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43 Small Business Logo Design Services

43 Small Business Logo Design Services

logo design svcs (1)

Perhaps no branding element is more important than your logo. Often the “first impression” that most prospects have of your business, it needs to present a number of key branding elements at one glance:

  1. Name – what’s your business called?
  2. Slogan (optional) – what does your business do that’s relevant to your prospects and how do you excel at it?
  3. Persona – are you serious, playful, hip or square, etc.?
  4. Expectations – playing off of persona, your prospects will have certain expectations that need to be met. For example: a bank’s logo should be serious and square to encourage trust while a boutique’s can be playful and hip if it fits the business’ offerings and prospects.
  5. Design – built upon your persona and expectations, your logo’s colors, typography and overall design needs to match both aforementioned elements.

Given the important role your logo plays, creating one for your business is often a high-stress task. Even after reading tips for creating a great logo, things can still go wrong when you launch it to the world.

In addition, most small businesses lack in-house design skills as well as the money to hire someone to create a custom logo.

Never fear however – the need for inexpensive yet effective logos has been heard and a whole host of useful logo design services are available. To help you create your logo, we’ve gathered a list of 43 logo design services you can use today.

The list is split into different sections, each serving a different need yet all providing inexpensive yet effective options:

  1. Do-it-yourself logo design services;
  2. Crowdsourcing logo design services; and
  3. Logo design services marketplaces.

Do-It-Yourself Small Business Logo Design Services

Don’t let the name of this section put you off – while the services listed in this section enable you to create a logo on your own, a background in design or graphic design software is not required.

The upside of these solutions is the price. There’s no cheaper way to create an effective logo. The downside is the fact that the images and type (i.e. fonts) used in your logo will not be unique. That’s acceptable however as most enable you to play around and make the final logo your own.

There are two types of do it yourself small business logo design services: online and offline.

Online Do-It-Yourself Small Business Logo Design Services

In recent years, the number of online do it yourself logo design services has skyrocketed. While many are completely free, others charge you, albeit low prices, to download your completed logo design files.

There are a lot of options in this section so we’re going to highlight a few of the more unique offerings and then list the rest.

Tailor

If you like a solution that learns from you, then Tailor might be a good fit. After asking you a few questions about your business, it walks you through a few, “This or That” screens to learn more about your brand’s style. The result? They serve up four to six logo options from which you select one to edit and complete. When you’re done, select one of their affordable packages and download your logo files.

small business logo design services

Logoshi

The logo design service Logoshi has an interesting approach: even if you’re not that good at drawing, you can sketch out some lines and they’ll create a logo for you. They even show you how it will look on the side of your building! You can add a slogan and play around with the layout of the design as well and then download all your files for $19.

small business logo design services

Free Logo Design

When it comes to the number of colorful design choices, Free Logo Design stands out. As you can see by the numbers in the image below, there are many to choose from and they’re all well-designed images that you’d be proud to use in your logo. In addition, their logo editor is easy-to-use yet powerful and you can download your logo files for a mere $39.

small business logo design services

And More

The rest of the tools in this section are listed below. They’re similar which is why we’re not breaking them out, but they’re each worth a look:

  • Designapp
  • Designimo
  • DesignMantic
  • FreeLogoServices
  • GraphicSprings
  • Hipster Logo Generator
  • LOGASTER
  • LogoFactoryWeb
  • LogoGarden
  • logogenie
  • Logomakr
  • LogoMaker
  • Logotype Maker
  • MakeLogoOnlineFree
  • Online Logo Maker
  • Vistaprint Logo Design Tool
  • Withoomph!
  • YouiDraw
  • ZillionDesigns

Offline Do It Yourself Small Business Logo Design Services

There are also a number of offline solutions for designing your logo. If you want to have one complete package that lives on your own computer and can be used no matter where you are of if the Web is available, then take a look at the options below.

