Well I think that about covers all possible logos. So, about this original one �
âBlocked by mod_slotlimit. More information about this error may be available in the server error log.â
If only mod_slotlimit worked that way IRL.
I think this says as much about generic crap companies as it does crap logos.
Sometimes thereâs no need to be different for the sake of being different. Sure theyâre generic but it puts food on the designerâs table. As opposed to having the client reject an avante garde design with âI donât get itâ.
Whatâs wrong with these logos? Unlike many fancy designer logos they accurately and quickly summarise what the company does.
This week in my life: âWe are a highly professional real estate company and want to appeal to investment buyers mostly, so we´re looking for a sophisticated, classy corporate design. We already have a logo, it´s a pink square with a low-res picture of an orchid on one corner and our company name set on the square in Avant Garde. Our website is the blandest of fucking things you will likely see this year, stock Arial on a beige background. We think it represents perfectly what our company is about, so you should probably keep it in mind when you do your layouts.â
I´m starting engineering studies this fall to get away from all these raging imbeciles and I already know it was at least the second best decision I have made in the last decade.
I think Jackhammer Jill would be more appropriate than a bunch of dumb roofs.
Welcome to the real world of day-to-day graphic design. Most of us out here live for the occasional client who gets design and wants something original and evocative. The rest of the time, we still have to feed our families and do so by providing the other 90% of our clients with what they want, hopefully while still being able to inject some little bit of style and grace, if for no other reason than to salve our souls.
Even in the little collection seen in the post, you can very easily distinguish the ones where the designer gave a crap and at least made the typography work acceptably. Others, though, itâs pretty obvious they were bashed-out just to get it doneâŚProbably while being completely art-directed to the last by the client.
Iâd wager that itâs next to impossible to do an acceptable logo for a regional home builder or realtor without using the pitched-roof motif. Itâs in the clientâs DNA, and anything without the roofline is unacceptable.
Page is boinged? slot limit? What?
I can imagine the meetings now:
ââHow else will they know I do house-thingies?!!"
"Because your company name is "Steve Jansen RealtyâŚ?ââ
"Put a roof on it, thatâll let them know!ââ
âHow about just a nice front door, half opened, like youâre leading them forwardâŚââ
''Roofline!â
That, my dear Banana, is exactly how those conversations go, across many, many different businesses. Imagine how hard it is, for example, to do a logo for a local optometrist without being required to incorporate an eye somehow, or, if they sell eyeglasses, the frames.
In the end, itâs far better to make the client happy, give them what they want and hope for return business. And, maybe, in the long run, sneak some good design work into whatever else they bring you.
For the sake of argument, what would you do with something like an optometry logo if you had your way? Or, if you prefer, can you point to some optometry logos you would consider a design success?
While not strictly optometry, RayBan seems like they have avoided any of that thing. Polaroid as well.
If it makes you feel any better, when it came time to design my logo I pretty much ended up with something that had little to do with my initial thoughts and was pretty much entirely driven by the designer.
I was really happy with the process and learned that I should talk more about what it was I wanted to present and less about what I wanted it to look like and that they had a great handle on how to do their job.
Maybe make the logo an eyechart?
That would probably end up on a logos from hell page somewhere.
âAlright, let´s see ⌠I want to be taken seriously, I am after all an important person, but I also want people to recognize immediately how creative I am. So which font to choose? Let´s have a look in the pre-installed library. Arial? No, that´s too bland, and if there´s one thing I ain´t, it´s bland.â scroll scroll âHow about this one, Avant Garde? I mean the name alone expresses perfectly the identity of the special, beautiful snowflake that is me. And HOLY SHIT, it looks BE-AU-TI-FUL! I can´t believe I found such a perfect and unique font choice for my company after only looking through the sytem font library for five minutes, I really might be a genius. I can just picture myself, answering my business partner´s question for my new logo with an amiable smile, confidently stating: âThe font is called Avant Garde. I made the logo myself.â Excited! Almost creaming my pants right now! Impeccable taste! If I just knew photoshop I wouldn´t even have to pay some low life designer to implement my ideas when I can do such a perfect job myself.â
Iâm not really clear on what makes e.g. the rooflines bad designs. Or, really, Iâm not sure why âORIGINALITYâ is such an all-important virtue in logo design. Sure, you donât want something that will be confused with another logo in your market, but odds are excellent that none of those three dozen or so realtors/builders/whatever are in the same city. I can imagine that a trained graphic designer might look at something and think âugh, Iâve seen that so many times,â but most people donât have a good reason to be that aware of logos. If it looks fresh and unique to the client, and to the clientâs customers, whatâs the problem?
Had to laugh when I read when I read this. Once I discovered a client had done their own logo revisions some years later, due to business name change, sprucing up a perfectly serviceable logo by switching the wordmarkâs typeface toâwait for itâComic Sans.
I have thousands of types on my computer, but I use 3 or 4 most of the time, SO YOU CAN READ IT.
Do away with tiny copy.
