CBS logos

From an ugly CBS text-based logo to an all all seeing eye based idea is how it began. CBS has one of the most recognizable logos, and it has stood the test of time for 60 years now. We can all learn a lesson from this. The eye logo is not complicated; it is made of simple shapes that even children can recognize. The idea that you were now watching television rather than listening to radio for entertainment can be seen here. The simplicity of the design also creates a universal use in placement. You can change the color, inner content, lines, and size of the logo, and it will still look like the same recognizable design. It’s no wonder it’s gone this long with little to no change at all.

You’ll soon be learning all about personal experiences and ways to make things easier on yourself as a freelancer. For instance chapter 7: From pencil to PDF which you can download for free here: http://www.logodesignlove.com/free-logo-design-love-book-chapter. You will learn one of the best ways to get your ideas out. This book is good for freelancers who are just starting out for sure. Sometimes we forget some golden rules, and at about $23 on Amazon, Logo Design Love will really help you out a lot.

Image by National Library NZ on The Commons via Flickr

Everyone is used to the criticism crowdsourcing brings. Besides talking about it being bad for designers, I wanted to take a walk in the contest holder’s shoes. I understand that you want a good deal, and getting as many designers to submit as possible may bring you the desired design you’re looking for. Times are tough, and if you can get more for your money, you will. Anybody would. With many crowdsourcing sites saying that they have great service, and money back guarantees, it’s hard to say no, especially if you don’t think having a logo is a big deal.

I have done a little research, not into the amount of entries or designers per contest, not the quality of designs, but the lasting effect they have. I have searched through hundreds of contests ranging anywhere from $150-$10,000+ and saw that very few contest holders actually used or ended up keeping their logo. I believe this is the due to the fact that the client knew little about what was required for a design in the industry, and simply picked the coolest or most trendy logo. There’s nothing wrong with a cool design, but knowing your designer is key. You have to know that THEY know the industry. It is not your job as the client to know what colors work the best, what fonts say to future customers, what colors would work for print, or the cost of print vs. the final design. This is the job of your designer.

As designers, we are trained for it, we study it, and we live it. Design is a consistent part of our lives. If you’re not studying it, then it’s just a hobby, and I’m sorry, but I don’t know too many people that hire someone based on the fact that their only experience is a hobby. It may not look it, but design is serious business. Billions are spent every year on advertising, and big and small business understands the importance of this, so you should take it seriously as well. I would be happy to show examples, but I think it’s better to look for yourself. Just search a logo contest, look at the winner, and go to that company site and see if they use the design. I can tell you that most stick with their old logo, or hire 1 designer or a firm to finish what a crowdsourced designer started.

Image by National Library NZ on The Commons via Flickr

Everyone is used to the criticism crowdsourcing brings. Besides talking about it being bad for designers, I wanted to take a walk in the contest holder’s shoes. I understand that you want a good deal, and getting as many designers to submit as possible may bring you the desired design you’re looking for. Times are tough, and if you can get more for your money, you will. Anybody would. With many crowdsourcing sites saying that they have great service, and money back guarantees, it’s hard to say no, especially if you don’t think having a logo is a big deal.

I have done a little research, not into the amount of entries or designers per contest, not the quality of designs, but the lasting effect they have. I have searched through hundreds of contests ranging anywhere from $150-$10,000+ and saw that very few contest holders actually used or ended up keeping their logo. I believe this is the due to the fact that the client knew little about what was required for a design in the industry, and simply picked the coolest or most trendy logo. There’s nothing wrong with a cool design, but knowing your designer is key. You have to know that THEY know the industry. It is not your job as the client to know what colors work the best, what fonts say to future customers, what colors would work for print, or the cost of print vs. the final design. This is the job of your designer.

As designers, we are trained for it, we study it, and we live it. Design is a consistent part of our lives. If you’re not studying it, then it’s just a hobby, and I’m sorry, but I don’t know too many people that hire someone based on the fact that their only experience is a hobby. It may not look it, but design is serious business. Billions are spent every year on advertising, and big and small business understands the importance of this, so you should take it seriously as well. I would be happy to show examples, but I think it’s better to look for yourself. Just search a logo contest, look at the winner, and go to that company site and see if they use the design. I can tell you that most stick with their old logo, or hire 1 designer or a firm to finish what a crowdsourced designer started.

I love the Unilever logo. It’s composed of 25 different marks that can be used on their own. It shows the vitality and life factor they strive for, and it has all the flexibility you could want in a logo. The handmade look and feel makes this design look even more family friendly, fun, natural, organic, and safe. Just looking at it can convey so many thoughts, even though I don’t know the full range of their products. The do make anything from food to household cleaners. Just look around your house and I bet you find about 5 different things with a Unilever logo on the back.

This really is one of my favorite logos.