The Logo Creator

If you’re looking for a branding solution in a box, then check out The Logo Creator. It not only helps you design your logo, it also designs business cards and mascot characters and includes a set of people images to use. Available for both Mac and Windows.

small business logo design services

Logosmartz

If you’re looking for a logo design service with tons of options, then check out Logosmartz. With over 1800 logo templates, 5000 additional graphics and images, 300+ fonts and more, you’ll find something that works well for your business in no time. Available for both Mac and Windows.

Logo Design Studio

If you’re looking for even more design options, then check out Logo Design Studio, a solution that offers a good selection along with an expansion pack to take your logo design options to the next level.

And More

The rest of the tools in this section are listed below.

  • AAA Logo
  • Jeta Logo Designer
  • MyLogoMaker Professional
  • Quick Logo Designer

Crowdsourcing Small Business Logo Design Services

Crowdsourcing your logo design is a great way to get a unique logo for less money. Here’s how the basic process works as laid out by DesignCrowd (one of the crowdsourcing logo design services listed below):

small business logo design services

While each of the services listed below differs on details such as price and allowable number of revision requests, they all work pretty much the same. Check out the options to find the one that will work best for you.

Crowdsourcing Small Business Logo Design Services

  • 99designs
  • crowdSPRING
  • designContest
  • DesignCrowd
  • Designhill
  • hatchwise
  • Logo Arena
  • LogoMyWay
  • ZillionDesigns

Logo Design Service Marketplaces

Our final category is for those small business folks who want to hire a freelancer or agency to design a custom logo for their business. Each of the design services listed in this section are marketplaces where you can find a designer for your logo.

While you’ll end up with a unique logo, this is likely the most expensive way to do so. Rates do vary widely however, so it’s worth checking out the logo design services below to see if you can find a designer who fits your budget.

Logo Design Services Marketplaces

  • Evanto Studio
  • Elance
  • Freelancer – interestingly, you can get a logo designed using Freelancer as a marketplace or as a crowdsourcing contest as described in the previous section.

small business logo design services

  • Guru
  • Upwork

Conclusion

While creating an effective logo for your business can be stressful and expensive, it doesn’t have to be either.

You can use the small business logo design services listed above to give birth to your logo today.

Logo Design Photo via Shutterstock

[“source-ndtv”]

Author SristyPosted on November 15, 2016Categories BusinessTags 43, Business, Design, Logo, Services, Small

43 Small Business Logo Design Services

43 Small Business Logo Design Services

logo design svcs (1)Perhaps no branding element is more important than your logo. Often the “first impression” that most prospects have of your business, it needs to present a number of key branding elements at one glance:

  1. Name – what’s your business called?
  2. Slogan (optional) – what does your business do that’s relevant to your prospects and how do you excel at it?
  3. Persona – are you serious, playful, hip or square, etc.?
  4. Expectations – playing off of persona, your prospects will have certain expectations that need to be met. For example: a bank’s logo should be serious and square to encourage trust while a boutique’s can be playful and hip if it fits the business’ offerings and prospects.
  5. Design – built upon your persona and expectations, your logo’s colors, typography and overall design needs to match both aforementioned elements.

Given the important role your logo plays, creating one for your business is often a high-stress task. Even after reading tips for creating a great logo, things can still go wrong when you launch it to the world.

In addition, most small businesses lack in-house design skills as well as the money to hire someone to create a custom logo.

Never fear however – the need for inexpensive yet effective logos has been heard and a whole host of useful logo design services are available. To help you create your logo, we’ve gathered a list of 43 logo design services you can use today.

The list is split into different sections, each serving a different need yet all providing inexpensive yet effective options:

  1. Do-it-yourself logo design services;
  2. Crowdsourcing logo design services; and
  3. Logo design services marketplaces.

Do-It-Yourself Small Business Logo Design Services

Don’t let the name of this section put you off – while the services listed in this section enable you to create a logo on your own, a background in design or graphic design software is not required.

The upside of these solutions is the price. There’s no cheaper way to create an effective logo. The downside is the fact that the images and type (i.e. fonts) used in your logo will not be unique. That’s acceptable however as most enable you to play around and make the final logo your own.

