacing old, but adding to available communication possibilities.

QR Codes

One of the more exciting examples of new technology is the QR code. QR stands for Quick Response, aptly named because the contents of the code can be decoded at high speed by devices including mobile phones equipped with a camera, net books and laptop computers, desktop computers, cameras and televisions.

QR codes are the new way for customers and prospects to reach a web page, a location (using geocodes) or obtain information about products and services. Add a QR code containing contact information to your business card and someone can add you to their contact list by reading the QR code with their cell phone or computer. Add a QR code to individual products on your web site and enable customers or prospects to download product details and a phone number for ordering, or link to a YouTube video.

QR codes were developed in 1994 by the Japanese company Denso-Wave as a way to track parts in vehicle manufacturing. The code is a 2-D symbology because it stores information both horizontally and vertically and thus is able to hold much more data than a one-dimensional bar code.

The typical barcode holds a maximum of 20 digits, while a QR code can hold up to 7,089 characters. In addition, QR codes take up about one-tenth the space of a bar code. This ability to hold a great deal of information in a small space is what makes QR codes so valuable for sales and marketing.

QR codes are quite common in Japan and their use is growing in Europe. In the United States, QR codes are just beginning to appear but are expected to spread rapidly. A QR code may be applied to many substrates – paper, plastic, even cloth – and on many surfaces, including curved ones – walls, floors, billboards, t-shirts. About the only limitation is ensuring that the QR code is of sufficient resolution to be read by the mobile phone or other device.

An example of how QR codes are being used is the Google program Google Places, a way for businesses to manage their presence on Google. Any business that is selected by Google as a Favorite Place receives a window decal that includes a QR code that takes the viewer to the Google Place Page for the business. Google has already distributed 100,000 Favorite Places decals and is planning a second round of 50,000 more.

With Google promoting QR codes, they are likely to become very important in search marketing. Google suggests that if your web site contains a QR code, search engines will see a new image and index it, and might in the future index the content in them.

Many mobile phones, including iPhone, Blackberry, Motorola Droid and any phone that runs on the Android operating system, have application software available for scanning QR codes. Some phones may have the app already installed on the phone; if not, it can be easily downloaded and installed. One feature is necessary, though – the mobile phone must have a camera. After reading the QR code, a phone with a web browser can connect to a URL, download an MP3 file, dial a phone number or send an e-mail.

QR codes have other uses besides marketing material. An educational organization can direct people to reference or training materials. An online product catalog can use a QR code to provide complete product specifications. Retail locations can use QR codes to provide additional information – such as a restaurant providing nutritional information for items on the menu. A QR code on a direct mail piece can take the recipient directly to the web site of the business offering the product or service.

Variable data printing

High speed copying in both black and white and color has been a standard service offering of PaperGraphic Printing since the early 1980's. Once digital printers began to replace analog copiers, the possibility of variable data printing (VDP) was realized.

VDP enables various elements of a document – text, graphics and images – to change from one page to the next with no degradation of print speed or quality. From a production standpoint, VDP is a continuum from the simplest mail merge (changing the name and salutation of a letter) to versioning (customizing the document for a defined group rather than for a specific individual) to 1-to-1 printing where each document is completely unique. An example of simple VDP is a post card that is printed with the name and address of the intended recipient. If the photograph on the post card and part of the sales message changes depending on the demographic characteristics of the recipient, that’s versioning. If the post card contains a photograph of the recipient as well as text with personal information, that’s 1-to-1 marketing.

VDP requires three things: a document template containing all the information that stays the same from page to page (the static data), a mailing list containing addressing information and recipient characteristics, and a database containing all the information that changes from page to page (the variable data). The static template also indicates the location of variable data elements within the document.

VDP has many applications: 1-to-1 direct marketing, customer relationship management, explanation of Benefits forms and other insurance documents, catalogs, promotional material and lots more. Its popularity is based on two advantages: for advertising and marketing material – particularly direct mail marketing campaigns – response rates generally rise as the level of personalization goes up. And for informational documents such as insurance benefit booklets, VDP allows a booklet to be created that contains only the information pertinent to the insured person – no more and no less.

Call us for QR codes and digital printing

We invite you to call us to discuss how QR codes and variable data printing can benefit your business or organization. We’ll help you generate a QR code that is appropriate for your intended application and add it to business cards and marketing materials – either now, or at the next printing.

At PaperGraphics we can teach you how to make more money through our ManagedMarketing™ program where we can handle all of your printing needs but also teach your staff how to prepare, invite and close the sale with your prospects. In fact, we are the only printer in this market that is certified to do so. 

If your organization or business needs to increase sales we can help. Call us at 254-773-7391  to set up a no obligation consultation where we assess your current situation and offer a plan of attack that works for your budget.