Client: Blue Ribbon Sweets specializes in high end sweets, mostly truffle like chocolates.

The client wanted a logo that was elegant, modern and crisp, something that would appeal to higher end clients. The client wanted to see a blue ribbon incorporated into the logo.

We started out with a few sketches.

We illustrated those same sketches digitally, and made some minor changes.

Once we had the black and white samples done, we put a little color into them.

Our client liked the top left logo, but asked for some color changes as well as incorporating the ribbon into the hat.

Here’s the final logo the client chose.

Be sure to visit BlueRibbonSweets.com

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Client: A freelance photographer who specializes in event photography such as weddings and bar mitzvahs.

The client wanted a logo that was professional but not stuffy, he was using a logo that was tall and not wide, he also wanted to change that and make a wide logo. He wanted to use one or two colors maximum in the final logo. The client really didn’t have much direction other than that and pretty much gave us free reign to produce the samples.

We started out with lots of rough sketches of cameras and camera related items.

We paid more attention to certain sketches and made some roughs of what we want the first round of logos to look like.

Once we created those digitally, this is how the first round came out.

Revision 1: The client liked the third logo sample, but first he wanted to see the words
Focal and Finesse separated by more than just a capital “F” we opted to add the second color and also make the type on “Finesse” italicized.

Revision 2: The client liked the color combination but he wanted to try a more playful type. He also wanted to add something to the camera to bring it together. We added the bar below the camera to give it a more defined look.

Revision 3: Our client asked to see a few more typefaces for the word Finesse, he also asked to see what the flash would look like if it were a little more rectangular.

Final logo: The client chose the 3rd logo as the final logo, we provided the logo in both color and black so that they client may easily also use the logo as a watermark.

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We live in the age of the internet and you have to bet that companies are using it to find prospective employees.  Therefore, paper resumes may need to be supplemented with the online variety.  There are many ideas on the web on how to make a creative, attractive and professional online resume.  These online resumes can give something more than just the paper variety.  If for instance, you’re applying for something graphic related, the website alone can show off your talents as a designer.  It is important you get a great logo for your name or something to set yourself apart.  Once you do so, you can have your link on your paper resume or send out electronic feelers to prospective companies searching for new hires.

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The use of textures in photography as well as web design is becoming increasingly more popular.  Using textures adds to the overall look of a webpage.  The textures are very easy to integrate into a webdesign and into photography.  In photography the textures are used to provide a more surreal look to the photo.  You can added texture to make a photo look like an old photo with lots of scratches on it or you can make a photo look more artsy.  In web design, the use of textures adds more depth to the webpage.  Instead of a static one color design, the webpage is more appealing to the eye.

Today textures are very common and photographers all over are willing to share their textures.  You can also easily take your own photos of textures.  You can simply take around a small point and shoot camera and take pictures of textures in the environment that appeals to you.  This is pretty much what all textures are.  They are not usually randomly generated by computer.

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A great resources for anything related to graphics on the internet is Smashing Magazine.  This website is loaded with all kinds of great information.   The have a great section for more information on what trends are going on in the logo world.  They are packed with all kinds of tutorials from photoshop, illustrator, fireworks, and basically the entire Adobe creative suite.  Their tutorials are great for beginners and advanced people alike.

If you’re doing anything on the internet, this is one of the best resources for gathering ideas and inspiration.  They tell you how to do things on everything related to design of websites, logos, graphics and others.  It is hard to find anything else that is more valuable resource on the internet.

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You’ve all heard them.  The tag line that is associated with many companies doing business today.  From “Where to you want to go today” (Microsoft), “Let brown work for you” (UPS), “Think Different” (Apple), and so on.  The slogan in itself adds value to the company because it associates the words to the company and a lot of people tend to remember those words.  The question is, should you incorporate your tag line into you logo?  It would really depend on the logo.  If they logo is only words, adding a tag line might compete.  If the logo is a graphic, it might enhance the logo. There are some key things to keep in mind when you do decide to incorporate you tag line into you logo.