There are two types of do it yourself small business logo design services: online and offline.

Online Do-It-Yourself Small Business Logo Design Services

In recent years, the number of online do it yourself logo design services has skyrocketed. While many are completely free, others charge you, albeit low prices, to download your completed logo design files.

There are a lot of options in this section so we’re going to highlight a few of the more unique offerings and then list the rest.

Tailor

If you like a solution that learns from you, then Tailor might be a good fit. After asking you a few questions about your business, it walks you through a few, “This or That” screens to learn more about your brand’s style. The result? They serve up four to six logo options from which you select one to edit and complete. When you’re done, select one of their affordable packages and download your logo files.

small business logo design services

Logoshi

The logo design service Logoshi has an interesting approach: even if you’re not that good at drawing, you can sketch out some lines and they’ll create a logo for you. They even show you how it will look on the side of your building! You can add a slogan and play around with the layout of the design as well and then download all your files for $19.

small business logo design services

Free Logo Design

When it comes to the number of colorful design choices, Free Logo Design stands out. As you can see by the numbers in the image below, there are many to choose from and they’re all well-designed images that you’d be proud to use in your logo. In addition, their logo editor is easy-to-use yet powerful and you can download your logo files for a mere $39.

small business logo design services

And More

The rest of the tools in this section are listed below. They’re similar which is why we’re not breaking them out, but they’re each worth a look:

  • Designapp
  • Designimo
  • DesignMantic
  • FreeLogoServices
  • GraphicSprings
  • Hipster Logo Generator
  • LOGASTER
  • LogoFactoryWeb
  • LogoGarden
  • logogenie
  • Logomakr
  • LogoMaker
  • Logotype Maker
  • MakeLogoOnlineFree
  • Online Logo Maker
  • Vistaprint Logo Design Tool
  • Withoomph!
  • YouiDraw
  • ZillionDesigns

Offline Do It Yourself Small Business Logo Design Services

There are also a number of offline solutions for designing your logo. If you want to have one complete package that lives on your own computer and can be used no matter where you are of if the Web is available, then take a look at the options below.

The Logo Creator

If you’re looking for a branding solution in a box, then check out The Logo Creator. It not only helps you design your logo, it also designs business cards and mascot characters and includes a set of people images to use. Available for both Mac and Windows.

small business logo design services

Logosmartz

If you’re looking for a logo design service with tons of options, then check out Logosmartz. With over 1800 logo templates, 5000 additional graphics and images, 300+ fonts and more, you’ll find something that works well for your business in no time. Available for both Mac and Windows.

Logo Design Studio

If you’re looking for even more design options, then check out Logo Design Studio, a solution that offers a good selection along with an expansion pack to take your logo design options to the next level.

And More

The rest of the tools in this section are listed below.

  • AAA Logo
  • Jeta Logo Designer
  • MyLogoMaker Professional
  • Quick Logo Designer

Crowdsourcing Small Business Logo Design Services

Crowdsourcing your logo design is a great way to get a unique logo for less money. Here’s how the basic process works as laid out by DesignCrowd (one of the crowdsourcing logo design services listed below):

small business logo design services

While each of the services listed below differs on details such as price and allowable number of revision requests, they all work pretty much the same. Check out the options to find the one that will work best for you.

Crowdsourcing Small Business Logo Design Services

  • 99designs
  • crowdSPRING
  • designContest
  • DesignCrowd
  • Designhill
  • hatchwise
  • Logo Arena
  • LogoMyWay
  • ZillionDesigns

Logo Design Service Marketplaces

Our final category is for those small business folks who want to hire a freelancer or agency to design a custom logo for their business. Each of the design services listed in this section are marketplaces where you can find a designer for your logo.

While you’ll end up with a unique logo, this is likely the most expensive way to do so. Rates do vary widely however, so it’s worth checking out the logo design services below to see if you can find a designer who fits your budget.