I love the Unilever logo. It’s composed of 25 different marks that can be used on their own. It shows the vitality and life factor they strive for, and it has all the flexibility you could want in a logo. The handmade look and feel makes this design look even more family friendly, fun, natural, organic, and safe. Just looking at it can convey so many thoughts, even though I don’t know the full range of their products. The do make anything from food to household cleaners. Just look around your house and I bet you find about 5 different things with a Unilever logo on the back.

This really is one of my favorite logos.

Image via Wikipedia

Designing a logo has enough work and effort without having to worry about its presentation. There are many things to know and remember about designing a logo with a design program, but to me, no program can compare to Illustrator. I suppose any vector based program would be best, but Illustrator is the bee’s knees. While the excitement of getting your creation done can be fun and well… exciting, I have 10 tips that you should always think about when working on and finalizing your work in Illustrator. In case you’re wondering, I’m currently using CS4 on a Mac.

1. Make sure that all text is in outlines. You can do that by going to Type > Create Outlines, or you can use the shortcut Command+Shift+O (Ctrl+Shift+O on PC).

2. Expand and merge paths. Stroke weights can change depending on user settings, so it’s a good idea to expand them and then merge them so they form a nice shape. There are a few ways this can be done depending on if you’re working with a brush stroke or the pen stroke. For the brush stroke go to Object > Expand Appearance to expand the stroke, then open the pathfinder window by going to Window > Pathfinder (Shift+Option+F9). Inside the window you see some fun little icons. If you hover over them you can see what they are. You’ll want to hit the one that says merge. For pen tool paths, you only need to go to Object > Expand and make sure that Fill and Stroke is selected.

3. Clean up your mess. All the expanding and merging brush strokes can cause invisible shapes to form in the negative space which group with your colors. Plus with everything you’ve already done, you never know. It’s easy peasy. Just go to Object > Path > Clean Up. I usually leave everything selected, then hit okay. If something was cleaned, you won’t see a message, but if there was nothing to clean, you get something that says “no cleanup was necessary.”

4. Merge 1 color logos. This keeps things really easy. One click is all it will take to change a logo from black to white. Don’t forget to do the clean up.

5. Simplify man. After a lot of merging and expanding, you’ll probably see a lot of anchor points. This is easy to remedy. Just go to Object > Path > Simplify and adjust the settings accordingly. You’ll see how many points there are before and after the change in the dialog box. The less points there are, the better.

6. Gradients are cool, but make flat color logos too. It’s always a good idea to have simple logos along with gradients ones.

7. Group like colors. Grouping like colors makes color changing a breeze.

8. Save as an eps. This guarantees the client will be able to open it. It’s also a good idea to try and save your design as at least a CS1. I would even try to go back as far as Illustrator 8 unless you know the buyer will be using otherwise.

9. Know your convenient keyboard shortcuts. I took the liberty to learn all the shortcuts for things I did often in Illustrator so designing a logo would be as painless as possible. Some of my most commonly used shortcuts are:

• First thing I do is hit A then P for the direct select and pen tool. That way when I want to adjust an anchor point during pen tool use, when I hold down command (Ctrl on PC) I will have the direct select arrow. The same goes for if you want the normal selection tool. It will default to what you had last.

• When I use the pen tool I almost always have a finger on the option key (Alt on PC). It gives you the convert anchor point tool. This is by far my most used little shortcut.

• With text I always use the create outlines shortcut, (Mac) Command+Shift+O (PC) Ctrl+Shift+O.

• Command+R (Ctrl+R for PC) opens up the ruler, and if you Control+click (I don’t know this one for PC, sorry) the ruler, you can change the measurements.

10. Keep the client in mind. This can seem like a “well duh” sort of thing, but try going into this assuming the client doesn’t know how to use the software. Make things as easy as possible for them to do. Like I said, group like colors, merge together the 1 color logos so it’s a 1-click color change, etc. It makes things easy on everyone.

These are just some things I do, and it’s not the only way to do them. I think this might inspire a lot of you to figure out your own way to make work a lot easier on you and anyone who uses your files.

The trick here is to be good enough with your business so people will want to remember you. Then have a brand identity that helps back it all up. If it’s something we can all agree on, it’s that people love to be a part of something, a group, organization, club, whatever it is, we want to be a part of it. Your customers will proudly boast your cool logo and packaging if you deliver the goods.

Take Apple for example. They have a cool logo, fantastic packaging, innovative designs, but it would be nothing if they couldn’t back it up with quality service and inventions. Apple is expensive, and it’s not something the average person can just buy. But because of their brand, it makes it easier for all of us to stretch that dollar to get those awesome things. If Apple was terrible with customers, or their service was bad, everyone would know, and nobody would buy their overpriced gadgets. That is a good example of an overall brand.

So if you’ve provided great service for 5, 10, or even 20 years, and you never put much thought into a logo, maybe it’s time for an upgrade. If you only thought about your logo, and don’t do much to help your customers, then you need to focus on them, not the logo. Good customer service can lead to people talking, which leads to popularity, which leads to possible free magazine recognition, which could ultimately boost your reputation to new heights. Think about it.