Keep the amount of words to a minimum.  You don’t want the words to overpower the logo and therefore the logo should be the main focus.  Make sure that the text that you’re using doesn’t violate some sort of trademark.  In any case, you should consult a lawyer for advice on trademark infringement.  Last thing you want to do is get yourself into a lawsuit when you’re just starting out.

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When designing a logo, you’re going to want something that is very unique to your company.  This logo will be the centerpiece of your branding scheme.  Therefore you should invest something into getting the best possible logo that you can for your investment.  Therefore, in designing a logo, the best thing to do is to get help.  It is not recommended that you use clip art.  Clip art is a collection of pictures and symbols that are for sale in cheap software bundles.  Most of the images found in clip art are very simple and rudimentary in shape.  There is nothing custom about them.  Most of the images are in black and white or very simple color tones.  The use of clip art would be a big mistake in designing your brand.  The reason for this is that somebody else could use the same clip art image in their logo as well.  The chances are slim but it’s still there.  The result of designing a logo from clip art will be a plain, unappealing and simple logo.  You’ll want to stand out and the use of clip art will make it very difficult to do so.

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If you look at some of the most recognizable and famous company names in the world, they share one thing in common. They tend to have company names that are either one or two words.  Take a look at some of the biggest names out there. Of the Forbes list of the top 10 biggest US companies, only one of them has 3 words in the company name. They are in order, WalMart, Exxon Mobil, General Motors, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, General Electric, Ford Motor, Citigroup, Bank of America, America International Group.

In developing a logo for a company that has a simple one or two word will be easier than to incorporate a very long name into a logo. In fact, you can design a logo and not even know what they do.  For instance, Apple Inc, they did drop the “computer” portion of name. You wouldn’t know that it was a computer company. Same with Pepsi, you wouldn’t know it was a soft drink company. Get the idea? With names that are shorter and easy to remember, its easier to develop and design a logo. Logo companies out there rely on creativity from their customers to design a nice logo. Can you imagine trying to form a logo for “Joe Smith Automotive and Service Repair Center”? Logo companies such as Logo Bang and Logo Loft can create great logos for people who have creativity company names.

In summary, in forming a company name, keep things simple and easy to remember. If you can get a customer to remember the name of your company, they will find your company later when they’re ready to starting handing over their hard earned money.

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There are important principles that you should try to follow whenever you’re graphic designing.  You should try and include as many of the principles as possible whenever you can. Following all the guidelines will not always ensure a good design but it may help to steer you in the right direction.

The Principles of Design

Balance – Make sure everything looks well balanced, if you have a big object near the center of an image it may be best to balance it with either another heavy object just opposite or even a small object a little further away from the center of the piece.

Repetition or Rhythm – Repitition or rhythm creates the illusion of texture or patterns, there are different ways to express repetition or patterns, you can do it by repeating the same object over and over, which is regular repetition. You can have a flowing rythm which has more movement, the objects may not be identical in a flowing rhythm. A progressive rythm is a flow of steps, so over lapping objects could create this type of repetition.

Unity – You should be sure that the desgin looks like it goes together, though the elements included in the design can have their own feel, all in all they should fit together well.

Proportion – Along with balance it’s necessary to have a good proportion when speaking of the elements of design, if you’re laying something out you want to be sure that things are proportioned for their importance to the overall design.

Dominance - What in your design means the most, where is your focal point, that is where dominance comes in, the main element of your design should dominate, though not be overbearing.

All those principles should mean something, but overall your eye is probably the best tool, if you don’t’ follow one of those rules and your design still looks good, it’s probably a good design.

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Every year there are dozens of new trends going on in every industry and the art and graphics industry is no different.  We recently came across a blog entitled the Best Logo Trends of 2006. The blog writer goes through 10 trends which he thinks are the best of 2006, the trends range from overlapping to dry brush strokes to splats. It’s still unclear as if any of these trends will stand the test of time, but with all trends, things usually come to an end after they’ve run their course. Regardless of whether or not these trends will last longer than others, the blog entry is still a good piece and is a great read.

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