Logo Design Services Marketplaces

  • Evanto Studio
  • Elance
  • Freelancer – interestingly, you can get a logo designed using Freelancer as a marketplace or as a crowdsourcing contest as described in the previous section.

small business logo design services

  • Guru
  • Upwork

Conclusion

While creating an effective logo for your business can be stressful and expensive, it doesn’t have to be either.

You can use the small business logo design services listed above to give birth to your logo today.

Logo Design Photo via Shutterstock

[“source-smallbiztrends”]

Author SristyPosted on November 1, 2016Categories DesignTags 43, Business, Design, Logo, Services, Small

Instagram Overhauls Apps, Logo With Latest Update

Instagram Overhauls Apps, Logo With Latest Update

Instagram Overhauls Apps, Logo With Latest Update

Instagram Overhauls Apps, Logo With Latest Update
HIGHLIGHTS
Instagram’s updated Android and iOS apps now available to all.
The social app now has a new more colourful logo.
Instagram has gone with a black and white theme for its apps.
Facebook-owned Instagram on Thursday redesigned its logo and even released an app update for iPhone and Android users. The new logo is envisioned with the aim to make it look more vibrant and colourful, and the update brings a simpler design that is aimed at highlighting the community’s pictures and videos..

The updated Instagram apps have arrived on the App Store and Google Play. Beginning with the logo, Instagram has kept the idea behind the old logo alive in the new logo – retaining the camera and the rainbow. It is now more colourful, and the the brown coloured camera is completely gone, replaced with rainbow gradient in the background with just a white outline of the camera.

Ian Spalter, head of design at Instagram, explains in a Medium post why the company felt the need to change the logo. It was “beginning to feel, well… not reflective of the community, and we thought we could make it better.”

Instagram_new_logo.jpg
The interface of the apps also saw a major overhaul in terms of design. Instagram has got rid of all the blue, and a new black and white theme now dominates the entire app. The blue bar on top that housed the direct message icon on the right, and the blackish bar at the bottom that had all the navigation options, are now both white. The fonts throughout are now solid black and the background is stark white.
There is no change in navigation, so the experience of browsing through the app is not dramatically different. Instagram reasons the black and white theme as an effort to “put more focus on users’ photos and videos”.

Instagram has grown a lot since its inception in 2010. The social app now has around 80 million photos and videos being uploaded to its app every day.

Tags: Apps, Instagram, Social

[“Source-Gadgets”]

Author SristyPosted on October 24, 2016Categories MobilesTags Apps, Instagram, Latest, Logo, Overhauls, Update, With

Huawei Reportedly Refused to Build Google Pixel Smartphones Without Its Own Logo

Huawei Reportedly Refused to Build Google Pixel Smartphones Without Its Own Logo

Huawei Reportedly Refused to Build Google Pixel Smartphones Without Its Own LogoHuawei Reportedly Refused to Build Google Pixel Smartphones Without Its Own Logo
HIGHLIGHTS
Google made the decision to have more control over its hardware this year
Huawei wanted to break into the US market with the Nexus 6P
Rumours of a Huawei-made Pixel tablet are still going strong
A new report claims Google’s partnership with Huawei has been unsteady, adding that while the Chinese telecommunications giant was originally due to produce the Pixel smartphones, it backed out once Google said the OEM logo would not be placed on the smartphones.

(Also see: Everything You Can Expect From the Google Pixel Event Today)

According to a report by Android Police, which cites a source familiar with Huawei’s operations, Google made the decision to have more control over its hardware this year. This eventually led to Google doing away with the Nexus lineup in place of Pixel, which is expected to be unveiled on Tuesday. Google initially had Huawei in mind for its 2016 devices which included the Pixel devices, but later went with HTC (a rumour that has since been unconfirmed). But for Huawei, the partnership with Google would have allowed the Chinese smartphone maker to break into the US market.

The report adds that during the Nexus 6P project, Google had told Huawei that the phone would be sold in all four major US carriers. This was a tempting offer for a company that was looking for the best way to enter the US market. However, though the Nexus 6P supported all the four carriers, the device itself was not sold by any of them.

