Design Jones

A cracking new visual identity created by Landor, Sydney. Feels really distinctive and really well executed on various applications. You can read more over at Logo Design Love HERE.

Yeah that title caught my attention too! It came from Simon Manchipp of London-based studio SomeOne and is part of a fascinating article over at LogoDesignLove HERE. It’s well worth checking out.

Whilst the statement is blunt and perhaps going a little far, there are many really good points here. Logos must be part of a brand and cannot simply be the ‘hero’ by themselves anymore. I think there are plenty of brands that can be built without the need of an accompanying icon or symbol but for others it’s a great tool to quickly convey the message and personality of a brand.

They also make comment about the need for brands to work across so many new platforms and the challenge of making something that can work on a 16×16 pixel favicon or Twitter avatar.

“The ‘favicon’ or ‘twibbon’ is now the equivalent of the ‘black and white fax’ that we all learnt (years ago) was the minimum requirement for a logo to be recognisable as. These are much smaller applications than we have ever had to deal with, and ones where traditional logos are struggling.”

“Lastly, the amount of platforms, media, applications (and now ‘experiences’) that need to be branded has multiplied significantly with technology. People simply get bored quicker and brand worlds allow the conversation to ‘flow’.”

I’ve had the pleasure of working on several identity creation projects in the last couple of months. Each has been challenging in it’s own way and that’s why I love working on them – the process of solving unique problems.

There have also been a few bumps in the road that have helped me clarify the reasons why I have my own design process, why I only present a single solution and why certain jobs take time and need that time to develop and be refined.

Design Cubicle have a really interesting interview with Steve Jobs, discussing the relationship with his designer Paul Rand who created the Apple logo. What is clear is how much value Steve placed on his designer getting to know the organisation, developing a realtionship of trust and most importantly that the designer was a business problem solver first and foremost.

You can view the interview HERE. There are also another couple of articles I found both helpful and reassuring: ‘Ten logo design tips from the field’ and ‘Do you want fries with that logo’.

LogoLounge have just published their annual report taking a look and highlights and emerging trends from the past year of submissions to their site. Always a valuable tool and aid in forecasting what’s next in the world of branding. Some keys highlights include a dramatic increase in the use of text within an identity, also vibrant colours and the introduction of another challenge to designers, can they make their logo work at 15×15 pixels for favicons! You can read the full report HERE.