Google would later reportedly agree to partner with Huawei to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising campaign for the Nexus 6P. It was a promise that also fell through. Finally, Google laid out the roadmap for 2016, where it included Huawei to build the Pixel phones. Google’s condition here, however, was that the Pixel phones would be Google-branded with no mention of Huawei’s logo or name on the devices.

Huawei didn’t appreciate Google’s offer and dropped out of contention, while HTC apparently won the race. Rumours began of HTC-made Nexus phones under the codename of ‘Marlin’ and ‘Sailfish’.

By dropping out, Huawei lost out on a chance to finally make a mark in the US market. The company would eventually enter the market with the Honor 8, but the phone failed to make a significant impact.
Though Huawei may have lost out on the Pixel smartphones, the company is still very much in partnership with Google and rumours of a Huawei-made Pixel tablet are still going strong. Reports last week suggest that Google’s new Andromeda operating system will be released with Huawei’s 7-inch Pixel tablet, now tipped for a Q3 2017 launch.

(Also see: Google Pixel and Pixel XL Leaked on Verizon With ‘Google Magic’)

It is still unclear on whether Huawei has any future plans with Google or if the third largest smartphone maker plans to go solo in its attempt to break into the US market.

On a separate note, HTC’s name has so far not been associated with the Pixel devices which only means the smartphones are entirely Google’s own products and the tagline ‘Made by Google’ for the Pixels only adds to the fact.

[“source-ndtv”]

Author SristyPosted on October 6, 2016Categories BusinessTags Build, Google, Huawei, Its, Logo, own, Pixel, Refused, Reportedly, Smartphones, to, without

Instagram Has a New Logo – What Do You Think? [Poll]

Instagram Has a New Logo – What Do You Think? [Poll]

insta side by side 6

Instagram, the photograph-based social media site, now has a new logo. We wondered: do you think the new Instagram logo is an improvement over the old one?

The old logo (pictured left) was a rather-brownish icon of a camera.  In the new logo, the concept of a camera is still there, but it’s now more stylized.  And the new logo is far more colorful.

Instagram Logo Change Is … Different.

The new logo is a sort of rainbow hued affair, with violet, blue, red, orange and yellow tones along with white.  Luckily, Instagram resisted the temptation to go with plain blue, as so many social sites do.

Instagram, as you may recall, is the fastest growing social media platform. Launched in late 2010, the site was subsequently bought by Facebook for $1 billion.

Today Instagram has 400 million active monthly users. Approximately 80 millionphotos are shared every single day, according to the Instagram website.

So — back to our question.  What do YOU think of the new Instagram logo?  Take the poll!

[“source-smallbiztrends”]

Author SristyPosted on August 2, 2016Categories InternetTags a, Do, Has, Instagram, Logo, New, Poll, Think?, What, You, –

Airbnb Unveils remodeled mobile and internet Interface along New logo

Airbnb Unveils remodeled mobile and internet Interface along New logo

Airbnb Unveils Revamped Mobile and Web Interface Alongside New Logo

Airbnb, announcing a primary rebranding attempt, unveiled a brand new emblem and an overhauled web site design on Wednesday. The assertion turned into made via Founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia from the condominium where Airbnb (Airbedandbreakfast) turned into fashioned in 2007.

The remodel consists of a brand new image known as ‘Belo’ that is supposed to represent belonging, and a revamped web and cell interface that in step with the founders better reflects “the folks who make up this network.”

the brand new layout functions “immersive, cinematic photography“, contemporary typeface andcoloration schemes, and different adjustments to better spotlight the towns as well as mattress and breakfast residences.

also new, is an progressed discover phase, and a remodeled reserving manner. Airbnb’s new discoversection now suggests close by listings and locations primarily based on the person‘s location,replacing the metropolis and neighbourhood statistics from the preceding design, and bringing it intoaccommodations‘s list page.

The listing pages have also been completely redesigned, with large images, rankings, and differentinformation about the type of accommodations, from services supplied to overall occupancy length. As TechCrunch notes, the bookings widget on each listing web page stays visible even as users scroll thrudifferent information.

“we’ve redesigned each unmarried page of the consumer experience throughout the web and cellular toconvey our new identity to lifestyles,” stated Chesky at the organisation‘s blog put up on Wednesday.

Created in partnership with a united kingdom–based totally layout studio, the new Belo logo represents Airbnb’s objectives as a international hospitality emblem. The corporation has additionally released a video explaining the new image.

Airbnb is a service for human beings to rent-out their houses and other houses as lodging, connecting lodgers with home and ‘bed and breakfast’ belongings proprietors. founded in August 2008 with the callAirbedandbreakfast.com, it became shortened to Airbnb.com in March 2009. centered in San Francisco, theorganization is privately owned and operated by means of Airbnb Inc.

considering the fact that 2008, the rental provider company has grown dramatically because itintroduced 1 million booking milestone in Febrary 2011. The agency has over 500,000 listings in 33,000cities and 192 international locations. As of April, the whole valuation of the corporation become $10 billion.

“We have been developing so fast, it have become one of these things wherein you say you willdiscern it out later, but then you definitely never become doing it due to the fact you’re too busy,”delivered Chesky.
down load the devices 360 app for Android and iOS to stay up to date with the modern tech news, product critiques, and different offers on the popular mobiles.

Tags: Airbedandbreakfast, Airbnb, net, online, on-line Renting, website

Author SristyPosted on June 6, 2016Categories Web DesignTags Airbnb, along, and, Interface, Internet, Logo, Mobile, New, remodeled, Unveils

Logo design: how to stop Twitter hating your new logo

Logo design: how to stop Twitter hating your new logo

We catch up with Form co-founder Paula Benson, SomeOne co-founder Simon Manchipp, and Taxi Studio co-founder Spencer Buck, to find out their thoughts and tips on how to avoid the internet’s wrath following your logo design.

We all love the internet – with its endless stash of information, instant reach around the globe and plentiful supply of cats – but I think we can all equally say that we absolutely detest the internet.

If you’re a logo designer, sometimes it can feel hard to make it out of the web alive. From The Met to Gap, Uber to Airbnb, no one seems free from the internet’s judgement when it comes to logo design.

Excitingly, this new era – where brands can’t hide from the consumer – demands more accountability for logo designers. But the most common or loudest opinion is not necessarily a good filter for design quality.

And unfortunately, the internet’s brand of thinking is usually knee-jerk and impressionable. So, what the hell can you do as a logo designer to survive this unforgiving digital era?

Preparing clients for the plunge

Simon warns that you should point out the curse of logo design to clients: even the safest, best designs can be badly received. “We’re super honest with them and tell them to prepare for complaint — but also to lower the levels of hate by bedding the new work in actions that benefit the audience.”

When Uber launched its new identity (below), social media would just not shut up about it. Their mistake was that there was “nothing in it for the audience,” says Simon. “It was imposed upon them…So no wonder the masses weighed in. It was entirely justified.”

Was that the result of a client-design studio communication problem? Clients, of course, really, really care about their business – but probably know nothing about design and might cheerlead a bad idea. It is your job to teach them during the design process. And remember that if someone’s hiring you just to draw one of their own rigid ideas, they’re hiring someone who is too qualified anyway.

Image: new Uber app icon.

Spencer doesn’t feel much need to discuss social media with his clients, believing that, if you’ve done your job right, there is no need as they “create a bullet-proof brief, together” – and so both client and designer are both responsible.

“As an agency we pride ourselves on delivering fearless creativity, so a little feedback is always welcome, good or bad. The worst that can happen is total apathy.”

Paula agrees: “A final logo is more often than not, not solely the designer’s decision. It involves teamwork between client and design agency, and sometimes it might involve compromise. Therefore a negative reaction to a logo or identity launch does not lie purely at the designers’ feet (and vice versa).”

In her studio’s 25 years of work, they’ve never received any major negative reactions.

“We take time to really understand our clients and their audience, delving into the crux of the brand,” says Paula. “We often send out a well-considered press release explaining our thinking behind the logo or brand identity, being careful to explain the brief too.”

We at Digital Arts can confirm a well-written, informative press release can transform what could otherwise be a short, disinterested article (or no article at all). Note: that doesn’t mean writing a press release bursting with bullshit.

“You simply can’t please all the people all of the time,” continues Paula. “But some clients and designers receive negative criticism to an identity launch where they have jumped into a project without really taking time to address who they are and how they want to be represented.”

Launching a logo well

“What often bugs me is that so much attention is still given in this day and age to a stand-alone logo,” says Paula. “A logo is often part of an overall identity or visual language that only makes sense when you see the bigger picture.”

When New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art greeted 2016 with a bright red stack of striking capital letters spelling THE MET (below) – you know, what everyone calls it – the fresh new logo garnered a rotten response, with New York Magazine’s architecture critic John Davidson accusing it of looking “like a red double-decker bus that has stopped short, shoving the passengers into each other’s backs.”


Image: new The Met logo.

Paula is exasperated: the logo was initially released without the accompanying graphic identity – a logo to a design identity is as telling as a thumbnail is to a video clip.

“When they later went on to explain the wider story, critics saw that as back-tracking or post-rationalizing, and that created a small storm within the design community.

“Maybe it didn’t help that the designers Wolf Ollins announced that the logo was the result of two and a half years work. We’d be extremely lucky to get as long as two and a half months on most of the logos and identities we have created!”

Of course, two and a half years weren’t spent solely sweating over just the logo. This is The Met, after all – and there was a hell of a lot to think about, including overhauling the museum’s entire, precious and widely influential identity, with the aim of more consistent visuals more suited to the digital world.

Image: The Met identities over the years. 

Spencer takes the importance of communication one step further: “to launch a new logo well, you first need to ‘sell it in’ to the people that will be dealing with it day-to-day. Ultimately, a logo is symbolic of a company’s culture, its products and its people and they’re both inward and outward facing.”

For Simon – who is not shy about his scepticism towards relying on logos alone – the safest way to launch a logo is to never launch it all.

SomeOne recently gave a student property brand Hello Student a brand refresh – which you can find out more about in our piece on the change – that “has no symbol or logo, but simply a very impactful set of images and the words ‘Hello Student’. It’s launched effectively and everyone’s delighted,” says Simon.

If you do decide to launch, “prepare for the hate. Everyone hates new logos and always have done. And with so much hate, you have to ask yourself whether you actually want to launch one. Do you need to?”

Simon “sincerely” doubts you do, unless a previously hated brand has totally transformed its thinking– “then a new way of talking to the customer is probably a very good idea.”

So, Simon believes a logo launch must be justified. It must take the business and design language with it to a better, prettier, more efficient world. Otherwise it’s just a skin-deep logo, a cherry without the cake.

What to do if the launch goes pear-shaped anyway

First off, you should actually expect some animosity. Logo design is, after all, subjective. No films are universally liked – apart from, perhaps, Toy Story – and logos are no different

“Whatever you do, people will often jump to conclusions and comments are sometimes made on face value, without understanding the brief or the long-term vision,” says Paula. “Some of it justified, some of it plain ignorant, and some makes me rant.”

At least ignorance can usually be exposed. Paula notes, that the Uber website “didn’t even feature the main logo symbol everyone was talking about” – what’s more, as Digital Arts pointed out, the Uber symbol everyone was getting so outraged about wasn’t even a logo.

When Form redesigned Abbey Road Studios, “there were a few mild pops, mainly because there is so much love for the brand – people like to think it belongs to them and they know best, but we’re tough and the overall response was great,” says Paula.

Mutters of dissent are one thing, but impossible-to-drown-out worldwide internet and media outrage is another. You can either try to ride the tidal wave of indignation until it’s (hopefully) over or abort before too much damage is done. Time does sometimes heals wounds – including controversial-logo-shaped ones.

Cue DesignStudio’s logo design for Airbnb (header image), which appeared to miss the mark in 2014. Rather than evoking the sense of belonging intended, it faced a social media backlash and prompted The Guardian to wonder if the design is of “balls, a vagina, or both?” – genitalia-related accusations now being on the verge of traditional when it comes to logo design. The outcry has now settled.

The London 2012 Olympics logo was – like seemingly everything else – also compared to sex (this time involving cartoon characters). Nine years and one successful Olympics later, we’re instead asking “was it really so bad after all?” No, probably not. Waiting worked.

“The recent noise surrounding The Met logo by Wolff Olins is a great example of a relaunch that was undoubtedly well handled,” says Spencer, “but still came under fire from the creative community after it was deemed, in essence, a load of old bollocks.” The Met is holding tight with its rebranding, though, and time will tell whether it will settle. Taxi Studio posted a funny tweet on the whole ordeal (below).

Image: ‘WTF’. Spencer Buck and Taxi Studio on The Met logo – “we were commenting as much on the fuss surrounding the logo as the logo design itself.”

“There are trolls, there are sensationalists and there are the deeply concerned. All three parties can be easily handled if the management of the organisation, product or service genuinely believes that this new work is justified,” says Simon.

“We have some very simple rules: never take it personally or become personal, be incredibly polite at all times, and tackle everything with a sense of humour. Remind people that branding is iterative and ever-evolving. It’s very rarely there forever.”

SomeOne recently launched a wrist band for World Cancer Day to support Cancer Research UK – and it was a huge success: “give people something to do, involve them and they generally like what you are doing.” And, just like the wristbands, know that the design exists for a reason and is not just change for change’s sake.

“Just as most creative work is given the ‘overnight’ test, “ says Simon, “where an experienced eye is able to look at it again in the morning and assess if the work is going to work – you need a 30 day calming off period where the initial foam and splutter subsides and you can look to see if any of it has stuck – or indeed should stick.”

A theme of honesty and transparency is developing; if you take the time and effort to explain, then people – or, at least, most people – should eventually either forget about the logo, get used to it or, reluctantly or not, be swayed in favour of your design. That, is if the logo is justified. Time doesn’t heal all wounds, unfortunately – and you certainly don’t want that bad reaction to scar.

Gap’s new logo (below) did not play the waiting game for very long. In 2010, the clothing company unveiled a seemingly harmless new logo – Helvetica combined with a small, blue, tinted square – to a storm of public criticism, including a twitter account set up in protest, causing Gap to retreat to its iconic white-on-blue logo. The surrender came after only a week.

Most people might agree that the creation of the new Gap logo was odd and possibly unnecessary. But – once they’d gone with that fated logo – was the decision to axe it also unneeded? A week of waiting is not long. In fact, it stinks to the kind of quick-thinking social media itself is guilty of: rash, quick and ruthless. 

Image: scrapped Gap logo 

If your logo is genuinely bad or inappropriate – and Gap might have ended up believing their’s was – don’t “hide behind utter flim-flam and nonsense,” says Simon. If it’s a bad logo, it’s a bad logo – and you must respond correspondingly.

When Kenjiro Sano was drowned in a tidal wave of social media abuse after accusations of plagiarism for his Tokyo 2020 Olympic logo design, the logo was scrapped.

“You need to measure your response in line with the reaction,” says Spencer. “You don’t want people fixated on the controversy surrounding the logo vs the event it’s supposed to represent, regardless whether the accusation is justified or not. In an ideal world you’d find this out before a costly launch, not after.”

Branding is now a conversation, set in very, very erasable pencil and not the stone of pre-digital days – and it is no longer just the territory of designers. As the public role shifts, designers must adapt (even if that means explaining to the internet why they’re wrong).

One thing is clear: the internet is not just a few shouty, sweary people, but a consumer force that can change the minds of corporate giants. And if that sometimes surprisingly eloquent, always fearlessly loud-mouthed mass feels out of touch with your brand, they will let you know.

[“source-Digitalartsonline”]

Author SristyPosted on April 6, 2016Categories DesignTags Design, hating, How, Logo, New, Stop, to, Twitter, Your

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